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“Bombs Away!”

THIS lively game will give you all the thrills of knocking the daylights out of an enemy city with well-placed “demolition bombs” without the least danger to the bombardier, although the area below is bristling with antiaircraft guns.

The bomber (Figs. 3 and 4) slides on a revolving arm supported by a central post (Fig. 2) and is moved by hand until it is over target selected. By looking through the bombsight with its cross-wires the airman can get a direct line on target and release marble “bomb” by a hand lever. Read the rest of this entry »

Fun with an Old Spark Coil

By RAYMOND B. WAlLES

ALTHOUGH producing a spark only about three-eighths of an inch in length, an auto (Ford) spark coil can be made to produce a brilliant stream of sparks, about two inches in length, by interposing small flakes of graphite throughout the gap. This is easily accomplished by dusting flake graphite on a tacky varnish card through which are fitted two machine bolts or binding posts for contact with the secondary terminals. Read the rest of this entry »

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Mechanical Flying GOOSE Decorates Radiator Cap

For novelty in radiator ornaments, you’ll have to go a long way to beat this mechanical flying goose. As you speed along in your car, an ingenious arrangement of mechanism in the bird causes it to straighten out and flap its wings to simulate a real live goose in flight.

WHILE your car is standing still this wild goose isn’t so wild. He perches sedately upon the radiator cap surveying the world with a glassy eye. But as soon as you start up and shift into high he flattens out his tail, stretches his neck forward and begins to flap his wings as if he were going somewhere, and going there in a hurry. Read the rest of this entry »

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Simple Small TRAPS will Catch Winter Game

By HI SIBLEY

These old time favorites among trappers are simple and humane. They will trap pets for your menagerie.

Simple materials, a little time, a little patience, and you can have a good string of traps of your own!

There is a lot of good sport in trapping small animals, especially when you make your own traps. Besides, one never knows just what sort of varmint he’s going to catch and that adds a thrill or two. Read the rest of this entry »

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Money Making Toys For Christmas

By JOSEPH H. KRAUS

How to Make Money from These Plans OF four items illustrated here, only the “Human Roulette Wheel” requires much work. Three are well fitted for profitable sales, the roulette wheel and the illusion box most so. The track circuit for toy trains is an ideal window display. Sell your services to local toy stores, offering to arrange for them an automatic display which is mysterious and attracts attention. The light twinkler makes an excellent display, but is best for home use. Read the rest of this entry »

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A BOY’S DREAM COME TRUE

Give a boy a tree house and he can have all the adventures of a safari in his own backyard.

For adventurous little boys, a tree house offers many delights. It is a hideaway, a place to store secret treasures, a camping-out spot. From it one can see without being seen. It can be reached by ladder only and it is relatively inaccessible to adults. Read the rest of this entry »

BOYS! MAKE LEAD SOLDIERS BY THE DOZEN

Mould Your Own Army — Band — Athletic Teams

With the new Gilbert Electric Kaster Kit, you can easily make a whole regiment of lead soldiers. Color them, too, with Kaster Kit paints, so they look just like the finest soldiers you can buy. Extra Kaster Kit moulds make football and baseball players, a military band, cannons, animals and other exciting models…Earn extra money by selling Kaster Kit models to your friends.

Kaster Kit operates by electricity. Safe and easy. See it at your nearest toy store. Complete with i mould and 24 pigs of metal $4.95.

GILBERT KASTER KIT

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TIN-FOIL SCULPTURE

How One Man Makes Good Use of a Common Wrapping Material That Most of Us Throw Away

THIRTY years ago, as a child, Paul E. Tichon began collecting scraps of tin foil. He still does. In the meantime, every scrap he could lay his hands on he has converted into hundreds of delicately hand-wrought pieces of “sculpture,” some of which are illustrated on these pages.
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Radio Store Provides Free Clubroom for Wireless Amateurs

IN the back of a retail electrical store located in the skyscraper section of New York City, there is a unique club-room for radio amateurs. A full set of radio receiving equipment has been installed with an aerial on the roof. Apparatus can be tested out in actual practice, and the visiting amateur is given the privilege of taking any piece of apparatus from stock to connect up and use as he sees fit. Read the rest of this entry »

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A “Down the CELLAR” Chem Lab

by FREDERICK O. SCHUBERT

Here are some interesting experiments you can perform with simple chemicals, with notes on building the beginnings of your own basement chemistry lab. More next month!

NOW that we’ve succeeded in shoving Andy, the grease monkey, and the rest of the “hangar gang” over a bit for the lab boys, let’s get together and make real use of our “chem” pages. Read the rest of this entry »

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Automatic Cigarette Lighter in Ornamental Elephant

Smokers will find this little elephant both an attractive and useful ornament for their dens. Pick him up and an ingenious switch inside him automatically turns on an electric cigarette lighter in his neck. Put him down and the lighter goes out. Only a few inexpensive parts are needed.
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YOU CAN Make Your Own 4th of July Fireworks

by FREDERICK O. SCHUBERT

THIS month’s chemical section is dedicated to that noble and glorious purpose of celebrating the Fourth of July in noisy fashion—and with cannon crackers and colored fire that can safely be made in your own lab. However, before plunging into a pile of recipes and formulas it is necessary to warn you fellows to be extremely careful in preparing these mixtures. Read the rest of this entry »