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BUILD THIS MODEL OF THE LINCOLN FUTURA

This superb scale model boasts front and rear lights, “turn” indicators, and electric drive.

By Paul Palanek

THE most revolutionary and advanced vehicle ever to be driven on public highways was given its world driving premier early this year. Benson Ford, vice-president of Ford, who drove the sleek low-slung twin Plexiglas dome Lincoln Futura for the first time on a public thoroughfare called it, “a $250,000 laboratory on wheels.”

Almost 19 ft. long, 7 ft. wide and only 53 in. high the Futura has a low silhouette and smooth flowing lines almost devoid of exterior ornamentation. Its all-steel body is a beautiful pearlescent, frost-blue white. Read the rest of this entry »

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HOW to EXPERIMENT With ROCKET SHIPS

Home-made rockets can be easily prepared and attached to almost any model airplane for successful experiments in flying rocket ships.

By KENNETH B. MURRAY

IN THE experiment about to be described, a thirteen-year-old Michigan high school boy planned and constructed a regular model airplane to which was attached a home-made rocket. After considerable experimentation in balancing the plane and positioning the rocket a sufficiently stabilized arrangement was made and the plane tested out.
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Hurdy-Gurdy

Cranking the Swiss music movement within this box makes the little begging monkey go into his dance.

By Elma Waltner

THE street organ grinder is a rare sight these days and it’s likely that most youngsters have never seen one. However, this little hurdy-gurdy, with its dancing monkey begging for pennies as the small owner grinds out a tune, will prove a popular toy. Read the rest of this entry »

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CLATTER GUN

There’s fun galore in store for the boy who has this realistic sounding Thompson machine gun. By Orlando Guerra AT practically no cost and in a very small amount of time you can convert a mailing tube into a marvelously noisy clatter gun. Most kids will love it.

A three-inch-diameter tube is best for the purpose, and it should be cut to a 14-in. length. The gun stock is cut from one-inch pine according to the pattern shown, then the tube is glued and screwed to it.
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Animated Cartoons for the Amateur Cameraman

by HI SIBLEY

With your amateur movie camera you can make amusing animated cartoons which will give a new zest to home entertainments. In this article Mr. Sibley tells you just how to go about it to produce creditable animated cartoon films.

THE amateur movie cameraman has a broad field of experiment before him, and trying out animated cartoons will afford no little amusement.

Of course, the comical little figures we see in the theatres, with their exaggerated but still lifelike movements, are the result of long and painstaking experience, but the amateur, by beginning with the simplest ideas will eventually develop very creditable skill in this unique work.
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Ancient War Machines

Replicas of some of the ancient engines of war make fascinating and educational model projects.

ALTHOUGH the advent of the jet plane, atomic gun and submarine has changed the aspect of warfare so considerably that it could hardly be recognized by anyone living a hundred years ago, primitive and ancient war machines still continue to fire the imagination of boys of all ages. Authentic replicas of some of the major weapons of the ancients make fascinating model projects, and with this in mind, MI asked model maker Eugene Thomas to specially build a set of these models and draw up easy-to-follow plans. Read the rest of this entry »

When even a DIY article from 1937 peppers it’s instructions with warnings, it’s probably best to be very careful.

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MAKE Artificial LIGHTNING WITH GIANT OUDIN COIL

by John L. Welbourn

Editor’s Note—This equipment is particularly suited for science class-room demonstrations. At no time should a demonstration be attempted by one unfamiliar with the apparatus. Although the giant brush discharge is harmless to the average person, a shock from any part of the equipment other than the high-frequency transformer will carry with it serious consequences to the person involved. It is suggested that when this apparatus is demonstrated before a group of persons, they be warned not to touch the apparatus and to stand a respectful distance from the low-voltage equipment.

THE apparatus about to be described is capable of throwing a spark four and a half feet long. In spite of its deadly appearance, this spark is quite harmless. The operator may hold a metal rod in his hand and let it jump to the end of the rod and run through his body to ground, not only without harm, but without any sensation of shock. A rather spectacular stunt is to hold one wire leading to an incandescent light, and bring the other end near the coil. The lamp will be lighted by the current passing through the body and may in a few minutes even be burned out. A mystifying trick is to hold a short length of neon tube in one’s hand, and approach the coil. Long before there is any sign of a spark jumping to the tube, it will light with its characteristic glow. Read the rest of this entry »

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How to Have A Million-Dollar Idea

Brainstorming is the new, exciting system that turns your wildest ideas into profits.

By Ardis and Kay Smith

THE meeting of the engineering staff of the National Biscuit Co. in Buffalo began on a sour note. For the umpteenth time a coal crane fuse had blown on the company’s Lake Erie loading dock, leaving the operator stranded on his perch above a 900-ton mountain of fuel, a long way from the fuse box. The usual din of machinery drowned out the distress signals he sounded on a klaxon.
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BACKYARD SPACE SHIP
THE space ship set among the younger generation will really soar when they see this seven-foot-long, two-seat jet rocket made of sturdy three-ply fiberboard. Easy to assemble, it can be obtained from the Honor House Products Corp., 35 Wilbur St., Lynbrook, N. Y. Pretty neat, huh?

Maybe I should change the name of the category to YDI…

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They Made It From You-Do-It

The Prices’ Trinkit, a jewelry enameling kit, turned them into big-time hobby makers.

By Phil Hirsch

BILL and Barbara Price were in a rut.

Both of them had been department store buyers for three years. Now, in the spring of 1953, their jobs were beginning to pall. They wanted something a little more exciting to do.

Their bank account amounted to $3,500. By investing the money in a business, Bill and Barbara could buy all the excitement they wanted. But instead, they gambled their savings on a trip to Europe, in the hope that the trip would produce a money-making idea. Read the rest of this entry »

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Building a “Tarzan” Tree Hut

IF YOU want to experience the sensation of a wild ride with the airmail, select a night when the weather man predicts “whoopee,” don a helmet, goggles, leather jerkin, or what have you, and seat yourself in a swivel chair in the highest tree hut you can find. To help the imagination, take along a flash light and a book of airplane adventures. However, you won’t need these after the storm breaks. Boy! Feel those air bumps! You zoom to get above the storm. You roll! You side slip! Then, crash! Read the rest of this entry »

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Home Science Stunts with Candles

WHAT ARE CANDLES MADE OF? Light a candle, and for an instant hold a sheet of white paper in the upper third of the flame. A deposit of black soot on the paper indicates that part of the candle consists of carbon. Next, hold a clean cold glass over the flame as shown by the drawing above. It will be found that a mist will collect on the inside, indicating that hydrogen is being burned. Read the rest of this entry »