Greetings all;
We all have known them. The hermit in the neighborhood that the children all think of as a little strange or the mean old man. The outside of their houses often belies the wonderous treasures that a life time of gathering has amassed. Here in a quiet suburb of Denver Colorado there lived one such fellow. During the late 1940's to the late seventies lived a fellow modeler of high talents. Fred "Fritz" Howard was known all across the United States as he was a constant contributor to pulp hobby magazines.

When Fritz passed away his wife and their grown son were clearing out the house. Several members of a local state operated museum were invited to pick up his mementos and use as they saw fit. I invite you to walk through his legacy.



Using your zoom note the various tools that he employed. All hand operated. Not a single electric tool in sight. The essence of hand made. Sorry for the image size but it needed to be seen.

For the fellow looking for an image of the Dragon Rapide.

An early Curtiss

I will never moan about rigging again after seeing that Curtiss.
Amazing builds by a true model builder.
Thanks for posting Stephen.
Andy

These are masterpieces! Thanks for sharing Stephen!

Jean-Luc

Hi Stephen
Nice works. Thank for sharing
Lars

We are just getting started gents. Here is a Lincoln Beachey Biplane.

These are incredible pieces of work.
I would term this "minature engineering" more than just model making.
No after market products here,,just fine examples of a master craftsmans work.
Nige

Here is a "Great Lakes."

Sign in mystery ship. Anyone care to guess?

Mystery ship #2 sign in please. Note the tail logo.

Can anyone identify this 3 cylinder powered bird?

Here is a bit of a close up.

Here is a bit of a plain Jane but a darling none-the-less.

A bit of an Amphib with detachable legs.

Here is a prime example of a real amphib design.

Hi Stephen

The quality of the finish is just superb! Looking at the first shot showing some of Fritz's tools, it makes you realise how dependent we've become on gadgets these days, when the real answer lies in the skill of the true craftsman.

Do you know if he used an airbrush? - the depth of shine and overall smooth finish is really something to work towards...

All the best

Rowan

Agreed on the quality, The Deep lacquer finish on these builds are remarkable. Remember also the type of enamels that were available at that time contained lead. While toxic the colours were opaque and lusterous. With that we end our tour of Fred "Fritz" Howard's surviving builds. We never knew him but we follow the same path he trod. If he were alive today he might give us this as a word to the wise, "...Enjoy your builds but most of all enjoy life." Model On!

Well, back in the day they knew how to design and build beautiful machines.....an ART they seem to have forgotten today.

Howdy Stephen

Many thx for taking the time to post this wonderful collection, and this walk thru 'days gone bye'.

Indeed, to look at craftsmanship like this is enjoyable beyond words. The attention to building detail is remarkable, as is his deftness with a paintbrush.
As I once said to my old pal GunTruck {another whose presence and ' voice' I sorely miss here}. The real measure {IMHO} of a craftsman such as this is, that his work looks more like a miniaturised version of the real thing, as opposed to a 'model' of that thing......our exquisitely talented Mr. Fred "Fritz" Howard is the physical epitome of this statement.

Tread.

I can only reply with two words, absolutely outstanding.....

Thanks for sharing with us.

Bringing this up for Boggie

Bringing this up for a fellow modeler.

Thanks for sharing this Stephen . I seen this a while back on the net and was blwn away with his skills as a modeller .