Evening star., 1941-03-04
Capital Hobby Show
Features AMAZING
Array Of Exhibits
Prizes Are Awarded
For Model Vessels,
Trains and Planes

A couple OF hundred basement
workshops, where men work hard in
the spare time to forget how hard
they work on Office time, have
yielded up their secrets.
This is to say that the first Wash
ington Hobby Show opened today at
the Wardman Park Hotel, revealing
for public view all the amazing
gadgets and gimcracks which are
turned out in spare hours by all
kinds OF Washingtonians, from mail
carriers to financial wizards.
The show includes everything from
model automobiles, capable of speeds
up to about 80 miles an hour, to an
amazing railroad system, with all
manner of automatic controls.
This Is the first time that the men
who make model boats, automobiles,
trains, airplanes, ETC., have had a
chance to put on an exhibit here.
The show is sponsored by the Metro
politan Society of Model Engineers
and the Association of Model Rail-
road Manufacturers.
Fr1gate IakeS Top PrlZe.
The outstanding exhibit in the
show, lobbyists believe, is the model
of a British ship of the line of the
period of 1700. This work, which is
not yet complete, was done by Har-
old j. Cook of Temple Hills, Md, a
Navy Department craftsman.
Built from plans furnished by the
British Admiralty, this tiny model
is valued at several thousand dollars.
Mr.. Cook began work on 1t in 1880,
and has spent 1900 hours on it so
far. Every plank and rib of the
original man o. war is duplicated to
scale, even down to the sea chests.
This was awarded first prize in
the model ship exhibit, with second
prize going to f1ashy reproduction
of the Queen Mary, made by C. A.
Swanteson.. This ship has an en-
gine, which will drive it at II knots,
and is complete down to the deck
tennis courts and dog kennels.
Third prize went to H. j. Linn.
The Washington Model Racing
Car Association has brought out the
best of its tiny racing cars for the
show. First prize in this exhibit
went to Lurdy Dull; second to w. H.
Carter, and third to Bob Kirwan.
Many of the cars are built by hand
every step of the way. When they
race, cables are attached to the
tiny speedsters and they go around
a circular track. The local club
races on a track near Annapolis.
Included in their exhibit is
model of track they hope to build
somewhere in Rock Greek Park.
Elaborate Rail Exhibit.
The most elaborate railroad ex-
hibit is the model of the Cumber-
land division of the Baltimore g.
Ohio Railroad. This layout of track
is owned by the B. & O., but many
of the cars and pieces of equipment
were made by lobbyists.
1t takes several days to get the
track set up and j. w. Sakers, B.
& o. electrician, is one of the few
men who know enough about its
complicated system of switches to
run it.
In the model railroad exhibit, first
prize went to Hugh G. Boutell, for
his narrow gauge model. Second
prize went to James w. Palmer and
third to T. E. Mills of Alexandria
for 20" gauge trains. These models
run by live steam, burning coal or
alcohol.
The exhibit of model power boats
includes some SpeedSters which
have been clocked at better than
40 miles an hour. The record for
such boats is about "a miles an hour.
First prize in this class went to
Jack Buckley, second to Frank
Bailey and third to B. j. George.
In the sailboat class, Maj. A. w.
Greely's graceful model yacht won
first; second went to j. j. Martin
and third to Jack Edwards, jr.
The flying model airplanes ex-
hibit was topped, in the judges
opinion, by a model entered by C..
Bernard, with second to william
Mayo and third to Bill Skelly. These
little ships are capable OF long
fiights-one having landed on the
deck of an ocean liner $50 miles at
sea.
Howard Kunn's model of an Army
trainer took first place for scale
model planes, with Ray Pennoyer's
model second.
The show will be open through
Sunday.