I call this model semi-autobiographical-- the desk is built from what I remember of the one my mother owned, and the models are all ones that I built around that time, but no model-building was EVER done on that desk. The model is built to 1/5 scale, with the desk about 9" by 4" and 6" high, and all pieces built entirely from scratch. Parts from the actual old models were reduced on an office copier so they could be carved from blocks of styrene plastic, then silicone molds were made from the carved parts to cast the resin parts that make up the airplanes. Reduced color copies were used to recreate the kit boxes and the formica pattern of the desk top. The skeleton of the stick-and-paper airplane on the floor was built from thinned basswood.

Photos by John Meyer