[CAPTION] Guillermo during work on the Kingfisher.

VOUGHT OS2U KINGFISHER

a work of art in aluminium! Handmade in scale 1:15

When you look at one of the very special models made entirely of aluminum by Guillermo Rojas-Bazan, you realize that collectors of model airplanes, and especially pilots, like to say: "It's not a model, it's the original airplane, just smaller!"

As a child in Argentina, Guillermo Rajas-Bazán would sit and watch his father, who had a hobby of building detailed models of famous aircraft. He cut the parts out of thin sheets of tin which became fine models which he gave to his son Guillermo and to children and friends in the neighbourhood.

Strongly influenced by his father, Guillermo started building plastic models early on. At the age of 8-9, he dreamed of building a Martin B-10 bomber, but there was no kit for this aircraft. Full of enthusiasm 8 year old Guillermo built a cardboard B-10!

He would like to follow in his father's footsteps, and as mentioned, the first models were cut out of cardboard. As he got older, he worked both with wood, tin and aluminum. It eventually became clear that he had inherited his father's talent for working in metal.

He continued to develop with different models and materials until 1981, when he was employed by the Argentine Air Force and the Instituto Aeronaval as an illustrator, constructor and model builder of models for their museum. Guillermo's hobby had not yet become his profession. He moved to Spain in 1988, and here he built models commissioned by an art gallery in London, which received orders from serious model airplane collectors in England and Europe. Later he traveled to Israel to help with a large model project for the Israel Air Force Museum which was to include all the planes in the Israel Air Force.

While in Israel he met the Argentinian Clarisa who lived in Israel where she worked as a social worker. They got married and moved to the USA in 1994. Unlike most (continues below)

ALL CAPTIONS (left to right, top to bottom):

Here he has started to build his body.

Finished "Scarf" fastening for machine tools.

The radio part is set in place.

The hull is built in the same way as the original

Radio components, ready for assembly.

The beginning of a very detailed engine.

The large center float is built with all the frames in place.

The seat and various cockpit parts are starting to take shape.

A detailed Pratt & Whitney engine.

Ready-built float with pylons for attachment to the body.

Switch panel.

The rudder surfaces are covered with cloth and the wing panels are "riveted" as on the original.

The float is trial mounted to the body.

The support floats are finished.

Head and side rudders are ready to be installed

ALL CAPTIONS (left to right, top to bottom):

Trial assembly with all parts in place.

For the pilot, most things are in place.

Radio/gunner's cockpit with the "Scarff" ring in place.

A detail of the float.

Pictures of the finished model. Fantastic!

Details from the radio operator's place in the rear cockpit.

The US Navy used catapults on their cruisers to send the "Kingfisher" out on missions.

(continues from above) other model builders, he only works with aluminum which produces a strong, durable and lifelike model.

Most people would probably think that it is a natural consequence to use aluminum as a material, when you are first going to build a model of an aircraft which is mostly built in aluminum. The results he achieves by building in this material mean that the models are highly sought after by collectors and not least by pilots and other personnel who have flown the rather large originals.

An assignment may state that the customer wants a specific model of a 1-engine aircraft in scale 1:15. It will usually be a model with a wingspan of 30" (75-89 cm) or in scale 1: 25, a wingspan of 18" (45-50 cm).

Accuracy is crucial for a good result and Guillermo puts a lot of work into the investigations of the original aircraft. Details are obtained from accurate drawings, preferably original drawings and photographs.

He begins the work by studying drawings for the aircraft and setting precise measurements of the various parts down to the scale that has been ordered - the details are important for the finished result!

Guillermo's models are so perfect that aviation collectors and museums consider them pure works of art.

If you order a model of a 1-seater fighter plane in scale 1:15 in the standard edition, it has:

Accurate exterior appearance, detailed cockpit with all instruments, removable engine covers so engine details can be admired, retractable undercarriage, 6V electrical system for navigation and landing lights, cockpit lights and rotating propeller, cannon and machine gun hatches in the wings that can be opened to show details, folding wings, hatches in the body and wings to show internal details, machined body frames, movable rudder surfaces, flaps, slots and various equipment such as radio, batteries, tanks, etc., as well as painted and decorated according to the customer's wishes.

As you can see, he builds in a lot of details that will later be covered by both fuselage sides and wing panels. He therefore photographs the work as he builds, and the images follow the model as documentation.

If you study the pictures we have included in the article of Kingfisher, it is quite incredible that he can make such a model without the use of power tools. Every single part is made by hand - except when he paints the model, when he uses a compressor to get air for the spray gun!

He has for many years been a well-established, professional aircraft modeler in demand by collectors and museums worldwide.

Most of the models he builds are 1:15 scale like the model in this article. He has so far built well over 212 models, distributed on the scales 1:48, 1:32. 1:24, 1:16. 1:15 and 1:10. He has also visited scale 1:40, while his largest model is a B-17 bomber, with a wingspan of a whopping 210 cm.

In some cases, his models have been submitted for evaluation in institutions within high technology and art, and there are laudatory mentions in letters of recommendation where people state that they are very impressed by the details and the quality of the work. The institutions do not know of anyone else in the USA who works in aluminium. They are particularly impressed that he uses the same construction material as in ordinary aircraft production. His models point to a new dimension when it comes to model building, both in the USA and in the world.

His models have received letters of recommendation from the following which can be read on his website: United States of the Air Force Museum, University of Notre Dame, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, CHRISTIE'S South Kensington LTD.

Guillermo Roias-Bazan lives and works now in Royal Oak in Michigan, USA together with his wife, Clarisa.

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As a conclusion to the story:

A collector of models, and pilot who flew the P-51 Mustang during World War 2 stated about the models; "that it's like looking at a real plane through binoculars the wrong way. I have never before seen anything comparable to the detailed models of Rojas-Bazán; the incredibly detailed work that has gone into the interior of the cockpit, with instruments, weapons and ammunition in the wings, wing and tail panels, working rudder linings, navigation and landing lights, propeller, detailed wheel wells. It's exactly how I remember it on the plane I flew! This P-51 Mustang model is incredible".

Another interested collector wrote: "I am very impressed with the pictures of models you sent me, I really hope the pictures are of models and not of real aircraft!".

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Arts craftsman 2013

As a professional model builder, he can look back on an exceptionally large production. On April 20, 2013, Guillermo was presented with a diploma and cash prize as "Metal working Craftsman of the Year". The award was presented at this year's North American Model Engineering Society Expo in Wyandotte, Michigan.

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Rojas-Bazán

Models: rojasbazan.com

A family tradition of building models - review and photos: craftsmanshipmuseum.com/Bazan.htm

International Press: rojasbazan.com/press/international-press/index.html

Videos

Vought OS2U Kingfisher: youtube.com/watch?v=rFz8GAmNa1o&lis

A6M2 Zero: youtube.com/watch?v=mf8HRobYY6w

Curtiss P-40B: youtube.com/watch?v=068EljM7yvl

Hawker Hurricane, D.H. Mosquito, Handley Page Halifax, Bristol Blenheim, Hawker Tempest, Gloster Meteor, Spitfire and P-51 Mustang: youtube.com/watch?v=BOdt dEjea4

Focke Wulf 190D, Thunderbolt, Corsair, P-38 Lightning, Messerschmitt 109, Nieuport, Boeing B-17: youtube.com/watch?v=zmRHeOyRrbE

Models built for Nacional de Aeronáutica, Buenos Aires between 1982 and 1986: youtube.com/watch?v=IfJLilMgliY