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Dormoy Bathtub - 1924 Light Plane Racer
1/72 scale scratchbuilt model
by Michael A. Morrow
This is a 1/72 scratch-built model of Ettienne Dormoy's race-winning 1924 light plane racer. The real aircraft was powered by an in-line four cylinder Henderson motorcycle engine. I built this model when I was about 16 years old. In 1976, Terry Moore, then President for Life of the Seattle Chapter of the IPMS, carried this model in his lap, on a plane, from Seattle to Texas, to the 1976 IPMS National Convention, where it got a 2nd place in the 1/72 Scale Scratch-built Aircraft Class.

The trophy was two feet three and one half inches tall! :-)

The model's wingspan is only four inches, and the length is a miniscule 2.15 inches.

How tiny is this model? Got a penny? This tiny!
Tiiiiiinny little model.
Greeeeaat big trophy!
Items of note on this tiny little model include the hand-carved real wood prop, which is only three-quarters of an inch long from tip to tip, and the spark plug wires from the coil to the cylinders on the Henderson four cylinder engine. Since the gas tank is filled from the top of the wing, I scratch-built a little step-ladder so the pilot could reach the gas cap.





















Over the course of its life, this model has been almost completely destroyed and rebuilt on three seperate occasions, the last of which occurred during take-down at the 2012 Northwest Scale Modelers Show at the Museum of Flight. The Dormoy model box got dropped, and landed upside down, crushing the model under its own display stand, a heavy (compared to the model) wooden plaque.

I had the model rebuilt in just a couple of days. I now transport the model suspended by the wings in foam, in a box, and the display plaque is carried in a separate box.
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