Sometimes he used the bus.īefore my father owned the car he used a motor cycle and strapped his model box across his back. He said he cycled to the shop from his home in Kettering – about 16 miles away. The car has been never been positively identified but a customer who frequented the shop shortly after the war thought it was a Riley. It was accepted by the Science Museum many years ago but they could not guarantee a date for its display and I decided it would be wrong to have it stored away for an indefinite time. Still in my possession it is finished with a high gloss medium blue fuselage with white silk covering on the wings. The other model has a monocoque fuselage, and incorporates internal undercarriage rubber bands and wheel spats. My father gave this model to a local modeller after the war and it was returned to me in 1980 in a damaged state. The next photo is typical of a good day’s flying before the war. I think the romance and the enthusiasm were beginning to disappear and my father’s career was on hold until he took to designing control-line models for me in 1965. Ironically, the most beautiful of all the Ted Evans’ designs – the 1953 streamlined Wakefield – was never given a name. It was an anagram of Ted Evans thought up by my mother.
This habit continued during post-war years and the most interesting name used by my father was “Vansteed”. We are all familiar with aircraft names like Spitfire, Wellington, Hurricane and it is interesting that designers of model aeroplanes would also think it necessary to name their models: Victrace, Eureka, Albatross are just three pre-war examples used by my father. Some aspects of life in the 30s and 40s were more romantic than today. When time allowed he continued his involvement in model aircraft design. During the war the shop was closed for five long years while my father served in the RAF as an instrument technician. Partially hidden on the left is the Firefly (possibly the Eureka) and central is the Rocket, with the Gull sailplane on the right. Three of his designs are displayed in the window. Initially, shop opening was restricted to Saturdays and a few hours in the evening but once my father was confident in the future of a model shop he left the motor trade and ran the shop full-time. These premises were small but sufficient to stock building materials and the few kits that were available. I am pleased to include a photo (we think pre-war) of my father standing outside Super Model Aircraft Supplies, 220 Wellingborough Road, Northampton. This led him to design a range of sailplanes and rubber powered models and establish his shop in Northampton in 1937. Full-size flying was out of the question but modelling gave him the chance to design, construct and fly his models. Meanwhile his interest in aircraft had flourished into the hobby of aeromodelling. However, by the mid 1930s he could foresee the impending threat posed by mass production and the possibility of losing his job and so decided to open a model shop. This was a good trade to enter in the 1920s and he upholstered seats for various car manufacturers including Rolls Royce.
His career path was initially determined by his father who was a coach trimmer in the motor trade. His engineering skills were put to use in other areas and he rapidly learnt the mysteries of watch making and soon found he was capable of repairing all types of clocks and watches. He built a Stuart Turner Beam Engine from a kit of cast parts and then went back to his old engine and built a governor for it.
#Evans designs model builder how to#
This model still works perfectly today and the photograph shows it after he fitted a Stuart Turner fly wheel in 1966 – the original was never satisfactory.ĭuring this time he bought a lathe and learnt how to use it. After acquiring the piston and liner he set about producing all remaining parts by hand. He was only 16 at the time and had no access to lathes or any power tools. One of his earliest projects was the construction of a working model steam engine. My father was fascinated by anything mechanical but particularly cars, aeroplanes, airships. This photo was taken in his home town of Leighton Buzzard where he was born in 1906, and we assume he was about 19 or 20 at the time. He was one of the foremost designers and builders of model aeroplanes from the mid thirties until he retired from Wakefield Competitions in the early 50s.
He was truly multi-talented: aeromodeller, high-diver, metal worker, water colour painter, and expert ballroom dancer. This is a brief story of his life and how the business developed. The shop was established by my father, Ted Evans, in 1937.
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