My Collection Of Cruver ID Models

[BWBrown]

I've had dealings with Charles Morgan on and off over the years, and with Dick Miller before him. Charles stands behind his merchandise, and I've never known him to be reluctant to take something back if the buyer is unhappy for any reason. He has always been a great guy to deal with, from my perspective!

It is true, however, that the replicas can only be as good as the masters, and some of Dick's models were considerably the worse for wear when he used them to start making replicas. Dick's early models had an "R" in a raised diamond on the bottom. You will occasionally see these on Ebay being passed off as originals. I saw a couple just last week. Dick finally realized that some unscrupulous buyers were getting models from him and then sanding off the "R", so he stopped the practice as not being worth the effort.

While I've been fooled on occasion, it is usually easy to tell a replica from an original. Originals were produced in molds under pressures of several tons per square inch. The replicas cure under atmospheric pressure. What this means from a practical standpoint is that replicas will usually have small pits in them. Where any air was "squeezed" out of the originals under the pressures they were subjected to in manufacture, the replicas will have small occlusions, usually at the bottoms of control surfaces, in the corners of canopies, around nacelles, around markings, etc. it's possible to correct these flaws, but it is a time-consuming and labor-intensive effort, which means there is no one I know out there trying to make a business of this practice.

The replicas are all one-piece models, ignoring landing gear and floats. They are also solid models, not hollow like the large Cruvers. As a consequence, a replica B-17 or B-24 probably weighs twice as much as an original model.

Regards to all! -- Bryan

[scottw]

Outstanding collection. I have been thinking about starting a collection of Cruver ID models. You could help me get started with a small donation of the Do17, He111, and the Vindicator. Thanks in advance!

Thanks, scottw. It was once a much larger collection, but many of my models are now gone forever. BTW, while the original Cruver pieces are extremely hard to come by and those I see on eBay are often in terrible condition, you might consider buying copies of these replicas that are still available via Dick Miller's successors at The Collector's Airmodel Co. in Texas. Dick made rubber molds of well over 100 Cruver models which he collected and these are used to produce virtually identical copies in modern resin that are less likely to melt than the old stuff. The ID copies are somewhat expensive, however I know of no other way to build such a collection quickly without getting very lucky. I know they have an HE-111 and DO-17Z, but I'm not sure about the Vindicator.

Thanks for the info Ed. I vaguely remember hearing about this business, but it had slipped my mind. I think the replicas are reasonably priced, and may order a couple. Thanks again!

[BWBrown]

I'm bad! I meant to commend Charles Fleming in my post, not Charles Morgan. My apologies to all, particularly to Charles, assuming he ever hears about it!
Regards! -- Bryan

[philhansen]

There is a great Cruver P-61 model on eBay at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 560wt_1141

[grwebster]

Phil, I realize you were just approved and joined today and that is your P-61 model on ebay, but it not acceptable to blast every thread about IDs and post the same message trying to sell your model.
There is a for sale section and that is where your post should go. Just one post.

[grwebster]

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