A two-mast ship.

The very hardest part about keeping a blog like this is keeping it current. There's just no way it can be done. He makes so many of these models and a lot of them got squished before we could take pictures. Also I'm not much of a photographer, and the photos I put up here just don't do them justice by half. But I'll do the best I can.

After we saw "Muppet Treasure Island," Sammy started making ships.

Here's a video of his most recent model. It doesn't have a name, yet.

A group of Dragons

A quick Google search reveals that here are scads of terms that can be used to describe a group of dragons: A "Thunder" of Dragons, a "rage" of dragons, and a "wing" of dragons, and a "bevy" of dragons are all ones that I have seen. Well, whatever you call it, Sammy made one today.

All these were created without any pattern, completely out of his own imagination.

A fireplace with a pop-up dragon embellishment

Detail

Detail, side angle

"It doesn't breathe any fire, but it uses its claws. Its wings are for lift, and it is a powerful dragon. Its claws are very sharp. It lives in forests and it is very wild."

Made for younger brother. "Its weapon is fire and its claws. Its wings shoot out a very powerful gun, and its claws are as sharp as a lion's claws. And They are trained very well. And they hide from wild animals, unless they are deers [sic] or things without claws. And if it sees a frog then it hides in very high and tall trees with pine needles. And if it sees a lion or a tiger then it bakes them with its fire."

Made for younger sister. "Also has fire and claws, and its tail has spikies on it [not shown] so it can whack lions or tigers or cheetahs with claws that are big cats. It hits them with its spikey tail. And when its angry it flaps its wings and it blows everything away."

 

"This is my smallest dragon. And its wings are made and it can still fly even when it's small, but not when it's first born out of the egg. It is too small to fly. And it has a very hard bone. That bit is the tail. The tail bone has spikes that can remove into feathers."

Armor

The silvery stuff that comprises this battle gear was once the packaging material that came with a case of peaches.

Sammy (now age six) says: "I built my armor so we could play with it. The helmet, I thought it would be very very very fun to play with. And that's why I put a nose guard. And my shield (but this is not a real sheild though - real sheilds have been made of metal and wood with metal in it.) And with the shield I thought it would look cool if it was shiny, so that my friends would like it and think it would be cool."

Chess Set

The problem with a blog like this is the difficulty of staying "caught up" with the many projects. Sadly, I didn't get a chance to document Sammy's model of the Spaceship Two from Virgin Galactic that really flew.

 This morning Sammy played chess with his dad. They got to talking about why the different pieces have varying physical appearances, and this led to a discussion of the myriad designs of chess sets available on the open market. Intrigued, Sam decided to make his own set, where the pieces would have the appearance of airplanes.

He made his own board (yellow) and two of the pieces. These are the queen and king. 

Aerial view

Underside

Sammy seemed to think it was very important that I photograph the underside. He also wishes to direct your attention to the ailerons on the wings.

For some perspective: he turns six on Tuesday. 

The 65-8

Sammy's notes: One time when it was flying, a weapon hit it so it crashed. Then they turned it into a fighter, and then it was much stronger, whenever it got shot down. And the guns were more and more powerful. And so then one day, there was a bad guy who stole the plane and took the parts to make his very own. And then when the good guys woke up they looked for the parts but could not find them. 

"What? Where are the parts?" 

And then one person and said, "a bad guy has taken the pieces?"

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know. I followed him to some kind of cottage."

And that's all.

Mom says: I'm not what sure what this is, but it draws upon multiple sources for its inspiration. When asked, Sammy said that the name of this craft was merely, "The 65-8."

Medium: recycled printing paper, packing tape.

Bleriot XI

Historical note: For those of you unfamiliar with the history of aviation, the Bleriot XI was the first heavier-than-air aircraft to cross the English Channel. Louis Bleriot took off from Calais, France, and [gently] crash-landed in Dover, England.

From Wikipedia

Here is Sammy's version, realized in construction paper, packing tape, and a single push pin:

This is his "think about ice cream!" smile

Sammy's thoughts: The propeller has a push pin. It's got a tail rudder, and wheels. I wanted to make this because I wanted to have one of my very own creations. It's got big wings and little wings, and wings that are curved at the front for lift. The engine produces power for the propeller to spin round and round. And the wings give lift. The airplane kind of glides a bit. It doesn't flap or anything, it just glides. And the model can fly. It's really really light in your hand, but once it's in the air it looks really heavy in the air. And that's all I want to say.

The Fighter-Fighter Jet With Two Fighters In It

Sam's description: It doesn't really fly very well, but has one jet engine. There are two guns (the tubes on the bottom). There's a windshield and four sets of wings, and one tail. And one curved nose. It can also use the guns for landing. It can use the nose for faster or slower speeds. And the wings are curved. The wings pull up the guns and help the guns stay in its spot. It can kind of go upside down for a really long time, and then it goes right-side up with the purple at the top again. It can use the guns for pushing itself backward. The guns can also suck in the air and push it out, and that's how it goes backward. And I think that's all.
 

Date created: Feb 17, 2015.

Medium: Construction paper, recycled printing paper, packing tape.

To hire Sam as a contractor for your aircraft design company, leave a comment below.