I think that the Spitzy is a classic engine worth collecting, a little rare, perhaps why you kept it? Seems to be a neat conversation piece.

Yes, I know what you mean John. Those Scientifics, in order to keep the costs low enough to be attractive enough, they borrowed bits and pieces from other kits, altering them just a bit to look like a different kit. Those built-ups used the same wing but different tips. The fuselages were basically the same but used a different turtle deck to make it look like the scale model they were trying to represent. The Lil' Bipe, Lil' Devil and a few other open cockpits morphed to share the same fuselage and tail feathers. Ditto for the high wing balsa log fuselages.

To a pre-teen to teen, just having something that resembled a scale model are what dreams are built of. The fact one built it himself, had something that resembled that warbird or civil plane and through the glue smears, paint runs, grain showing through did not deter getting the bugger to fly.

Nowadays you wonder why kids have such identity crisis's and suffer sometimes from low esteem. The ability to work with one's hands gave something to take personal pride in, especially when it flew. It didn't take much for the CL planes to fly. Even though the Scientifics did not stunt well, to climb and dive was rewarding of itself, not to mention landing on the wheels. The making the engines to run and enjoying the noise and smell of nitro was intoxicating of itself, but was good clean fun.