Flanger 016 - "Leapin' Lena II"

[Mike Trent]

In about 1974, South Park modeler, the late Paul Schenk, built a DSP&P flanger from an HOn3 Durango Press RGS Flanger kit. While showing it off to visiting friends Rob Smith and Joe Crea, somehow the little thing escaped Joe's handling and went straight into a cup of hot coffee. No real damage to the model at all, but it did receive some unexpected weathering. And from then on, it carried the name "Leapin' Lena". In 1985, having been inspired by Leapin' Lena, I built a flanger the way Paul had. Shortened the frame per the C&S Folio and put in all the right parts from the kit. I had always wanted to build 015, but at the time, I didn't think I could do justice to the large blade and other alterations like the steps or make sense out to the modifications to the frame. So, I made my flanger 016. I've never seen a picture of 016, but I'm pretty sure it must have looked more like this model than 015. I turned this model over to Rob Smith who had it until about 2018. It had been wrecked, and Rob sent it back to me feeling terrible about the damage. This was about the time I had started 015, and having the wrecked 016 back in however many pieces it was must have inspired some of what I did on the second flanger. 016 sat abandoned and neglected for years until last week, when I gave into a case of "flanger fever" inspired by Keith's project, and set out to restore old Leapin' Lena ll. It's taken a few days, but here it is. Surprisingly, almost all of the parts were there, and still usable and/or repairable. I will need to replace the handrails, but I'll need to track down some tees and 90 degree angles and completely replace them.  In the meantime, 016 looks like it's had a bit of a hard life, which it certainly has had. But it has its own history and I'm happy to have it back in the fold. If anything, it helps tell the story of how 015 was upgraded in its final years, and how the two appear together. Hope you enjoy it and its story.  An interesting contrast. Keith recently saw the wrecked mess it was before.