Plane Modeling: A Trade Inspired by the Flyboys

Just before the end of the Vietnam War, a backyard business had been doing custom-made wall plaques and name plates for American servicemen of Clark Air Base in Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines.

"When the American servicemen's passion shifted to replicating the aircraft they have piloted and loved, the business evolved into plane modeling initially using Narra as material, "recalls Bot Quizon, the manager of Mastercraft Collection.

And the models were not even as precise as the original aircrafts yet the service men cherished them like heirlooms. Soon, the Americans' passion for these models created an industry that fed thousands of local craftsmen and sent countless children to school.

This passion was later noticed by Lito Hallare, Mastercraft founder, who left his career in advertising in New York. Realizing the potential of the craft, he met with local carvers who first made toy planes for sale at Clark Air Base. Then samples of aircraft models made of Philippine mahogany were created for US aircraft manufacturers like Boeing and Lockheed.

The output was such a hit that Lito Hallare, along with several partners, thought of exporting them to the US. As product research and development on the plane models expanded, the inspiration from the Flyboys, pilots of famed aircrafts grew deeper that each plane model had to be studied based on its place in aviation history. This was actually a cue taken from the early interest expressed by the American servicemen at the close of the Vietnam War.

The growing US market led to the opening of a warehouse in Milpitas,California, bringing the replicas closer to the many Americans who have prized, for generations, these exquisitely hand-carved models.

The Americans have left Clark Air Base, but the trade which drew its inspiration from the mighty aircrafts piloted by brave men who have saved lives during the war and now the lives of thousands of artisans in Pampanga, still lives on through Mastercraft Collection.