{"id":2771,"date":"2016-07-13T05:32:45","date_gmt":"2016-07-13T12:32:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ctupa.com\/blog\/?p=2771"},"modified":"2016-07-13T05:32:45","modified_gmt":"2016-07-13T12:32:45","slug":"everyday-adventures-visiting-the-stanzel-model-aircraft-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ctupa.com\/blog\/?p=2771","title":{"rendered":"Everyday Adventures: Visiting the Stanzel Model Aircraft Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"google_plus\"<\/a>\"reddit\"<\/a>\"pinterest\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>

\"stanzel<\/a><\/p>\n

Did you know up until the late 90\u2019s there was a toy factory in Schulenburg, Texas? Yeah, me neither! It may not sound that exciting or novel, but Schulenburg is a sleepy little central Texas town with about 3,000 people. I would never have thought of it as a place that had a toy factory. And being a big fan of toys, I had to pay this place a visit!<\/span><\/p>\n

The Stanzel toy company was founded by Joe and Victor Stanzel in 1930.<\/p>\n

\"Stanzel<\/a>
Stanzel solid wood model plane kit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Their first product was a line of solid wood model airplane kits.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Stanzel<\/a>
Stanzel control line plane<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1939 they began producing a line of flying model planes that are controlled by a \u201ccontrol-line\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tupa<\/a><\/p>\n

Control-line flying is pretty neat. The airplane has a small motor on the front and you can control it via the line that connects from the plane to a hand-held controller. I had never heard of this nor seen one until I visited the museum.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Stanzel<\/a>\"stanzel<\/a><\/p>\n

In the late 50\u2019s the Stanzel Company shifted its focus from the model airplane kits to battery operated, and plastic toys. They operated until the late 90\u2019s when the company shut down. The Stanzel Model Aircraft Museum opened its doors in 1999.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The museum property actually has three buildings:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0-The museum proper<\/b><\/p>\n

The museum was quite nice and well put together. It did a nice job of covering the company\u2019s history and the products they produced.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"model<\/a>
Museum display showing how the airplane engine works<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Advertising<\/a>
They had a nice selection of advertising art on display<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n


\n<\/b>-One of the old factory buildings<\/b>
\n<\/span> The factory was very interesting. They had some of the old machines they used to make the toys and a lot of signage explaining how they worked as well as the history of the toy company.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"stanzel<\/a>
Factory sign<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"stanzel<\/a>
Oven used to shape and dry plane wings<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sample<\/a>
Sample of molded toy parts<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n


\n<\/b>-The grandparents home of the company founders<\/b><\/p>\n

The house was a neat piece of history despite not having anything to do with the toy company itself.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"stanzel<\/a>
The Grandparents home<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"Tupa_stanzel_home_small\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you are ever near Schulenburg, Texas stop by the Stanzel Model Aircraft Museum for a visit. It\u2019s worth the time and you\u2019ll learn quite a bit about the history of a neat little small town toy company.<\/p>\n

\"Tupa<\/a><\/p>\n