Wooden Helicopter Showpiece

About this piece

Wooden Helicopter Showpiece — A sheesham model helicopter with a turning rotor. Made by hand from sheesham (rosewood) and given a contrast polish, in the Sillanwali Handicrafts workshop in Sillanwali, Sargodha, Punjab, Pakistan. It measures about 12 in long. It costs PKR 2,250. It is ready to ship and delivered within 3 to 4 days anywhere in Pakistan, paid in cash on delivery.

A model helicopter shaped from solid sheesham — a rounded cabin, a long tail boom with its own rotor, skids underneath, and a main rotor that turns on its pin. Lighter strips of wood are let into the tail and the cabin, so the shape reads from across a room. Every part is cut, shaped and fitted by hand rather than moulded, which is why the sweep of the blades and the line of the tail differ a little between pieces. The contrast comes from the wood itself rather than from paint: pale strips set against dark sheesham and polished flush. It belongs on a desk, a bookshelf or in a glass cabinet, and it is an easy gift for a pilot, an engineer, an air-force family, or a child past the age of pulling things apart. Made in Sillanwali, Sargodha, and worked individually. Dust with a soft dry cloth, turn the rotor gently rather than spinning it hard, and keep it away from water and out of direct sunlight.

Every piece is made by hand, so the wood grain, carving and colour vary a little from the photo. That variation is normal and is what makes each one its own.