Herb Smith was one of England's greatest boomerang makers. Herb started making Birch plywood hooks and traditional boomerangs in the 1960s and was one of the first suppliers of boomerangs to the Boomerang Man in the early 1970s. Before Al Gerhards started making his S/L hooks, Herb Smith was the only commercial suppliers of long distance boomerangs. One of the first boomerangs I ever purchased was a large weighted Sussex Hook with a range of 80+ metres. I became an instant fan. Herb was an early Long Distance World Record holder with a carefully documented throw of 108 yards on 17 June 1972 using a large weighted traditional model called the "Gem". In the 1980s, Herb introduced the world to Paxolin material, a dense and hard composite material that significantly extended the range of his plywood models. Herb continued to make plywood models as Sports boomerangs, even after the introduction of the Paxolin models. The Paxolin boomerangs were smaller and usually painted in two colors and with simple line art banding. The wooden models were often decorated with many colorful bands, flowers, birds and occasionally other themes. Herb did most of his own art work, but while he was a prison guard, he employed the skills of master forgers in the prison where he worked. Herb stopped making boomerangs in the late 1980s and the boomerang world was without one of it's greatest craftsman. Then suddenly in the early 1990s, Herb started making Paxolin and finely decorated Birch plywood models. This continued until Herb's death in 1995. Herb's models have become among the finest of collectable boomerangs as the supply continues to dimish.

This "Tornado Shorty" boomerang was made out of Paxolin in the 1980s. It is painted silver with gold tips and multiple black stripes. There is a single very large weight in the lift arm tip. A small piece of paint has flaked off of the edge of the weight. A finger notch has been carved into the leading edge of the dingle arm as a throwing aide. The underside has several pieces of red flourescent tape attached to make this boomerang more visible in flight. This boomerang has some wear from use and the flourescent tape is pealed off in places. Still, this boomerang remains in very good to excellent condition. This Tornado Shorty belonged to Volker Behrens for more than 15 years. It is the exact Herb Smith boomerang that inspired him to make the Blue Star Red Rocket (see the competition section of this catalog). This boomerang is not only a good collectable, it is also a wonderful long distance boomerang with a range between 80 metres and 100 metres in the hands of the right thrower.