Once Upon a Time

[shipbuilder]

Long, Long Ago, model shipbuilding in the UK was very popular from schooldays onwards, but it seemed to begin an irreversible decline in in the late 50s and 60s. Now, it seems to be an accepted fact that decent models can only be made from kits. I hardly know anyone that build their own these days. I don't think it is because people have less skills nowadays. When I ask, the answer is usually "I don't have the time to build my own, so I assemble kits!" When I ask how long it takes them, the reply is usually measured in months or years. I don't have the patience for that sort of thing though, which is another reason that I build my own from whatever material comes to hand. Here is my last passenger liner, 21 inch hull length. All made from bits & pieces, wood, plasticard, wire, brass etc. This one took about 120 hours. RMS CARMANIA, of 1905. I took a photograph of the model from a low angle and superimposed a picture of the sea over the lower part. Why is there so little interest in this wonderful hobby?
Bob

[VW1956]

Hello Bob. This is so good that I cant believe it's a model. Did you really mean to put it was made in 120 hours surely you meant days. Ken.

[Andrew Clarkson]

Shipbuilder,

Yet another great work of art from our in-house scratch builder - amazing!

[shipbuilder]

Thanks,
I just looked up my records and found that CARMANIA took 100 hours, not 120 (I was confusing it with another model) And that included making the display case and carrying case. I time all the work on a stopwatch and if I stop for any reason, I stop the watch. The 100 hours was spread over 43 days. I began on 27th of Septemeber, 2010 and completed on the 22nd of November, 2010. On quite a few days, I didn't do anything at all. The least I ever worked on it in one day was 0.20 hours when I made some of the rails and nothing else. The longest I spent on one day was 4.3 hours when I completed all 16 lifeboats.
I was getting pretty fed up with it in the end as it was a bit too long (21 inches hull length) for me to be able to handle easily (owing to size of work table).
Bob

[Rose]

It's beautiful

[cameron]

What a great model, you really should be proud of yourself shipbuilder, it's far beyond my capability of model making skills.

And your very correct by saying that this great hobbie is on decline. Many kids today simply would prefer more "shallow" and eye not brain candy forms of entertainment, if it involves a bit of effort than just that alone seems to draw them away. Maybe attitudes have just changed, maybe it's due to the introduction of game consoles. Whatever it is it's effected the model making market badly and is slowly making model makers an extinct species.

I'm the only person in my family who constructs Revell kits of ships, on some occasions I've even been frowned upon because of it.

keep up this great work!

Regards

Cameron.

[Worthington]

Excellent work, I would have believed it to be a period photograph and not a model, very nice job and in such an amazingly short time for such detailed work.

How do you find the time for such detailed work?

[shipbuilder]

It doesn't really take all that long. Normally people building kits will spend months or even years on them because they are so big. Mine are quite small and do not take anywhere near as much time. I only averaged 2.3 hours per day on the CARMANIA. An hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon is not much. Even when I was at sea working 10 hour days, seven days a week, I always managed about an hour every afternoon on model ships. It really depends on whether you want to build them or not. If you want to do something, you find the time. I find it relaxing.
Bob

[shipbuilder]

British India liner KENYA. 32'=1"
Bob

[VW1956]

Hello Shipbuilder. These models you build are just so good and you make them so fast. I have been trying to build the Hatchette model of Titanic for two and a half years now. I think the real one got built quicker. I am interested as I am sure others on here are. How many ships have you built? And what happens to them once they are finished? They certainly look museum quality so do you build them for museums? Ken.

[shipbuilder]

Thanks Ken,
I have just completed the 249th since I started counting in October 1992. I must have built a similar number before that though as I began model shipbuilding in the 1950s. I have built some for museums, most of them in the Mount Sion Christian Brothers Maritime Museum in Waterford, Ireland. They wanted a set of a dozen or so ships that had carried their missionaries out to the four corners of the world over the last hundred years or so. There are two in the Merseyside Maritime Musem, Blue funnel ship AGAMEMNON and barque JHELUM. A lot of people don't like them at all, but the ones who do like them are very enthusiastic. The KENYA, above, was a bit of a "damp squib!" I sent it to a London maritime auction about year ago and it failed to sell at the first two auctions, finally going for £600, but my share only came to £344 - not much for a month's work. Other models of a very simple nature, that I built very quickly have gone for hundreds of £s and I never cease to be amazed at the inability of many people to distinguish between something that I have made in a few days, to something like the KENYA that took a month! I generally build whatever I feel like nowadays and they often sell on Ebay.

I have never been much good at kits and gave them up years ago. To expensive, too big, too difficult!

It is just a hobby really, I spent 32 years at sea in the Merchant Navy and I am now 67.

The one below sold at auction for £1,020 not long ago and only took a fraction of the time it took to build KENYA!

Bob

[shipbuilder]

Guess which of the above fetched the best price at auction?
Surprise,surprise, it was the ARETHUSA at £1,020!
Here is my latest!

Bob