Models


I have built models since I was in grammer school. Most of the early models I built have been broken and thrown away years ago; however, some survived and are shown here. Several years ago I got back into model building.

Cutty Sark


This is a balsa wood model of the famous British clipper ship the Cutty Sark that I built. The real ship can be seen today near Greenwich, England. The real ship was made in the middle of the Victorian era. This ship was a composite tea clipper ship, built at Dumbarton for Captain John Willis, a London shipowner, who hoped to defeat the famous Thermopylae clipper ship during sailings to China. The ship was designed by Hercules Linton, a young designer at the time. The hull was built by Scott and Linton in 1869 and the rigging completed by Denny Brothers in 1870. Iron and wood comprise the hull and masts. The ship has 32,000 feet of sail and could produce the equivalent of 3,000 horsepower. The Cutty Sark is 215 feet, 5 inches in length and has a gross tonnage of 962 tons. The Cutty Sark was named after the shirt worn by the witch "Nannie" in Robert Burns' poem entitled "Tam O'Shanter" and bears the distinction of being the only remaining clipper ship in the world. It could make the trip from China to England in about 3 months with a cargo of tea. Later it was used to carry wool from Australia to England. The Cutty Sark did not have a longevity of service as clipper ships were replaced with steam powered ships soon after the Cutty Sark was put into service. I have walked on the real ship in Greenwich and, based on that experience, added more detail to this model than the instructions specified. The model is about 2 feet in total length. I completed this model in 1994. Click here to see a picture of the real Cutty Sark.

Below are two other pictures of this model.








Ship in a Bottle



This is a ship in a bottle (plastic) that my uncle made for me in 1954.



Golden Hind



This is a plastic model of the Golden Hind that I built. The Golden Hind was the flagship of Sir Francis Drake. I built this model many years ago.



SA-9 GASKIN



This is a 1/35 scale plastic model of the Russian infrared (IR)-guided surface-to-air missile system. I built this model and placed it on a diaorama that I built to add realism to the model. A gunner sits inside the turret, looks through the window and positions the launch rails in azimuth and elevation toward the target aircraft while looking through a telescope. When the IR seeker locks on the target, he launches the misile. The launch rails carry 4 missiles in cansiters. I built this model several years ago.



SA-13 GOPHER



This is a 1/35 scale plastic model of the Russian infrared (IR)-guided surface-to-air missile system. I built this model and substantially modified it to improve its realism. I incorporated a window for the gunner (the model had the window solid), I scratch-build a gunner to place inside the turret, I replaced the model's rubber tow cables with ones made of stranded wire, and I "launched" a missile. I built the diaorama to further add realism. This is one of the newer models I have built. Below is another view of this model.





SA-19 GRISON


This is a 1/76 scale plastic model of the Russian radio-frequency (RF) command-guided surface-to-air missile system. I built this model and scratch-built the missile being launched. I also added the diaorama to add realism. This is one of the newer models I have built.



SA-10 GRUMBLE


This is a 1/76 scale plastic model of the Russian RF semi-active surface-to-air missile system that I built. I also built from scratch the diarama. The display shown actually consists of two model kits - the FLAP LID phased array radar on the right, and the missile launcher on the left. The launcher came with 4 missiles, one in each of the vertical launch canisters. I made one being launched. The canisters will fold down into the travel mode, but I like to show the missile being launched like the others I have made. Below is another picture of the models.






Saturn V

This is a model of the Saturn V that I built in the 1960's.




Apollo & Gemini Spacecraft


These are models of the Apollo and Gemini spacecraft. The Apollo models include the Apollo Command Module, and the Lunar Excursion Module. The Gemini model includes the capsule and attached to it the service module and the retro rocket module. I built these models in the 1960's when these space programs were active.

If you want to hear sounds of the 8-day mission of Apollo 11, the first mission to the moon, click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page.



Apollo Metal Models


These are models of the Saturn V launch vehicle and the combination Apollo Command Module, Service Module, and Lunar Lander, all made of metal. Between the two is a copy of the plaque that is mounted on the Lunar Descent portion that was left on the moon.

These models were manufactured by Fascinations in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing in 1969. The individual pieces are provided in metal sheets and you have to clip them out and assemble the individual pieces. each piece has tiny interconnection tabs that fit into tiny slots in adjacent pieces. I used tweezers to bend over the tabs after inserting them into the slots. You can see the packaging and the metal sheets in the picture below.


Space Shuttle


These are two models of the space shuttle. The one on the left is intended to be a model rocket. The model rocket engine would be installed in the rear of the external tank. The top of the external tank eventually pops off, a parachute pops out and the external tank drifts back to the ground. The shuttle is ejected off and glides back. The model on the left is plastic. I built the model on the left in 1976 before the first shuttle was launched. I built the other later on.



USS Enterprise From TV's Original Star Trek Show


This is a model of the USS Enterprise of Star Trek. This is one of the newer models I have built.

Beagle



This is a plastic model of a Beagle dog that I built many years ago. My mother had it sitting on her bookshelf for many years. The "fur" was sprinkled on, so it looks almost real.

"Fury"



This a plastic model of the horse "Fury". Fury was the subject of a television show that ran on NBC from 1955 to 1960. The show came on on Saturdays and was one of my favorite TV shows.