David Okamura's Paper Models 

David Okamura is extremely busy on four beta-test builds of soon-to-be-released kits from David Hathaway's Paper Shipwright line. SMS Rhein is an 1872 German river monitor designed to protect the Rhine River rail bridges. It was underpowered and lightly armed, and had to be dragged upstream by horses when the current was full. Despite this ignominious history, it's quite an interesting craft. HM Monitor 33, a British WW I monitor used in the Gallipoli campaign, is also unique. PederSkram was a Danish coastal defense ship built 1908 and in service to WW II. Martello Tower is a 1790 to 1830 British coastal fort design, based on a Sicilian fortress tower at Mortella that gave the British Navy some grief Like the spelling, these forts were never quite right, and didn't see action. All these projects are in 1:250 scale, and all are highly unusual. A more mundane subject, USS Monitor, continues to elude David, as he is now forced to rebuild a very fine model owing to the fact that the hull is 12 mm too long in the original design. Beta-test builds require patience, as the designer often makes changes.

One of David's projects needs no change: the 1:700 R-100 dirigible airship ca 1930, floating above its intricate mooring mast station, designed by Ralph Currell. A sweet model and demo of what can be done with paper.

 Dennis Kachmarsky's Griffon 

Dennis Kachmarsky is installing masts and spars for his original 3/16" scale model of LaSalle's Griffon, first ship to explore the Great Lakes, where it was built near Niagara Falls in 1679. The hull has a natural finish with mansonia keel, rudder and decks, pear hull planking on beech bulkheads, walnut wales and railings. Dennis is fitting blocks to bowsprit and masts preparatory to rigging, and preparing sails of drafting linen. He is also fabricating anchors of brass stock. He highly recommends Mondfeld's Historic Ship Models for anyone interested in pre-1900 sailing ships. 

 Don Dressel's Sovereign of the Seas

Don Dressel still manages to get his "Golden Devil" 1:78 Sovereign of the Seas into his car, as he finishes hull detail of this spectacular model before beginning to rig. He is applying photo etch rose and crown shields to the brass guns with epoxy. He devised a jig to hold the gun barrels steady in a drill press vise to drill for trunnions. The light brass guns on Sovereign were specially cast without dolphins, and had special gun carriages with front wheels but only half-round timbers on the rear of the carriages to dampen recoil. 

 Randy Biddle's Rita B. 

Randy Biddle is making slow progress on his original 1:96 scale model of 1927 Essex-built dragger-schooner Rita B. He has been experimenting with acrylic paints to create an atmospheric model of a working fisherman, and was challenged by some of the details like turnbuckles, boltheads, hinges and suchlike, until he discovered Grandt Lines "Augmentables", a line of brass and polystyrene detail accessories for ship modelers from a well- respected supplier to model railroad enthusiasts. Their catalog can be obtained from Grand Line Products, 1040B Shary Ct., Concord CA 94518, phone (925)671-0143. They carry scales O (1:48), S (1:64), HO (1:87), and S (1:160). 

 Ed Averkieff's Flying Cloud

Ed Averkieff waxes eloquent on his original 1:96 1851 clipper Flying Cloud, whose captain, Duncan Cracy, had his wife serving as navigator, purser, passenger agent, and interior decorator of the famous clipper, which still holds the sailing record from New York to San Francisco. Bob Graham framed the model years ago, and now Ed has completed the hull with copper, laid with contact cement and sealed with polyurethane. He built the taffrail with stanchions that Bob turned from square stock at the Brea show in 1989. Ed is now fitting deadeyes and aligning masts and channels. He has devised a jig to lace lanyards on the shrouds so that all are uniform in length before installation. As usual, the work is clean, crisp and fine, especially the name plates for the model, which were computer-generated. 

 Wayne Medeiros' Hancock 

Wayne Medeiros continues work on his original 1/8" scale Continental frigate Hancock, built after plans by Harold Hahn. The ship had a rather brief career, having been captured by the British on her first cruise, which of course resulted in a nice set of Admiralty lines which Hahn used as the basis of his plans. Wayne's model is a superb Admiralty-style rendering of the vessel, in natural woods: frames, keel, deck beams maple, hull planking pau martin, cap rail and moldings pear, with boxwood carvings. Double steering wheel and quarterdeck entry platforms are recently completed, and six-pounder guns mounted. Wayne started work on this model in 1994, and she will have full masts and rigging when finished, an outstanding example of the nautical model maker's art.

 Tom Palen's Lighthouse Clock

Tom Palen showed us two of his Father's Day gifts in nautical theme: a lighthouse clock featured a dark wood base with a brass lighthouse above the clock bezel, and a book The History of the Ship: by Richard Woodman, with beautiful reproductions of marine art. 

 David Standefer's USS O'Brien

David Standefer has completed the seascape and mounted his 1:700 Sumner class destroyer USS O'Brien (DD- 725). He says the foremast structure was frustrating to build, although why something as fine as an eyelash and intricate as a mosquito would be tough to build, I don't know. He still has some work to do on mainmast and aft platforms to complete the gem-Iike model. I particularly like the seascape, made of blue-green airbrushed crinkled aluminum foil with a toothpaste wake. The facets of the "water" reflect light in a very realistic way. 

 Cornelus Van Dorp's Columbia 22'

Cornelis Van Dorp is almost finished with his original 1:6 Columbia 22 D.J. , and like a pretty woman, she looks great with her paint on. He found a perfect rub rail of rubber installed in aluminum channel. Now a few important jobs remain: lifelines, stanchions, masts and standing rigging, and of course sails for this excellent operating RIG sailboat. 

 Frank Wilhite's Naiad

Frank Wilhite is restoring an antique "prisoner of war" model Naiad, a 48 gun frigate, circa 1830, perhaps, as Bill Russell commented, more properly called a "Dieppe" model. Dieppe models were built by returned French POW’s, mostly of wood with bone or ivory accents, for sale in England. This model shows excellent workmanship and understanding of ship construction and rigging. It has tightly twisted linen lines, nice carving and good detail at about 1:100 scale. The owner of the model paid $19,000 for it in excellent condition, but accidentally dropped it, breaking all the masts and punching in some deck planking. Frank has cleaned it carefully with isopropanol paper pledgets, and is now repairing the masts and rigging spar by spar, using Titebond to cement jagged breaks, with pins for reinforcement where necessary.  He is hoping not to have to re-rig but just to untangle the lines where they remain intact, and so far, he's restored the foremast beautifully, and will gradually work aft. It's a tough and important job, and the client has found the right person for it. 

 Joe Harris's Independence

Joe Harris is back at work on his original 1:48 American ship of the line Independence. He has installed the battery on the lower (main) gun deck with all hardware and rigging completed. Capstan and pumps are fitted, and the deck is mostly left open to show the authentic framing. Bowsprit is cut in and aligned, and spar deck clamps are in. Joe seemed a little surprised at how well everything is coming together, considering the planning occurred some years ago. Overall Joe has nine years in this project, a true museum piece if there ever was one. 

 El Welton's Flying Cloud

"El" Welton is making slow but deliberate progress on his 1:96 Flying Cloud, a Mamoli design which he intended to complete as per the commercial instructions, but has left: them behind to take liberties with decoration and painting, using antique white on the interior bulwarks and oil stain on the outer planking. He has done a fine job on the hull, including a very finely coppered bottom, and will continue to build at a leisurely pace, making improvements as he goes. 

 Don Leyman's Solheim

Don Leyman displayed a small -scale diorama set model of the bark Solheim in a wine bottle, made by Captain Laurits Petersen. Capt. Petersen had a long career at sea, commanding tankers for Unocal Corp. He built 15 or 16 ships in bottles while at sea. Don received the model from the captain's widow, with the rest of the collection going to the Los Angeles Maritime Museum. 

 Henry Bikhazi's Bon Homme Richard

Dr. Henry Bikhazi showed an exquisite stern lantern for his Bon Homme Richard, made of milled brass with Plexiglas lenses. The work was done on a Sherline mill, which Henry feels is essential for something this delicate and precise. He also turned boxwood deadeyes and drilled them with the aid of a jig he designed, so that they turn out uniform and worthy of his superb original model