Discussion Chasing Perfection: Is 'Museum Quality' a Useful Standard?

[Winova]

I have been building shipmodels for half a Century now, and whether or not my models rate an elitism description as museum quality or not ,means nothing to me, if I am satisfied with my models ,have had pleasure building ,
fine with me. I am am now 92 years old and still building models. Great
Hobby ! By the way, I do have a model in a museum ,won't say the
Curator was blind but it was accepted.

 

[Y.T.]

I do have a model in a museum ,won't say the
Curator was blind but it was accepted.

 

[MikeC]

I only build solid hull models. If I ever get half as good as Pete Jaquith (sp) or Clare Hess they can put me in a museum!

 

[Tangopapa]

Any pictures of POW models made of fish bones and hair?

Yuri, my friend, you're in the perfect spot to see a few dozen of them close up. You're in Toronto. Go to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and go downstairs from the main lobby. There is a large collection of "museum quality" models including many POW models made bone and other organic materials. It is a spectacular collection. I go there occasionally (one hour by car to GO Station Oshawa, 70 minute train ride into Toronto then Subway to AGO) to recalibrate my senses to what best-in-the-world looks like and to see how pros handle certain challenges.

 

[Roger Pellett]

The term “Museum Quality” is meaningless as different museums have different standards. These vary from US Navy standards to museums that accept junk just to fill their shelves. Our local museum dedicated to exhibiting the Whaleback Steamship Meteor includes a plastic model of Titanic in their collection. BTW, unless it has been changed, USN standards do not permit Plank on Bulkhead construction.

Currently there appears to be two changes affecting the Maritime Museum “business”; one positive and one negative.

Positive: There is a tendency for museums to focus on their mission. This can cause them to weed out their collection of things not relevant. In the case of the very best museums this can result in a better collection and improved scholarship. For example: Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

Negative: There are University programs churning out professional Non Profit managers. This means that in the future top management at more and more museums will have little or no appreciation of the fascinating maritime technology that they are supposed to be explaining to visitors. Museums will be tempted to become more like theme parks in the effort to become “relevant.”

Roger

 

[rtwpsom2]

BTW, unless it has been changed, USN standards do not permit Plank on Bulkhead construction.

The way I read it they don't allow plank on frame either:

Hull
Hulls shall be built up in lifts of clear, first-grade mahogany or basswood; doweled and glued together with water-resistant glue. The wood shall be completely free of knots, checks, and sap pockets and shall be thoroughly seasoned. Models over 12 inches beam must be hollowed for reduction of weight The hull shall be composed of the least number of parts necessary to achieve the proper shape. An excessive number of glue joints shall be avoided. On models less than 12 inches beam, hull lifts shall be cut to the full body shape: lifts shall not be cut in halves, thereby creating a glue seam along the vertical centerline of the model. The lifts shall conform accurately to lines of the vessel as shown by the plans. A stable, durable, flexible body putty may be used in moderation to fill gaps.

 

[Roger Pellett]

They have apparently made an exception for the models at the naval academy. These specifications apply to the 1000’s of exhibition models seen throughout various naval commands.

Roger

 

[TJCampbell]

The way I read it they don't allow plank on frame either:

Hull
Hulls shall be built up in lifts of clear, first-grade mahogany or basswood; doweled and glued together with water-resistant glue. The wood shall be completely free of knots, checks, and sap pockets and shall be thoroughly seasoned. Models over 12 inches beam must be hollowed for reduction of weight The hull shall be composed of the least number of parts necessary to achieve the proper shape. An excessive number of glue joints shall be avoided. On models less than 12 inches beam, hull lifts shall be cut to the full body shape: lifts shall not be cut in halves, thereby creating a glue seam along the vertical centerline of the model. The lifts shall conform accurately to lines of the vessel as shown by the plans. A stable, durable, flexible body putty may be used in moderation to fill gaps.

Yay!...I have a chance.......

Just kidding of course..... I am my own worst critic (aren't we all!), and am really building only for myself. Slowly working on arranging my great lakes marine room with models built by me, as well as artifacts pertaining to great lakes shipping.

I have toyed with the idea of building for sale - commission builds - in fact the ship I am working on now, I may have to build another for her recently retired captain....but we will see. I have a full time job already, and not sure I want to take on another one. I have had a couple inquiries about doing that from elsewhere too - but I am no where near museum quality yet (in my opinion at least), so wouldn't even know where to start......

@Tangopapa I have to get to the AGO....... I am trying to plan a trip to Toronto (I am in Windsor) for something other than a Leafs or Blue Jays game to see some of the other things in the city that I have never visited like the AGO, Ripley's Aquarium, or places I have been in a long time like the Royal Ontario Museum. Someone on here posted pics of the ship models at the AGO and they are fantastic!!!!!

 

[Tangopapa]

Yay!...I have a chance.......

Just kidding of course..... I am my own worst critic (aren't we all!), and am really building only for myself. Slowly working on arranging my great lakes marine room with models built by me, as well as artifacts pertaining to great lakes shipping.

I have toyed with the idea of building for sale - commission builds - in fact the ship I am working on now, I may have to build another for her recently retired captain....but we will see. I have a full time job already, and not sure I want to take on another one. I have had a couple inquiries about doing that from elsewhere too - but I am no where near museum quality yet (in my opinion at least), so wouldn't even know where to start......

@Tangopapa I have to get to the AGO....... I am trying to plan a trip to Toronto (I am in Windsor) for something other than a Leafs or Blue Jays game to see some of the other things in the city that I have never visited like the AGO, Ripley's Aquarium, or places I have been in a long time like the Royal Ontario Museum. Someone on here posted pics of the ship models at the AGO and they are fantastic!!!!!

What other Grear Lakes ship models have you made? I've made two, both from the Shickluna Shipyard in St. Catharines: a 1875 era 3 masted schooner canaller and a propeller steamship from 10 years later, the Sir S.L. Tilley. The schooner was donated to the St. Catharines and Welland Canal Museum and is on display there. The idea was to build a model to demonstrate some key features of canallers of that era and give people a chance to see what they looked like. It suits the purpose.

 

[TJCampbell]

What other Grear Lakes ship models have you made? I've made two, both from the Shickluna Shipyard in St. Catharines: a 1875 era 3 masted schooner canaller and a propeller steamship from 10 years later, the Sir S.L. Tilley. The schooner was donated to the St. Catharines and Welland Canal Museum and is on display there. It's not perfect but the idea was to build a model to demonstrate some key features of canallers of that era and give people a chance to see what they looked like. The museum could have theoretically commissioned someone who has more refined skills but that would have cost thousands of dollars and mine suits the purpose.

I have been bad at doing build logs, and posting updates on here and updating my profile too!

I did a smaller (thanks to out of scale prints I bought - that's a story in itself) Edmund Fitzgerald as my first build in 2020 during covid. My next build as Algoma Strongfield using plans I got from a source aboard the ship at the time 1/200 scale. Also built Tim S Dool (1/192), Canadian Century (1/192) - although still need to fine tune a few details, had to rush for a model show last fall. Currently working on Manitoulin at 1/200 scale.

 

[Tangopapa]

I have been bad at doing build logs, and posting updates on here and updating my profile too!

I did a smaller (thanks to out of scale prints I bought - that's a story in itself) Edmund Fitzgerald as my first build in 2020 during covid. My next build as Algoma Strongfield using plans I got from a source aboard the ship at the time 1/200 scale. Also built Tim S Dool (1/192), Canadian Century (1/192) - although still need to fine tune a few details, had to rush for a model show last fall. Currently working on Manitoulin at 1/200 scale.

Nice! Those are big models!!

 

[TJCampbell]

Nice! Those are big models!!

Yes they are..... especially when you don't really have a dedicated work space or area to display them!

My goal is to actually make 1 ship from most of the Canadian shipping companies that existed from approximately the 1980s until present.... going to be a tough task as far as displaying them. So far I have 2 from Algoma, 1 Upper Lakes, working on Manitoulin from Lower Lakes. Have drawings for a couple CSL boats, one that I can do in either Halco, Paterson, or CSL, plus other plans to complete the project but it's going to take a long time.

All scratch builds of course

 

[CarlosEcheverria]

I recently visited a naval museum, and while looking at the models on display, I came to the conclusion that "museum model" can mean whatever a specific museum chooses to exhibit. A small museum in a coastal village, for example, might display a model that isn’t an exact replica or has more artistic than historical accuracy—simply because it's the best piece they have access to.