Help with a museum restoration. Can anyone identify this model?

[Roger Pellett]

I agree, Mystic is in a class by itself, although I believe that the Chesapeake Bay Maritime is a close second. I spent 12 years involved volunteering for a preserved historic ship here in the Duluth Harbor. Like most of these historic vessels she suffers from the “bucket list” problem. People passing through town pay a few dollars to visit her, take the guided tour and have no reason to ever visit again. As a result, she never collects enough revenue for serious maintenance.

Mystic is entirely different. There’s always something new to see. For one thing they have an active ship yard busy repairing large wooden vessels. They recently completed repair of the replica of the Mayflower for Plimouth Plantation and are now supposed to be working on the yacht Coronet. The New England Village at Mystic is tastefully done and nicely explains the various trades that supported the regional maritime economy. They have recently added an art museum. When we last visited in 2019 they were hosting a major J.M. Turner Exhibit.

In days when I was better able to travel my wife and I enjoyed visiting Great Britain. Unfortunately we never made it to Bucklers Hard. If it operates on the same principal as Mystic, it would certainly be worth a visit.

Roger

 

[Weasel]

Further investigation of the model shows the rigging damage is probably due to rodents. Mice probably, by what they have left behind…..I have by the way also had problems with rats eating the wiring in my campervan, but that is not an issue for this forum.

 

[Weasel]

Gerald Wingrove, mentioned above, was responsible for a huge scale model of Bucklers Hard in its heyday that is a prime exhibit in the museum. The detail of the period shipyard and two vessels under construction on the slips has to be seen to be believed. There is incredible detail of all the wood storage and seasoning of the oak trees from the New Forest needed in the period .There is a rather poor picture of it on his website. It can only be appreciated by a visit to the museum.