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Interest survey - naval vessels

Plastic ships and airplanes were my focus from about age 7 to 14, then a thing other than planes and ships became far more interesting and as it turns out far more complex and fun. When time became available for a hobby years later, I had accumulated a decent amount of tools so wood was more appropriate and more of a challenge as it was about actually making pieces rather than just assembling them. Exception- Race car kits..... I have assembled them and loved them. When on extended business trips, they were great to work on even in a hotel room.
Allan
 
I wouldn't say I focused on them, at least not as a primary model shipwright interest, but I have always had a great fondness for the Steampunk-ish lines of pre-dreadnought battleships in the 1895 - 1905 range (especially the bizarrely configured French "floating castles") and in the US Navy's later distinctive Pennsylvania-class super-dreadnoughts.
 
Signet said:
What make/type/scale of kits are you referring to?
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The plastic cars or ships?:) I recall Monoram and Revell back in the late 50's and early 60's. I do not remember the brand of car kits, but the last one I built was .the F1 that Canadian Gilles Villeneuve drove for Ferrari.
 
Hi Al, Not a kit builder, but the boats carried by the warships of the pre-dreadnought era make handsome models. Kit builders seem to like working at larger scales and 1:32 scale allows highly detailed models that can be easily displayed in the average sized house. As most of these boats could be armed for onshore expeditions a gun can be included.

Best of all, there’s plenty of information readily available. In the late 1800’s, the US Navy changed their practice from designing boats for specific ships to standardized designs that could be inventoried at the various navy yards and “issued” as needed. The results were published in the Navy’s 1900 Boat Book. In the early 2000’s this boat book was republished in a very high quality large format. Copies can be found on line. There’s enough information for each boat to build the real thing.

Models of small boats carried by warships seem to be popular subjects.

Roger

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Most of what I like is in that era or if you include the Civil War. I guess I’m odd in that I like to stick to specific scales namely 1/72 and 1/32. That is something that seems hard in wood ship building and has been disappointing. So I have built things at odd scales. I also build plastic 1/72 scale and 1/32 scale, airplanes and ships. Also, since being on SOS, I have learned that the kits don’t really build them like a real ship is built so I have learned a lot from this site. I do have the 1/72 scale monitor in Merrimack and 1/32 scale sequin tugboat. Can’t wait to get on those.
 
AllanKP69 said:
Plastic ships and airplanes were my focus from about age 7 to 14, then a thing other than planes and ships became far more interesting and as it turns out far more complex and fun. When time became available for a hobby years later, I had accumulated a decent amount of tools so wood was more appropriate and more of a challenge as it was about actually making pieces rather than just assembling them. Exception- Race car kits..... I have assembled them and loved them. When on extended business trips, they were great to work on even in a hotel room.
Allan
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Ah yes, the smell of gasoline and the taste of lipstick.
 
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