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open hull and little people

Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)

Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)

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Harold Hahn was known for his dioramas and the hundreds of little people he carved

a diorama on board the Oliver Cromwell shows a sailor carving a model ship. Putting people on wooden ship models was hotly debated and some thought it distracted from the model and little people were never on the classic admiralty models so they should not be there.

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this is a presentation of Harolds little people and how he carved them.
all content is from the Hahn archives

first are the open hull models

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Just looking at the photos you posted took me away for a few minutes imagining life on the ships. I say to heck with the purists and use these little people to draw the eye in to a particular area and tell a story at the same time. Almost better than film :) Seeing the scale of those little guys also showed how dark and cramped some of those spaces must have been. Bathing was at a premium so I'm grateful they are little carved folks and not the real deal!
 
ron0909 said:
Just looking at the photos you posted took me away for a few minutes imagining life on the ships. I say to heck with the purists and use these little people to draw the eye in to a particular area and tell a story at the same time. Almost better than film :) Seeing the scale of those little guys also showed how dark and cramped some of those spaces must have been. Bathing was at a premium so I'm grateful they are little carved folks and not the real deal!
Click to expand...
I agree with this 100%
Mr. Hahn's work is Inspiring he was a true Mast of the craft. I enjoy looking at and admiring his work.
I do a bit of wood carving as in Whittling. Starting with a block of wood with a figure drawn on it is a good way to start, but you can only use lines so long then they are gone and some real talent has to take over. So to answer the question "can it be this easy" the answer is Yes and No with No winning in the end. I have carved chains, Caged ball in a box frame, boats, ships, cars, little bikes, and some animals, but people are a bit more challenging and I never really could get the hang of it. This was all when I was a younger man. I haven't done much over the last 10 years other then some tiny ships for bottles. I can now go to youtube and learn how to carve people, but the need for that is gone for me because I have a 3D printer I can just print them easily. Though it would be nice to carve them and accomplish something that always gave me trouble, I no longer have the time to dedicate to the Learning of the skill. I don't want to take time from the things I do right now, but maybe when I'm further along in life and don't have so many things going on I will revisit it.
 
Harold fought the critics over the little people and he did make references to the issue in a number of his writing but the purists insisted the little people had to go. Harold did in time cut way back on the use of the little people but on every model you will find the captain standing at the stern.

lets read an early article by Harold this is the original typed version

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out of spite of the purists or because no one was going to tell Harold what he can or can not put on his models his signature "captain" can be found on every model he built.

really! see for yourself

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don't see the captain? he is there right behind the rat lines, you can see his hat

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Look to train set figures: HO etc. for sailors at 1/64 /72 / 84 ( close enought) Hat make a set called British Marines & Sailors. Kit 8098. It is not always produced but there are 96 figurines in each box in 16 poses. its not expensive, but hard to find.
I Got 4 boxes for my eventual Victory build a few years back

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