CJ2S

To all that responded to my original post I'd like to extend a sincere thank you! As an update, my name is Chris and I made a post on this forum back in 2018 about trying to transport my deceased father's ship models across country so that my family and I could preserve and enjoy them. Well, it has taken me this long but we just accomplished this task - successfully! I really wanted to thank you all for your advise. A friend of my fathers back in MA was kind enough to packed them as recommended (special thanks to Dziadeczek for the instructions). We were very happy and somewhat surprised that they arrived in exactly the shape that they left. The made the trip from RI to AZ unscathed! Long story short, after much agony trying to figure out how to transport them my mother decided to relocate to AZ with us. After my son was born , my father traded in his Honda prelude for a Honda Odyssey minivan and as I was thinking about arrangements to transport this minivan out west for my mother we realized that both ship models would likely fit in the back. They were packed in RI by my fathers friend who then loaded them into the minivan and padded and secured them. Each model was braced at the base with styrofoam block, then the case filled to capacity with packing peanuts. He covered each case with cardboard, then padded them in the minivan and secured with tie downs. I did not end up driving them, but we hired a transporter to transport the minivan in an enclosed trailer, and they arrived just a couple of weeks ago - in perfect condition! I just wanted to express my thanks to everyone that responded to that post, it was great encouragement and led me on the path to actually figuring out something that would work for us. As the vehicle was to be transported anyway the additional costs were well worth the result! Sincerely, Chris Costa http://hmsvictory.getyourstoreonline.com/

Dave, Thank you so much for your comments - You are bringing back so many memories for me. You've hit the nail right on the head. With my father's modeling supplies were old books on the history of the ships themselves, with notes and arrows pointing to details of the ship. I think he got many of the details from other historic sources rather than any kit. I will try to look back at the supplies, but the only item we could find that resembled anything like instructions were more like scale blueprints of the hull. I think he used them to cut out some sort of template that guided the shape of the hull (sorry I don't know the proper terms for this). I can remember as a child making many trips to someplace where he would buy wood and supplies. I know most of the materials he used were not supplied in a kit, as he gathered them as he went along with building. I can remember him buying wood planks and dowels (he still had a storage rack that he built that had squares for each size/thickness of wood dowel and plank stock that he had sorted by size/thickness). He also had a couple of books on sailor's knots and rigging knots that he used to tie all of the rigging and netting. I can remember him drawing the twine through a block of beeswax, then using 2 pairs of tweezers, one with a bend at the end, to manipulate the string and tie knots and rigging - most of the places are too small for fingers to fit to do the work. Thank you for appreciating all this, it's still just amazing to me to think about. Chris

Unfortunately physical, but hopeful for improvement. My wife loves the RV trip idea. RI-NV Quite a haul. Thank you Mark, it means a lot to me to know others appreciate it as well. I can stare at these models for quite some time, always noticing some other detail that amazes me. Thank you Vince, much appreciated. The size is an issue, see my next response below. This is a great idea, though I think the scale of these models is a bit deceptive in the pictures. The case on the HMS Victory measures approx. 47"Lx34"Hx19"W. One would not fit in a trunk or even a back seat. Our minivan, with the rear seats removed, might be able to hold one of them only. Excellent lead and resource, thank you Allan for sharing it. Thank you for these responses, a lot of great folks on here. Chris

Thank you Lou, My wife has expressed the same feelings (though she wants to use an RV for the trip - would be helpful if we owned an RV but we don't...lol..). I feel the same, however personal circumstances have made that just not possible, I'm hoping things will change and it may be come a possibility in the future, though. With the distance involved it's also not a small trip to accomplish. Would certainly be worth the effort to have the models in my care, and be able to admire them again though.

We are still searching for my father's build logs. I know they exist, however they had a basement flood that may have resulted in losing them - but we're really hoping that didn't happen. Also still researching shipping them, even contacted a local museum that has a couple of similar models to ask how they shipped them but haven't received an answer yet. In the meantime I've put up a memorial site for my father with the pictures here: http://hmsvictory.getyourstoreonline.com/ Best regards to all, and thank you for the responses. Chris

Thank you for asking, it means a lot to me to know that others appreciate this. Here are some other pictures I have right now of the H.M.S. Victory. I can remember him sawing bits of brass from small brass sheets with a jewelry saw, and hand drilling wooden pieces with a pin vise and rotary hand drill. He had a free standing metal cabinet in the kitchen that he would take all his supplies and the model out of, work on the kitchen table, then place everything back in the cabinet before dinner. This model was completed by my father John R. Costa, and I can't imagine how he completed a project like this with a baby through toddler (me) in the house, and a full time job. He worked for the Naval Underwater Warfare Center formerly called the Naval Underwater Systems Center for nearly my entire life (40+yrs). Thank you to all that have replied, I will browse that other post for input. Chris

Hello from the southwest US, I am new to this forum, and have a question I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction. My father completed 2 beautiful model ships, the H.M.S Victory, and the Adler von Lubeck. He has passed away, and I now live over 2000 miles from where the models are. I have admired these models since childhood, as my father finished them during my youth. I can remember him soaking the wooden planks, and using boxes of toothpicks and hand drilling the holes to place them as pegs along each plank. I can remember him drawing the twine through beeswax and tying all the rigging by hand or with tweezers. I would really like to have them in my home, but I have no idea how to go about shipping such delicate models, or if the prospect would be cost prohibitive. I would need to ship them from the northeast US to the southwest US. Are there any companies that specialize in something like this? I can't imagine trusting them to just anyone, and would expect they would need very specialized packing and transport. Any advise or input would be greatly appreciated, I really have no idea where to look. Thank you in advance, Chris