Don Pollack
-
Posts
0 -
Joined
-
Last visited
About Don Pollack
-
About 30years ago I stopped by a store in Wilmette, Illinois called Model Shipways. There was a display by a veteran modeler who scratch built two Great Lakes schooners, the ‘Lucia Simpson’ and I believe the ‘Challenge’. They were beautiful constructions built from the actual blueprints he scaled down and it inspired me tremendously and I talked to him for over an hour. I can’t remember his name but sadly shortly after meeting him the store closed shop. I got a kit at the clearing out of their inventory day,- the ‘Newsboy’ ship and finally pulled it out and decided to build it. I couldn’t stop thinking about those schooners and the techniques employed in construction and painting. This recent kit was a real education as I had to keep looking up what the terms were in the plans and bumped into many vague references and conflicting contradictory instructions. Made me realize this is as much an art as science. There were missing parts in the box that I had to fabricate but I was hooked. If I was going to do this over I might have used copper wire as the lines sometimes felt a bit large for the scale. I recently read Lloyd McCaffery’s book ‘Ships in Miniature’ to help with the details and get tips for scratch building parts. I wish I could remember that modeler’s name in Wilmette, he was truly an inspiration!
Our Emblem ®
