Starting things going

[Shelterdeck]

The first model displayed on Shipping History!
Moss Hutchison's Amarna.
Bob

[paul178]

Hello Bob nice to see you here.
Please put up some more photos of your stunning builds.

[Shelterdeck]

Here is the barque East African at 32 feet to 1 inch (1:384). And here is a link to a FREE dowload showing images of it being built from pieces of wood to the completed model!
http://payhip.com/b/aFVM
Bob

[Shelterdeck]

It certainly looks like this form of model making is well and truly dead!
It is all kits these days!
Bob

[Quiney]

The link isn't working Bob.

[Shelterdeck]

I updated it a few days ago. Here is new link:
http://payhip.com/b/HPK3
Bob

[jg grant]

Hi trying to send three pictures of my scratch built two metre Grand banks schooner. Can't get the pictures and the site together.???

[Lucy Knight]

Model Galleon that took grandfather 5 yeats to build has been stolen from window of his friend' s shop, in Devonport Plymouth, where it was being displayed

Article in Today's Plymouth Herald.

Roy Caunter and The Galleon ship model which was stolen from the toy shop in Devonport

A grandfather who has built models of ships for most of his life has told of his devastation after a precious gift he made for a friend was stolen in a late night raid from a toy shop in Plymouth.

The three-foot model Galleon ship, which was worth more than £2,500, was snatched and destroyed by a burglar on Friday, August 18 from a toy shop called RC Everything in Albert Road, Devonport.

Its distraught owner, Raymond Lee, said the model had been entrusted to him by friend Roy Caunter in a bid to give the ship the audience it deserved.

The ship had taken pride of place in the front window and gained many admirers, the Plymouth Herald reports.

The Galleon ship model which was stolen from the toy shop in Devonport

Devon and Cornwall police officers say an unknown male offender gained entry into the store through a window at around midnight and are analysing CCTV to discover his identity.

Locked up in Devon in August 2017

And the ship was not the only item stolen in the raid - two drones were also taken, worth more than £300.
Mr Caunter spent 900 making the model ship

Roy Caunter, who painstakingly created the model ship, told The Herald: “I spent five years making it – to see all my hard work put into it destroyed – it was upsetting.

“Ray showed me all the bits and pieces that had come off the ship – it was clear it would be in a pretty poor state."

Roy, who recently retired from work at the shipping yard, creates a lot of models in his spare time saying it "keeps him busy" but mostly enjoys making ships.
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“I may try to replicate the ship," he said. "I’ve been thinking about it but it cost over £900 to create and it won’t be easy.
Roy at home in his model making room

“I think Ray loved the ship and I got quite attached too – a lot of work went into it – the rigging actually worked."

And Roy was unfortunately the last to know after the evenings events.

“I only found out about it the following morning when my daughter drove passed and all the windows were smashed in," he said. "My immediate thought was the ship is gone."
The extent of the damage following the break in in Devonport

Owner of RC Everything Raymond Lee, 51, moved to the shop in February of this year in the look out for more space.

But the toy-lover did not expect tragedy to hit.

He said: “I found out through a message on Facebook – it’s that last message you look at before you go to bed isn't it and I thought here we go...

"Three or four residents of Latitude 52 flats nearby saw the burglar in the window and where he walked off too – one shouted at him but he just ignored them. Quite a few of them called the police.

“I rushed down to the shop and my first reaction was devastation."
RC Everything was broken into on Friday, August 25 and valuable items taken

And the shop owner has been left worried about the rest of his stock, now deciding to up security on the premises.

“It is worrying," he said. "It’s a busy road and the windows were all smashed.

"It’s just upsetting that we have to be made more secure. I’ve already increased the amount of cameras covering the shop."

The ship not only had monetary value but also sentimental value to the new-found friends.

“It’s sad because Roy entrusted it into my care and we know it’s wrecked now because there were pieces all over the ground," Raymond said.
Roy spent five years making the beautiful ship as a gift for a friend

“The problem is it’s irreplaceable – you’ll never be offered a ship like that again. I mean it took him nearly five years to create.

“He had nowhere to display it apart from in a cupboard so he asked me if I would want it.

“I offered him money but he said no it’s a gift to you as a welcome.

“I had it in the shop for a while but it wasn’t getting the audience it deserved so I moved it into the window and because it’s by a bus stop we had lots of people admiring it. The temptation was clearly too much."
The Galleon model ship was one of a number of items stolen from the Devonport store

And the incident happened just a day after Raymond’s birthday.

“Happy birthday to me” he added.

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "The model is of sentimental value and anyone with any information on its whereabouts or who may have stolen it can contact police via [email protected] or calling 101 quoting crime reference number CR/069816/17.

"Alternatively, the public can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quoting crime reference number CR/069816/17."

[Shelterdeck]

Sadly I don't seem to be making much impression here! For anyone into Facebook, I have a group called Merchant Ships in Miniature. Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1841532386133008/ It now has 157 members and is very successful. I have always had the impression that not many people were actually interested in building model merchant ships, so this has been a pleasant surprise. The group is for those few who have tired of assembling large and expensive kits that take months and months to complete, and have grown weary of an endless round of Cutty Sark, Bounty, Victory, Titanic, Constitution etc.
Bob

[Shelterdeck]

Looks like model shipbuilding has finally fizzled out!
Bob