MODELMAKER'S CORNER
The Art of the Ship Modeler at The Mariners' Museum n exhibition of scale ship models hand-crafted by some of the finest amateur and professional ship modelers in the world, opened Saturday, 17 June, at The Mariners ' Museum. The 1995 Scale Ship Model Competition and Exhibition was sponsored by the Museum to recognize and encourage excellence in the art of scale ship modeling and attracted 87 entries from 18 states and Japan. Of the 50 models in the exhibit, 30 won medals in three divi sions: scratchbuilt, semi-scratch built and kit. The winners of seven special awards are also on view. The exhibit will close 28 October. An elegant model of White Wings, an American cruising ketch, won retired boatbuilder Roland D. Kalayjian two awards: the gold medal in the scratchbuilt small craft category and the August F. Crabtree Award for Best in Show. The other gold medals in the scratchbuilt division went to Peter C. Baker's schooner Sultana in the sailing ship category and John W. Higgins's USS Abercrombie (DE-343) in the powered ship category. The Abercrombie also took two special awards, the United States Navy Award and the Steamship Historical Society of America Award . The semi-scratchbuilt division is also divided into three categories. No gold or
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Visitors view the Chesapeake Bay bateau or skipjack Helen T. , winner of the Novice Award and the bronze medal in the Scratchbuilt Small Craft Division, built by retired New Jersey surgeon Edward Thie/er Ill. Photographs courtesy of The Mariners' Museum.
silver medals were awarded for sailing ships or small craft, but John T. Leyland received the gold medal for his diorama, "The First Trap," in the powered ships category. The scene portrays the first shipboard landing and takeoff of an airplane, using a temporary flight deck aboard the US battleship Pennsylvania. The gold medal in the kit-built models division went to Earl S. McLaughlin for Preble's Gunboat. Judges for the competition were: Dana Wegner, curator of ship models for the Sea Systems Command, United States Navy; Rob Napier, editor of Nautical Research Journal, and consultant fo r ship models in the Museum of Fine Arts, Bos-
ton, and the Forbes Collection; and William D. Wilkinson, director emeritus of The Mariners' Museum, formercuratorof the Marine Museum of the City of New York. All are accomplished modelmakers. Entries were judged on their general impression, research and historical accuracy, level of diffic ulty, scale fidelity , and craftsmanship. A wards will be presented to the winners in October at the Conference of the Nautical Research JA Guild in Hampton, Virginia. For more information, contact The Mariners' Museum , JOOMuseum Drive,Newport News VA 23606-3759; 804 5962222.
White Wings by Roland Kalayjian.
"The First Trap, " by John T. Leyland.
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SEA HISTORY 75, AUTUMN 1995