Vol. 64, No. 4 winter 2019 290 Modeling materials


Model making, particularly if it is a hobby, has two diff erent aspects. T e fi rst is the process itself; planning and then executing the project. T e second is enjoying the completed piece; admiring it and, quite probably, exhibiting it to others. T e materials we select for constructing our models very much refl ect our perspectives on these two distinct aspects.


T e range of potential materials for model making is vast. Over the millennia, creators of ship models have used many materials few of us would consider suitable or normal: clay, dough, straw, cork, bone, gold, to name but a few. Why then do we restrict our choices to a relatively small selection of possible materials?


When the Nautical Research Guild was formed over seventy years ago, its members had very clear concepts of the appropriate materials to use for making models: wood for hulls and spars, turned or formed metal for equipment and fi ttings, fabric line or cloth for rigging and sails. T e more meticulous of them limited the range still further to a few hardwoods, cuprous metals, and linen fabric (at a pinch, cotton might be allowed).


T ese dedicated model makers drew on information they derived from surviving stellar examples of the art, especially the so-called Admiralty models, in making their selections. T ey were indeed correct in thinking that hardwoods were the optimum choices for precision in executing miniature carpentry, and that these, along with cuprous metals and linen fabrics, had a proven record of longevity. From the perspective of both the process and the long-term satisfaction of completion, these were eminently viable decisions.


T e advent of new materials not long aſt er the Guild’s foundation began a process of upsetting this


comfortable certainty that continues to this day. In particular, the new array of diff erent types of plastics presented special challenges. Plastics ranged from styrene to resins to fi berglass to nylon to many others, all of which required rather diff erent tools and techniques for processing, diff erent adhesives for bonding, and diff erent paints for fi nishing. Furthermore, the very novelty of these materials guaranteed uncertainty. Builders had to learn their strengths and weaknesses, and those with very valid concerns for their creations’ survival had to contemplate the uncertain longevity of these novel materials.


A consensus quickly appeared that these new materials and their novel adhesives were unsuitable for high class model construction. T eir structural strengths were


unknown and their durability


potentially dubious. Consequently, most guidelines for high class model construction categorically excluded the use of these new materials in favor of adherence to the traditional norms.


It may well be time for the model making community to consider re-appraising this conclusion. We now have fi ſt y to seventy years of experience with these materials and their adhesives. We have considerable information about both their advantages and their limitations. T ere are numerous examples of very well executed models built using these materials that are fi ſt y or more years old, so we have a better understanding of the parameters that enabled their survival. Skilled craſt smen are producing remarkable creations using these materials and we owe it to them to provide guidance for their models’ survival rather than dismissing them as temporary aberrations.


— Paul E. Fontenoy


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