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Gene Larson's image gallery
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Laura Virginia privateer 1812 1:64
The Ship:
In the early days of the American Republic our Government lacked finances to build an adequate Navy. On the Chesapeake Bay "Baltimore Clippers" were fitted out by private owners who were granted Letters of Marque by the Government. This gave them the legality of private war vessels acting for the United States. The principal ports for outfitting these ventures ran from Maine to the Virginia Capes. The ships were comparatively small, but what they lacked in size and armament was more than made up by smart handling, speed and accurate gunnery.
The Model:
This model is constructed on a solid wood hull. The guns are brass and the rigging is linen. The model is an adaptation from a kit, and has been extensively modified to accurately represent the Baltimore Clipper privateers of the period. The ship's boat is built up of individual planks in lap strake fashion. The deck is a single piece of 1/64" fine grained aircraft plywood with caulking drawn in india ink. The extreme drag of the keel and rake of the masts is characteristic of these vessels.
Case: 30" x 14" x 26" h
In the early days of the American Republic our Government lacked finances to build an adequate Navy. On the Chesapeake Bay "Baltimore Clippers" were fitted out by private owners who were granted Letters of Marque by the Government. This gave them the legality of private war vessels acting for the United States. The principal ports for outfitting these ventures ran from Maine to the Virginia Capes. The ships were comparatively small, but what they lacked in size and armament was more than made up by smart handling, speed and accurate gunnery.
The Model:
This model is constructed on a solid wood hull. The guns are brass and the rigging is linen. The model is an adaptation from a kit, and has been extensively modified to accurately represent the Baltimore Clipper privateers of the period. The ship's boat is built up of individual planks in lap strake fashion. The deck is a single piece of 1/64" fine grained aircraft plywood with caulking drawn in india ink. The extreme drag of the keel and rake of the masts is characteristic of these vessels.
Case: 30" x 14" x 26" h
Chris Craft runabout 1930-45 1-8
The Boat:
Chris Craft began production in 1884 with duck boats and power launches. They eventually became the largest producer of mahogany boats in the country. This boat was extremely popular in Northern Wisconsin for fishing and cruising.
The Model:
My family owned a similar Chris Craft boat on Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin in the late 1930s and 1940s. This inspired the construction of the model.
The model started as a kit from Dumas Models, but after inspection of the materials supplied the only items retained were the interior plywood bulkheads, which cannot be seen, and the chrome finished fittings that had to be cleaned up and refinished.
The hull is double planked. The first layer is 1/16” plywood, and the outer layer of the hull is 3/8” x 1/16” Philippine mahogany. All the mahogany on the model was cut from a 2” x 8” x 6” plank. The caulking is 1/16” x 1/16” white plastic strips. The finish is semi-gloss polyurethane varnish.
Hatches and seats are removable for access to the interior for the future installation of radio control equipment if so desired.
The case is black walnut harvested from North Carolina, and the model cradle is red oak.
Case: 46" x 15" x 15" h
Chris Craft began production in 1884 with duck boats and power launches. They eventually became the largest producer of mahogany boats in the country. This boat was extremely popular in Northern Wisconsin for fishing and cruising.
The Model:
My family owned a similar Chris Craft boat on Lake Tomahawk, Wisconsin in the late 1930s and 1940s. This inspired the construction of the model.
The model started as a kit from Dumas Models, but after inspection of the materials supplied the only items retained were the interior plywood bulkheads, which cannot be seen, and the chrome finished fittings that had to be cleaned up and refinished.
The hull is double planked. The first layer is 1/16” plywood, and the outer layer of the hull is 3/8” x 1/16” Philippine mahogany. All the mahogany on the model was cut from a 2” x 8” x 6” plank. The caulking is 1/16” x 1/16” white plastic strips. The finish is semi-gloss polyurethane varnish.
Hatches and seats are removable for access to the interior for the future installation of radio control equipment if so desired.
The case is black walnut harvested from North Carolina, and the model cradle is red oak.
Case: 46" x 15" x 15" h
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