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My Models and How I made them ...


Heller - La Niña of Christopher Columbus, 1:75(?) Scale

I recall a special line from my very first maritime book that I read as a child: "Only one ship survived all storms: the tiny Niña."

This became perfectly true for me personally. In fact, this little ship is the only model that survived all storms in my life without being dismasted.

I built her long ago, in 1983, and presented it to my great grand mother. After her passing away in 1988, I received the model back and kept it until today. I lost many models, but this one remained one of my favorites. She is very fragile, and I ought not move her around too much as her plastic sails are about to break apart after 35 years ...

In 2005 I added the "sea", made from cardboard and gypsum, then painted with oil colors. It was astonishingly easy. The finishing surface is "Water Effect", a transparent glue-like mass that dries glossy.