Expensive Model

I tried Fiddler's Green with this one some years ago. It is about 8 inches long on the waterline. No interest whatsover, so withdrew it after a few months. It was sold privavetly to someone in the US. I guess I am "the poor man's modeller" but have occasionally topped the £1,000 mark on similar miniatures But do not do much these days because of the difficulties and dangers of transporting them safely - Bob Main.JPG
 
Looked at these sites. How is it possible to get that amount of money for ships. How long are they building on such a ship like Harold. Lot of ships for sale. Must be like 1 ship every 2 months.
 
Model ship collectors, on the whole, tend to have a lot of money. Most model shipbuilders tend to build for pleasure, and take months or years to build models. I have always required the hobby to be self-financing, and have always sold the finished models I have completed 275 since I started counting them in October 1992! That is an average of just over one per month! In order to sell, you need to build ships that collectors want. They do not want kits, because there are too many all the same, or similar. Collectors can't get enough of unique models. Look at this, the Arethusa, I did not consider it anything out of the ordinary. It took 46 hours to build, and sold at auction in London for £1,020! But the demand has now got so great, that most of the pleasure has been taken out of it for me. I do not take private commissions, but am being put under continuous pressure to supply more. The more pressure, the less I feel like building! Bob Arethusa in case (Large).JPG
 
I see model ships in some of the corporations I go to. some places buy them for the Lobby or office decor. I would imagine the best sales are in places that have waterfront or waterfront history. It always amazes me what some ships can fetch and I was told a person could have a vessel graded and get even more for it, not sure if that's possible, but just what I've heard. I always give them away the wife loves that I build them but doesn't want them cluttering up the house
 
Years ago, I was in the habit of giving a few of them away, but after a fair number of them started re-appearing in shops and salerooms. often for quite high prices, I decided that must stop! When I sell them, I hand over all the money (less building expenses) to my wife, so we are both kept happy. A few of my friends have handed their models over to friends and family, only to have them returned later saying they hadn't enough room, or they were collecting dust.
 
you need to build ships that collectors want. They do not want kits, because there are too many all the same, or similar. Collectors can't get enough of unique models.

this is true kit models have no value to a collector or art value however they have value as décor in an office or home or in a public setting. Problem is no one will pay a reasonable price for your time.

a reproduction of a Hahn model will command high prices by collectors because Harold Hahn has works of art in museums, he won national awards and is a known artist. So a true "reproduction" of one of his ships will be worth a pretty penny. I might add not the Chinese knock off "kits" of his models scratch built models are the ones worth the money.
 
I saw on hans website that there was written by some boats mamoli kit.also by from 100000
 
Another obstacle to selling models is the competition from cheap models made in China and the Philippines. They may not be very accurate, but most people buying them for decorative display don’t know the difference, or don’t care, and their prices are a fraction of what a scratch built scale model would cost.
 
Thats is very true. A lot of people (even model builders) cannot see any difference in the quality of models that I built many years ago, and the ones I can produce now. It makes me wonder why I spent so many years trying to improve. But these days, I never have the slightest difficulty seling them to collectors. But I have two advantages, I build obscure or semi-obscure ships, and I make them so small that they do not overwhelm anyone in even small houses. Here are two examples of models I built of the same ship, the black and white one in 1973 and the coloured one in 1999. More than 50% of people, including model shipbuilders, cannot see any difference in quality, and it puzzles and conecrns me greatly. Rhodesia Star.JPGRhodesia Star 1973.jpg
 
And here are two four-masted barques. Again, 50% will say they can see no difference in quality - The Bidston Hill was built in 1972, and the Donna Francisca in 2010 - Bidston Hill Completed 1972 (Medium).jpgDonna Francisca.JPG
 
What exactly is a scratch build ? Sounds like you get blocks of wood and cut all pieces from it with just a blueprint.
thanks
 
Not really, the hull is built up from smaller pieces of wood, then plated and painted. All the parts are hand-made. If I want a ventilator (or anything else), I make it myself. No special tools are necessary, but band saws and drill presses can reduce the time. I know a lot of modellers say they can't afford many tools, but then they may spend 100s of $ on a kit! :oops:. I usually get the plans from books. Here is the Donna Francisca in the early stages of construction. 1 (Large).JPG7 (Large).JPG
 
Well, I could never do that at all - completely useless when it came to kits, so gave them up years ago! Redface Here is Donna Francisca being rigged (with wire - much easier than string - no knots - just short lengths, glued on) -
13 (Large).JPG
 
I have always required it to be self-financing, and have never seen anything wrong with that, although I know that I am in a minority. As I have very little patience, I build them very quickly. Since I started counting in October 1992, I have completed 276 models. Only living in a small bungalow, it would not have been practical to keep them all, they would not have fitted in, even though most are less than two feet long (including display case). In the early years, as I said, I gave a number of them away, but after seeing them re-appear in various shops and auction houses, I thought that I may as well have the money rather than those that I gifted the models to. Having given them away, the new owners had every right to sell them, but I couldn't help feeling rather annoyed with the situation, so discontinued it. As Jim said, once you sell for a profit, it becomes work rather than a hobby. Very true, and because of this, I stopped taking private commissions in the year 2000, and only built what I felt like from then on. Even this became difficult, because I am always being pressured by collectors to build specific models, or subjected to "If you ever feel like building..... I will buy it!" So nowadays, I have stopped disclosing what, if anything, I am building, and producing no build logs, even on my own website. On the other hand, fellow ship modellers will barely give them a second glance, and I stopped exhibiting them anywhere years ago. So you can say that I have reverted to building for my own pleasure - but once they are completed, they will invariably be sold. Also, as I said, I hand over all the money, less building expenses, to my wife, so although we benefit as a couple, I do not make anything personally, but bills have to be paid.
Bob
 
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