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PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.

The remarkable success of the first edition of this book has been marked by the receipt of an unusually large number of letters of appreciation particularly from those who have used the book as an introduction to the fascinating hobby of old-time ship modeling.

Royal Albert, built by Wm. Christie at age of 71 years, and his first attempt at ship modelling.

In this connection, the following—penned by Mr. William Christie of Edinburgh—is particularly interesting, while the accompanying photographic reproduction of his model is admirable proof of the care and patience of the builder—and of the completeness of the drawings and instructions con­tained in this book. Mr. Christie writes: "I trust you will excuse the liberty I take in forwarding you a photo (reproduced herewith) of a ship which I have made from your plans of the Royal Albert. I made the model between March and September of last year and I can assure you that it was a labour of love to me. Although an old retired marine engineer I have never tried my hand at ship modeling before. I am in my 71st year and I have taken as much pride in the model of Royal Albert as in anything I have ever undertaken in my life."

Ladies also are fascinated by the old-time ship model and enjoy building models of their own. To quote one example— penned by Miss Madge Bertram—a well-known Scottish musician and composer. After describing some of her ship models and their making, Miss Bertram writes: "My mind is always dreaming of ship models and their making, and I should very much like to exhibit a model ship there (Edinburgh Model Engineers Exhibition) some day, particularly so as one would need to be so careful in the making. The rigging is a stiff problem for the novice and such books as yours are a blessing to such as I. I have a fancy to start another ship model soon."

Dr. S. T. Millard, of Topeka, Kansas, U.S.A., in an apprecia­tive letter enclosed a number of photos of his models, one of which is reproduced here as being of special interest. It is a close-up detail of the decks of an old time American whaling boat the Alice Mandell, of New Bedford, Mass., U.S.A. The model, built to a scale of \ inch equals 1 foot, is full of interest, note particularly the grindstone and oil casks on deck, open hatch, "cutting in" tackle, fully equipped whale boats with line tub, freshwater keg, harpoon and steering oar.

Other readers have been good enough to contribute additional information on old time ship modeling—and as their remarks are dictated by a kindly feeling of helpfulness towards other ship modelers and express their own practical experiences—a few excerpts will nodoubt be useful to readers and possibly stimulate others to contribute to the genera] store of knowledge.

The  Alice Mandell,  an old time American whaler, built by S. T. Millard, M.D., of Topeka, Kansas, U.S.A.

The Union Flag of 1606.    The background is heraldic blue with a white St. Andrew's Cross and red St. George's Cross.

Mr. J. Lewis Fergusson, of Bearsden, during- correspond­ence on the subject of appropriate flags for the Royal Albert, writes: "I have found out that after theUnion of Scottish and English Crowns in 1606 and for about 100 years thereafter the Union flag had to be flown at main on all ships belonging to those countries, and that flag only."

A sketch of this flag is reproduced herewith; note the absence of white borders on the cross. The blue background should be " heraldic blue" and not the darker color so generally used nowadays.

Mr. Fergusson also points out that "Some Scottish owners also flew St. Andrew's cross on the foremast and pennant on mizen, Union flag on sprit and Red Ensign with Union flag, on flagpole."

Mr. S. H. Frances of Brighouse—whosemodel of the Ark Royal is here reproduced—contributes some helpful suggestions for causing the sails to "billow" in a realistic way. He writes: "I have purchased your book How to Build Old-Time Ship Models and am delighted with same; I found it very helpful when rigging the Ark Royal. I have also made the Carrack and it really makes a very attractive model." Mr. Frances then goes on to advocate the use of fine "millinery" wire for obtaining the billowing effect on sails; his method is to cut the wires to length, shape them correctly and then fasten them into hems turned down on all sail edges. The sail is first pinned down flat on to a board, the wires stuck in place with a trace of glue, and the hems then turned over and stuck down. When the glue has dried the wires can be curved as requisite to hold the sail in its proper shape. Incidentally, this method more or less accords with the " bolt" ropes sewn on the edges of actual sails, and is therefore a commend­able as well as a practical method.

In the revision of the book, no change of importance has been necessary, the Author feeling confident that this second edition will be as warmly received as the first, and that it fulfils the original purpose of explaining to the novice how to make worthwhile models of old time ships, equalling the productions of fellow readers whose work is here illustrated.

Such results justify the practicability and clarity of the instructions and should stimulate others to take up the satisfying, inexpensive and romantic hobby of modeling old-time ships.

The ylcA Royal built by S. H. Frances.

Mr. Christie's model shows that declining years need not deter anyone from making a successful model at a first attempt.

The adaptability of the book as an aid to the construction of old-time models in general and not necessarily those here detailed is exemplified by the models of Ark Royal and the Alice Mandell, while a glance at the fully detailed drawings and action photographs in the pages of this book depicting every detail of the construction of three different types of old time ship models—accompanied as they are by full size drawings—should remote any lingering doubts in the mind of anyone as to their ability to "do likewise" and build a thoroughly satisfactory and realistic ship model.

EDWARD W. HOBBS

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