2023 Midwestern Model Ships & Boats Contest

The contest was held on 19-20 May at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc. I took six paper models for entry and one for display. I brought home six Gold Awards. The photos were taken by museum staff. These are the paper models I took to the contest. 

Click on any photo to zoom in.

Australian paddlesteamer Alexander Arbuthnot, 1:100 scale

Siluro a Lento Corsa Italian manned torpedo, 1:18 scale

Australian paddlesteamer Adelaide, 1:100 scale and New Bedford whaleboat, 1:30 scale

1:200-scale battleship Bismarck and 1:72-scale U-Boat Type VII-C

Contest models by other modelers:

•  photos by museum staff:  Photos - Google Drive

•  my photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/198476792@N04/albums

USS Cobia Gato-Class Fleet Submarine -- paper model - 1/50 scale

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” — Douglas Adams

     My "paper model" of the USS Cobia fleet submarine resulted from two factors:   too much time on my hands and too little adult supervision. The base is 5x7 inches, the periscope (rolled paper) is about 4 inches tall. The "water" is from an online texture library, and the wake is from a cotton ball. All told, it serves as a reminder to not take my hobbies (or myself) too seriously.

Australian Paddlesteamer "Adelaide" -- paper model 1/100 scale

Built in 1879 as a towboat on Australia's Murray River, the Paddlesteamer "Adelaide" today plies the Murray as tourist boat from Port Echuca, Victoria. She is the second oldest wooden-hulled paddlesteamer still operating anywhere in the world. While she mainly towed rafts of logs to a lumber mill, she did have some space for freight and a few passenger cabins.

Built in 1879 as a towboat on Australia's Murray River, the Paddlesteamer "Adelaide" today plies the Murray as tourist boat from Port Echuca, Victoria. She is the second oldest wooden-hulled paddlesteamer still operating anywhere in the world. While she mainly towed rafts of logs to a lumber mill, she did have some space for freight and a few passenger cabins.

The model is one of three Murray River paddlesteamers from World of Paper Ships, all in 1/100 scale. The kit comes printed on smooth card stock with excellent artwork.There are parts for two versions, a simplified model and a more detailed model. The latter includes detailed engine, pilothouse, and paddlewheels. The optional laser-cut set is a must if you want a truly detailed model.

The kit presents the boat as tourist boat. I wanted a working boat, so I omitted a few modern fittings and added some freight to the foredeck. I scratchbuilt the stand with "water" from an online texture library and texture papers from Clever Models.

At the Midwestern Model Ships & Boats Contest held 19-20 May 2023 at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, my Adelaide earned a Gold Award.

Siluro a Lenta Corsa -- Italian Manned Torpedo Paper Model - 1/18 Scale

 In 1935 two Italian naval engineers, Captains Teseo Tesei and Elios Toschi, proposed a manned submersible vehicle adapted from a standard naval torpedo. In the San Bartolomeo torpedo shops in La Spezi, they built and successfully tested two prototypes.

The Italian Navy called the submersible Siluro a Lenta Corsa (“slow-running torpedo”). Its poor maneuverability earned it the nickname Maiale (“pig”) among its crews. Each SLC carried one or two warheads and up to two hours of air for each crew member. It went into production in 1939. The Italian Navy built more than 50 SLCs before Italy signed its armistice with Allies in 1943.

Used only as coastal weapons, SLCs sank or damaged over 111,000 tons of merchant shipping and three British warships – battleships Valient and Queen Elizabeth and destroyer Jervis. They were often launched from submarines. And from a neutral Spanish port just two miles from the British naval base at Gibraltar, SLCs operated secretly out of an interned oil tanker, the Olterra, emerging from an underwater hatch -- a clandestine operation the British never discovered.

The model is a free download at www.papermodelers.com. I scaled it up from 1/25 to 1/18. The fit of the parts is very good and designer MATT77's artwork is excellent. His assembly diagrams and photos are helpful but require careful study, as several details that appear in the photos are not shown in the diagrams. I supplemented these with photographs and drawings from several online sources. I would call the level of difficulty 3/5. Building it took me about a week of evenings.

I added the control lines to the fins and some piping not included in the kit. I built the stand using cobblestone texture paper, and I scratch built the wood dolly from basswood and paper. The finished model is just over 13 inches long. The label on the base was modified from the kit.

At the Midwestern Model Ships & Boats Contest held May 19-20 at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, my Siluro a Lenta Corsa received a Gold Award. A lot of people commented on the outstanding "paint job." Hats off" to Matt77 for that. All I did was color the cut edges.paint job." Hats off to Matt77 for that. All I did was color the cut edges.