I completed this model of the SS Californian in 1996, and sent it to the Christie's auction house in London, where it sold in the maritime saile for £300! I then forgot all about it, but it turned up again a few weeks ago in the catalogue of Charles Miller Ltd (Nautical auction house, London). At the sale yesterday, it sold for £558! It took exactly 38 hours to build, over a period of 14 days (timed on a stopwatch). and that included making the display case and carrying case! 32 feet to 1 inch (1:384). Scratchbuilt. Collectors love models of merchant ships, but ship model builders are not too keen on them, usually preferring warships! I never really considered the Californian model to be anything special, but it was nice to see that its value has increased considerably over the past 22 years. Pretty poor photograph, but that was before the days of the digital camera!

Bob