IT'S DONE!!

I finally finished it after four years of on-again off-again work! While careful and close examination would reveal many flaws that bring me great shame, I must say I am happy with the way it turned out.

The ship now rests on an old piece of mahogany I salvaged from a piano my sister threw away and is covered by a plexiglass case I built myself. It is lit from within by twelve LEDs and lit from above with nine LEDs.

If you're going to light a model of the Titanic, you must do justice to its most striking feature which is the Grand Staircase with its magnificent skylight. I took a top view picture to show this skylight lit.

Notice that I have the rudder set for full astern which was the first stage of trying to save the doomed ship. Second Officer Lightoller ordered full astern followed by a quick full to port to try to port-round the iceberg. Unfortunately for him and the 1200 who died on April 14, 1912, he also ordered engines full reverse which reduced the amount of water flowing past his rudder and thereby reducing the ship's ability to turn. The rudder was too small anyway, so there was probably nothing Lightoller could have done.

I have a replica of a third class dining plate that I plan to display beside her and I am shopping on Ebay for an authentic piece of coal taken from the Titanic debris field to display with it as well.

Now that I'm done with this mammoth project, I have two car models I have started. The first is a 1977 Mustang II. The Mustang II was a throwaway piece of crap, but I've never seen one in a kit before, so I couldn't resist buying it. The other is a 1970 Dodge Charger. I'm going to see how much work it will take to convert this kit into a 1970 Plymouth Satellite which was the first car I can ever remember riding in. My parents had a 1970 Plymouth Satellite with a 427 Hemi and a Ram-Air hood scoop. I've already purchased the metallic brown and clear coat to try to replicate my parents' car.

I am still trying to acquire a 1/350 scale model of the Lusitania (I have a soft spot for doomed ocean liners) but the kit is exceedingly popular right now and the manufacturer and online hobby dealers are sold out. I am also looking at doing a resin kit of the Edmund Fitzgerald. That kit is almost $300, so if I acquire that kit, it will take my entire 2009 hobby budget.