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[Canopus]

I visited Chatham a couple of weeks ago and found the staff very friendly and helpfull. In terms of the display photographs this is a little missleading as:

1) They are displayed in a dark room with small spotlights highlighting the models so to look at detail is hard.

2) As regards large warship models there are only two on display being a WW1 pre dreadnought (King Edward VII class but the name escapes me - may be Commonwealth) and Leviathan a Victorian cruiser which is astonishing in detail and about 12 feet long if not more!

3) Photography is not allowed in the display area.

4) There is a second viewing area (appointment only) and a large glass window through which can be seen a 15 ft model of a WW1 Japanese semi-dreadnought (and others)- but again the lighting is poor.

5) There are lots of other models as well but some are suspended from wires inside the same glass case and are too high to see anything other than the bottom of their hulls, which seems a bit pointless.

6) I commented about the poor lighting (its very atmospheric) and was advised it was a NMM issues and their display. - I think they agreed with me but it was beyond their control.

7) I think the ticket price is about £15 for Chatham where there are lots of other things to see but the real beauty is the ticket is annual so any subsequent visits are free.

Overall I think it a tremendous improvement at Chatham and really hope the other models will be displayed but I'm uncertain to what extent this will actually be done albeit I gather further exhibits are due in Feb 2011. Personally these models have increased my desire to visit by over 100% but in reality there is still a bigger quality exhibition in the science museum in London and the models are displayed in well lit areas and photography is permitted.

Still Chatham well worth a visit but I would hope for more. I'm sure there are some members in my age group (54) who recall the NMM in its full glory with rooms full of large scale models and would like to see this lot on display again but I fear there is an element of political corrctness with naval museums these days, anything which smacks of the empire is discouraged - those of you who have visited the NMM in Greenwich will understand when they see the entitre UK history of ship building displayed by ten models in a row. The only good model at NMM is a KGV WW2 class battleship otherwise just not worth going there.

Hope this assists, but I still think the developments at Chatham are very favourable.

Geoff

[pugwash]

Sounds Like a stark contrast to the Portugese National Maritme museum in Lisbon.  I was stuck in the city whilst a yacht
I was crewing had some damage repairs carried and took the opportunity to visit - It is stunning there is a model of every class
of ship that ever sailed in the Portugese Navy going back to caravelles and square riggers - most of the types of merchant ships
etc all in well lit galleries If you are ever on holiday WELL worth a visit (I just can't remember about any photography restrictions )
Geoff

[Colin Bishop]

Geoff,

Yes, the public display in the Smithery building at Chatham is really just a representative sample of the collections of the NMM and Imperial War Museum. The bigger areas at the back are intended for the models available for research purposes and I guess that the low lighting level , along with the climate control, is intended to protect them although, as you say, brighter light doesn't seem to have hurt the models in the Science Museum too much although some of them are noticeably cracking. There is more background information to this project in my article in the December issue of Model Boats which is now on sale and which might answer some of your questions. Basically Chatham Dockyard hosts these collections but don't manage them.

Access to the reserve model collections will not be properly up and running until next Spring and I'm hoping that we will have the opportunity to cover how it all works then.

You don't mention the excellent collection of models in the Dockyard's own museum further along the site. There is some very nice work on display there including a 'full set' of models of the Battle of the River Plate.

Colin

[Canopus]

Colin,

I agree with your comments and had overlooked mentioning the other models on display in Chatham's own museum. The River Plate models are good but not of the same calibre as builders models, nore are they intended to be as the scale is much smaller. It is interesting to note that there is an area about 20 feet sq (I exagerate a little) in the Chatham museum devoted to WW1! I guess they just don't have the models!

I really hope that Chatham are able to expand the NMM model displays as they are the best in the world but candidly what I want to see when I go to a museum is lots of models, and not just two or three, which is why the Science Museum scores so well albeit I agree there has been some deterioration on some models due to cracking, but if such models are hidden away and can't be readily viewed by the public - what's the point!

Also what happened to the 1/48 large pre-dreadnought model which used to be on display at Chatham just part the entrance, that seems to have dissapeared?

I'll keep an eye on Chatham as I think iots a most positive development and well over due, just much more of the same please!!

Geoff

[Colin Bishop]

I rather fear that the days of Museums reinstating their on display model collections in any major way have gone for good. I'm surprised that the Science Museum display is still there considering the amount of space it takes up and the changes made elsewhere in the museum. There was some talk of the Science Museum buying in to the Chatham project but for some reason it didn't work out. I will see if I can find out why.

The main focus of the Chatham project is to preserve the models and to make them available for research purposes rather than to put them on general public view, which is understandable. but it will be interesting to see how things develop especially as the intention is also to document the models more fully and place the information online.

I asked Martin to set this thread up separately as it had taken the original one off topic and I think that sharing information on what models can be seen where is very useful to many of us.

Colin

[nemesis]

Hello, We have the same trouble with the Newcastle museum ie models stuck up in the clouds & considering the maritime history of the area it is a very poor display. Also when we made the long trip to Liverpool museum
it was also, from the model boat side of things, rather disappointing. When I made enquiries about the lack of models I was told that "they do not put bums on seats" and they had to put on displays that would attract the general public. I had made an appointment to see a specific model because it was in the warehouse store, we were taken the few miles to the building and could not believe the amount of models in their cases piled on top of each other. The staff had to use forklifts to get to the one that I wanted to see, some of the cases were  12ft long, mahogany and built like the "proverbally" It is shame, I think there was enough to fill the museum on their own, but model boats do not equate to government grants, so there you have it.
                                                                 Nemesis

[gondolier88]

Barrow Dock Museum is free to enter and has a large collection of boatbuilders models- exquisite details on pre-1890 warships, around 9 or 10ft long, plus many others.

Greg

[Colin Bishop]

Southampton Maritime Museum has a nice collection of models associated with the port despite its small size. Their 'reserve collection' is piled up in a warehouse about half a mile away and contains a real mixture of good and bad stuff including some builder's models.

The RN Museum at Portsmouth use their large collection of models to illustrate changing themed displays so you do get to see a good variety. Last year they had a special exhibition of their reserve models which was well worth visiting and beautifully presented but it actually was not very well patronised by the public which was a shame.

The submarine museum at Gosport has a very good collection of models too and they are also very well displayed and presented.

Britannia RN College at Dartmouth has some wonderful models but it is rumoured that the College my fall victim to the defence review. If so I wonder where the models will end up - the RN Museum would seem most likely.

A bit further afield, the Victoria Maritime Museum on Vancouver Island has a super display of models on one floor entitled 'Model Mania' - now that is the right idea!

Colin

[Martin (Admin)]

Here a few of the pictures I took at the Science Museum, Maritime Section a few ago.... very much worth a visit!

http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/Gallery/Science_Museum/index.htm

[Colin Bishop]

Definitely Martin, I always like to pop in for a 'fix' whenever I'm up that way.

Colin

[Bowwave]

It's superb that Chatham Smithy 1 is up and running but we tend to concentrate on the larger collections when some of the best on offer is dispersed around the UK in smaller maritime museums.  I recently   visited Holyhead Maritime Museum, a small museum by any standards but it houses some gems of models   from life boats to warship and has a top notch maritime theme comparable if not better in some respects than that seen in much larger museums. Although as you would expect the museum concentrates on the local area, Anglesey and the Irish Sea but this is  an area  rich in maritime  history and this is reflected at the museum. If you are in the area pay a visit you will not be disappointed and there is also a excellent café within the museum with  magnificent views out to the mouth of the harbour and the Irish Sea.

Bowwave