Hi Tony,
Thanks for replies. One of the most common comments is that I must have a lot of patience, but the truth is that I have hardly any! The DONNA FRANCISCA was started on the 14th February, 2010 and completed on the 1st April, 2010. That is a span of 47 days. Of those 47 days, I only worked on the model for 28 of them, and never more than about 4 hours a day (two in morning, two in afternoon). On 19 of those days, I did no work on it whatsoever! The total building time was 63 hours with an average of 2.25 hours per day! I enjoy building them, but it does not dominate me and I always found time to work on them even when I was at sea . The fact that I was at sea is what directed me towards miniatures, as large models were not viable.
The skill is developed over time. Eyesight is not really as important as a steady hand. I use reading glasses when working. As I don't have to tie any knots (the rigging is all straight pieces of wire), I use tweezers rather than my fingers.
Bob