The SS Oriana that plied the Pacific Ocean in the 1960s, done as a paper model in 1/700th scale.
It was a free model, but the site is no longer there. Perhaps an online paper modelers website has it in their archives.
The Surveyor's House from On The Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder, done as a paper model with interior in 1/48th scale.
This was my own creation based on photos and stepping out the interior, and my first original paper pattern creation.
The model is now available at the Loftus Store.
Pa Ingall's store from The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder, done as a paper model with interior in 1/48th scale.
The first version had only one upper-story window, but more info led me to conclude it must have had two ever since it was built.
The model is available at the Loftus Store and The Ingalls Homestead.
The Ingall's claim shanty in DeSmet, Dakota Territory, after many additions exapanded into a small home. Even so, when winter came, they moved into town.
Created in 1/48th scale for The Ingalls Homestead, it reproduces their recontruction of the Ingalls prairie home, affectionately called "Ma's House."
The Lightcycle from the original Tron movie. I enlarged the pattern to fit an 11"x17" sheet.
The pattern is found HERE.
The original starship Enterprise. Made from paper products around the home - picnic plates, toilet roll cores, crumpled Kleenex, ping-pong balls,
toothpicks, candy foil, and sheets of white paper. You should see what I did with the Fireball XL-5 for my daughter!
Before Star Trek, there was Fireball XL5! Set 100 years in the future in the 2060s, it caught my imagination in a way that Supercar or Stingray could not.
The model was enlarged from a paper model pattern by Pierre Fontaine (now found on the Wayback Machine, or at Papermodelers.com.) I scaled it
to fit Lego men, made Fireball Junior detachable, and added opening hatches. Again, it was made for use as a play toy.
The workbee from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". Another model enlarged and modified with an interior for use as an action figure toy.
The model may be found HERE. Martin Sanger created the pattern.
The F-15A Eagle USAF air superiority fighter, done in paper in 1/72th scale using PaperCraft's 1/100 scale F-15J pattern found here.
The aircraft depicted is the prototype as painted by Keith Ferris in 1972 before its first flight, although the model itself is a later variant.
I enlarged and recolored the pattern. The pdf needs a password, but I forget how I got it (or what it is!).
The 'Race to the Moon' was HUGE for those who grew up in the 60s! It was as modern and as futuristic and as real as it could get. And, boy, did we want to beat the Russians there!
Project Mercury led to Project Gemini led to the final racehorse, Project Apollo. Here are the three capsules in 1/48 scale (1/4"=1') in comparison to my '84 VW Rabbit.
Patterns are at the Lower Hudson Valley shop and John's Paper Models.
The Boeing B-314 Clipper transoceanic flying boat, an Airfix kit in 1/144th scale.
I made this in high school and experimented with pinhole photography. The aluminum foil water I thought worked nicely.
The P-51D Mustang WWII air superiority fighter, done in plastic in 1/48th scale.
The aircraft depicted flew out of China and the Pacific. Click HERE for more details.
The Lockheed L-1049G Constellation (nickname "Super-G") mid-50s airliner, done in plastic using Monogram's 1/128th scale kit.
The model is built to "out-of-the-box" contest standard. Click HERE for construction details.
The Douglas DC-4 airliner in the livery of Pan American Airways, circa 1948, done by mofifying a Revell DC-7 model in 1/122th scale.
This was created as a present to my father-in-law, who flew on one to Hawaii in 1948.
USS McCook DD-496 as she appeared along the beaches on D-Day. The destroyers were the unsung artillery that day suppressing pillboxes
and anything else that pinned down the troops. A good friend's father was the officer directing the guns on board her that day. This one's for him!
1973 Corvette 4-Rotor (Wankel) / 1976 Aerovette (V-8). My goal was to build this 1/18th scale Lindberg kit relatively quickly. I corrected the nose and interior,
and added the behind-the-seat bulkhead. I then tried a special tri-coat-like paint job to match the original. Not perfect, but a good result.
The only battle between fleets of battleships. It occured May 31-June 1, 1916 in the North Sea off of Jutland.
A technical draw, the British still controlled the seas and were never challenged again by the Germans. Images created in Bryce4.
These images are from a two-projector slide/audio show I created to harness the energy of a 6th-grade-boys Sunday school class I volunteered to help with.
The models were from the AMT Space Ship Set and lit from within with wheat-grain bulbs that quickly burned out.
Photos were shot with a 35 mm Nikon SLR against a backlit backdrop.

The Models


   Click on an image to view a larger version

SS Oriana (1/700 scale)
 
Approaching Tahaiti.
Shore leave, anyone?
The Surveyor House (1/48 scale)
Walking around the house, southeast corner
South side showing original lean-to
Southwest corner
West side (back of house)
North side
The Ingalls of 1883 greet the Kurzs of 2003
The Main floor with figures for scale
A look-down view of main floor
The upper attic where the sisters slept
 
Pa's Store (1/48 scale)
I later added a 2nd upper window.
3/4 front view, with 2nd window
3/4 front view
3/4 rear view
The different assemblies, showing the interior
Comparison view - Pa's store & Gass Law bldg.
Comparison view - Surveyor House, Pa's store & Gass Law bldg.
 
 
Pa's Store - top to bottom
The attic without a divider
The back room where they huddled throughout the "Long Winter"
A view thru the window into that back kitchen at night
The front room with the afternoon sun shining in
Stereoview, parallel method
Stereoview, parallel method, as an isochromatic photo
Stereoview, parallel method, as a red & cyan (or blue) anaglyph
 
Ma's House (1/48 scale)
3/4 view of north side
3/4 view of west side
3/4 view of east side
3/4 view of south side & front entry
Aerial view of south side
Interior view from southwest
Interior view from northwest
 
 
Lightcycle (?? scale)
pattern enlarged ~130%
3/4 rear view
3/4 front view
Internal reinforcements. Note that I color the seams with a marker.
Internal reinforcements
 
 
Head-on view (accidental pun)
approx. 18" long (1/630?)
Rear view
Side view
 
The enlarged model
Front view
3/4 starboard view
3/4 port view
Side profile view
3/4 rear view
Tail view
 
Fireball Jr. slightly detached
Top down view into hatch
View of rear bulkhead
This shows the fuselage tabs that hold on the Fireball Jr.
 
Our hero prepares to enter the Workbee
3/4 front view
3/4 rear view
Top view
Side profile view
Rear view
Underside view
 
head-on view
Interior - pilot seat and bench
Note the dashboard on canopy
Our hero ready to go to work
 
 
F-15A (1/72 scale)
Model & base, side view
Top view
Starboard side view
Underside view
 
Stereoview - parallel method
Stereoview - cross-eyed method. The pose copies a painting by Keith Ferris of the prototype. The painting is on the left.
Stereoview - parallel method
 
Mercury, Geminii, and Apollo CM & SM, plus a VW Rabbit (1/48 scale)
The Apollo Command Module (CM) and the Service Module (SM) inside a stand I made to protect them when I took it to work.
Another view of the same.
 
 
Boeing B-314 (1/144 scale)
Built out-of-the-box
Aluminum foil water and combed over a carpet for texture
A mix of incadecent backlight and daylight sidelighting
Background replaced with a cloudscape
 
 
P-51D - 1/48 scale,
metal foiled, interior added
Project page
 
 
L-1049G (~1/128 scale) - The most beautiful prop airliner. It won 1st place in its category at the 1988 Airliners International Convention in Denver.
The scale is odd (to fit in the box), but the shapes are good.
Tamiya white acrylic paint &
SNJ metalizer
"Out-of-the-box" contest-rules detailing circa 1988.
3/4 front view - taxiing in
(Project page)
 
 
DC4 Pan Am Clipper
(1/122 scale), a gift for my father-in-law
Cut out some fuselage from a DC-6, and violà, The Queen of the Skies!
My father-in-law flew it . . .
. . . to Hawaii in 1948.
And there he is looking out his window.
 
USS McCook DD-496 (destroyer)
...a sister ship at Dog White sector near Vierville sur Mer
USS McCook June 6, 1944 (1/700 scale)
Port side view
Aerial view
View from astern
Another view from astern
 
The big error was the nose. It was straight (right) instead of canting in (left).
Top view, all sanded and masked for paint
The underside with added floorpan
Coated with primer
 
4-rotor Wankel engine and wheels
The 4-rotor Wankel in its bay
 
Freshly painted, but missing details. I polished the windows until the plastic began to crack
This shows some interior detail
Look-down view showing more interior detail
The famous profile - the nose line was nearly straight!
3/4 front view
3/4 rear view
Straight-on rear view
 
Nose to nose - '64 Corvette (diecast) & '73 4-Rotor Corvette (1/18 scale)
Side by side - the 4-Rotor is longer, wider, & lower
A good comparison - Look-down view
The 4-rotor Wankel beats the small-block V8 off the line! For real!
Just a decade apart - the 4-Rotor was originally shown in '73.
 
 
SMS Seydlitz
(battlecruiser)
...another view
SMS Moltke (battlecruiser)
...as it appeared against the sunset sky
 
 
The fishing boat that brought the two fleets together
First contact! ...as seen from a German destroyer
Beatty's battlecruisers in pursuit
Hipper's battlecruisers firing
 
Did this ad influence the eventual selection of William Shatner as Captain Kirk?!?!
This is a 2nd model from a gaming set (1/2500 scale)
The AMT model, newly painted (1/1600 scale)
The slide show used about 50 slides in its 7-minute show.
The backlit backdrop was a black spraypainted shower curtain.
This effect was a simple lens zoom during a timed exposure.
A classic introduction view
Another classic pose
The storyline involved going thru a black hole. It was a painted disk I rotated during exposure.
Again, it was rotated during a timed exposure.
Hooray! Successful passage!
Another angle. I combined the rotation effect with a zoom. That made odd artifacts on the Enterprise. Wires showed, too.
But wait! A MacMillon ship (named after the class teacher). In the show, it fires on the Enterprise.
The crew are captured, disguise themselves and make their escape!
They sneak aboard a shuttle (a Matchbox toy) back to their ship. The Enterprise is a reduced Xerox.
The valiant crew, back on board, engage warp drive to head to another adventure.