Daniels Antiques

What is a   “SHIP BUILDERS MODEL”??

A Ship Builders Model is a unique item, it is not just a model of a ship. In 99% of cases a ship builders model is the only living record of the vessel.

When a full size ship was commissioned, in the majority of cases a builders model was presented by the ship yard to the new vessels owners. This in some cases was displayed in the companies offices and sometimes in the days of Trans Atlantic Crossings they would be put in the head quarters of the company for instance in New York or Southampton.

In some rare cases for instance with the Cunard Company the liner Queen Elizabeth two important models were produced by Bassett-Lowke one went to the model room of her builder John Brown and Co. in Glasgow and the larger model went to the company’s New York offices, this larger model was 21 feet long and in her display case weighed 31/2 tons.

The first examples of such highly detailed builders models were probably those built for the British Admiralty in the 18th century, these were models made to show new designs in mostly war ships, such models today are extremely rare and they can command 6 - 7 figure prices when they do come on the market.

Many Ship Builders Models were actually built in the ship yards model shop where highly trained workers used the original blue prints to create these unique models, such examples of these model making shops could be found at Harland and Wolff in Belfast, builders of the Titanic and the Vickers Shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness. The English model engineering firm of

Bassett-Lowke were major builders of Ship Builders Models, many of which are mentioned and illustrated in The Bassett-Lowke Story by Roland Fuller.

Many of these models can still be seen in such locations as The Science Museum in London, the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C., and The Transport Museum of Glasgow, Scotland.

These models are all that is left of that original ship, when you look at the Ship Builders Model you are looking at the actual ship.

These fine models are true investment items.

1 They are unique.

2 They cannot be copied, to make such a fine model today would cost more than the original and you still only have a copy.

3 The models are not just an item, they are also an historical record of mans journey both in times of war and peace.

4 You have an investment you can enjoy looking at every day.

We only sell models made up until 1950, the materials used include wood, bronze, brass, gold and silver plated metals. No expense was spared, a model of an ocean liner similar to our model of the Asama Maru built in 1930 would have cost 3,000 British pounds, at that time a good motor car would cost 100 British pounds.