Magic in a Box! There's no better way to describe a model kit, and no better way to account for the immense popularity models and model making have had in our culture for centuries. Miniatures have fascinated kings, queens, and the common man throughout our history. Tutankhamun's tomb contained models - these are often given mystical, ceremonial, or religious properties - no one (that we know of) has put forth the theory that the legendary boy king simply loved his ship models!

Above is an image of the original "S" Kit model of s/s Brasil, still in the box, created by Revell in 1957. It is noted that the model was created using specifications provided by Moore-McCormack Lines, and the finished model, if built "out of the box," does indeed provide an accurate representation of one of the famous "Mooremack" twins as they appeared between 1958-1963. Special boxes with white covers were designed for the steamship company as well - undoubtedly, these models were sold on board. We have in our possession an example from s/s Argentina, complete with "Argentina" instead of "Brasil" decals, probably made especially for Moore-McCormack, and dated 1961.

Unfortunately, the "accuracy" of the original model when compared to the ships soon suffered by comparison. In 1963, an upper deck (including the famous observation lounge, known as "The Birdcage") was added to the sisters, in order to increase their passenger-carrying capacity, and the dummy funnel's observation platform was closed to the public, and its projecting "wings" were removed. For our purposes, only the hull, funnel, mast, exhaust uptakes, lifeboats, davits, capstans, and small sections from two decks will be saved for this project. The model will basically be "scratch built" from the Main Deck upwards, with no major pieces, including the hull, remaining unaltered.

Follow along now as we create not one, but two models of the ship - one as she appeared circa 1989, while sailing for the Bermuda Star Line as s/s Queen of Bermuda, and one as she appears today, as s/s Universe Explorer. Then join us on December 27, 2004, as we board this famous vessel for a New Year's voyage through the Panama Canal. You'll be able to experience this wonderful ship, and view the completed models in person!

My first chore was to dig through old boxes of parts, spare pieces, and diagrams, in order to locate what I hoped would be a detailed log of my work on s/s Bermuda Star (s/s Argentina) shown in the background above. I tend to save everything, and I was rewarded, to a degree, with a few pages of notes and the paper templates I had made for the decks that would need to be extended and replaced. I also gathered all my photos, books, postcards, etc. of the ship. My memories of her (from 1989) need to be refreshed!

For reference, the hulls are numbered "2" and "3" for s/s Queen of Bermuda and s/s Universe Explorer, respectively. Hull 2 came from a 1982 German re-issue of the kit, while Hull 3 came out of an original, 1957 box. Not that this matters to any great extent; but I'm a stickler for detail, which happens to be an excellent quality for a model-maker!

1) The instruction sheet: If building this model "as is," by all means, keep this! Otherwise, use it to check to see if all parts are there, and then use it to line your bird cage. In my professional opinion, none of us will live long enough to see these items acquire any significant value. (Watch me get an offer for my copies after this!)

2) The hull - I cut the two halves from the sprue trees, and checked the join area for any flashing that might interfere with a good join along the keel. It's always a good idea to "rough up" any join line by brushing it lightly with fine sandpaper. The hawse pipe opening at the peak of the bow is poorly cast on this model, but ignore this for now. I dry-fitted the two halve to see if they aligned properly - If any alignment pins on the two halves cause the hull pieces not to match exactly, cut the offending pins off, or use the point of a knife to enlarge the corresponding hole opposite! This applies to any two-piece item: life boats, exhaust uptakes, etc.. Every seam will be filled and sanded, but beginning with perfect joins keep this tedious work to a minimum! Hull halves were cemented and rubber bands were used to hold the two halves together - main deck was set in place (no cement) just to help hold the shape.

3) The forward 2/3 of the aft deck (Part #5) is trimmed off and disposed of. The cut is just aft of hatch opening. The hatch area (on the ship) is now covered by upper decks, and will not be seen. Plastic railings are trimmed from this piece, and the remaining, upper section of the deck, which has the protruding docking platforms p&s (port & starboard) is sanded smooth and small depressions are filled/puttied. Note that in images below surplus parts will be marked with an "X," and an arrow or arrows will point to the location of a cut.

4) Promenade Deck & Forecastle - The forward-most deck (forecastle) and Promenade Deck are cast as one piece in the kit. The aft 2/3 of this (Part 8) is trimmed off and will not be used. There is a section of a curved bulkhead aft of hatch #2 - the cut is made at this point, and I followed the arc of the bulkhead when making the cut. For reference, what you're left with is the floor of the casino (now library) and the forecastle. Almost all deck equipment, with the exception of the bits forward, is trimmed off. Hatches and holes are plugged. The hatch in the casino floor really doesn't need to be filled for these models, as it won't be seen. But if you happen to be modeling her as Veendam, Monarch Star, Bermuda Star, or Enchanted Isle, you will definitely need to do this! Anchor chain appears as part of the casting forward, but I'll be replacing this with real chain, so this is scraped or sanded away, as much as possible. At the aft end of the anchor chains there are two small "bumps" that are supposed to indicate where the chain goes back down through the deck and into the chain locker - remember, the aft end of the chain - these are trimmed/scraped/sanded off. Note that in the image below the two hatches have been plugged, but the narrow slit opening near center has yet to be filled.

5) I removed the funnel base from the upper deck - best to leave a slight "border" around the funnel base when cutting, and then sand it down. This is much preferable to trimming too closely and needing to putty or fill later. Keep the funnel!

1) Busy today, so not much done. I cemented the life boat halves together - be careful! As noted with the hull, the pins on these don't match up exactly, so test them before you cement! Either trim them off or enlarge the holes opposite.

2) I plugged the open gangway doors on the hull, p&s. The kit provides ladders (stairways) descending from these openings to the waterline. (You would climb these if you were boarding from a tender.) However, I think these look rather silly hanging suspended in mid-air! On s/s Bermuda Star, I did leave the gangways open, but I also modeled the interior of the ship that can be seen through the doors. Since Q/B-U/E are basically all-white, I'm of the opinion that a "black hole" in the hull would ruin the continuity. This is especially true of U/E, since she has a sheer line (a blue line painted along the hull from bow to stern) that would be broken if the doors were left open.

Continued.....