Desiring to reach out and inspire new generations of ship model crafters, the Guild conducted an in-house challenge for Members in the Spring of 2016: the goal was to design a simple ship model kit that youngsters would be able to easily make and enjoy.
The idea was derived from a similar program run by the Maritime Museum of San Diego's education department; Guild Master Jon Sanford challenged the Guild's Members to each take one of the MMSD's 3" x 3/4" x 3/4" hulls and from that make a simple ship of any design. After a few months the results started coming in: a sailboat, an aircraft carrier, an ocean liner and many more remarkable mini-ships were eventually displayed at the May 2016 Guild meeting.
Member John Wickman decided to take his submission of his simplified STAR OF INDIA a step further and created an illustrated instruction card and sail plan along with the pre-painted hull and spars and packaged them into a kit. John’s creative idea was deemed an outstanding way to inspire young modelers.
John led an effort to create 200 Mini-Star kits for distribution to youngsters, and the kits made their debut at the Guild's booth at the 2016 San Diego County Fair; they have been pleasing both young and old at the Guild's booth each succeeding year.
Nowadays over 500 Mini-Star kits are produced as give-aways by the Guild preparatory to the annual County Fair. The original submissions for the Mini-Star Project are currently on display onboard the BERKELEY in the Museum Model Shop.
Read more about the Mini-Star Project in the Guild's June 2016 , May 2017, and April 2019 Newsletters.
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Member submissions for the original challenge
prototype of John Wickman's STAR OF INDIA
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