Amazing ...
Hey guys. I don't do ships myself, but I just had to pass this along.
I was a show today and there was a modeler there who had 7 ships. USS Ranger, USS Arleigh Burke, and I can't remember the others (a guided missile frigate, a cruise line ship, and a pleasure craft is all I remember). I don't have a feel for the scale on ships, but they were all in the 4' long range. What was amazing about them is that 1) They were all scratch built (and very highly detailed I might add) and 2) They were built from cardboard, styrofoam egg cartons, wire, thread, etc.
Needless to say I was really impressed. Most of them had some working lights on them. The Ranger had a full complement of birds on the deck (and one landing on the 5 wire). He said the construction time ranged from 3 1/2 to 7 months which I thought was pretty good considering the amount of detail he went to.