David Bailey
St. Albans, West Virginia
David writes: “At first glance this Aurora (1/80 scale) Viking ship is a mediocre job. It was first built in 1961 by a 9-year-old, then lost in a move from one home to another in 1968. Half the hull, some figures, and other small parts were discovered in 2003 during a renovation of the old home place. I used another Aurora Viking kit, bought on eBay, to rebuild the original, more or less as a way of keeping the old parts since I could not bear to throw them away. Other than cleaning, nothing was done to the old parts but to fit them to the new build. You could say this model took 50 years to finish, or, as I prefer, that I put new life into an old kit. I did the rebuild in the same room and same place as I built the original a half century ago.”