1:144 Scale Scratchbuild S.S. Catalina by John Navarro

This is my scratchbuilt model of the S.S. Catalina as she appeared in 1924, done in 1/144 scale. The Catalina was built here in Los Angeles in 1924 by William Wriggly, the chewing gum magnet to ferry tourists to Avalon on Santa Catalina Island, which he owned. She was retired in 1975 after transporting over 2 million people in war and peace. She was sold to a number of owners and ended up in Ensenanda, Mexico in the 1990's where she took on water and sits half submerged in the harbor to this day. The S.S. Catalina Preservation Association has been trying to raise the historic ship but to no avail.

I first started my model in Augest of 2001 by drawing up a set of plans and have been working off and on since then. As my model evolves I will send more pictures.

The keel and ribs are tagboard with heavy construction paper and plastic styrene for the hull's skin. Everything is held together with nature's greatest bonding agent, hot glue.

Here you see the semi-completed hull with prop shafts just installed. Now comes the task of building the superstructure.