loopheading

UNITED STATES HARBOR DEFENCES - USCG CABLE SHIP PEQUOT

MODELS, ARTWORK & ANIMATIONS

Caricature of the USCG Cable Ship Pequot by author and historian Gerald W. Butler

The General Samuel M. Mills by Svein-Erik Erikson

4.
 
5.

Svein-Erik Eriksen is a 49-year-old house builder from Sola, Norway, a small community near Stavanger City along the country's Southwest coast.

6. 7.

He has been making models as a hobby for more than 8 years and works in both plastic and wood, yet tells us that being a carpenter "Wood is my friend."

8. 9.

His model has taken almost 4 years to complete with work beginning in August of 2019.

10. 11.

The model is constructed to 1/48 scale and is about 40 inches in length. It is considerably larger than any of the other models of the Pequot we know of.

12.

Svein wrote us: "For a nice presentation of the Pequot, I decided when building the model, to take it back to the ship's 1909 beginnings as the mine planter General Samuel M. Mills that later became a Coast Guard cable ship."

13. 14.

"This project has been an adventure and a fun build to do. I am honored to present this model to all of the men who served on the Coast Guard Cutter Pequot."

16. 17. 18.

Svein's detail work included a tiny reproduction of the metal relief 1896 Quartermaster Corps Branch Insignia originally mounted on the bow of the Samuel M. Mills and all Army mine planters of the era.

19. 20. 21.

22. 23.

Sven has been sending us "in progress" photos along the way. We've been amazed at his fine attention to detail specifically following the original naval architect's design drawings and our ship photos.

24.

25.

26.

Just as a Loftsman would in a shipyard, Svein carefully fabricated and placed all the plates of the hull to scale, right down to the rivets.

28. 29.

When seeing the various steps in Svein’s construction methodology we truly can appreciate the fine craftmanship of his model builder's artistic skills.

30. 31.

32. 33.

34. 35.

36. 37.

38. 39. 40.

Just as the Samuel M. Mills was fitted out at the shipyard during its final phase of construction, Svein's final touches included highly detailed work on the rigging, davits and even a sea mine.

41. 42. 43.

44. 45.


"Captain" Bob Thommen's Model of the Cable Ship Pequot

"Captain Bob"
One of the first photos Bob sent showed his initial work on the hull

In 2015 scale model builder "Captain Bob" Thommen of Prescott, Arizona contacted Pequot researcher Chip Calamaio about construction details provided on our "Design & Construction of the General Samuel M. Mills 1908-09" page. Over the next several years Bob would periodically send a photo or two of his progress in building a "Pequot Version" of the Mills based upon the original 1908 construction drawings we obtained from National Archives and the numerous photos of Pequot as a cable layer located throughout this website.


"Many months would go by then every so often Bob would send another photo of how his model was coming along," Chip explains. "Then a lot of time went by and I didn't hear anything from Bob."

This "work in progress" photo shows the hull and main deck painted and the superstructure being roughed-in.

"In the summer of 2017 I got a short email from Al Petroff, Bob's brother-in-law, asking if I was the guy that had helped Bob with his model. I learned that Bob had passed away and that he wanted me to have his last ship model. But nobody in his family knew my name, or even the name of the ship. After considerable on-line detective work looking at cable ships the family eventually found our Pequot website and my contact info. I'm so glad they did!"

"On August 1st 2017 I went up to Prescott, Arizona and was presented the Pequot model by Yavapai Scale Modelers Club President Al Weiss (on the left) and on behalf of the Thommen family, Bob's brother-in-law Al Petroff (on the right). I was blown away by the attention to detail that Bob put into the model as well as his craftsmanship."

Bob got a lot of detail about the Pequot from the main aerial photo of the ship on our homepage.

Starboard view. Click image to enlarge.

Bob used the 1908 Construction Drawings extensively to create an accurate scale model.

On the port side we see the additional life rafts added during WWII with their provisions, and the dory hanging by block and tackle on the stern. The 20mm (guns) were not visible in the photos Bob worked off.

Up front we see the cable winch, anchor chains and the stairs, cable hold, the companionway down to the crew quarters below. Note the attention to detail on wheelhouse and rigging.

Port view. Click image to enlarge.

Over the years scale model builders have contacted us from Britain, Yugoslavia, and other cities in the U.S. but we have never seen the results of their efforts before.

The Pequot's construction drawings are also featured on several model building websites including one in Russia.

In addition to our construction page, model builders can go here to download free drawings: http://freeshipplans.com/free-model-ship-plans/passenger-ship-plans/uscg-pequot-general-samuel-mills-plans

The Digital Artwork of Edoardo Siano

Click image to enlarge.

Edoardo Siano is a 3D modeler and texture artist who has developed beautiful digital renderings of the Pequot based off of images and drawings on our website.

With a traditional art background Edoardo graduated from the Gnomon School in Los Angeles in 2014 and has studied cinema before getting involved with digital arts.

A Native of Torino, Italy Edoardo has studied in Italy, Australia and Los Angeles. He has a passion for cinema and the visual arts.

You can see other examples of his artwork and animation on his website:
http://www.edoardosiano3d.com



This dramatic render shows the Pequot at night. Click image to enlarge.
To view the animation go to:Pequot animation

Dick Prow Models 2021

Model Builder Dick Prow sent us photos of his highly detailed model of the Pequot in July 2021. This is the first model we have seen which includes the 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns and ammunition ready boxes on the aft upper deck. Dick worked exclusively off of the photos posted throughout this website and the 1909 construction drawings we provided in our Design and Construction Page. It is wonderful to see the fine job Dick did to bring the WWII Pequot back in miniature with such fine attention to accuracy!
Thanks Dick!

1. The Pequot model Dick created in her WWII battleship grey paint on a beautiful custom wooden stand.

2. Dick's fine attention to detail is evident in the intricacies of the large cable winch equipment on the forward deck and the two anchor chains.

3. This top-down view clearly shows the ship's rigging as well as the additional life preservers which were added during WWII.

4. Here we can see some crew members up on the port bridge and another one of Dick's ship models in progress in the background. 5. This close up stern view shows the two 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns and their ammunition ready boxes on the upper deck.

6. In this stern view of the model we can see Pequot's radio call sign NFRQ on the upper rear cabin and the original wooden decking which was laid down when the ship was originally built as a mine planter in 1909.

7. This close up shot of Dick working on the cable winch on the forward deck gives us a feeling for the scale and fine details of his model work.

 

Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge copyright. The authors would welcome any information from people who believe their photos have been used without due credit.

Some photos have been retouched to remove imperfections but otherwise they are true to the original.

FEEDBACK

If you have comments or queries specifically about the Pequot or her Sister Ships, please contact
Chip Calamaio chipaz@cox.net, Phoenix, Arizona, USA. (H) 602-279-4505.

Click here to go to the Pequot Main Page.

Click here to go to the Pequot Plans Page

Research and design: Chip Calamaio and Richard Walding