He said: 'The ship I saw fascinated me so much that I searched all the public libraries I had access to for books on the subject. 'I eventually found 'Plank on Frame Models' by Harold Underhill ...

What seemed novel to teaching ship-handling in the 1960s, is now mainstream, with the International Maritime Organization recommending time in manned models as a standard part of a pilot’s training.

In fact, he's devoted to and obsessed with it. You can see that as soon as you enter his National Museum of Ship Models and Sea History in Sadorus, 15 miles south of Champaign-Urbana. An architect ...