Scale: 1:64. Although the first ships to be purpose-built as tankers appeared in the 1880s, it was not until after the First World War that the design was standardized with the machinery aft. The ‘Wellfield’ (1924) is typical of tankers built in the 1920s, when the average size was around 6000 tons. Originally 385 feet in length, she was built by the Tyne Iron Shipbuilding Company, Newcastle, for Hunting & Son Ltd. In February 1931 she ran aground at the entrance to the Bosphorus and was abandoned. The hull did not break up as expected, and was later salvaged after the removal of her cargo of 6000 tons of oil.

She was re-floated three months later and returned to Newcastle under her own power, but escorted by a tug. In need of repair after her submersion in salt water, her engines were modernized and an additional 25-foot section was added to the hull amidships. The ‘Wellfield’s’ career came to an end when she was torpedoed and sunk by a submarine in the north Atlantic in June 1941.

The model shows the tanker as built, made to an unusual scale for a shipbuilder’s model. It is a stunning piece of work, particularly in the very fine metalwork, much of it gold-plated, and the awning frames have been well made.