Kontiki 2007: Raft Model

Following up on a few posts about model pioneering, here is my troop's model raft from 2007's Kontiki event (and the reason for my earlier 1:15 downloadable scale rule).

Our raft crew leader (and his family) put a lot of effort into building this model. The structure is accurately scaled, with all lashings tied properly (not the quick way), poles colour-coded the same as their full-sizecounterparts and barrel colour carefully matched. There are also many 'props', such as fire extinguishers, cooler boxes, lifejackets, anchors, running lights and a painstakingly tied cargo net (folded up towards the back of the photograph above). Aside from looking good, the model serves as a tool to show the rest of the troop how the tasks are to be completed eg. by showing them how barrels are secured, how decking is tied down or where to place safety equipment.
Finally, a side-by-side comparison of the model and the full-size raft (raft photo by Hooligans):


(In case you were wondering, the theme for Kontiki this year was 007, hence the Bond girl sitting on the Aston Martin)