Club History
The modelling club was formed in 2008 by Bill Short of NOTL. It was originally known as the Maritime Modellers of Niagara(-On-The-Lake), and then as the Marine Modellers of Niagara(-On-The-Lake). Meetings were held at Bill's home. The original four members, Bill Short, Ray Peacock, John Hatch and Jim Towndrow, had a mutual interest in higher quality period/static ship modelling than had existed in other clubs in the region. The group expanded to a membership of about 18, with attendance at the monthly meetings of a nucleus of 10 - 12 members, with one or two from the USA.
Members participated in the 31st annual Niagara Woodcarvers show and competition in March 2010. Their first model boat show was held at the Upper Canada Lodge in NOTL in the summer of 2013. This was followed by one or two other shows in the Niagara area.
The club later reorganized with monthly meetings being held at other member's homes. This provided everyone the opportunity to witness other modellers workshops, their tools and equipment, from basic modelling knives and files to more complicated model lathes and table saws, and to demonstrate modelling techniques such as rope making in miniature, airbrushing, and soldering. Members could also see the host's models which were at a particular delicate stage of construction, too difficult to move, or those that were part of the house furnishings! Meetings later alternated between member's homes and the Seminar Room at the Lee Valley Tools store in Niagara Falls, ON. The majority of meetings had been held at Lee Valley Tools.
In December 2017 the club name was changed to Model Shipwrights of Niagara (MSON) in an effort to be more inclusive and less confusing as another Marine Modelling R/C club had opened in Pt. Colborne. While most members are located in the Niagara Region some have come from as far as Chatham and Oakville.
Monthly meetings have a set theme where individual members lead the conversation with demonstrations or presentations on a subject in which they have a degree of knowledge and expertise. Interest is not restricted to building in wood, although that was the material most commonly used when the club began. We encourage the use of metals and plastics, and building from kits as well as from scratch. All members are encouraged to participate actively in the club regardless of their level of proficiency, beginner through to expert, we all learn from the knowledge, talent, skill and experiences of others.
In May 2020 all in person meetings halted due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Occasional newsletters were published until we began meeting virtually via ZOOM in March of 2021. Shortly after that we began opening membership across the nation and presently have members from the USA, the Caribbean, the UK, and as far away as Türkiye. In September of 2022 the club began its first regular monthly newsletter entitled The Monthly Meeting LOG.
On the 1st of December 2022, with 83 members of which 41 were members of the NRG, the MSON was registered as a Nautical Research Guild Chartered Chapter and so joined ten other clubs from across the USA having the distinction. The NRG has members in more than 20 countries around the world. We are the first international club to be chartered.
Since September of 2023 the club has held hybrid monthly meetings with distant and home-bound members attending via ZOOM and local members attending in person, face to face. In 2024 we adopted a Club Charter and By-laws, and assembled a full volunteer executive committee. For the first time in our club history we will be collecting membership dues in September 2024 in order to meet unavoidable expenses.
(Aug 2024)