James Hastings comes from a long lineage of ship builders. Coming from a family with generations of ship engineers, James has been a lifelong miniature ship builder himself. Mr. Hastings has made multiple scratch-built scale model wooden ships, each complete with a wealth of incredible detail. The models are so impressive that the Joe Martin Foundation chose to honor Mr. Hastings with the 2019 Craftsman of the Year award.
This scratch-built scale model HMS Bellona is a 74-gun ship of the line. Admiral Nelson once served as the captain of this ship, and she was reportedly one of his favorites. The original ship was in service from 1758–1814, an unusually long time for one of these older wooden ships.
