Writing a historical paper for a non-existant model?

[seadude]

I'm stuck and I could use some advice.
I'll be going to a model ships and boats contest in 3 weeks time.
I plan to take a USS Louisiana BB-71 MONTANA class battleship model,
and I was planning to take my USS Wisconsin model which is here:
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=48217.0

The problem: This contest requires that participants write a one page construction paper and a one page historical paper for each model they enter in the contest.
The construction paper is about how the model was built.
The historical paper is about the actual history of the model subject being displayed.
Writing the construction and historical papers for my USS Louisiana is easy.
Writing the construction paper for the Wisconsin is somewhat easy. But writing the historical paper is not.
BUT........my USS Wisconsin doesn't exist. It's just fantasy from my imagination. How the hell do I write a historical paper for something that doesn't exist? 
The rules that explain the construction and historical papers are here:
https://www.wisconsinmaritime.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Rules-and-Conditions-of-Entry-Model-Contest.pdf
If I don't write a historical paper for my Wisconsin, then I get docked for points. The less points I earn, the greater the chance I slip into Second place, Third place........or no award at all.

[jcf]

My read of their requirements regarding history, and historical accuracy, makes we wonder if they'll
even accept an entirely fictional build.


On the off chance they do, perhaps something along the lines of the thumbnail histories on the USN's
Naval Heritage site:
https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/i/iowa-iii.html

Perhaps write from the standpoint of a web entry with a date sometime in the future:
Published: Wed Jul 22 08:36:00 EDT 2055

[PR19_Kit]

Writing a believable back story, which is what you're trying to do, is usually a matter of fitting the fictional bits into the real world events. So where in the real world say, only one battleship took part in a particular engagement, you could say the Wisconsin was there as well, and took some of the credit for demolishing the enemy ships.

Likewise when a particular squadron was in port, you could add the Wisconsin onto that unit and it would sial with it en route to a particular theatre etc.

However I tend to agree with Jon that there seems little scope for a Whiff model of any sort, but if you don't try............

You ought to gain  some points from the fact that IS the USS Wisconsin of course.

Best of luck with it whatever happens.

[The Rat]

The assassination of......... led to a destabilising of the entire region of....... and the resulting situation caused a shifting of alliegences. The effect on the shipping lanes around......, and a task force was sent from......

[zenrat]

I find plagiarising a suitable Wikipedia page helpfull when writing a backstory.

[Gondor]

There is a rule when writing fiction. Always have an element of truth in what you write. I would agree with Kit is simply adding your ship into real events rather than trying to invent something new. More chance on getting past a bunch of stick in the mud Luddite's!

Gondor

[Old Wombat]

Having read their Rules & Conditions of Entry, I'm with Jon on this, I think it highly unlikely that you have a hope in Hell of getting your Wisconsin through the door, let alone the competition.

This is a Wisconsin Maritime Museum run competition in association with the Nautical Research Guild. These people are going to be looking for proven historical accuracy, not well/better researched What If...

The line "historical account on the actual ship or type of vessel the model represents" is, I think, very telling.

I'd put money on the organisers, judges & (other) contestants being the conservative extremists of the Rivet Counter world.


If you're really set on entering your Wisconsin; I'd select your date of departure from the Real World time-line carefully & put in a short period of real history prior to that time as the start of your research; then I'd look at that divergence date & come up with a viable contemporary real-time reason for the USN to upgrade a WW2 battleship to this standard; after which you can detail the modifications & a short "history" to the present/de-commissioning of your Wisconsin.

Don't go into extensive detail (they ask for 5 to 15 dot points for preference) & keep the tone serious.


Good luck! I have a nasty feeling you're going to need a lot of it!

[Rheged]

I agree with the advice to start firmly embedded in fact and then gently veer off into the realms of whiffery.  Sprinkling the odd academic-looking footnote about within the piece and  keeping  it apparently serious can help too.

Best of luck with it, and always remember  that WE think your whiffery is a good idea.



  The idea of writing the paper as if  from  some time in the future sounds  promising.....I might even ask JCF if I might steal the idea! 


Added later after a period of consideration and discussion with Rheged minor;-

"USS Wisconsin began life as a "blue sky thinking" design exercise   to highlight possible amendments and improvements to current vessels.  Initially, there was no specific plan to construct  this warship............"     and then explain that the model was built by one of the various shipyards as a publicity item.  That is, stick it up the assessors noses that this is a flight of fancy.

Alternatively, the idea of a spoof Wikipaedia  page has its attractions.

[seadude]

Having read their Rules & Conditions of Entry, I'm with Jon on this, I think it highly unlikely that you have a hope in Hell of getting your Wisconsin through the door, let alone the competition.

This is a Wisconsin Maritime Museum run competition in association with the Nautical Research Guild. These people are going to be looking for proven historical accuracy, not well/better researched What If...

The line "historical account on the actual ship or type of vessel the model represents" is, I think, very telling.

I'd put money on the organisers, judges & (other) contestants being the conservative extremists of the Rivet Counter world.

My read of their requirements regarding history, and historical accuracy, makes we wonder if they'll
even accept an entirely fictional build.

*sigh* You're both probably right.   I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of taking my Wisconsin model to the contest and entering it for competition. For "Display Only" purposes.......maybe? I don't think a construction or historical papers is needed for display only model subjects.
My only alternative would be to take my USS Iowa model:
https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=50054.0
........instead as that has "some" basis in truth and historical accuracy, etc.
A third alternative would be to take my USS Santa Cruz IOWA battleship/carrier hybrid as that was an actual design that was proposed but never built. Only problem is that the model was 50% built by another modeler before it was given to me as a gift and then I finished it. Models entered for competition must be the sole work of the person who built it. Not 2 or more people. So the Santa Cruz would be disqualified from entering.
*sigh* Guess I'll just have to go with my USS Louisiana and my USS Iowa then.

[zenrat]

Do you know anyone there you can discuss it with?

I have found that having the ear of someone involved in the organisation of a show can be very usefull when planning to enter a whiff in a class others might not want it in.

[sandiego89]

*sigh* You're both probably right.   I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of taking my Wisconsin model to the contest and entering it for competition. For "Display Only" purposes.......maybe? I don't think a construction or historical papers is needed for display only model subjects.

If your reason for entering the contest is for prizes and to "win", then your might be out of luck if accuracy is important to their show, but if you are building for fun, for yourself, and for others to enjoy, then the "display only option" might be a great route- or perhaps there might be some type of honorable mention or crowd favorite.  Write up a backstory, clearly stating it is fictional, and "what might have been".  Don't force trying to make it seem real. Most people can appreciate a good model, and say "hey that's neat" and comment on the modifications, but perhaps it should not be judged.  Be upfront and say I would like to display this, I realize it is purely fictional, and i would think most would be fine it it were displayed as such.     

[seadude]

I've decided to ditch my Wisconsin model and not try to take it to the contest.
Maybe next year I'll enter it, but just for "Display" purposes only and not for competition.
So instead, I'll take my USS Iowa model that I mentioned previously in my reply post # 8 further above.
At least that might have a shot.
I've written a historical paper for my USS Iowa model quoted below. Tell me what you think if it's good enough or not.

USS Iowa Historical Notes

What would the USS Iowa have looked like had it returned to service after the tragic April 1989 Turret # 2 explosion? Could the turret have been saved and rebuilt with replacement parts? Or would it have been removed and some other weapon system put in it's place? Would the rest of the ship have been further modernized as well?

During the early 1980's, the IOWA class battleships were modernized with what was then known as a Phase 1 design. This was intended to be a quick conversion at a limited cost to get the ships active and operational as soon as possible. This design phase upgraded the battleships with Tomahawk cruise missile armored box launchers, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Phalanx CIWS gun systems, new radar systems, and many more changes both inside and outside the ships. This is the design most people are familiar with when they see pictures of the battleships from the 1980's or when visiting the battleships as they now sit as museum attractions at various ports in the U.S..

After Phase 1, the US Navy went further and planned for Phase 2 which included at least 10 (or more?) design studies. These studies were initiated to determine a conversion configuration that was to commence when one of these ships began her first regularly scheduled overhaul. Various Phase 2 designs were more "extreme" as some of them were to propose the following: a) Removing Turret # 3 and placing a large flight deck at the rear of the ship (plus hangar space) for AV-8A/B Harriers or other helicopters and aircraft, b) Removal of all three main gun turrets, c) Adding massive amounts of VLS (Vertical Launch System) missile cells. Sometimes as much as 300-400+ missiles, d) Addition of the AEGIS anti-air radar system, e) Adding 2 (or more) NATO Sea Sparrow anti-aircraft missile launchers, f) Replace some or all 5"/38 secondary gun turrets with 5"/54 Mk.45 guns.

But after much deliberations and design changes, all Phase 2 studies were cancelled due to extremely high costs as well as opposition from figures in the military (particuarly the U.S. Marine Corps) and from Congress. But the proposals didn't stop there. Around 1990, more modest and "conservative" updates were planned. All four ships were to have received the following changes as funding became available. These were to include, but not limited to: a) A smaller VLS missile cell size of 96-128, b) Adding two or more NATO Sea Sparrow missile launchers, c) Addition of Mk.23 TAS (Target Acquisition System) radar, d) Replace 5"/38 guns with 5"/54 guns, e) Extended range EX-148 13" inch saboted rounds for the 16" guns.
The updates would depend on the ship, cost, and time of availability. But sadly, none of these updates were added as all four IOWA class battleships were decommissioned around the time of the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War.

[NARSES2]

Looks fine to me 

[Old Wombat]

Looks fine to me 

+1

But maybe add a line about where your Iowa fits in?

[Dizzyfugu]

Writing a believable back story, which is what you're trying to do, is usually a matter of fitting the fictional bits into the real world events.

Agree with Kit - I frequently do this stunt, research history and descriptions of vehicles and events and fill in gaps or exploit real-world leads. Writing a background for almost all of my models helps me szuring the craative/construction phase, and it's also a reference for the scenic pictures I frequently produce. To me, wikipedia is a very good starting point for real-world facts, sometimes I use references from other vehicles, esp. in the case of fictional ships. I usually search for a real ship that fits into my model's timeframe and area of operations, and then start digging deeper for assignments, battles or others hisp of that class. Whatever looks plausible and useful drops into the background. Takes some legwork, but this way you can "shoehorn" somethingt fictional in a real-world framework. However, not everyone is a good writer, I seem to have a certain affinity for the matter and some experience as an author, even though rather for marketing/advertising stuff.