I had the privilege of visiting Alan at his home on several occasions, meeting his wife and dogs. Imagine my surprise that he lived a mere 10 minutes from my home on Long Island. I was living in Valley Stream at the time and he lived in bordering village of Lynbrook. We would also chat on the phone occasionally, the last time a little over a year ago before I moved further east on Long Island. He did not disclose what his illness nor did I pry, but he was stoic about realizing that it would ultimately be his fate. My copies of his RN Camouflage Warship Perspective Series volumes were all signed by him when I visited him.
His beautiful ocean liner models that are part of the Der Scutt collection were on display at an ocean liner exhibition at South Street Seaport in downtown NYC. It was blocks from my office and being a member of the museum and I went many times during my lunch hour to admire and study them.
I will miss him. His contributions to naval history and ship modeling will be his legacy.
Felix Bustelo
...after a long illness.
He made a major contribution to our field, and many of those who continue to contribute to our field stand on his shoulders.
I remember as a kid staring wide-eyed at the various Ensign series publications on display at Sky Books in New York City (long since out of business), with their glorious color centerfolds showing the amazing camouflage schemes worn by various Royal Navy ships during WW2. And I recall reading his build series on the USS McCalla (DD-488) that was run by Model Ship Builder in the early 1980s. I was thrilled and inspired.
Little was I to know that I would get to know Alan several decades later, and to be fortunate enough to call him a friend.
In addition to being a prolific author on maritime topics, Alan was a professional ship modeler, building many models over the years for private collectors and museums. One of his biggest customers was Der Scutt, who designed Trump Towers and many other Manhattan skyscrapers.
I will miss him, and our field will miss his contributions.
May he rest in peace - and may his memory be a blessing.
Mike E.
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