The iconic model kit store, first launched in 1789 to make model boats for the Admiralty, traded at its famous location in the Argyll Arcade, and, latterly, beneath the “Hielanman’s Umbrella” at Glasgow Central Station, but shut its doors for the final time in the late 1970s.
A victim of changing tastes and retail trends, its traditional offering of miniature scale ships, planes and trains was overtaken by the popularity of video games and electronic toys.
Its legacy lived on through memories and anecdotes, passed down through families, and as a treasured installation at the city’s Riverside Museum in Kelvinhaugh, until Christian Pomeroy, a product design engineer with a lifelong passion for model making, recognised its potential.
Driven by nostalgia and a desire to revive a piece of Glasgow’s history, Pomeroy acquired the rights to the Clyde Model Dockyard name, embarking on an ambitious mission to re-establish the brand as a manufacturer of high quality model kits.
For now, the company, in its new incarnation, is selling a range of Scottish-themed models through its online store, as well as through the Scottish Design Exchange outlet in Glasgow’s Buchanan Galleries.
Pomeroy hopes to one day revive the business as a bricks and mortar, city-centre store, fully restoring the Clyde Model Dockyard as a proud fixture of its original home in the Argyll Arcade.
“Anyone who knows about the history of Glasgow will be familiar with the Clyde Model Dockyard,” he said. “It sat, pride of place, in one of the city’s most prestigious locations, and was loved and fondly recalled by generations of schoolchildren.”
Anecdotes of the old store tell of it being literally queued out the door on Saturday mornings, as youngsters from all over the city came to buy the latest models and to chat with one other, and with the experienced staff.
Pomeroy added: “For a professional designer and model enthusiast, there is no greater challenge than seeing the name and institution of the Clyde Model Dockyard restored to its rightful place.”
Among the first products to be designed by Pomeroy are scale, plywood models of the Finnieston Crane – featuring a working gearbox, allowing builders to operate the crane’s hook and carriage – and a typical west coast Clyde Puffer boat.
He has already started work on designs for models of the Clyde Auditorium – the “Armadillo”, the “three bridges” on the River Forth, and the Falkirk Wheel.
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His ambition extends beyond Scotland, with ideas to utilise experience in 3D scanning and photogrammetry to create accurate models of characterful ships and boats from around the British Isles and beyond, drawing upon his own extensive research.
The Scottish Design Exchange, a non-profit social enterprise with branches in Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as an online store, provides a high street presence to hundreds of independent Scottish artists and craftspeople.
CEO Lynzi Leroy said: “The Clyde Model Dockyard is just the sort of business we were created to support and nurture. It has only been with us for a few months, but already it is one of our most popular producers.
“Everyone knows the name and the history of the shop, and so it has created quite a stir among Glaswegians who are delighted that it is being revived through our outlet.”
Pomeroy, who grew up in Lamlash, on the Isle of Arran, studied product design engineering at Glasgow School of Art and the University of Glasgow, before working for Artitec in the Netherlands, one of the world’s most prestigious manufacturers of scale models.
He returned to Scotland earlier this year, after researching the history of the Clyde Model Dockyard and learning that, while the name had been revived in 2001, it had remained as a dormant company since then. After agreeing to buy the rights from the owner, his ambition started to take shape.
He said: “I have been fascinated by model making and design since I was a child. There are photographs of me as a five-year-old dismantling things on the carpet. My interest only grew from there.”
“After studying product design, I recalled being impressed by a childhood visit to a museum in the Netherlands that showcased some exquisitely detailed maritime models, made by Artitec.”
“I applied for a job with the company and spent the next five years improving my craft and refining my design aesthetic.”
“I learned a great deal, but I always wanted to return to Scotland, and the idea of reviving the Clyde Model Dockyard name started to take shape.”
