by B. VanHeel

The 'Camel' class of freighter has been plying the trade lanes of Sol system for around 150 years. A dedicated In-System cargo carrier, these ships are rarely seen in the outer reaches of the solar system. However, this particular ship, the One Hump, has not been inside the orbit of Mars for the last eighty years. Her current master, Elias Zachary, is descended from the first master, Freeman Zachary, who decided that the 'over regulation' of the inner system was not for him or his family.

Departing the Mars Republic spaceport in Syrtis Major, the One Hump traveled first to the asteroid belt, where her captain and crew mined an asteroid for materials known to be needed by the outer system settlements. They then proceeded to market these minerals to the settlements in outer reaches - in complete contravention to the U.N mandate that stipulated that only government approved vessels had the legal right to trade in the outer system. Since that time, the Zachary family has kept a brisk business going in both directions.

The One Hump is the oldest remaining model of the “Camel” class freighter, bearing the serial number of 0017.

The ship itself is from a drawing that I had done many years ago. After pulling it out and dusting it off for revision, I came across the Other Guys contest, and decided that the time was right. I reworked the drawings into a three-view plan, and went at it. It's a 'Plate on Frame' construction, with the inner skeleton providing a good solid frame on which to build. There are NO kit-derived parts on this model, everything being made from 'whole cloth' methods in styrene plastic and brass tubing. The panel lines were scribed on using the good ol' metal straight edge and a scribing tool- the best ten bucks I think I've ever spent- and the “Drive Grids” are scale wire mesh wrapped around styrene formers. Originally, the starboard cargo bay was to be built open, , but I ran out of time.Y'know how the job thing interferes with serious building, after all…