FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I heard that Shep is no longer modeling.  Is this true?

Shep gradually tapered off his production in the 1990s,  When asked why, he said "It stopped being fun, so I stopped doing it."

What is Shep doing now?

For years he has collected militaria, mostly Napoleonic and British 19th Century.  He has sold off much of his collection, but still enjoys buying and trading historical relics.

Was Shep ever employed at Monogram?

No, Shep always worked under contract.

Is it true that Shep had only a week to build the Monogram dioramas?

Because of production scheduling for the kits, in most cases the dioramas had to be finished in a week.  In a few instances production delays extended the deadline to two weeks, which gave  Shep additional time to build more elaborate scenes. 

Are any of Shep's dioramas on display where the public can see them?

Visitors to Shep's house are surprised to discover that he has no examples of his own work.  Most of his pieces are in private collections, but some that can be seen are The Gundeck of HMS Victory, which is in the Forbes Collection at the headquarters of Forbes magazine in New York City, Farewell to the Bonhomme Richard in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and the dioramas at the Museum of the Civil War Soldier in Pamplin Park Virginia,

Are there any historical errors in Shep's models?

Although Shep researched his subjects as thoroughly as he could when he built the dioramas, a lot of new material has been published in the years since. 
For example, the prevailing wisdom at the time held that the protective metal plates covering the bolt heads on the inside of the turret of the Monitor were not installed until after the battle of Hampton Roads,  When the turret was raised from the ocean floor a few years ago, dents in the plates matching damage to the outside of the turret confirmed that the plates were already in place when the ship left New York.

Where can I buy an example of Shep's work?

Pieces of Shep's work occasionally appear on the private market, being sold by one collector to another.  One of the Monogram dioramas actually turned up on eBay a couple of years ago.  Otherwise, unless you know some of the collectors personally you may never hear about pieces becoming available.

If I think I have an original Shep Paine model, how can I authenticate it?

There is a complete list in the new book (well, almost complete -- a few more have turned up since the book was published).  But be careful -- a number of Shep's ideas were copied by other modelers, so even if it is listed you will need to study the photographs carefully to be sure what you have is the real thing.

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