Well, walking past a local charity shop today, I glance in the window and what do I spot?
A compleet wooden model kit of the Cutty Sark, with all the bits and pieces (rigging, brass, etc ) included....
Price? £30... .
I could not resist, and am now looking at a large number of ziplockbags and lenghts of wood..



. It's not as if I don't have enough to do already . But sometimes you see a model and it just grabs you..
Lenght 4 foot, height 2 foot,... don't know where it will go, but I'm getting stuck in anyway. I think I'll devide my time between plastic and wood by doing the wood at home, and the plastic during my nightshift in the office .

But the question I have is, are there any other members working on wooden ships and/or rigging at the moment? I don't want to start a campaign, but it might be an idea to keep each other updated on a regular, informal basis, help out with questions and to keep the wind in the sails ( pardon my intentional pun ).

I'm lucky in that the previous owner has already 'finished' the hull, so that's where I'll pick up from.

Cheers
Henk

Hiya Henk,

I've been "busy" with a wooden sailing ship (Cap'n Kidd's vessel) on and off for the past 2 years or so... :-) :-) Still only got the bulkheads on the keel, and added the deck... :-) :-)

I think the biggest problem I have is the English instructions are sort of the very very strip down version of the Italian instructions... and Italian is.. . well... Italian to me... :-) :-) :-)

Who knows.... knowing that a fellow Armorama'rer is also building a wooden tall ship (in the same boat so to speak, pun intended... )may just inspire me to dust the thing off and pick up where I felt off...

Rudi

Hi Rudi,

Yes, the instructions are a vitaly important part of wood building, as you are basicly building exactly as the original was build. No preformed hull... . What make is your's? Mine is from Billing, and the building instructions are very good, accompanied by several (large!!) detail drawings for the rigging, sails, deck fittings etc.. They even include a copy of the original lay out plans!!
If you have the bulkheads and keel together, you should mount them upside down on a plank, to start adding the hull planks. If you soak the planks in water, they will form into the correct shape. Don't attempt the compound curves around stem and stern without SOAKING the planks.. :-) . It looks messy, but it works. It also works with steam, but be very careful .
I finished one years ago ( but that was only a single mast inland 'Barge') and the feeling of accomplishment makes it worth all the long work.

I'll see if I can get a decent quality pic of the rigging plans to show how insane I probably am....Wooohahahaha..

Cheers
Henk

Hi Henk

I used to sell the Danish Billings boats! They really are fantastic... you've got yourself a real gem there!

I've got the Mantua "Black Falcon"

http://www.mantuamodel.com/mantuamodel1/navimantuagroup/navi_mantua.htm



The planking is actually what caused the pause in the building... I've heard you can also steam the planks to get the necessary suppleness in the wood... sounds like it takes too long tho... when you mean "soak" does that mean submerge the plank in warm/cold (?) water? Or does it mean wipe the plank with a soaked cloth until the plank is supple?

Ahoy

For shapping the planks: really really soak in water (cold) so that the wood soften a bit and allow itself to be shaped without breacking. Also this is a time consuming task, since wood change volume... so after aplying, you'll need to let it dry and get back to the original volume... if not you could get space between the planks.

Also very important is the rigging and the sail. I have seen good woodwork ruined by bad rigging.

My advice would be: keep your calm and do it at a steady slow rythm - no rush needed it's the Sail Era of Ships

And Henk, you've got a good bargain there

Skipper

It means submerging indeed, Rudi. The trick is to submerge a few planks while you fix one to the spars, submerging new ones as you go along..

That's a nice looking ship you have there, but 'only' 12 sails ? The Cutty Sark has 25.... Aaaaargh. But luckily my wife has agreed to do the sails for me.

Cheers
Henk

Henk,

You've just got a good excuse to visit the real Cutty Sark in Greenwich

Skipper

May I just add that your crazy! :-) Thats about the hardest looking model to build that Ive ever seen. I dont build ships and airplanes. But that is crazy! I hope to see the results for this thing. I cant wait.

Harrison, I agree with you, I must be crazy .
This will be a long time in the making, but I intend to do a least a small bit every day...

This is from the box, the finished ship



and this is a bit of detail of the rigging... I am crazy..



ahoy Skipper, the previous owner actualy took a lot of foto's of details on the real one, and they are included in the kit.

Cheers
Henk

It's amazing that people can actually get rigging to look like that. Good luck with the ship!

Thanks Dave.

Ok here we go.
This is what was already done, most of the hull, but not the top bit and the deck was not added at the start, although the sequence would let you do so.



Close up of the decking.



You can see the printed decking as it comes in the box, but is has been partialy covered with Mahoghany wood strips, to add realism... I think I would have choosen the printed deck with a good stain and scibbing, but there you go.. I will have to work with what I have, so I'll have to finish the deck..

A copy of the original plan of the ship.



This is what you actually use when you build one of these ships....


Detail of the plans,



I'll show the rigging plans later, if you are still around

:-) :-)

Cheers
Henk

Thanks, Henk... yeah I decided to start small, that way if I didn't enjoy the wood thing I hadn't wasted too much dosh... I'm also trying to convince the missus to do the sails for me... but after seeing some of her needlework the last few days, I'm starting to think it might be better if I do it myself LOL :-) :-) :-)

Hey Henk, that is one crazy looking Panzerwerfer, where do the rockets go on that one.

I will have to agree with Harrison on this, thats definitley the hardest looking model to build.
Good luck guys, i'm sure they will look fantastic finished.
All that rigging would drive me nuts.

Henk:

While in London, 1972-ish, I picked up the Billings kit of the Cutty Sark, took abunch of pictures of the real one, and bought the plan set. I started it, built the hull, re-planked the deck, etc and then it went into storage, but I carried it around with me & it is still considered part of my stash. I highly recommend the plan set sold onboard Cutty Sark ....

Wooden ship guys are breed apart. I suscribe to one magazine & lurk a couple newsgroups because I love the Age of Fighting Sail. We have "rivet counters" in plastics, they have "tree nail counters" ....

At some point, I'l probably weary of plastics and cross over the the Dark Side ....

John

It's nice to see that there are a few people interessted in this. No updates for today, just got back from work.. I'll be of to the shop tommorow, to buy some tools that I''ll need, and as I have a night off tommorow ( tonight?? I get confussed sometimes ) I'll try to get some work done.
Rudi, I hope your other half ain't looking over your shoulder.. Even if the sails don't come out right, you can 'decide ' to build a naked ship ( i.e. no sails, just the rigging. That really shows off all the hard work and skill that has gone into the rigging). But it still gives you something to do together... think of the brownie points.. :-) .

Hi Kerry, believe it or not, this Merchant Ship packs a punch. A whopping 2 pounder on the rear cabin... .
Don't worry, I'll still be working on the Panzerwerfer, but this really re-started something the moment I saw it in the shop window. Cutting pieces from a sprue is good, but the smell of freshly cut wood... It's better than ...

John, the kit came with a set of photo's taken at the original in her drydock. It looks like they where taken in the mid Eighties, which makes this kit about 20 years old... I think it's sad that the person who started the kit didn't finish it, as it looks like he definitly didn;'t lack the skill. The hull has been done very well. I don't know why it ended up in the charity shop, but i'll do my best to finish it and do the work that was already done justice. I have the Billing set of plans to work with, which should get me there. As you probably know, but for those who have a look in who don't, ship building doesn't come with 'part b38 goes with part a47' type of instructions....

Hi Andy, keep having a look, and whatch her grow...

Cheers
Henk

Good luck with that build Henk. I started 'Cutty Sark' from a magazine build (fortnightly parts!) a couple of years ago and gave up. I did finish HMS Bounty to 1/96 scale though and there is a great feeling of satisfaction as the thing grows on the workbench. Wood has a completely different 'feel' to working in plastic, and you have to learn to model all over again when making these things.



Bad pic, but this one actually has a cutaway hull with cabins etc inside! Like yours it's plank on frame build. On the Bounty even the cutter on the deck is a miniature plank on frame kit itself.

wow Dave, is there anything you can't do? I thought your plastic kit's were good, but now you come out with this.. I like that cut away idea, any photo's of the interior?
Yes, working with wood does have a different feel to it. Never mind a bit of flash, with a kit like this each part needs to be cut with a saw and sanded... but than, as you know, there is something very calming about sitting there sanding and shaping wood. Well it does for me anyway :-)

I have been sanding some of the rails today, and fitted the main deck into place. Next will be the cabins ( I think )

To give you an idea of the size, this is a 1:35 Bren Carrier on the deck..



Cheers
Henk

Sorry mate, that's the only pic I have, the model is covered in dust (you wait and see how much of the stuff that rigging collects) and on a shelf up in the bedroom.

Over the years I've tried every form of modelling I can find, even dolls house stuff when my daughter was younger. I was a trainee for a toolmaker when I first left school and would love my own workshop so that I could work wood & metal.

The cutaway on HMS Bounty ws part of the kit, so I can't claim credit for that !

The main thing with this kind of modelling is that you can't rush it - every spar & mast on the bounty was sanded to a taper from dowelling - about a week per spar.

Henk, I'm glad you was able to get a great deal on that ship, to be able to get you into that line of modeling, I never done it myself, but to what all I read, it can be pretty trying from time to time.

Always remember to be patient with them, the one thing that was a constant in the readings, was patients, and what I seen, they look like they can be a lot of fun, all them parts is what really made me excited about them, but the price, was something I couldn't afford at the time.

Now things has changed some, so maybe I might get a little one down the line to try it out myself.
I wish you luck with yours
Kerry

Yes, patience is the secret. You can't rush this, especialy because you have to work a lot out yourself.. . You realy need to study the drawings, as they are the only guide as to what goes where, and why. Kerry, I can really recommend building a wooden ship, or indeed any wooden model, but take care when you pick one. Don't overstretch yourself as these are involved projects.. The smaller sloops etc, with a single mast and one or two sail are ideal starters. That's what I started with when I was a kit, and my parents still have one in their home..

I have found one massive error, not difficult to correct, which is why I wonder why Billing Boats made the error in the first place. The forward upper deck in the kit is straight edged, as shown on the kit plans



This deck should however been cut back, as shown on the original plan copy, and on photo's of the ship itself.
Like this



This won't be difficult to correct, but it will expose the windlass, which is not included. So unless I can find a passable windlass, I'll have to scratch one... oh joy..

Still, this shows why you need the plans and as much reference as you can get. Tamiya 'shake and bake' it ain't..

I have some pic's of the rigging plans in my gallery, I hope that they give you some idea of the scale of the job.

Well, back to the saw and sandpaper..

Cheers
Henk

I knew this last tool kit I bought, it had the main things I needed now for model building, but it also had a bunch of stuff to use for ship building later, like spoke shavers, and I forget the other 2 small wood working tools, that came with it cause I got it put away right now.

The one thing good it is wood, so you should be able to scratch one pretty well, how is your carving techniques, I don't know what a windlass looks like, is it like round poles, or does it have like lathe work done to it, or is it like regular planks, or beams, or a combination of all mentioned?

Your right about not starting out to big, but you also don't want to start to simple, I pretty much know my skills, and know to stick with a smaller one, but not a beginner, and be done in a few minutes, now I would try something like you got if I found it like you did, other wise, I'll go with a couple notches up from the bottom, something that will give some challenge, but not over whelm me.

I like a lot of work, but I don't want to spend years on one project, they will be able to tell me a good choice to choose from, when I'm ready.

Kerry

Been a while, but I've started on this one again. Working on it at work, as I haven't got the room anymore to do it at home.

I have started to put the cabins together, and the main rail is in place. The main rail is where most of the guy ropes are tied to the belaying pins, which are stuck in holes in the main rail. 64 holes on each side, plus 20 each side for the mast rigging... luckily balsa wood can be pierced easily with a nail, so that didn't take to long.



The cabins have only been put in place for test fitting, as they won't be glued until all the painting has been completed. In the picture you can see one of the hull planks in the progress of being forced into place, after having been soaked in water. The top ones are not so bad, as they don't really contain the compound curves of the lower hull.

This photo shows exactly why wooden kits need frequent measuring, checking of drawings, re-measuring, double-checking and dry testing, dry testing and again dry testing...



The cabin has been cut as it was pre printed on the wood. It doesen't fit with the outline on the deck, which is a frequent occurance. No problem, apart from the fact that the previous owner, who did a good job with the hull, has allready started 'replanking' the deck, following the pre-printed outlines... I'll have to make the margin planks around the cabin a bit wider to compensate I think.

More pic's in my gallery, and another update soon.

Cheers
Henk

Hi Henk!

Good to see you are "attacking" the Cutty Sark!
Wood ship modeling is another championship in the ModelWorld
From waht I can see from your pictures, you're doing a good job, and I might say, at a steady pace - you're doing it the proper way: as you said, check, double check and re-check is the way of making it a beautifull vessel!!

Keep us posted and looking forward for the rigging time

Skipper

Henk -total admiration -Ship models are almost the creme de la creme of modelling where al skills come into play- I think only building working Brass locomotives from scratch and Live steam locos are similar- I love the progress - had not seen you start this beast but will now follow it with great enjoyment- Father used to build working model boats so have always enjoyed this
Ian