ShipbuilderMN

British coasting ketch Annie Christian.

Hi Stuart, Thanks. Yes, I did an article on making seas, it is included in "Scratchbuilding Merchant Sailing Ships, A Dying Art! Details via my FB page. I have just announced "collection only" from now on, so that will severely restrict things. But at age 74, I guess it doesn't really matter all that much. I can still carry on building them, and when the space to store them has run out, I will just stop until some of them go. There are a few local collectors interested. In some ways, it comes as a relief, as I was always worried about them getting there safely, especially to the USA or Far East. I did a half-hearted build log on FB about the Gulf Stream build, but had a number of prospective buyers come up all the way through, trying to stake a claim to it, and that sort of thing makes me lose interest and I slow down. Collectors seldom pay any attention to my requests to refrain from trying to reserve models whilst they are being built, some even wanting to pay in full before they are even finished. So, I have decided to only display the completed models from now on. As I have said before, very few modellers have the slightest interest in building merchant ships, only collectors are keen on them. Bob

The rigging is totally destroyed! I would need to take it all off and start again. The courier told me it is "not too bad, just a few sails need re-positioning, and a bit of the rigging needs re-threading! " It is rigged with wire, and the vast majority of them are broken, or puilled out at the roots. I feel they are paving the way to giving me a few pounds compensation at the most. It will never be as good as it was to begin with because it will be more dificult to work on, now it is fixed in the cumbersome base and sea. At the moment, I am not doing anything to it until I hear what the insurance plans to pay out. Afraid that is the end of me ever sending them out by courier again, even in the UK. Couldn't face that again. It is now over two weeks since I reported the damage and they are still dragging their heels. They will be "collection only" from now on. Pity, because a lot went to the USA and the Far East. It would have been better for me if it had been either lost or squashed flat, and receiving the full amount it was insured for! It looks like my shipbuilding activiteies will be strictly limited from now on, but have been doing it for more than 60 years now, Interest in this type of model in the UK is pretty minimal, and storage space in a small house is limited, even for miniatures. Bob

Arrived back this morning - Bob

It is the 275th model I have completed since leaving the sea in October 1992. Most modellers I know take many months or even years to just build one model, and at the end of it would never dream of selling them. The value to me has been preserved in the hundreds of photographs I took of the building process. It is annoying to lose so much money, and I really doubt if the insurance will pay anything realistic. Therefore I take great comfort that I can use it as an excuse (and a very good excuse at that), not to send any more out via couriers. If anyone wants them, they will have to collect. Everyone seems rather stunned at the moment, as I seem to have been regarded as an immortal ship model building robot! which is what I felt like at times over the years. Nothing I can do about it anyway. If it had got there in one piece, it would have been gone from me anyway, and the money would just have been handed over to my wife, who uses it for housekeeping, so I never benefit finanically from it anyway. Any materials I purchase for modelmaking comes out of housekeeping, and we each get the same amount of spending money each month, so it is a self-financing hobby. I now have the freedom to indulge in my other passion - writing! Bob

Thanks Chris, It went via a courier, and was fully insured, but they are already indicating that it is unlikely I will get much back, hinting a few quid to pay for the repair! But it is not so simple to repair something as small and complex as this, especially as it is rigged in wire. Also, anything I do get will be taxable. As Rudyard Kipling said "If you can meet with triumph and disaster, and treat those two impostors just the same!" I am not terribly upset by it, but will be quite annoyed if they fail to pay out. They can't play the "insufficient packaging" card, as they have delivered 43 models for me, all over the world for the past nine years without damaging anything, and all that time, they have been happy to take my "extended cover" payments! I don't know if I will repair it until I see it! This is just a hobby with me, following 31 years at sea, and I am now 74! I would imagine it will be "collection only" from now on. I haven't taken private commissions for years, and only build what I feel like. I am planning on writing a book on the building of it. The proceeds from the model were going to pay for the printing of the book, with a considerable amount left over. But I refunded the buyer in full, including the delivery charges, a few days ago. So at the moment, the whole project is very much in the red! Strangely enough, in many ways, I feel like a millstone has been lifted from my back, as I have been under constant pressure to produce more, but now I have an excuse to cut down to "collection only" that will reduce the demand by a tremndous amount. I do get fed up of being regarded as a business, when I build them mainly for pleasure, and the continuous pressure to take on private commissions, or the never-ending "If you ever think of building.......!! - Freedom at last - Bob

This model was severely damaged on its way to Belgium two days ago - it looks like a write-off - The best one I have ever built! Bob

I use https://postimages.org/ Very simple to use, but a lot of folk don't like them for reason that escape me! Never had any problem with them. Bob

Thanks, I don't have much patience though! It took 84 hours to build, spread over 53 days. That included making the display case and carrying case. I like to see them taking shape after the first couple of hours work! What does surprise me is that other ship modellers often say they haven't the time to build anything like this, so they stick to kits, but when I ask how long it takes to build a kit, it is usually many months, or even years! Bob

25 years ago, I began building a plank-on-frame model of the American clipper Young America. At that time, I was struggling to make a living at it, and not having much success. Having just had a fairly disastrous result at the maritime auctions in London with another American clipper, I became disillusioned with it. I made a shallow box and filled it with sand. I stuck the hull in it, and put it outside where it has endured the wind, rain, snow and ice and occasional blistering sunshine for quarter of a century. This evening, I took this photograph from directly above it. It closely resembles photographs of real wrecks that have been lying on the sea bed for considerable lengths of time. It makes a change from usual photographs of models. I sometimes wonder how much it would have fetched if I had persevered with it, because shortly after that, the models began to rise in popularity. It is quite large (for me) having a hull length of fourteen inches. Bob

Thanks - Sold today, and will shortly be setting off for its European destination - Bob

Thanks, It is nothing more than twisted 24swg enamelled copper wire. I take twice the length required, and double it over. Place the doubled ends in a vice and the other ends in a hand drill, winding away until the twist is tight enough. It is glued on with contact adhesive, and covers the sea/wood edging nicely. Bob

Thanks, It is safely inside a display case now. Sadly, most model shipbuilders convince themselves they can't build anything like this on account of the rigging when, as I have said many times, that is the easiest part of it. I am the other way round now, I know I could never build a kit, too big, too expensive, and too many about. When I changed over from 8 feet to 1 inch to 32 feet to 1 inch years ago, I was surprised at how easy and convenient it was, and could never face taking on a large one these days - they take too long! Bob

The rigging is the easiset part, as it is wire, and there are no knots anywhere - it is just glued on in short lengths! Bob

Ostrich eggs can be found on Ebay, but if too expensive, a shiny plastic ball will work, but less choice of curves. Pat damp sail to egg or ball, place handkerchief over it and hold it tight at back to dry out with heat gun or other heat source. Bob