ShipbuilderMN Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 The sea-worn four-masted barque Lawhill. 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darby Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 My word! How on earth did you train a spider to do that rigging! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 17, 2015 Share Posted April 17, 2015 Brilliant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 smashing model and nicely presented diorama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Dear Sir, My compliments with this magnificent model. Regards, Orion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepboy Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 I'd swear those Parker pens are getting smaller. fanrastic work, very envious :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShipbuilderMN Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 Thanks. It is a great pity that miniature models of merchant ships are so unpopular with ship model builders. A very common comment is “I could never do that!” Sadly, it is true the moment that thoughts like that enter your head. The few who have decided to try it have discovered to their amazement that it is a lot easier than they think. This type of ship modelling is really only for those who haven’t the money, space, time or patience to go along the path of kits. Models like this will never be as magnificent or impressive as a well-assembled top-range kit, but what they lose in looks, they gain in rarity value! Bob 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Models like this will never be as magnificent or impressive as a well-assembled top-range kit, but what they lose in looks, they gain in rarity value! Totally disagree with the first part of that statement Bob, and totally agree with the second ! Scratch-built models are the high end of modelling skills as they require so much more than just assembling and a half decent paint job. Being a scratch-builder myself I know just what goes into the work required, the research, data and time invested and that feeling of satisfaction when completed. Your ships are masterpieces each having a bit of soul invested which is mostly absent from commercially built kits. I'm just getting back into maritime subjects myself, (I've been asked by Airfix Model World magazine to provide some highly detailed 1/700th battleship subjects) and now appreciate the amount of work needed. Presentation is superb too, though I agree that for some reason merchant shipping isn't as popular as it should be.......thank goodness for chaps like you to redress that. Cheers, Melchie... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShipbuilderMN Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 I was thinking more of the very expensive kits such as Victory etc. Seeing the finished results, I know I could never equal that sort of thing because I simply do not have the patience to take anything like that on! But, good as they are, serious collectors are not really interested as there are too many of them. I have always found the obscure and semi obscure ships are most sought after. I often hear it said that merchant ships don't have the romance of warships, but feel that is completely untrue, as most of the time, they are deeply into drills and exercises etc. The adventures to be had in merchant vessels were many and varied, from the hardships of life in colliers to the intrigues and dramas that went on aboard the old passenger liners that were still running until the 1970s before they were phased out by aircraft and cruise ships that appear to me as self-propelled accommodation barges! I am very pleased that kit manufacturers keep clear of merchant ship models (Apart from Cutty Sark & Titanic) as it maintains the "rarity" value of them when they do appear in model form. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Excellent model! A microcosm of the last half-century of sail. I think I have an 'Anatomy of the Ship' book on this ship somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShipbuilderMN Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 Yes, I used the Anatomy of a Ship book to build the Lawhill model. It has a full set of detailed plans in it. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killingholme Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 (edited) I was thinking more of the very expensive kits such as Victory etc. Seeing the finished results, I know I could never equal that sort of thing because I simply do not have the patience to take anything like that on! But, good as they are, serious collectors are not really interested as there are too many of them. I have always found the obscure and semi obscure ships are most sought after. I often hear it said that merchant ships don't have the romance of warships, but feel that is completely untrue, as most of the time, they are deeply into drills and exercises etc. The adventures to be had in merchant vessels were many and varied, from the hardships of life in colliers to the intrigues and dramas that went on aboard the old passenger liners that were still running until the 1970s before they were phased out by aircraft and cruise ships that appear to me as self-propelled accommodation barges! I am very pleased that kit manufacturers keep clear of merchant ship models (Apart from Cutty Sark & Titanic) as it maintains the "rarity" value of them when they do appear in model form. Bob I remember our family saving a fortune to take QE2 back from America rather than flying only to have the whole 'luxury' experience rather shattered by an aged steward who told us that we might as well as flown as the ship was nothing special compared to Mauretania... I had a go at making a half-hull of Archibald Russel a few years ago- trying to achieve a period patina on it as a decoration for the 'den'. I rather lost momentum when it came to the deck furniture, but here it is. Edited July 15, 2015 by Killingholme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Very tasty indeed, I love the rigging and the weather beaten hull side. Congratulations and thanks for sharing your pics. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShipbuilderMN Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 Archibald Russell looks great, pity you didn't complete it. Deck furniture not too difficult, as she was one of the last British square-riggers ever built. deckhouses were just steel boxes! The old steward on Queen Elizabeth 2 had probably spent many years in Mauretania, so would be biassed. I would probably have said that neither were anything special when compared to the Windsor Castle, in which I spent about five years in total! It just depends on what you have sailed on! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadman Disciple Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Thats some first class rigging. Nice one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShipbuilderMN Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 Thanks, There is nothing difficult about the rigging! Look at the attached image. It shows two pieces of wire ready to rig. The lower one is a straight piece, lying on the table. The top piece is curved, and is held in tweezers ready to be fitted to the model. It is fitted by dipping each end in contact adhesive and simply placing in position on the model. Nothing will ever convince me that this is remotely difficult, but I so often hear “I could never do that!” In the image, I have shown thicker wire than I normally use, but that is just so it photographs well. The wire I use is tinned copper. I roughen it by running fine wet & dry paper down it a few times. I blacken it by placing one end in a small table vice, and holding it out whilst I run a black broad-tipped permanent marker pen down each side (top & bottom of wire). I straighten it by taking a length in two small pairs of pliers and stretching it slightly. This makes it perfectly straight. If you wish to add a curve, pick it up by one end and run finger and thumb down it lightly. This will make it curve. The greater the pressure, the greater the curve. I know several people here have tried it, and found it easy enough. However, I stress that if you decide you can’t manage it, you really don’t stand a chance! Further examples on my website that may be viewed via my profile here on Britmodller. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadman Disciple Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 What kind of wire & what thinkness do you use? Does it come straight or from a roll? When I did the Revell 1/400 Titanic, it was a roll of black thread. I wrapped around the mast a few times & glued. For the smokestacks, I threaded through the holes on the stacks and glued & taped underneath the deck floor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShipbuilderMN Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 For small models I use black enamelled 0.1mm wire, purchased in 50 gram reels from http://www.wires.co.uk They sell all thicknesses and types. I don't drill holes, or tie knots, it is all just stuck on with contact adhesive. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul178 Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Bob I am sure that there are many modelers on this forum even those with sausage fingers that could build a passable ship. The problem as i see it is that the scale and intricate work that you produce makes us all run back to the safety of what we all know. Yes I understand you will say that it easier than it looks and maybe it is. For my part I am going to try a sailing ship freehand with no plans of an actual ship on a larger scale and if it works out I will post some pics of it. Don't hold your breath though I have some things to get out of the way first so I should start at the end of August. You will know when I start as I will probably try and pester your life out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShipbuilderMN Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 I began miniatures suddenly, many years ago. I was at sea at the time, and found it very inconvenient to build large models at 8 feet to 1 inch. I could never rig them at sea, so I always ended up carrying the hulls home, unwrapped. After getting the book "Shipbuilding in Miniature," by Donald McNarry, I found it much easier from the start. With miniatures, I don't need to bother about rivets, door handles, ringbolts etc. that are necessary on large models. Neither do I have any fiddling knots to mess about with. I can understand people not wanting to build miniatures of merchant ships because most ship modellers do not like them, preferring warships. But I have never understood the few who say they would love to make them, but can't because they are too small! I would not recommend trying to build a miniature sailing ship without plans. Plans are no real problem, as there are lots of them to be found in books that can be borrowed from libraries, such as the Merchant Sailing Ship series by David R MacGregor, or the books of Harold A Underhill (Deepwater Sail, for instance). Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seadog Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 I'll second that plans are vital, IMHO as they make, if nothing else, getting a fair hull shape together much easier. I'm now under weigh on my first real miniature, - if 1/12th to the foot (1/144th scale) counts as such. I enjoy getting into some detail and, not being Don McNarry or Lloyd McCaffery I need to work a tad bigger, at least for now.... There are many beautiful smaller sailing merchant ships - Clipper and fruit Schooners were very racy, as were a lot of schooner yachts of the nineteenth century. By the way, Bob, love the Lawson, even if it is a somewhat melancholy picture! F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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