Roger Pellett

Old but still good and not “dumbed down” -  Sailing Ships of War 1400-1860 by Dr Frank Howard.  Look for it on used book sites.

Roger

Testor’s DullCote

I wonder what happened to his huge collection of stuff?

Roger

Beautiful!

Roger

A.J. Fisher also made a number of Clipper Ship model kits.  Piel Craftsmen lists an A.J. Fisher Sea Witch on their home page and lists the over all length of their model as 18-1/2 inches; I assume that this is the model’s hull length only.

If you intend to display the model fully rigged, there are lots of references available. An old standby that your uncle might have used when he built the model would be Ship Model Making (Volume II) by E. Armitage McCann.  This covers building of the Clipper Soverign of the Seas.  Try to get a copy with the large scale plans included. This includes a rigging plan.  Don’t get Volume I as this is for building a decorative (aka-ugly!) “Spanish Galleon.”

It is my opinion that the rigging for these older ship models was not unique from ship to ship.  In other words, you can use the rigging plan for Soverign of the Seas for Sea Witch.

IF you decide to go down this path and have trouble finding these reference materials, send me a PM.

Roger

I have a Sherline Lathe with 17in bed and optional milling column.  I also have the riser block and toolpost that I bought for a special project ( turning the turret of a 1:96 scale Passaic Class Monitor from a large bronze bearing sleeve). I also used the milling column to machine the oval gun ports.  I agree with the posts above that it is an excellent tool backed by a high class company.  

It it does have one feature that I do not like. Unlike a conventional metal lathe where the tail stock can be set off center to turn a taper, the Sherline does this by rotating the headstock.  There is also a bass ackwards optional cross slide that can be used for this but as of yet, I have not wanted to spring for the $250 plus or minus to buy one.  This unfortunately prevents use of any sort of tailstock support when turning a taper, but more seriously prevents use of the key in the joint between the headstock and base with predictable results if one is not extremely careful.

Since I suspect that many modelers who invest in a metal lathe dream of turning a cannon barrel this should be considered.

Roger

How about telling us a little about your skills.  It’s a nice model and worth restoring. You have several options, ranging from completely rerigging to showing it with “stub masts.”  You should also plan for a glass or plexiglass case to prevent future dirt and damage.

Roger

Interesting!  I am also a dependent of Nieuw Amsterdam Immigrants,  grandson via many generations of Hendrick Jansen Spiers.

Roger

No need To do that Mark!

Roger

No Mark, I meant Constellation.   Kirby was pondering the type of finish to give to his model.  I was suggesting that he finish it like the 1860 period half model of Constellation.  I was not suggesting that the 1860 Constellation resembles Constitition.

Kirby's A.J. Fisher plans do reflect Constitution with her mid Nineteenth boxed in head structure.

Roger

All’s well that ends well!  Very nice job.

If you take a piece of brass wire and carefully heat it with a torch until it melts , it will form a ball on the heated end.

Like most old ships, Constitution has only survived by being repaired several times.  These repairs, or rebuilds have each changed her external appearance. 

Now that  you have a nicely carved hull you should consider which stage in her long life you wish to represent.  A.J. Fisher was the ultimate in ship model kits during the 1930’s, 40’s, and 50’s so the drawing that you are using probably represents her appearance following her rebuild in the 1920’s. Her boxed in head structure is typical of mid-late Nineteenth Century style.

The US Government has a handsome half model of the Civil War Era USS Constellation.  If you can find a photo of this model it might give you an idea for finishing yours.

Roger

Paul,  I don’t see a vise.  Both a small bench top machinist type and an under counter carpenters type are useful if not necessary for any workshop.

In my opinion, no two people will work the same way or will adapt to the same tools.  For example, most modelers find small rotary tools (Dremel) necessary.  I personally have never been able to use one productively, so I do my work using other tools.

Therefore, follow the advice posted above and buy tools as you need them.  Some will work for you, some may not so you will have to figure out what will work.  That’s part of the fun.

Roger

Very nice Eric.

Roger

Looks good!

I’ve bought stuff from Online Metals too. In the past, good reliable company.

This tubing also comes in metric sizes.  Look on Amazon.

It’s a shop!  Unless you have a magic ability to avoid spilling or splattering paint the floor is going to take a beating.  What’s wrong with the flooring that you already have?  If you want to dress it up a bit add a coat or two of grey alkyd porch and deck paint.

Roger

A (somewhat) dissenting opinion.  This double planking system is a kit manufacturer’s method to provide a fair hull shape for the “second planking” while minimizing the number of bulkheads provided with the kit. If this were my model, I would tear off the planking and fill in the spaces between the bulkheads with solid blocks of wood- pine or basswood.   Then I would shape the blocks between the bulkheads until I had a fair solid surface.  Then referring to the references provided by Toni above, I would correctly plank the model with its finish planking.

Roger

As has been said many times on the forum,  most galleon model kits are based mostly on conjecture and marketing hype.   Recently there has been some real scholarship to understand the geometric rules in ancient manuscripts that still exist.  Two books containing discussions of this are The Galleon, by Peter Kirsch and Vanguard of Empire by Roger C. Smith.

There has been one wrecked Sixteenth Century Spanish vessel discovered in sufficient state of preservation to allow reconstruction by archeologists.   While not a warship, it Is considered to exhibit many characteristics of a Galleon.  This is the Red Bay Galleon, believed to be the whaling support vessel San Juan crushed in the ice at Red Bay Labrador.  The results of this discovery are published in a monumental five volume report by Parks Canada.  While I purchased the hard copy several years ago, I have heard that this information is also available on line.

Roger

As usual, beautiful work!

How would this guy look with it?

Roger

Simple lighting idea:

To supplement my overhead fluorescent lighting, I like an inexpensive architect? Light, except that I removed the clamp on part.  The fixture now sits in a 1/2in drilled hole on my workbench.  Actually I have two holes to allow it to be moved depending upon where I am working.  You could drill any number to allow it to be moved about.

We’d return tomorrow if it were not for this @#$& virus!  While we saw a lot, including the Tattoo, I’m sure we just scratched the surface.  I’d particularly like to visit the Denny’s ship model towing tank at Dunbarton, now sadly only a museum.

Everywhere that we went the people were wonderful!

Roger

For whatever reason the ship is being careened, that’s a great picture, and the artist has carefully recorded the details: the slack shrouds on the side being hove down, the chains across the deck, and the deck details not usually seen.  This would make an interesting model.

Roger