Roger Pellett

I have volunteered for many years for a local very low budget museum that seeks to preserve the world’s only example of a steamship of “whaleback” design.  The hold of the ship is used for exhibit space. The ship has been a museum since 1972 and for much time since then people who had maritime artifacts that they did’nt want gave them to the museum.  As a result the vessel’s hold was filled with “stuff” much of which had no relationship to the whaleback type ship.  

Over time the museum has come under the management of more professional curators who increasingly realize that this accumulation of non-related stuff detracts from the overall experience of the visiting public.  For years I have been encouraging them to hold a garage sale but a lot of things are surprisingly hard to get rid of.  To be responsible they feel that they need to see if there were any strings attached to the gift before it can be disposed of.  Museums today are therefore unwilling to accept artifacts unrelated to the story that they are trying to tell.

If you want to donate the model you will have to find a museum that is specifically looking for a vessel built by William H. Webb.  Try contacting Webb Institute.  They are in Glen Cove.

Roger

I agree with the comments above.  The value in a model like yours is to keep your great grandfather’s memory alive with future generations.  I have two such models that my father built and although their commercial value is $0 they hold pride of place in my collection.  Hopefully one of my grandchildren will someday ask “who was the guy who built this?”

Storage is a problem.  You need to protect the model from three enemies: physical damage, dust, and dampness.  I therefore do not recommend a cardboard box.  A custom made plywood storage case would be best.  If the model is small enough you might be able to find a molded plastic storage tub with a tight fitting lid.  Make sure that the base of the model is securely fastened to the base of the storage case.

Roger

Welcome back Frank!

Roger

Hi Dale,  

Good to hear from you.  We’ll see what happens.  I am one of four finalists in the non fiction category and it appears that I am the only amateur author.  Any how, I appreciate being recognized and knowing that I have a cheering section!

Roger

If our discussion has discouraged others from attempting to scratch build plank on frame models, I am sorry.  Lofting is nothing more than the technical term for creating full sized patterns for irregularly shaped structural members.

The original question involved building an “Admiralty Model.”  Most Admiralty Models were built with styilized framing that was a simplified version of the real thing.  The excellent books referenced above by David Antscherl and Ed Tosti (which are in my library) discuss building models with the more complicated Admiralty framing systems exactly like the “real thing.”  

I suggested Harold Hahn’s books above for three reasons:

1.  He explains lofting in a clear and nontechnical way.

2.  His method utilizes a simple jig to ensure alignment of frames.

3.  His simplified frames are easier to construct and will produce an accurate, attractive Admiralty style model like the one shown above.

An explanation of his method and lofted frame shapes for one of his Colonial Schooners can be found in Volume I of Ship Modelers Shop Notes recently republished by the Nautical Research Guild.  The frame shapes provided are ar a scale of 1:96, smaller than you may want.  Before you head for the copy machine or scanner you should realize that distortions may be a problem; the reason for lofting in the first place.  Larger scale plans with lofted frame shapes for a number of his models are apparently available from his estate.  There is an extensive thread about him and his drawings here on MSW.

Roger

I received news today that my book, Whaleback Ships and the American Steel Barge Company recently published by Wayne State University Press has been selected as a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award.  Winners of the award will be announced this April 6.

Roger

There were square sterned clipper ships.  See Crother’s book. Having said this I believe that this model should be considered to be Folk Art, not built to exact scale but intended to convey the builder’s impression of a real or imagined sailing vessel.  

It’s value lies in the fact that your grandpa built it.  Give it a good cleaning (Q Tips and saliva), repair any damage, and fix the rigging.  By putting it in some sort of protective case future generations will have a tangible link to him.  I would not try to improve on what he did.

Roger

Wow Bob you have some beautiful equipment.  As I said above, my ships curves were acquired during my student days and I have an abbreviated set, no mahogany box.

Roger

Another suggestion,

Although I said above that “paper is cheap,”. If you are going to try your hand at lofting, buy several sheets of frosted Mylar drafting film.  When I learned to make lines drawings years ago we used paper and then traced the result in ink onto vellum.  The lofting process requires that you will do a lot of erasing and multiple erasures on paper can result in a smudged up mess.  Mylar film is easy to erase.

Roger

Bob and Nick,

I’ve really enjoyed this series of posts.  To the set of books recommended above, for a beginner I highly recommend the two books written by Harold Hahn.  In these books his explanation of lofting is directed at the model builder.  He also presents a method for building a plank on frame model which if carefully followed will produce excellent results.  Hahn’s method has been criticized by some builders as his framing is stylized and his method does not follow the practice of building a real ship.  I don’t agree with this.  Using his method a beginner can take a lines drawing like you show above and build a unique and beautiful model.  I have personally done this.

I personally enjoy making hull lines drawings (lofting) by hand.  I still have my K&E Ships curves that  I bought new as a student 50+ years ago.  I also have a set of lead drawing “ducks” that I made at the same time.  These are used to hold down a wooden spline bent around a set of plotted points.  You will not need all of this stuff to start.  You can get by with a couple of French curves bought at an office supply store.  Splines can be easily ripped from straight grained construction lumber and held down with tacks driven into an improvised MDF drawing board.

Personally, I suggest just trying to do it and erasing and redoing things as you go.  As they say, “Paper is cheap!”

Drafting Ducks

Why not just apply resin to the cotton sail cloth and skip the fiberglass?

Roger

A spectacular model!!

Roger

Welcome to MSW Bruce,

Don’t be intimidated by scratch building.  First of all your initial investment is low.  You are not investing in an expensive kit.  If things do not turn out to your liking you can scrap and do over.  No need to get new parts from the kit manufacturer.

Scratch building also allows you to select the building method that best fits your skills, building interests, and the hull form of the vessel that you have selected.  The “industry standard” appears to be the plank on bulkhead double planked method but there are several other approaches from the carved hull to the plank on frame method.  I personally like carving hulls from laminated lifts as I believe that it is easier to accurately reproduce hull shapes than laying planks over widely spaced bulkheads.

I personally do not use CAD nor do I find it to be necessary.  A skill that you will need to develop if you have not already done so is the ability to read a “lines drawing,” the Naval Architect’s system for depicting hull shape. This is not hard to do.

Pick out a subject that interests you that is within the limits of your skill and equipment and don’t be afraid to do over something that you are not happy with.  Take your time!  Unlike household DIY activities like fixing the plumbing no one else  should care about how long you take.

Roger

The black round object looks like a hockey puck.  Is it?

Roger

Nice job Keith!

Sometimes it’s remarkably difficult to sort out closely spaced waterlines.  Have you considered plotting some diagonals to check fairness?

Roger

This deserves to be classified as an honorary scratch build!

Roger

Chris,

Welcome to MSW.

Believe it or not, you can work around the time problem.  When I was much younger with a challenging job, considerable business travel, and a young family I built several good models.  I learned to work in short time periods- 1/2 to two hours.  This also helped my workmanship as each time I restarted work I could assess my past efforts and make corrections as necessary.  Unlike remodeling a bathroom nobody else is affected if the model sits unfinished on your workbench for a while.

The main problem with this approach is losing interest over time, so pick a topic that will hold your interest.  

Roger

Kurt,

Thank you for your detailed information.

My plan is to take a few figures with me on our annual trip to warmer climes.  Otherwise I get anxious to get back home to my workshop.  It would be best to use paint that I can buy there (southwest Florida), and it would appear that the Vallejo paints being formulated for brushing and readily available in big box craft stores might be the best bet.

My airbrushing skills limit me to covering large surfaces- model ship hulls.

Thanks again for your advice.

Roger

Kurt,

I like to add a 54mm scale military figure to my 1:32 warship boat models and for my next model the figure that I have found will be plastic.  Paints will be brush applied.  As my wife has been complaining about the smell from paint solvents I plan to use acrylic paints.  In the past I have used enamels. A couple of questions that perhaps you might answer:

Can acrylics be applied directly over plastic or is a primer first required?

Are model acrylic paints formulated to provide one coat coverage or it it necessary to build up several coats?

Roger

Chuck,

For those of us with enquiring minds how about listing your sources, or if you already have can you point us to the post where you did.  I know of only two examples where the horse is beneath the tiller- The “Medway” boat and the boat in the Kriegstein collection, and the Kriegsteins had their boat rigged after it came into their possession.  

The other well known example, the boat in May’s book shows the sheet horse passing over the tiller.  Other aspects of this boat’s construction would indicate that it is an early design.

Roger

The Nautical Research Journal recently included an article about the launching flags for one of the models in the Naval Academy’s Rogers Collection.

Roger

I recommend the Proxxon pencil sander.

Roger

Or don’t paint it at all.  The 1957 replica Mayflower at Plymouth Plantation has been criticized foe its elaborate paint scheme.  Pigments that could not be manufactured from common earth elements were very expensive in the 1500’s and would be used sparingly if at all on a humble merchant ship.  Bright pigments were used on warships of the period to increase the prestige of the King or Queen that owned the vessel.  Eric Ronnberg has written an excellent article about historic paint pigments that was published in the Nautical Research Journal.  It used to be on NRJ’s website.

Roger

It’s good to see you “back in the saddle again!  Before you get to far along with your boat you might like to look at the ANCRE website.  French ships boats had some distinctive features.

Roger

In his writings, Harold Hahn claimed that he used Nylon thread to rig his models.  Some of his models such as the Colonial Schooner Diorama at the Mariners Museum ar now over 40 years old.  I wonder how their rigging has held up.  He also used surgical silk, not noted for its longevity.

Roger