EJ_L

great to see your back at it Mark.......super job on the carriages.......the death star is up to snuff  

More work on the first runs of planks and wales and one side is now complete! Making my way around the bow and getting ready to start the same run on the starboard side.
 
As always, thanks for looking in!

Welcome to MSW Syd and a welcome to your grandson as well! As a model railroader myself I am certain that you will find the same enjoyment here as you did with the trains. Having someone to share it with is better still! I look forward to seeing what you choose as your first project and wish you the best of luck as you start out.

Welcome to MSW Syd and a welcome to your grandson as well! As a model railroader myself I am certain that you will find the same enjoyment here as you did with the trains. Having someone to share it with is better still! I look forward to seeing what you choose as your first project and wish you the best of luck as you start out.

Welcome to MSW Daniel! We are glad that you have returned to the hobby and that you have joined us to share it with. Good luck to you on your new build, whatever you choose it to be!

Welcome to MSW! Good to have you with us as an active member! I wish you the best of luck on your current and future builds. Start up a build log and share the journey with us. I look forward to seeing your work!

Sorry Anja my name is Syd glad to be here

Welcome aboard Olddodger,
 
Can you please tell us your real name?
 
I am confident you will get as much enjoyment from boat building as with your trains.
And you will have your grandson helping you.  That is double the fun.
Have you decided yet what your build, wood or plastic, will be? 
 
This is a great site for learning/sharing tips and techniques.
So, when you're ready, feel free to start a buildlog.
If needed, you'll find plenty of help, advise and encouragement from everyone. 
 
I wish you smooth sailing with our gallant crew.
 
Regards,
Anja
 
 

Hi all new to this forum and to the hobby I'm shifting from my long time hobby of model railways due to my disability and hoping that I can get as much enjoyment from model boat building as I have with my railways I will  have my grandson helping me in this endeavour  something he is also looking forward to

Welcome aboard Daniel,
 
You have come to the right place.  This is a great site for learning/sharing tips and techniques.
 
Have you decided yet what you want to build? There are so many choices, wood, plastic, card.
Whatever you decide, make sure it has your interest and that you really want to build it.
That way you'll be more likely to get through the trials and errors.
 
One of our members, Adam (SkerryAmp) has created 'The Model Ship World Ship Kit Database'. http://mswshipkits.ampitcher.com/ 
You can search the database on skill level, manufacturer, scale, kit type etc. It is certainly worth having a look.
 
I wish you smooth sailing with our gallant crew.
 
Regards,
Anja
 
 

Greetings to all, I have just joined this august gathering and am like a kid in a lolly shop!!! So much to learn, so many projects calling out to me.
I have recently returned to model ships after an indecent interval and am really looking forward to getting stuck in.
Regards, Danielww

Welcome to MSW.   As for your question about the windows... wander through the scratch area.  There's several different ways of doing them.   
 
The Constellation kit IS NOT the original frigate.  It's actually based on the 1850 sloop of war.   It doesn't have the hull lines nor much of anything else in common with the frigate.  There's at least one build of the Constellation (RC, scratch) of the original.  I took the AL kit and bashed it into the actual ship that AL based their kit on.  I do wish you luck on bashing the kit the way you want.....

Also, I was wondering how you guys scratch-build the intricate little windows and window frames on the stern of most ships.  I'll probably use some type of clear plastic as glass, but I don't know how to make the little wood frames.

Hello guys,
 
I've always like to build models since I was a young kid.  My first model ship was an AL Virginia Schooner, which I built when I was in third grade.  It wasn't museum quality, but pretty good for such a young kid.  I built a very small solid hull USS Constitution when I was in eighth grade, and an AL San Francisco Galleon the following year.  The Constitution was pretty easy but the Galleon's plank bending proved to be quite difficult so i came to this board as a lurker to get advice.  Last year, I built an AL King of the Mississippi that is 99.9% done, I just need to put on a few extras.  
 
Now, I've started my biggest project, an AL USS Constellation.  I was disappointed by the model, especially the fittings, stern, and instructions, so I'm making a custom ship of my own with a square stern as opposed to the rounded one supplied, and mostly custom fittings (although I haven't got there yet).  I go off to college in a month so I'm in a bit of a hurry, but so far it's looking better than any of my other ships, thanks to consulting various build logs and planking guides on this site and others.  I'll post a build log here sometime.

in doing cloth sails,  I usually paint them with diluted white glue.  then I'll lay them on a crumpled up beach towel {you could use any large sheet of cloth for this} covered with plastic wrap.  it will take on the shape of wherever they lay.  when I tried the experiment of embossing sails,  I used the decal bonder.........works much in the same way,  but I only sprayed that one side.  for that though,  I made sure the material was stiffer than most....I have like three different grades in my inventory  

More work on the first runs of planks and wales and one side is now complete! Making my way around the bow and getting ready to start the same run on the starboard side.
 
As always, thanks for looking in!

Hairspray might work, lacquer could work but is mainly ease in dust maintenance, normaly you would use something like diluted glue to keep the form of cloth/tissue

I'm on the fence with them,  since I've done cloth.   on my second Cutty Sark,  I had to paint them because I got replacements and they were beige......they were off white in the kit.  I couldn't get the complete set,  so it was the only option.  they did come out quite well actually.....got rid of that sheen and everything.   painted a flat gray with a wash coat,  and they look pretty good.   the one thing they lack though is the life like detail that only cloth sails can provide........the stitching,  the seams......you can add the corner reinforcements and even eyelets.  I haven't sen too much done with plastic sails......but it's like anything else in modeling.......how far do you want to go with it?  
 
I've seen cloth on plastic.......done right,  it looks really good.  thanks Glenn and EJ for the kind word....this is a really neat subject to touch on.   funny too......I was looking through my old pictures,  and I happened on the first U.S.S. United States,  the C.S.S. Alabama,  and the first Cutty Sark....all three are from the 1:96 series.  I did a Connie too,  but I have no pictures of her.  all of these models sported their plastic sails.......it was all I used to do,  before I came here
 
have you ever gone into a craft store,  and seen those prebuilt ships  {nautical decorations}......Hobby Lobby sells them.   I look at the sails,  and some have been sprayed with so much lacquer,  they look like plastic....and they are cloth sails.   they look terrible!   the admiral tells me...."you could do better than that!"   of course,  I tout the rigging as well.....but I still imagine what I could do to change it.  
 
thanks as well to all who hit the like button  

More work on the first runs of planks and wales and one side is now complete! Making my way around the bow and getting ready to start the same run on the starboard side.
 
As always, thanks for looking in!

More work on the first runs of planks and wales and one side is now complete! Making my way around the bow and getting ready to start the same run on the starboard side.
 
As always, thanks for looking in!

More work on the first runs of planks and wales and one side is now complete! Making my way around the bow and getting ready to start the same run on the starboard side.
 
As always, thanks for looking in!

Very nice!
 
I've rigged plastic sails on three models now. Both Conny builds and my Cutty Sark. I liked them on my Connys but not as much on the Sark. The Sark was such a small scale model that they look too crowded and the lack of details in the rigging had nothing to distract the view of the cheap plastic sails. The Conny builds however allowed for a complete rig and having them appear to be full of wind added a nice element to the build. As for the plastic look, well, they are plastic ships so it is what it is.
 
To get the wind filled look with cloth, I would think that you would have to hide wire frame in the edges of the sails and possibly use a starch or similar stiffener to help hold a wind filled shape. I have not yet tried it myself on cloth. Maybe one day...

Very nice!
 
I've rigged plastic sails on three models now. Both Conny builds and my Cutty Sark. I liked them on my Connys but not as much on the Sark. The Sark was such a small scale model that they look too crowded and the lack of details in the rigging had nothing to distract the view of the cheap plastic sails. The Conny builds however allowed for a complete rig and having them appear to be full of wind added a nice element to the build. As for the plastic look, well, they are plastic ships so it is what it is.
 
To get the wind filled look with cloth, I would think that you would have to hide wire frame in the edges of the sails and possibly use a starch or similar stiffener to help hold a wind filled shape. I have not yet tried it myself on cloth. Maybe one day...

Very nice!
 
I've rigged plastic sails on three models now. Both Conny builds and my Cutty Sark. I liked them on my Connys but not as much on the Sark. The Sark was such a small scale model that they look too crowded and the lack of details in the rigging had nothing to distract the view of the cheap plastic sails. The Conny builds however allowed for a complete rig and having them appear to be full of wind added a nice element to the build. As for the plastic look, well, they are plastic ships so it is what it is.
 
To get the wind filled look with cloth, I would think that you would have to hide wire frame in the edges of the sails and possibly use a starch or similar stiffener to help hold a wind filled shape. I have not yet tried it myself on cloth. Maybe one day...

Very nice!
 
I've rigged plastic sails on three models now. Both Conny builds and my Cutty Sark. I liked them on my Connys but not as much on the Sark. The Sark was such a small scale model that they look too crowded and the lack of details in the rigging had nothing to distract the view of the cheap plastic sails. The Conny builds however allowed for a complete rig and having them appear to be full of wind added a nice element to the build. As for the plastic look, well, they are plastic ships so it is what it is.
 
To get the wind filled look with cloth, I would think that you would have to hide wire frame in the edges of the sails and possibly use a starch or similar stiffener to help hold a wind filled shape. I have not yet tried it myself on cloth. Maybe one day...