petervisser

After a long hiatus from Cutty Sark, I have finally started on the masting and rigging. This is just a short update as to where I'm at with the project. The first step in this long and involved process is to fabricate the parts that hold the masts together, they being the tops and cross-trees. My old kit had these pieces marked out on sheets of ply which had to be cut out with a scroll saw and fret saw. I cut the pieces out with the scroll saw and then filed and sanded out the pieces to size. Due to the fact that the tops are less than detailed as marked out on the plywood, I opted to use them as templates. The templates were then used to trace the shapes on thinner sheets so that I could sandwich the gratings in between. I decided to use styrene for the grating as they are a uniform thickness and width and there is no sanding involved for such small and delicate strips. All will be painted white so there won't be an issue with the different materials. Here are some pics of the initial construction.

Fantastic! What a great subject for a model boat. I really like the fact that Billing come up with designs for models that are different than the more conventional and have more relevance to the European model builders. All the best with your project. I will be following along! Peter

Wonderful work Mark! It's going to be stunning when she's complete. Enjoy the journey. Peter

Bruce has asked about the diameters of the seine twine, so this morning I dusted off the digital calipers and took some measurements. Her's a pic with the results... Thanks for the tip about the nylon coating Bruce. I'm repairing a model of a West Coast seiner and will keep the stainless colour so I'm not sure if I'll need to remove it. I'll do a little experimentation. Cheers, Peter

Up until now I have used the rigging supplies provided with the kits I have built with a few exceptions. But I have discovered a couple of other kinds of suppliers that others may have access to in their neck of the woods. As for rigging thread I like using seine twine which I have sourced from a local chandlers here in Victoria. The black seine twine comes in a variety of diameters which I generally use for the standing rigging. It's actually tarred nylon and so it doesn't have the "fuzzieness" of rigging thread that comes with most kits. The tan line comes in only one diameter so I am carefull where it's used to try and keep it to scale. I have also sourced some wire rope at the chandler's but have also found some at the local bead shop. I went there to see what kind of chain I could purchase in preparation for rigging the Cutty Sark which I'm building. Lo and behold, they also had small gauge wire which would be suitable for my current project. Here is a photo of the wire rope I bought at the chandler. They also need wire sleeves so as to crimp them. Splicing would require teeny tiny hands... I was pleased to find some small gauge chain which I will need to rig the Cutty Sark. This I found at the bead shop and they has several sizes for various purposes. Of course they will have to be painted before they go on the model. I'm sure that some of you will be familiar with these sources for rigging supplies. But for those of you looking for chain, wire and rigging thread, these are great options which are likely cheaper than model kit suppliers. Cheers, Peter

Hi Colin and welcome to the site. I just did a quick search and both Ages of Sail and Cornwall Model Boats have Cutty Sark fitting kits for sale and in stock. I would buy the kits complete as this option is cheaper and quicker in acquiring the parts you need. The list is pretty long... Good luck! Peter

Thanks for the likes gentlemen. I forgot to post a few pic's of the boat conversions. I basically chopped of a portion of the stern to two of the Biliing F167 life boats and then glued on a transom converting a double ender to a squared transom boat. This to me was the easiest solution and now all the boats are to a more correct scale and configured correctly. Here are some photos of the conversion...

Hi All. Well, it's been a while since any serious work has taken place on my model ship bench. I am happy to be back and have resumed work on my CS. I have finally dealt with the boats that are aboard the Cutty Sark. Two lifeboats and the gig and jolly boat. The kit came with three plastic boats and I realize that they are a serious no-no to some builders. I am not one of those however, and with a coat or two of paint they look way better than anything I could cobble together. The kit came with 3 boats all described as lifeboats. They were F167 (good) and F405 (not good) it being way to big for the scale of model. I decided to get two more of the F167's and modify them by altering their transoms. That would convert them into a jolly boat and a gig. I added some lifelines to the gunwales of the lifeboats to make them more authentic. I lashed down the jolly boat and gig but have not done so yet for the lifeboats. They would be in the way when it comes time to set up the shrouds and the rest of the rigging going to the belaying pins. I'll have to tie them down after the rigging is complete. So here are the results...

Hi Martin. Welcome to the site! Billing is not known for their detailed instructions. They do provide decent full size drawings which you could use to come up with a build strategy. This site has a bunch of tutorials dealing with planking and so forth. There are a number of build logs on the site which you can study which are as good or better than instructions which come with most kits. I have one on the go. And feel free to ask the builders with build logs questions on issues you may be dealing with. Good luck with your Cutty Sark. Or Shark in your case...😀

What a beautiful model Alan! Thanks for posting those great shots. Very inspirational! Peter

Hi Al, Hope the recovery is pretty much over and you're able to put both wings back to work. Your rigging plans of the Danmark are fantastic. Should you decide to sell copies, I for one would be happy to purchase a set. Ideally a set at 1:75 would allow me to get my head (and eyes) around the complexity of the ship's rig. Cheers, Peter

Hello Jan, Sorry for the late reply, but I have been absent from the site for some months. As for "stepping the mast", I think I attached the bottom supports of the mast to the mast itself and then used tiny dowels to glue the mast supports to the deck. It's not too secure as you can imagine, but the standing rigging is what will secure everything properly. Jan (Amateur) is correct when he states that mast hoops are not normally used on Dutch sailing vessels. But I had the mast hoops on hand and they are easier to bend the sail to the mast. Easy way out, that's me... Now that the fall/winter rains are back, I hope to resume work in my shop. I would love to see photos of you model and feel free to ask any more questions you may have regarding your zeeschouw! A PM will get a quicker response. 😉

Congratulations on your very fine looking Bellona. I was following along and you had a very interesting build log. I like the fact that you kept with the all natural wood finish. it really shows off your craftsmanship. Cheers, Peter

I'd like to plug Oxford Companion to the Seas. Lots of wonderfull info in alphabetical order no less! It covers a broad range of topics and should answer all your queries. The book is widely available on the internet at a very respectable price. Cheers, Peter

Having built the Billing Bounty, I can tell you it is no easy feat for a first time builder. The Bounty was the 4th Billing kit I tackled, so it with the experience gained from earlier builds and lessons learned, it was a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. And that's what you want out of this challenging hobby. A project that you can start and finish with minimal frustration and maximum pleasure. There are countless unfinished models out there where the builder went in with the best of intentions but a lack of tools, experience and patience. And there is nothing worse than tossing out a perfectly good kit that has been started and never completed. If you are still keen on building a model ship (and who wouldn't be?...) then pick a kit that you really like the looks of, and figure, hey I can do this! Billing make some very nice kits in the beginner and advanced beginner category which you might be interested in. I have included a picture of my own Bounty with this post. The rigging alone should be enough to scare you away....🙂

Well, the railings are completed. It was a bit of a slog. The first coat of primer took 2 hours to apply to all the railings. Phew. That was a bit much, my neck and back told me. Thereafter I painted them in sections as they still wanted two coats of white. But now they're finished and I am pleased woth the results. Modelling will now take a back seat for a few months as summer is arriving and the outdoors and the yard call for some attention instead. I hope to putter with the ships boats during rainy days, whenever they happen. Cheers guys!

Thanks for the tip guys. I'll try that in the future. I have an ancient Danmark kit that has a ton of railings as well. And thanks for looking in too! Peter

Hi All, I have been busy in the shop of late due to the self isolation and making some progress. But boy, there is no rushing with a model ship so things are going slowly. I have been detailing some more of the main deck and added some fairleads and mooring bits here and there. I have also tackled the railings on the foc'sle and aft deck which went rather well considering. I tried my hand a soldering and it went so-so. In the end, I found that they didn't need it, and all is well seated without. I had intended to solder them so I could paint the railings off the model. But they looked so good without solder that I decided to paint them in situ. Therefore I had to tape off the stanchions at the base. Now the tedious painting begins. One coat of primer and two top coats. It took 2 hours for the first coat. Yikes. As mentioned earlier, model ship building is not done at lighning speed...

Thanks for the spreadsheet Allan. When it becomes the Danmark's turn to appear on my bench, your rigging plan will come to good use! Cheers, Peter

Hi Keith, Your model is looking fantastic! Have you been able to use all the Billing fittings or have you had to resort to buying third party fittings? Having built a few of their kits myself, I have made due with what they supply but sometimes resort to poaching bits and pieces from other kits I have that are still in the box. I am tempted to purchase the Billing Victory myself. Your model makes it very tempting... Cheers, Peter

I just finished up the labour intensive work on the deadeyes on the main deck. It was a multi-step process that invoved some "metalwork". Billing supplies the chain plates and a bunch of plastic deadeyes. I opted to poach a bunch of deadeyes from another kit so as to use the chainpates that were provided. It would not have been easy to use them together. Once the chainplates and deadeyes were married, I used a drop of glue to make them rigid so as to paint them easier. Here's a bunch of pictures showing the process...

Have to say I have always put black thread between the seams of the planks on the decks of my models. I realize that others do it differently and I really admire some of their techniques, but to each their own. As for the procedure, I now have a method that works for me. First I give all the planks a preliminary sanding before I glue them to the false deck. Then I lay down a plank to glue it. Before the next plank is put down I wax and lay down a black thread adjacent the plank. The wax helps somewhat in keeping the thread in place. Then the next plank is glued down adjacent to the thread, which provides the space between planks. Once the planking is completed, the threads are removed. The planking can now be sanded again to remove any glue and smooth out rough spots. I also take a #19 exacto blade and run it dwon the seams to remove any glue that might have got left behind. Then the thread is laid down again between the planks. I like my decks lacquered so I apply a coat as the threads are laid down. It takes a couple coats of matt lacquer to finish off the decks for me. I realize it's a bit of a process but I like the results, so I keep doing it. Not for everybody I know, but hey, we're snowflakes, we're all different. Here are a few pic's...

After just about snapping off the bowsprit (several times) and the dolphin striker (once), it was time to take some preventative measures. I decided to "splint" the offending spar so as to avoid some dfficult repairs later on. Here is my solution. Once the bowsprit has some standing rigging in place, I can dispense with the milk carton.

Finally, here are some photos of the gunwale stanchions and trim along with the attachment of the foc'sle deck. I didn't think I would bother with the trim and stanchions but other builders of this model added them so I had to try and keep up. I have finally found a re-purpose for the styrofoam trays our meat gets packaged in. They are perfect for holding tiny fittings while they get painted! What with the foc'sle deck being added, I had to afix the bowsprit in place. This made the model instantly longer by 8.5" so it is alot more susceptible to damage. Yikes!

The hull trim has also been added. The strips were pre-bent and prepped with paint or stain before they were nailed/glued to the hull. This whole process was pretty tricky and it did not turn out perfectly, but it will have to do. Next time around I think I will glue them on while the hull is bare wood and paint or finish them in place with masking tape. I did however rough up the paint with sandpaper so that the glue had a better chance of holding.