petervisser

Night shots and interior of the great cabin:
 

Dear friends,
I am very grateful and honored reading your kind words and feel your support. Thank you all very much, I do appreciate your feedback a lot.
Th Royal Katherine has been finished a few days ago, this build took me almost four years and approximate 7000hours of work and studying. 
 
I am sorry that my husband could not see the completion of the model, but he supported me a lot in my hobby and shared the successes and joy of building models with me.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have helped me and followed my work through this forum.
A few days ago there was a nice report about my work on card models on Czech television. It was also dedicated to my husband, with whom I wanted to say goodbye for the last time. You can watch the report here, but it is in Czech languauge:
 
https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/10805121298-gejzir/221562235000005/video/819958?fbclid=IwAR1I97p0dLk-BvV_dO7SQtBYOl3AFps7K9qI9gWhKSZ4TEeRVBBPsp-3zy0
 
And here you can see plenty of pics of my largest finished model - the Royal Katherine - I consider her the best ship of all I have ever created:
 

 

I continue to install the railing posts. Some parts are drilled at an angle by tilting the boat with a stand ..
 

 

 

 

 

 
And I created a sailor figure to measure the equipment..
 

 

 

 

 

Wrap.
 
Dear fellow Builders,
 
there is no prettier object in the earth than boat lines....for us....i know ladies would be protesting but ...we know  thee is no point in  arguing im closing the cathedral of the oceans. first, Id sincerely like to thank you All, that watched, looked, commented, liked my build. I would most likely not finished it otherwise.
I am amateur violinmaker, that once told myself i will try to model cutty. Having thought of myself, it cannot be more difficult than violinmaking. what is art of ship modeling? where that art lies? I had to try it having had only one attempt of halfbuilt hms terror in the pocket,/ and no other small ship whatsover /  i looked at cutty sark bow pamous pic  wharving at sydney quay...and told myself, that would do. - wrong. it is far more difficult than i thought it will be....
I did not know what i will step into....where will i go. hull went smooth, unless, one cannot miss small part of modelbuilding even  in huge projects....
looked at small models of it, I tried to do someting different, than just another 1.96 cutty sark, I wanted to smell the more realistic details of the deck. If i was told to do it again I would certainly back off. w hy? because i know now what is to dvelve into mere 3000 hours of repairs. I need to mention the way I worked. It was not up down process than designer set out plans and hand work down to workers , carpenters and so on rpecise instruction clearly having in mind what process would look like etc. even material. I mean ship modeling surely is up- down process as there is plan to be fullfilled and rather closely than vaguely for the saek of reault. but as aome cathedral in the past were (to peoples astonishment when they realize) built without an architect following rather bottom up rule - I built up closer to this approach. as thought or idea sprung, or someone led me to some direction there was not clear from start what would deckhouses looked exactly like - it went various ways some mistaken and had to be reversed. some good some totally wrong that had to be scrapped from start. experienced builders know by expecience what works for them. i have to find my own paths as well...slowly  I dreamt with her I had to watch her in my room even I did not wish to ....:) she was in my way to the desk, to my wardrobe. she is hell of a MONSTER. but she has  tender lines in her. She is crippled from the bottom and even more cut off from the top. but if i managed to get her body, she would shine even crippled diorama
Wise people dont make mistakes of fools, as saying goes, they learn that is better to make 12 small models to know what is it to build one big one. seems i am not one of them. I soak myself with troubles and try to skirmish away from abbys with some grace. it is not always possible but i know one think.
i hated her during process I sweared even, but i was the wrong for whats count. I repaired almost everything unill satisfaciton. I learned a tons. I will go SMALLER next definitely. I carved as I loved her. I wanted to see her shine despite my lack of craft. I gave the most of my abilities to her I possibly could. and for that reason I am satisfied whatever the flaw. she is not perfect by any mean. her butt is approx 2 cm narrower that plan is telling, but I dont mind even I can tell the curve of her butt from memory even in midnight....e.g. revell model is horribly wrong in this direction and possible other makers as well..
.She does not have rear companionway as I deliberately did not want to make it. she does not have rudder finished as I dont have strenght nor material to do it properly. she is ready to be fully masted if someone ever desired so. who knows. Her steel bulwark is sound and strong. there is lot to critisize. I dont know whether I managed to create the charm she has.
Others must tell. For what I know, I gave her all I have in my abilities. there is never another time.... I need rest. I am eager to build small boats like, whaleboat, or cutters or so before I start way smaller and hopefully better that this - Glory of the Seas.  
I must say, for me  it was definitely more difficult than to make good sounding violins. I have both to prove now thank you . im posting some pics and will make a small gallery. you can feel im glad it is over. True. I just tasted of some masting and rigging and full masting and rigging of such giant would take another 2 years or so. I must asy though I regret not seeing her under sails though. but she is way too big for that. SO i have to stick with whats there hope you enjoyed it as I did. Whats most important? I did not loose interest of shipmodeling, quite contrary... thanks Vlad.
 
 

 

 

Your ship must be getting to be a challenge to lift and move. She looks amazing!
 
Peter

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

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

Hi - a little more progress.  Upper deck guns & some of the deck furniture in place aft of the waist.  The fore deck guns & furniture will be added after the caprails & poop deck are in place.  The windows in the binnacle were done using the liquid window maker.  Also, the wheel will not be rigged - it can`t be seen after the poop deck is in place.  The 4 guns behind the bulkhead will not be rigged either, as it would be impossible to see without a flashlight.
 

 

 
Mark
 
 

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
 

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
 

Well I have sort of finished all except for the flybridge screen rail which I broke and have not yet decided whether to solder and install. I should have done it when the flybridge was being constructed offline but I was missing a part which Amati sent me (thanks) and now that I  have it I am in two minds about doing it .
Overall a happy camper. Some detail I have changed to suit myself so can't claim absolutely faithful to the kit but not much kit bashing really, changed the colour scheme, made a different support for the radar antenna, enhanced some doors and rear companionways with some more detail.
Good kit....I found the chrome plated brass rails and posts generally the most difficult to manage, need to be bent in most cases but prone to breaking so bending has to be done very carefully so if you are starting out then watch for that.

Here's the assembly of the skylight and companionway...
 

Hi guys,
 
Thanks for looking in and the encouragement and ideas. It's much appreciated!
 
After lots of consideration on where to start, I decided to tackle the after cabin roof of all things. I thought I would make the deck planking the first job on the build. And then I was thinking about the camber the deck has and how the deck houses would be installed. With the absence of the deck planking I could assemble the various deck structures and sand the cambers into them. I will demonstrate later with a picture.
 
So, here goes....
 

I have decided to use as much of the material supplied with this 50 year old kit and build it much as Mr. Billing intended. The "pieces" are not laser cut but inked onto sheets of mahogany, which must be cut out manually. I have a modern day version of Billing's instructions for the current Cutty Sark kit which you can see in the photo. The instructions that came with the kit I have are minimal.
 

I prepped the various pieces for assembly. This entailed adding blocks of wood to the edges of the sides so that there would be more surface area to glue the pieces together. Also the cabin roof was a bit warped so I glued some "beams" on to straighten it out.
 

Here, the sides, front and rear coamings are added to the cabin roof, using high tech clothes pins. I have also purchased the clamps recently and they are awesome! My new favourite tool!

I'm building and rigging the masts and yards prior to stepping them. I find it is easier to do the detailed rigging off the ship. 

The last task before planking the hull is placing the battens for the final planking. I spent lots of time doing this and I hope it turns out.

Work continues on the deck houses...
 

 

 

 

 

Time to add the railing to the cabintop...
 

 

I made the railings to measure in the model and then removed them for painting.
 

That just about does it for this part of the build. Now onto other deck structures....

Time to dress up the cabin roof with some planking and trim...
 

 

The advantage of a 50 year old kit and its wood become apparent when you're looking for some planks with a curve along their horizontal length! I needed them to follow the fore and aft contour along the sides of the cabin top.
 

 

Here the deck planking is being installed along with the "caulking".
 

shes lovely. 

Czech modeler Doris Obručová advised me to use an external matt spray topcoat. I tried matt Vallejo varnish ..
 

 
Tests outside the ship have shown the best way to pour a horizontal layer of paint ... Bingo
 

 
Then dry with a hair dryer and .. the surface is matte! Ship finally unpacked ..
 

 
I will not edit any more..💥 O.
 

 


 

 

 

 

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...
 

 

 

Not a lot to show,but the inner bulwarks were planked & painted along with adding the columns on the bulkhead,which can barely be seen after the poop deck is added.  I left a notch in the bulwark planking for the forward-most poop deck beam to sit on.  The bulwark planks were pre-painted to avoid making a mess of the deck.
 

 
Mark