petervisser

Welcome Brian, from one former mariner to another. Good to have you here.
Cheers,
Peter

With all the blocks attached and jackstays installed along with other odd and sods I could now apply some paint to the yards. My new airbrush came into its own and made short work of getting a uniform coat of black to cover the different materials that make up the yards and their jewellry. The studding sail booms were stained and varathaned. I also took the opportunity to install the footropes. Next step is to paint the blocks that make up the braces and install them on the yards. So lots to do before any real rigging takes place. Here are some pic's of the yards getting prepped.
 

Yards prior to painting with blocks, jackstays etc. attached.
 

Yards primed.
 

Main mast yards.
 

Mizzen mast yards.
 

Fore mast yards.

Another update. Of late I have been working on the yards of the model. They were all precut for length and tapered at the Billing factory. The lengths were for the most part accurate. I can't speak to the diameters but I'm gong with what they are. The trick is to study the material I have as to what blocks to afix to the yards, prior to their installation. I am using Campbells plans along with Longridge's Cutty Sark book and Underhill's Masting and Rigging book. Using three sources can get a bit confusing, so I come up with a hybrid solution to get the results I want. Although not 100% accurate it will at least be realistic. Here are a few pic's of the block preparation...
 

 

 

 

 

 
And yes, I am using the plastic blocks that are provided with the kit. I realize that there are some who would consider this a faux pas, but my reasoning is this. They're readily available, having come with the kit and will be painted once installed. I have used these blocks with all my Billing kits and have not had any issues. They do require some shaving and trimming to remove the excess plastic and the holes need some reaming. This is usually a huge pain but after much trial and error I modified a clothes pin to hold the block while I work on it, saving huge amounts of time and curse words...

Welcome Brian, from one former mariner to another. Good to have you here.
Cheers,
Peter

Welcome Brian, from one former mariner to another. Good to have you here.
Cheers,
Peter

With all the blocks attached and jackstays installed along with other odd and sods I could now apply some paint to the yards. My new airbrush came into its own and made short work of getting a uniform coat of black to cover the different materials that make up the yards and their jewellry. The studding sail booms were stained and varathaned. I also took the opportunity to install the footropes. Next step is to paint the blocks that make up the braces and install them on the yards. So lots to do before any real rigging takes place. Here are some pic's of the yards getting prepped.
 

Yards prior to painting with blocks, jackstays etc. attached.
 

Yards primed.
 

Main mast yards.
 

Mizzen mast yards.
 

Fore mast yards.

With all the blocks attached and jackstays installed along with other odd and sods I could now apply some paint to the yards. My new airbrush came into its own and made short work of getting a uniform coat of black to cover the different materials that make up the yards and their jewellry. The studding sail booms were stained and varathaned. I also took the opportunity to install the footropes. Next step is to paint the blocks that make up the braces and install them on the yards. So lots to do before any real rigging takes place. Here are some pic's of the yards getting prepped.
 

Yards prior to painting with blocks, jackstays etc. attached.
 

Yards primed.
 

Main mast yards.
 

Mizzen mast yards.
 

Fore mast yards.

Another update. Of late I have been working on the yards of the model. They were all precut for length and tapered at the Billing factory. The lengths were for the most part accurate. I can't speak to the diameters but I'm gong with what they are. The trick is to study the material I have as to what blocks to afix to the yards, prior to their installation. I am using Campbells plans along with Longridge's Cutty Sark book and Underhill's Masting and Rigging book. Using three sources can get a bit confusing, so I come up with a hybrid solution to get the results I want. Although not 100% accurate it will at least be realistic. Here are a few pic's of the block preparation...
 

 

 

 

 

 
And yes, I am using the plastic blocks that are provided with the kit. I realize that there are some who would consider this a faux pas, but my reasoning is this. They're readily available, having come with the kit and will be painted once installed. I have used these blocks with all my Billing kits and have not had any issues. They do require some shaving and trimming to remove the excess plastic and the holes need some reaming. This is usually a huge pain but after much trial and error I modified a clothes pin to hold the block while I work on it, saving huge amounts of time and curse words...

Hi All,
Just popping my head up after a long while with Cutty Sark. I have been in the shop from time to time, but that was for other projects. I have been working lately on CS's yards and they are now done except for the paint. I am now poring over the Campbell's rigging drawings, Longridges chapters on rigging as well as Underhill's book covering the same topic. All three are invaluable. Less so the drawing that accompanies the kit. That said, not everyone is a rigger and the drawings are adequate for a completed model.
Here are some pic's of the yards in place. They are dry fitted for the moment, so not all are level.
 

 

 

 

Just a little update with the masts of my Cutty Sark. It was quite the process getting the masts, tops and crosstrees assembled. I tried to prep them as much as possible before the paint came out. I decided to paint/stain them as they now appear on the actual ship in Greenich. They were first stained and varathaned and then masked off for painting. In the past I have always painted by brush and Humbrol enamel paint, but decided to invest in an airbrush and acrylic paint instead. The primary reason behind this is because of the many, many blocks which I will be painting in the future when the yards are assembled. What a time killer! Airbrushing them will be way more efficient! So with a brand new airbrush in my shop I opted to airbrush the masts as well. A bit to learn but I am very happy with the results. And no more "holidays"! A super investment that only took several decades to find out....
Here are some pic's of the results.
 

In this picture the masts are stained and varathaned, and some are masked with tape and saran wrap.
 

Here they are spray painted which went super slick.
 

The finished product with the deadeyes and mast bands painted.
 

The underside of the tops.
 

The topsides of the tops.
 

The crosstrees.
 

This is my new airbrush. It came as a complete set with the compressor as well. Beside it are a bunch of belaying pins. I can't believe I used to paint these by brush. And two coats at that!
 
Thanks for looking in.
 
Peter
 

With all the blocks attached and jackstays installed along with other odd and sods I could now apply some paint to the yards. My new airbrush came into its own and made short work of getting a uniform coat of black to cover the different materials that make up the yards and their jewellry. The studding sail booms were stained and varathaned. I also took the opportunity to install the footropes. Next step is to paint the blocks that make up the braces and install them on the yards. So lots to do before any real rigging takes place. Here are some pic's of the yards getting prepped.
 

Yards prior to painting with blocks, jackstays etc. attached.
 

Yards primed.
 

Main mast yards.
 

Mizzen mast yards.
 

Fore mast yards.

Each plank is a small project in itself:
cut plank to length, measure the with at each bulkhead against the tick marks, use a plane to reduce the width of the plank, chamfer one edge, edge bend to get the right fit, test out how to hold the plank using rubber bands, clamps etc., add glue, clamp down, scrape off excess glue, repeat... Now the end is in sight. Only a few evenings more...

Another update. Of late I have been working on the yards of the model. They were all precut for length and tapered at the Billing factory. The lengths were for the most part accurate. I can't speak to the diameters but I'm gong with what they are. The trick is to study the material I have as to what blocks to afix to the yards, prior to their installation. I am using Campbells plans along with Longridge's Cutty Sark book and Underhill's Masting and Rigging book. Using three sources can get a bit confusing, so I come up with a hybrid solution to get the results I want. Although not 100% accurate it will at least be realistic. Here are a few pic's of the block preparation...
 

 

 

 

 

 
And yes, I am using the plastic blocks that are provided with the kit. I realize that there are some who would consider this a faux pas, but my reasoning is this. They're readily available, having come with the kit and will be painted once installed. I have used these blocks with all my Billing kits and have not had any issues. They do require some shaving and trimming to remove the excess plastic and the holes need some reaming. This is usually a huge pain but after much trial and error I modified a clothes pin to hold the block while I work on it, saving huge amounts of time and curse words...

Just a little update with the masts of my Cutty Sark. It was quite the process getting the masts, tops and crosstrees assembled. I tried to prep them as much as possible before the paint came out. I decided to paint/stain them as they now appear on the actual ship in Greenich. They were first stained and varathaned and then masked off for painting. In the past I have always painted by brush and Humbrol enamel paint, but decided to invest in an airbrush and acrylic paint instead. The primary reason behind this is because of the many, many blocks which I will be painting in the future when the yards are assembled. What a time killer! Airbrushing them will be way more efficient! So with a brand new airbrush in my shop I opted to airbrush the masts as well. A bit to learn but I am very happy with the results. And no more "holidays"! A super investment that only took several decades to find out....
Here are some pic's of the results.
 

In this picture the masts are stained and varathaned, and some are masked with tape and saran wrap.
 

Here they are spray painted which went super slick.
 

The finished product with the deadeyes and mast bands painted.
 

The underside of the tops.
 

The topsides of the tops.
 

The crosstrees.
 

This is my new airbrush. It came as a complete set with the compressor as well. Beside it are a bunch of belaying pins. I can't believe I used to paint these by brush. And two coats at that!
 
Thanks for looking in.
 
Peter
 

Hi All,
Just popping my head up after a long while with Cutty Sark. I have been in the shop from time to time, but that was for other projects. I have been working lately on CS's yards and they are now done except for the paint. I am now poring over the Campbell's rigging drawings, Longridges chapters on rigging as well as Underhill's book covering the same topic. All three are invaluable. Less so the drawing that accompanies the kit. That said, not everyone is a rigger and the drawings are adequate for a completed model.
Here are some pic's of the yards in place. They are dry fitted for the moment, so not all are level.
 

 

 

 

I received my chapter nine parts, downloaded the monograph chapter, and finally got back to work after a long break. I added the quarterdeck inner planking, prepainted red. I then added the various cap rail parts after painting them black. The laser cut parts are great and make the work very straightforward. I sanded, filled and resanded the various joints and then repainted those areas. 
 
Bob

When lining off the hull, I saw that it would need a couple of stealers in the deadwood area. I made a simple sketch on paper to see how they could be arranged.

Then when I laid the next stake I edge bent it so that the gap at the stern post is just wide enough for one plank (7mm).
 

... and with the stealer fitted.

I recessed the ?bearding? line along the bow.  Also sanded the frames.
 
I gave a shot at bending the first plank. And look and behold, what is likely commen practice and utterly boring to most of you is giving me such joy.
 
The plank sits in place, curved, without any persuation 😁  
 

 
I uses my plane covering iron again, but need to give it a good clean. The covering glue residue rubs off on the planks.
 

 
Does anyone use a heated bed from an old 3D printer as baseboard for these bending operations?  It might help heating the planks more equally from both sides. Or are the planks typically soaked tranferring the heat more easily in depth?
 
It does seem to work when heating from a single side. But it would not hurt being able to shorten the heating duration.
 

 
Did I mention this build will be a slow one? 😋

Still having some issues uploading photos, (same error message keeps popping up... frustrating), but I've managed to get two pics uploaded today. Before Christmas, I wanted to post an update as I had completed the first belt of planking on the port side. After a little debate with myself whether or not to start the first belt on the starboard side (and a pause for Christmas), I'm still not sure what I want to do with the reveal on the starboard side, so in the spirit of giving myself more time to think about it (aka procrastination), I have now completed the second belt on the port side. As it is now, I'm going to finish off the port side planking before returning to the starboard side.
 

 

 
I'm managing between two and three strakes a day (provided I've made enough pre-spiled ones for the bow). Slow but steady work. 
 
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, and a safe and prosperous 2022.
 
Andy

I wish everyone a lot of success until the new year 2022, peace of mind modeling and especially health!

Hello Dirk and welcome to this great site. I have built the Marie Jeanne by Billing a long time ago now. I really like the lines of this boat and it's colourful paint scheme. I ran across another site that had photos of the same model built by other modellers with totally different colourings. It was a treat to see! Anyway, all the best with your project. It was a fun build for me and I hope a fun one for you as well. Happy New Year!
Peter

Hello Dirk and welcome to this great site. I have built the Marie Jeanne by Billing a long time ago now. I really like the lines of this boat and it's colourful paint scheme. I ran across another site that had photos of the same model built by other modellers with totally different colourings. It was a treat to see! Anyway, all the best with your project. It was a fun build for me and I hope a fun one for you as well. Happy New Year!
Peter

Hello Dirk and welcome to this great site. I have built the Marie Jeanne by Billing a long time ago now. I really like the lines of this boat and it's colourful paint scheme. I ran across another site that had photos of the same model built by other modellers with totally different colourings. It was a treat to see! Anyway, all the best with your project. It was a fun build for me and I hope a fun one for you as well. Happy New Year!
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

Next, the oars were prepared. The blanks from Corel had to be sanded and adjusted quite intensively. It might have been easier to make the oars from a strip with a square cross-section. Since later the ship will be visible mainly from the starboard side, I assigned the slightly worse oars to the port side. Also between port and starboard was later differentiated in the simulated attachment of the protective boards (knots/gluing on the keel side of the oars). To fix the rudders better, small pieces of wire (diameter 0.2 mm) were first sunk into the shaft. However, it turned out that these wire pins made adjusting the oars rather difficult. They were therefore subsequently ground off.

To adjust the oars on the ship, I made a template that imitated the bend of the ship's side. The distance between the oars was marked. On the outside, the oars were brought to the same distance by a spacer bar.   



For the showcase I used acrylic glass. The showcase was mounted under a sloping roof. The easier sawing of acrylic glass proved to be advantageous here. Now in the showcase it becomes especially clear what dimensions the ship has. In retrospect, building the ship was a lot of fun even if the material from Corel sometimes left something to be desired.