Paul Jarman

Welcome to MSW Paul

Paul

Hi all, first off, I am still building, but have recently moved into a new flat. Two months ago, seems like longer. Sorting the move, moving in, decorating and furnishing,sorting bills and utilities. Before you know it four months has gone with no modelling. But that is the beauty of this hobby after a break you soon get back into it. 10 months to retirement so am keeping my main model till then. In the mean time I am building the AL Marina II. Anyway i digress: This is a good thread and some great advice, as always from members of this forum. Good call with Billings, they have some great models let down by instructions and also fittings in plastic, real downside to their kits. My first wooden kit was the Cutty Sark. Cant remember the kit manufacturer. It was not a beginner kit but was a joy to build. It's a good question of where do you start. My own view is that a beginner kit can actually be harder than a mid range or over kit to build. I find that a beginner kit has so many small and cumbersome parts that it becomes frustrating to build. Whereas a mid level kit is a good size and the parts especially the fittings are easier to handle. A good place to start if you have never built a wooden model, and I realise this may sound silly is with the AL Heritage kits. I have the printing press and London telephone box. They are simple to build. but they also have a decent bit of woodwork required to build. IE cutting out, measuring up and adding a few fittings. They also don't require a lot of tools, just the basic modelling tools. If you can't get on with these kits and find you give up and find building in wood a challenge then you have not lost a lot of money. On the other hand when completed you will have some nice models and can then move onto wooden ship modelling with confidence. Another big no-no is not to go out and spend a few hundred pounds on tools, paints and other equipment, especially powered tools only to give up after a few weeks and everything gets skipped out of frustration. The most important thing to remember is that no matter which level model you choose you will be participating in a wonderful hobby that will keep you occupied for years to come and on completion of your first ship, you will always enjoy. When I got back into wooden kit building after a gap of around 30 years I gave up on at least five kits because I found them too small a scale but with perseverance I found the perfect kit for me in the Amerigo Vespucci, and I look forward to carrying on with this build come my retirement. And of course there is this forum where you will always get plenty of good advice and tons of encouragement from its members. Below is my model station finally set up in my new flat.

Shean Paul

It is a good feeling starting to model in wood for the first time. You will find a lot of the tools you use for plastic modelling will work just fine with wood. Most of the extra's you buy would be power tools such as a dremmel. And a headband magnifier will be a huge asset. (If you don't have these already) There are a few plank benders on the market and i have used most of them and don't like any of them. If i need to bend wood i find a good soaking in warm water and bending by hand following the run of the bend or using the handle of one of the larger paint brushes or even bending round a tea cup works just as well as any of the plank benders. Paul

Welcome to MSW Ivan, Good luck with your first wooden ship build. you will love it and if you find yourself stuck at any point in the build will get plenty of help from the members of this forum. Paul

I try to void CA glue. Don't like using it at all except in an extreme emergency. I only really use it for attaching PE parts. Apart from going brittle over time it also heats up as it cures which has the potential to snap the rigging cord if it is too tight. I find that Very thin plastic cement works best for knots. The Tamiya one with the brush in the lid works best for me. Paul

Hello to you Chimera, and welcome aboard. Paul

Hi, I will follow this build with interest as I am building the same kit. Paul

Look forward to seeing that when you get round to it. Paul

Nice kit great job. Like the water effect. Like the search and rescue vessel as well. I have built the Revell version of the same vessel. Paul

Nice, I will follow with interest as I have this kit arriving on Tuesday. Paul

Keith Paul

This may be of some help. The deck plan is around page 14. https://www.artesanialatina.net/en/elite/485-wooden-model-ship-kit-cutty-sark-tea-clipper.html Open the instructions and you can see the deck was planked. When I built the Cutty Sark I planked the decks, however it was not a Billings kit. Paul

Don't know if this is a problem with Mantua kits. But I have the same thing with the brass scrollwork on my kit. It took quite a bit of filing to get the parts to fit. Luckily I don't have a lot of brass decoration for this kit. But as you so rightly point out we pay a lot of money for these top end kits and should not expect these problems. Paul

Coming along brilliantly Danny, Nice planes. Paul

Like that way Bob, I will give it a try. Paul

I will bare that in mind with The Mantua lathe should i want one. Must admit when i did the masts and spars for the cutty Sark many years ago i used sand paper and turned the dowel in my hand and it worked out just fine. If i did need a lathe i would use a drill. Paul

Hi Cristi, Looking good. I have been considering this kit for a couple of years. Just don't know if i want to build such a complex kit. However looking at your log i am getting closer to investing in it. I will follow your build with great interest. Paul

There's this from Cornwall Model Boats. http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/mantua_lathe.html Paul

Hugh, Welcome to MSW. This looks a good kit and will follow along as you build. it looks like there are some good detailed parts to the kit. Paul

Xander, Welcome to MSW. Will follow you on your build. I am looking at getting one of these river boat kits and look forward to seeing how it goes. Paul

Jim, Cracking set of pictures. I like the fact they are watercolours. I like to see the simple parts of a picture that give it meaning. So i look for things like the portholes, masts and rigging that add to the detail and you have them down to a fine art. . The water details are very good. The speed you paint at is unreal. Looking forward to seeing more. Paul

Agreed, top class planking. Paul

I have this problem with gloss. They tend to be a bit thin. I use Vallejo (not sure on spelling). they are very good. I no longer use gloss I find it better to paint with a mat paint and then varnish. This way I can apply as much or as little varnish depending on the shine I want. If you look at my hull you can see it looks like I have glossed it but I haven't. I do this with all the parts. Paul