grsjax

Everybody's mileage differs, I suppose. Having built hulls using both methods, I've found shaping a "bread and butter" built hull, let alone a pre-shaped solid hull, is far easier than POF or POB. You are correct that "the natural curve of the planking" is helpful in "getting every inch of the hull shape right. So also does a suitably sized batten with sandpaper glued to it spring into a fair curve in exactly the same way planking strip wood does. Moreover, after one has done anything but a perfect planking job on frames or bulkheads, the hull must be slathered with some sort of plaster or filler putty and then sanded fair in exactly the same manner as a solid wood hull anyhow. As for scratchbuilding, one can take station or waterlines off a plan, cut them to shape, and stack them up to form the stepped shape of the hull which then requires only "knocking the steps off" to achieve a perfectly shaped hull identical to the drawn lines. Just sayin'.
 
In point of fact, the old "pre-carved" solid hull models weren't all that "rough-cut." I can't remember ever seeing one that wasn't shaped to the point where all it really required was finish sanding to smooth without any serious shaping other than sometimes carving rails or stems, etc. thinner because they were left thick so as not to be damaged in shipping. Bottom line, finish sanding the old "pre-carved" hulls really wasn't any more work that sanding a planked hull covered with filler to hide a multitude of sins.
 
Even where one is interested in "showing the planking," whether it be finished "bright" or painted, it is far easier to glue very thin "planks" made of wood shavings from a plane or pieces of paper or card stock to a solid hull than to attempt to shape the much thicker scale plank stock to form a hull "the way the real ship was built." 
 
Additionally, with the exception of fully-framed "Admiralty Board style" models and those intended to depict the subject vessel's interior, as with open boats, most all museums and major collections limit their acquisitions to solid hull ship models.
 
I do believe Mr. BlueJacket's explanation that POB and POF kits have come to predominate on the kit market is simply because they are a lot cheaper to produce, particularly with modern laser-cutting technology. The tradeoff is that they are a lot more work to construct and that's passed on the to the consumer.

Speaking just for myself, and for the sake of argument, I'd generally rather plank a bulkhead hull than deal with a rough-cut solid hull. To me, if the bulkheads are reasonably accurate, the natural run of the planks creates a reasonable hull shape. If the planking isn't meant to be seen, then it doesn't have to be perfect and is easy to finish using filler. In comparison, getting a solid hull right means manually getting every inch of the hull shape right, which the natural curve of planking does for you on a bulkhead model. It also strikes me as easer for scratchbuilding, since you can take station lines off a plan and, again, let the planks do the rest, rather than trying to manage every square inch of a solid wood surface.
 
And while rough planking isn't the same as "how the real thing was built", it's a lot closer than sanding down a block of wood! Even my earliest attempts at planking taught me quite a bit about the geometry and physics of bending wood, inspiring an interest to know more. Whereas shaping a solid hull feels more like making a Dutch shoe.
 
I can easily see how things might be different for more modern vessels with, as Roger says, complex hull shapes that don't have the simple lines of a traditional wooden sailing vessel.
 
Interesting economic perspective from Mr. BlueJacket, thank you.

While trying to find some information on an old kit I had the thought that someone might want to make a list of all the old manufactures and kits.  Old catalogs and advertisements would seem to be the best sources of information.  I don't have the time for it but I would be happy to contribute a couple of older catalogs to anyone who wanted to under take something like that.

Some idle speculation regarding Bob’s question.
 
The old standbys; AJ Fisher, Model Shipways, etc. offered solid hull kits of subjects based on solid research, particularly the availability of accurate hull lines.  With solid hulls a skilled craftsman was not constrained by the way planks wanted to bend around widely spaced bulkheads. This allowed accurate reproduction of subtle hull shapes.  These kits could and did produce beautiful models of mostly American subjects.
 
In the 1970’s we were invaded by a host of awful POB model kits usually of European manufacture.  This is not just my opinion.  The then Editor of the Nautical Research Journal published a lengthy article titled Piracy on the High C’s decrying the poor quality of these imported kits.  These kits were supported by a first class marketing program.  The subjects, often fictitious, were more exciting than the staid offerings offered by the old American Companies as they often offered  “hook” to a recognized Nautical event.  Why are there so many Titanic kits and so few if any SS United States kits?  The kits also made the nonsensical claim that constructing a POB hull was just like building the real thing.  These kits have improved over the years and several new companies now offer POB kits that build into beautiful, accurate models expanding the appeal of the hobby.  Unfortunately several of the old companies did not improve their offerings and have lost market appeal.
 
A notable exception would appear to be Bluejacket.  They offer POB kits, the POF kits that Bob mentioned, and Solid Hull kits.  Their new USS Olympia kit is Solid hull and they presently have a Solid hull Coast Guard vessel under development.
 
And last, a recent photo of an AJ Fisher kit completed over 80 years by my father.  A solid hill kit; 1:96 scale.
 

 
 

A really good start would be if manufactures published a list of out of production kits.

Post 1: The Project
Normally I wouldn't start a new project when I still have to finish the last one. But I picked this kit up from the local Thriftshop in my new home town, while looking for a nice cupboard to put in the new house. After spotting this old and covered with a fair layer of dust (now discontinued)Billing Boats kit, I quickly checked if all the important bits were present in the box and hurried home with my new prize. 
 

 
The Kit is of a 1:27 scale "Hoogaars" Yacht. Now I think that "Hoogaars" isn't really a household name for most people. But it is where I am from, If one thinks of a traditionally build wooden ship. Its these flatbotomed beaties. The Town where I grew up used to be home to one of the bigger shipbuilding warfs of this part of the Netherlands and her Hoogaars ships were known as far north as Friesland and as far south as southern Belgium. 
 
History and Background.
Its not entirely understood what the name "Hoogaars" means, the name is known to have been in use since the 16th century. Hoogaarsen are mainly used in the Dutch province of  Zeeland (The Old-Zealand). The ships are differentiated from their other flatbotomed colleques by the sharp rise of their bows. The ships hulls have a water droplet shaped bottom hull and traditionally the side strakes are clinker-built. Depending on the shipyard they are rigged *** either Gaff- or Sprit-Rigged. 
The Hoogaarsen were mainly used for the fishing industry, but also as ferries, cargoships and passenger service. And they are equiped with the characteristic "Swords" that make sailing possible despite the flat botoms.
 
Hoogaarsen were replaced as fishing ships at the end of the 19th century in favor of motorised northsea trawler type ships. During this period there were a couple of examples of hoogaarsen being built with steel hulls and equiped with engines. Some older wooden hoogaarsen were also upgraded. This upgrade didnt turn out as a success however because the wooden hulls were not suited to house a vibrating early petrol engine, and many ships quickly wore out. 
 
Luckily the wooden Hoogaarsen were still popular as pleasure yachts and many were built with a cabin and more luxurious outfitting. This is what the ship kit is.
The Billing boats Hoogaars is a replica based on a ship that was built in the Warf of the town of Tholen. It was used as a ferry and after a couple of owners it ended up with a Belgian owner. This is when J. Van Beylen, A ship researcher from the Belgian Naval museum, drew the boat in detail and documented the building plans. The real boat, in a sad turn of events, but in a way we ship enthousiasts might have grown accustomed to, it didn't stand the test of time, she burned down after years of neglect. The drawings by J. Van Beylen are the only thing that is left about the boat. As far as I know there are no photographs.
 
After a quick google I found that J. Van Beylen dedicated a small part of a book he wrote, to this particular hoogaars. And the Zeeuwsche library had a copy in its inventory. So I'll be getting that to see if there is any extra information I can find.
 
Contents of the box
The contents are remarkebly, complete. Everything was neatly put back into the box. The Spars, rope, fittings, sails, even the scrap bits of ply-wood. The hull is partly finished. There are a couple of detailing parts that are yet to be assembled onto the model. 
 

 

 

The characteristic clinker Strakes.
 
The building quality is relatively high which makes me suspect that this wasn't someone's first rodeo. Which also makes one wonder why it ended up at the thrift store.
 
One thing that stood out to me, is that the parts are not laser cut. So I'll be heading back to the thrift shop to find myself a small modelers saw.
 
My plan with this project will be to follow the instructions, but I'll be pulling on books and real life examples to add a little bit more detail is the places where the kit might be lacking a little bit. I am very lucky to live within walking distance of a couple of ships that are from the same Shipyard as this model so I'll be photographing them as reference.
 
This project will probably be on the backburner until I finish the current project. But till then I'll be researching the subject.
 
Thanks for reading.
 

A few more information to describe the way the skid beams are built: 
 

 
After placing carefully the beams, six holes are drilled in it. Then these holes are reported on the hull and drilled with 0.8 mm bit. Note the careful carving of the rails with a Dremel equipped with a disk.
 

 
The beam is finely sanded and its external surface is rounded. It is then "oiled" with Howard Feed and Wax, revealing the beautiful color of the sherry wood.
 

 
It is then glued (CA 7-10 seconds) and then pinned into place. The pins are cut and hammered down in the hull. At the end, a dab of Black Cannon acrylic paint achieves to give them the "old" look.
 

 
The steps are then installed: 
 

 
Et voila, both sides have been completed:
 

 
I need to find a way to keep these ropes straight and dangling....
 
Yves
 

And a long one at that. BlueJacket alone has over 80 current kits, and 100's more from the past.

Bluejacket had a carved-out tug hull model that was fun to build.
The yellow box Fair American (solid hull) was good and I think better than the present one.
Aeropiccola's thermo-plastic wood-dust-waffles for carvings and sterns were and are still the best solution.
Sometimes the good old days were better.

While trying to find some information on an old kit I had the thought that someone might want to make a list of all the old manufactures and kits.  Old catalogs and advertisements would seem to be the best sources of information.  I don't have the time for it but I would be happy to contribute a couple of older catalogs to anyone who wanted to under take something like that.

As to the rotary tool: I would rather look for something with collets; they are less bulky and unless you get something really cheapo with brass collets, their concentricity is much better than that of a chuck.
 
I would also add one or two pin-vises to the list, to hold small parts, but also to hold pins for various operations and small drills.
 
Plus drills, of course. Go for HSS, rather than carbide. Carbide breaks easily when hand-drilling - they are made for drill-stands or milling machines.
 
And perhaps a small archimedean drill, the size of a pin-vise. It is more sensitive and less bulky than a rotary tool for drilling holes < 1 mm.
 
For the rotary tool you may also want a set of carbon-steel and/or diamond burrs with 2.34 mm shaft. They come at moderate prices in sets of different shape and size. As your needs develop, you can upgrade. They wear out anyway over time.
 
For the tweezers, it is better not to buy on-line - one has to check how well the points close and how stiff they are. Bad tweezers can be very frustrating. A good pair, treated well, can last for decades of modelling. My favourite pair still in daily use was bought in 1987 ...

The small Midwest models are strip planked.  You might want to consider some of the Falkonet or Master Korabel kits.

The small Midwest models are strip planked.  You might want to consider some of the Falkonet or Master Korabel kits.

The small Midwest models are strip planked.  You might want to consider some of the Falkonet or Master Korabel kits.

Just a thought - how about using layers of micro ply? Available in thicknesses from less than 1 mm, up to a couple of mm, strips could be cut, glued to achieve the required final thickness and clamped to the bulkheads to form a laminated curve, and no need to make those shallow cuts... 

A little late to the party but I've always called them grommets. I've also seen them called eyelets. This shop on Etsy make some really small ones. I bought 1mm and I think they'll work OK. Haven't gotten there yet. 
https://www.etsy.com/listing/814100186/2mm-inner-diameter-tiny-eyelet-in-4?click_key=a5b8143e75330cff8960f1811f86e58ba18bb85f%3A814100186&click_sum=41c3a832&ga_search_query=eyelet&ref=shop_items_search_9&crt=1&sts=1

The trouble with the Washable glues, is that they do not hold well.

Send them an email and ask when they will be back in stock. 

Crafty Sailor has small thimbles.  They are one of the outfits that supports Model Ship World. https://craftysailor.com/

As an add on, I have a cheapo small laser-cutter that works with bit-images, rather than vector-graphics. Below is the image that was used to cut the oars:

The oars are about 22 mm long.
 

I recently made a bunch of oars in 1:160 from three layers of laser-cut paper:

Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of the process itself. However, they are laminated from three layers of 0.2 mm thick 'Canson' paper, trying to more or less reproduce the varying cross-sections and longitudinal profile. The layers were cemented together using varnish, which hardens the paper and makes it also amenable to (light) sanding. 
 

You could have them 3D printed.  Draw up what you want and send it to maker like Shapeways.  Should not cost much and will be much less hassle than trying to make them that small.

You could have them 3D printed.  Draw up what you want and send it to maker like Shapeways.  Should not cost much and will be much less hassle than trying to make them that small.

You could have them 3D printed.  Draw up what you want and send it to maker like Shapeways.  Should not cost much and will be much less hassle than trying to make them that small.

You could have them 3D printed.  Draw up what you want and send it to maker like Shapeways.  Should not cost much and will be much less hassle than trying to make them that small.