Johncal

I usually do and will on my next one, but since this ship is completed I added extensive build logs to the dropbox. Hundreds of pages in fact. Fun and informative reading. Thanks!

Thank you. I made all my own ropes to scale. All the thread used is Coats & Clark outdoor polyester. It is unbelievably strong and with absolutely no fuzzing. Also very resistant to atmospheric changes. It never loosens or tightens. It just stays right.

I used to and still do plastic kits but this was a whole different level. I also used to design and invent electro mechanical arcade games so I have a creative streak I just take advantage of. I also have a philosophy that if it doesn’t look right work on it until it’s perfect and then move on. If you read through my build logs there is a ton of good info on how I conquered the beast. Thank you you very much for the kind words. I’d be happy to discuss my methods any time.

My opinion is that wooden ships require wooden models and metal ships can use plastic as a base - WITH LOTS OF MODS. I think plastic is much better when mimicking metal. FYI, the Model Ship shop at the Anapolis Naval Museum routinely use plastic kits as the basis for their models and then Make resin and metal fabricated parts where necessary. It's all in the finishing techniques. I think the model you show here is excellent. The only difference on any of my models (except cars), is that I always weather and wear them for the extra detail and realism.

Hi, I'm from PA myself. I think that any of the name brand kits can work for you as long as you're willing to modify things as necessary. I think if you're wanting to build any of the "kits" the way they come supplied, you will soon get disappointed and either give up or guess what, you'll start modifying! So my advice would be find something you like and do whatever it takes. It works for me. It will be historically accurate when YOU make it that way. Remember, no limitations on time but do TONS of research. Good Luck

Here is something I wrote a while back but thought it might be helpful and it falls right into this topic: Philosophy for being a great Model Crafter by: John R. Callahan The person I am talking to in this discussion is the person that really wants to accomplish the absolute best job that they can do in crafting a high-quality scale model. This article is not about technique, it is about the philosophies of APPROACH, DISCIPLINE, ATTITUDE, and PATIENCE. I will discuss each of these aspects of model building and the reasoning for mastering each. I will then follow up with simple rules to be followed to make your model turn out exactly the way you want it to. APPROACH – They say, “Everything is in the approach” and they are right! What IS your expectation of the build? You must decide at the beginning what your approach and expectation is going to be. To build the absolute best model YOU can build, you will need to make a real COMMITMENT to the highest level of detail and quality possible and stick with it…...no matter what! We are going to assume you are aiming for the greatest level of detail and quality possible and are willing to make this commitment. You will need a dedicated approach. If you are not totally enthusiastic and dedicated to the project, then don’t bother. You will only do your best if you honestly want to. DISCIPLINE – Discipline is probably the most important aspect to a good build. You must always, and I mean always follow the rules that you have pre-determined when you’ve made the decision to build a particular model. You will see more about discipline in the rules. If you are determined to build the best, do not settle for less…..ever. ATTITUDE – The term “attitude is everything” is probably one of the biggest truths in everything you do in life. Building a quality model more than anything requires a good attitude and attitude re-adjustment from time to time. Things will often go in a way you did not intend, and sometimes there will be outright disasters. How you react and handle the inevitable problems will be determined by your attitude. If you break something or make a mistake, are you going to throw things across the room, smash your model, give up? Or are you going to grab ahold of yourself, step back and calmly correct things? Please keep this in mind, when you build a model, you are building a “prototype” a “one off”. Nothing is ever going to go perfectly, so get over it, fix it, and move on. Do not wallow in frustration. SIMPLE RULES: 1. THINK THINGS OUT BEFORE YOU BUY – Why are you building this model? There can be many legitimate reasons. Just make sure at the end of the day that your reasons to build this model are good ones and that you are willing to spend as much time and money as necessary to complete the model properly no matter what it takes. Can you afford the kit or parts and all of the supplies necessary to complete the build as well as a protective case to display it in? You will need that protective case to protect that investment that can run into some serious money. 2. PLAN – Make sure you have adequate time in your busy life before you begin, and if the build takes much longer than you anticipated, are you willing to stick with it? When will you have time? You might be up late at night. More nights than you care to imagine. If you are motivated to build your model, this will happen more often than you might think. 3. RESEARCH – Well if you got past rules 1 and 2, let’s keep going. Research is the most important thing you can do be become a great model craftsman. You can’t build a great model of anything if you don’t fully understand the subject. To build a great model car, you need to understand cars. To build a great Period Ship, you should know how a period ship works and all of the history around it. If I were building a visible Heart, I’d be reading every medical book on hearts I could find. Do you see where I’m going? The educational aspect of model building can be one of its greatest rewards. It nice to learn something and have a practical example sitting right next to you! 4. DON’T BRING A KNIFE TO A GUNFIGHT – So don’t bring a dull pocket knife to a sharp Exacto knife job. You need to invest in all of the proper tools to do the job. If you are not willing to do this, your results will be questionable at best. Fortunately, you can get away with a lot less tools that you might thing you need to do a good job, and I’ll bet there’s a few you should have that you probably don’t even know you need. Most of the tools you need will be fairly inexpensive and can be used for purposes other than modelmaking. 5. SUPPLIES – Realize you could spend 2 to 5 times on the price of your kit to get the proper supplies to finish the kit properly. If you are not willing to do this, then don’t build the kit. Between Paints, primers, sandpaper, different glues, Exacto Knives and blades, masking tapes, micro drills, big drills, scissors, snippers, Decals, Threads, wires, small accessories, it all adds up really quickly. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 6. TIME AND SPACE – Please don’t build your model on your Dining Room Table. You might wind up sleeping alone. Your family needs you to respect their space if you want them to respect yours, and you will want a safe, quiet place to build your model where the cat won’t steal the parts! Also, remember your model might take years to build or even (yes) over 1000-2000 hours to build. You have to remember you have a family to balance your available time with. You really should discuss the idea of building a model with your family before you make the commitment, so you are being thoughtfully courteous of everyone around you. 7. STAY ON TASK – Plan your every move and mentally rehearse those moves over and over so that when you take that step on the build, you will feel comfortable and prepared, and most importantly relaxed when you take that step. NOTE: Do not jump around step to step out of order when building out of being anxious or excited. Finish the task at hand before you move on. 8. BE PATIENT- I know it’s tough, but glues and paints only dry so fast. All you’ll do by not waiting long enough is re-doing the job or possibly ruining the job and having a costly or impossible repair in front of you. 9. IF IT DOESN’T LOOK RIGHT, IT ISN’T- Stop and fix it now and don’t move on until it looks as perfect as you can get it. No exceptions, no excuses!!! Treat every part of the model like it is a model…...which is the truth. If you have a good overarching idea of what you are doing but a compartmentalize and isolate each step or operation, you will achieve better results. 10. PACE YOURSELF – This is not a race or a competition. Only go as fast as you feel comfortable going, and if you get frustrated, step away from it for a few hours, days, or even weeks if necessary. If you are not positively motivated to do the work, you will do a poor job. Give yourself a mental vacation every once in a while. There’s obviously a lot more to model making but a good Model Building Philosophy is a great place to start. Good Luck! Comments welcomed!

Hi Guys, My name is John Callahan. I joined up as I wanted to share my completed AL HMS Surprise model with you. I worked on the model for 5-1/2 years. It is my first wooden ship construction. It is a faithful Reproduction of the MOVIE VERSION of the ship. The model has been significantly modified including rebuilding the entire bow and added poop deck as in the movie version. However, even in that where I found the Movie version to be historically inaccurate, I changed it to be period correct. Since no one knows exactly what the ship looked like, I tried to make sure that everything was a period accurate as possible. All of the ropes are hand made and to scale and all the rigging is as accurate as possible down to the knots used. I Also hand built the display case, and the ship has both internal and external lighting. Below is a dropbox link that shows finished Photos, as well as over 500 build pics, and 3 volumes of build logs. You might find this all very interesting from not just a technical perspective, but also what my approach was to turn out the job that I did. Please feel free to make comments or ask questions. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6bdxcsuty38fhw9/AADZrmMTgMXTJzB6kLSYxJ62a?dl=0 Best Regards, John

Here's my Hms Surprise build. This is extremely accurate for a 1800's period Frigate ship. It started out as an AL kit and was highly customized from there. All my pics and photos are in here along with build diaries. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6bdxcsuty38fhw9/AADZrmMTgMXTJzB6kLSYxJ62a?dl=0