Snug Harbor Johnny

Your inquiry had me searching for a Revell Kearsarge build log ... but I did find one for the Alabama from the Revell kit 'bashed' for better conformity ... CSS Alabama by Jonathan11 - Revell - 1/96 scale - kit bash 90% historical accuracy Looking at the Revell hull of the above build, the bow shape is definitely curved - much like the 'Aberdeen bow' of the clipper Thermopylae - and not like the 'sharper shape' noted in pervious posts on this thread that the Alabama had. These posts also note the more 'angled' stern of the Alabama, versus the more upright stern profile of the Kearsarge. For comparison, Revell made a pretty good 1:96 Cutty Sark hull (with sharp bow and upright stern) that was used for their 'clone' kit of Thermopylae ... Unfortunately, the 'Big T' had a curved bow and an angled stern, so their clone is inaccurate not just in those easily spotted areas, but also in the hull lines - which are not as easy to spot. The conclusion is that the Revell hull is pretty good for the Kearsarge (with curved bow and upright stern), but less so for the 'cloned' Alabama. It is easier to file or grind away surplus plastic than to build it up in layers. For a Thermopylae clone, the sharp bow can be rounded easily enough, but the angled stern would have to be modified by building up (permanently bonding by glue, which 'melts' (welds) plastics together - then outgasses to regain solidity) - then modeling by filing/grinding to get the desired profile. If course, there's not much that can be done for hull line differences elsewhere. So the Revell Alabama clone would have to have material built up both at the bow and the stern - tricky to do, which is why the referenced build just ignores these two areas and focuses on everything else that can be done. Most likely, the Revell Kearsarge hull is closest for that ship. Not being an expert, I can't say just 'how close' - but likely closer, but definitely closer that using the same hull for Alabama, which is what they did because it would have been too expensive to make an entirely new injection mold for the second kit (same thing withe the two clippers).

When I count up the number of square sails on an extreme clipper - 18 if one is not including 'sky sails' (or the fabled 'moon sail') - and multiply that by 12 (an average of 4 bunt lines per sail .. more below but fewer above, plus 2 sheets per sail, and 2 - either clew OR down haul - lines per sail, 2 luff lines and 2 braces), you get something like 216 lines if one want to "fully" rig such a ship under sail - and thats just for the square sails. Now add 8 halyards per mast (24), outhaul inhaul and sheets for 9 staysails (27) plus at least 6 lines for the spanker and the total is at least 273 separate lines that need belaying. Of course there are a few that I've overlooked ... and that is why I've decided to simplify (somewhat) how I'll rig my restoration of an old Gorch Fock model to reduce the amount of "spaghetti". No wonder the popularity of "harbor rig" of a ship where the sails (and their lines) have been taken down to represent a vessel held in port for long enough to take the sails down. One can get by with sheets, clews, halyards and braces - and you can get the number of belayed lines down to 150 or less ... still quite an undertaking.

Its great to see the thought and detail you are given to the area under the forecastle deck. The photo Jorez posted may indeed be the starboard side of a 'typical' windlass of the time, which would look the same on the other end of it. Since the area we're talking about is mostly inclosed, I'd say that any suitably sized windlass (either form another ship model or perhaps can be found found under accessories sold somewhere) would suffice. BTW, I like the look of brass on a model - whether 'correct' or not. And brass will slowly get a brown patina over the years (might take 3 or 4 decades for the full effect), but I'd like to think that someone might be keeping the model long after I'm gone.

I did both Revell kits in my teens (neither survived as they were not cased, nor was my craftsmanship that good). There are a number of builds on both in MSW, which are great sources of info to make the build go smoother and perhaps expand on what's in the box (a 'soft' kit bust). Later versions of these kits will tend to have more flash and less definition - and on some case more 'rubbery' plastic. Having the masts bend under rigging pressure seems to be the main thing to avoid. Doing the shrouds (less ratlines, which can come last) and forestays from the deck up seems to increase rigidity, but things can still get dicy at the topgallant mast level. Some have substituted wood where possible for thinner mast sections or yards.

I'm in full agreement with you, Hamilton. The question to ask oneself is, "Am I having fun?", alternatively, "Is this project sustaining my interest?" I like to use what's handy, or available without spending too much - the reason I bought some scribed basswood decking (for a smaller scale than your project) instead of trying to sweat doing tiny individual planks, although fiddling with infinitesimal details does 'float the boat' for some. 'Standard' quality blocks provided in most kits still can be worked a little by hand to improve their appearance, like enlarging the hole for the line a tad to make threading easier, and rounding the edges/profile a little by hand if they are not too tiny to begin with. 'Love your Bluenose, and only wish I had the one my Dad made ca. 1950 ... I didn't see it among his estate items, so it may have been given by him to someone else along the way.

Seeing profiles of the planked hull that you have so far give a nice visualization of the lines - and something subtle I noticed in my kit review of OcCre's Endurance. The bow flare of the kit is a little more than seen in forward photos of the ship, as well as published lines. So I'll trim the first two kit bulkheads a tad to correct when the time comes, and this will impart a little less 'twist' to the solid bulwark piece provided (which can be pre-planked as you've already done. Bulwark installation and subsequent planking will then be a little easier at the bow. Conversely, kit bulkheads 7, 8 and 9 are not as wide as the ship's lines would indicate, and one can see some lack of fullness in this area. New builders can revise these bulkheads (either by bonding additional material or cutting replacements on a jigsaw) prior to framing. Planking then would be less easy towards the stern, but would have correct lines. I suspect the designers opted for ease of planking, and the difference would not be noticed on the finished model. The drawings posted in the kit review can be confusing, because there is no kit frame forward of the first one provided in the kit, so I made another to show the frame differences I'm talking about.

The scribed deck planking came today - 3 sheets each of 1/8 and 3/32 wide scribe lines on 1/32" thick basswood on 4" x 24" sheets - as noted on another MSW thread. I figure the 1/8 wide planks should be about scale for the Endurance (about 1:70 or so) and the 3/32 should be OK for the Great Harry at 1:88 - and is also good at 1:96 - as the 'target width' represented might be 8 - 9 inches. I figure this will be a time saver, and a scoring blade can be fashioned for each size to place separation where individual planks butt. I fancy that a staggered pattern for butted planks is likely the look to go for. Making tiny dots at the butt joints is right out ... 'Guess at any scale there must be some formula to find the 'cutoff' to determine at what point tiny details may be omitted. Maybe it was if the scaled-down size of something is less than 0.010" - don't worry about it. Whatever. A photo below shows the decking, plus 19 of the 26 small turnbuckles needed made so far (I'l do 30 to have spares) - and some of the larger turnbuckles.

Back in the day (before power point and other graphic display aids) manual wall charts were done with a product called 'Chartpack', both for grids and also graphing lines. 'Don't know if any of that stuff is around today (probably not, and the sticky side like is gummy), but the top part was made of stretchable plastic that could go around curves, and came in a number of colors.

I see in the historic photo the nice, large lubber hole ... AND that there are fairleads very close to it, so the control lines from above will pass down inside the "shed" between the shrouds coming up and the lines angling down from the lower deadeyes at the perimeter of the top. This permits crew unobstructed passage up the ratlines of the shrouds and onto the ratlines of the futtock shrouds.

That may depend on how much filler is on the surface, and what type of filler it is. Once upon a time a project of mine had filler all over the surface (it was a large model of a B-29 out of reasonably good solid balsa underneath. There were a couple area where it was thick and the filler flaked off in places and had to be repaired before painting. After painting, the layer of paint may have stabilized things as there were no more flaking. 'Seems that a clear coat sealer might do the same thing. Then the planking (pre-bent where needed) should stick with aliphatic resin (e.g. Titebond), and will also bond along the edges plank-to-plank. Light sanding will remove any unevenness and glue 'squeeze out' that may occur in the process of final planking.

'Just saw this and it gives one pause to think ... what if ? And if I was the officer later assigned to manage the lookouts, I'd have ordered a mechanic to break open the locker to get at the binoculars. Especially if the ship's safety were involved, it would be easier to ask pardon than permission.

I've been looking for a source of scored planking for a while ... now I know to look for it at Model Shipways. THANKS !

Most definitely - so one does not have to deal with excess flash or more 'rubbery' plastic to boot.

Super job to date - especially pre-lining the bulwarks with thin planking ... another opportunity seized.

I'd put a backing piece of thin wood on the inside (with a little Saran Wrap between it and the planks so there can be no accidental gluing) held in place with a couple clamps ... use two horizontal strips on the outside to prevent the clamps from denting the outside of the planking. Then cut a piece of patching plank from the same wood as the planking ... having a card-stock template (made with trial fittings) can help, then by lightly tracing around the card stock with a mechanical pencil will give you a slightly oversized patch that you can shave where needed. It should be still be sung before gluing. Use blue 'painters tape' to mask around the edges of the planking already in place to prevent glue slops. (That can also be done on the inside before step one as an added precaution.) Sparingly put glue on the edges of the patch and the planks, and that will act as a 'lubricant' to ease the snug patch in place ... use Titebond or equivalent aliphatic resin wood glue. If needed due to the shape of the area, place Saran wrap over the patch before the glue 'grabs', cover with another piece of thin wood, then clamp as needed - the wood 'outer sandwich' inside and out will prevent denting from the clamps. Do not use too much clamping pressure, or excess force can 'telegraph' through the protective wood and affect the planking beneath. Give it a couple hours at least ... half a day is better - what's the rush? Then undo everything, and you should be able to LIGHTLY sand the area with very fine sandpaper and a little closed-cell foam in back of the sandpaper. Everything should blend well enough - of course there will be evidence of a join - but repairs were not uncommon on wooden boats.

Think thrice, measure twice, then cut once.

The print-on-demand Boy's Manual of Seamanship and Gunnery (2nd ed. 1871) finally arrived from India, and it is mostly text - with only a few illustrations ... definitely not the source of rigging detail I'd hoped for, but can be of interest to some. One illustration depicts a temporary repair of a shroud (when shot away), where a pair of small deadeyes 'always kept fitted' have the tail from each spirally wound up then down the parted shroud - which is then tightened with the lacings through the deadeyes. A wide variety of activities are covered including (aside from general seamanship); gunnery exercises, musketry, Snyder rifle drill, Naval cutlass exercise plus rules and regulations. Perhaps good for some reading on a rainy or winter day as a break from doing anything else. Right now, lawn tractor maintenance calls (having run errands for the Admiral earlier). Perhaps this week I'll be allowed to retire to the shipyard some.

Steven, Your Great Harry (in my opinion) ranks as one of most interesting builds on MSW - a fine job at a difficult scale (although there are some tiny marvels done by those with an 'elite' level of skill I can only dream about). My Henry project is on hold while I learn rigging skills on the Gorch Fock 1 restoration, but I intend to post drawings of the frame pieces on gridded stock for anyone wanting a 'starting point' to do GH.

After some practice, the technique for making the turnbuckles was improved - and cutting them from pre-browned tubing makes for a nicer fitting. They're still a tad large for units aloft, so I went back to a Hobby Lobby for more stock and found a smaller size to try. Some finer brass wire was also bought. The eyes are made from 1 1/2" lengths bent around a fine drill bit as a starting point. This is a method seen elsewhere on MSW, but I'm picturing it here. Step 2 is to clamp in a vise and twist with the drill (prior to trimming off the end bits after forming). Turning smaller turnbuckle bodies is at about the limit in small size doable with my rig due to springiness, but I suppose smaller belaying pins might be done from rod held close to the chuck and cut with a form tool. 26 gauge wire was used for the eyes (versus 22 gauge for the larger turnbuckles), because the through hole in the 1/16" O.D. tubing is smaller than the 3/32" O.D. tubing. Below is the first trial part next to the larger version for comparison. Yeah, I'm still 'in the weeds' but plodding on with the prep work. In the photo below, the top group of turnbuckles are the 'learning batch' ... perhaps OK, but I might re-make them to appear uniform with the improved method batch near the bottom. On the lower right are the first pair of thinner fittings next to the larger size to be used to anchor the lower shrouds.

You're doing fine ... take all the time you need, which is my own style. I have an early, well-molded version of this kit up on the shelf for some future time (or perhaps to end-up with someone else when I'm gone), and have long thought on what eventual approach could be done with it. The Czech-made laser-engraved wooden deck topper was added to the box, as I've never been happy trying to paint plastic to look like wood - yet some have done pretty well doing just that. And starting with an unbuilt kit does not have the limitations imposed on restoring a previously built model, as you are doing.

We've has some splendid weather of late (for August ... I feel sympathy for parts of the country plagued by fire, floods and earthquake - disasters of 'Biblical' proportions), that I've been working a lot outside when not working at the hospital. But the Gorch Fock I (GF1) is still on my mind. A nice photo was found with the crew standing on the yards for show ... brave and steady men. 'Don't know what the signal flags say given that the photo is B&W, German signal flags may differ from other nationalities, and the message would be in German. I can make out the Nazi flags atop the masts. So I looked some to find out more about the ship's namesake, Gorch Fock (a pen name, fock translating as 'jib'). 'Seems he was a playwright and poet who got swept up into WWI, as so many men did to their peril. So many artists, writers, teachers, scientists and men from all walks of life never made it home in that conflict ... and no one knew that even greater devastation lay further in the future. He appears to have been stoic about his conscription, and was steadfast in duty to the end, as were many of all nations involved. Ergo he must have been thought as an example of patriotism, as most nations honor those who die in service. I had a look at just two of his poems and did my own translation of them ... relying on what I can remember from HS and Collegiate (intermediate) German, plus a glossary. Much poetry (in my opinion the best poetry) has both meter and rhyme, and this makes literal translation tricky to do in order to give as much of the 'feeling' of the original into another language. So I gave my best shot. Segle, Hertz, mit allen Winden, Sail on, my heart, with every Wind, wirst nicht deinen Hafen finden. hope not your safe harbor to find. Hafen? Was soll dir der Hafen? Harbor? What harbor's meant to keep? Legst dich nur him zum Schlafen ! Just lay you down and go to sleep ! Segle, Hertz, mit allen Winden. Sail on, my heart, with every Wind. Das erste Kriegergrab am Wegesrand, At a soldier's grave by the road so grand, wir stehen mit der Mussen in der Hand. we stand with our kit and our hats in hand. Ob Freund, ob Feind der Tote, der da liegt, Whether friend or foe, he's dead where he lies, ein Blumenstrauss doch auf den Hugel fliegt. while a flower row up the hillside flies. Im Westen glimmt ein tiefes Abendrot; Off to the West glows a deepening red; wir grussen ernst und feirlich den Tod ! we earnestly, solemnly greet the dead ! Dann heult der Zug und es geht Russlandwarts ... The wailing train will to Russia depart ... Bleibst wie du warst, bleibst tapfer, du mein Herz ! Stay as you were, and be strong, oh my heart !

This is a nifty model and yours looks great. I suppose anyone who reads the available MSW builds will note the few challenging spots and be advised of remedial steps before going too far on the project. You are right that the guns look proper now, and sanding a bit of the bottom of the carriages is an effective 'slight of hand' that is virtually invisible on the finished model. I suppose that someone just starting out might 'lower' the level of the deck a tad by trimming the top of the bulkhead forms that the deck will be mounted on - or the needed allowance could be "split" between trimming the deck forms and building the bulwarks slightly higher (thus raising the gun ports just a tad).

The photos you show of various steps are clear and instructive. Thank you. I can see now how drilling fairleads nearer to the lubber hole of the main top will assure that control lines from above will pass behind the point where the main shrouds (heading toward to the lubber hole) cross the lines from the lower deadeyes on the periphery of the top as they head down to the mast below. That way the route up the ratlines will be free of any other lines that might get in the way.

A picture can be worth many (if not a thousand) words ... so a view of your components could be facilitative.

Once more, some pictures new to me ... ferreting out "Getty" branded images (or any others that really are in the public domain - due to prior publication under the old laws - but have been since "copyrighted" by various organizations in possession of them). I have a collection of 'turn of the 20th century' post cards (most of them printed overseas, often Germany) with no copyright information on them (being ephemera at the time) - ergo they were public domain from the moment they hit the streets. YET, I'm seeing the same images on various internet sites where the holder has 'slapped' a so-called 'common law' copyright on the image ... hmmmm, perhaps they imagine that whatever spots, postmarks, folds, tears, etc. make them unique and fair game to anyone who wants to try and claim them as theirs. Yup, I've seen multiples of the same postcard in multiple sites ALL 'claiming' ownership. Not to worry, all one has to do is Photoshop out blemishes, foxing, postmarks, etc. and you have then created your own 'new' image ... and no would-be hoarder can lay claim to it.