As long as I can remember, I've loved the intricate beauty of model ships. Other kids were car-crazy, building models of rodded-out Mustangs and Camaros, while I sat in my room building plastic ship models. I think my first was a 17th century plastic number of Sovereign of the Seas (or not - it may have been some other ship). Eventually, when I hit Jr. High, I was given a large two-foot (at least) long kit for the U.S.S. Constitution in plastic (may have been Revell). It took all summer, but I finished that model (the rigging took the longest). My parents displayed it in the house for years on top of the TV cabinet.
Life has a way of pushing you along, and for years I set aside my hobby until The Missus purchased in the mid 90's, as a gift, a wooden kit of the HMS Bounty cut-away model showing the interior of the hull. I got started on it, but the hull and bulkheads didn't survive the move to our new house. A year later I ordered instructions for the "Smuggler" an 1877 Gloucester Fishing Schooner from The Laughing Whale in Maine. It didn't take long to figure out that scratch-building my first wooden model wasn't the best way for me to start.
Now it's 2021 and I think I've got the time and (hopefully) the dedication to give it another shot. I ordered a decent kit off eBay (Corel - Revenue Cutter "Ranger"). It has all the elements I'm hoping to learn: planking, modest rigging, deck furniture, etc.. We'll see. I'm looking forward to making a ton of mistakes and hopefully learning a thing or two in the process.
Thanks for reading!
Note: I've attached an image of a couple half-hulls I made a few years back (the figurehead in the background is a gift from The Missus - God love her!).
