Stevinne

This discussion got me interested and I went back and watched "The Ghosts of the Mary Rose" documentary from a couple of years back about what could be learned from the skeletons of the crew members. There was mention of how a ship full of Spanish soldiers had gotten stuck in England about a year before the sinking, and there was some evidence that at least some of these guys were on the MR on the day she sank. Given Spain's history with the Moorish conquest, it wouldn't surprise me if some of those guys had DNA from all over the African continent. On a side note, it's amazing what DNA shows. My background is mostly Irish and German, but my brother had one of those ancestry DNA tests done, and it showed some traces from Spain and the Mid-East. I tell my kids, who have sailed with me before, that this is proof that my poor sailing abilities were inherited from shipwrecked survivors of the Armada. My wife, who actually is descended from one of the old Dutch explorers, rolls her eyes and says history is no excuse.
 

This discussion got me interested and I went back and watched "The Ghosts of the Mary Rose" documentary from a couple of years back about what could be learned from the skeletons of the crew members. There was mention of how a ship full of Spanish soldiers had gotten stuck in England about a year before the sinking, and there was some evidence that at least some of these guys were on the MR on the day she sank. Given Spain's history with the Moorish conquest, it wouldn't surprise me if some of those guys had DNA from all over the African continent. On a side note, it's amazing what DNA shows. My background is mostly Irish and German, but my brother had one of those ancestry DNA tests done, and it showed some traces from Spain and the Mid-East. I tell my kids, who have sailed with me before, that this is proof that my poor sailing abilities were inherited from shipwrecked survivors of the Armada. My wife, who actually is descended from one of the old Dutch explorers, rolls her eyes and says history is no excuse.
 

In one of the books I'd read on the MR, it mentioned that it was thought a portion of the crew were from southern Europe - hence the "knaves I cannot rule" comment just prior to the sinking. Based on that, and the fact as Thunder mentioned above that England was already trading with Africa, Asia and the Middle East, it's not surprising the crew were genetically diverse. But who is going to watch a special, or feel compelled to visit a museum that advertises "New findings are surprisingly mundane!"

Matt, I really can't tell from looking at your photos - so you're probably the best judge of how it looks IRL. I believe the Virginia is double planked, which also hides a multitude of sins, and allows for liberal use of sandpaper and wood filler before you put down layer No. 2. I for one always worry about tearing things apart, since I always wind up taking more wood off pieces I don't want to damage than I intend.
One thing I always do when talking to folks who are working on their first build is recommend they track down a copy of "Ship Modeling Simplified" by Frank Mastini. I see you can pick it up used on Amazon for less than $3 plus shipping. It was the book that convinced me I could build a wooden model ship and proved invaluable when I was building Constructo's "Enterprise," which was a nice-looking build with really, really bad instructions. Mastini does a great job of guiding you through the building process, explaining things, illustrating things and generally giving you the information and confidence you need to build a nice model.
 https://www.amazon.com/Ship-Modeling-Simplified-Techniques-Construction/dp/0071558675/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EIIXUN6HJA2H&keywords=ship+modeling+simplified&qid=1553395033&s=gateway&sprefix=Ship+modeling+s%2Caps%2C339&sr=8-1
One thing not to do is to get discouraged. Someone here has a signature that says something along the lines of "the ship modeler is slow, but the wood is patient," which I always took to mean that there is nothing that can't eventually be made to look good. I personally think your model is looking good.

Matt, I really can't tell from looking at your photos - so you're probably the best judge of how it looks IRL. I believe the Virginia is double planked, which also hides a multitude of sins, and allows for liberal use of sandpaper and wood filler before you put down layer No. 2. I for one always worry about tearing things apart, since I always wind up taking more wood off pieces I don't want to damage than I intend.
One thing I always do when talking to folks who are working on their first build is recommend they track down a copy of "Ship Modeling Simplified" by Frank Mastini. I see you can pick it up used on Amazon for less than $3 plus shipping. It was the book that convinced me I could build a wooden model ship and proved invaluable when I was building Constructo's "Enterprise," which was a nice-looking build with really, really bad instructions. Mastini does a great job of guiding you through the building process, explaining things, illustrating things and generally giving you the information and confidence you need to build a nice model.
 https://www.amazon.com/Ship-Modeling-Simplified-Techniques-Construction/dp/0071558675/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EIIXUN6HJA2H&keywords=ship+modeling+simplified&qid=1553395033&s=gateway&sprefix=Ship+modeling+s%2Caps%2C339&sr=8-1
One thing not to do is to get discouraged. Someone here has a signature that says something along the lines of "the ship modeler is slow, but the wood is patient," which I always took to mean that there is nothing that can't eventually be made to look good. I personally think your model is looking good.

I too built a lot of the Pyro kits as a kid, including this one, the Revenge (my personal favorite), the Ark Royal, The Bounty, The Constitution, The Cutty Sark, The Charles W. Morgan and the Henry Grace Adieu. I also built a few of the larger Pyro ships, too. I have to say, I'm impressed with the work you are doing. Good job!
 
 

In one of the books I'd read on the MR, it mentioned that it was thought a portion of the crew were from southern Europe - hence the "knaves I cannot rule" comment just prior to the sinking. Based on that, and the fact as Thunder mentioned above that England was already trading with Africa, Asia and the Middle East, it's not surprising the crew were genetically diverse. But who is going to watch a special, or feel compelled to visit a museum that advertises "New findings are surprisingly mundane!"

I agree on the forecastle. I'm not a big fan of the Caldercraft kit. It doesn't look renaissancey enough for me. Billings had at one time said they were producing a kit, that I believe, looked more like the Geoff Hunt painting. Unfortunately, that project stalled. It's good news that they found more of the ship, I hadn't heard about it, so now I'll have to Google it. I'm currently reading Margaret Rule's book on excavating the MR and one of the questions I had is if anyone had looked beyond the immediate area for wreckage. Now I guess I have my answer.

In one of the books I'd read on the MR, it mentioned that it was thought a portion of the crew were from southern Europe - hence the "knaves I cannot rule" comment just prior to the sinking. Based on that, and the fact as Thunder mentioned above that England was already trading with Africa, Asia and the Middle East, it's not surprising the crew were genetically diverse. But who is going to watch a special, or feel compelled to visit a museum that advertises "New findings are surprisingly mundane!"

I agree on the forecastle. I'm not a big fan of the Caldercraft kit. It doesn't look renaissancey enough for me. Billings had at one time said they were producing a kit, that I believe, looked more like the Geoff Hunt painting. Unfortunately, that project stalled. It's good news that they found more of the ship, I hadn't heard about it, so now I'll have to Google it. I'm currently reading Margaret Rule's book on excavating the MR and one of the questions I had is if anyone had looked beyond the immediate area for wreckage. Now I guess I have my answer.

I too built a lot of the Pyro kits as a kid, including this one, the Revenge (my personal favorite), the Ark Royal, The Bounty, The Constitution, The Cutty Sark, The Charles W. Morgan and the Henry Grace Adieu. I also built a few of the larger Pyro ships, too. I have to say, I'm impressed with the work you are doing. Good job!
 
 

I too built a lot of the Pyro kits as a kid, including this one, the Revenge (my personal favorite), the Ark Royal, The Bounty, The Constitution, The Cutty Sark, The Charles W. Morgan and the Henry Grace Adieu. I also built a few of the larger Pyro ships, too. I have to say, I'm impressed with the work you are doing. Good job!
 
 

Welcome aboard. It looks like you are making a good start!
 

I agree on the forecastle. I'm not a big fan of the Caldercraft kit. It doesn't look renaissancey enough for me. Billings had at one time said they were producing a kit, that I believe, looked more like the Geoff Hunt painting. Unfortunately, that project stalled. It's good news that they found more of the ship, I hadn't heard about it, so now I'll have to Google it. I'm currently reading Margaret Rule's book on excavating the MR and one of the questions I had is if anyone had looked beyond the immediate area for wreckage. Now I guess I have my answer.

Hi everyone. I've been lurking for a few weeks and have finally joined as well as subscribing to the NRG. I'm not new to ship modelling but I am new to doing it properly. 
 
I started with a part work from Del Prado (Bounty). Oh dear. I followed the instructions and although the result is ok, it looks very amateur. I made the mistake of following up with the Hms victory part work by the same people and although I started build in 2003, I didn't get much past the framing as you can see.
 
A chance conversation with a modelling colleague persuaded me to start again, so in 2016 I started researching and strayed from the provided instructions in an attempt to produce a model I could be proud of. It's still in work and the current state is below. I haven't used the del Prado kit pieces or instructions since I finished planking the hull and she's better for it.
 
It's also a great hobby for my stress and anxiety. As I said I'm still learning and I probably spend more time thinking and staring than doing, but I'm looking forward to getting to know you all and learning from you. 
 
thanks for reading! 

It’s been very fun guys!  I almost have everything I need to start the missouri so hopefully in a week I will be starting that. 
 
To close out this build I  I wanted a better camera than my iPhone. unfortunately I had no luck so here are photos of my finished Bismarck with my camera phone, crappy lighting and terrible background.  
Also I don’t know how to put the word “finished” in the title of this build log...😕

Haha there is a piece of rigging near the funnel I didn't snip off yet  

Welcome!
 

Took some time off from my shipyard to go work on another project I'm involved in, restoring a 1912 35-40 foot Ice Yacht Manhasset. a project our club started 2 years ago but was stymied by lack of a heated large workspace.  One of our members let us use his workshop for a while.  So we've been disassembling the backbone (aka keel) to inspect the interior for any rot.  This involved first removing the basket (aka cockpit) which on this ice yacht is attached to the underside of the backbone.  Removing hundreds of recessed and plugged screws from 100+ year old timber is not an easy task. the wood you see in the photos is vertical grain old growth 40-50 rings per inch tongue and grooved timber. Surprisingly, it is in pretty good shape with a minimum of rot.
 
Some photos of the work follow:
 

Looking forward to following this build. An interesting subject, and from what I hear a good kit.

Looking forward to following this build. An interesting subject, and from what I hear a good kit.

Looking forward to following this build. An interesting subject, and from what I hear a good kit.

Looking forward to following this build. An interesting subject, and from what I hear a good kit.

Looking forward to following this build. An interesting subject, and from what I hear a good kit.

Looking forward to following this build. An interesting subject, and from what I hear a good kit.

Get the Mastini book. It is designed for the beginner and will help you immensely. If this is the first layer of planking, it looks pretty good. Remember, the great thing about working with wood is that a lot can be corrected by sanding later on. Finally, it's been my experience that ship modeling instructions are notoriously bad. If this is the first layer, I would press on while reading mastini and the other links mentioned here. The thing, I find, about instructional posts is often I can't connect them to real world actions until I try to do something. So, if you are like me, read and plank and realize you can always make it better on the second layer. This hobby is supposed to be fun, and a lot of folks probably have hulls they are not so proud of beneath that beautiful second layer of planking.