Ferrus Manus

I am 17, almost 18. I started at your age with the Revell USS Constitution in 1/96 scale. It turned out to be a total disaster.

My biggest piece of advice? DO NOT start with a huge, complicated kit. Start small, with maybe a 1/96 scale schooner or yacht. Something easy but challenging, that you will feel proud of but not be frustrating or beyond your level. It's what i wish i had done. Ship modelling is an intriguing hobby, and even the most experienced modeller has much left to learn. Ask questions, i know that everyone here is itching to be able to answer and share knowledge. No question is a stupid one. The world of sailing ship models will consume you, and i suggest you jump in. There is a world of fun, learning, passion, and accomplishment waiting for you. 

If we assume that none of the pole is obscured by the spinnaker itself, it would be just short enough to fit under the point at which the fore topmast stay attaches to the foremast for the purposes of tacking. 

no no no, i was thinking that the pole was shorter than it looked because it isn't obscured by the spinnaker itself, and also, why is the clew of this mystery sail rigged to the boom of the mains'l and not belayed to the deck like a normal fisherman?

I really WOULD like to include this mystery sail on some of my builds, if i could find out how the darn thing is rigged! (and how it tacks)

mnl, how would you get even a smaller spinnaker pole from starboard to port and vice versa?

I think the spinnaker pole may be sort of an optical illusion, and that the other side of the spinnaker, obscured by the half facing the camera, actually extends backward and that we are looking at the side of the sail. That would mean that the spinnaker pole does not extend out of view, but rather is smaller than it looks. 

This is the racing yacht "Westward" built in 1910:

I am having a lot of trouble identifying a sail on the vessel, the slack sail that seems to be mounted on the main topmast stay and whose clew seems to rig to the mains'l boom. How is it rigged? what is its name? Any help is much appreciated. 

Also, a nagging afterthought: How does a spinnaker tack? 

I saw your Constitution log. Very impressive! It looks like you hadn't installed the trysail mast yet.  As of yet, i am working on the mizzen shrouds. All i have left to do in terms of hull work is a couple pinrails, cleats, ladders, and the ship's wheel. After that, it's time for sails!! I hope your "friday" is going well!!

Check out Woodrat, his scratch builds are truly museum quality. He's the best i've ever seen at that. 

On 3/17/2022 at 9:36 PM, Jaager said:

Plastic masts and yards at 1:96 might prove to be a bit bendy or fragile.  You might give a thought to replacing them with wood. 

I was very impressed by the masts and yards in this kit- They bent and refused to break! overall, the plastic quality is top notch, something heller could use to learn. 

Of course you're so good at scratchbuilding wood. You switched from plastic to wood at my age. I won't be seventeen for long, mate. Even at my age, you were proving yourself to be the best. 

A list of places that may want your ships: https://www.historyhit.com/guides/maritime-museums-to-visit-around-the-world/

Ok guys, let's play "Never Have I Ever", I'll start:

Never have i ever seen such a cop-out excuse from a model company not to include rigging instructions.

Thank you all for your kind words! The only bit of "luck" here, it would seem, is the insane find of this gem on Ebay. You can't get the kit anywhere else, at least from here in the States, i found. I look most forward to asking nagging questions and advancing my knowledge in model shipwrightery. 

On 3/18/2022 at 2:40 AM, allanyed said:

Welcome to MSW Iron Hands.   Hope your touch is lighter in actual practice when working on your model😀

You may very well be the youngest member here and it is great to see.  I hope you can deal with over 40,000 new teachers and maybe half as many different opinions at times.   Truth is we are all still learning, even though many of us have run the guantlet many times already.

Allan

Hahahahaha! Warhammer is something i would very much enjoy if i could afford a 3d printer. I used to buy and paint the models until they became too expensive for sustainability. 

I am new here, and i guess this is a rite of passage. I am seventeen years old, from California, USA. I have been making model ships since the eighth grade, but still have a world to learn. My introductory model will be the 1/96 scale USS United States, by Revell. Wish me luck!

Absolutely phenomenal, dude. The more i see your work, the more convinced i am that you should make some sort of living off of this. Amazing ship.

Never have i seen such an incredible scratch-build in my entire life. Scale it up, and you have a real round-ship. Amazing! Medieval museums would thank their lucky stars to have such a model.