catopower

Yay, SaltyDog, a Shipyard build! And, a laser-cut kit to boot! As Chris said, the copper with tarnish over time. I spray mine with some dull cote lacquer. This keeps me from getting finger prints and oils all over the surface. The copper will still tarnish over time. Nice progress for 2 weeks!

Welcome, Paul! I built the Swampscott Dory a loooooong time ago, the latter part of the First Age, I think. That's a beautiful boat. I was even thinking of building another one after all this time. I recall mine ended up with a slight twist in the hull. Not noticeable at all from the side. But, when you look from the ends, you could see it. Hope to see yours either in progress or finished, or both!

Steve, I love your model and it's stylish appearance. Prince de Neufchatel was always one of my favorite subjects. Hope to build her someday. In the meantime, I'll just stare at yours!

Hi Ron, no the base isn't paper, but wouldn't it be cool if it was? 🙂 On the flag, I think the quality level of the paper model works well with the kit flag, though I had to hit it with some matte lacquer due to the shine that you Also, I'm mostly trying to illustrate how nice the kit turns out. The only thing not of the kit is really the deadeyes and blocks. If I end up eventually rigging the model, I would consider at least printing my own flags, like I did with the Yacht Mary model I recently completed. I'll get to the silkspan flags at another time. On the base, I just bought a walnut board from the Rockler woodworking store in the area, a 48" x 5" x 3/4" I believe. Cut it and routed the edges and a little sanding and satin finish. I'm in trouble if I need a wider board, as this is as wide as they carry. But, this works for most of my models. Anyway, that and the Amati brass pedestals sure beat the cardboard cradle that comes with the kit. It's not bad for what it is, but I much prefer brass pedestal or rod mountings.

Thanks, Druxey! Of course, with a paper model, one must paint (unless it's just a vehicle for a wooden finish). So, that has me wondering if the Speedwell would have the same color scheme as Wolf. I would make sense, assuming this Wolf's color scheme is correct or reasonable. And what about the frieze pattern this model has under the caprail and at the stern? Of course with Speedwell, I'd need a whole new figurehead and carvings, so that's a big issue there for a modified kit model.

Hi Greg, at 1/72 scale, I've found the spars to be very thin and light and the rigging lines to be very fine and a bit complicated for my fat fingers. With the card stock being softer than wood, I'm a little worried about ruining what has otherwise turned out to be a very nice model. However, your reference to Speedwell has put bug in my head! I'd notice how similar the HMS Wolf model is to Speedwell, but I never followed up to see if the two were related until you just brought it up. Now, I understand they were sister ships. This has me wondering about taking up the challenge of converting an HMS Wolf kit into an HMS Speedwell. 🤔 It would require a redesign of the deck layout, which means that the laser-engraved decks can't be used, and some parts would have to be fabricated. But, the main issue is that for an HMS Wolf to an HMS Speedwell conversion to have real value, I think it would have to be fully rigged. If I did that, I'd probably also want to complete the rigging of this HMS Wolf for comparison. Hmmm...

Thanks Chris, JacquesCouteau!

Very well done model and display, Glen!

Also, I like the way this model looks so much that I'm afraid of ruining it when I get into the rigging. I quickly made a flagstaff and mounted the kit's flag. Also, started looking at building up the stern lantern. In the meantime, the Wolf makes a fine display... I've since given the flag a shot of matte clear lacquer to take some of the sheen off of it. If it bothers me enough, I'll just print my own flag, as that seemed to work pretty well on the yacht Mary model Note that I haven't placed the deck pumps. They're done and ready to be mounted, but to prevent damage to them, I chose to leave them off. I may just tack them into place like I did the officer figure, so they can be removed should I eventually decide to rig. Regarding rigging, though this is more lightly rigged than a three-masted square rigger, like a frigate, those larger ships have larger masts and yards, and I think they may actually be easier to rig, at least for fat fingers. Thoughts? I'm tempted to take one of my 1/72 scale Shipyard frigate hulls this far, and see about rigging that. And, even if it doesn't go beyond this stage, it makes a pretty nice display model. And, without the masts, yards, and all, it requires a MUCH smaller case and takes up that much less room in the house to display... 🤔

Well, my yacht Mary model is now done. I'm free to get back to HMS Wolf and other projects, but after the local IPMS show this weekend, I'm again rethinking the work on HMS Wolf. I took the Mary, my incompleted HMS Wolf model, and a couple small Japanese boat models to the IPMS show. I didn't expect to win anything, particularly the Japanese boats, which don't really fit any IPMS judging criteria. The yacht Mary was completed. I removed the masts from HMS Wolf and added a figure of a British naval officer onto the deck. Looking like an admiralty style model, it ended up winning in its category, as is. The yacht Mary got nothing. It's okay about the Mary, because even when I got it, it was kind of a roughly built model, though very pretty. But, the fact that the Wolf won kind of threw me a bit. I guess it has the painted hull and all that fits in better with the plastic models? Anyway, now, I'm kind of curious about how other paper models would do and also maybe a small one in a mini-diorama. So, I'm thinking of re-retiring the Wolf... again. It's back in it's acrylic case without masts, but now has the lower deadeyes. I'm going to put a flag on the stern, the stern lantern, and probably add the paper chainplates. The latter will act more like facades, as I already have wire chainplates on the model.

Thanks GrandpaPhil! Following up, the original builder's widow has seen the photos posted here and is very happy and feels her late husband would be very happy with the final model. And, I think we're figured the final disposition for this model. I got this stuff through an estate sale that was facilitated by someone at Crystal Basin Cellars, a winery near Placerville, CA. They also have a stand and case that was originally purchased by the builder for this model. The plan is to put the model in that case and stand and display it at the winery. There, it will be taken care of and can be viewed and enjoyed by others. Gives me an excuse to go up there and visit the model, and maybe come home with a nice bottle of wine or two! Probably won't happen until after the Summer or possibly after a miniatures show in Santa Clara in October. So, for now, it's in a case to keep it clean and protected.

Druxey, thanks for the comments. I absolutely appreciate the info. I was wondering why the model carried the royal standard when so few paintings of royal yachts show it. Good to know the King is aboard, probably dining... 🙂 JacquesCousteau, Patrick, Chris, Gregory... thanks for the comments! I think I've learned quite a bit from working on this build. May not have incorporated all I've learned, and clearly the model is not perfect, but it's been a good experience!

Okay, final pics. Managed to fabricate a decorative piece for the last of the flag staffs. Got the last flag added. This isn't a perfect model, but it was one I wanted to finish for the original builder, the late Richard Fletcher. Learned a few things, RE-LEARNED a few things, and had fun working on the model, and I'm satisfied with it. I still have another, original Mamoli Yacht Mary kit in my stash. I don't know that I need it anymore. There are a lot of ship modeling subjects I want to build. Perhaps I'll tackle it later. Don't know the final disposition of this model. I will take it to a couple ship model club meetings in July and August, and probably display it at a miniatures show in October. Then, we shall see. But, now, it's back to HMS Wolf and others!

Adding flagstaffs now, and discovered that one of the decorative fixtures for the flagstaff tops is missing. 🤨 So, now, I need to either replicate one, or make something simpler... It's a bit hard for e to get this exact shape, and I want them all to look the same. I'll see what I can do to replicate this one, but since I want to take this to the IPMS show in Fremont tomorrow, I may end up clipping them down to the ball at the base. That's easy to reproduce. Anybody know how accurate these are for the Mary? In the meantime, I've been adding flags. Something interesting that I've noticed about this Dusek produced Mamoli kit. The flags are just a tad different than the original Mamoli kit. The original kit had a pennant flying from the end of the bowsprit, but with a red pennant with a Union Jack at the base, whereas the Dusek kit has a red pennant with St. George's Cross at the base. I know nothing about what's correct, or where each of the flags should fly, except for what the instructions call for. I'll be following the instructions on this. Below, I've already cut out the flags I printed, and am giving them some shape. I shaped them with various round instruments – a pen, a dowel, a paint brush handle, etc. Then to help them hold their shape, I applied a bit of pressure to the folds by slipping them underneath my cutting mat. The weight of the mat was just enough to hold them in place until the paper "relaxed". The folds turned out surprisingly well and I'm very happy with the results. Two more to mount. But first, I need to figure out if I can replicate that decoration.

Hello Ab, Thank you for the advice. I will consider changing the topsail later. I may save these suggestion for a future model of the Mary, as I have my own un-started kit in storage. If I build another, I will remember to alter the mast so that the sheave for the topsail halliard is higher, and modify the topsail itself so that foot arcs up higher to clear the jib. Also, might lower place the tackle for the jib halliard a tad lower on the mast.