catopower

Well said Don! I haven't started a build log because I was just experimenting with one of the smaller Shipyard kits. I wanted to find out what it was like to work in paper and I had no ties to finishing it, so I didn't want people to be following something I wasn't necessarily going to complete. However, it's actually turning out to be so much fun and such a nice build that I'm now thinking I may continue with it and turn it into a build. I will decide soon and I would say the 1:96-scale kit can be just about as nice as the 1:72-scale kit. You just have to do a lot more gluing and cutting. And, of course, everything is smaller. Stay tuned if you're interested. In the meantime, I started a write-up/discussion about the kit here: Shipyard H.M.S. Alert, 1777, 1:96-scale Paper Model kit Thanks, Clare

Hi Gary, Sorry, looks like I did misread your post. Very good point about the Model Shipways' kit being a model of a model. I believe there are other oddities from the Rogers model like the undersized gun ports? Clare

Geoff, Long ago, I had purchased something from this outfit. They're in Israel, I believe. I think it is either run by, or they work with, a guy who is a ship modeler. I did receive the plans I ordered, but you could tell they were copied from some kit, but not one that I'd ever seen or heard of. I think it was some Eastern European manufacturer. As far as I know, they might actually have the rights to sell the stuff, but there was something just not quite right in my dealings with them. The plans had no scale on them, belaying plans were numbered, but there was no guide as to what the numbers corresponded to. Lots of issues like that. So, the plans ended up being worthless. I've since warned ship modeling sites about them. One old site used to be a "dealer" for them, but after I and a few others complained about the company, they decided to break their ties. I suspect you'll get your plans and they may or may not be useful, but I think we're all better off not dealing with them. Not much you can do beyond that except learn from it. Clare

Hi Gary, Personally, I wouldn't be too quick to disregard Erik Ronnberg, Jr's instructions. He's an outstanding model builder and researcher who's work is very well known. Petersson's books are great, but I think people put too much emphasis on them. His drawings are extremely useful, but generally taken from a single contemporary model – A British warship model donated to the Briston Industrial Museum in 1844. So, what period does the rig represent exactly? Anyway, I had to look up what you were referring to because something didn't seem right. That lift arrangement you show is only for the lower yard lifts. These yards are fixed, so they aren't raised or lowered by the lifts. My take is that if necessary, temporary jeers could be rigged up to lower or raise the yard down as needed. Otherwise, the lifts only serve to keep the yard steady. But, I was surprised at your mention of no slings, so I looked through the instructions again and there is in fact an illustration, fig 38, that shows the lower yard sling in place. Though I never built her, the Fair American was one of those life-long loves in ship modeling for me. Hope you are enjoying the build – I'm quite envious! Clare

Running the risk of filling up this forum with topics about the Shipyard HMS Alert kits, I had to share this. This guys build is just incredible. Shows what you can do with the Shipyard "Laser Cardboard Kit". I just ran across this yesterday and I initially posted it my own own topic about the smaller scale Shipyard kit. I was afraid it would just get buried in there, so moved it to this new post. These are links to the 1:72-scale kit that Janet B is building and I know others are building or interested in building – Ages of Sail just sold another one of these kits just a few days ago, so it got my attention. I see a reference in the build logs to the builder living, or had lived, very close to my location. I'm temped to seek him out, though this stuff was done about 6 or 7 years ago: On a German Site: 1/72 Alert Awesome build log On Flickr: 1/72 Alert Awesome build pics I'm tempted to toss out what I've done so far and to just buy this kit. Nice 5-hole deadeye on that mainstay. Anyone know if that's in the kit or if the builder made it? Nice touch with the served lines and mouse's (mice?) too. I only wish he hadn't put it under full sail on the launch ways... Still, a beautiful job on the model. Clare

Thanks for the supportive comments, Chris. I've run into some of my first limitations, either skill-wise or model scale-wise. On these kits, the hull planking is pre-shaped, which is really nice. But, all of us here know the complexities of wooden ship hull planking. The hull of this kit, and probably of most Shipyard kits I expect, are laid in 3 layers. The first layer was shown in the last images of the model I posted, and is made up of filler sheets that span the space between individual bulkheads. These are thin paper, no build-up, and pretty easy to add. The next layer consists of printed strakes, 2 to 3 planks wide. The printing serves as a guide for laying the final layer, which is made up of the individual planks. So, anyway, the second layer, made up of several strakes, is a bit tough to add so that it's nice and smooth. I've found that in order to fit them correctly, I get a little bit of buckling along one edge and a wavy edge is formed, consisting of bumps and valleys. I've compensated for this by taking the bumps and tacking them down firmly with instant CA. There are still the valleys, which of course get tacked down as well since the CA wicks into them. But, I take the point of the Xacto and cut them loose from the hull, causing them to rise up ever so slightly, somewhat evening out the strake. Is this the best way to approach this issue. Is it a common issue with Shipyard kits? Or is it a sign that perhaps I started off wrong when I attached the bulwarks section. It wasn't very clear how to add that piece, whether to glue it so it sits on top of the deck or so that it's fixed along the hull, right at deck level. First Layer of the hull Second Layer of the hull Looking back, I guess there are ways to figure this out, say, by test fitting other parts to see what allows them to fit most easily. But, I did as best I could and ended up gluing the bulwarks piece to the hull right at deck level and I THINK this is correct. But, like I said, the hull planking isn't laying PERFECTLY. Maybe this is just how it's supposed to go? I know this is starting to look more like a build log, but I'm really reluctant to treat it like one. I really like posting here in the card model section. I find it much easier to find things here and it also makes it easier to find other card modelers. Some card models in the build log section are not marked as such. That said, I thought I'd post a couple more pics of what I've been doing on this 1/96 scale Alert... Second Layer completed The Pre-Printed Decks are pretty cool All is well and this kit is very nice, especially for the price. But, I'm starting to appreciate more and more the value of NOT having parts pre-colored for you. I've ended up with a few glue blemishes, shades of the days of building my first plastic models as a kid (so many gluey finder prints on those early models). I've used the paints I bought from Shipyard to even out the coloring of the pre-printed bulwarks. It's better, but not great. And now having seem some EXREMELY AWESOME pics of a build of Shipyard's 1/72 scale HMS Alert kit posted on another forum and also posted on Picasa, I'm drooling over the bigger kit. Also, I haven't checked it out closely, but I believe the parts are not pre-colored, so I think that makes it easier for those of us who are comfortable with painting anyway. Okay, now to TRY to get back to my regular projects... Clare

Hi Janet, That's the nice thing I see about these paper models, they don't take much in the way of tools or space – No $500 tables saws or thickness sanders or drill presses, just scissors and razor blades... Clare

Hi Anthony, The sails do seem to be very nice and the lines appear pretty well to scale. I finally open up the package today to check them out. They're pre-printed, but only on one side. I don't know if you're expected to sew them or not, though I seem to recall having seen instructions somewhere that call for the bolt rope to be glued on. But, that's what I normally do with sails anyway. By the way, this isn't formally a build log yet, more a review of the kit, which is why it's still in this forum. While I am playing around with the build, I'm mostly doing it to check out what these kits are like. It's been kind of fun though and I am getting into it. The build log you pointed out should be very interesting. It's actually a different kit, the 1/72 scale "Laser Cardboard Kit", while mine is the 1/96 scale "Paper Model Kit". We'll see how much I get sucked into this card stock world – I also have the Santa Leocadia Super Modellar Plans, which includes all the hull parts. AND, I just ordered a detail kit for it from GPM as well as some of their CA glue based on a recommendation here on MSW. It's so much cheaper to work on card models, even though I'm ordering stuff from Poland. Clare

Hi Rick, On the contact cement, are you by chance talking about Pliobond 25? I started off using that contact cement, and I swear smells like cat pee. I had to put the model in another room because of the strong odor – it completely filled the room wherever the model sat. It worked great, but I had to switch to something less noxious because we do have a cat here and neighbor cats that come around and it was causing us a lot of confusion – did a neighbor cat get into the house? I'll have to try out the GPM CA. I've been using regular BSI stuff, which works great, but I'm thinking about ordering something from GPM anyway, so I'll get some of the CA at the same time. I've only been working on a paper model kit for a couple months, 1:96-scale HMS Alertn, but find them really fascinating. I hope you'll post a few photos of your hull planking process. Clare

Thanks for the kind words, Nils. In fact, my latest order from Shipyard arrived today. I was a little worried because according to their tracking system, my order had been sitting for more than a week, not shipping. After about 10 days like that I emailed them, but got no response. I figure it may be the English/Polish language barrier. But, some days later I did receive an automated notice that my order had shipped. Didn't take long for it to arrive. I'd gotten the 1:96 scale HMS Alert sails and Masting sets. You shouldn't need these at all since the items are drawn out well in the kit, but I wanted to check them out and they aren't expensive. While I was at it, I thought I'd try out their paints. There was a minimum shipping charge anyway, so I just added enough to fill out my order without raising the shipping charge. The paints are often referred to as watercolors, but I think that's a translation error. They look like basic artist's acrylics to me, but I don't know that much about the difference between the two. Anyway, I ordered them to try out, and they were very inexpensive. These are the same paints that are included in the boxed "Laser Cardboard Kits." They are simply Renesans brand artists acrylics, made in Poland. I'm assuming that the color printing in Shipyard kits basically matches the colors of the Renesans acrylics, but I don't know for sure. That's just a guess. Then again, as I think Chris (ccoyle) points out in his fine intro, all that may be necessary from the paints is to give the edges of the paper a little color, so it may be that color matching shouldn't really be an issue. I'm not intended this to be a build log, but I will post some pics later on to show how the kit looks mid-way through the build. It may be a while because this is supposed to be one of those side projects. Clare P.S. I should note that I believe all this stuff, not just the paints, are included in the larger scale (1:72 – mine is 1:96) Laser Cardboard Kit boxed sets.

My bad! I wanted to make sure the ad announced the kit in time for the NRG Conference, but didn't realize how quickly the ad would show up in the Journal. The kit is coming soon. We were hoping to have a more definitive date by now, but will have to wait for more info. I'll try to get a mention of the kit on the Ages of Sail website, but will have to do a little reorganizing first. Maybe later this weekend. Clare

Thank you Nils. This is an interesting kit. I agree it's on the small side, but I don't know that this is really a bad thing. I'm actually tinkering with building something in a scale that's often referred to a sub-miniature 1:192. Small scales take less room and you can often get away with simplifications that you can't at larger scales. But, yes, paper details at 1/96 look pretty challenging. It would be interesting to try out the larger 1/72-scale version of this ship. Same company, but it's only available in a boxed edition that's 3 times more money. Anyway, I wanted to try out this basic kit. Yes, I've been wanting to build a cutter in wood at a larger scale. I have the Ancre book on the cutter Le Cerf too. Cutters are really nice looking ships and that's why I went with the Alert. And actually, this kit does have you plank the hull in clinker fashion. Interesting that wood kits don't do that. By the way, I put in another order with Shipyard for the mast and yard accessory set and the sail kit. The order was sitting on hold for about 2 weeks and I was thinking that there was some kind of problem. I email Shipyard about it. I didn't get a response back, but a few days later I got an automated message that my order shipped, so I should have it in another 10 days or so. Clare

Hi Dave, great to see you here! I have the Victory posted over on shipsofscale.com, but it's out of date. At some point, I might create a build log here, but I have higher priorities right now. This paper model is kind of a break. Plus it's about seeing what it's like. I blog about a variety of ship modeling news, so I needed to know more about these paper models, which are quite fascinating. Anyway, PM me or I'll PM you and we can catch up. Druxey, Edwin, thanks for the kind words. Do I know what I'm doing? I just talk like I do. But, hey, it's a ship model right? We can do this if we can build in wood! I think... I went to one of the local ship clubs' meetings on Friday and someone brought in a mostly finished card model U-Boat. He brought some of the kits he has. They aren't Shipyard kits, and I have to say that the Shipyard kits seem like the Cadillac of paper models. Of course, I say that, but I haven't seen a lot of the other kit publishers. There seem to be a lot. Still, these are very fine kits and much slicker in comparison with others I've seen. Edwin, I think you should go for it. Anyway, their inexpensive and you don't have to have many tools to build one. Clare

Gregor, your model is looking really terrific. Pardon such a mundane question on such a lovely build, but can you tell me what paints you used on this model? I particularly like the red you used. Is this Caldercraft paint? Thanks, Clare

Thanks Andy. Paper modeling seems like a great hobby in itself. Doris' work blows me away. But, the basic kits are inexpensive and you just seem to need glue, X-Acto or razor blades and a cutting mat. Occasionally, I've made use of a sharp pair of scissors, but you don't need any power tools and you don't need a whole lot of space. So, that's really nice. Working at 1:96-scale may prove to be a little overly challenging for me when I get to the details. I know what it's like with wood models and, thankfully, they're pretty sturdy. For a bit more expense, the 1:72-scale boxed kits of Le Coureur, Berbice and HMS Alert might be better to work with. I just went the cheap route to try it out. But in the long run, the boxed sets might be a better deal, plus the bigger scale, included fittings, paints, etc. Ages of Sail has a big order in with them for more items which are apparently stuck in customs somewhere, but I know they (we) at least have the Berbice and Coureur "Laser Cardboard Kits" in stock. If I crash-and-burn on this build, I may give one of those a try. But, here's to hoping all turns out well! Clare

Well, I broke down and ordered this paper model kit from Shipyard last month. I've been helping Ages of Sail with various things for the past several months and ran across their stock of Shipyard paper model kits and was intrigued by them. I have a very vague memory of paper models as a kid. I think my older sister or an older person I knew must have had a paper model kit or something, because there seems to be something oddly familiar about them. In any case, I ordered the kit from Poland, and it only took about 10 days to arrive. I immediately had to open it up to check it out. HMS Alert is a 12-gun cutter and there's a great volume of the Anatomy of the Ship series on it. The model itself is the smaller of the two versions made by Shipyard. The larger one is part of what they call their Laser Cardboard Kit series. That's simply their term for a complete boxed kit that includes laser cut frames, but also all the paints, dowels, paint brush, wood blocks and deadeyes, and turned brass cannons, etc. Some of the kits in the series are also available as part of their Paper Model kit series, but the Laser Cardboard Kit versions are often a larger scale. My kit is just one of their standard Paper Model kits. It's 1:96-scale, whereas the Laser Cardboard Kit version is 1:72 scale, which would have been nice, but a lot more expensive both for the kit and for shipping. Mine cost me about $37 including shipping. You'll pay more for it from U.S. stores since distributors can't sell enough of them to get better pricing, but at least you don't have to convert currency or deal with overseas customer service. Not that any of this has been an issue with my first order. My only experience with Shipyard kits was the HMB Endeavour kit, which is packaged like my Alert kit, but the Endeavour had no laser cut frames. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Alert had a full set of frames, all pre-cut. Of course, I had to try out the kit right away and next thing I knew, I had the hull framing done and I was off to add the hull sheets! This is something of a side project for me, and I'll probably work on it the way I worked on the 18th Century English Longboat kit, which was just something I pull out when I need a break from wood ship modeling. So, I didn't plan on doing a build log on it. At least not for now. But, at the moment, I seem to need a lot of breaks, so I'd spend an hour on the Alert pretty regularly. I've been experimenting with glues a little and settled on the contact cement I have for most of the work. It's Pliobond and the stuff reeks, but I've gotten used to it, and it seems to work very well. I'm surprised at how well everything has gone together so far. Of course, I haven't dealt with any of the fine details. Not sure how I'm going to do with all those things. And, I'm a little cautious about rolling my own cannons. But, I'd like to keep from turning it into another wood ship model kit where I just use all the same fittings, buy after market cannons and all. So, we'll see. I'm also a little nervous about how well I can rig a paper model, since I can't use the same "touch" as with a wooden model where my rigging can be fairly tight. So, far, I've managed not to accidentally crush parts, which are amazingly delicate until supporting pieces are glued in place. If I get ambitious, I'll start an actual build log, but I've got enough build logs in progress to keep track of for now. Just wanted to share about the new kit. Clare

Hi Bob, Welcome back! I somehow missed some of your last updates. You've been doing a great job on this build – your model looks fantastic! I know what you mean about not knowing what to call the parts. It's a funny thing about this model because it's so non-Western that items don't really have a corresponding Western counterpart. And even if they do, somehow it doesn't seem right to refer to them using the same terms. Like the vertical timbers up near the bow are used to support a windlass, but do you call them bitts? Doesn't seem to fit. And, the aft half of the ship supports what might be called a main deck house, but I just feel like I need a Japanese-ee term for it, you know? So, how dare you come back from Japan without any more Woody Joe kits! I certainly hope you'll be going back soon to get some more... Clare

Hi Steve, Camber would not be overkill as some companionway hatches certainly had it. I don't think it really serves a purpose though because the slant of the roof sheds all the water. It may be more for looks. I've built a couple models with cambered companionways, but they were either yachts or yacht-like. Both were 1850 era schooners. I think it depends on the shipwright. If your plans are accurate and call for no camber, then that's the way you ought to build it. If you suspect the plans and feel the companion way roofs should have camber, then by all means build them with camber. The attached photos show the companionway roofs on my models. These were 1850 era American yacht and pilot boat. Is Shenandoah American built? Or was she built overseas? If American built it would certainly be possible that the companionway roofs had camber. If she was foreign built, that's another matter and I don't know much about that. If so, then perhaps the straight roof makes more sense. Clare

Hi Mike, I'm a little late on arrival, but I really loved the job you did on the Badger and am looking forward to your work on the Pegasus. The planning you've been doing sounds really great. I have become a big fan of pear wood and have also been experimenting a lot with wood dye. I used wood dye on my recently completed Higaki Kaisen model (kit by Woody Joe of Japan) and also been using a lot of black dye on a colonial schooner model I'm working on now. I'm enjoying your discussion/thought-process on the wood choice since I've been going through that a lot myself. Anyway, I'll be watching your build with great interest! Clare

This isn't much of a build update, but it is an update on the project since I got the laser cut metal parts in the mail today. This is a somewhat pricey alternative, but I just wasn't happy with the parts I was making, so had to try this out. The USPS Priority mail box arrived today. Expectedly, it was extremely light. The parts were separated into sealed compartments in a thick clear plastic bag. There are 8 parts in all and they look perfect. They are exactly what I had ordered, down to the 16 sets of pin-holes that I thought I would use to help securing the spokes. I drew these into the final Adobe Illustrator files and I suspect they probably added significantly to the cost. I didn't ask for a breakdown, but I will do that probably tonight. At minimum, this was a test to see not only what the laser cutting service could do, but also how my drawings would translate to the final parts. I was afraid that my illustrator files wouldn't work too well and that I'd have to learn another software application for doing the design work. As it turns out, I might have to do that anyway for more complicated work since my illustrations are often composed of shapes used to mask out unwanted parts of other shapes. That won't work for the laser cutter as it sees and cuts all shapes, regardless of whether they are "hidden" behind another. However, I believe there is a tool that will allow me to get around this problem. Not sure what my next laser cutting test will be. I was planning a 3/16" scale version of the 1859 Saginaw as launched and it might be that I'll need to laser engrave the wheelhouse patterns in wood or something. There is still the matter of the carriages for the 30-pdr Parrot rifles on this model. Those carriages details at 1/8" scale might be a good second project and might give me an opportunity to find ways to reduce costs. It was hard to photograph steel in dim lighting as it's very reflective. In that last photo, I held the part up to my computer screen so that the light from the screen would show through the pinholes. As I said, this is not really build progress, but it does move the project forward. Next, I'll have to make some kind of fixture to get the spokes attached correctly and the hubs in place. Clare

Hello Phil, I built the AL Dallas kit over 20 years ago and collected what information I could at that time including a copy of the Coast Guard Record of Movements for the ship. What information do you have that says Dallas was a 51-ton cutter? According to the book The Coast Guard Under Sail (not a primary research source, I know), it was suggested that the Dallas was built to Doughty's 79-ton design. So, I always took the AL kit as the Dallas of the 79-ton design. Those "spash boards" I always assumed were like hawse timbers and were the timberheads of the cant frames and filler between them. It would appear that the anchor cables would run out over the top of them, so they did serve as hawse timbers and had to be quite strong. Richard, I am assuming that the vessel Marquardt mentions may actually be a replacement for the first Dallas, since that one was sold off in 1821. Clare

I've used an electric plank bender for years. I don't know how anyone can NOT bend wood with it. I soak the plank a little, then use the plank bender and it heats the water in the wood to steam. And it does allow you to ben the wood in more than one direction and easily twist the wood too. I don't remember ever getting burned and never understood why anyone had problems with it. Clare

Dave, You can also order it from BlueJacket. They have black annealed steel wire from 22 gauge to 34 gauge including the 28-gauge you're looking for. But, all wire you get is going to be shiny unless you brush or spray on some kind of dull coat. Clare

Contrary to available evidence, this project is not dead! I do have a lot of work that I need to deal with that's in the way, but this past weekend, I revived the old paddle wheels issue. As well as that last photo etching session worked out, to make the paddlewheel rims the way I want requires 4 rings in 2 sizes. That's 4 photo etching sessions assuming I don't screw up any of them, which is a bad assumption to make. So, say 5 - 6 photo etch sessions. That's a lot of time and a materials. Some time ago, I found a laser cutting service in Nevada and finally re-contacted them and I'm going to give that a try. It's not cheap, but I'm so stuck on the issue of getting these rings right that the $65 to have the parts cut for me is a bargain. I created the artwork using Adobe Illustrator. I'm not a CAD person, but fortunately AI files apparently work just fine. I decided as long as I'm going to the trouble, I'd go ahead and have pin holes cut where the rings attach to the spokes of the wheel. I have no idea how well the holes will turn out, but this is an experiment anyway. What I learn from this, I'll apply to future builds. So, with a little back and forth with the laser cutting people, I'm now waiting for the final art file for me to approve. I'm choosing standard turn-around service, which means I should have the parts in a little over a week, I think. I decided to try having the parts cut in metal, though I could have chosen birch ply. The only metal that can be cut this way however, is stainless steel. I'm going with .018" thick material, which should be strong enough, though it might be slightly thick in terms of scale. I think it should be okay. The company doing the work is a robotics and electronics supplier called Pololu and they're in Las Vegas. I'll let you know how these turn out in case anyone wants to try them out too. Their custom laser cutting service page is here: Pololu - Custom Laser Cutting Service Hopefully, this will give me a boost in finishing the paddle wheels, because the way I'm building the model, I have to have the paddlewheels in place before I can move on to the wheel houses. Clare

Bob, Beautiful job on the hull! You did a better job than I did. The model is looking great. Now you're making me miss building this kit. But, I'm enjoying watching you build yours. Clare