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At the time I got this kit I had just starting building the Caldercraft Snake. Having not built anything for over10 years I thought it might be a good idea to get some practice building the Etoile, which is not really my type of ship, so if I messed up some bits it would not really matter. Also I would not spend much money replacing what is in the kit and try to use as much of the supplied material as possible, as it turns out, now I have started my attitude has changed somewhat, more on that later. The Kit This is an old Billings kit which I do not think is still available. I was offered it by a friend who had bought it as a present for her father, a railway modeller, who hardly touched it. When I got it I did a quick inventory to ascertain if it was all present, it appeared to be. The model was sold in two parts, the basic ship and a fittings kit, both of which were present. It would have looked a bit bare without the fittings kit. Examining it the wood seemed to be of poor quality. The edges of most planks were rough and splintering. Also the dimensions were poor. For example, there are strips of some dark wood which are supposed to be 1mm x 0.5mm x 600mm. The width varies from 1.3mm to 0.7mm along the length and this is consistent for all 14 strips. There are also a large number of plastic parts, where appropriate I will replace these with wood, if only because there are dimples caused by shrinkage during manufacture. However where these are of suitable quality and used to represent fittings made of metal I may use them. I will certainly discard all the plastic blocks and replace them. In general the brass fittings look reasonable or good, though there are some gears supplied for the winches that are a bit bulky and not well made. The ship Having got the Kit I then started to do a bit of research into it. The first thing I discovered was that it was still in service with the French navy and has a sister ship, La Belle Poule, of which there is a model produced by Dusek. They are schooners and were launched at Fecamp in 1932. They are 37.5m long and displace 225 tons. They are built to the design of the Paimpol schooners and were used for cod fishing off the coast of Iceland up until 1938. They were at Dunkirk and can fly the Free French flag. Both of these are now in the French navy and are part of the sea training school. Having discovered the ship was still active I got some pictures from the internet (see below). Sources of information I have also downloaded the instructions for the Dusek model (thank you), which represents the way these ships are currently fitted out. I am using these instructions and photographs from the internet to help me modify the model to look as the ships currently look. In reality there are only minor changes. The most notable are: · The ships wooden boat has been replaced with an inflatable. · Deck furniture – In most cases there are cosmetic differences, but in a few places they are more structural. · The anchor/chain gear has been updated. In my next post I will get into the build. Glenn -
Hi All, After a few request I have decided to recreate my build log of BB Frigate Jylland. I have most of the photos from the log on my PC but unfortunately not the writing and discussions contained in the old blog. It's been a while since build the model (and it is still not complete) so I'll do my best writing down what I remembered - especially where I deviated from the plans and did a few modifications. I will just ask you to be patient with me. It is rather tedious work (and not the most interesting to re-create and entire build log) but I'll do my best to hurry up. As a teaser we should end up with somethings like this: /Lars Peter -
Hi here we go again I saw this Billings kit on E bay at what I thought was a very reasonable price but unfortunately it was an older kit with no fittings :o After an internet search nothing seemed to be available to buy so I thought I had bought some expensive firewood or paint stirrers On a whim I E mailed the seller to see if he had any bits he might have tucked away , he replied that he had a full Coral fittings kit that he would send me for free :) So the mongrel has started I didn't like the printed deck so I used some 1/16 ply as a false deck and then planked with Tanganika (I think) using Nigel's (NMBROOK) method of using black tissue paper to simulate caulking pace is a bit slow as time is at a premium at the moment any comments from any of the other Wasa builders here would be appreciated Andy -
Greetings Members l recently bought a model kit- Billing Boats Marie Jean # 468. It appears to be several years old , ( possibly 15), and is almost complete. At the time of production, the kit was offered for sale in two separate boxes, # 468 - the kit, and #469 the fittings. So I am now searching for #469, and wondered if anyone has one they are prepared to sell me or suggest a source. I could complete # 468 with fittings sourced from elsewhere, but I have no inventory, and would prefer to use the originals. Any help you can provide will be much appreciated. Sent from my iPad
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here is the new build thats iam going to start i got this kit used for 300.00 cad i looked over the kit all of it is there this is the 50 anniversary kit that what thay say its comes with billing slip 397 with the kit poeple say not to use but its with the kit so not to sure what to do there here a pic -
I'm offering three kits for sale to the forum members, before I put them on Ebay tomorrow night (Sun 6/10) The first is a Model Expo solid hull Phantom 1800s (1/96) (the newer kit) still sealed. I'm asking $30 plus actual shipping. The shipping box weights 2 1/2 pounds and is 17"X10"X4" The second is the Billings Boats Viking ship Roar Ege about 900AD (1/25) opened for inspection. I'm asking $50 plus shipping. The shipping box weights 4 pounds and is 27"X12"X4" The third is the Model Expo/Model Airways (1/16) Sopwith Camel kit purchased new and only opened for inspection. I'm asking $100 plus shipping. The box weights 5 pounds and is 27"X12"X4". Note that most of the fuselage on this plane is wood, hence most of the laser cut parts are the wing ribs.- 1 reply
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I am building a Billings Victory. There does not seem to be any reference to the wales in the instructions and no extra material to detail them. I would like to include them in my build. I have the John McKay Victory book which shows the wales, but. My question is, are there any simplified drawings of side elevation showing the positions? (Google searches including wales are not helpful!) -
Hello again ... my second model posting. About 40 years ago my wife bought this kit for me and I put it together as well as I could. This was all pre-internet and I had nothing more to guide me than the instructions in the box. We were sailors ourselves so I had a pretty good idea how it should work! Anyway, I just assembled the hull, made a backing board for it and hung it on the wall where it stayed for about 35 years collecting dust. A few years after I retired I started scratch building as a hobby and decided to tart her up a bit. Here's how she looked when I started stage 2 ... By now we had the internet and I looked at many Dragons there and just chose what features I liked best and incorporated them into mine. I decided first to plank the deck as it just had the sheet of wood that came with the kit. Haven't a clue now what I used as caulking in case anyone wants to know. Have a feeling I scored the tiny gap i left between the planks with a fine triangular file and rubbed something in as caulk. Cut mahogany strips for a deck edge coaming and as a king plank of sorts. Made a little dog-house from a scrap of mahogany and added a raised coaming with scaled quarter-round around the cockpit and added some nice bases for the winches. I have a healthy supply of wood scraps so of many varieties so I included them whenever possible. This floor grating is from cocobolo strips ... Tiller uses alternating mahogany and "something else" ... pine maybe? bent and glued around pins on a board. Metal fittings scratch made from aluminum scraps. .... Winches and traveller are scratch built too ... Likewise a few deck fittings ... This was as far as I wanted to take the project as I had no interest in making it into a sailing model. Oh yes, I finished up the keel, made fittings to support a rudder then ran a tube through to which I attached the tiller ... sorry no pictures. However, good friends of ours make boat cradles for a living so I had to make something they'd approve of so some nice mahogany scraps were selected for the purpose. I had to make proper tilting supports too so they were scratched from small bolts. So that's where she stands today and has resumed her duties as an excellent dust collector!! Thanks for looking in. Frank -
Finally is the boat finished. To many distractions and eye problems have delayed the Finnish. Just a few pics . I made changes to the Billings kit for RC use, next week is the maiden sailing. -
Hi all. I’m looking for some advice from the experts at Model Ship World regarding a Billings Bluenose kit #452 that I started about 40 years ago, but never got beyond the hull planking (you know how it is...marriage, work, kids...), and after reading some of your posts I realize how inaccurate the model is. It is supposed to be a 1:75 scale, but the hull measures 27” and the beam is 5 1/4”, which makes it, as far as I can figure, closer to 1:65. My questions are: 1. Is it worthwhile completing this or should I look for a more accurate kit? 2. If I continue, do I build it to 1:75 or 1:65? 3. If I do continue, can I replank the hull and deck without destroying the proportions? I’d like to try this to make it more attractive and accurate, especially the deck, which is 1 piece at present. 4. If I do replank the deck, can I redo the railings and stanchions in order to widen the railings for the belaying pins, and do a better job of the stanchions than I did first time around? Would I just cut away the old, except for the framing, and build anew on it? Here are some photos of my efforts so far. Many thanks for any advice. Paul
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Hello everyone, I am new to model ship building. My Opa or as some would say Grandpa left me his Wasa ship model kit by Billings.The hull and top deck are complete except for wood grids and some of the minor details like fittings. the mast has not been installed and not with the kit parts. I will add pictures of the ship and the parts that he had with it. my ultimate goal is to complete it or just add the sails and fittings and skip painting it. I would love all the advice and help I can get. I want to finish it to show him on face time what it looks like since he is now in a retirement home and doesn't have the eye site to be able to finish it. pictures will be added soon. Thank you everyone, -
Ahoy, me hearties. I'm just starting this log a little after the event but too far. Any suggestions or criticism welcome. I'm spreading my self a little thin as I'm also doing a 1/130 & 1/350 Cutty Sark at the same time as this so progress my be patchy. But they will all be finished. Eventually. When I first bid on this "vintage" model on eBay. It was simply for a chance to try building a wooden boat. As I've always stuck to plastic kits in the past. But as an ex cabinetmaker I though it was about time to take the plunge. When I got the winning bid I began to do a little research. Only to discover that this small working boat which was bought by OCL way back when. Was the very same boat I spent a day sailing up and down the Thames way back when OCL had just bought her/him. Back even befor there were a comforts just long benches and wooden tables. But that day has sat in my mind all these years, 40 ish that is. And to find I've been a victim serendipity thrills my inner child with great pleasure. Like I said having been a wooden top for too many years I'm hoping to leave her with as much wood showing as possible. Which considering she's built of steel is fine by me. As she will still be the same memory for me but why try to hide the wood. Let the beauty of nature shine is my hope and feeling. But time will tell. Sadly there are no instructions for this model. I don't know if there ever were. As the new laser cut version varies in several details. But I've got the plans, the knowledge of wood, and a stubborn streak a mile wide. So I'll end this part of my journey with a picture or two of her as she was yesterday, on arrival. And how we stand this afternoon So I'm going to set sail for now and add to the captains log soon.- 86 replies
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