Cutty Sark by baskerbosse - Billing Boats - Scale 1:75 - RESTORATION - Re-rigging my teenage build

[Edward Bowser]

Hi all. Looks like there could be an entire forum for people restoring long made Billings CS's ! I am another of them. I wish I had found this thread a couple of months ago as it answers a number of queries I had (although raised a whole heap more !). Anyway, thank you all for the info and hope mine gets somehwre like as good as I am seeing.

I made mine in the mid 1980's. Like others, I clearly lost the will to live and didn't finish some aspects - fife rails, rudder pintles, stern decal. The BIG mistake I made was not building a case for it. 35 years in various houses, including 10 on a beam in our kitchen and it looked more like something arisen from the deep in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie - rotten running rigging (thank you Mr Billings for using cheap cotton thread) greasy dust and spiders webs everywhere and enough dead insects to start a Natural History Museum and various parts missing. Thought I would remove the yards and all running rigging and replace the deadeye lanyards. After replacing all of the lanyards started setting them up and yes - 'ping' they went as the brittle fixing holes broke. Tried replacing some with new Billings ones but eventually gave up. Big breath, sharp scissors and the whole lot cut away. Bigger breath, trusty molegrips, and with a satisfying crack of the glue bonds, the masts came out.  I'm now at the stage of all shrouds in and set up and all forestays in (except the bowsprit). About to start on the backstays and have a (probably stupid) question. Do they have to go in singly, or in pairs (one going one side, the other going the other side)?

[Vladimir_Wairoa]

On 9/21/2015 at 4:22 AM, baskerbosse said:

Slowly getting there.. Fore braces coming along.

(I unfortunately haven't got much modelling time at the moment. A couple of hours a week is the current speed..)

she is Lovely Peter. this majestic rigged view is what i miss most on my cutty though. 

[Gary Douglas]

HI Peter I have been given apart built of Billings Cutty Sark could you please give me the Billings part no/s for the rigging cord/s. The plans etc I have are not in good condition were printed in 1971.Your help with the part numbers would good.