Meteor 1851 by Jim Lad - Scale 1:96 - Immigrant Ship

[Jim Lad]

Lots of people stopping to talk, Pat.  The lighting on the desk is like a beacon at the end of a relatively dark gallery and people come over just out of curiosity to see what it is.

 

John

[Kevin]

will this be your permanent place from now on?

[russ]

John:

That looks like a very cozy spot to build a model. 

 

Russ

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Kevin - just a temporary home, Kevin; but probably for many months to come.

 

Russ - It's a good spot, but we miss our view and natural light at the other spot.

 

John

[wefalck]

Hi John, this project has escaped my attention completely until today ... didn't have much time to browse building logs these days ...

 

I had know the two paintings for years, as the older one has been reproduced in a calender in the mid-1970s and then later also in various books.

 

I am also very interested in this period of shipbuilding. There are notable differences between the 'clippers' of these days and the real ocean carriers that probably carried the bulk of goods around the world (for which no premium would be paid for fast arrival). It also seems that the German ships of the time were much fuller around the bows than the British or US American ones. Unfortunately, the last war, natural desasters (e.g. the 1962 flood in Hamburg), and negligence after the shipyards went out of business lead to most records (including ship's plans) being lost. There are also very few models of commercial ships from that period that survived. So it is indeed not easy to collate a good database for a model reconstruction. Would you mind showing the drawings you did for her ?

 

At the Altonaer Museum in Hamburg they had before WWI build a series of typical ships of the 19th century, based on plans in the Museum and also first hand knowledge of the people working on those models (which has its good and bad points). Here is one example:

 

(Apologies for the poor image quality, but the lighting is not so conducive to visitors taking pictures, plus the glass cases)

I full series of images can be found here: http://www.maritima-et-mechanika.org/maritime/hamburg/altona.html, but I focused on the smaller units, as I was collating material for another model reconstruction project.

 

If you need help in reconstructing deck fittings and rigging details, I can probably mobilise friends around Hamburg/Bremen/Brake to take pictures of models preserved in the various museums.

 

As someone mentioned the book of Däbritz and Quinger a word of 'warning': these authors mainly worked with material from the museum in Rostock at the Baltic coast. The Baltic coast seemed to always lag behind a bit in development and did have other commercial constraints/incentives than the world-trade ports of Hamburg and Bremen. In consequence, there are notable differences in the lines development and appearance between ships from the Baltic and the North Sea.

 

Looking forward to see this project evolve ...

[Jim Lad]

Thank you very much for that link, Wefalck - it looks very helpful.  I actually ordered that book from a German dealer through Abebooks, but it never arrived.  That's the second book I've ordered from a German book seller and the second non arrival, so I think I'll stop trying to source books from Germany! 

 

I've only drawn up basic lines and frame shapes which I based on the lines plan of the ship 'Pearl' in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, which is a very full bodied ship of the same period.  The dimensions needed just a little tweaking on the computer to match them to 'Meteor's', but I think they'll serve OK.

 

This is a shipping period right out of my comfort zone, so any assistance with appropriate photos - especially of rigging detail - would be extremely helpful and very much appreciate.

 

This will, I fear, be a very slow moving project.  I have a lot on at the moment plus the changes at the museum aren't helping much.  We also currently have massive industrial problems on our railways, so I'm not sure when I'll next be able to get to the museum.  Can you believe train driver actually calling a strike in this day and age?  Haven't they heard of negotiation?

 

John

[wefalck]

Well, here in France strikes are very common, but usually affect only parts of the system, as there are different unions on different lines. Good thing that I work from home most of the time ...

 

Photographs pre-1880 are a big problem in Germany. There weren't that many photographers at the time that would take pictures outside of studios. And again the war-losses are probably significant. So, it might be very difficult to come by pictures unless they had been published somewhere before WW2. My grandmother used to live next door to the most eminent naval photographer family in Kiel - I think they ran the business for four generations from around the late 1860s on. My father already told me once that their archives were lost during WW2 and some 20 years ago I visited the last in the row, who kept the business going until a few years ago. He confirmed that virtually all their negatives had been lost and that he in fact was trying to rebuild to some extent their archives by obtaining copies from published and private sources.

 

As to rigging, there are a couple of German text books from the late 1840s and a bit later that can serve as a guide.

 

Nevertheless, if I can be of any help, let me know.

Edited January 24, 2018 by wefalck

[Jim Lad]

In spite of all the changes happening around the museum and the crowds of families with kids over the school holidays. I've managed to make a little progress on the 'Meteor'.  All of the forward square frames are now fitted and the next job will be to try and get the insides of the frames sanded and faired while I still have plenty of space to get inside the hull (at least the forward part).  Once that's done I can start thinking about the after end.

 

John

 

 

 

[russ]

John:

Great work. The frames are looking wonderful. She is beginning to look like a real ship.

 

Russ

 

 

[BANYAN]

Very nice work on the frames John, she looks good on her build board.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Jim Lad]

Thanks Russ and Pat, and those who pressed the 'like' button!

 

John

[rafine]

Well done John.

 

Bob

[Wintergreen]

Good progress there John despite everything around you.

I reckon that the space is limited at 1:96 even if you state the opposite. Reckon you have one of those mini yardsmen with an adze at your service...

[Jim Lad]

Thanks, Bob.

Håkan, I'm thinking of employing some of the beetles to do the job! 

 

John

 

[popeye the sailor]

you've made some really nice progress John!  once your done framing in the bow,  it'll be off towards the stern     looks great!

[Jim Lad]

Thanks, Denis!

 

John

[Piet]

Wow John, nice framing wok and great progress, even with everything that's going on around you.

 

Cheers,

[Jim Lad]

Another update at last.  Things have been moving even more slowly than usual due to the renovations at the museum and the consequent disruption that's been caused, but at least I've got a fair bit of fairing done to the forward frames - especially inside the hull.  It might not look like much in the photos, but I'm really pleased with the progress I've been able to make with cleaning up - especially on the forward few frames.

 

John

 

[Mark Pearse]

that's a thing of beauty John

[russ]

John:

I see the progress quite clearly. The fairing is coming along. The inside fairing looks very good right now, but I have no doubt that you will work it a bit closer as well. 

 

I am looking forward to seeing this hull planked. So far the lines are shaping up nicely.  

 

Russ

 

 

[BANYAN]

Slow but steady progress John; an excellent foundation for your future planking.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Jim Lad]

Thanks very much for the support, Fellas!  I won't be doing anything for the next couple of weeks as I'm in hospital next Monday for a regular check up.

 

John

[KeithAug]

John, frames looking nice and clean. Hope the hospital visit goes well. 

[Jim Lad]

Thanks Keith - just a routine check up, but it means a general anaesthetic, which I don't find pleasant! 

 

Thanks, too, to all those who have pushed the 'like' button!

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

hoping you breeze through John......      more super progress to boot!

[Jim Lad]

Thanks, Denis!

 

John

[Piet]

Best wishes for the checkup. I understand about your dislike for anesthesia from personal experiences. Frames look terrific.

 

Cheers,

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Thanks, Piet!  Hopefully all will be fine.

 

John

[Jim Lad]

Things are not going too well as far as progress on the 'Meteor' is concerned.  I had a couple of weeks off from the museum with a medical issue, then got a few more frames fitted yesterday and now, due to other pressing commitments, I won't be back at the museum until May.  Oh well, she'll still be waiting there for me.

 

The photos below are of the few extra frames fitted and including my 'Heath-Robinson' framing jig (at least it works).

 

John

 

 

[russ]

John:

She is coming along. Love the hull form being revealed. 

 

Russ