Ship ID

[Jake Buxton]

I'm not a model ship builder but my grandpa was.  He built the ship below, probably in the 1980s.  I need to dust it off and make some repairs before I really display it.  I'm just wondering if anyone can identify the ship?  I think maybe it's a clipper ship?  Flying Cloud perhaps?

[ccoyle]

From your question I assume that there is no name on the transom of the model? To my (admittedly non-expert) eye, your model appears clipper-like, rather than a model of an actual clipper. Clippers tended to have sharper bows, rounded sterns, and generally more graceful lines than those of the model. In fact, the model more closely resembles what were known as packet ships, which were ships that were designed to increase cargo-carrying capacity at the expense of some speed, making them more profitable to operate and giving them a more bluff and stout appearance than a clipper. If you google the term, you'll find images that show what I mean. In either case, your model appears to be scratch-built, as it does not resemble any of the clippers normally found in kit form, and no one, to my knowledge, makes a kit of a packet ship. As you said, dust it off, re-attach any loose lines, and give it a place of honor somewhere to remember your grandfather. Thanks for sharing!

[Jake Buxton]

Thanks!  Scratch built seems likely.  I remember him building some ship decks out of wooden coffee stirrers.  And no name on the transom.  

[Jim Hastings]

 

She does appear to be a clipper, although not one of the earlier ones, which were what came to be called extreme clippers (with very clean lines).  Later clippers surrendered some of the cleanliness of the lines in favor of greater cargo carrying capacity (an economic trade off, less speed but greater profit, the so called medium clippers.)  Judging by the design and finish of the deck houses she could be the Cutty Sark, although some of the other details are a bit different.  But if she was scratch built, it is possible that some inaccuracies may have crept in.

 

Jim

 

 

[Jake Buxton]

Very helpful.  And I was wondering what the covered areas between the masts on the deck are called.  Now I know they are deck houses!

[paulsutcliffe]

Very similar hull shape as a packet ship as Chris says above, although I'm not sure of the gangplanks in the waist, definitely not a clipper or the cutty sark as they generally had their chains inboard and a roundedstern, could be a whaler or something along those lines

Regards

Paul

Edited January 25, 2019 by paulsutcliffe

[mtaylor]

I don't think it's a whaler as there's no sign of the equipment for rendering the blubber.    I'm partial to the packet ship label.

[Jake Buxton]

The U.S. flag has 15 stars. If he selected the flag to be historically accurate and he modeled her after one particular ship, which I would think would have done, then that puts the time she sailed between 1795 and 1818. 

[druxey]

Unfortunately, the flag is not the correct era for the ship! The model represents a ship from  no earlier than the 1830's or '40's.

[Roger Pellett]

There were square sterned clipper ships.  See Crother’s book. Having said this I believe that this model should be considered to be Folk Art, not built to exact scale but intended to convey the builder’s impression of a real or imagined sailing vessel.  

 

It’s value lies in the fact that your grandpa built it.  Give it a good cleaning (Q Tips and saliva), repair any damage, and fix the rigging.  By putting it in some sort of protective case future generations will have a tangible link to him.  I would not try to improve on what he did.

 

Roger

[Jake Buxton]

Thanks for the cleaning info. I was going to ask about that. My aunt has several other ships he built at her house. She’s going to send me photos. I’ll post them when I get them. It’s great for me to get to share his models with people who are interested in the hobby he loved. Thank you!

[Jim Hastings]

We'll be looking for them.

 

Jim

[Jake Buxton]

[ccoyle]

Now those three are definitely kits. From top to bottom they appear to be Victory, Soleil Royale, and Cutty Sark. Their construction details do look like what one would have seen in a kit circa 1970s. Soleil Royale was either never completed or has lost much of her rigging. The good news is, all three of these kits are probably still in production, so if you decided to learn the craft of rigging a period ship, you could still restore these models, either from kit plans or from appropriate reference works, of which their are plenty in print.

[Jake Buxton]

Any thoughts on which of the four I might choose to clean up, repair and display? For now I only have the time to work on one of them.

[druxey]

The model that appeals to you the most!