Kate Cory by GrandpaPhil - FINISHED - Quick Restoration

[GrandpaPhil]

I found an old model of the Kate Cory at a flea market today, that is in dire need of repair.  I believe it to be an old Model Shipways kit, but I do not know for certain.

Some initial observations:

It is actually, mostly correctly rigged.
 

It has a planked solid hull.

 

It appears hand built.

 

The castings appear to be pewter.

 

The whale boats are bread and butter construction (much like the last Model Shipways model that I built).

 

The paint scheme is completely wrong.

 

It’ll make a nice addition to my living room.

 

By the way, pardon the painting mess on my building board, I’ve been tearing through my 28mm miniature collection the last few days.

[GrandpaPhil]

1st step:

 

Cleaning.

[GrandpaPhil]

Definitely hand built:

Yes, I’m holding a model ship upside down.

[GrandpaPhil]

The bowsprit is back up:

It needs a replacement piece on the side, the bobstays need some TLC and the head needs new cheeks, which are completely missing.

 

The windlass has been reattached:

The aft boat is back on:

I believe that I will have to cut some rigging lines to fix the masts.

[GrandpaPhil]

I pinned the foremast in place.  I only had to cut the backstays.

I am letting it dry.  It won’t be perfect, but I am not going for perfect with this.  I am only doing a quick repair so I can display it in the living room.  I am leaving as much original work as possible.

[Keith Black]

Nice score, Phil. She's definitely worth saving. 

[GrandpaPhil]

Main mast is fixed now too:

I sacrificed the backstays for the main mast, too.

[GrandpaPhil]

This model is missing a lot of the standing rigging, which I am installing using the Prince de Neufchatel as a reference, because they are both Baltimore Clippers.

 

At this point I have replaced the foremast backstays and begun to replace the missing stays.

 

[GrandpaPhil]

I’m not worried about accuracy on this one because it’s already finished and I’m not willing to make fundamental changes to the model.  If I did that I would be better off just building a new one with the amount of damage that I would have to inflict.  Plus, that wouldn’t be fair to the original builder, since it would no longer be his or her model.
 

It should be coppered and the paint scheme should be fundamentally different.  

 

Perhaps one day, I’ll buy the plans and build another one.

[GrandpaPhil]

At this point, I am calling the main hull, foremast and main mast, with associated rigging, done.

 

 

The head and bowsprit had some damage.  It needs a new rigging piece made and new cheeks.

The block of beeswax is my secret weapon against fraying rigging.

[GrandpaPhil]

One replacement rigging piece:

[GrandpaPhil]

All I need to do now is replace the cheeks:

Fortunately, I now have a contour gauge!  Thank you very much Model Ship World for giving me the idea!

[Keith Black]

Nice save, you've made neat work of that tangled mess you came home with. 

[GrandpaPhil]

Thanks, Keith!

 

Here are the initial patterns for the cheeks:

I am making them from double layered card.  I used my contour gauge to get the shape of the head.  Note to self (and others), this has worked beautifully.

[GrandpaPhil]

The original builder painted the cheeks metallic gold.  I will do the same.

 

The historical paint scheme would have been black with white trim, copper below the waterline.

 

Here is the current state of the cheeks (the second layer drying):

[GrandpaPhil]

And, it’s done:

I always try to learn something new from every build (or rebuild in this case).  

This time I learned to use a contour gauge to make the cheeks on the head.  It makes it much easier and takes the trial and error element out of it.  We all know that the head is one of the most complicated parts of a ship.  That makes learning this a valuable tool.  It will make life easier in the future.

 

I am glad that I found this model.

 

PS:  I know the original builder installed the flag on the main mast upside down.  Out of respect for the original builder, I left it that way.

[Keith Black]

Phil, there's nothing more satisfying that salvaging something from the dustbin and turning it into something that can be enjoyed. Very nice work and a job well done. 

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you very much!

[mtaylor]

Nice rework, Phil.  From the earlier photos I thought you were going to have a bear of a time but everything came together. 

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you very much!

 

It went back together much better than I thought it would.  I thought for sure I would have to redo much more of the rigging.

[Edwardkenway]

Just caught up on this one Phil. 

Very nice remodeling work.

[Vladimir_Wairoa]

enjoyable to see breathing a new life to someones past work. it is very beautiful in its own way Phil. Vlad 

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you both very much!