Cutty Sark by Bruma - Revell - 1:96 - PLASTIC

[Bruma]

Hello everyone.
This is my first model ship and my first build log here.
English is not my native language, so sorry for any mistakes.
I started more than one year ago but I’ll start the log from the beginning, hoping to help other members not to do the same mistake I did.

 

As suggested by the instructions, I started from the hull:

 

 

 

 

 

 

The base coat was made by airbrush, acrylic colors (gunze and tamiya), followed by oil filters, dry pastels and oil dry brush in order to simulate the wood planking and to highlight some details.
Tyre black was used for the hull, highlighted with gray. A mix of copper and gold, washed with green/blue oil were used for the Munz metal planking.
Buff, desert yellow and similar tones were used the base for the wood. Burnt umber filters helped to break the uniformity and bring the wood a better look (at least I hope…) and the details were highlighted by pastels and oils (remember that the detail are raised and not recessed in this old kit).

 

That's it for now.

Hope you like it and don't be afraid to criticize!

[Cirdan]

I saw your Model on Finescale Modeler in a more advanced stage and i'm lucky to see it here too. In fact it is one of the most beautiful Revell Cutty Sarks in the net. 👍

It will be one of my personal reference models for my own revell cutty sark some time in future.

[Vladimir_Wairoa]

Welcome to the cutty fanatics crowd here  happy continuation. Vlad 

[shipman]

It's such a shame Revell moulded the deck in two sections; the join is always an eye-sore. When I eventually get going on mine, I'm seriously considering making my own in one piece. Or cover it all with planking, either way it's a pain. I'm following your build and looking forward to seeing your progress.

[Bruma]

On 8/14/2020 at 3:11 PM, Cirdan said:

I saw your Model on Finescale Modeler in a more advanced stage and i'm lucky to see it here too. In fact it is one of the most beautiful Revell Cutty Sarks in the net. 👍

It will be one of my personal reference models for my own revell cutty sark some time in future.

Thank you Cirdan, you are too kind. 
Be careful in taking my attempt as a guide: I’m a novice and I’m surely making a lot of mistakes!

 

 

On 8/16/2020 at 8:17 PM, Vladimir_Wairoa said:

Welcome to the cutty fanatics crowd here  happy continuation. Vlad 

Thank you Vlad! 
I’m following your Cutty Sark which is really a masterpiece! 

 

On 8/17/2020 at 12:30 AM, shipman said:

It's such a shame Revell moulded the deck in two sections; the join is always an eye-sore. When I eventually get going on mine, I'm seriously considering making my own in one piece. Or cover it all with planking, either way it's a pain. I'm following your build and looking forward to seeing your progress.

Shipman: yes, it is really a shame. Especially if you think that space was not an issue: the box can perfectly handle the entire deck. And most of all, the details, which are really nice, are positive and not negative. This means that it is impossible to sand the junction without destroying all the details on the deck.
I was considering the replacement with a wooden deck but it is a little bit too expensive for my taste. 

 

 

Time to move forward: next step was gluing the deck to the hull.
In order to ensure a stronger bond I added plastic strips on the hull.

 

After many dry fit, I wasn’t able to perfectly fit the deck. On the stern there is a gap which I was unable to remove. I can’t say if the problem is due to my poor capabilities or in some mistakes in the kit, but the result is pretty evident.
In order to mitigate the problem I added a small plastic strip, which was painted later. 

 

 

 

After that, I started working on the pin rails. After cleaning all the parts from mold lines (which are many and all over the places…) I reinforced them on the bottom side, in order to have a stronger bond.
The holes for the plastic shrouds needs to be filled. To drill the new holes for the wooden deadeyes I have used a scaled version of the Campbell’s plans which fit perfectly the model size. This scaling operation is really useful and it will be helpful in many other circumstances. 

It is also worth to mention that the location and the number of the plastic deadeyes provided by the kit is not correct, so be careful if you plan to use them as a placeholder for any upgrade.

Here is  the main rail ready to be painted:

 

 

 

To secure the lower deadeye I used a small diameter copper wire, pre painted in white and twisted in the lower side. The twisted part pass trough the holes in the main rail and it is bent and glued in place. 

Here you can see the main rail in place, painted and with all the relatives deadeyes (3 and 2 millimeters)

 

 

 

 

 

And here a view of the entire deck:
 

 

It was a long and time consuming job, but in the end I’m quite happy with the result.

 

 

Thank you all and see you next time!

 

Edit: typing errors...

[Vladimir_Wairoa]

very nice work on deadeyes   Bruma . lovely . 

[Bruma]

Thank you Vladimir!

[Bruma]

Deck fittings.

 

As mentioned before, the kit has a really nice level of detail but it suffers from flashes, extraction pins and warping, maybe due to old molds.

That’s why every piece of plastic needs a lot of love and time…

Here it is an example of a normal piece extracted from the sprue:

 

 

After some sanding and rescribing, the result is this:

 

 

Doing this process for a kit which has 698 parts, might drive you crazy… Nevertheless, it is necessary, especially if you plan to use washes and dry brush to give them a better look.

 

Here it is another example: the ladders:

 

 

The painting has followed the same process described for the hull and the deck: first base layer with airbrush, filters, washes and dry brush with oils.

 

Here it is an example of the painting process applied to the winch:

 

 

When all the pieces were ready and painted, I have glued them on the deck.

Here it is the stern:

 

 

Small pieces of transparent plastic were added to the windows, in order to simulate the glasses.

 

It might be worth to mention that there is a discrepancy between the kit and the Campbell’s plans. In the drawings, the door of the poop deck is aligned with the wall, while the kit shows a protruded version.

Unfortunately, at the beginning my idea was to build an almost out of the box kit and I didn't make any improvement in this area. Now I regret my laziness, even if the modification is not that simple…

 

 

Here is the middle section, with pumps, winch and fife rail installed:

 

 

And here is the bow:

 

 

Gluing the fife rail at this stage (as suggested by the instruction) was a big mistake. They are very close to the masts and this area will be really crowded on the rigging phase. It would have been a better decision to add them later. Stupid move… At least I was smart enough to clear all the holes in the fife rail legs. This will prove to be very important later on.

 

Finally, a global image of my Cutty Sark at this stage:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[shipman]

1 hour ago, Bruma said:

Deck fittings.

 

As mentioned before, the kit has a really nice level of detail but it suffers from flashes, extraction pins and warping, maybe due to old molds.

That’s why every piece of plastic needs a lot of love and time…

Here it is an example of a normal piece extracted from the sprue:

 

 

After some sanding and rescribing, the result is this:

 

 

Doing this process for a kit which has 698 parts, might drive you crazy… Nevertheless, it is necessary, especially if you plan to use washes and dry brush to give them a better look.

 

Here it is another example: the ladders:

 

 

The painting has followed the same process described for the hull and the deck: first base layer with airbrush, filters, washes and dry brush with oils.

 

Here it is an example of the painting process applied to the winch:

 

 

When all the pieces were ready and painted, I have glued them on the deck.

Here it is the stern:

 

 

Small pieces of transparent plastic were added to the windows, in order to simulate the glasses.

 

It might be worth to mention that there is a discrepancy between the kit and the Campbell’s plans. In the drawings, the door of the poop deck is aligned with the wall, while the kit shows a protruded version.

Unfortunately, at the beginning my idea was to build an almost out of the box kit and I didn't make any improvement in this area. Now I regret my laziness, even if the modification is not that simple…

 

 

Here is the middle section, with pumps, winch and fife rail installed:

 

 

And here is the bow:

 

 

Gluing the fife rail at this stage (as suggested by the instruction) was a big mistake. They are very close to the masts and this area will be really crowded on the rigging phase. It would have been a better decision to add them later. Stupid move… At least I was smart enough to clear all the holes in the fife rail legs. This will prove to be very important later on.

 

Finally, a global image of my Cutty Sark at his stage:

 

 

 

 

'door of the poop deck is aligned with the wall, while the kit shows a protruded version.'

The  feature you mention on the ship as she is today is as depicted on the kit. To the rear of the poop 'monkey deck', just in front of the wheel, is another door/companion way. The kit doesn't include that. Apparently that was an addition during Portugese ownership. I can only assume this was retained to give a one way flow of visitors.

1 hour ago, Bruma said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cirdan]

On 8/27/2020 at 7:23 PM, Bruma said:

I’m a novice and I’m surely making a lot of mistakes!

It's a very fine and beautiful work and it is hard to believe that this is your first model. 

[Bruma]

On 9/5/2020 at 12:13 AM, Cirdan said:

It's a very fine and beautiful work and it is hard to believe that this is your first model. 

Cirdan, you are too kind, I really appreciate you comment, thank you!

 

 

On 9/2/2020 at 7:23 PM, shipman said:

The  feature you mention on the ship as she is today is as depicted on the kit. To the rear of the poop 'monkey deck', just in front of the wheel, is another door/companion way. The kit doesn't include that. Apparently that was an addition during Portugese ownership. I can only assume this was retained to give a one way flow of visitors.

 

 

Thank you Shipman for pointing it out.

This feature is one of the many differences visible between the Underhill plans (included inside the Longridge book dedicated to the Cutty Sark) and the Campbell’s plans. Campbell shows a short companion way, while Underhill present the version proposed by Revell.

It would be nice to know what were the references used by Revell, they seem to be a mix of both.

 

 

Bowsprit reinforcement and installation, railing, stern and bow decoration.

 

 

The bowsprit is quite weak. The innermost part is provided in two pieces, while the outermost spar is in one piece as shown below:

 

 

The junction is the weak point. Hoping to improve a bit this point I added some sprue inside the cavity, drilled holes inside the two pieces (gray and brown in the picture) and inserted a piece of spring steel inside.

 

 

The result is far from being perfect but at least it’s better than before.

 

 

 

Railing:

The instruction suggest to use thread for the railing but I don’t like this solution. I opted instead for thin copper wire, twisted around the poles and painted in white.

Looking back at the result I’m just half happy: the rail are not that bad, but the poles provided by the kit looks too fat, I should have cut them from the base and rebuild them from scratch…

Anyway, they are there and now it’s too late to correct them.

This is a picture of the bow railing during the installation and painting process:

 

 

and here you can see the same piece installed:

 

 

 

In the above picture the home made handropes and relative eyebolts on the bowsprit are also visible. This feature is omitted by the kit but it’s easy to scratch build and worth to be added.

 

Decorations.

For the bow and stern decoration, the kit provide decals. I don’t like them, and so I searched for photo etched parts.

The photo etched plate includes decoration on both sides and the Cutty sark name on the wheel box.

The application was a bit challenging since I don’t want to have CA glue all over the places, but the end result is not that bad and I think they add some nice details.

Here they are for the stern:

 

 

 

Unfortunately the railing suffer some bending, fixed later on…

 

And here the bow:

 

 

The forked outrigger visible in this picture is the one provided by the kit but it is out of scale and it was replaced with a scratch build one later on.

 

That’s all again.

Thank you all for your attention!

 

 

[shipman]

Hi Bruma. I'd be tempted to make my own bowsprit and yards, the kit ones are very fragile.

I too got those decorative photo-etch thingies and also worried about glue everywhere. You made a tidy job of them.

The place you got them from also does proper scale drilled ball stanchions, which the brass wire threads through in a very convincing way. Of course if you wish to spend more than what the kit costs, the above items, plus scale brass belay pins and a range of blocks go a long way to reduce some if not all the outdated clunkiness of Ravels 60 year old moulding.

A well presented rendition of this basically good kit (with a bit of time and money) is a worthwhile endeavour and in my humble opinion is far more accurate than any of the wooden kits on the market.

I understand someone from Revel did visit and research the vessel in the mid 50's. In fact their very first hull moulding included the full row of port holes down each side. Those seem to be a throwback to the time she was a sea cadet training ship before coming out of the water for good.

Keep at it friend, you are doing fine.

[Vladimir_Wairoa]

18 hours ago, Bruma said:

Cirdan, you are too kind, I really appreciate you comment, thank you!

 

 

 

Thank you Shipman for pointing it out.

This feature is one of the many differences visible between the Underhill plans (included inside the Longridge book dedicated to the Cutty Sark) and the Campbell’s plans. Campbell shows a short companion way, while Underhill present the version proposed by Revell.

It would be nice to know what were the references used by Revell, they seem to be a mix of both.

 

 

Bowsprit reinforcement and installation, railing, stern and bow decoration.

 

 

The bowsprit is quite weak. The innermost part is provided in two pieces, while the outermost spar is in one piece as shown below:

 

 

The junction is the weak point. Hoping to improve a bit this point I added some sprue inside the cavity, drilled holes inside the two pieces (gray and brown in the picture) and inserted a piece of spring steel inside.

 

 

The result is far from being perfect but at least it’s better than before.

 

 

 

Railing:

The instruction suggest to use thread for the railing but I don’t like this solution. I opted instead for thin copper wire, twisted around the poles and painted in white.

Looking back at the result I’m just half happy: the rail are not that bad, but the poles provided by the kit looks too fat, I should have cut them from the base and rebuild them from scratch…

Anyway, they are there and now it’s too late to correct them.

This is a picture of the bow railing during the installation and painting process:

 

 

and here you can see the same piece installed:

 

 

 

In the above picture the home made handropes and relative eyebolts on the bowsprit are also visible. This feature is omitted by the kit but it’s easy to scratch build and worth to be added.

 

Decorations.

For the bow and stern decoration, the kit provide decals. I don’t like them, and so I searched for photo etched parts.

The photo etched plate includes decoration on both sides and the Cutty sark name on the wheel box.

The application was a bit challenging since I don’t want to have CA glue all over the places, but the end result is not that bad and I think they add some nice details.

Here they are for the stern:

 

 

 

Unfortunately the railing suffer some bending, fixed later on…

 

And here the bow:

 

 

The forked outrigger visible in this picture is the one provided by the kit but it is out of scale and it was replaced with a scratch build one later on.

 

That’s all again.

Thank you all for your attention!

 

 

nicely done Bruma. superb. Vlad  

[Danstream]

Awesome work on this old kit. Looking forward to seeing more.

Dan

[Vladimir_Wairoa]

i now see your mastering in painting Bruma, i like very much what are you doing with revel model. Vlad

[Bruma]

On 9/11/2020 at 11:23 PM, shipman said:

Hi Bruma. I'd be tempted to make my own bowsprit and yards, the kit ones are very fragile.

I too got those decorative photo-etch thingies and also worried about glue everywhere. You made a tidy job of them.

The place you got them from also does proper scale drilled ball stanchions, which the brass wire threads through in a very convincing way. Of course if you wish to spend more than what the kit costs, the above items, plus scale brass belay pins and a range of blocks go a long way to reduce some if not all the outdated clunkiness of Ravels 60 year old moulding.

A well presented rendition of this basically good kit (with a bit of time and money) is a worthwhile endeavour and in my humble opinion is far more accurate than any of the wooden kits on the market.

I understand someone from Revel did visit and research the vessel in the mid 50's. In fact their very first hull moulding included the full row of port holes down each side. Those seem to be a throwback to the time she was a sea cadet training ship before coming out of the water for good.

Keep at it friend, you are doing fine.

I was tempted too, but at that time I had zero experience in wood modelling, and I was afraid to make major mistakes in a such important area. 
The problem was just postponed: I decided to completely rebuild all the yard in wood and brass...
So now, with the little experience gained, I would probably build the bowsprit in wood too.
Thank you for the stanchions' suggestion, I know that items, but, as you mentioned, the price was a bit off my standard and I preferred to stick with the model's one. 
As I understand, you build the very same model, is it possible to see your build somewhere? I'll be glad to admire her! 

 

 

On 9/12/2020 at 11:07 PM, Danstream said:

Awesome work on this old kit. Looking forward to seeing more.

Dan

 

Thank you, Dan! I will soon post some more! 

 

On 9/17/2020 at 8:06 PM, Vladimir_Wairoa said:

i now see your mastering in painting Bruma, i like very much what are you doing with revel model. Vlad

Hey Vlad, no master here, just some humble attempt to make my model a bit less flat. 
I'm so sorry for the delay in answering to your question about the dry brush on black and I saw you decided to stop working on your wonderful Cutty. Anyway, I assume you now get the point I was trying to describe. 
This approach is particularly suited for small scale, but you might try a softer version on you Cutty! 

 

 

 

 

[shipman]

Bruma, my confession is this.....I have at least three examples of this kit, plus all the accessories available. I've even made a dedicated build stand. BUT I haven't started it yet!!! I've spent an inordinate amount of time studying the model, photo's of the ship and all the build logs such as yours to see how people resolve what I see as kit issues and historical anachronisms. I can't see a way to depict bulwark details accurately...mainly the freeing ports and the white panels that run along both sides. These details will need addressing right at the beginning of the work. I'm still not happy and until I am, I'm not ready to proceed. I have all the important books and I feel my research has been as thorough as it's possible. I'd like to do justice to the kit and make it as accurate as I can. The ship as she is isn't what it could be; I've found hints that still give me doubts.

In the meantime, I've been looking at my shelf of shame. Prominently is the beginnings of my interpretation of the Airfix Bounty which I put a lot of time into some years ago. (The 1:87 scale is very inviting and the hull mouldings compare well to the AOTS book drawings). Again, there's not a lot of real evidence of her actual appearance. So on this one I decided to use a measure of conjecture and artistic licence. For instance, considering the mission she had....to transport live breadfruit seedlings. I decided the converted Captains cabin wouldn't have let enough light in. So I was intending to replace the rear deck grating with a glazed affair much like the skylight on the poop of the Victory. That may very well be wrong but to me at least it's plausible.  So that looks like being revived into my winter project (and build log). Ultimately, I may adopt this attitude for the CS kit. Take care and stay well.

[Bruma]

Hello everyone. After a long pause, I'm back posting.

 

 

On 9/25/2020 at 12:47 PM, shipman said:

Bruma, my confession is this.....I have at least three examples of this kit, plus all the accessories available. I've even made a dedicated build stand. BUT I haven't started it yet!!! I've spent an inordinate amount of time studying the model, photo's of the ship and all the build logs such as yours to see how people resolve what I see as kit issues and historical anachronisms. I can't see a way to depict bulwark details accurately...mainly the freeing ports and the white panels that run along both sides. These details will need addressing right at the beginning of the work. I'm still not happy and until I am, I'm not ready to proceed. I have all the important books and I feel my research has been as thorough as it's possible. I'd like to do justice to the kit and make it as accurate as I can. The ship as she is isn't what it could be; I've found hints that still give me doubts.

In the meantime, I've been looking at my shelf of shame. Prominently is the beginnings of my interpretation of the Airfix Bounty which I put a lot of time into some years ago. (The 1:87 scale is very inviting and the hull mouldings compare well to the AOTS book drawings). Again, there's not a lot of real evidence of her actual appearance. So on this one I decided to use a measure of conjecture and artistic licence. For instance, considering the mission she had....to transport live breadfruit seedlings. I decided the converted Captains cabin wouldn't have let enough light in. So I was intending to replace the rear deck grating with a glazed affair much like the skylight on the poop of the Victory. That may very well be wrong but to me at least it's plausible.  So that looks like being revived into my winter project (and build log). Ultimately, I may adopt this attitude for the CS kit. Take care and stay well.

I know very well your feeling and there are many things I already did which do not satisfy me.

I started the build knowing my limitation, both in skills, time, money and information and I’m taking this journey as a learning adventure.

Bulwark details bothered me too. They can be addressed properly with a resin 3d printer. I’m quite good at digital modeling but I don’t have a resin 3d printer. So, no go for this option. Laser cutting small pieces of thin wood would have been my second option, but again I don’t have this machine in my arsenal. All the other option seemed to me too difficult and/or inaccurate, so I opted for close an eye on that detail.

Even with this big "poetical licenses", the amount of work needed to build the kit decently is overwhelming, sometimes scaring!

 

Let’s move on the build again.

 

Davits and lifeboats.

 

The number, shape and position of lifeboats, jolly boat and captain’s gig are different in my two main source of information: Campbell’s plans and Longridge book.

So I decided to stick with the solution proposed by Revell.

 

The davits were detailed with new and smaller eye bolts:

 

I decided to show the lifeboat covered, so the interior was not detailed that much. On the outside I added the holders for the rudder.

The canvas cover of the boats was a big headache: I didn’t want to use real canvas, the fabric texture was out of scale. After many tests, one evening I was looking my daughters eating her preferred yogurt and the metallic foil used as cover captured my attention.

I cleaned it, smoothed it out, cut in shape and modeled it on the boat to mimic real fabric.

This was the result:

 

 

Happy with the look, I cut a new one, more carefully trimmed and I painted it with a basic white acrylic coat with my airbrush.

Some acrylic brown filters helped to make it a little more convincing and this is the result:

 

 

 

 

The davits are rigged with purchases at the best of my skills at that time.

Those one where the firs block and lines in my modeler’s life. Now, after hundreds of knots, I’m almost at the same level

Anyway, the result is far from being perfect, but it was at least above my expectations.

 

Thank you for your attention! 

 

 

 

[shipman]

Bruma, what a convincing way to make and finish the boat tarpaulins. Congratulations.

Did you airbrush them in situ?

[Bruma]

Thank you, Shipman, I'm glad you like them! 

No, I didn't paint them in situ. The tarpaulins (thank you for make me discover this new term, I'm still struggling with my English) are removable, so it was better to paint them away from the ship. 

Once modeled they retain their shape. 

What is your opinion about the lifeboat, jolly boat and captain's gig? Are you going to add a new boat to your model? What is the correct location for them? In my understanding they change position at least two times... 

I'm quite sure that mine is not right, but it was a bit too challenging to change the original location provided by Revell...

 

Edited December 8, 2020 by Bruma

[Cirdan]

Hello Bruma,

 

 

nice to see your work progressing. And I agree totally with shipman: your tarpaulins are very convincing. Hope to see progress again soon. 😉

[shipman]

Hi, for what it's worth.....As is, I feel the boats under their davit falls should be further out, so the falls are directly overhead of each boat. That would make room for the Yawl between them. That would tidy things up.

It would add interest to store other stuff on the forward deckhouse.....like some spare spars.

I do believe the outside of the boats were originally painted black.

Seasons greetings, Vlad.

[Sailor1234567890]

There's an interesting interaction between her Owner Mr. Willis, (no relation that I know of) and her skipper Captain Woodget. Willis asked why the boats were white and not black as prescribed by his instructions to his captains. Woodget simply replied, they look better white and that was the end of that. Willis knew to appease his good captains and not cause a stink over nothing. I'd paint them white.

[Bruma]

On 12/9/2020 at 9:00 AM, Cirdan said:

Hello Bruma,

 

 

nice to see your work progressing. And I agree totally with shipman: your tarpaulins are very convincing. Hope to see progress again soon. 😉

Thank you Cirdan, Too kind as always! 

 

On 12/9/2020 at 3:26 PM, shipman said:

Hi, for what it's worth.....As is, I feel the boats under their davit falls should be further out, so the falls are directly overhead of each boat. That would make room for the Yawl between them. That would tidy things up.

It would add interest to store other stuff on the forward deckhouse.....like some spare spars.

I do believe the outside of the boats were originally painted black.

Seasons greetings, Vlad.

There are indeed some spare spars on the forward deckhouse, I will post some pics later on.

As for the painting, I have no other indication other than the actual Cutty Sark in London, which needs to be taken with extreme caution... So I painted them in white with a black line on the upper part.

 

On 12/9/2020 at 7:44 PM, Sailor1234567890 said:

There's an interesting interaction between her Owner Mr. Willis, (no relation that I know of) and her skipper Captain Woodget. Willis asked why the boats were white and not black as prescribed by his instructions to his captains. Woodget simply replied, they look better white and that was the end of that. Willis knew to appease his good captains and not cause a stink over nothing. I'd paint them white.

 

That's a really nice story, may I ask you the source of such a great info? 
I like it for two reasons: first it helps us to better know Captain  Woodget and secondly it means my paint job is at least plausible. 😅
Thank you! 

 

[Sailor1234567890]

Your paint job is absolutely correct, if it's during Woodget's tenure. I think it came from Lubbock's book Log of the Cutty Sark but I'm not 100% certain of that. I have a few books about her, she's my absolute favourite ship ever so I know quite a bit about her. 

[Cirdan]

1 hour ago, Sailor1234567890 said:

Your paint job is absolutely correct, if it's during Woodget's tenure. I think it came from Lubbock's book Log of the Cutty Sark but I'm not 100% certain of that. I have a few books about her, she's my absolute favourite ship ever so I know quite a bit about her. 

 

The source is correct: Basil Lubbock, The Log of the Cutty Sark. Glasgow 2004 (4th reprint of the original edition of 1924), Chapter 2, p. 31. 

[shipman]

I may be wrong.......

If the Cutty Sark was so renown and remarkable in her day, how come there's so little contemporary discussion of any kind?

I agree, the ship as she is now should be regarded with a modicum of suspicion.

Lubbock is regarded as suspect by modern historians.

I too have 99% of the books published on the subject and yes, after a while it's hard to recall what comes from where. But , as I mentioned, the overwhelming impression is, there's very little first hand information.

It all smacks of a much later myth making process, romanticising what was a bit of a thing in the Victorian/Edwardian era; a wish to embolden Britain's maritime heritage. Myths of Empire.

Still, the ship exists. If after all this time, it's unlikely anything new and revealing will bubble up.

The truth is, we don't know enough.

[Sailor1234567890]

You're likely right on "we don't know enough."  There's quite a bit of detail that changes depending on where you get your information. Lubbock probably got his information, like Longridge did, by visiting the ship in his day and reading tons of reports, news articles etc. I don't know how legit his research is and how accurate it might be but it's better than nothing. If one wants to model her during a given period in her career, then some of this information is essential. I'm simply interested in her beauty and I can make changes to a model to suite my tastes so the level of detail is less important for me. I too have often wondered why no more information is available about her given how important she is purported to have been. 

[Bruma]

Thank you everyone for this great conversation!

Indeed, we don’t know enough.

That’s why I try to do my best to have a plausible version of the Cutty and not an exact replica. Too many things are missing or uncertain, at least to my eye. 

If you don’t mind I would like to take advantage of your knowledge for two other questions:

- what is the color of the yards? Is full black ok?

- in the forecastle of the revell Cutty Sark, pin rails are missing (at least according to Campbell's plans). In that area Revell placed two access stairs.

 

See the image below to clarify:

 

 

What do you think should I do? I surely need pin rails for the headsail sheets, but I don’t know where to put them.

My idea is to remove the stairs and create brand new, rounded pin rails. But before committing myself in that regard it would be nice to have some wise opinion.

 

Thank you again!  

[shipman]

Yards black. The pinrails seem to be absent on the ship.