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

[gak1965]

Sails look great! I hadn't thought about how the split topsail would create a situation where you have stuns'l booms on the course and upper topsail only (so skipping a yard) but that makes complete sense seeing it.

 

What is that device in the background of a bunch of your pics (the one with the 4 meters)? An old school power supply or an amp of some kind?

 

Great work, looks like you will be able to put 'FINISHED' into the title soon!

 

George 

 

[Bruma]

Thank you everyone for the comments and likes! 

It's really nice to see that there is still someone interested in this long and slow build! 

It seems that the flag mystery struggles to find an explanation, I will probably post it in the masting and rigging section hoping to have more luck! 

Speaking about doubts and, I have another one: I didn't put the royal stay sail on.

It is ready, all the block are there, but once I put the sail in its final position, it looked a bit too much for the ship. The overall impression was a bit too heavy, and I preferred to omit this sail. 

Now, the question is: what is the most realistic situation in this case? Can I let it as it is, with no sail and no running rigging? Should I put at least the running rigging or even add the sail furled down to the fore mast? I will go for the most realistic solution if possible, and it would be nice to read that as it is now, with no sail and no running rigging, can be a realistic enough situation...

Thank you all again! 

14 hours ago, gak1965 said:

What is that device in the background of a bunch of your pics (the one with the 4 meters)? An old school power supply or an amp of some kind?

 

Great work, looks like you will be able to put 'FINISHED' into the title soon!

 

George 

 

Thank you George! Your first guess is the right one: it's an old power supply! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bruma]

Hello everyone, 

It’s time for updates:

 

Main mast finally completed - Main flag in place! 

First of, I need to thanks again the community for helping me to figure out this topic, here is the link to the discussion about the flag and the way it is rigged:

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/34781-cutty-sark-main-flag-hoisting-and-rigging/

 

With all the information needed, I started the construction of the pig stick:

 

 

Here it is still to be trimmed in length…

After that, I turned my attention to another key element in order to rig the flag properly: the truck. I decided to use a piece of sprue shaped and painted properly and glued on the mast top.

In order to reinforce this delicate part, I have added a small metal pin. 

The placement of the holes for the sheaves is critical and the diameter of the mast needs to be taken in consideration. In the end, all comes together nicely. 

Here it is during the process and in his the final assembly on the mast top:

 

 

 

Now it’s time for the flag itself. I have opted for the trusty modelspan, using a scrap piece left from the sails. It is already painted in a dirty white, perfect for the Willis Hose flag.  

After tracing the main component with a pencil, I painted it with acrylics:

 

 

Now it’s time to put it all together, with halyard and downhaul. I have rigged two of them, one for each side. The  port side is the one with the flag, the starboard side is empty but with the lines in place.

The flag has been shaped after wetting it a bit. I tried, as always, to simulate the wind effect. I’m not too disappointed, even if there is still a lot to improve. Here is the final result:

 

 

I’m still not completely sure about the orientation of the flag. I’m trying to simulate a beam/broad reach - point of sail, but I’m not sure about the proper flag orientation… Any suggestion is welcome, the flag can still be oriented! 

As always thank you for your time!

Edited July 3, 2023 by Bruma

[Kevin-the-lubber]

That's quite a complicated arrangement, isn't it! I was going to just stick some of the following onto the masthead via a centre hole, but this is a timely post as I'm in the middle of a design revision, for reasons I'll cover when I eventually finish. As I'm not including sails and therefore haven't really looked at the sail plan, I hadn't even noticed that Campbell shows a flag, but there it is. Did you download the photos I uploaded to dropbox a while back? If not, looking at them now, I can see a flag on the mainmast but also this strange 't-shirt' shaped metal thing, which I also saw in the display down in the hold. It signifies something but I don't remember what;

On the foremast, I see a star shaped metal thing, mounted on a pigstick (now that I know what it's called!);

The mizzen just has a metal spike, but there are sheaves present ;

and for info, these flags were on a line coming off the gaff. I'm sure someone will know what they say.

 

 

[Bruma]

Hi Kevin! 

No, unfortunately I was not able to download them, and I didn't want to bother you; it was probably a problem on my side. If they are available in some other way without requiring time and labor from you, I'll be glad to try again! 

Anyway, in my opinion, some of the artifacts present now are not original. In Campbell's plans there are no stars or t-shirts, and I think I'll stick to the plans, they seem more authentic to me. 

Campbell indeed mentions the flag on the spanker gaff and I'll put them, they are a nice touch! 

Thank you, and good luck with your Cutty Sark! 

 

[VitusBering]

5 hours ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

I can see a flag on the mainmast but also this strange 't-shirt' shaped metal thing, which I also saw in the display down in the hold. It signifies something but I don't remember what;

 

 

and for info, these flags were on a line coming off the gaff. I'm sure someone will know what they say.

 

 

 The Royal Museums Greenwich has this to say...

 

Quote

 

Like all British merchant ships, Cutty Sark flies the Red Ensign at the stern, a national flag with a red background and the union flag in the upper left quarter. From the main mast, the Willis house flag is flown, a flag shared by all vessels in the fleet of John Willis and sons. The flag has a blue background, white diamond and red cross and not only decorated the Willis ships, but also was used to adorn the crockery for the captain’s table.

 

Cutty Sark herself is identified by four signal flags from the International Code of Signals.  The code is a series of flags, each one representing a letter of the alphabet, which is used by ships for communication between ships and from ship to shore. Signal letters are the four letters assigned to every ship as a means of identification and are known as the ship’s “number”. For Cutty Sark these flags represent the letters JKWS, referencing the owner’s name JocK WilliS.

 

 

The T-shirt looking thing is a masthead vane. It has quite a story of its own.

 

Quote

 

Once gilded, this vane would have been fitted to the top of Cutty Sark’s main mast whenever the ship was in port. It depicts a ‘cutty sark’—the namesake for Clipper Ship Cutty Sark, after the undergarment worn by the witch Nannie in Robert Burns’ poem Tam O’Shanter.

 

This vane was presented to the ship by Cutty Sark’s owner John Willis in 1886.  Cutty Sark was on the Australian wool run at the time and this was the first voyage with Captain Richard Woodget – the ship’s greatest master – at the helm.  John Willis awarded Cutty Sark the vane to celebrate not only a record passage of just 73 days from Sydney, but also a faster passage from Australia to London than her main rival, Thermopylae.

 

In London’s East India Docks, Willis gave the vane to senior apprentice Robert Andrewes who sprang onto the ratlines and quickly made his way up the main mast amidst a burst of cheers from deck. The vane was reportedly lost when the ship was severely damaged in a storm in 1916, but incredibly it turned up in a London saleroom in 1960 with a letter of authentication from the Portuguese captain. Today, a gilded replica can be seen on the ship’s main truck, while the original mast head vane is displayed on board, on the ’tween deck.  

 

 

Attributions:

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blog/curatorial/object-focus-cutty-sarks-flags

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blog/ships-blog-mast-head-vane

[VitusBering]

Bruma, here is a link to a full archive of Kevin-the-lubber's images. It is a large archive - 470 910 mages for a total size of 5.6 Gb.

However, you can browse the archive and pick what you wish to see, if you wish.

 

https://mega.nz/folder/iElDBRLT#RMcfNKHp3iyaBHvoiBS3hw

 

These images have been very informative and useful for me.

Edited July 8, 2023 by VitusBering
Update image count and total size after additions from Kevin

[Bruma]

Darryl, thank you so much for the pictures (I downloaded them all!) and for the useful information about the vane!  It is really a nice story, worth knowing.

Since I'm displaying my Cutty Sark under sails, it seems fine to omit it, but it would have been a nice touch for an "in port" diorama! 

 

 

 

[Bruma]

@Kevin-the-lubber Kevin, I have browsed your picture archive at least three times in a row by now, and they are just fantastic! A true gold mine! Thank you for sharing them; they should be more visible to the entire community, since they are really useful! 

[Kevin-the-lubber]

I'm glad the photos are proving useful, they've certainly been invaluable here. In case any of you are wondering why my log is so relatively quiet, it's because I'm doing a further, much less fragile iteration of the masts and yards and it's more difficult to remain motivated day after day when it's version 3! But I will get there, eventually.

 

Great explanation of the 'T-shirt'! So I wasn't so far out at all! As I'm almost certainly omitting sails (just too hard for me) I think I'll include the 'cutty sark',  the star and the main flag, but I completely agree that you have to take what you see at Greenwich with a pinch of salt. 

[rwiederrich]

One particular point one must always consider……is…properly replicating her during the time period you are attempting to attain.

 

Like any vessel, she had “periods”, and to double up on details that did not exist at the same time period can result in inaccurate depictions.     If you are a purist that is.  
 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

Just for those that want a comparison.   Here are two models in 1/96.  Cutty Sark and  Glory of the seas.   Both built in 1869……..but just look at the size difference between the tiny 900 ton Cutty and the 2100 ton Glory.   They are both sitting at waterline height. 
 

Amazing…….just amazing.  American built clippers were huge. 

[Bruma]

Hello everyone! 

 

It’s time for another update: Spanker! 

 

This sail is quite peculiar, and so is its rig. I have had to study a lot, both Campbell’s plans, Longridge and here on the forum. 

There are still some gray areas, but, overall, I hope I have depicted this sail with all the detail needed. 

I have decided to install the sail and the rigging on the mast before installing the mast itself. I find this approach quite satisfactory, giving me more space to work with.

The vang and the boom has been prepared before, see post number 225:

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/25323-cutty-sark-by-bruma-revell-196/?do=findComment&comment=866710

All the metal parts were fitted before installing them on the mast. 

The sail was made in the usual way, apart from the fact that I needed to fashion a contraption to secure the sail on two sides: one on the mast and the other on the vang. 

 

 

Once the sail has been shaped, it is ready to be fitted on the mast. 

The luff is tied to the jackstay on the mast’s aft side, while the head has hanks and it is free to slide on the rail under the vang. It is fitted with both in and outhaul. The outhaul reeves through a sheave inside the vang, on the aft part of the peak. The leech and the foot are free, secured to the boom only via the in and outhaul, in a similar fashion used on the vang. In and outhaul are secured to a cleat on both sides of the boom.  The sail is also provided with brails on both sides. The number of the brails is unclear. I have followed Campbell's plans, adding three of them for each side, with the respective block attached to the mast’s jackstay. Double boom guy pendant, sheets blocks and hemp vang are also already there, with the running part still missing. 

Well, enough writing, here are some images of the final result:

 

 

 

 

 

And here the overall assembly, dry fitted:

 

As always, thanks for watching and feel free to point out any errors, missing parts or inconsistencies! 

 

 

 

 

 

[rwiederrich]

Looking very nice...very nice indeed...

 

Rob

[Kevin-the-lubber]

I think you could probably tie those sails to a lamb chop and people would still say "wow". Put them on a build of this quality and they're something else.

 

Bruma, a query - it looks like you've gone for painting the masts white and 'wood (teak?)', is that right? If so, what decided you to go that route? I'm torn: on the one hand, on the real ship they are currently white/red ochre, and it doesn't look as though the red ochre is a primer; whereas Sankey (painting the cutty sark) says they were originally white/black, rather than the white/teak that was often depicted in paintings. I'm looking for a good excuse to go with white/teak, other than just personal preference! I recognise that the current masts are steel all the way (unless they changed to alloy after the fire), so faux teak would be a bit pretentious, but it's an unattractive colour all the same.

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  'Simply stunning ... in that I'm stunned by the superb workmanship on your Cutty.  Kudos !

 

[LeoM]

It is a delight to see such a marvellous model taking shape.

[rwiederrich]

7 hours ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

unless they changed to alloy after the fire)

Actually all her masts , houses and yards were pier side when the fire broke out.  Only her deck timber’s and hull shrakes were burned.

 

Rob

Edited July 18, 2023 by rwiederrich

[rwiederrich]

Side note......When I built my rudder repair diorama....I wanted the aft rail to mimic the iron rail, so I placed every section with curved portions so there were no straight rails.

Sorry for posting this now...but I could not find this image earlier when it would have been more appropriate.

Rob

[Bruma]

Thank you everyone for your comments and likes, and I'm sorry for not getting back to you sooner. 

Let's try to answer some questions:

 

 

On 7/14/2023 at 5:44 PM, rwiederrich said:

Just for those that want a comparison.   Here are two models in 1/96.  Cutty Sark and  Glory of the seas.   Both built in 1869……..but just look at the size difference between the tiny 900 ton Cutty and the 2100 ton Glory.   They are both sitting at waterline height. 
 

Amazing…….just amazing.  American built clippers were huge. 

 

Really nice comparison, Rob; thank you! 

Can you tell us something about the speed cooperation? Does all that mass slow the Americans down, or is their massive sail plan enough to catch and take over the tea clippers? 

 

On 7/18/2023 at 5:47 PM, Kevin-the-lubber said:

I think you could probably tie those sails to a lamb chop and people would still say "wow". Put them on a build of this quality and they're something else.

 

Bruma, a query - it looks like you've gone for painting the masts white and 'wood (teak?)', is that right? If so, what decided you to go that route? I'm torn: on the one hand, on the real ship they are currently white/red ochre, and it doesn't look as though the red ochre is a primer; whereas Sankey (painting the cutty sark) says they were originally white/black, rather than the white/teak that was often depicted in paintings. I'm looking for a good excuse to go with white/teak, other than just personal preference! I recognise that the current masts are steel all the way (unless they changed to alloy after the fire), so faux teak would be a bit pretentious, but it's an unattractive colour all the same.

 

 

Thank you, Kevin; I really appreciate your comments! 

Now, about your question, please keep in mind that more than 5 years ago, when I started building the Cutty Sark, all I knew about her and sailing ships in general was that they need wind, and they are better stay afloat, full stop. 

I have decided to build her precisely to learn more.

This means that many of my first decisions were a little bit more "light-hearted". 

I saw the color in the pictures, and I tried to replicate it. Now I would say that the red-ocra you suggested is definitely a better choice. That beeing sail, I tool some small liberty in the color scheme just for my pleasure. The aspect I cared the most was and still is, the functional part. I want my model to replicate all the mechanism, all the lines, all the blocks present in the real one. This is the area where I try to stay as close as possible to the real ship. Paint comes and goes, ingenuity will live forever!

 

Thank you all again! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 21, 2023 by Bruma

[rwiederrich]

On 7/21/2023 at 3:37 AM, Bruma said:

Really nice comparison, Rob; thank you! 

Can you tell us something about the speed cooperation? Does all that mass slow the Americans down, or is their massive sail plan enough to catch and take over the tea clippers? 

Interesting question.  
The American clippers were not in competition with their smaller tea clipper cousin’s.   They carried far different cargoes…..and much more of it. 
 

The fastest sailing was done by American    Clippers…some going as fast as 20 knots an hour and sailing over 420 miles in a single 24 hour period.  The smaller tea clippers were not designed to maintain these kinds of numbers, though some came close. 
 

Could you imagine sailing in an 80 foot sea in such a small boat?   The larger American clippers were designed for the roaring 40’s and they were driven to near breaking by captains who had a large stake in their fast passage.    
Different animals for different times. 
 

Rob

Edited July 22, 2023 by rwiederrich

[Bruma]

Thank you Rob for the answer and sorry the typo: " Can you tell us something about the speed cooperation? " was intended to be " Can you tell us something about the speed comparison? "

[Bruma]

Hello everyone! 

Another small update: Cro’jack furled sail! 

I have always wanted to depict the cro’jack furled but furled sails are not that easy to reproduce. Moreover, the Cutty Sark sails are clewed to quarter,  not to yard arms. 

I have no experience in furled square sails, the only furled sail till now has been the spencer. 

I opted for a two/third length version of the sail, whit separated clew corner.

Here is the starting point:

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the blocks are also added in this phase. 

Then I wetted the sail and started to fold it in the same way the real one was folded. The clew corners are added and shaped during the process. 

With the sail folded and leaning on top of the yard , I started adding the gaskets. I tried to replicate small wrinkles close to the gasket lines, to give a proper sense of scale.  

While the sail dries, I keep shaping the sail, adding small pieces of sail under the fold to inflate the fold a bit in between tho gaskets. 

 

This is the end result:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you think? Is it acceptable?

Thanks for watching!

[kirill4]

Good afternoon Bruma,

in my opinion it looks just great, even in this form, as the sail is shown in the photo.  

For the sake of objectivity, maybe it makes sense to post a photo with a real sail laid in the same way as on the model ...

then it will be possible to say how similar it is to the real one?

 Although I repeat, I liked this current option too ... in general, I watch your construction site with great pleasure ... it turns out very cool !!!

 All the best!  

Kirill

[Keith Black]

 I like the furled sail a lot, very realistic. Actually, quite amazing. 

[Bruma]

Thank you all for the likes and to Kirill4 and Keith for the comments. 

 

On 8/4/2023 at 4:53 PM, kirill4 said:

Good afternoon Bruma,

in my opinion it looks just great, even in this form, as the sail is shown in the photo.  

For the sake of objectivity, maybe it makes sense to post a photo with a real sail laid in the same way as on the model ...

then it will be possible to say how similar it is to the real one?

 Although I repeat, I liked this current option too ... in general, I watch your construction site with great pleasure ... it turns out very cool !!!

 All the best!  

Kirill

 

I wasn’t able to find an example of a furled sail clewed to quarter, the vast majority of still operating square rigged ships seem to adopt the yardarm clewing. 

My main source was this video:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07Xezns1nEE

 

Which is not exactly the same method used on Cutty Sark, in particular for the last phases, but still valuable for the folding techniques. .

Then, the other source was Underhill, in particular this picture:

 

 

An many other videos such as this one:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCShq8cpai0&t=1176s

 

Witch is a gem in his class. 

 

 

[rwiederrich]

Bruma....from what I gather...men of war were clewed to quarters and commercial ships clewed to the yard.    

Clewing  the yard meant a more even lay of the sail on the yard...where as, Quartering caused the sail to bunch up fuller at center yard.  Many images of combatant sailing vessels demonstrates this.  However....I'm sure captains had their own preferences. 

Personally, from my experience.......clippers were generally rigged to the yard.  but I'm sure there were exceptions.....as there always is.

Great job by the way.  One note...when I furled cloth(or in your case silkspan),  I tapered the short sail so that there was no bunching or squaring at the yard end.

 

Your stuff looks fantastic using silkspan.

 

Rob

Edited August 7, 2023 by rwiederrich

[kirill4]

 

Good day Bruma,

As Rob said "...tapered the short sail so that there was no bunching or squaring at the yard end..."

As seems to me, this is value comment , trick which will gives them  more realistic appearance?

[Bruma]

 

Thank you both, Rob and Kirill for taking the time to discuss this fascinating topic.

 

6 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

Bruma....from what I gather...men of war were clewed to quarters and commercial ships clewed to the yard.    

Clewing  the yard meant a more even lay of the sail on the yard...where as, Quartering caused the sail to bunch up fuller at center yard.  Many images of combatant sailing vessels demonstrates this.  However....I'm sure captains had their own preferences. 

Personally, from my experience.......clippers were generally rigged to the yard.  but I'm sure there were exceptions.....as there always is.

Great job by the way.  One note...when I furled cloth(or in your case silkspan),  I tapered the short sail so that there was no bunching or squaring at the yard end.

 

Your stuff looks fantastic using silkspan.

 

Rob

 

 

 

You might be right, Rob as a general rule, but, according to Campbell's pans, the Cutty Sark was clewed to quarters. 

The clew garnet is clearly visible in the plans, here is a detail of the mizzen mast:

 

 

And  Cutty Sark as it is today shows the same evidence:

 

 

 

That's why I depicted it this way. 

Moreover, in "Masting and rigging" by Undehill, both methods are mentioned and displayed, as in the image posted before, without preferences. 

In the end, I hope I get it right! 

Thank you again for these great discussions! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  'Like the look of individual gaskets tied with a reef knot done with a bight of rope - so it will hold just fine but can be loosed by tugging on the free end of the loop.