MarkSH01 Posted October 29, 2020 Share #1 Posted October 29, 2020 Hello all, I have been a modeller since I can remember, with most of my energies directed towards things with wings. I regularly find myself looking at ship models and forums, marveling at the patience and skill taken over details and in particular the rigging of sailing ships. I found myself looking but not doing much mostly out of the fear of starting but not finishing. I do have a number of ship models in my stash and am in fact working (slowly) on the Airfix 1/180 HMS Victory, I have a Flower Class Corvette (The Cruel Sea is my favourite novel), Titanic and Bismarck all to do. Very recently however, I was telling a friend and fellow modeller about the good fortune I had as a student Technical Illustrator at Portsmouth College of Art, way back in 1983-4. My lecturer asked if I was interested in doing some work experience for a three month period, I jumped at the chance and only then asked for whom would I be working..."The Mary Rose Trust, they need an Illustrator to help reference the artefacts". In actual fact the work was quite dirty and very smelly with a constant odour like vinegar presumably from the preservatives that were being used. The time went very quickly and I produced many illustrations of everything from leather jerkins, shot, kidney dagger handles and even a VD syringe from the Barber-Surgeons kit! I was also asked to do some illustrations for the first iteration of the museum displays, now long replaced. My friend suggested that I build a model of the Mary Rose herself, I agreed that it would be nice to have something related, but the choice is somewhat limited either a rather unimpressive plastic kit or a £300+ wooden kit that currently is beyond my capabilities and the Wife's perceived hobby spend threshold!....Which is what brings me here. I'm hoping to break into the wooden kit world and am looking to glean as much know how as possible, and as I am sure as has been asked before where should a beginner start with regards to a wooden ship kit that will include the necessary skills and techniques and hopefully lead to an advanced kit such as the Caldercraft Mary Rose. Many thanks for reading. Mark. MEDDO, Edwardkenway, mtaylor and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccoyle Posted October 29, 2020 Share #2 Posted October 29, 2020 Welcome, Mark! The wooden Mary Rose kit you are speaking of is no doubt the Caldercraft kit. As nice as it is, it is a bit dated in terms of design philosophy and is certainly not beginner-friendly. Happily, there are many exciting new kit products that have come out in recent years that are easier to build and have far better instructions. Have a look through our kit reviews section to check some of these out. Cheers! Edwardkenway, Ryland Craze, JeffT and 3 others 5 1 Quote Chris Coyle Greer, South Carolina When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk. - Tuco Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Salmson 2, Speeljacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtaylor Posted October 29, 2020 Share #3 Posted October 29, 2020 Hi Mark, Welcome to MSW. As Chris mentioned, start small (no masts) and then go up from there as more masts equals more complexity. If you haven't read this, please do as it will help get you started on the model building path: Edwardkenway, Ryland Craze, JeffT and 2 others 4 1 Quote Mark "The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me Current Build: Past Builds: La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD Triton Cross-Section NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64 Non-Ship Model: On hold, maybe forever: CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffT Posted October 29, 2020 Share #4 Posted October 29, 2020 MarkSH01, Ryland Craze, Edwardkenway and 1 other 3 1 Quote Jeff In progress: Medway Longboat 1742 - Syren Ship Model Company -1/2" scale USS Constitution - Model Shipways - Scale 1:76 HMS Granado - CAF Model - 1:48 HMS Sphinx - Vanguard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Collingwood Posted October 29, 2020 Share #5 Posted October 29, 2020 53 minutes ago, JJT said: Show off Jeff (love it)😉 OC. JeffT, Ryland Craze and Edwardkenway 2 1 Quote Current builds 28mm Battle of Waterloo attack on La Haye Saint Diorama. 1/700 HMS Hood Flyhawk with PE, Resin and Wood Decking. Completed works. Dragon 1/700 HMS Edinburgh type 42 batch 3 Destroyer plastic. HMS Warspite Academy 1/350 plastic kit and wem parts. HMS Trafalgar Airfix 1/350 submarine plastic. Black Pearl 1/72 Revell with pirate crew. Revell 1/48 Mosquito B IV Eduard 1/48 Spitfire IX ICM 1/48 Seafire Mk.III Special Conversion 1/48 Kinetic Sea Harrier FRS1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Collingwood Posted October 29, 2020 Share #6 Posted October 29, 2020 Welcome Mark - I'm sure you will get bags of help to start you in the direction. OC. mtaylor, MarkSH01, Edwardkenway and 1 other 3 1 Quote Current builds 28mm Battle of Waterloo attack on La Haye Saint Diorama. 1/700 HMS Hood Flyhawk with PE, Resin and Wood Decking. Completed works. Dragon 1/700 HMS Edinburgh type 42 batch 3 Destroyer plastic. HMS Warspite Academy 1/350 plastic kit and wem parts. HMS Trafalgar Airfix 1/350 submarine plastic. Black Pearl 1/72 Revell with pirate crew. Revell 1/48 Mosquito B IV Eduard 1/48 Spitfire IX ICM 1/48 Seafire Mk.III Special Conversion 1/48 Kinetic Sea Harrier FRS1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edwardkenway Posted October 30, 2020 Share #7 Posted October 30, 2020 mtaylor, Old Collingwood, MarkSH01 and 1 other 3 1 Quote Current builds; Henry Ramey Upcher 1:25 Providence whaleboat- 1:25 HMS Winchelsea 1764 1:48 Completed: HM Cutter Sherbourne- 1:64- finished Triton cross section scratch- 1:60 - finished Non ship: SBD-3 Dauntless 1:48 Hasegawa -FINISHED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryland Craze Posted October 30, 2020 Share #8 Posted October 30, 2020 Welcome to Model Ship World Mark. Chris and Mark have given you good advice. I think it is important to start with a not too complex kit to build your skills. If you see a kit you like in the kit reviews section of this forum, check out the build logs by using the search function. MSW contains many detailed build logs that will help you in your build. Old Collingwood, mtaylor and MarkSH01 2 1 Quote Ryland Member - Hampton Roads Ship Model Society - Ship Model Society of New Jersey - Nautical Research Guild Current Build - Armed Virginia Sloop, 18th Century Longboat Completed Build - Medway Longboat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEDDO Posted October 30, 2020 Share #9 Posted October 30, 2020 Welcome! there are many nice kits available for someone to begin learning with. We have many example in the build log section to see what you may be getting into with a particular kit MarkSH01, Old Collingwood and mtaylor 2 1 Quote Michael Shipwrights of Ohio Current Build: ... Completed Builds: Queen Anne Barge - Syren, Pinnace - MS, Halifax 1768 - LSS, Murrelet - Pygmy, Swift 1805 - AL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louie da fly Posted October 30, 2020 Share #10 Posted October 30, 2020 Welcome to MSW, Mark. I am unbelievably envious of your opportunity to get down and dirty on the Mary Rose. I went to see her in 2009 (flew 12,000 miles from Australia) and got here just after they closed her down to construct a new building around her. Never got to see the ship, but to compensate they increased the artefact display and I saw lots of stuff - including that enormous VD syringe! To help you make a decision on what to build first, look at https://modelshipworld.com/topic/18657-new-to-ship-modelling-but-what-do-you-build-first/ These are all good "starter" kits - clear instructions and not too difficult to build, but nonetheless an impressive model at the end of the process. And once you've decided on your model, make sure you start a build log. The instructions are here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/24705-before-you-post-your-build-log-please-read-this-starting-and-naming-your-build-log/ It's a great way to get help, advice and encouragement, and we get to see your model under way (one of the pleasures of being on this forum). Don't get too worried about the quality of some of the models here - I know it can be a bit intimidating to start off with, seeing the amazing stuff some people are able to do - but nobody will criticise - we were all beginners once - and the skill level here ranges from total beginner to god-like expert. Old Collingwood and MarkSH01 1 1 Quote It's not really a ship model unless you've bled on it. CURRENT BUILDS Venetian merchant Ship from Basilica of San Marco Golden City - Ballarat paddlewheeler FINISHED Australian couta boat RMS Titanic HMVS Cerberus 11th century Byzantine dromon Winchelsea Nef - Late 13th century Mediaeval ship Henry Grace a Dieu - Rebuild of 1:200 model I started in 1967 https://modelshipworld.com/topic/36379-mistydeefer-by-louie-da-fly-finished-restoration-decor-yacht/#comment-1040663 Mistydeefer - restoration of decor model yacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Lad Posted October 30, 2020 Share #11 Posted October 30, 2020 Hello Mark, and another warm welcome to the forum from 'Down Under'. John mtaylor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH01 Posted October 30, 2020 Author Share #12 Posted October 30, 2020 Hello Chaps, Many thanks for the warm welcome to MSW. The advice and links with regards to where to start are gratefully received. Just to illustrate that I am a genuine modeller, I have put in a couple of images of past projects, including my one completed maritime effort thus far: Its also a way of testing out the image posting process, hopefully I can show some progress on the Airfix HMS Victory that I have ongoing. Cheers, Mark. bruce d, ccoyle and mtaylor 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louie da fly Posted October 30, 2020 Share #13 Posted October 30, 2020 Oh, yes! Beautiful work. I particularly like your Lancaster diorama. Very lifelike! I made the Airfix Victory back when I was a teenager. My parents had been to the U.K. and brought back all kinds of detailed drawings for me. It was very much a labour of love. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. mtaylor and MarkSH01 1 1 Quote It's not really a ship model unless you've bled on it. CURRENT BUILDS Venetian merchant Ship from Basilica of San Marco Golden City - Ballarat paddlewheeler FINISHED Australian couta boat RMS Titanic HMVS Cerberus 11th century Byzantine dromon Winchelsea Nef - Late 13th century Mediaeval ship Henry Grace a Dieu - Rebuild of 1:200 model I started in 1967 https://modelshipworld.com/topic/36379-mistydeefer-by-louie-da-fly-finished-restoration-decor-yacht/#comment-1040663 Mistydeefer - restoration of decor model yacht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike from Aus Posted November 10, 2020 Share #14 Posted November 10, 2020 Welcome Mark from way down under in Canberra, Aus. Enjoy this challenging but fun hobby. Mike MarkSH01 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sceatha Posted November 18, 2020 Share #15 Posted November 18, 2020 Welcome Mark! Nice work on the plastic and welcome to the world of wooden models. I too am a converted plastic modeller and yes, at first the increased cost of the kits can appear steep, especially to our significant others, but keep in mind that a wooden ship kit will take much longer to built than a plastic kit and will require relatively cheaper tools (assuming you need a respectable airbrush and an abundance of tiny paint bottles for plastic modelling). So the cost over time is about the same (maybe even lower if you budget it correctly). Looking forward to reading your build logs! George mtaylor 1 Quote Current build: Greek Galliot (scratchbuilt) Previous: Byblos Ship (scratchbuilt) Keep building. https://www.scalemodelspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.