Cutty Sark by Sailcat - FINISHED - Revell - 1/96 - PLASTIC - Rescue kit bash morphed to Dame Tisane

[Sailcat]

Having just completed a re-indexing of my Build Log photo archive (970 plus and growing) I am now going to begin the process of re-posting *most* of those photos onto the new/old Build Log.  Some of the photos will likely be out of sequence early on but hopefully it won't be that badly mixed up.  And I am going to try and 'remember' as much of what was going on at the time as possible, though strictly speaking so much went on that I don't expect to remember most of the specific details.  Having said that -- Let's roll!  

 

On October 01, 2009, a co-worker rescued a dismasted model ship that was being thrown out in the garbage. He offered it to me innocently, not knowing that by doing so he was about to send me on a trip across the waters of unknown territory filled with information, frustration, obsession, distraction and hundreds upon hundreds of hours of work. During my voyage I have dredged up past experience and mixed it well with the new skills I have picked up.  And eleven months or so into that voyage I finally made the dive from lurker to member of MSW.

 

So these first rounds of photos involve the time Before MSW - when the Transition occurs I will make note of it.

 

But to start - here's the start of it.  From my current perspective I still wonder what the heck I was thinking when I brought it home, lol.

 

 

The original caption for this photo was, "Now here's my plan ..."

[Sailcat]

And here's some of the process of cleaning it up ... 

 

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

And some more ...

 

Sorting out the Masts and Yards.

 

An early concept was to use paper 'card stock' to scratch build missing portions like the Cabin Skylight.

 

And of course there were paint effects for the deck and the structures.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

And some more ... 

 

 

An early 'colour scheme' involved green trim.

 

Here's where the Dame Tisane 'concept' took hold.  Please note the 'Change In Plans' sign.

The colours I chose to go with for the ship are Black, Deep Maroonish Red and a custom mix of Gold tint.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

And some more ... 

 

The first version of the Windlass Pump - I 'carved' the bell from the axle of a car model.

 

The Capstan Bars were missing so ...

 

The first version of canvas 'hatch covers.'

Edited March 3, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

And some more ...

 

The fabrication of the hatch covers out of paper card stock, tissue paper and dliuted PVA.

 

Removing the kit moulded 'wedges' and replacing them with 'posts.'

 

Out of sequence - the scratch building of the aft most portion of the 'post rails.'

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

This is about where I joined MSW - if my memory serves me (never a sure thing, you understand) ...

 

The first part of scratch building the aft post rail.

 

Repairing and 're-posting' the fore post rails.

 

Catheads and Dead Eyes ...

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[popeye the sailor]

good to see your going to put the entire build back up.........it's  too much of "a wealth of information"  not to.   I'll look forward in seeing her finished.

[Jim Lad]

Good the see you re-posting your photos, Kats.  This is a very special log!

 

John

[riverboat]

Welcome back Kats, glad you'er reposting your build, it's the best renovation build going on.!!

Frank

[Wintergreen]

Hi Kats and "Welcome back"...I too will sit back and follow as you go (slowly) for the completion.

[mtaylor]

Hi Kats,

 

I'm happy to see your back and reposting.  What the others say:  This is a very special re-build.

[dafi]

Happy to see you back too, Kats!

 

As always great to see your phenix once more rising out off her own ashes :-)

 

XXXDAn

[Sailcat]

Popeye, John, Frank, Hakan, Mark & Daniel - Thanks for the kind words and encouragement 

 

It occurred to me that re-building a Build Log at this stage is like another analogy, or metaphor, for the re-building of the Cutty Herself.  First I was 'following the wake' with my own re-build and now I'm brushing off the debris from the 2013 Crash and engaging in a 'virtual' version of the same.

 

And now to continue the re-construction ...

 

The modification of the kit Deadeyes - if I were doing this now I'd just scratch build them but at the time I was still treading water, so to speak.

 

Ship's boats - I was missing the 'longboat' so I found some close to scale ones at my hobby shop and proceeded to modify one to more closely match the kit original.

 

And a shot of the first attempt at canvas boat covers.  These were fabricated in the same way as the 'hatch covers' shown previously.  Basically, a 'flat frame' of card stock covered with tissue paper soaked in diluted PVA.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

Continuing with the ship's boats ...

 

Paint Effects - the stages of creating a 'weathered whitewash' look achieved through trial, multiple errors and persistence.

 

Bowsprit repair - I had to 'restore' a missing chunk of it.  For this I used 2 part epoxy to affix a metal 'spine' around which I built up thickness using plastic rods.  This requires layering and a lot of 'curing time' between layers.

To insure straightness I used 'splints' of cut chunks of bamboo skewers.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

Slogging along.  The first photo is out of sequence and shows the repaired bowsprit before the base coat of 'unifying' colour.  The last photo in the previous post is how it looked after.

 

 

Painting where I replaced the 'wedges' on the sides with 'posts.'

 

Adding the base for the deep maroon colour.

 

Repairing the lower masts - all three were snapped so this involved reinforcing the hollow with plastic rod.

 

Another stage of the deck weathering - this process was ongoing for many weeks as I kept having 'good ideas' and such.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

Continuing with the deck weathering process, here's a sequence of the 'evolution' of the paint effect achieved with multiple wash coats.  You'll notice the Foc'sle in some of them, I used it as the 'tester' for some of the ideas I had.

 

 

And here's some of my 'test fitting' of the deck and hull to check the 'colour scheme' was working.  You can see the roofs of the cabins with their gold trim in some of these.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

So the dry fit check of the deck and hull inspired me ...

 

 

... thus I dry fit the lower masts just to get an idea of what she'd look like.

 

Painting the 'post rails' along the lines of my chosen colour scheme.

 

Here begins the Learning Curve - figuring out how to make eyebolts before the advent of silver soldering.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

During the process of posting progress and asking questions I was 'turned on' to the Silver Soldering process, here begins the shift over to something I hadn't tried before.  The first shot shows the clutter and equipment.

 

 

And here's a few of the process using 'regular' solder.

 

A comparison of my fabricated eyebolts and the plastic ones from the kit.

 

Around here I shifted from Copper to Brass wire for the eyebolts.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

I'd been informed that Silver Solder can sometimes 'spit' when heated so for safety's sake I fabricated a 'blast shield' from some bits I had lying around and old gem case (or CD/DVD) covers.

 

 

Some completed and blackened eyebolts and affixing them in the Foc'sle.  I used JAX brand blackening, diluted, and let the pieces sit in the solution overnight.

 

These are the eyebolts for the Stays immediately forward of the foremast.

 

Here begins the process of modifying the Nanny Dee to the Dame Tisane.  This involved making her more 'demure', which meant I had to use putty to raise the neckline of her dress.  And since I had to rebuild her arms I chose to do something which I didn't think I'd be able to pull off ...

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

I would have thought that making very tiny little arms from plastic rod would have been more difficult.  But with magnification, squinting and very careful 'scrape carving' I managed to do a not bad job of it.

 

 

Here's where my own weird idea started taking shape ...

 

And after a successful re-attachment procedure, the Dame is wielding ... a Teapot 

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

A little shot of the organization of parts - lots of clear baggies.

 

 

Painting the Dame in preparation for her 'new look.'

 

Here's where I started working on the Dolphin Striker/Martingale for the Bowsprit.  I miss the posts on this specific topic, lots of info and photos of the Cutty's bowsprit and more than a few humorous comments ...

 

The set up I had for soldering and aligning the parts.

 

The first test with plastic rod convinced me that brass wire was the way to go.

 

And here's the first attempt to replicate the kit supplied Dolphin Striker ... note that it's all in the same 'plane.'

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

So, with additional information and photos provided by MSW members (likely either John/Jim Lad or Dan/Dan Vad at this time) I decided to make another Dolphin striker which more closely matched the 'real thing.'

 

What this meant was that I'd be soldering parts in two planes onto the central post.  A bit more finicky but not excessively difficult (thankfully).

 

Here's where I repaired the Dame's hairdo, her flowing locks had been snapped off so I added 'extensions' like a good beautician.

 

At this point I chose to re-think my ideas for the Wheelbox (and later the Cabin Skylight) and chose to fabricate them with plastic instead of card/paper.  As well I repaired the 'coops' at the rear of the ship.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[dgbot]

Remarkable patience and work.

David B

[Sailcat]

David - Thank you for your kind words    

 

More work on the Coops.

 

The 'new' Wheelbox takes shape.

 

The 'new' Cabin Skylight in process.

 

And a comparative view of the old, paper parts with the plastic 're-do's.'

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

Continuing with the fabrication of the Cabin Skylight. You can see how I chose to 'plank' the structure instead of trying to cut grooves into the surface - it is easier and looks better.  Thanks to Evergreen for providing the building materials.

 

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

With the Cabin Skylight assembled here begins the painting process.

 

 

The painted (but not finished) Cabin Skylight with the unpainted Wheelbox.

 

The Coop in process - this is the 'weathering undertone' over which I dry brush matte white.

 

After having no luck in trying to find a scale Ship's Wheel I took the dive and started scratch building one.  I was inspired by another MSW member who posted a 'tutorial' on how they scratch built a Wheel out of wood, I just adapted the techniques as best I could to plastic.  Here's the 'hub.'

 

And with the Dame's hair-do looking proper I started the process of painting her.

[Sailcat]

The base coats for the Dame applied.  Now to let it dry and then start adding details ...

 

Thankfully I found a drill bit whose base was the right size for me to form the Wheel.  I did this by laminating thin strips of plastic with Super Thin plastic cement.

 

And here's how I added a bit more 'depth' to the Wheel.

 

The Wheelbox parts at this stage.

 

Drilling small holes, very carefully ...

[Sailcat]

I was surprised and hugely relieved that the first try worked out symmetrically.  I dreaded the whole 'spoke alignment' situation.

 

Back in the day as a budding 'artist' I learned a lot about colour, tone and mixing.  But it had been so long since I had done any practical work it took me some time to dredge the information out of my archival memory.  If anyone tries to tell you it's easy to paint skin tones, laugh at them.

Darkened the dress a touch and highlighted the skin.  Most of the work from here on is dry brush or very carefully applied wash.

 

Here are the 'handles' for the Wheel - possible alternate methods discussed included using properly scaled belaying pins which would have been much easier.  I fabricated these from plastic rod using the 'rolling finger lathe' method - not so much difficult but it requires much patience.  And I used a long piece and carved off the end, then cut off the part once complete (no photo of that part of the process, sorry).

Edited February 17, 2013 by Sailcat

[Sailcat]

Now to attach the handles to the Wheel.

 

Painting begins.  I tried to remember the process but all I can recall is that it's lots of thin coats of colour ...