Cutty Sark by bcochran - Revell - 1/96 - PLASTIC

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  Very nice work.  I'm still absorbing everything from the several fine builds on MSW - as well as figuring out a few 'sleight of hand' tricks to try before tackling a clipper project ... and there is a lot to digest from Hackney's book that is applicable to the 1:150 Academy Cutty.  The difficulties involved at the reduced scale may be compensated by details tiny enough to be omitted on smaller versions.  My 'guess' for the smallest size to fiddle with on a model (for my fingers at least) is around .010.  At 1:96 (about 1:100 for easier math) that would represent about  1" on the actual ship - so the 'dots' on deck planking are shown in 1:96 (at my skill level).  At 1:150 the dots may be omitted, as .010 represents 1.5" at that scale.  On a model at about 1:50, one needs to think about showing stuff that measure 1/2" on the ship - and at 1:25 one might show things as small as 1/4" ... per my arbitrary limit of working with .010 sized materials. Yet a 6"block at 1:150 is .040 (1mm) ... I can't imagine me trying to strop something so tiny, so I'd have to just tie a thread to a seed bead instead.  'Guess everyone has to work within their own limits ... and some of the tiny work seen on some MSW posting astounds me.

[bcochran]

I have to put the Cutty Sark on hold for about a week.  I need to get some G scale trains together for a memorial weekend train run at the Best in the West Machinery show.

[shipman]

Good luck, 'b'. See you soon.

[bcochran]

Back to my ship.  I put some gammoning on the bowsprit. I added some plastic pieces below the bowsprit as the part of the ship the bowsprit is gammoned to.

 

I used some 45 links per inch chain.  It is not as good as I would have liked, but this I will keep. 

 

Some days you can't make a mistake.  You just fly through the modeling that you are doing and everything comes out right, easy as pie.

 

Then there are days like today when all I get done doing is fixing goof ups and causing more.

 

Edited May 30, 2022 by bcochran

[bcochran]

This is my first piece of chain on the bowsprit with two bullseyes.

 

To those who have done rigging, it isn't much but to me who has never done it before it is a big deal.

 

I added 2 more chains. I am not sure if it looks right or not.  Then I did the other chain with thicker thread.  I still don't know what looks right.

 

 

Edited May 31, 2022 by bcochran

[bcochran]

I have tried and failed five times to put the photo etch decorations on the stern. I am completely frustrated with it.  I hope to get a set of the decals that came with the kit somehow.

 

I am not going to try a sixth time.  I am tied of removing glue and repainting the area. The photo etch is just too fragile for me to handle.  I'll move on to the rigging, but I must admit I doubt my ability to complete that. I am at my lowest point since starting this model.  I hope to get my confidence back soon.

 

If anyone has a set of the decals to this kit and can part with them, I would rally like to have them.

Edited June 1, 2022 by bcochran

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Send me a pm with your address, I have a spare set of decals. Don't get too downhearted, modelling at this standard is bound to have some really bad days but the quality of your work so far tells me you're perfectly capable of dealing with the rigging. By the way, do you have a first name, it always feels a little impersonal to refer to you as bcochran!

[bcochran]

1 hour ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

Send me a pm with your address, I have a spare set of decals. Don't get too downhearted, modelling at this standard is bound to have some really bad days but the quality of your work so far tells me you're perfectly capable of dealing with the rigging. By the way, do you have a first name, it always feels a little impersonal to refer to you as bcochran!

My name is Bob

[rwiederrich]

On 4/28/2022 at 3:01 PM, bcochran said:

Shipman,

 

In Noel C. L. Hackney's book on page 35 about making eyebolts, he says "with 3/4 inch rod formed to a 2 1/4 inch hole and 1 inch rod formed to a 4 3/4 inch hole".  What in the H E Double Hockey Sticks does that mean?  Is he talking about actual 1 to 1 scale, or is it some magical 1:168 Airfix scale measurement?

 

Later he says to bend 40 SWG wire round a 1/64 inch drill  for the small ones and bend 38 SWG wire round a 1/32 inch drill for the large.

 

Of what useful information is his first description of what to do?

 

What ever, how big are the eyebolts that he is telling you to make?  This makes no sense to me.

 

I bought some model railroad HO lift rings on eBay to use for making jackstays. The seller said they were 2 1/4 inch size. I ignored that because it made no sense, I know what size HO lift rings are, so I bought a ton of them.  I got them, and they are more like N Gauge lift rings. I sent them back as unusable for my purposes.

 

Why do these people use such meaningless information?  What I need to know is the size of the actual eyebolt I am buying not what 1 to 1 scale size they are.

Bob.....Make your own...its simple, repeatable and easy and you have to spend hardly any money.

 

You can make them any size you need.

 

I'll put together a pictorial tutorial, how and the materials you need.  If you like?

 

Rob

Edited June 1, 2022 by rwiederrich

[popeye the sailor]

hello Bob.......fine looking ship your building    nice to see that there are a few 1:96 fans out there...I have long enjoyed this series of ship models.  when I built my second Cutty model,  I ran into the same problem with the decals.......they were old and micro cracked.  I ordered another set from Revell,  along with a request for another set of sails.....got only a couple of the sail sheets {they were done in beige, rather than the white vacu-plastic},  but I got another decal sheet.  sad to find that they were just as old as the ones I had!    I tried to source out for a set from places that did custom decals,  but all I got was excuses and the run around.  after a bit more searching,  I stumbled onto the Testor's "decal it" program.  you can make your own decals using your printer.  getting into it though,  I found that that there were limitations to what the program can do,  and that it wasn't possible.  even trying to do them in "paint shop" was a bust.......mainly showing the limits of an ink jet printer....the inability to print white,  and metallic.  it does work well for other applications though,  so I found that it wasn't a total waste of money.

  one thing I gleaned from your log though,  are the complaints concerning the inaccuracies with the kit.  folks should keep in mind that back in the day {the kit was produced back in the mid 50's},  that they were considered cutting edge for ship models.........highly detailed with the information available at the time.  Revell over the years has gone though a lot of changes.......last I checked, it acquired the name Hobico,  and the only inkling of the name Revell is Revell Germany.  I've yet to see any updated retooling of this kit,  with so many older kits popping out of the wood work on E Bay {and other site like 'em}.  I've heard that R.G. is reproducing and expanding the 1:96 line....the Connie kit being the only one that was still being produced through the years.  I have never used metal on these kits...nor have I ever put brass rods in the masts...haven't felt the need to.  the one thing that urked me,  was the segmented decks and trying to hide the joints.  one thing I tried,  which I need to get back to,  was I made wooden decks for my second U.S.S. United States.  it was a tedious task,  but the results came out really good.  I did have to do a second set though,  because I took too long getting back to the model and the decks warped.  I took precautions with this set and hopefully,  it won't happen when I get back to it  

   I have another Constitution kit....it will be my second as well.  there should be a log for my second Cutty in the archives.......along with the one for the United States.  some of the inaccuracies are actually design modifications for ease of assembly.......the dead eye racks are the most obvious.  if they were to be located on the pin rails {the way they should be},  it would be almost impossible to tie off the rigging to the belaying pins.  so they moved them onto the cap rails to make it easier.  as with any model........there are ways to enhance them to add realism...you've done well with the rabbit holes you've gone down   

 

[rwiederrich]

On 5/31/2022 at 8:42 AM, bcochran said:

This is my first piece of chain on the bowsprit with two bullseyes.

 

To those who have done rigging, it isn't much but to me who has never done it before it is a big deal.

 

I added 2 more chains. I am not sure if it looks right or not.  Then I did the other chain with thicker thread.  I still don't know what looks right.

 

 

Great job Bob...but remember...any lanyards used on bulleyes or deadeyes were considered part of the standing rigging...even though they, at times were used to tighten the system.  These lanyards were coated in dark to black preserving tar material.  They would not be left untreated.  So, light lines are not typical of these systems.  This is a common mistake most folks make because they think the lanyards are running rigging.  they are not..

 

Rob

[Kevin-the-lubber]

1 hour ago, rwiederrich said:

These lanyards were coated in dark to black preserving tar material

Rob, that makes perfect sense, but on the museum ship they are tan. Poetic license?

[rwiederrich]

13 minutes ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

Rob, that makes perfect sense, but on the museum ship they are tan. Poetic license?

Poetic ignorance, if I may boldly say.  If a model shipwright wants to build his model to the finest, remote detail...and they boast of their accuracy, then, he/she must not distract from the detail of properly weathering the lanyards on their models.  they are not and have never been running rigging.  Standing rigging is always protected against the weather...bullseye's, deadeye's lanyards are no different.

 

Note the re-rigged Constitution...the naval architects and shipwrights new this and followed suit.

 

 

[Kevin-the-lubber]

1 minute ago, rwiederrich said:

Poetic ignorance

Shall I forward the address for Greenwich, they had riggers working her back in February and they may still be there? 🤣

I think some things on the Cutty Sark may no longer be true to anything more than what makes it pretty and more suitable for visitors. Tarred rope at touching level... 

[bcochran]

I was able to get the photo etch decoration on the trail board.  It is not as fragile as the stern decoration.   I used gell superglue.  It gets a bit cloudy if you goof up and move the etching around. You need to put it in the right place the first time.  I still need to paint the connecting points black on the etching.

Edited June 1, 2022 by bcochran

[bcochran]

5 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

Bob.....Make your own...its simple, repeatable and easy and you have to spend hardly any money.

 

You can make them any size you need.

 

I'll put together a pictorial tutorial, how and the materials you need.  If you like?

 

Rob

I made eyebolts.  I didn't realize that he was talking about actual dimensions that you can scale down to what ever size your model is.

[rwiederrich]

1 hour ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

Shall I forward the address for Greenwich, they had riggers working her back in February and they may still be there? 🤣

I think some things on the Cutty Sark may no longer be true to anything more than what makes it pretty and more suitable for visitors. Tarred rope at touching level... 

The use of my words mean no disrespect to anyone.  Through the years, most that I have encountered have simply and unknowingly mistaken the lanyards as running rigging…….therefore they rig them in tan rigging……unbeknownst to them it is inaccurate.  Being ignorant of something does not imply anything but lack of knowledge.   Now if they rig the lanyards out of choice or by way of artistic license…….then that is all together their right as the builder to do so.  No judgments from me.  
 

Rob

[bcochran]

3 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

hello Bob.......fine looking ship your building    nice to see that there are a few 1:96 fans out there...I have long enjoyed this series of ship models.  when I built my second Cutty model,  I ran into the same problem with the decals.......they were old and micro cracked.  I ordered another set from Revell,  along with a request for another set of sails.....got only a couple of the sail sheets {they were done in beige, rather than the white vacu-plastic},  but I got another decal sheet.  sad to find that they were just as old as the ones I had!    I tried to source out for a set from places that did custom decals,  but all I got was excuses and the run around.  after a bit more searching,  I stumbled onto the Testor's "decal it" program.  you can make your own decals using your printer.  getting into it though,  I found that that there were limitations to what the program can do,  and that it wasn't possible.  even trying to do them in "paint shop" was a bust.......mainly showing the limits of an ink jet printer....the inability to print white,  and metallic.  it does work well for other applications though,  so I found that it wasn't a total waste of money.

  one thing I gleaned from your log though,  are the complaints concerning the inaccuracies with the kit.  folks should keep in mind that back in the day {the kit was produced back in the mid 50's},  that they were considered cutting edge for ship models.........highly detailed with the information available at the time.  Revell over the years has gone though a lot of changes.......last I checked, it acquired the name Hobico,  and the only inkling of the name Revell is Revell Germany.  I've yet to see any updated retooling of this kit,  with so many older kits popping out of the wood work on E Bay {and other site like 'em}.  I've heard that R.G. is reproducing and expanding the 1:96 line....the Connie kit being the only one that was still being produced through the years.  I have never used metal on these kits...nor have I ever put brass rods in the masts...haven't felt the need to.  the one thing that urked me,  was the segmented decks and trying to hide the joints.  one thing I tried,  which I need to get back to,  was I made wooden decks for my second U.S.S. United States.  it was a tedious task,  but the results came out really good.  I did have to do a second set though,  because I took too long getting back to the model and the decks warped.  I took precautions with this set and hopefully,  it won't happen when I get back to it  

   I have another Constitution kit....it will be my second as well.  there should be a log for my second Cutty in the archives.......along with the one for the United States.  some of the inaccuracies are actually design modifications for ease of assembly.......the dead eye racks are the most obvious.  if they were to be located on the pin rails {the way they should be},  it would be almost impossible to tie off the rigging to the belaying pins.  so they moved them onto the cap rails to make it easier.  as with any model........there are ways to enhance them to add realism...you've done well with the rabbit holes you've gone down   

 

 

Thank you, Popeye.  I have built planes, cars, trains and some boats in plastic, so assembly and painting are not new to me.  I've had in mind how I wanted my Cutty Sark to look for a long time.  So I put my plastic model skills to work on this ship.  I have never completed a ship model as far as rigging.  The other models I build take a much shorter time to complete.  With this build, I keep telling myself that I have no deadline other than the day I meet Davie Jones.

 

[rwiederrich]

1 hour ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

Shall I forward the address for Greenwich, they had riggers working her back in February and they may still be there? 🤣

I think some things on the Cutty Sark may no longer be true to anything more than what makes it pretty and more suitable for visitors. Tarred rope at touching level... 

Even professionals make artistic calls…….however historical practice can never be re-written…….no matter what you call yourself.   The images I provided mimicked tarred rope but was black nylon.  Nothing yucky to get on you, while staying with historical accuracy.  
 

Rob

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Mine will most likely be black now. Apart from anything it'll better hide my likely sins.

[bcochran]

3 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

Great job Bob...but remember...any lanyards used on bulleyes or deadeyes were considered part of the standing rigging...even though they, at times were used to tighten the system.  These lanyards were coated in dark to black preserving tar material.  They would not be left untreated.  So, light lines are not typical of these systems.  This is a common mistake most folks make because they think the lanyards are running rigging.  they are not..

 

Rob

I played with the idea of using black for lanyards.  I may go back and redo mine.  One reason is so that they don't stand out visually as much.

[Kevin-the-lubber]

16 minutes ago, bcochran said:

I was able to get the photo etch decoration on the trail board.

Well done! I don't know how I'm going to go about these, I'm not at all good at placing things accurately so will have to come up with some kind of plan.

[rwiederrich]

10 minutes ago, bcochran said:

I played with the idea of using black for lanyards.  I may go back and redo mine.  One reason is so that they don't stand out visually as much.

Just look at mine and see how they just blend in.    Look at my finished Great Republic. Look at any painting or photograph of an old ship to be convinced. 
 

Rob

[bcochran]

I am going to visit the San Diego Maritime Museum next Tuesday.  I especially ant to get a picture of the bell on the Rose which still says Rose for Snug Harbor Jonny.

[shipman]

Bob.....the builder!

 

#313 see how flat the lanyards are to the deadeye's. The holes are always fared to achieve this. A small detail rarely utilized by model makers; hence the lanyards usually stand proud, looking bulky.

[bcochran]

I changed the lanyards to black for the chain rigging on the bow.  I think it looks better than tan thread, since it is not as visually outstanding and is more accurate representing tarred rope.

 

Yes, they look bulky.  Chalk it up to being a model with inaccuracies.  Looking at other builds, mine are similar, this being my first shot at rigging.  I need to do the shorter one over, so the lanyards are the same length I think.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2022 by bcochran

[rwiederrich]

15 hours ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

Mine will most likely be black now. Apart from anything it'll better hide my likely sins.

Just paint the ones you already did black.....

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

43 minutes ago, bcochran said:

I changed the lanyards to black for the chain rigging on the bow.  I think it looks better than tan thread, since it is not as visually outstanding and is more accurate representing tarred rope.

 

Yes, they look bulky.  Chalk it up to being a model with inaccuracies.  Looking at other builds, mine are similar, this being my first shot at rigging.  I need to do the shorter one over, so the lanyards are the same length I think.

 

 

 

Yes...you can easily fare out the inner edge to reduce the *flaring* of the lanyard.   Still it is no real problem....remember not all of these bullseye's lanyards have to be the same length...they are indeed meant for tightening.  But to keep things shipshape and Bristal clean...do your best.   I'm currently reading the book *before the mast in the clippers*....to compilation of diary entries of a young man....and on several occasions he notes hours of painting the rigging and his hands were black as coal.   Even historical accounts demonstrate the practice.  So if the most accurate and detailed model is your aim...why not continue to be correct and rig properly too.

 

Great job on your CS.

 

Rob

[bcochran]

Bowsprit chains are done. Soon to finish up the bow rigging and the anchors, then on to the masts and their details.  Maybe I'll have a good start on the standing rigging by next week. All my lanyards will be black.

 

Edited June 3, 2022 by bcochran

[LeoM]

Looks superb, Bob!