Suggestions for new BlueJacket Shipcrafters kits, please.

[alross2]

It's time to be thinking about the next new kit(s) from BlueJacket and we would like to know in what subjects you folks would be interested. If you'd like to make a suggestion, please list the vessel's name, type, time period, and desired scale. Email your suggestions to al@bluejacketinc.com within the next two weeks.

 

Thanks, 

Al Ross

[ccoyle]

Hi, Al.

 

I have a couple of suggestions. I have passed these on to other manufacturers in the past, but you know how it goes -- every company has their preferred niche, and man hours for development aren't unlimited. I know BlueJacket has a passion for subjects from the Northeast, but the West Coast has no comparable modeling enterprise bringing their indigenous designs to market, so it'd be nice if someone did something about that. Here are some ideas, in no particular order:

 

1. A West Coast salmon troller.

 

2. The motor launch Madaket. Last surviving vessel of the Coggeshall Launch & Tow Company and one of the few surviving vessels of her type.

 

3. The lumber schooner C A Thayer -- last surviving lumber schooner. Currently berthed at San Francisco Maritime NHP. She was recently completely overhauled, so someone has good plans of her somewhere.

 

4. A scow schooner, e.g. Alma. Midwest Products used to make one, but it's been off the market for many years now.

 

5. Any three-masted barkentine. A lovely rig IMO, and under-represented in the hobby.

 

6. For an East Coast subject, how about the schooner yacht Coronet? Schooner yachts are another under-represented segment of the hobby, and Coronet has been undergoing restoration at the International Yacht Restoration School since 1995 (soon to be transferred to Mystic Seaport, if not there already).

 

Anyways, that's my short list.

 

[John Ruy]

7 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

3. The lumber schooner C A Thayer -- last surviving lumber schooner. Currently berthed at San Francisco Maritime NHP. She was recently completely overhauled, so someone has good plans of her somewhere.

The CA Thayer has my vote. I have been looking this one for a long time. 1/8” = 1’ would be nice. 😊 
 

[capnharv2]

I have no idea if there are any copyright issues, but here goes. . .

Chris pointed out Barkentines. One to consider is the Regina Maris. It has an extensive history. Another is Gazela Primero from Philadelphia. 1:96 would work

Along with the CA Thayer, there's her sister ship Wawona. She was cut up in 2010, but she was well documented as they disassembled her. Like the Thayer, 1:96 would work

One, from Harold Hahn's The Colonial Schooner, 1763-1775, would be Sir Edward Hawke. Small enough for several different scales.

On the West Coast, there's the ubiquitous Bristol Bay Gillnetter. At 28' overall, one could add a lot of detail.

One last one, then I'll shut up-Pride of Baltimore 1?

[Ian_Grant]

I'd like to suggest the "Great Eastern" with its interesting mix of prop, paddlewheel, and sail; and storied history. A rare model subject.

 

Or the "Great Britain", another ship rarely provided as a kit.

 

Both fine examples of innovative Victorian engineering.

Edited January 26 by Ian_Grant

[rcmdrvr]

I would love to see the Maine back in production.

[Jaager]

Jamestown 1844  corvette 

There is much detail for the class on the HIC plan for Germantown.

[grsjax]

The Gulf Coast Scow Schooner from Chapelle's "American Small Sailing Craft" would be my first choice.  Any of the sail powered fishing boats that used to be common sights in American harbors.  An unusual one that few are aware of is the Hawaiian Sampan fishing boats developed by Japanese immigrants to the islands in the early 20th century. https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/may20/sampans-of-hawaii.html

Edited January 23 by grsjax

[Keith Black]

 Ships from the world's Navies constructed during the transitional period of 1860 to 1900. 

[uss frolick]

I second Herr Jaager-meister on the US Corvette Jamestown, or her antebellum stable-mates , the Portsmouth, or the Albany, especially in  3/16" scale.

[ccoyle]

On 1/23/2024 at 2:47 PM, Keith Black said:

Ships from the world's Navies constructed during the transitional period of 1860 to 1900. 

 

Oh, like USS Boston 1884 -- yeah, I like that suggestion, too!

 

 

Or USS Petrel 1889.

 

[SteveA]

The 1836 brigantines Dolphin and Porpoise would make interesting model subjects.  They were the last sub 100 foot two masters built for the U.S. navy and were considered excellent sailers, both having lengthy careers.  Dolphin was burned at Norfolk in 1861. Porpoise took part in the 1853 Ringgold expedition, but was lost in the China Sea in 1854.  At 1/4” scale, the hull would be around 22 inches between perps.

[Harvey Golden]

I think the U.S. Revenue Cutter Bear would be a superb candidate with broad appeal: Sail and steam, 19th and 20th C., WW I and WW II service, Arctic and Antarctic duties, Pacific, Atlantic, and Bering Sea voyages, built in Scotland, etc. etc.  

[GrandpaPhil]

I agree with the idea for a model of the Great Eastern.

I would personally like to see a kit of the US ships of the line from the 1st half of the 19th Century, or the US frigates from the War of 1812.

[jbc77]

I agree with the gulf coast scow schooner as well as the salmon troller as long as it’s a double ender.  

[Nirvana]

Would be fun and great to have ship from Europe..... maybe something from the mid of 20th century.

Will be back with information.

[Roger Pellett]

Old Nautical Research Journals, approx 1975-2000 are a great source of ideas for ship modeling projects.  In those, essentially all featured models were scratch built so ideas gleaned should not conflict with any kits.

 

In particular I am thinking about a series of articles that Eric Ronnberg wrote about the Boston Pilot Boat Hesper.   Pilot Boats are great modeling subjects.  They were designed by famous designers, are small enough to be built to a reasonable scale, say 1:48 or 1:64, have beautiful yacht like lines, and nice finishes.

 

Another Pilot Boat subject would be the earlier New York Pilot Boat George Steers c 1850’s; a beautiful vessel.

 

Roger

Edited January 24 by Roger Pellett

[JacquesCousteau]

I know that Bluejacket has a particularly strong connection to Maine's maritime traditions and makes a lot of models of local boats. In line with that, a sailing Hampton Boat could be an interesting addition to the fleet--a small, two-masted, lapstrake-built, open vessel used for fishing. There's a good bit of information on them in Chapelle's The National Watercraft Collection. Personally my vote is for a relatively small model, as I find a lot of kit offerings to be too large given my limited space. A Hampton Boat at 1:24 would be pretty small, but that scale would still allow for a lot of interesting detail work, like adding fishing gear.

Detail from plans shown on page 255 of The National Watercraft Collection:

 

That said, I agree with the suggestions above for something from another region of the US, as so many existing kits are of boats from the central and northeast Atlantic coast. I second the comments for a Gulf Coast or San Francisco scow schooner, and for the CA Thayer or Wawona. I especially like @grsjax's suggestion for a Hawaiian sampan--what a fascinating vessel! And an interesting addition to American "traditional" vessels. A San Francisco felucca could also be another unusual American sailing vessel.

 

Beyond those, I know that Bluejacket's focus is on American vessels, so I won't suggest anything from Latin America. A Biloxi schooner could make for an interesting model, and something a little different from the existing schooners that Bluejacket offers.

 

On the smaller side of things, I also think that the 1883 Key West fishing smackee Jeff Brown would be a great option. At only 25 feet long between perpendiculars, a 1:24-scale model would be of a very manageable size while still allowing for fishing equipment and other detail work. The Jeff Brown is discussed, with plans, on pages 285-287 of Chapelle's The National Watercraft Collection. Interestingly, the Noank Historical Society also has a replica that was built in the 1960s, as the Jeff Brown was built in the Noank style. Site: https://eyh.cab.mybluehost.me/jeff-brown/  Although there are a few differences between the replica and the plans (the replica did away with the fish well and reversed the cockpit, if I remember correctly), I'd imagine that it would be possible to make a very detailed model, perhaps even plank-on-frame.

Detail from plans shown on page 287 of The National Watercraft Collection:

 

Looking forward to seeing what kits you add to the lineup!

 

[grsjax]

A Tancook Whaler would be another good idea.

[ccoyle]

44 minutes ago, grsjax said:

A Tancook Whaler would be another good idea.

 

Another type with no representation in the kit world AFAIK is the classic c.1810-40 three-masted Bermuda schooner.

 

[mnl]

Herreshoff New York 40 (not the more modern version)

 

 

[thibaultron]

How about a Sharpie, They were endemic along the east coast, with several styles to choose from. Each area had their own version.

[GGibson]

13 hours ago, JacquesCousteau said:

On the smaller side of things, I also think that the 1883 Key West fishing smackee Jeff Brown would be a great option.

 

 

We were just in Key West last week and I noticed a sign for tours on the When and If, which was built in 1939 for General George S. Patton, When and If was commissioned by Patton himself from naval architect John Alden, and built by FF Pendleton in Wiscasset, ME.

 

 

The boat was out of the marina on a cruise when I saw this sign where it is docked.  We will be back down in Key West in May, though, and hopefully it is still there and I will try to take a close look at the ship and take pictures.

 

From their website, it appears the ship is in Key West during the winter and Salem, MA in the summer.  We have family down there, so if it's not there in May, there will be another time, I hope!  Anyone familiar with this schooner of Patton's? Interesting history.  Might be an interesting model.

Edited January 25 by GGibson

[Wawona59]

I 100% agree with Chris' suggestion of the C.A. Thayer, the last of the many lumber schooners/cod fishers that plied the pacific northwest waters.  With the same kit you could also offer the Wawona, a sister ship of the C.A. Thayer.  There are not too many kits of vessels from the Pacific Northwest.  I would drop every project I'm working on to build a Wawona.  I met her as a wee lad in the mid 60's on the Seattle waterfront.  Unfortunately, we lost her in 2009 and she's now an ugly wooden sculpture.

 

Guess what my favorite ship is.   

[Wawona59]

Plans for the C.A. Thayer and Wawona are readily available as part of the HAAMS project at the Smithsonian.  Please offer a Thayer/Wawona kit in 1/8" or 3/16" scale.  We would be most grateful.

[Cathead]

I'll betray my regional bias and suggest a modern river towboat of the kind used on American inland waterways (such as the Mississippi River and its many navigable tributaries). BlueJacket has a nice collection of work boats and this would really expand that genre. Lots of modern prototypes available; here are a couple from the Missouri River (my photo):

And another in the Chain of Rocks canal near St. Louis (also my photo):

As for scale, if you made these in 1:87 there'd be a lot of crossover sales appeal for model railroaders, while you could also make them at a larger scale (1:64 or 1:48) to allow for detail and ease of building.

 

These vessels are amazingly diverse in size and design; you can flip through a large gallery of images here: https://www.towboatgallery.com/The_Towboat_Gallery.php?pic=162&tnc=1&mnu=

[woodartist]

I would like to see St. Roch, a Canadian Mounted Police schooner, the first boat to circumnavigate North America, and the second to Navigate the Northwest Passage.

[ccoyle]

3 hours ago, woodartist said:

I would like to see St. Roch

 

Are you aware that Billing Boats already makes a St. Roch? We have a build log for one in progress right now.

[Guyuti]

I would really love to see a model for the SS Great Britain.

 

And one close to my heart a model of a Scilly Isles or Cornish Pilot Gig, shows examples and a small set of plans.

 

Regards

 

Guy

Edited January 26 by Guyuti

[frenchguy]

I would vote for a 1:48 POB model of "Hesper", a Pilot Schooner of Boston, well documented by Erik Ronnberg in NRJ and other places.