Cutty Sark by uscharin - Sergal - 1:78

[uscharin]

The back story –

 

Purchased the Sergal Cutty Sark kit in 1982 and within a year and a half was 70% competed, faithfully following the provided instructions.  I was a first-time modeler and quite enthusiastic, but also quite naïve.  It was at that point I picked up a copy of THE CUTTY SARK, Two Volumes in One, by Longridge, 1959.  I also found a copy of MASTING & RIGGING the Clipper Ship & Ocean Carrier, by Underhill, 1965.  After reading both books I quickly became critical of what I had built.  Without too much more effort I could have finished it, and no doubt would have displayed quite nicely in my home, but now I knew too much.

 

I considered abandoning my kit and starting over with a scratch build.  Life was already beginning to get complicated with a young family and evolving career.  Eventually I decided to try and remake the model into something that I could live with.  To the horror of my family, I tore down all my hard work to below the weather deck, leaving only hull planking and copper sheathing.  I re-contoured the deck, re-built the bulwarks using the kit’s copper facade, re-planked the deck, started building new deck houses, etc., etc., using nothing of the original kit from that point on.  To make matters more difficult I had secured several old photographs of the Cutty Sark at Falmouth (without internet!) and slowly realized that Longridge substituted, in a number of cases, his own interpretation of what the ship would look like in his model.  I think the most grievous substitution was that of the head rails and name board, which heavily influence how the ship presents.  To quote Longridge himself: “The head rails as shown in the model are not to be seen in the actual ship.  There are at present two somewhat unsightly-looking pieces of angle-iron.”  At first glance, Longridge’s substitution looked rather nice but over time did not wear well.  First and foremost, it was not accurate and beyond that I actually came to admire the angle-iron and brought me closer to the real thing.  Historical accuracy has become very important to me.

 

Current Condition –

 

The following are a series of pictures of what things look like today.  I’m retired now and finally have the time to complete her.  The first thing I did this last fall/winter was to build a case in anticipation of completing this model.  I posted that project here:

 

DIY Mahogany Display Case - Model Tips and Tricks and Making Jigs - Model Ship World™

 

The bow is the most complete.  I ground and filed the original kit figurehead down roughly 40% by mass and one of the few parts I have recycled into the ship.  I then skinned it over with polymer clay and re-sculpted.  A small piece of Nannie's hair has since snapped off so will need to fix that, and many other issues.  I had used a pickling stain on all the deck board originally, but the color wasn't right.  You'll notice the color is different on the fore deck.  I painted over the stain with Floquil teak which looked pretty good and has aged well.  I still have a bottle of that paint and hope it is enough to cover the remaining deck surfaces, as I find it is no longer manufactured.  Lots of work (fun) ahead!

 

 

 

 

 

[Rick310]

You’ve done a really nice job!! CS looks great!!

Question,  I thought CS’s studding sail booms hung below the main yards?

Rick

[Kelp]

Your Cutty Sark model is looking fantastic!  I’ll be looking forward to your updates on this build.

 

Don

[uscharin]

1 hour ago, Rick310 said:

I thought CS’s studding sail booms hung below the main yards?

Hello Rick, and thanks for the kind words.

I made the yards decades ago and can no longer tell you what my inspiration was.  According to the 'as built' Campbell plans, which I purchased after the fact, some are above, some are below and looks like some are somewhere in between.  I am already out of compliance!  Of course, my plan is to model this to look like the early Falmouth restoration, which is likely going to be a nightmare to interpret.  As it is, much of my old work (yards) will need to be re-worked to be consistent with that point in time.  Between the few pictures I have of Longridge's model, his Cutty Sark book, Underhill's plans, and old pictures I should come up with something close to the way it was.  But I'm not there yet and still getting oriented.  Since the bow is closest to being done, I plan to start my work there and see where the wind takes me.

Ron

Edited Friday at 12:51 AM by uscharin