Bluenose 1921 by UrkVisser - Scientific Kit No. 164

[UrkVisser]

Hi everybody!

I bought this 'Scientific Kit No. 164 way back in 1991 which was then old inventory since 'Scientific Models' was by then out of business for a long time.

 

 

This kit was never given a particular scale so I'll avoid such controversies but it was a very popular kit between the 1950's and until the early 1980's and designed by Walter A. Musciano

(1922 - 2019).

 

The kit has a solid hull which was designed around a 4" x 4" x 24" board which was roughed in at the factory and a good choice regarding production considerations. Alas, I remember it being difficult to hand carve into it's proper form (which I completed in 1992).

 

Being that a certain sized model was their sales goal for display in a home or office a certain LOA was developed which conflicts slightly with the scale of it's hull (1:72 vs. 1:106). In besonders the main sail boom is quite long but the ship is a pleasant proportion as deco.

 

I finished the hull and set it's two masts but it sat over 30 years protected by in plastic kitchen wrap on my shelf before I dusted it off and now being retired could finally now finish it. My model actually sailed the Atlantic in a ship's container from Baltimore to Rotterdam and then onward to Hamburg being delayed due to a nasty North Atlantic storm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This build log will mostly deal in my experience making sails for her out of an old Oxford Broadcloth shirt and tips as a third generation tailor (even though myself just a hobby tailor) on how to make them. Plus of course my 'adventures' with rigging.

 

Best Regards, UrkVisser

 

 

[Knocklouder]

Good luck on your journey with this ship. I have one to do someday myself. I will follow along to see how  it's done. 

  Nice work on the hull Good luck with the sails.  

Knocklouder 

Edited March 11 by Knocklouder
Typos

[UrkVisser]

This kit came with some sort of thin, dark beige 'oil cloth' material of sorts as sail cloth.

I cut it out, hemmed it's edges and sewed the gores nicely on three sails but it was too stiff, 'lifeless' and too dark. The only advantage was that it's impregnated so the edges won't ravel. 

 

 

 

 

So I saved this set of 8 sails as patterns and cut new ones out of the back of an old, white 'Oxford Broadcloth' office shirt. (Maybe the one I got married in? Haha!)

 

 

Oxford Broadcloth is robust but still light and as shirts you generally don't even need to iron them if you give them a couple of good shakes out of the washer and then hang them on a hanger damp to dry. Perfect! 

 

 

Alas when cut the edges want to ravel straight away and it's 'basket weave' won't hold a needle hole or thread right to it's edge.

 

 

So I took out a roll of ' No. 320 Interfacing (like what's used in a nice collar) and cut strips of it 1/8" wide and then glued them to both side of the edges with 'Gütermann - Creativ HT2 Fabric Glue' which is a type of crystal clear, thin, fast drying rubber cement.

 

Then the next day I sewed the edges of these strips close to their edges with 1.5 mm long straight stitches using a very fine Number 60/8 needle. This 'sandwiched' the Oxford's edges in between the two interfacing stips solving the problem.

 

I also developed a trick for sewing the gores without pencil markings or markings at all!

I'll write about it next time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

But more on this later! Bye!

UrkVisser

 

 

 

 

Edited March 11 by UrkVisser
Typing errors

[UrkVisser]

Sail Making Power Tools:

The Sewing Machine!

 

 

 

A good sewing machine doesn't have to be expensive. My machine only costed me 100 € new and was made in Taiwan by the same factory who also produces machines from 80 € to 8000 € (and more) for various other companies. 

 

 

Something important to look for is a machine with various interchangable feet  as you also wouldn't use a Philips screw driver on a slotted screw would you?

 

I like fully mechanical machines the best and really you only need one with 'straight stitch' and 'zig zag'; but an important feature is a 'stitch width' control!

 

Left = Length / Right = Width

 

Of course you won't be zig zagging your sails but in the 'straight stitch' mode the 'stitch width' controls shifts the position of the needle to the left or to the right as need be.

 

I set my needle to a desired position from the left side of my foot using a small ruler. Then I only watch the leading edge of the foot and not the needle.

 

 

This is a big help in sewing the gores on a sail! Set the needle say 1/4" away from the left edge and you will sew perfectly straight every time by only watching the left, leading edge of the foot running a long the edge of the cloth or the last gore you sewed. The next gore will then be perfectly straight and 1/4" away from the last one. No pencil marks or marks of any kind!

 

Here is my favorite foot which is clear plastic with smooth stainless steel feet underneath. In the normally centered needle position you only have to keep your eyes on the little arrow up front instead of watching the needle.

 

 

This one has metal rollers for problematic fabrics. It also works nice but limits one's view a bit. But there in a little indentation up front to keep your eyes centered on .

 

 

And last but not least when your sewing comes to and end and you lift the foot up always pull your cloth towards the back of the machine before cutting the thread. If you pull your cloth towards you the needle will get bent straight away! 

 

Bye for now!

UrkVisser

Edited March 14 by UrkVisser
Edit

[UrkVisser]

Hi everybody!

Today I finally installed my first 3 mm block for rigging my ship!

 

 

Putting 2 mm brass rings on my Stay Sail was a chore (15 in all); alas two flew away 'into Cosmos' or where ever. These really fit tight and 3 mm rings would have been better but I have a lot of these 2 mm rings to use up.

 

 

 

 

I finally got the sail hung on my ship and then glanced over at the blueprints:

"Gosh! Noöoo!" I forgot this sail also needs to get sail tie downs and thus 2 horizontal rows of stitches: one row above the tie downs and one below (like what I also did om my Fore and Main Sails). 

 

So I had to clear away my end of the dining room table from all my ship building stuff, get out the sewing machine again and only for a 5 minute job. Baäaäah!

 

I also had to getting cooking straight away as my wife wanted a nice chicken dinner and she comes home from work as hungry as a bear!

 

That limited further progress for today.

 

The Stay Sail is not yet attached.

 

Tomorrow I'll hang and rig the Stay Sail. Good Night! 😴🌛✨☁️

UrkVisser

[UrkVisser]

Wednesday, 12. March 2025

Rigging My Ship:

 

Hi everybody!

I finally raised my first sail today which is the smaller Stay Sail.

I'm using 'Krick No. 60860 3 mm blocks plus the rigging thread which came with the kit. 

 

 

I had problems getting this thick thread though one of my blocks but it was due to flat spots in rigging thread from the early 1980's.

 

I solved the problem by running a needle back and forth through the block and enlarging it slightly by also pulling the eye of the needle through the hole in the block.  Cutting the bad spot off the thread also helped.

 

So it's on and looks good!

 

 

 

Here's also a photo of the ship's cabin which was originally only a stack of slivery balsa wood. I cut white carton off of a medication box and then made port holes in it with a rotary fabric punch pliers. The greyish sky blue reflection in the windows happened to be a piece of a cash register slip which was the right color as a signal the roll was coming to it's end.

 

 

One spoke on her ship's wheel broke off so I replaced it with the tip of a toothpick after a lot of 'micro-sanding'.

 

H0 scale maritime figures should look good on this ship. But finding a either a suitable trawler or freighter crew will be a task.

 

 

And the bow sprit net on her bow was made from the net which garlic was sold in. You sure wouldn't get me oit there without one!

 

Best Regards, UrkVisser

[UrkVisser]

Ahoy!

I've been busy working on my trawler lately and fighting off the Flu. So now back to my schooner.

 

I've now rigged my second sail the smaller jib. I poked the edge of the jib (which is very stable) with an awl and then hung it with seventeen 2 mm brass rings which was difficult. Then I installed four blocks and then rigged it in place.

 

 

But there's still some rigging to do where 'Scientific's' blueprint is vague:

It's the 'jib sheets' coming off the black stand rigging 'forestays' going back to either eye pins on the deck or to the fife rail. I don't know if this is to be on one side of the sail or on both sides of it.

...Hmmm?? ...Well maybe somebody can clear me up on this issue.

 

 

I just got doing some alteration tailoring on my main jib and the fisherman's topsail so I'll be installing them next. I'm starting off the all the smaller sails.

 

The Main Sail abaft is a puzzle in itself although my sail is very nice:

'Scientific' mixed three scales together  when making this kit.

(I actually wanted to avoid this topic entirely.) The hull itself is pretty close to 1:100 scale.  Set some H0 'Preiser' figures on her deck and alas they look quite large. 

 

Then take into the consideration her two masts which calculate out to be 1:76 scale. But then calculate her LOA and the scale is 1:72. Baäah!!!

 

And looking at 'Scientific's' blueprint and the mainsail boom one will notice that the boom and sail are much too long for the ship!

 

If this is indeed really to be the 'Bluenose' (1921) then the end of the main boom shall only extend 6 cm beyond the taffrail.

But it extends 10.5 cm with it's matching sail!

 

 

 

If I decide to shorten the main boom and re-tailor her main sail

then the LOA will drop to 1:76 and be in harmony with both masts. Then everything above deck will be 1:76 and from the deck down 1:100. This is definitely not the kit to buy if you like accuracy!

 

 

 

One must also remember the fact 'Scientific' built mostly control line model airplane kits where scale was often manipulated so the model could actually fly.

 

But back to ships! Maybe I will letter this model as some other fictive schooner and let things so be. Maybe she'll be called the 'Anna K.' or the 'Maria Louise' or something else.

 

Best Regards, UrkVisser

[UrkVisser]

Friday, 21. March, 2025:

Moin!  ☀️16° C.

(Northern German greetings)

I finally finished up installing the stay sail and both the jibs complete with the jib sheet rigging. I pulled this rigging tighter to her starboard side to let the jibs fill up with wind nicely.

 

 

 

I'm really glad I decided to take the time to make this set of sails out of my old, white Oxford Broadcloth shirt!

 

The impregnated sail material which came with the kit was as 'stiff as a plank' even after sewing all the gores into them.  

I saved all eight of them anyway to serve as sewing patterns incase I need to make spares.

 

 

More on this later!

Tschüss! ⛵

Best Regards, UrkVisser

 

Edited 4 hours ago by UrkVisser
Edit