I've been following your blog with the intention too build the Cromwell. It's you, I think encouraged me to buy the TFFM book. Curiosity lead me to other blogs and Kevin Kenny's you-Tube tutorials. I bought the plans and thought I would have another few quick builds before undertaking this. I've always had difficulty reading kit plans and ship plans are unintelligible railway lines until the clever ones point out the (retrospective)obvious. I always reach at least one stage in the build when I want to give up because pf lack of understanding or feeling of inadequacy in skill. Nevertheless, if not now, when? I plan to build without masts and rigging (for the moment) and estimate 2 or 3 years as I'm working 50% time. Could I encourage you to go for it, build in parallel and lets see how we manage.
HMS Kingfisher/ King's Fisher - Tedboat [COMPLETED BUILD]
Fascinating, Thank you Ted for the very detailed information, I have made a few tree nails from Bamboo and for my rather crude by comparison work they have been OK, but now I know so much more and will start to use my Byrnes draw plate instead of the one that came from India that I first used. What Is so great about this site is the fantastic knowledge that people like you are so willing to share and we can all benefit from, so Thank You Thank you again . Best Tony
Thanks Tony,
Pleased it has given you some useful information!
Totally agree with you about the way people on the group are willing to share their knowledge. And it works at all levels - all of us can benefit from a beginner to an expert (I consider myself to be somewhere in the middle of the range!)
Regards
Ted
Hi All,
I'm still around! - Working on the restoration of the Victorian music box at present, so no ship building for a while. She's a Victorian box, 8 'airs' or tunes, with a split comb and an organ section. Bought as a 'basket case' with winding mechanism and regulator missing, so have had to source them. Of course, you can't just order up new components, so have had to obtain the missing parts through members of the music box society, and 'engineer' them to work on this particular box. So far I've got the mechanism running, and it is making appropriate noises, but will need a bit of tuning. Just about to start on the organ section, which will be tricky.
A couple of photos to show progress:--
Ted
Up and running on the combs. The organ section will hang under the frame, actuated by pins on the centre section of the barrel
I seem to have inherited a lot of 'extras' with the box, most of which do not belong!
I'm still around! - Working on the restoration of the Victorian music box at present, so no ship building for a while. She's a Victorian box, 8 'airs' or tunes, with a split comb and an organ section. Bought as a 'basket case' with winding mechanism and regulator missing, so have had to source them. Of course, you can't just order up new components, so have had to obtain the missing parts through members of the music box society, and 'engineer' them to work on this particular box. So far I've got the mechanism running, and it is making appropriate noises, but will need a bit of tuning. Just about to start on the organ section, which will be tricky.
A couple of photos to show progress:--
Ted
Up and running on the combs. The organ section will hang under the frame, actuated by pins on the centre section of the barrel
I seem to have inherited a lot of 'extras' with the box, most of which do not belong!
Hi All,
Just an update - I've finished the restoration of the music box, and just moved on to the C-Type Jaguar engine. Hopefully that should be finished in the next month or two, by which time 'Alert' should have landed on the doormat (assuming Trident have been able to sort their payments method)
A couple of photos just to show the finished result on the music box, after which this topic is closed (a music box on a boat forum? - strange!)
Ted
Just an update - I've finished the restoration of the music box, and just moved on to the C-Type Jaguar engine. Hopefully that should be finished in the next month or two, by which time 'Alert' should have landed on the doormat (assuming Trident have been able to sort their payments method)
A couple of photos just to show the finished result on the music box, after which this topic is closed (a music box on a boat forum? - strange!)
Ted
Attachments
While not a ship - that is some seriously pretty work.
Excellent job in restoration, Ted!!
Very nice job, Ted!
Thanks Alex!Well, I finally got there - King's Fisher is finished!!!
The kit arrived from Lauck Street Shipyard on Christmas Eve 2008, and I began to build in late 2011. Ah well, eight and a bit years isn't too bad for me.
The first thing I must do is pay tribute to Bob Hunt, who produced one of the best kits I have ever seen. In it's time, it was at the forefront of the kit world, and it can still slog it out against anything available now. If anyone has this kit in their stash, then pull it out and make a start - the experience will be well worth it!
Likewise, the support and plaudits I have received from SOS since I joined two years ago has helped enormously in keeping going, and I thank you all.
I won't be starting another ship for a little while - SWMBO has decreed all the clocks in the house will work. I've already got one up and running (Very bad wear on the escapement wheel) and I've another on the bench at the moment having just been put back together after a complete stripdown and clean (and repair of the winding spindle holes - the ones that get all the wear)
I should be finished with the clocks by next week, and then turn my attention to the restoration of a 6-tune Victorian music box with organ that I started to restore before King's Fisher came along. That's going to take some time, after which I'm going to build a 1/8 scale Jaguar 'C' type engine from a white metal kit I bought from Germany about four years ago.
Then it'll be on to 'La Salamandre' (mutterings of SABLE from SWMBO)
Anyway, in the meantime I shall continue to follow SOS and see what you're all up to.
Finally, a selection of photos of 'King's Fisher' I apologise in advance - the photos don't seem very sharp to me - I've tried all three of my lenses on the camera, and they all seem the same, so perhaps it points to a problem in the camera body itself. Will investigate further.
Regards,
Ted
View attachment 146771View attachment 146772View attachment 146773View attachment 146774View attachment 146775View attachment 146776View attachment 146777View attachment 146778View attachment 146779
View attachment 146784
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Final resting place in the bookshelves. The naval gentleman on the left is a limited edition figurine bought direct from Alexander Kent some time ago, and is of course Captain Richard Bolitho.
Yes, I know he never served on 'King's Fisher', and I know a Captain would never be in command on a sloop, which would be a Lieutenants' command. But I like it!
The musket ball on the right is from the wreck of the 'Resolution', commanded by Admiral Sir Clowdsley Shovell, who hadn't the sense to listen to a local man, and promptly ran his fleet onto the rocks off the Scilly Isles.
View attachment 146782
The Master Shipwright (holding the measuring rod) is looking totally astonished, as the Admiralty Overseer has just told him he was supposed to have been building a rowing boat!
(Think the dog is going to have to go - looks wrong)
View attachment 146783
Every ship should have a cat! This is 'Bobby' who generally sits on my lap when I'm sitting at the computer. Trust him to find the warmest place on board, on the grating above the stove!
Hope you've enjoyed them!
Ted
Really pleased you like her
Ted
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2020
- Messages
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- Points
- 738
Well, I finally got there - King's Fisher is finished!!!
The kit arrived from Lauck Street Shipyard on Christmas Eve 2008, and I began to build in late 2011. Ah well, eight and a bit years isn't too bad for me.
The first thing I must do is pay tribute to Bob Hunt, who produced one of the best kits I have ever seen. In it's time, it was at the forefront of the kit world, and it can still slog it out against anything available now. If anyone has this kit in their stash, then pull it out and make a start - the experience will be well worth it!
Likewise, the support and plaudits I have received from SOS since I joined two years ago has helped enormously in keeping going, and I thank you all.
I won't be starting another ship for a little while - SWMBO has decreed all the clocks in the house will work. I've already got one up and running (Very bad wear on the escapement wheel) and I've another on the bench at the moment having just been put back together after a complete stripdown and clean (and repair of the winding spindle holes - the ones that get all the wear)
I should be finished with the clocks by next week, and then turn my attention to the restoration of a 6-tune Victorian music box with organ that I started to restore before King's Fisher came along. That's going to take some time, after which I'm going to build a 1/8 scale Jaguar 'C' type engine from a white metal kit I bought from Germany about four years ago.
Then it'll be on to 'La Salamandre' (mutterings of SABLE from SWMBO)
Anyway, in the meantime I shall continue to follow SOS and see what you're all up to.
Finally, a selection of photos of 'King's Fisher' I apologise in advance - the photos don't seem very sharp to me - I've tried all three of my lenses on the camera, and they all seem the same, so perhaps it points to a problem in the camera body itself. Will investigate further.
Regards,
Ted
View attachment 146771View attachment 146772View attachment 146773View attachment 146774View attachment 146775View attachment 146776View attachment 146777View attachment 146778View attachment 146779
View attachment 146784
View attachment 146780View attachment 146781
Final resting place in the bookshelves. The naval gentleman on the left is a limited edition figurine bought direct from Alexander Kent some time ago, and is of course Captain Richard Bolitho.
Yes, I know he never served on 'King's Fisher', and I know a Captain would never be in command on a sloop, which would be a Lieutenants' command. But I like it!
The musket ball on the right is from the wreck of the 'Resolution', commanded by Admiral Sir Clowdsley Shovell, who hadn't the sense to listen to a local man, and promptly ran his fleet onto the rocks off the Scilly Isles.
View attachment 146782
The Master Shipwright (holding the measuring rod) is looking totally astonished, as the Admiralty Overseer has just told him he was supposed to have been building a rowing boat!
(Think the dog is going to have to go - looks wrong)
View attachment 146783
Every ship should have a cat! This is 'Bobby' who generally sits on my lap when I'm sitting at the computer. Trust him to find the warmest place on board, on the grating above the stove!
Hope you've enjoyed them!
Ted
Dear Ted
Wow, a beautiful result just amazing work,
makes me feel to buy this model (can I get it today and where?)
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2020
- Messages
- 5,123
- Points
- 738
Hi Ted
Excellent job in restoration of the music box
I have a personal respect for historical things and the ability to preserve and restore them. Well done
Hi Ted,
Very nice restoration, that is lovely inlay work.
Did you have to do much to the mechanism?
Is the C class car a reproduction?
Cheers,
Stephen.
Very nice restoration, that is lovely inlay work.
Did you have to do much to the mechanism?
Is the C class car a reproduction?
Cheers,
Stephen.
A Robert Hunt classic. No longer produced. You "might" find one on ebay. Be prepared to spend $1500 - $2000. Over 2000 CNC cut boxwood parts. One of the finest kits ever made. Bob Hunt is a member of this forum @lauckstreet
Wow! - All these responses and questions! - Thank you all very much.
As Mike says, Kingfisher is no longer made, but unmade kits do very rarely surface - snapped up in minutes!
Steve - the C-type engine is a model to 1/8 scale - I haven't enough pennies to buy a real C-type.
The music box mechanism was not in good repair when I obtained it very cheaply. It had been 'canabalised' for parts, quite a few pins were missing or bent on the barrel, and the combs had lost some teeth. Managed to repair or replace most items myself, but sent the combs away to be professionally restored - I know my limitations! Obtaining and fitting the missing winder and regulator was 'interesting' - the winder in particular is very powerful, and had to have some very precise machining and fitting - they have been known to kill people if the spring breaks loose!
Ted
As Mike says, Kingfisher is no longer made, but unmade kits do very rarely surface - snapped up in minutes!
Steve - the C-type engine is a model to 1/8 scale - I haven't enough pennies to buy a real C-type.
The music box mechanism was not in good repair when I obtained it very cheaply. It had been 'canabalised' for parts, quite a few pins were missing or bent on the barrel, and the combs had lost some teeth. Managed to repair or replace most items myself, but sent the combs away to be professionally restored - I know my limitations! Obtaining and fitting the missing winder and regulator was 'interesting' - the winder in particular is very powerful, and had to have some very precise machining and fitting - they have been known to kill people if the spring breaks loose!
Ted
Hi Ted,
Ok maybe I got a bit excited and misinterpreted your post. Is there a possibility of a build post in the
Super Detailing Static Models / Other Genres section of this site?
Yeah an original "C" type is a pretty rare animal, and needs quite a bit of coin to grab one.
Great work on the music box, it is good to know your limits especially when working on that sort of thing, because if you stuff it up there isn't a second one to apply lessons learnt.
Cheers,
Stephen.
Ok maybe I got a bit excited and misinterpreted your post. Is there a possibility of a build post in the
Super Detailing Static Models / Other Genres section of this site?
Yeah an original "C" type is a pretty rare animal, and needs quite a bit of coin to grab one.
Great work on the music box, it is good to know your limits especially when working on that sort of thing, because if you stuff it up there isn't a second one to apply lessons learnt.
Cheers,
Stephen.
Thanks Steve,
I don't know if a model engine build should be going onto a model ship building forum - perhaps the moderators could give an opinion on this?
In the meantime, I'm still saving my pennies in the hope I might one day be able to afford a c-type replica, but even they cost upwards of £100,000
Ted