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Modeling a Baltimore clipper

M

Marina Jack

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Jun 21, 2025
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Modeling a Baltimore Clipper
I bought a kit for a Baltimore clipper by an Italian manufacturer named, Carla Augusto in the early 1980s. I finished the framing, but never got to actually planking it. It sat on the top shelf of my closet the last four decades. The long story is I’m a very eclectic modeler of historic boats, planes and then a serious deep dive into scale model railroading.
This kit with four pages of drawings, but little directions for construction. Back in the 80s I did subscribe to Ship in Scale for its first four years or so I am some print resoures, before getting into RC sailboats and then an actual full-size sailboat. In the late 80s I got into a model railroad layout during the winter had sailing during the summer. Whether my problem is curiosity or the attention span of a squirrel, I have kept up my interest in the Baltimore Clippers over the years, visiting the pride of Baltimore and the Lynx that I’ve seen in a couple harbors.
My goal in completing the model is as a generic war of 1812 privateer. Whether I will ever finish it at my age is a question not of a great concern to me. My immediate problem, as a scale model builder, what is a scale of this kit? There are no hints on or in the box. I assume these kits were built mainly to fit on a the size of a shelf, and the scale was not important. Which raises the question for whether a kit like this is worth finishing?
The length of the deck is 22 3/4 inches by a beam of 5 1/2 inches. The three or four plans for Baltimore Clippers, privateers in the war of 1812 from Chapelle’s book suggests it is around 1/50. Does that make sense?
Finally, I’m interested in any videos for beginners for plank on frame modeling. This kit has material for double planking. I’m not interested in trying to finish a museum quality model. I just I enjoy the work and the satisfaction to have it on a shelf in my den. Any videos that you would recommend on YouTube or some other site?
Probably another reason why the model was never tackled is that I probably enjoy reading the history of these models as much as building them. Being in history education for the last 50 plus years has been great fun and modeling historic artifacts from the past just added it to it.
Jack

IMG_5821.jpeg
 
Hi, and welcome. Just for information: Mantua/Panart has a kit of the Lynx (scale 1/62) in their catalogue. As your kit really isn't very much advanced yet, it might be worth considering to just start anew instead of messing around and, most probably, just getting frustrated with the old dreamboat.
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Welcome to SoS! I had the pleasure a few summers ago of sailing around Narragansett Bay aboard the Lynx and even firing on Ft Adams with one of the carronades. I posted a lot of detail photos here. Note there are quite a few differences between the original and the current reproduction.
 
Pepite 1/60 said:
Hi, and welcome. Just for information: Mantua/Panart has a kit of the Lynx (scale 1/62) in their catalogue. As your kit really isn't very much advanced yet, it might be worth considering to just start anew instead of messing around and, most probably, just getting frustrated with the old dreamboat.
View attachment 533689
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Thanks for an alternate approach. The model seems like a good effort to come up with a named ship we have some drawings of and looks like a kit that is much better to work with.
What I really have is no more than "a box of parts." One thing I did learn in model railroading was the concept of "kit bashing" which was simply using a box of parts to build something else, which I often used for representing historical structures on the layout. Probably the best I can get out of this old kit is a "representation" of Baltimore Clipper from War of 1812 era. I did download the booklet for building the Pride of Baltimore which would help build this kit without directions, but buying the Mantau plans/directions for this Lynx would be another option. Thanks again for the leads.
 
Welcome on board.

Have fun and use search function to see what others have done on their builds.

Please start a new build log so we can follow along with your progress.
 
Namabiiru said:
Welcome to SoS! I had the pleasure a few summers ago of sailing around Narragansett Bay aboard the Lynx and even firing on Ft Adams with one of the carronades. I posted a lot of detail photos here. Note there are quite a few differences between the original and the current reproduction.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the photos. I also had the opportunity to tour the Lynx in Saint Pete. It is shorter than the original drawings, and the deck is completely different to allowed to be used for educational and tourist purposes. My understanding of the design of the original Baltimore Clippers was that the decks were open and largely free structures to enhance speed and the needs of battle. Speed was their main advantage to escape British warships.
 
Like most replicas, Lynx only superficially resembles a Baltimore Clipper. If used to sail with passengers, USCG, insurance, and other regulations require modifications to the design. Also the 1990’s sinking with loss of life of a Baltimore Clipper replica that faithfully reproduced the designs of the real 1812 schooners convinced the “Tall Ship” community of the dangers of sailing these high performance vessels with modern day crews. As a result, the underwater shape of Pride of Baltimore II has been drastically changed to improve her transverse stability.

The photo of the painting that you posted above shows that either the kit designer dreamed up the design, or Linx’s modern day designers drastically modified her hull. That extreme cut away bow looks like a 1950’s yacht hull grafted on to 1812 Topsides. Of hand, it appears to this small boat sailor that sailing her with a full rig world produce a nasty lee helm. A dangerous situation

If you are interested in Baltimore Clippers, compare kit designs with drawings of real vessels in Chapelle’s book. I would not waste valuable time on this kit.

Roger
 
Pepite 1/60 said:
Hi, and welcome. Just for information: Mantua/Panart has a kit of the Lynx (scale 1/62) in their catalogue. As your kit really isn't very much advanced yet, it might be worth considering to just start anew instead of messing around and, most probably, just getting frustrated with the old dreamboat.
View attachment 533689
Click to expand...

Roger Pellett said:
Like most replicas, Lynx only superficially resembles a Baltimore Clipper. If used to sail with passengers, USCG, insurance, and other regulations require modifications to the design. Also the 1990’s sinking with loss of life of a Baltimore Clipper replica that faithfully reproduced the designs of the real 1812 schooners convinced the “Tall Ship” community of the dangers of sailing these high performance vessels with modern day crews. As a result, the underwater shape of Pride of Baltimore II has been drastically changed to improve her transverse stability.

The photo of the painting that you posted above shows that either the kit designer dreamed up the design, or Linx’s modern day designers drastically modified her hull. That extreme cut away bow looks like a 1950’s yacht hull grafted on to 1812 Topsides. Of hand, it appears to this small boat sailor that sailing her with a full rig world produce a nasty lee helm. A dangerous situation

If you are interested in Baltimore Clippers, compare kit designs with drawings of real vessels in Chapelle’s book. I would not waste valuable time on this kit.

Roger
Click to expand...
The picture of the Lynx in the poster was sold on the Lynx itself on tour. It is a painting of the current vessel and one would think based on its design.
The hull of the kit in question looks similar to some designs of historic Baltimore Clippers in the Chapelle book and other models on the internet. No doubt the original designs were living on the edge for speed, and as you said, difficult to sail and often lost at seas, as was he first Pride of Baltimore.
"Waste of valuable time" is an excellent point. That is one of the existential questions about modeling sailing ships with rigging. When does it become a waste of valuable time?
Why climb Mount Everest or El Captain? The answer to that only lies in the mind of the contrarian who takes on the challenge. Maybe the answer for this kit is in why it sat on my shelf for four decades. Thanks for your insights.
 
Welcome
Be aware that the Lynx is NOT a Baltimore clipper, or a "reproduction" of her name-sake.
Either you build a model of the boat that exists today, or an actual Baltimore Clipper, the two are alike in name only.

Here's a drawing of the 1812 boat to compare to the picture you posted. That's just the hull, there are massive differences in the rig as well.
Lynx_line_Chapelle.png
 
Hi again. The point is that it doesn't make any sense to build that model, but to not building it doesn't make sense either. After all, one mostly regrets what one didn't do in one's life. So, please stop the fuss about it, take it down from its shelf, give it a good dusting and start doing what you want to do with it. When I was about 18, I got a kit of the "Atropos" by Steingraeber, started her in a hurry, quickly messed her up and forgot about her warped hull in a corner of my parents' basement. But begin this year, about 45 years later, I found the same kit on eBay, and again couldn't resist her charms. Now I'm about 6 months into her build, about 1/3 done and doing just fine. Just go for it, life is too short and precious for regrets. She may not become perfect or be historically accurate, but she'll be yours.
 
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Marina Jack said:
Thanks for the photos. I also had the opportunity to tour the Lynx in Saint Pete. It is shorter than the original drawings, and the deck is completely different to allowed to be used for educational and tourist purposes. My understanding of the design of the original Baltimore Clippers was that the decks were open and largely free structures to enhance speed and the needs of battle. Speed was their main advantage to escape British warships.
Click to expand...
I understand the rake of the masts was considerably greater on the original than on the reproduction.
 
JerryTodd said:
Welcome
Be aware that the Lynx is NOT a Baltimore clipper, or a "reproduction" of her name-sake.
Either you build a model of the boat that exists today, or an actual Baltimore Clipper, the two are alike in name only.

Here's a drawing of the 1812 boat to compare to the picture you posted. That's just the hull, there are massive differences in the rig as well.
View attachment 533821
Click to expand...

JerryTodd said:
Welcome
Be aware that the Lynx is NOT a Baltimore clipper, or a "reproduction" of her name-sake.
Either you build a model of the boat that exists today, or an actual Baltimore Clipper, the two are alike in name only.

Here's a drawing of the 1812 boat to compare to the picture you posted. That's just the hull, there are massive differences in the rig as well.
View attachment 533821
Click to expand...
I think that we all can agree that the two modern schooners in discussion are not Baltimore Clippers, just something kind of inspired by them. but for other purposes than the originals As far as the old Italian kit that may not be worth the time, it can be used by me as an introduction and practice for learning about planking on frame. It a hobby, just one step at a time.
 
If you have the old Ships in Scale magazines check out the series that I wrote on construction of the Harvey modified for a typical Baltimore Clipper. I had a set of plans from Chappelle’s book plus about a hundred pictures I took of the ship when in Baltimore harbor. The articles I believe were run as a series in the 80’s hope this helps LouIMG_1017.jpegIMG_1018.jpegIMG_1019.jpeg
 
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