Iron barque

Hallo Bob,
it is good to see a new ship on your workbench, and to see your pencil ;) ......I am looking forward to see her growing

One question: Is it a specific ship? Maybe you can tell us a little bit more about this vessel, and scale of your model.....?
Many thanks in advance
 
The Gulf Stream is a very similar vessel to this one, the East African. However, the Gulf Stream will be shown in a sea under full sail. The "gunports" were only decoration. They were painted on, and neither opened, nor concealed guns!
Bob
East African (Medium).JPG
 
Forgot to say, 25 feet to 1 inch (1:300). Hull length overall (not including bowsprit), 10 1/2 inches. Took it to the local ship model club today, but not even a flicker of interest - no-one even asked what it's name was - just got blanks stares when I passed it round - That is the usual response from model shipbuilders, but collectors love them - Bob
 
Also looks very similar to Polly Woodside berthed at Melbourne, Australia. Iron Barque built in Belfast 1885. Now a museum ship.
FB2D17B9-AD5D-4D31-A59F-089F936CF1C2.jpeg
 
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They do look similar, but Polly Woodside was only 678 tons, with a length of 192 feet, whereas Gulf Stream was 1,458 tons, with a length of 234 feet. Gulf Stream also had double t'gallants. But, as I said, looking at the above image of Polly Woodside will give you a good impression of what the Gulf Stream looked like, as the design, apart from the size, was fairly standard. As a matter of interest, the hull of the tiny Polly Woodside was still a few longer than the hull of HMS Victory! :eek: - Bob
 
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Hallo Bob,
What is your technique to paint these small areas with so accurate edges? F.e. the false gunports rectangles......are sie using some tape, or is it a complete shaking free hand? Great paint work, especially in your scale
 
My hand isn't steady enough for that!:) The painted ports and the black line under them were made on the compute,r and printed onto good quality writing paper that was stuck on the hull. The red was sprayed on and the black bulwarks, and grey part of the hull were hand painted using water-based acrylic. The delicate part was painting the grey to meet the black line under the ports, without going over it, and the red underwater area the same. The bulwark panels were also made using the computer, as well as the portholes on forecastle and poop.
Bob
 
My hand isn't steady enough for that!:) The painted ports and the black line under them were made on the compute,r and printed onto good quality writing paper that was stuck on the hull. The red was sprayed on and the black bulwarks, and grey part of the hull were hand painted using water-based acrylic. The delicate part was painting the grey to meet the black line under the ports, without going over it, and the red underwater area the same. The bulwark panels were also made using the computer, as well as the portholes on forecastle and poop.
Bob
Did you cut out or scribe the paper to look like iron panels? When I visited the Polly Woodside the panel joins visibly stand out from a long way.
 
No, the doors were drawn quite large, and scanned into the computer, coloured in, and shrunk to the size required. Printed on to clear adhesive film, cut out and stuck on. At this scale, it doesn't need to be raised, although it is by the thickness of the film. These models are really quite small, and that makes them easier (for me) to build, using special methods developed over the years. Very few ship model builders can build this type of model. Not because they don't have the ability, but because as soon as they see them, they say (or think) "I could never do that" and there the matter ends! Miniatures are far easier than you think, as special methods may be used that speed things up greatly. I certainly do not have the skill or, patience to assemble large kits and gave up on them years ago! Also, I don't like being restreicted in what I build. I am only subject to finding the plans, and there are infinitely more merchant ship plans around that warships. Many being found to conveniently small scales in ship model books. The rigging is 100% metal, being fine copper wire. There are no knots anywhere, it is just glued on in short length, so I can fit half a dozen backstays in the space of a few minutes!:eek:
Bob
Lord Ripon in hand.JPG
 
Very nice and interesting models. Thanks for showing your skills and work.
 
Thanks for showing us this very good photo sequence, so we are able to follow the different working steps, necessary for such kind of models.
Very impressive work......many thanks for this. Very informative.
 
Maybe you show us also a photo of the status......? Would be great
 
Hallo Bob, can you explain or better show how you make these small boats? I have problems to build them in bigger scale, but how can make these of appr. 2 cm length? Great work!
 
For anyone interested in this type of model ship construction, various details with illustrations are given in the 30-page practicum : Scratchbuilding Merchant Sailing Ships, A Dying Art. This is one of the first practicums that I made, and although it has no plans in it, it gives a lot of basic modelling hints and tips, including making the seas with the polystyrene foam method, namely, the steel barque Marjory Glen, shown here . The practicum is 30 pages in length. Click this link, and scroll down to read the synopsis. Then, if you wish to purchase a download, a Paypal button is provided for £2.49. http://payhip.com/b/RnMf
Marjory Glen.JPG
Bob
 
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