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Sunday, 3rd August, 2025 Sitting in my old workroom that has for over a year been my "retreat" where I can sit quietly and reflect on life, and looking at the haphazard jumble on my old workdesk where so many models were built over the years, I think I have finally realised that I am all "washed...

A harmless little sailing barque, that got caught by a U Boat in the North Sea in WW1, and got a severe hammering of shellfire. The wind was fair, and they ran her off to the best point of sailing, and thus escaped, though shot full of holes.

A huge merchant "windjammer" A

With me, it is not just the models, or even the general history of them. I like to learn about the life and times of such ships. I have never sailed in big square-riggers, but there are literally many thousands of photographs of them about, and countless autobiographies written by men who sailed...

Wednesday, 16th April, 2025 Yesteday, I got the drawing board out for the first times in ages. I was a bit out of practice, but expect I will soon get the hang of it again. This is how I get a perfect sheer line on the hull. A thin strip of 1/16th wood pinned to the drawing with small...

Miss Morris - Welsh schooner -

Scratchbuilding a small sailing ship. Not much was needed in the way of material, just a couple of sheets of obechewood (a medium hard wood obtained from Ebay). Balsa wood will work just as well, and can be cut with a scalpel. I formed the sheer (curve of the deck) very simply. The gaps were...

Monday,13th January, 2025 I now no longer build ship models,being completely "washed up" by old age and various medical conditions. Here are some of my models, and I will add to them from time to time. Please note that most of them are no longer in my posession, and I no longer take private...

My tool box Not really a massive selection, and a lot of it second hand, picked up on car boot sales etc. It is not all used for model shipbuilding, because I make lots of other things as well. Neither is it always this tidy, and it took me about two hours to sort it all out this morning! Bob

Today, Friday 22nd May, 2020 - I made a wooden box to keep my drawing pens, pencils, markers, ruler, brushes etc in. Once again, as with most of the things I do, almost totally obsolete, as most drawing seems to be done using CAD these days, that fortunately is well beyond my capabilities...

Monday, 18th May, 2020 900-ton barque Today, I fitted the twisted wire edging around the inner base, and put the model on it for a trial view. Everything is looking OK, and the polished base really enhances the model. As it is a fictitious ship, built to the normal specifications of the...

My last ship, the former passenger liner RMS St Helena. Now thirty years old, she has been convereted into a floating base for extreme electric car racing in remote locations around the globe. Still keeping the name St Helena, but no longer carrying the Royal Mail, so now MV St Helena! -

Memphis -

Some of my reference books -

16th April, 2020 A nine -hundred ton barque of my own design - and I am very pleased at how it is coming along The three cargo hatches and the fife rails round fore and main masts have been fitted. The wheelbox and wheel still need to be made, plus the windlass, forecastle scuttle and various...

I completed this one about 40 years ago. The hull was just under a foot long. As usual, rigged with wire. Frames sawn out of three ply and planked with 1/16th inch thick obeche strips. After that, I moved on to miniatures. No doubt you will recognise it - it is the Scottish Maid, a...

I have lost count of the number of times that I have been told that there was nothing of interest to be gained by serving in commercial ships, whose only purpose was that of peaceful trade with all the countries of the world. But to me, reading about one sea battle after another tends to get...

Another drawing Whilst patiently waiting for better weather, I have once again got out the drawing board in the shape of a badly warped piece of three ply! The present drawing is the sail and general arrangement plan of a large 326-foot-long steel-hulled four-masted barque of 1892. Most...

Jusr built for fun yesterday - it took just under two hours. The one-inch-long Miss Morris is shown in front of the larger version that I completed recently! Bob

Miniature Shipbuilding Small Steamers & Motor Ships I am pleased to announce that this download is now available, price £2.99. 41 Pages, A4. 9,526 words, 71 images, five plans. Please click the link and scroll down a bit after it opens to read the synopsis. Then, if you wish to purchase a...