Build Log: RCMP St. Roch [COMPLETED BUILD]

Joined
Nov 9, 2021
Messages
94
Points
88

Location
Brantford, Ontario
I started building the Billings St. Roch about a month ago. It is likely to test me to the limit. This is the plan since I am hoping that I can maintain motor skills by building it. So far so good. I had no idea that the SOS forum existed and it has already answered a lot of questions for me. Please provide me with any advice you have because I am going to need it! I will post some pictures of what I have done so far in my next entry.
 
so we are looking forward to see your work and progress....and you will see, that there will be several members with St.Roch experience to help and assist.....
 
Hello Bruce, this is a great forum with some amazing builds and incredibly experienced members who are very open to helping us "newbies".

Enjoy your St. Roch build, it is a good ship to start out with or as a refresher for a return to the hobby. The instructions are poor but that makes the building challenge more interesting and a lot more fun because it makes you delve deeper into the actual vessel. You may not be aware but the St. Roch is in the Vancouver Maritime Museum. They have many photos and additional information about this famous historic little Canadian ship on their site. Also, if you do a search on this SOS site you will find additional information, photos, builds etc. Studying photos, from the museum and elsewhere, will provide you with some great detail if you decide to go beyond the basic build as supplied by Billing Boats.
 
These pictures show where I am at the moment - long way to go!

I visited the Maritime Museum in Vancouver a number of times many years ago and remember seeing the St. Roch. Little did I know that I would be building a model of her in later life.

My daughter and her family live in Iqaluit on Baffin Island. It is very likely that the St. Roch visited on her trips in the north because at that time Frobisher Bay as it was know then was a busy wartime air force base. It is this northern connection that made the St. Roch a desirable choice as a first ship model.

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A few setbacks today but recovered. Phrase of the day - "Don't panic!". Got the cabin sides done. Working on finding and taping the waterline on the hull. Not as easy as it looks.
 

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When I went to tape the hull to mark the waterline I discovered that the paint was coming off easily. I completely sanded it off and started again. It is now repainted with an undercoat that I hope will solve this problem.
 
I started building the Billings St. Roch about a month ago. It is likely to test me to the limit. This is the plan since I am hoping that I can maintain motor skills by building it. So far so good. I had no idea that the SOS forum existed and it has already answered a lot of questions for me. Please provide me with any advice you have because I am going to need it! I will post some pictures of what I have done so far in my next entry.
Welcome aboard, Bruce! You've come to the right place. Lots of support and expertise to be had.
What part of Canada are you from?
Clear skies,
Gabe from Winnipeg
 
I have made some progress over the last two days. Managed to get the paint on the hull to stick so I now have a painted hull with a waterline. Now working on the hull portholes and the rubbing strakes. also put some finishing touches on the cabin and wheelhouse.

I live in Brantford, Ontario.
 
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It has been a while since I have been able to work on my St. Roch. There has been recent progress. I began building the sled but I will postpone deciding how to finish it off. The holes for the thread are not in the correct places to match up with the slats. I managed to get a waterline and the paint is not coming off! I have made progress on the cabin and wheelhouse also. My next step is the rubbing strakes and hull portholes. I have to say that I am not finding it easy to work with the small parts!
 

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I started building the Billings St. Roch about a month ago. It is likely to test me to the limit. This is the plan since I am hoping that I can maintain motor skills by building it. So far so good. I had no idea that the SOS forum existed and it has already answered a lot of questions for me. Please provide me with any advice you have because I am going to need it! I will post some pictures of what I have done so far in my next entry.
Hallo @BruceIves
we wish you all the BEST and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Birthday-Cake
How is your work on the St.Roch going?
 
Thank you very much for your kind words. It has been a while since I have been able to work on the St. Roch. It is hard to understate how much help and reassurance I have received from this site, especially from Carleroo who finished the model months ago. I originally felt the I was not going to be able to deal with the tiny parts and thread for the rigging but I made progress on some of the easier bits and have gained a lot of confidence. I have attached some pictures - there are no big flaws that I can't fix.

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Your ship is looking good.

When speaking of flaws, the extreme close up photos we see now a days show some issues on even the best build, but we must remember most folks are viewing our ships at arms length or further a way, and the tiny details that may bother you would not be as obvious to someone who is not a ship builder and is just admiring the quality of your build.
 
You are right of course. I have to keep reminding myself that I started this project as an exercise to keep my motor skills active and it has been a great success from this point of view. I was intimidated by the small size of the rigging parts but I think that I will be able to deal with this now, and that itself is the outcome I am hoping for.
 
I have been able to continue building this kit recently - it was a very busy summer - and have the aft deck and rigging almost complete. I am moving forward to the lifeboats etc. but quite slowly.
 
To try something less challenging ( I thought ) I purchased the large gondola and the vaporetto kits from Veniceboats.com. I have finished the gondola but have not started the vaporetto. This site ( and the shop in Venice which I hope to visit one day …. ) sells a number of kits of past and present Venetian boats.
 
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I have been able to make progress over the last few weeks and the end is in sight…

Here are some thoughts for what they are worth from the point of view of a beginner model builder.

I have spent a lot of time searching for tiny parts which I have dropped on the floor. I have not lost anything but I need to improve my workspace so that if I drop a piece it is less likely to fall on the floor and I need to put something on the floor to make it much easier to find something that has ended up there.

I have had a lot of trouble using the right amount of glue - either I apply too much or too little.

The rigging on this model is not very complicated but I have found the rigging to be the hardest part - from building the blocks to tying knots on the thread.

I have found building this model extremely satisfying. It is not perfect but I have surprised myself by what I have been able to do. The purpose of building this model was to challenge and exercise my motor control and this has been a great success.

Once this model is finished I will definitely build another.
 
I have the flag and the decals to put on the St Roch model and then it will be ‘done’ although there are lots of fixable flaws that I will try to repair. I probably should quit while I am ahead as it has often been one step forward and two steps back!!
 
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