Dutch State Yacht by Billing Boats rebuilt

[Schmidt]

I dared to do it. I know that it is always dangerous to get too close to the objects of one's desire, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity. The day before yesterday I went to Amsterdam (a better stone's throw from my hometown) to see the exhibition there of works by the marine painters Van de Velde (father and son). More about the exhibition elsewhere, perhaps. A few rooms further on, I had my first encounter with the green Statenjacht after about 7 years.

The photo shows me in the foreground, fortunately in the shade, so that you can't (hopefully) see the 3 hours it took me to take high-resolution photos of all the Van de Velde exhibits. The model is in the background, and although my head is not really good for size comparison, you can perhaps guess how big it really is, easily over 2 metres. Because the model is situated among others I couldn't take all the photos I'd dreamed of. But I don't want to be dissatisfied; I am now able to clearly see some areas that had previously remained in the dark, including the upper finish of the large stern ornament, the attachment of the flag and the stern lantern.

I already knew that the Billing Boats model did not reproduce the lines of the hull quite correctly and had accepted it when I started building. But there were also positive surprises. A few areas and ornaments that I had designed as "educated guesses" turned out to be pretty well "educated".

And now I have to go to the basement....

Schmidt

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

 

[Schmidt]

I dared to do it. I know that it is always dangerous to get too close to the objects of one's desire, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity. The day before yesterday I went to Amsterdam (a better stone's throw from my hometown) to see the exhibition there of works by the marine painters Van de Velde (father and son). More about the exhibition elsewhere, perhaps. A few rooms further on, I had my first encounter with the green Statenjacht after about 7 years.

The photo shows me in the foreground, fortunately in the shade, so that you can't (hopefully) see the 3 hours it took me to take high-resolution photos of all the Van de Velde exhibits. The model is in the background, and although my head is not really good for size comparison, you can perhaps guess how big it really is, easily over 2 metres. Because the model is situated among others I couldn't take all the photos I'd dreamed of. But I don't want to be dissatisfied; I am now able to clearly see some areas that had previously remained in the dark, including the upper finish of the large stern ornament, the attachment of the flag and the stern lantern.

I already knew that the Billing Boats model did not reproduce the lines of the hull quite correctly and had accepted it when I started building. But there were also positive surprises. A few areas and ornaments that I had designed as "educated guesses" turned out to be pretty well "educated".

And now I have to go to the basement....

Schmidt

 

[Schmidt]

Today, I'm going across the workshop to check on further progress. The next 3 pictures show the boards for attaching the shrouds. I took the kit parts that the first builder of the model had created, reworked them and cast them. They have a flaw that runs through most BB models. The holes for the scaffolding irons do not line up. Apparently the designers misunderstood the asymmetrical shape of the board. It is in no way a matter of making the shrouds curve in order to make it more difficult for the sailors to enter up. The thickening in the rear part rather prevents the leeboards from striking forward.

Here are the two parts painted. The lower one already has a coat of the well-known Vandyck brown. The soft, slightly antiquarian shimmer can only be achieved with oil paint.

The same applies to 3 other parts. The skylight is a completely new construction, the railing around the exit has been reworked. The latter also applies to the capstan with the anchor beams. Here, the holes for inserting the spakes are still missing.

Thanks to a trip to the Amsterdam Maritime Museum, the upper finish of the stern ornament could finally be designed from both the front and the back. The same goes for the flagpole bracket.

Here is a first attempt with window crosses made of painted tape. Sorry, should not happen again.

And one of the two rear gun ports, which are actually the windows of the captain's cabin.

And finally for today, a little preview of the rigging. The two blocks are reworkings of a very angular and crude piece that was found in larger numbers in my stocks. The comparison cent is nonsense because it is much too far away. The upper block is about 7.5 millimetres long, the lower a good millimetre shorter. They are filed round, sanded and treated with stain. To me, they seem to fit quite well. What do the rigging experts think?

Schmidt

 

[Schmidt]

Only one picture today, but it shows two news. Firstly, the Galion is now complete with figure, ornaments and the side reinforcements. The latter are not made of wood, but castings made of resin, which fit their position very well. The clearly visible fastenings are imitated from the original. On the other hand, the hull is painted twice with Clou Schnellschleifgrund (quick-sanding primer), following the advice of a fellow model builder. This smoothes the surface and brings out the grain a little more without looking like a paint job. Fine tip!

Schmidt

 

[Schmidt]

I continue with my model, around which decisions are now being made one after the other. Yesterday it was the decision about the "right" green. I was advised everywhere to use a shade that was common in the 18th century because the pigments were available. In this case, that is chrome oxide green. I have made a number of colour samples with different oil and acrylic paints on wood.

Finally, I decided on this quick-drying oil paint. It comes from a supplier I didn't know before and is in the range of the widely known company Boesner (artists' supplies).

Here is a colour sample in contrast to Humbrol No. 76, which I used as a multiple primer.

The paint actually dries almost overnight, so it was possible to venture a sample with the ornaments this morning. Whether and how there will be any ageing (washing) later, I don't know yet today, I'm also still quite out of breath myself because of the many decisions that have been made now.

Schmidt

 

[Schmidt]

They say the windows are the eyes of a house. I think the same applies to a ship, especially if it imitates (in parts) a contemporary house.
I had already made muntins for the side bay windows and planned to insert the window panes individually and fix them with kit in order to create as authentic an image as possible. This failed thoroughly. The glazing bars were very stable, but reminded me more of a horse stable than a rococo building.

As the Bible says, if your window bothers you, break it.

To a new one: I inserted narrow polystyrene strips behind which the panes should fit as a whole. In the process, the middle struts were also replaced.

Here with a first coat of paint. The additional strips already make the window look more filigree.

And here are the first two panes with their glazing bars. The glazing bars are made of tape that has been glued several times over each other, cut into narrow strips and then painted. It can be corrected when applied to the plexiglass until the glazing bars form a straight line.

Schmidt wishes you a nice weekend

 

[Schmidt]

I've finally got my act together and made the inside of the cabin a bit prettier. Well, actually I didn't do more than paint it white. A bit more work went into designing the rear of the front bulkhead. But that should have been enough. The front bulkhead and roof are not glued in, though, and can always be removed. So if I should be tempted to build the interior of a small rococo garden house, there will be an opportunity to do so later.

Schmidt

 

[Schmidt]

We take photos of our models to share the progress of our work with interested modellers. But the photos also have the function of self-control and self-criticism. Personally, I find it extremely important to take my models out into the fresh air at the earliest possible stage of construction, so that the sun can possibly reveal what the artificial light in the basement has so far kept invisible. So here is the Staatenjacht with about ninety-five percent of the hull parts...

A small addition: It is always amazing that even large parts can disappear for a long time (hopefully not forever!) in the workshop. With the mini parts of my 1:150 models I have great understanding for this, but now the complete railing around the companionway is missing, the size of a cigarette packet. And I definitely didn't build legs or wheels on it.

Schmidt

 

[Uwek]

A small addition: It is always amazing that even large parts can disappear for a long time (hopefully not forever!) in the workshop. With the mini parts of my 1:150 models I have great understanding for this, but now the complete railing around the companionway is missing, the size of a cigarette packet. And I definitely didn't build legs or wheels on it.

I have often the same experience and search ove rhours for some elements, sheets, tools or what ever.....
I everytime hope, that it is nothing with the memory, so not a general probem.....

Wer Ordnung hält ist nur zu faul zum suchen !

 

[Schmidt]

It was not actually planned. But then a sister yacht from the electronic bay sailed into my harbour unawares. In my opinion, she represents the average of the models built from the Billing Boats kit over the decades. All in all quite decent, but with the usual limitations in the level of detail of the ornaments. it just so happens that not every model builder is a master of wood carving. This model had as a small addition the horrible mistake that the side of the ship had been painted green below the lower whales (instead of above). I quickly removed this for the following photos, at least on the port side, and found out that the holy Dowanol can also remove two (!) coats of paint from a wooden surface. In this condition, the sister serves here as a reference model to show what I have spent the last five months doing.

My personal conclusion: I have neither reinvented the wheel nor BB's statenjacht. But I think I have halfway succeeded in bringing the model from the Middle Ages to the Rococo in terms of ornamentation. Your opinion?

Schmidt wishes you a nice Sunday

 

[Maarten]

Hi Schmidt,

Love your version, it is so much more delicate.
Looking at your build I really want to start building a statenjacht.

 

[Schmidt]

Punctually ten days after the outbreak of the infection, the big C allowed me today for the first time a significant craft session. So I did what I had long planned: I created new molds of the two bay windows. They had been rebuilt so much recently that they only existed as rather unstable one-offs. And while I don't know if I'll ever need this, I would like to have a complete set of molds for the States Yacht from Billing Boats.
Here's a not particularly successful photo of the first cast from the new port mold.

Schmidt (coughing quietly to himself).

 

[Schmidt]

In a neighbouring forum it was remarked that the lion on the Galion looked a bit like a hamster. So I gave him a nose correction and two ears. That's all I did, otherwise he would end up looking like a real lion and would no longer resemble his model.

And so to the many little things that make up a sailing ship. I have been whittling away at this multiple deadeye for a long time now. It should look nice, and the ropes should not get in each other's way.

This is not a ready made or an installation for Chiquita bananas. These are the eight fenders, all castings from a master model made from magic sculp, of course.

A cleat, also from series production.

And finally the housing of the pulley for the sidesword, which of course should be able to be lowered and raised true to the original. I plan to spend many pleasant winter evenings with this model, playing with the rigging and recreating authentic sailing manoeuvres.

Schmidt wishes you happy holidays

 

[Schmidt]

These are all preliminary stages or failed casts of the large oriel and the dolphins. I didn't throw them away, of course. (Hobbyists are people who don't throw anything away!) Now they have all been painted and will soon serve as test objects for various ageing methods. I think that I will not be able to simply transfer the ageing techniques I use on my 1:150 models to this 1:30 model. I also asked around among experts and found out about a technique that involves applying floor polish mixed with colour pigments and then wiping it off again straight away. I am particularly curious about this, as it promises to give the surface an "old-fashioned" shine.

Schmidt

 

[Schmidt]

The first result of my ageing experiments is already available, but it is extremely difficult to document photographically.
The process: Colour pigments Umbra Natur stirred into Rapid Medium by Schmincke, a viscous liquid that speeds up the drying of oil paints. Several trials with different proportions of pigments until I had a medium mixture. I used this to paint the ornaments and immediately removed any excess paint with the dry brush. After about a day, the oil paint was already dry. Then I painted the ornaments dry with the gold paint I used for priming, so that the tips and edges stood out again. Below is a comparison and a detail shot, which unfortunately are not as clear as I would have liked.

I am quite happy with the result. A coat of satin clear lacquer could possibly make the impression even more convincing.

Schmidt

 

[Schmidt]

Now, after weeks of preparatory work and several tests, I have finally started to age the hull of the Staatenjacht. My aim from the beginning was to give the model something of the aura and charisma of old ship models. But this is a difficult undertaking. Actually, you would have to have done an apprenticeship as a picture forger to be able to use the right techniques. In the end, I decided to proceed in a similar way as I do with my small models. That is, I applied undiluted oil paint (instead of Vandyck brown Umbra Natur) to the green and gold painted parts or areas of the ship's side and then immediately removed it again with a cloth, cotton wool or ear sticks. In this way I was able to place shadows in the recesses of the decorations, simulate dirty edges and achieve a certain refraction of the chrome oxide green.
The process and its results are extremely difficult to document, especially on the gold parts, whose residual shine poses major problems for my small digital camera. I show first the front wall of the large cabin after treatment with oil paint.

And here the bow, first with the untreated lion, then with the treated one as well as other slightly aged ornaments.

With this, the die is cast on the technique to be used. In the next few days, all the other parts will be treated similarly.
Schmidt

 

[Schmidt]

With the following photos, the Staatenjacht says goodbye for the time it takes for all the paint applications to dry sufficiently. Only then will I continue with the construction of the rigging. The work of completing the hull with all the attachments and their (more or less) final colour design has been quite easy for me over the last few days. There have been no major catastrophes. Besides, the model is supposed to have a certain historical look, and this includes a few not quite super-correct separating edges between different colours, inconsistent colour tones on larger surfaces, here and there a spot or a scratch etc.

Our garden wall is certainly too bumpy as a background for the photos. But I wanted to finally produce and show a few shots with daylight. I think they give the actual impression of the model quite well.

See you soon: Schmidt

 

[Maarten]

Hi Schmidt, I like the aging you did on the gold and green very much. It brings out the detailing of your work.

 

[donfarr]

AMAZING SUCH TALANT GREAT OUT COME. GOD BLESS STAY SAFE ALL DON

 

[Schmidt]

Is it magic? Just a mastless hull - and now a complete sailing ship!

Well, unfortunately I can't do magic, although I would like to when it comes to the rigging. The very repetitive nature of this work doesn't mix well with my temperament. I borrowed the mast and sails from the placeholder model. Since the hull of the Staatenyacht has a tubular mast support, it was easy to raise the sawn-off mast of the placeholder and attach it with shrouds and stays. Here the poor model during the surgical procedure.

However, the erection of a spare rig, which of course is only meant to be temporary, was quite instructive. It shows me that I should not use the sail material that was included and even more so the sails that were made from it. The reasons: the sails are too stiff, they don't fall properly, they don't seem heavy. On a scale of 1:30, it should be possible to do this better. From now on, I will gratefully accept tips on suitable sail material. And I will have to look around for someone who can sew better than I can and who has the appropriate machines.

Here are two more shots of the prototype model in Amsterdam. Unfortunately, due to the poor lighting conditions, they don't really show that the sails there look much more natural.

And what should happen to the badly damaged substitute now? Of course, I already had the idea of making a second model, since I have silicone moulds of practically all the new parts. But I was sceptical right from the start. A look at the bow, the tricky part, shows that the builder of the model had his difficulties. Maybe that's why he decided to use the unusual colour scheme "green above all".

Nevertheless, I tried my luck once. In the rear area, a quite passable surface emerged from under the layers of paint.

Bay windows, fish and ornaments fit quite well in their places; some adjustment work would have to be expected, of course.

At the bow, however, things don't look so good. The builder has used a lot of putty here. I'm afraid that if I want to sand a harmonious curve, there might be holes. Unfortunately, the side is only made of one layer of not very thick and easily splintering mahogany wood.

I will think about it.

Schmidt