Feasibility of building model ship from scratch? (no kit)

[wstalcup]

Hi! I definitely plan on building a few ships from kits first.. but was wonder if anyone ever built a ship without a kit?
Eventually I will like to build the Swedish ship "Charitas" from 1641. (Its the ship in the background of pic pasted below)
This is the ship my ancestor (Johan Andersson) came to present day Delaware way back in 1641.

Somehow.. i need to find more info about it... otherwise, the "Kalmar Nyckel" might be easier to build. The Charitas crossed the Atlantic with its sister ship (Kalmar Nyckel)
This ship has been completely recreated full size and sails! (see below)

Kalmar Nyckel, Tall Ship of Delaware

Adventure awaits! Discover the remarkable story behind Kalmar Nyckel, The Tall Ship of Delaware, and experience our rich maritime history at the Copeland Maritime Center.

www.kalmarnyckel.org

maybe there is a kit out there similar enough to this start with that? any thoughts or ideas?
Thanks so much!!!
v/r
Bill

 

[Uwek]

Hi! I definitely plan on building a few ships from kits first.. but was wonder if anyone ever built a ship without a kit?

Hallo Bill,
a lot of modelers are building ship model out of scratch and not based on kits
Take a look at our special area for scratch build models:

SOS Build Logs Scratch or from Plans

This Forum is all about building your ship from pure scratch, with the aid of plans, or even heavy modification or kit bashing. All can be found here.

shipsofscale.com

 

[wstalcup]

interesting! thanks!

 

[Hubac’s Historian]

One interesting possibility for full-scratch builds is to build your models completely from card stock. There are tips and techniques that simplify the process, but one can achieve the same high standards of a fully scratch-built wooden model, in a fraction of the time. There are a number of modelers, here, employing these techniques, but the “grandfather” and chief proponent of this approach is Ab Hoving. Here is an excellent introduction to the subject:

Ever considered to scratch-build from card?

In times of corona it might be hard to get stuff from shops (if they are open anyway). In the next tutorial I want to make your acquaintance with an easy way of modelbuilding: with paper and card. Just run through your dustbin and take out all the card and paper you can find and build with me a...

shipsofscale.com

Ab also happens to be among the leading authorities on 17th C., Dutch shipbuilding practice.

 

[Encre de Chine]

There are two main advantages in building from a kit:
- The plan is designed for the build
- The accessories are provided (scrollwork, mouldings, guns, bells, sculptures, figurehead....)
On the other hand, many kits will still require you to fashion and taper spars, bend planks etc...

So building from scratch implies that you have to adapt a plan, and have the skills to model small detail items.
One advantage is that you chose the materials, and there are many scratch build that mix plastic sheets, wood plank and blocks as well as metal sometimes, depending on what you are most comfortable with.
If you are equipped for computer modelling and have access to 3D printing, it also helps a lot.

For the plans to use, you have a lot of leeway: For one thing, the notion of sister ship is at best vague, and even so, the replica of Kalmar Nyckel is probably not accurate as ship's plans were not very detailed, and are most of the time lost. Sadly, ships that became historically significant are seldom ones that were considered important at the building stage,
If you find a contemporary equivalent in size, tonnage and number of decks (particularly aft), and if you can live with a bit of poetic licence, you can probably use a kit off the shelf barely modified.