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Sovereign of the Seas - AJ Fisher clipper

HughLo

HughLo

Joined
Apr 8, 2023
Messages
330
Points
168

Location
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Hey there everyone. I recently picked up an OLD solid hull kit of Sovereign of the Seas, the clipper manufactured by AJ Fisher. I also got the hardcover book (with the plans in the back cover) detailing the build. I’ve searched a bit on SOS for an actual build log, but I’m traveling so I only have my phone meaning search results are smaller.

Is anyone aware of a build log for it?
 
No, but I have a similar model of Flying Cloud built by my father in the early 1940’s. At that time AJ Fisher kits were the Rolls Royce of the ship modeling world. Modelers bought kits then for the fittings. The hulls could be carved by anyone with woodworking tools and knowledge. AJ Fisher’s fittings were turned brass, and (real) boxwood. An order of magnitude better than anything available today. The old kits had band sawed lifts to be laminated and carved by the builder. Newer kits had machined carved hulls that required final shaping by the builder.

Your book might be the one by E. Armatige Mc Cann. Although dated the book is worthwhile reading.

A carefully built model built from this kit would be a nice addition to your collection.

Roger
 
Thanks for the info. I’ll probably have to look for build logs of the Flying Cloud since I haven’t found any on the SOTS… if only for information on the solid hull.

From memory, I’m pretty sure you nailed the book.

Right now the kit is here with me (including the fittings) while the book and plans are in Mexico. I’m in the states for another 10 days, but due to the size of the box (and the hull), it is going to have to be a carry on. I don’t think it will be going back with me this trip and will have to wait until November/December. Just too many things to have one more carry on. Ahh, the joys of splitting time in two places.
 
Have you considered getting in touch with Bill Partridge at Piel Craftsmen? He purchased A. J. Fisher a few years ago, and though he did not revive the Sovereign of the Seas kit, he might have related information. As your probably know, Scientific also had a Sovereign kit, at a smaller scale. There was an article on Popular Science on building a Sovereign of the Seas by H. W, Potter that ran over three issues (sorry, I don't have the date). This and the plans in the article may have been the inspiration for the Fisher kit. Duncan McLean's description of her for the Boston Atlas is very thorough, but leaves much to interpretation, especially about the deck furniture. Armitage McCann wrote a book about building a model of this clipper, but it's for a smaller model and is very basic. The two pages written by Donald McNarry in Ship Models in Miniature do much to summarize the problems in building a model of this ship. If for nothing else, it's worth seeing the picture of the model he created.
Obviously, I have given a lot of thought to working on this beautiful clipper myself.
 
Alex Bellinger said:
Have you considered getting in touch with Bill Partridge at Piel Craftsmen? He purchased A. J. Fisher a few years ago, and though he did not revive the Sovereign of the Seas kit, he might have related information. As your probably know, Scientific also had a Sovereign kit, at a smaller scale. There was an article on Popular Science on building a Sovereign of the Seas by H. W, Potter that ran over three issues (sorry, I don't have the date). This and the plans in the article may have been the inspiration for the Fisher kit. Duncan McLean's description of her for the Boston Atlas is very thorough, but leaves much to interpretation, especially about the deck furniture. Armitage McCann wrote a book about building a model of this clipper, but it's for a smaller model and is very basic. The two pages written by Donald McNarry in Ship Models in Miniature do much to summarize the problems in building a model of this ship. If for nothing else, it's worth seeing the picture of the model he created.
Obviously, I have given a lot of thought to working on this beautiful clipper myself.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the advice Alex. I will look into all of these.
 
Except for the rough carved hull - this will be a near scratch level project.
Two choices about build direction
Popular - exaggerated detail - blatant deck caulking - a copper bottom far too bright and blatant - rigging color that no hemp or Manila could ever be. colors so intense that you would have to your cornea almost touching the surface at 1:1 scale to see it that way. A caricature of a clipper ship
High quality scale - attention to scale effect - the illusion of it being the actual ship.
I will base these comments on the kit being 1:96 scale.
This is the threshold of miniature scale.
Miniature scale means that there is a high degree of art also involved. The basic cellular structure of wood and fiber begin to limit success with simple replication.

Some books for reference:
American Built Clipper Ship 1850-1856 Characteristics, Construction, Details
William L. Crothers

American-Built Packets and Freighters of the 1850s: An Illustrated Study of Their Characteristics and Construction
William L. Crothers

The Masting of American Merchant Sail in the 1850s: An Illustrated Study
William L. Crothers

Links to guild master work at 1:96 clippers:
https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/clipper-ship-build-thoughts.14978/
https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/staghound-extreme-clipper-1850-by-rwiederrich-1-96.15073/
https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/...tch-1-96-by-rwiederrich-completed-build.8830/
https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/...r-barque-by-rwiederrich-completed-build.3151/
https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/clipper-donald-mckay-1855-scratch-by-rwiederrich.13805/
https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/...s-medium-clipper-in-1-96-by-rwiederrich.5174/

Old journal articles from 1970 - 1994:

PERMANENT STATION MARKS AND THE LIFT METHOD OF SOLID HULL FABR
BAKER,PETER C
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 1988 33 42-43 TIP TECHNIQUE A

THE NEW CLIPPER SHIP SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS OF BOSTON
MCLEAN,DUNCAN
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 1982 28 19-22CLIPPER 19TH NA DECK MASTING

THE NEW CLIPPER SHIP FLYING FISH, OF BOSTON
ANNON
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 1973 20 22-26 CLIPPER 19TH DECK NA MASTING RIGGING CONSTRUCTION

THE FLYING FISH PLANS
HARBIN,JAMES W JR.
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 1973 20 28-32 CLIPPER 19TH NA DECK EQUIP

THE MCKAY CLIPPER GREAT REPUBLIC
EDSON,MERRITT
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 1975 21 14-25 CLIPPER 19TH NA DECK MASTING

FLYING CLOUD
REISDORF,RICHARD
SHIPS IN SCALE 1985 13 34-40 KIT 19TH CLIPPER NA HULL DECK

SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS PT.1
WEIDHAAS,ERNEST R
SHIPS IN SCALE 1986 17 30-34 WATERLINE KIT 19TH CLIPPER B

THE MEDIUM CLIPPER SHIP GLORY OF THE SEAS
MJELDE,MICHAEL JAY
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 1979 25 111-118 CLIPPER 19TH NA MASTING RIGGING

THE NEW CLIPPER SHIP DONALD M'KAY OF LIVERPOOL
BOEHMER,W RICHARD
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 1980 26 94-96 CLIPPER 19TH HULL MASTING

THE NEW CLIPPER SHIP FLYING FISH OF BOSTON
MCLEAN,DUNCAN
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 1980 26 122-124 CLIPPER 19TH MASTING NA HULL

NOTES ON FLYING FISH
MOODY,TERENCE E
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 1981 27 145-146 19TH CLIPPER CONSTRUCTION HULL

FLYING FISH PLANS REVISITED
LANKFORD,BEN
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 1982 28 42 CLIPPER 19TH HULL DECK

MOORING BITTS OR CAVILS (KEVELS)
EDSON,MERRITT
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 1982 28 89 DECK RIGGING 19TH CLIPPER

THE DECK FURNITURE AND MACHINERY OF LARGE MID-19TH SAIL PT. 1
LEAITT,ROBERT C & GRISEL M
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL 1987 32 95-101 DECK 19TH CONSTRUCTION CLIPPER
PT. 2 1987 32 137-143
PT. 3 1987 32 199-205
PT. 4 1988 33 35-41
PT. 5 1988 33 36-40
PT. 6 1988 33 123-126

GLORY OF THE SEAS MEDIUM CLIPPER SHIP
MJELDE,MICHAEL JAY
SEAWAYS 1992 3/1 5-12 CLIPPER 19TH NA MASTING

CLIPPER SHIP DETAILS PT.1 HULL
LANKFORD,BEN
SEAWAYS 1992 3/3 42-47 19TH CLIPPER HULL CONSTRUCTION
PT.2 DECK EQUIPMENT 1992 3/4 32-38
PT.3 MAST AND YARD 1992 3/5 26-32
PT.4 RIGGING 1992 3/6 32-38 19TH CLIPPER RIGGING SAIL

RIGGING OF CLIPPER SHIPS PT. 1
MCCANN,E ARMITAGE
MODEL SHIP BUILDER 1980 05 4-6 19TH CLIPPER MASTING
PT. 2 1980 06 10-11
PT. 3 1980 07 10-14
PT. 4 1980 08 7-11
PT. 5 1981 09 10-11
PT. 6 1981 10 47-48
PT. 7 1981 11 15-17
PT. 8 1981 12 10-12
PT. 9 1981 13 10-12,71
PT.10 1981 14 22-24
PT.11 1982 15 10-13
PT.12 1982 16 12-15

RX MAST FISHES ON CLIPPER SHIPS
DROSD,DAVID
MODEL SHIP BUILDER 1982 16 39-40 19TH CLIPPER MASTING
 
Thanks for all the information. You’ve made my research stage a lot easier. I was already excited, but am more so now that you’ve said it will be near a scratch build, which I haven’t attempted yet.

I know it sounds strange, but I’m not sure of the scale at this exact moment. Currently the kit and book are separated between Denver Colorado (the box with the hull and wooden pieces in storage), Chapel Hill North Carolina (the fittings with me on vacation), and Puerto Vallarta Mexico (the book and plans which I previously took home). The box and hull couldn’t make the trip back home (per the wife) because of how much luggage we already had. In NC, at the halfway point of the trip home, I have to admit it probably was a good idea to leave it in Denver until we return later this year.

Thanks again, I can’t wait until it is moved onto my workbench.
 
Roger Pellett said:
No, but I have a similar model of Flying Cloud built by my father in the early 1940’s. At that time AJ Fisher kits were the Rolls Royce of the ship modeling world. Modelers bought kits then for the fittings. The hulls could be carved by anyone with woodworking tools and knowledge. AJ Fisher’s fittings were turned brass, and (real) boxwood. An order of magnitude better than anything available today. The old kits had band sawed lifts to be laminated and carved by the builder. Newer kits had machined carved hulls that required final shaping by the builder.

Your book might be the one by E. Armatige Mc Cann. Although dated the book is worthwhile reading.

A carefully built model built from this kit would be a nice addition to your collection.

Roger
Click to expand...
The 1/96 Bluejacket solid hull kit of Flying Cloud is often available on eBay. You might be interested. I have also read that A.J. Fisher kits are still being produced in Northern Massachusetts as well. Good Luck!
 
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