Building from scratch my 1/280 Clipper Great Republic

Life has changed and I can't work on my ships as often as I did.

Thanks.

Rob

Nice!  It's great to see you back!

Bill

I got to spend a couple of hours working on the GReat Republic today and I finished the masts.  Here are some pics.

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Rob

Thanks Dave.  I feel the sails will be a fantastic addition..since they will be fully detailed to scale.  I think 25+ sails on this build will be spectacular IMV.

Last time I finished a build with a full set of sails was over 25 years ago.

Rob

Incredible work, Rob!  The paper sails are sure to look great!  I really ike the creases at the corners, very cool!

And the water diorama you described for that previous build....I remember seeing it in person at your place...it looks like REAL water.  As always, I am impressed.

Dave

cheer's mate , that's alway's been my bug bear , too impatient .

steve

Nah..nah..Steve..you don't give yourself enough credit...your sails are made very well and are quite convincing and detailed.

I too will really detail the sails out with all the leach, bunt and reef tackle.

I've done sails before..but this time round am going the full Montey.

Scale also has something to do with...so some mods will have to be made.

I have a long way to go before sails..but planning helps a lot.

Rob

can't wait to see this through rob , it should look incredible , I put a link for my soleil royal for you under your request . but I'm sure you'll do a far superior job . I went for that old lived in look LOL .

I'm looking for a soft full sail..not too stressed or too limp.

Kinda like this(with out the stunsails)

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I've built so many sailing ships over the years and have built them with furled sails with sails and with no sails.  My last big ship (Glory of the Seas) is without sails and my Cutty Sark is without sails.

Well the Great Republic is the biggest and most expansive clipper I have built thus far and I feel sails are appropriate...since she was the largest wooden clipper ever built. 

she was enormous...so she needs saild...but not just any sails.....clean, sharp, accurate sails are what's called for.  Well I've opted out of using cloth..since the scale problem will only make the model look clumsy.  I considered silkspan..but this is still too translucent for me.  So I'm going with plain paper(again).

Like anything I do I try a test bed to test techniques..methods...and asthetics.

So the other day I fabricated a master sheet that I duplicated(both sides) that will represent the 2ft panels that will represent the entire sail.

Today, I cut out a test sail and trimmed its outer(Leach lining) and top(Head lining) edges with a 2ft panel and I laid the reef band mid sail. In some cases a foot band will be installed as well.

I did not add the the reef points to the reef band at this time..since the test was about over-all appearance not function.

After the sail was constructed I then gave it an entire dusting of muslin tan paint   to simulate the tan/orange look of faily knew sails(Previously I mentiond about weathering the sails with India ink/alcohol...but upon further reflection and the over all newness of the model itself.....new sails was an accurate choice.

I finished off the course connections at the lower edges of the sail with some stretch and wrinkle folds...simulating the streching of the sail inflated with wind.

I think I hit the kackpot with this technique and it didn't take long..about 30 minutes.  Prior to painting I used one of my wife's fondant(Cake making tool) ball rollers to roll the  stretched roll to the foot of the sail.  With some fine tuning I think this is the clean look I was after.

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Today I had an hour or so...so I fabricated the futtock shrouds for the masts....There are a plethora of ways one could go about doing this....I kept it simple and will be adding my deadeyes to them later...the same way I did the main deadeyes on the channels.

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Thanks Steve and Philo...I appreciate that very much.

Now back to the Great Republic...I finished up the lower masts and the spanker mast.

I have to now tackle the deadeyes and the futtock shrouds..I also tung oild the spanker and the jib boom.

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Yes awesome work for sure!

i'm with gold hammer , no way I could come close to that skill level , just love watching you work my friend .

steve

It's all ab out depth of field and 3-D effect.

See the anchor..it's above and below the waterline...so is the mooring pontoon/

I even added a supply boat unloading a barrel...the bottom of the boat is visible underneath as well.  

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I was looking for a three dimentional look...the depth of the resin over the plexi with color within and underneath really made it pop.

Rob

Thanks! I was thinking of using rippled plastic shower glass and painting greens and blues underneath it.Much to consider and it really adds visual interest. 

Exquisite!

Bill

Lets side track for a moment.

I first cut out the hull outline at the level I wanted in 1/8" plexiglass...secured that to the base structure.

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Then I epoxied(I think I used clear silicone) the hull to the plexi...creating a water tight seal around the hull.

I created a dam around the border of the plexi and mixed and poured precolored epoxi..to simulate a green nasty polluted backwater, where the vessel was wrotting out its days." target="">

After the resin is poured and just as it is setting up, you want to *** the surface all over.  Make hacks and ridges all over the surface. It looks bad..but as the resin further sets the flicks and hacks soften...creating an uneven surface...like real water. Notice the ripples in this image to the stern.

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Then I turned the entire thing upside down and painted further details on the bottom.  This effect added more detail and a 3-D effect to the water.

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While this was all going on I was building the sea floor and adding details that might be found in a polluted backwater...along with flora/fana.  I then added the trim.

This can be taken apart..by simply lifting the water off the pillars..I can detail the sea floor and clean when necessary." target="">" target="">

I even made ripples in the sand on the sea floor and a cement pilon on the floor that will cable to a float the ship is moored too.

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Good luck.

I really like the top picture.How did you construct the water base I want to do the same for my Vernon?

Thanks you very much Goldhammer.  I never really thought of myself as an exceptional builder.....more of a throw it together kinda guy.  I have(IMV) limited patience when it comes to repetition.  If I can devise a way to make things move along faster and utalize trickary.....I'm your man.

I am always looking for a unique way to display my models...theme that tells a story...or at least depicts a factual event in the life of the vessel.  In the case of the Great Republic..she burned to the water line before she even set sail on her maiden voyage...so depicting her as a burned out hulk...probably wouldn't be the effect one is looking for.

Here are 3 other examples of unique displays I built for other ships.

The Ferriera(aka Cutty Sark)" target="">

The Cutty Sark rudder repair" target="">

And the clipper Donald McKay" target="">

Agreed this is one epic build and the cantilevered display board is pretty unique also.

Not being into sail, your skills and patience are amazing. I can just shake my head in awe and know that I'll never live long enough to come anywhere near that level.

I absolutely love the visualization and thought on the base for her.  That is just gorgous.

A true work of art in progress.

Dry run on the mast.

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I then assembled the top.  It will be painted prior to install on the mast head.

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I spent about 40 minutes on the GR before I left for work.

I set up the plans and cut all the frames...I assembled the foremast top....

Now 2 more to go...here are some pix.

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I finally located an image of the GR that represents(for the most part), what she looked like when she sailed down from Boston to NY.  Many representations show her with 6 sails per mast...but these representations are of her after her rebuild.  She actually carried more canvas when she was only sporting 5 sails per mast....since she had the largest yards(main was 120ft) ever placed on a sailing vessel....thus by sheer size, she carried several hundred more yards of canvas with her larger pre-fire rig.

This is the configuration I will model.

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Plus her masts were 20ft shorter after her rebuild then in her original form.

Here is an image of her after the fire.  You can see the dimentional differences." target="">

Rob

very nice rob

I have not spent as much time on the GR as I would like too...since I'm working 12 hour days on back shift....but....

I did get the first cheeks mounted and some eyebolts on the foremast done...plus I worked off site to make the hundreds of eyebolts needed for the ship.  Here are some new pics." target="">" target="">" target="">" target="">" target="">" target="">" target="">