Scratch-Built Ships ?

Scratch building is liberating.....And you get to work with a plethera of medium.

Pesonally I build clipper ships from scratch, and I modify just about anything already engineered...for my purposes.

Scale is totally up to the builder.....  I prefer 1/128~ 1/72.

Rob

Liberating is a good word. I like unusual subjects because they create interest in the subject, less focus on the model workmanship.

One concern is that I find it hard to get drawings. more than in the past.

Any suggestions welcome.

does this count? http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=165105

RC Ship Modelers do a lot of scratchbuilding.   There just aren’t that many ship kits out there!  

My current project is a 1/144 CVE- I’m doing the USS Guadalcanal as she appeared during the capture of U-505.   

I really enjoy scratchbuilding. When I did my recent build of the Revell Taney, the parts I was most pleased with were the  scratch built modifications....

I like the idea of using paper models as a resource!  I need a 1/96 scale SOC-3 Seagull for a project. My plan is to use a 1/100 scale paper kit as a template....

Cottage Industry Models has a 1/96th scale SOC seaplane kit available.

Not fully sure what drawings you are looking for, but when I'm facing sucha problem, I fall back on my good eye and if I have a decent photograph, I can scratch build from that.  Knowing that, if the subject is placed within an interesting(real life) situation(diorama), any errors in model accuracy can be disguised with diversion.

If you are attempting a simple display model, then such errors might become blatant(as you have pointed out).  As I said, I build clippers..so there is a very limited supply of drawings of well known ships..let alone the obscure vessel.  Artistic license is the order of the day in these cases.

Rob

Bob,

Thanks for that lead.

Maybe it is the photo angle, but that model just looks odd to me. The top wing looks to have a bit of a droop, for one thing.   I’m also a little concerned about the weight of a resin model-  as it would be going on a 327.  I’ve got the 1/96 SSY Secretary class hull, and I’m thinking of doing USCGC Duane in her 1940 Greenland Patrol fit, with the embarked SOC-3.

Maybe the best option would be a kit bash, mixing some resin parts (floats, canop, cowling) with lighter scratchbuilt parts...?

As someone who builds scratch ships I think I know one of the problems.  That is, the wide availability of nice kits.  The model kit industry these days is enormous compared to when I began modeling just after WW2.

The reason I build scratch models is that I am really into civil ships.  Just like with scale airplane models, the big market is in military subjects.  I especially specialize in Great Lakes bulk carriers (ore boats).  There are getting to be more civil ship models available, so I do build ship kits, but not that many GL bulk carrier kits are available, so I still scratch build lakers.

Another problem is that modern kits are so nice that most people have never been forced to scratch build or make major mods to the basic structures, and hence lack the skills needed.  I have a good modeling friend, who has won many, many awards.  Several times he has wanted to make a major mod to a kit, and I have suggested he cut a block of wood and carve it to the needed shape.  That idea really scares him.  Wood is a cheap material- so what if you screw up a few pieces.  I find this is a common problem.

I have modeling friends who, when they do scratch build, they make it out of built up sheet styrene (bulkheads plus planking).  No one carves anything anymore- how many of you whittle?  Most boys used to.

This is a golden age of modeling in terms of the quality and numbers of great kits and aftermarket stuff available, so scratch building has become a small nitch of the hobby.

rcboater,

I just started working on my 1/96 SSY Secretary class hull; it's been in my stash since 1993 - bought it at the WRAMS SOC will be a big issue.  The 327's had a displacement of 2350 tons in 1936, that works out to almost 6 pounds for the scale model.  By 1945, they got to 2750 tons full load, about 7 pounds.  SO far I have the prop and rudder stuffing tubes installed, along with the prop stuts.  A motor and servo mount of wood has been fiberglassed into the hull.  The rudder has been made along with the pushrod.  I haven't decided which one of the seven to make yet.  I've also got a 1/96 SSY 306' DE hull to work on later.  That will be one of the 9 DE's that the CG manned during WWII and Korea; it will be the Korea version with two motor surf boats and a balloon shelter.

Bob,

That’s the problem with the 327s - which one to build and when?  Options I considered:As commissioned in 1936, with a SOC or J2F on the fantail?  Or maybe Taney at Pearl Harbor?  Or Taney in 1944, with four 5”/38 turrets?  Spencer or Campbell in their 1942-43 convoy escort fit?  Maybe Coast Guard Squadron One in Viet Nam?  Or maybe Ingham in her 1985 fit, complete with U-boat kill marking?

Currently, I’m leaning towards Duane in her 1940-1941 Greenland Patrol fit, with white paint, the SOC-3 aft, and the 1940 weapons upgrade.  But I also like the idea of Taney at Pearl Harbor...

To bring it back on topic— in any case, nearly everything above the main deck will be scratchbuilt  in styrene!

-Bill

Bob and Scott,

Really eager to see those builds.

With so many choices to make based on the hull, it occured to me to humbly suggest something I did a lot of at 1/160 railroad scale, and also for 1/72 multi-engine aircraft.

When you sit down to draw up, lay out, cut and fabricate major assemblies such as the deck houses; make a number of them. Then bag the parts and keep them for another day.

I had a railroad which had a common standard design for depots, although every one was a little different- mailroom on the left, telegraph room on the right, baggage room separated. But I put together nine in a fraction of the time it would take to build each one at a time.

Seems analogous to me.

Bill

Hi Don ;

 I won't be pedantic here .You have an on line friend here that carves life sized Humming-Birds out of wood .I do " Naturals " and the Semi-Modern . One other style I employ is Wood Noir !. I get about four a year done .I have three hulls carved ,but not finished .A 104 gun " Ship of the Line " about thirty inches long at the waterline ( It's a study in carving ship hardware and the hull out of one piece ! ).

       The other two hulls are modern yachts ( A Chris-Craft 57 foot " Connie " ) and it is twenty inches long and the other is a model of a 58 foot Wheeler Cruiser .I carve and equip small  (" Ski-Boats ") for gifts and I scratch all the deck hardware and interior too.These are usually less than 12 inches long .      T.B.

Tanker - Builder

Hi Don ;

 ...

       The other two hulls are modern yachts ( A Chris-Craft 57 foot " Connie " ) and it is twenty inches long and the other is a model of a 58 foot Wheeler Cruiser .I carve and equip small  (" Ski-Boats ") for gifts and I scratch all the deck hardware and interior too.These are usually less than 12 inches long .      T.B.

 

I have also carved an unlimited hydro, Tempest.  However, I really screwed up the finish.  Wood is quite hard to strip paint from, so I may have to do a new hull.  I used an engine from that Miss Bud kit, the Allison V-1710.

Don;

 Dont go do that .Just sand down the finish and re-prime then repaint .The coats already on there will help keep the wood sealed ! T.B.