01 - In the beginning...

This blog has been created to document the trials and tribulations of building a ship model. In fact, this will be my first attempt at both blogging and building a ship model, so who knows how this will all turn out!

To be absolutely truthful, I am not starting from scratch. About a year ago (2010), I caught sight of a ready-built model of the Bluenose II at the local Costco warehouse and made a snap purchase decision. I had always wanted a model of this renowned Nova Scotia schooner and the price was certainly right - about $50, if memory serves me!

However, when I liberated the model from its box, I discovered - perhaps not surprisingly - that the model lacked considerable attention to detail - a museum-quality model it was not! Inserting the masts and connecting numbered lines were the only assembly tasks required, as evidenced by the minimal assembly "instructions" provided:

Original kit assembly instructions - one page!

Appearance just after the masts were stood up. Note the Coke can for indication of scale.

 Step 1 of assembly - insert masts!

Completed assembly:

Assembly complete - such as it is!

While it might look reasonable from a distance, a closer inspection would reveal, for example, a reliance on brass screw-eyes and hooks to serve as fittings, detracting significantly from any resemblance to the full-size ship. Other examples of poor execution were a lack of taper on the masts and the use of round bobbins as a substitute for rigging blocks. This is a picture of the original hardware I removed from the model:

Original rigging hardware, representing blocks and dead-eyes.

And other details, such as the deck planking, were either not to scale or were just poorly executed, such as no cross trees on the masts or the use of plastic ratlines. Here is a close-up of the deck, showing that individual planks were represented merely by cutting groves in what is apparently a sheet of plywood. (The marks are where I've removed the former deck furnishings in anticipation of installing new planking - seen just to the right in the picture.)

Original simulated decking. (Marks are where deck furniture pulled off.)

Somewhat disappointed, I relegated the model to a corner of my office for the better part of a year, only recently deciding to try my hand at enhancing the detail. Since I've already expended some time at fabricating bits and pieces, the first part of this blog will be devoted to reviewing efforts to date.

Once that is accomplished, we will get on with the current state of play.

However, that may be some time in the future, as I will be taking a hiatus to Florida shortly and it won't be until April that I will be able to devote time to both this blog and the model.

Until I get back at it....