Building a brig / corvette wood model ship from scratch

Modeling Subjects Ships
1

This is my first post on finescale but I’ve always wanted to do a build log on this fourm ever since I started building models

This build started with the idea to build a scratch ship but I had no idea which ship to build so I decided to start drawing up designs and drew inspiration from other models to design this build

So I came up with this design and went from there. I decided to do a plank on bulkhead frame and started creating templates out of cardboard for the ship a few days later.

About halfway through making my templates I went into town and bought some planks for the build

And then the next day I had finished the templates

And then a few weeks later I’ve gotten to where I am now with the wood planed down to about a centimeter and the templates drawn out on the board ready to be cut.

So that’s where I’m at right now I’m currently getting ready to cut the parts out and prep them for glue.

2

Today I worked on coming up with a bow and stern design to go with on the ship I don’t know if these will be final but it gives me something to do while I wait to cut the frames out i was originally going to go with a pretty bland back but decided to add a bit of details to the design.

I’m pretty confident this will be the final design but it is subject to change

I also went ahead and designed the bow which I’m really liking the look so far

Anyways that’s where I’m at today and hopefully I should start cutting the frames Tomorrow.

3

Jamie, instead of drawing out a scratch built plan of a brig, why not use a plan of a historical brig that once sailed the Great Lakes, similar to the one your are drawing. It is the British brig ONTARIO, that sank in a storm on October, 1780. and whose remains was recently found.

The book," Legend of the Lake, ONTARIO" is available in some book store, or on Ebay, or Amazon. This book has plans of the ONTARIO, or plans of the ONTARIO can be found separetely.

Happy modeling Crackers [:)]

4

Howdy !

Wow ! Talk about “Diving in with both feet” !

I like what I see so far.

Welcome to The Finescale Forum !

5

Hey crackers

I was thinking of that at first but decided to build a scratch ship because of the creative freedom it gives me as opposed to a replica but I do really like the Ontario and may one day build a version of it

6

Thanks littletimmy

Alot of great stuff is to come with this build and thanks for welcoming me to the community

7

Jamie, if you are still interested in the 22 gun brig ONTARIO, Vanguard Canadian Model Ship Plans, are located at 6-33 Roydon Pl, Ottawa, Canada. Phone (613) 288-1299

Happy modeling Crackers [A]

8

Maybe in a few years I will build the Ontario thanks for the plans crackers

9

One question. The bundle of planking. It’s hard to tell the species. Basswood? Good.

Balsa? Bad.

10

When I bought it I was told it was bass wood but it could be balsa of so I’ll have to head into town to buy new planks which shouldn’t hurt consideing I got the bundle for around 10$

11

That’s a nice drawing, Anthony. Where did you find it?

Jamie, be sure to include some sheer from bow to stern to the deck bulkheads. It’s a little hard to tell if it’s there on your layout of that center plank, which looks pretty good BTW.

Is the scale 1/48?

12

Jamie,

What scale are you going to use for this build or did you mention it and I missed it?

Mark[proplr]

13

Hey GMorrison

I don’t know what the scale is as the model isn’t based off of any real ship And did you mean deck curvature by “shear”?

My decks will be flat as it would be a hassle to apply individual parts to the curvature but the ship does have curvature which is formed buy the bulkheads becoming shorter on the upper deck from the stern and bow which should create the illusion of a curved deck. And thank you for the comment on the frames

14

Mark

I haven’t figured out an exact scale for the build as it isn’t a real ship but if you can use barrel length on cannons to figure out scale then I’m going to use 3cm cannons hope this helps but I can’t give you a actual scale because of the build being from my own design and not being based off any real ship but rather taking inspiration from other models

15

Somewhere between 1/48 and 1/64 sounds right. 8 and 12 pounders were around 1.8 to 2 meters long, so 1/60 is reasonable.

Jamie, are you living in a metric system?

Welcome to this forum. It’s good to have another builder on board.

Bill

16

Hey Bill

Thanks for the welcome

Yes I do use metric as I am Canadian. And the scales you mentioned sound about right. As always thanks for the insight on the scale

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It is essential to have some degree of scale. Buying cannons, blocks and deck furniture from model ship suppliers, it is necessary to have a scale to fit the proper size of the ship. The scale of 1/48 is rather large if space is not a consideration. Usually this is for small ships. For larger vessels, 1/64 is justified.

Happy modeling Crackers[:|]

18

Jamie, down south of you, we do not do metrics. About 30 years ago, it was imposed on us, but rejected by the public in favor of the old English system of measurement. Only in scientific circles does metrics exist.

Here is some of the usual modeling scales. 1/48=6.35 mm, 1/64=4.76 mm, 1/96=3.17mm, 1/150-2.03mm. Heller plastic modeling kits are usually in 1/150 scale.

In 1/48 scale, the figure of an adult man would be 38mm. Hope this helps.

Happy modeling [:D]

19

Thanks for the help guys I have parts from an older model that i built and am basing most of the scale of the parts off of the parts here as I am familiar with them I’ll see if I cannot find the scale on that model and maybe you guys can get an idea from that the hull is around 2 ft and 2 inches long if that helps

20

Many scales derive from lovely old English units.

1/48 is 1/4" = 1’-0" (1" = 4’-0", or 1"=48")
1/64 is 3/16" = 1’-0"
1/72 is 1/6" = 1’-0" (1" = 6’-0") and really not an “architectural” scale)
1/96 is 1/8" = 1’-0" (1" = 8’-0")

and so on.

“Metric” scales of 1/50; 1/60; 1/75, and 1/100 will produce reasonably similar models in size, and allows some “cheating” in using similarly scaled items.

I will, though, strongly suggest selecting a scale and sticking to it. Because proportions are important for perception. You would not want to show a ladder with to-scale 60cm steps (actual steps are going to be 20-30cm apart). Decks are between 1.75m and 2m apart vertically. Making them a different dimension just “looks” off.

Also, the dimensions of wooden ships are almost always ratios. Lavery et al have tabulated these values, which is very handy. Overall length will tell you the rule-of-thumb mast diameters, which then inform yard dimensions.

All of this actually makes your life a little easier. Knowing, by table, the size of a bower anchor prevents putting a 3m 2 tonne 1st rate anchor on a 25-30m corvette (bower will be 1.8-2m and around 875kg, so, you’d want, at 1:60, about a 25-30mm anchor).

The anchor cable, among other cordage, is also tabulated, so, you’d know you’d want about a 1m circumference line, so that’s ±318mm diameter, about 5mm at 1/60.

If, though, this is at 1/70, that 1m anchor line is only 4.5mm.

Scale matters, and is no limitation on artistic freedom.