The penultimate update of the progress on my Chebec. The mizzen remains to be fitted with sail and rigged as well as the gunport covers and portside oars. Thanks for looking.
The white blotches on the sails are MIG white ash pigments used to tone down the black stains. For some reason the pigments react to the camera flash and make the sails look dreadful. You will have to take my word for it that in reality it looks rather good.
Cheers,
Julian [:-^]
A very nice build Julian, I like the set of those sails and your colour toning is excellent.
There is a real impression of motion in your first photo particularly, - I almost feel seasick [;)]
Wonderful Job! I commend your skills.
Regards,
Scott
Thanks guys.
Julian
Julian
She’s absolutely stunning.You should be proud my friend.Now we have to get Jakes done Thanks for sharring your build.
Rod
Julian,
You do terrific work!
Bill Morrison
Thanks for showing your work. Can one still get this kit anywhere? Your work is inspiring.
It has been out of production for ages (see beginning of my “Chebeck” threads). I got hold of one on third attempt on E-Bay for a horrifying price. If you can find one go for it, I have enjoyed every moment of this build (well, maybe exept for rigging the cannon [;)] )
cheers, Julian
Yup, this is one of Heller/Aurora’s very best kits ever, and certainly, the above is one of the best builds I have seen (really good!). I have one of these unbuilt in the attic, which I will get to one day, and there is also another in a smaller scale that was produced I think by Imai that is also very good (1/82 scale, I think) and also comes up on ebay on occasion… In these days, Ebay is one of the best places to look for plastic ship models, because so many of them are out of production (and frankly, many of them are so badly molded they deserve to be out of production too!). Good Luck!
Actually, there is one of the 1/80 Imai/Minicraft versions for sale on Ebay right now. See:
I thought I posted a comment a few days ago and don’t see it now. But you get to inspire me now.
I’ll get back to work on my Chebec after I finish with the current restoration I’m doing now. I’m up to my knuckles in tieing the knots for all thr ratlines on the shrouds. It has to be done mostly by tweezers because I can’t get my hands into the rigging as needed, as all the Yards and other rigging is still in place. I HATE THIS PART OF RESTORATION, IT’S SO SLOOOOOW. The original or previous modeler simply glued string across the shrouds. Luckily I was able to removed them with any breakage.
Oh to get back to my Chebec, who is thinking I’m cheating on her, for fooling with another model before she finished!
she is beautiful… thanks for posting!
Grem, you’ve shown us some fine models in the past but this may be the most impressive yet. What the pictures don’t convey (at least on my little monitor) is the sheer size of the thing. I do hope you’ve got an appropriate venue to display the finished product - preferably inside a case.
I’ve got several Heller kits awaiting my attention in the attic, but this isn’t one of them. It appeared pretty briefly, as I remember, just before the company got out of the sailing ship business - and the price was such, and my income at the time was such, that I couldn’t handle it.
I’m not clear on what Heller’s status is at the moment. The word a year or two ago was that the company had gone belly-up once and for all, except for some portions of its output that were in the hands of Airfix. Since then some old Heller kits (e.g., a good percentage of the 1/400 twentieth-century warships) have indeed appeared in Airfix boxes. But a few months ago quite a few of the Heller kits started reappearing under the original label (at Squadron mail order, among other places). I haven’t read recently about any great revival of Heller, but quite a few places seem to be selling those “new” kits. I thought for a while that we were looking at old inventory that had been discovered in a warehouse somewhere, but if so there must have been a whole lot of kits in that stash. Does anybody know: is Heller, in some form or other, actually stamping out kits? If so, is there any reasonable hope of genuinely new Heller products?
ln any case, Grem has reminded us of just what beautiful models could be made from the best of the Heller kits. Let’s hope this one comes back.
Absolutely splendid! Beautiful and inspiring work.
Jim
Thank you all once againfor the kind remarks and the compliment from our resident expert John is especially precious. I must stress that this model has been a tremendous learning experience for me and if I had to do this again the result would probably be very different. It would be fantastic if Heller reissued this ship and I am sure it would be a great seller. If you happen to see one on E-bay don’t hesitate, it really is worth every single dollar.
I hope to have the Chebec finished in the Christmas holiday and I will try to give some idea of the sheer size of ship in the final photos.
Cheers,
Julian [:)]
wow!! these are stunning pictures… i love the work done with the sails.
Thank you ! The Chebec is a model well worth building. Think twice before selling yours but if you do sell you will probably make someone very happy.
Cheers,
Julian [:)]
Julian, as a citizen of Holland, with her famous maritime history during the 17th century, have you ever considered building a model of DE ZEVEN PROVINCIEN, as pictured above ? I know you favor modern vessels, but there are kits of the East Indianman PRINS WILLEM and BATAVIA. I would love to see your work on these models, as you do such excellent work. Have you ever thought of building another sailing ship model after your chebec ?
Montani semper liberi ! Happy modeling to all and every one of you.
Crackers [8-|]
Hi there Crackers, long time no hear [;)]
At the moment I have no plans to head in that direction. I do have the Heller “La Reale” and the excellent 1/100th HMS Victory in my stash, along with an original Imai “Junk” all sitting pretty and waiting to be built. At the moment I seem to be more WW II 1/350th oriented although I did buy Bronco’s “Ting Yuen” a few weeks ago. I love looking at the Victory and poring over parts and plan but I think this one might be a bit too intimidating for me. Luckily still a few weeks of Tirpitz build to go so I have time to choose.
Cheers,
Julian [Y]
Julian, you are indeed lucky to have two of the best sailing ship model kits of the Heller line of kits. When your model of the VICTORY is completed, it will be an impressive work that you would be proud to display. You are competent in building hulls, it would probably be the rigging which might cause you to bite your finger nails in frustration. To help you ease your anguish, you might try to buy the “Anatomy of the Ship Series, The 100-gun Ship VICTORY”, by John McKay, and published by the Conway Maritime Press, 33 John Street, London WC1N2AT, Great Britain. This publication has highly detailed drawings with fully perspective views of the hull and rigging, that will be of enormous help in construction and rigging of your model.
As an added suggestion, you could replace the fore, main and mizzen plastic topgallent masts with wooden replicas. The original plastic masts bend too easly when tension is applied when tighting the stays. If you want a real challege, make your own shrouds and deadeyes. Those enclosed in the kit, look, well… too plasticly. The same applies to the sails, if you wish to have a sailing model. If silkspan is available in Holland, it is an excellen substitute for the plastic sails in the kit. This material is like tissue paper, but strong and difficult to tear. This material can be dyed in a solution of water and light brown acrylic paint to replicate the color of sails. Use the plastic sails as a template to cut and dry the silkspan sails. When the silkspan sails are dry, spray them with starch from an aersol can to give the sails a billowing effect.
Building sailing ship model is not that daunting if you have the determination to see your project to completion. When frustration sets in, put your model aside and work on a second model until you have the urge to return to your sailing ship. Go for it ! !
Montani semper liberi ! Happy modeling to all and every one of you.
Crackers [8-|]