Revell's Charles W. Morgan- modified?

Modeling Subjects Ships
1

Hello all-

Just wondering if anyone has modified the Revell Charles W. Morgan kit to produce an alternate rig. The kit is wonderfully accurate, but depicts the whaler as she appeared at the time, sporting a square rigged Mizzen mast installed for the movies she made in the Twenties, and not supported by the three-shroud channels attached to her sides. These were set up for the fore & aft rigged mizzen she had during most of her working career. During the same period, the single topsail yards on the Fore & Main masts would have been replaced with the double topsail rig Mystic displays her with these days.

I suppose modifying the the Mizzen channels to accept four shrouds per side would get the model closer to the Morgan’s 1841 “as-launched” appearance, but one would also have to remove the after house, the Tryworks house, and reduce the midships house to timbers only. Modifying the kit to depict her as an 1890s double topsail barque, as Mystic does, would entail some new yards, perhaps a whole new Mizzen mast, and bit of sand & fill surgery on the transom, which was much plainer in that era.

Now that Revell is (temporarily, no doubt) offering the Morgan kit again, I wondered if these sorts of modifications were attempted or contemplated by anyone here.

Thanks,

Ken B.

2

I wanted to do the old Pyro/Life-Like (now Academy) 1/200 kit “as launched” some time back (1991 or 1992). Never went past the planning stages as I was unable to get the required information. I ended up settling on the late 19th century rig; alas, all that information gathered, and the model remained untouched. I just acquired another (the Academy kit; to their credit, they cleaned up the dies, and the model looks down right crisp) for another project, just for its hull lines (as an aside, it has some problems astern below the waterline; what was it about the folks at Pyro that they erred in that area so often?).

Interested to see any other responses here as well.

Rob

3

I visited the Morgan back in 1969. It stilled smelled from working.

What movies was she in?

4

I know that they some scenes on board in the 1922 "Down to the Sea in Ships, but the large exterior scenes were shot using the Wanderer.

5

For the filming of Down to the Sea in Ships (1922), any “on deck” or “down below” scenes were shot on the Morgan, which was labelled unseaworthy by the Coast Guard and forbidden to take to sea. For the long shots of the ship at sea, the Wanderer was used. (a few years after filming those shots, Wanderer was wrecked in a storm off Cuttyhunk Island.) Whale-hunting scenes were shot with boats from the John R. Manta, a schooner which would eventually earn the dubious distinction of being the last vessel to go whaling from New Bedford, Massachusetts.

The film is also famous for the debut appearance of a teenage Clara Bow in a supporting role as the heroine’s spunky kid sister, who stows away on the ship to get back at her stern Quaker father.

A year later, the Morgan was used for “dockside” shots in the film Java Head(1923). She was supposed to be a China packet, but still sported her massive whaleboat davits, so she didn’t look like anything other than a whaling ship.

Both films were typical period romances of the era, with “forbidden love” plots, heroes braving danger, unflattering portrayals of Asians, and “boy-gets-girl” happy endings. These are the only films I recall that used the Charles W. Morgan prior to her retirement at Mystic Seaport.

Ken B.

p.s. The smell you detected in 1969 may have been a combination of tarred rigging and her rotting bilge area, which had not yet been rebuilt at that point.

6

I’ll have to see if I can find a DVD of that movie, it might be a good way to check my research on Wanderer.

7

Sumpter250-

The long shots of Wanderer at sea in Down to the Sea in Ships are great to watch, but not nearly as helpful detail-wise as the photos in Albert Cook Church’s book Whale Ships and Whaling. Original 1938 copies (the clearest & best quality) and reprints from the Fifties can still be found through used book dealers and eBay. If you don’t already have this book, make sure you get the one by Church, not the book of the same name by Dow, which is reprinted these days by Dover.

As for Down to the Sea in Ships, it is sold on DVD by the New Bedford Whaling Museum (whalingmuseum.org) and perhaps also by Mystic Seaport and Amazon. Raymond McKee, the male lead, was so fascinated by the history of whaling he learned while filming, that he took up scrimshaw as a hobby for the rest of his life.

Ken B.

8

Hey Ken,

how far did you get? Do you have any photos which you may show to us?

looking for information about the ship, I just saw that old post - and was thrilled!

I got the interesting book about the ship (The Charles W. Morgan von John F. Leavitt) - but you mentioned details which I can not remember from it.

I also intent to build this beáutiful kit - and I´d like to show it in its 1906 (about) constellation). I think I will have to add the captains wifes cabin on deck - and to close the windows. The rigg will be done in the way as one of the old photos of those days shows it. With that small triangle sail at the mizzen - “as it was used in the Pacific” … And I want to show the sails in the way they used them during a gam.

But all that are just ideas - and what I was looking for was: what color is “electric blue”??? Its mentioned in the book - for some of the deck´s details.

9

For those of you that want to model a truly accurate below the waterline model the Morgan is now on dry land in a cradle in the seaport’s shipyard and probably will be for the rest of the summer at least. As part of rebuilding the lower part of the hull all ballast has been removed from the hold. Much of it is stored in plastic bags awaiting sifting by conservators to find any artifacts. (Most of those found to date appear to be of recent vintage dropped by those touring the ship at Mystic).

10

Is the Morgan available to the public at this time? was planning a summer trip to Mystic to take a swath of pics of the CWM (I live in CT).

11

Yes the Morgan is open to the public during the renovations. But be aware that the masts have been removed and a tent like structure built over the main deck. You can however walk all around and under the hull. A stairway has been provided alongside the ship for public access to the main deck. I was there yesterday but didn’t climb up on board so can’t tell you how much of the on deck fittings have been removed.

They are replacing a number of the ribs and I believe much of the below water planking. The goal is to put her back in seaworthy shape and actually sail her to some of the east coast ports like New Bedford and Nantucket.

12

in case, anyone is interested: I found an interesting describtion concerning “electric blue” in wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_blue_(color)

This colour looks much more likely than the one I saw, when I googled for “electric blue” in google-pictures.

Now there is a question remaining: what exactly would be painted in that dark cyan colour? I got three pictures of CWM made in 2001 - and the only thing in that colour visible on deck was a small stripe at the upper edge of the boats. If we presuppose that Revell “translated” this colour in “grey”, then the top surface of the hurrican house roof or of the boat rack could be in electric blue.

Does anyone have coloured digital photos of CWM´s deck before the last refit?

13

Mystic Seaport offers a lot of photos online:

http://library.mysticseaport.org/ere/oselect.cfm?category1=PHOTOGRAPHS

… just search for Charles W. Morgan!

Then there is one photo of the stern - dated 1901.

But: … 1901 San Fransisco was port of registry! Would then be “New Bedford” engraved at the stern???
Is this usually the port of registry of the port where a ship originally came from (was build)???

14

Don’t know what you are looking that the gave the Morgan’s port of registry as San Francisco. The port of registry is usually the ship’s homeport and to the best of my knowledge New Bedford was always the Morgan’s homeport.

15

Well upon doing a little research I would like to correct my last post. The Morgan’s homeport was New Bedford from 1841 to 1886. From 1887 to 1906 She operated out of San Francisco. From 1906 to 1921 her homeport was again New Bedford. If while she operated out of San Francisco it was listed as her port of registry then at that time the stern should have indicated her home port as San Francisco. The picture apparently was taken during the period of time her homeport was New Bedford. Unless of course she was never registered in San Francisco and continued to use New Bedford as her port of registry during her stay in San Francisco.

16

The New Bedford Whaling Museum and the Mystic Seaport Museum both have strong resource libraries. There are also a number of newspaper archives.

CW Morgan was stationed in San Francisco, but always registered to New Bedford. There was a small fleet of these whalers and they all seem to have retained their East Coast registry. Morgan and several others were under the Wings, who were in the business for decades.

Electric Blue was a dark blue grey. A contemporary utility paint color called “Slate” matches electric blue. It makes sense slate could have been used for the waterways and coamings of a ship, or the entire innerworks for basic protective service.

Ochre paint has been found for the inner works of Morgan’s late career, and ochre is also seen on whalers in general much earlier, as early as the 1850s. White, like the Lagoda model, was also used at the time. The most common color in the 1840s-50s was green! Several early paintings of whalers show dark green cabins.

Morgan was built at a time when whaling ships most often had decorative transoms and broad white bands on the hull marked of with fictional gun ports. Other whaling ships in the 1840s-60s were painted overall black, black with fine white bands picked out in the rails, black with a grey band near the top rail, black with a white band but no gunports, and more than a few were even painted white.

I’m not sure what Morgan may have looked like with the Howland Company in the late 1840s-50s, but one Howland whaler in 1857 was black with gunport bands and dark green innerworks. If the Howland Company had a “fleet look” it could have influenced the Morgan, but as the Howland ships were from all sorts of sources, perhaps not.

A ca. 1870 model of another Howland or Wing ship shows white innerworks with a white gunport band on the experior.

During the Wing years (1864 - 1922) Morgan was changed and updated. The plain transom and black hull with white rail stripes would have looked a lot more modern than the old gunport bands, especially by 1900. The Wings were probably able to develop a strong fleet appearance, and that the late Morgan look was probably typical of the Wanderer and many other Wing vessels.

Sorry, long answer but its a neat subject.

17

Great - I love precise answers!

That was very, very interesting - thank you a lot!

I now intend to build my CWM as around 1900, sailing from San Francisco into the pacific. In Leavitt´s book (and on Mystic Seaports internet source are pictures/photos showing the ship in those days.

It seems that I have to leave away the stern windows as well as most of the decoration exept the eagle, the two stars, the name and port of registy and - the two small port holes.

I have to change the rigging of the model from ship to bark. I will “move” the spars downwards to kind of “simulate” the splitted topsails (upper and lower topsail) of those days. The top of the foremast will possibly get a protected crows nest. In that case the topgallantsail will be left away too. Leavitt shows one photo in which the spanker is described as something “special” for ships sailing in the pacific in those days. Its much smaller and almost a triangle. That I want to copy.

I will leave away the wooden cover for the tryworks (which - according to Leavitt - was added 1906) - instead I will add much smaller “rods” and possibly add a temporary protection - in form of a tent made from sails. On some photos this is visible.

The colour will be - as you describe: outside black with small white bands.
Inside: I will follow your suggestion and use dull for anything painted - with slade as decorating element for coamings and waterways - possibly for the edges of the boats as well.

The boats I will keep in white - as well as the painted parts of the masts and the spars.

I will try to add the “house”/cabin under the boats storage “roof”. And I will add a ladder to be able to climb the hurricane house (its visible on one of the portraits of one of the captains of those days). The hurricane house must have been added in the 1860´s (?) - if I remember Leavitt correct?

Thank you again a lot for sharing results of your investigations!

18

The whaling bark Lydia was nearly identical to Morgan, built 1840 in Medford MA similar proportions.

19

Afterhouses or hurricane houses added to some whalers by 1840s, more common 1850s on.

20

With all the talk on the CWM, I spotted a another on Ebay and was able to scoop it up for 7.00 plus shipping, not a bad deal, I have two now and will hold one as an emergency (like a junkie needing a fix).

I also have the Aurora version but its missing the ratlines, (I don’t suppose anyone has a set to spare or sell?) Since I douby I’ll ever find them without having to pay through the nose, I decided to build the ship as a semi-formal admirtly with the main hull and only the lower mast stepped. I’ll make up my own shroulds using pre-formed plastic or metal.

Using a lot of the above painting info., I think I can do a decent version.

Jake