Bernard Kelly

Below are photos of a quick build of the Lady Isabel. I first saw this boat in a 2018 issue of the National Research Guild Journal and loved it's odd lines. The model in the journal was built by the late Steve Wheeler and is a beauty. One description calls it a canoe back. I wanted to model this for a bottle but do this test buils first. Now I'm not sure if I want to build it for a bottle or a larger (1:75) model....perhaps both...Moab

"The Flower of Gloster " from the 1967 children's tv series of the same name (which I watched back then, which is showing my age!)

The moment of truth has arrived!

Welcome aboard. This is a good place to learn...Moab

Welcome!

Welcome aboard tallyho!

Novice in making bottle ships. Looking forward to learn.

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/somerscales-off-valparaiso-n01773
 
The artwork on the manual is a copy of the painting referenced in the link above.

Destroyed the deck trying to squeeze it in, so hurriedly had to make a new one out of slightly thinner veneer. Luckily second attempt succeeded.

Taken a couple of months work but she's finally finished. 

My father was an avid artist and wood carver but scrap dealer by trade. Around 1947 he built this ship which was used in a magazine advertisement. I was four at the time so I don't remember anything about the build but do remember we lived on the West side of Chicago in a small apartment. To my knowledge this is the only model ship he ever built...Moab

Painting the sea. I used tamiya blue and violet acrylic paints, tamiya paint retarder and mig wet effects so far. Some cotton soaked in wet effects was added around the hull to simulate waves. Let’s see how it looks like when dry...

The moment of thruth is coming. I made some holes in the sea of putty to anchor a puddle of epoxy, Magnetic craddle was then laid on top of it. I created a rope guide using brass sheet to guide cables and orient them better towards the middle of the bow. I labeled all cables with tape tags and lowered the masts. Cables look no messy, but apparently all are on correct position! 
i also gave the last coat of gloss to the craddle. I find it looks very nice indeed.

Slow progress, haven't really done anything since november, kind of lost the will with current situation, but thought it was about time to knuckle down and crack on with it. probably not going to do much more to the hull apart from a few small deckdetails. Time to start the lateen rigged masts,the holes are drilled and lined up ready. 😁
 

Finally got back to it, not much change apart from a couple of ladders and a hatch cover, just need to keep away from distractions and crack on! 😁

Coming along. 

Sails are up! 
craddle received the first stain and varnish coat.

Making all possible to achieve a square craddle in all three axis (well, at least while attaching the first two parts). Parts were glued with 5-minute epoxy after cleaning old varnish and sanding parts a bit better. Both shaped parts are pretty different from one another, but I don’t think it will spoil final stance and adds some handmade flavour to the whole. Thanks for the comments folks! Would love to see your work as well!

All rigging done. Tamiya extra thin cement bottle is actually Micto Kristal Klear -i.e. white flue to seal the rigging from frizz.

Ok, here goes (hope I don't break the forum trying to upload pictures...)
I'm a new member here, finally attempting something I've wanted to do for about 40 years. 
I carved the hull from a piece of Alder and punched the shields from craft paper. I'm not going to be too ambitious about the details, just want to see if I can make it work. 

Bow stays A and B are on!

Prepared a magnetic attached base so it can be moved off the trestle quickly and position inside the bottle positively.
i still have to figure out gow to anchor the brass plate to the putty sea.

I use small pieces of white and green plasticine for wave tops, dogbone, wake, etc, just a small bit smeared in as required, and at random. The smearing gives it a random 'foam' effect. I 'glaze' the sea with PVA , slightly diluted, as it dries clear and gives the reflective surface. Needs a couple of coats as it can be tricky to get it to stick to the surface.
Stay safe all
Alan

 

Hi everyone!
I'm a craftsman, born in England, now living off-grid in Sweden.
The idea of bottling ships has been lurking in my head ever since I was a kid and I've finally started to explore the craft. 
My first attempt is in progress now; a Viking raider. Seems appropriate for my adopted homeland and of course, only one mast limits the complexity !

Started working on the sea of putty. Putty was laid in many years ago and was almost totally dry. I found it to be a little high to fit the ship so I scraped some of it off. The picture shows a height gauge to confirm ship will fit.