Bernard Kelly

Nice work so far Bob.  I too am interested in seeing this and how you handle the details on this beauty.
 
Gwyl

As you mention Bob, the scale is about right for a ship-in-bottle, so it will be very interesting to see how you handle the details, even though you have no intention of ultimately bottling the model.
 
TJ

I started this today, 17th June.    It is 2.8 inches long on the waterline, and is a 79 ton two-masted topsail schooner.    Length 84.2 feet and beam of 21.3 feet, completed at Peterhead in  1878.     Scale 32 feet to 1 inch.      It has taken me 1.5 (1 1/2) hours to get so far.     It will not be going in a bottle, but I suppose this size is very suitable if you have the necessary skills to do it (which I don't ).        It is just a "quickie" because I haven't done anything for ages.     The hull is completed, and I have just started "fitting out"  with deck details etc.   
Bob

Well said John, you perfectly express what attracts me to bottling rather than to static modeling.
 
TJ

Greetings Daniel,
 
While to a certain extent I do agree, there are far too few sib modelers entering most competitions to allow for any sort of special category. To me, it is more of a challenge that the particular engineering and building has to be different with sib models. It is one reason I build my models to look like static display models inside a glass container, i.e. no fake water/sea or anything other than a stand and the entire model, including the full hull. I perfefctly understand that my methods are not everyone's cup of tea, I've seen some absolutely awesome sib's that included "the works". That is another reason for the appeal of sib models, most "standard" static display models are expected to be of a certain scale, with certain building techniques and methods which are simply too restraining for those of us who revel in freedoms involved in building sib's! <G>
 
Anchor's A Weigh!
John Fox III
Ladysmith, WI

Greetings Daniel,
 
You would be surprised at what people think of ship in bottle models. I attended that show for many years, won numerous gold awards, and still got absolutely no respect from any of the other modelers. Then one competition I brought a video of my Providence gallon jug model, showing how it was broken down, inserted and finished inside the jug. The video was shown during the Sunday morning round table meeting of most of the modelers.  I had the same people come up to me at the urinal in the bathroom, no kidding, and tell me how impressed they were with my work?? They simply looked at it as a static display model inside a container, with absolutely no thought to how the model had to be engineered and built to "work" once inserted into the container involved.
 
My proudest moment at Manitowoc though came when I won not only gold, but the McCallip award for the best miniature in the competition for my static display Newsboy model. There were a number of excellent static display miniatures entered, so I was surprised and thrilled at winning that particular award. That is the one sad part about this particular competition, there is no sib category, so your sib is considered exactly the same as a static display model, despite the many differences that HAVE to be made to make it sib to begin with. When you win a gold award with an sib, it's above and beyond just winning an award for a sib model, but for a miniature model period!! Again, congratulations!
 
Anchor's A Weigh!
John Fox III
Ladysmith, WI

Greetings Jeff,
 
Thanks! I was working for a state agency that put out many reports each year, and being responsible for setup and printing of same, was requested to do some sketches for covers. That's how that end of things got started.
 
I do indeed have a great lady!! Been married to her for over 42 years, and she worked full time to support us for the past 34 of those! I always consider myself one of the luckiest people alive, I have the opportunity to do what I absolutely love and the support of a wife who understands my passion. Who could ask for anything more?
 
I am so glad to hear that my detail work has inspired you!! One thing I've found over the years is that often things I did not think were possible to do, were if you just kept trying. I always hoped that by showing what can be done, much like my inspirations from McNarry and McCaffrey, other would see it's possible to do more than one might expect.
 
Anchor's A Weigh!
John Fox III
Ladysmith, WI

I love hearing these stories of what was the inspiration, or introduction to our obsession with Ships In Bottles!  
 
Gwyl

Greetings All,
 
What interesting stories! Mine is basically one that started really as a method of sellling artwork. I was a graphic designer and draftsman for years, but was always fascinated by a ship under full sail, always considered it THE one man made object that seemed alive to me. I spent years drawing pen and ink sketches of ships on my own time, building simple plastic and wood kit models as "models" to work from. Spent years where all summer long I went to art and craft shows, selling framed prints and commissioned sketches of sailing vessels of all types. I took a few of my kit models to one show, and found they sold better than the prints and sketches. Started building scratch models of sailing vessels to sell, but it took a very long time to make a decent model, so the cost was high.
 
One day my wife came home from a visit to the library with a book on ships in bottles, telling me here was a way I could make models without taking forever, and therefore could possibly actually sell some. Little did I, or she, know just what would happen! <G> It was so long ago that this happened, that I really don't recall which book she brought home that day. I built a few traditional models, simple boats with clay/putty seas. I was sadly disappointed though in the sea materials, just didn't look right to me, and had extreme difficulty keeping the model "stuck" in the sea while pulling my control rigging lines. And the whole idea of building just generic ship types, and not terribly accurate at that, got to me after a while.
 
Started looking for any books on ships in bottles, or any ship modeling, at our local library. Saw that there were alternative methods, so started exploring those. Then I found both McNarry's and McCaffrey's books on miniature static display models. The details they were able to create at such small scales amazed me. I started thinking that there should be no reason that one could not put such details into a ship in bottle model. Instead of being just a craft, not to speak poorly of craft models in general, why could not ships in bottles be every bit as detailed and accurate as static display models? Well, I was on my way, and no looking back!
 
I early learned to make up several hulls and extra spars as I worked on any given model, giving me back up in case something disasterous happened to the main model. After a while, it turned out that all 3 models made it to completion. That started me working on making my methods as reproducible as possible, i.e. finding ways of making many more than single parts and pieces that were close to being exact copies. Once I had some basic detailing and rigging ideas worked out, I then became obssessed with getting ever more accurate and detailed in my vessel portrayals.
 
I then started winning awards at model competitions, which brought me to the attention of the publisher of Model Ship Builder Magazine. At his suggestion I started writing articles on how I build ship in bottle models, which were published in that magazine for a number of years. All of which started to make me think that perhaps it is possible to build ship in bottle/ bulb models that are every bit as accurate and detailed as any similarly scaled static display model. All of this despite the limitations imposed by having to build a model that also either broke part into many pieces, or was built so as to allow breaking down, to fit through the neck of the container.
 
And, so the story continues.................
 
Anchor's A Weigh!
John Fox III
Ladysmith, WI

Jeff,
 
Great youtube link.  Double sided sticky tape to the rescue.  I like it!  
 
So much to learn from others, and so little time.  
 
Gwyl

I use white carpenters glue then press it (the stick or block) on a glass plate with a weight. Just as effective!
Jeff

The "True Sander" is a handy device for getting squarish (rectangular) things squared away.  However, an inverse version of the "True Sander" can be equally handy and made to fit whatever stock dimension requires attention.   This simple tool consists of a small block of wood (1 cm square by 3-4 cm long) cut from square stock and a strip of sand paper to wrap around it.  Place the sand paper wrapped block on a flat surface (hold it in place with one hand or lock it in place with a clamp) and then lay the work piece on the flat surface and slide it past the stationary sanding block.  Some back and forth action will yield a flat sanded surface at a right angle to the sliding surface of the work piece. 
 
Example:  You've roughed out a stem for your model and want to finish the leading edge at a right angle to the body of the stem part.  Mark the finish line on the roughed out part, set up the sanding block, and go to work sliding the working surface of the part past the block.
 
Pros:  simple, cheap, highly adaptable, minimal storage area needed when not in use, no whirling disk or buzzing belt to grab your part and fling it across the room or into your face, finger contact with the sanding surface will not result in loss of skin and flesh down to the bone, can be used successfully by the light of the moon or a single candle
 
Cons:  slow, no satisfying electric motor whirr

Sandpaper is my favourite tool. I spend a lot of time sanding to achieve the exact shape I want. I never throw sandpaper away. When it is worn down to nothing it can be used to burnish paintwork and varnishing before the final coat. 

I use anything I find will do the job. I have a small dremel type machine but I also use a coping saw and a gentleman´s saw. I use various sanding implements and make quite a few from regular toothbrushes. The cheap ones can be filed down at the tip (after the bristles have been removed) to any shape required really. Stick on whatever grade of paper is needed and then sand away. Some of the very cheap ones can be heated and bent to fit awkward places. I also use straight files and rifler files along with a small bullnose plane and various chisels. When I lived back in England I had the use of a friends small forge and could make my own chisels. I also use a craft knife with different shaped blades and surgical scalpels. I also make sanding tools from small diameter dowel. I wrap a quarter of an inch of sandpaper round the tip and stick it in my dremel. This is great for smoothing off the bulwarks on a rounded counter stern. 

Sandpaper is my favourite tool. I spend a lot of time sanding to achieve the exact shape I want. I never throw sandpaper away. When it is worn down to nothing it can be used to burnish paintwork and varnishing before the final coat. 

Great video. Glad to see you on here Dana. 

Hi Galinivin.
I live in Tenerife which can also get very humid with temperatures in the high 30s. I had a similar problem but with a white, dusty substance. If I put a scene in a bottle I use plastilina for the sea and some of the landscape. I have to kneed this putty type substance and I thought that maybe it was perspiration off my hands that could be causing the problem. What I do now is to wash the bottle with a glass cleaner and then with a solution of distilled malt vinegar (which is clear like water) and water at about 25% vinegar. I let it dry and then bottle the ship. When I have everything in position I place a tissue in the neck of the bottle and stand it up on end. I leave it for a couple of days and then stopper the bottle and complete it. It seems to have done the trick and the bottles I still have here are showing no signs of the problem.

When I was a boy I started doing the plastic ship and aeroplane kits. I always made a real effort to get the colours correct in the camouflage etc. After a while I would make small boats and lorries (trucks) out of bits of wood. I would give them away to the younger kids who thought that they were cool. 
Whilst on holiday in Poole in Dorset, England, I saw a man selling ships in bottles for what I thought was a ridiculous price. The ships were not that good and I thought I could make a better model myself. However I had no idea how the ships got in the bottle. On returning home I went to the local library and got a couple of books on the subject. After a couple of attempts at which I ended with wrecks in bottles I finally managed a decent example. I just went on from there and have been doing it ever since. I don´t think I was ever truly good at it until I got a computer about 10 years ago and started seeing what others were producing. Since then I have upped my game and my ships are getting better. Thanks to some of the lads on here there has been a marked improvement. I still cannot produce satisfactory sails though!!!!!!

Fantastic models Bob. You are a master of your art.

Hi John
Just moved over from Yahoo to this group. Yours was the first name I looked for on here. Your help with my modelling has always been appreciated, as you know. I am sure that many bottlers on here will get a lot of benefit from your input. 
Regards Bernard

Thank you all for the warm welcome. 
Yes Gwyl. These islands are very beautiful, though a bit barren in places. The climate is nice and we get very little rain and no frost of snow except  for on Mount Teide

Hi Everyone
Greetings from Tenerife in the Canary Islands. 
I am Kellyman from the Yahoo Ship in Bottles Group.  
I have had some great tips and information from the lads in that group and I hope it continues on here now that most of them are moving over. I shall post some photographs of my ships in due course. 
Best wishes      Kellyman.

New member introducing myself.
I love ships, ship models and ships in bottles. I build static sailing ship models and bottled models, and I work on actual historic ships in New York City. Love everything to do with nautical history.