Have you visited the member gallery of the Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwrights lately?
Today, we just added five new models. To check them out, just click on the Gallery menu above. Click on the photos to see a close up view. See what’s new!
If you need some fittings or a new kit, but need to see the stuff in person, you can now make an appointment to visit the showroom across the Bay at Ages of Sail.
Unless things get worse with the Covid crisis, you can now pick up the parts and supplies you need in person, rather having to order online and deal with shipping and associated delays.
Things have actually been pretty busy there, as many people have turned to ship modeling to keep themselves occupied while they ride out the crisis. So, you’ll have to call them at (510) 889-6000 to schedule an appointment.
Of course, for everyone’s safety, only one customer will be allowed in the shop at a time, and masks and use of hand sanitizer is required.
Still, wouldn’t you like to get out of the house and do a little ship model shopping?
Over the past week, we’ve been getting increasing numbers of local customers asking us when our showroom will be open again. The good news is that after some discussion, management has decided to try opening it up by appointment only.
Of course, there are certain necessary precautions. Namely, we’re allowing only one customer in the shop at a time, and the wearing of a mask is required.
So, if you want to visit the show room, make sure to visit our “Contact US” page on our store website and then call or email us to make your appointment.
Finally, some new kit news!
While the Corona virus continues on, the world is on fire, and I sit in the midst of a new city curfew… But, on the up side, there’s a lot of good news on the ship modeling scene.
European manufacturers have re-opened and shipments of kit and fittings have begun again, so the big online shops are able to restock. The main problem for them is the limited number of flights now, which is limiting shipments and making it extremely expensive. So, don’t be surprised if some prices creep upwards a little.
But, just as important are some nice new kit releases and new product line availability.
The first new news is a new wooden ship model kit from OcCre Model of Spain, the Polaris.
Now, may of you who have been building ship models for a while may recognize that this kit appears to be OcCre’s answer to…
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A twelfth installment on building the Billing Boats fishing boat Dana, by HSPMS member Clare Hess. At this point, the rigging has begun.
Topmast Backstays
If you look carefully at the plans you will see a line that runs from the top of the mainmast, down to the rail, aft of the three shrouds. This is the topmast backstay.
I’m using the next smaller size rigging line for this – as a general rule, the higher up you go on the model, the smaller the rigging line gets, at least for the standing rigging. Below is a scan of the rigging diagram. I marked the line with a red arrow.
The green arrow shows the attachment point of the stay to the rail. I believe the kit would just have you simply drill a hole here and run the line through it and glue it into place. That’s perfectly fine, but I have been adding eyebolts to the model, so that’s what I’m doing here.
The rail was drilled through, the eyebolt inserted and…
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This is a pretty interesting looking line of kits now available across the bay at Ages of Sail. Would love to see one of these at our monthly ship model meetings!
For fans of the Dutch sailing vessels of the 1600s, we’ve got some great news for you. Ages of Sail is now carrying the line of wooden ship model kits from Kolderstock. There are currently 5 kits available, all designed for the experienced ship modeler.
(All artwork provided by Kolderstok)
The aim of Kolderstok is to offer a high quality range of wooden model boat kits for ships not available elsewhere. Models of famous ships of the Dutch Golden Age, such as those belonging to the VOC (Dutch East India Company), but also ships famous for the great battles in which they served. Ships under the command of well-known names: Michiel de Ruyter, Marten Harpenszoon Tromp, Jan and Cornelis Evertsen and Adriaen Banckert. Kolderstok models are created using old images and existing models as guidelines, thus ensuring the best possible accuracy.
All kits feature laser-cut…
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It’s nice that the Nautical Research Guild Conference is going to be in California again this year. Hopefully, some of the Bay Area ship modelers will be attending.
Good news for Nautical Research Guild members in California. Today the NRG just announce that next conference will take place from October 15-17 at the Channel Islands Maritime Museum in Oxnard, CA.
It’s a bit of a small venue for the event, I think. But, the collection of models and marine art is wonderful.
For myself, my earliest years of ship modeling were associated with this museum. As I lived less than an hour away, I made many trips to look over the collection of models, my favorite being those made by the late Ed Marple.
I was even president of the model guild for a short time, but my service was cut short when I went back to school and had a shift in family life. I probably still know 3 or 4 people there, who I will hopefully see again, as I fully intend to go the conference…
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Ages of Sail posted some customer submitted photos of Caldercraft’s yacht Chatham. Pretty neat model, and at 1/64-scale, it’s only about 21″ long. This modeler clearly put some extra work into it.
I don’t know how this slipped past us. But, while cleaning up old emails, we discovered these photos sent to us by customer Shaun Au. The model is an incredibly well done model of H.M. Yacht Chatham built from the Caldercraft kit.
Caldercraft Yacht Chatham by Shaun Au
Clearly, the model was built by a ship modeler of great talent. But, it shows how beautifully one can build a relatively inexpensive wooden ship model kit.
The Yacht Chatham kit is part of Caldercraft’s Nelson’s Navy series, and all but one of the series (HMS Victory) is at a scale of 1:64. That makes this model just under 21″ long and about 18.5″ high.
Caldercraft Yacht Chatham by Shaun Au
The kit does not include sail material, nor does it provide any patterns or rigging materials. This ship modeler had worked out that part himself. Clearly, he’s done a marvelous job…
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