Amati Swedish Gunboat Build – Part 6

Posted on November 9, 2017 by catopower

Member Clare Hess posts his latest update on building (and modifying) Amati’s Swedish Gunboat kit. This is a small, inexpensive kit that is short on instructions. Not ideal for beginners, but a nice kit for experienced ship modelers looking for a simple project.

Ship Modeler

Following our meeting in October, it was clear it was time to finish up the Swedish Gunboat build. We’re down to three active builders of this model from the five that started, which isn’t too bad. One of our builders decided to finish his up as a gift for someone, and the other is a beginning ship modeler who is anxious to get to his next project. I’m also ready to have a project actually reach completion.

Rigging and Sails

I shaped the masts and the two lugsail yards some time back. I originally added a ball to the tops of the masts as shown on the kit plans, but replaced them with a thinner pole after looking at the photos of the museum model. The presence of the pole creates a shoulder at the top of the mast, that helps secure the shrouds and stays. While modifying the masts…

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October Meeting Postponed One Week

Posted on October 21, 2017 by catopower

Today was supposed to be the regularly scheduled meeting of the Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwrights. However, due to injuries and other issues among several members, we decided it best to postpone the meeting for one week. That puts the October meeting on Saturday, October 28th, at our usual 9:30am time.

Member of the Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwrights were emailed the announcement yesterday. Hopefully, they checked their email and didn’t waste a trip.

So, next week, we’ll check in on Paul Reck’s progress on his scratch built model of the 1776 American gunboat Philadelphia based on plans from the Smithsonian. We’ll also be discussing plans for a proposed holiday party, which is something of a replacement for our annual barbecue, which didn’t pan out this year.

Hope to see you there!

Beautiful Corel Wasa Build

Posted on September 28, 2017 by catopower

Ages of Sail just shared some photos of a beautiful build of the early 17th century Swedish warship Wasa, built by a ship modeler on the forum Model Ship World.

Ages of Sail

There’s a lot of great ship modeling work that’s available to view on the Internet. Here’s a really beautifully done model of the Swedish warship Wasa (or Vasa) based on a kit from the popular Italian manufacturer, Corel.

The 1/75-scale model was built by ship modeler Frank Moda, Jr. and completed last year.

Mr. Moda enhanced the look of the model with the use of gold leaf, making his model look like a treasure piece. He also made use of some after-market parts to further enhance his work, though as you can see, his work really doesn’t need any enhancing.

Rigged with a suite of flying sails and furled sails, this model is a real masterpiece.

Corel kits can be a real challenge, and the Wasa is one of the most complicated of them all. You need to be good at reading plans to take this model on. Don’t expect…

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The Passing of a Ship Modeler: Milton DeGroot

Posted on September 27, 2017 by catopower

Honoring our fellow ship modelers seems like a good thing to do. Here’s a note about a local ship modeler from the East Bay who passed away earlier this year.

Ship Modeler

Having been an active ship modeler for about 25 years and having been involved in clubs, online forums, and such, it is an unfortunate aspect of being part of the ship modeling community to see so many friends and fellow modelers depart. This is particularly true in ship modeling, since so many of us don’t become extremely active in the hobby until after retirement.

Recently, I learned that fellow ship modeler Milton DeGroot, someone that I had spoken with on the phone a couple years ago but never had a chance to meet, had passed away. I had heard through my connection with Ages of Sail about his passing, so I volunteered to help collect together some of his collection of wood and fittings to take to a local ship model club meeting. Visiting his home, I had a chance to meet a couple members of his family and to…

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HSPMS on Japanese Ship Modeling Society’s Website

Posted on September 9, 2017 by catopower

Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwrights has achieved international recognition! We’re now listed on the Overseas Modeling Clubs page of the website of the Japanese ship modeling society, The Rope. We are one of 5 organizations listed, along with the NRG, the SMA, the Midwest Model Shipwrights, and the San Diego Ship Modelers’ Guild.

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The Rope: Photo Gallery of the 42nd Exhibition 2017

Posted on September 3, 2017 by catopower

There are some very nice photos of the works of the members of the Japanese ship model society, The Rope, from their 42nd Exhibition, which took place this past Spring, as well as from some of their earlier exhibitions. For this and more, read on…

Ship Modeler

The Japanese ship model society, The Rope, has a marvelous website that includes a Gallery of photos of each of their annual exhibitions for the last 8 years and beyond. If you’re a ship modeler, you’ll find some wonderfully inspiring work. But, beware, you might also see some models that will destroy your ego, make you crawl into a corner, and want to take up knitting.

Here’s a link to the 42nd Exhibition held earlier this year: https://www.theropetokyo.org/展示会作品集/第42回展-2017年/第42回展-1-4/#42-03

If you don’t read Japanese, you can find links to other exhibitions, download copies of their newsletter on their English language section here: https://theropetokyo-en.jimdo.com

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Photos from the 2017 Alma Sail

Posted on September 3, 2017 by catopower

Finally got around to posting some photos from this year’s club sail aboard the historic scow schooner Alma. This event took place on Thursday, August 3, 2017.