Model ship building with Ian Matthews - Keep On Sailing classic!!!

[cb123]

Just finished up on the KMS Scharnhorst waterline model and she's ready to go into the cabinet. If anyone else is a model enthusiast, please, post some of your work, love to see it! I found a great video with Ian Matthews' ( 1974 ) classic hit, Keep On Sailing...beautiful, beautiful song!!! 

 

[cb123]

Just got my eBay hands on a 1982,  Klaus Doldinger ( Das Boot ) LP in near mint condition! Fantastic movie; fantastic soundtrack! Roll your windows up, it's going to be a Fireboat drill!!!

 

[tolivac]

Have the moive on DVD-EXCELLENT--When I watch this--feel like I am REALLY in the German sub!!!

 

[d-jones]

I used to be an avid model builder, but to be honest it's been more than ten years since I took on a new project. When I was still active the majority of the kits I built were WWII era tanks, and most of them were German. But I did build a waterline model of the Tirpitz many years ago. It's still sitting on a shelf somewhere out in my parents garage. If you're interested I'll get a few photos of it next time I'm there. I like details, so even though I love the look of the larger Capital ships(most of them have such beautiful symetry to their lines), doing one properly would require a larger scale model which I simply haven't got the space for, so for the most part I stick to armor. Just for grins, here are a few photos of some tanks I built many years ago. I was playing around with a camera that had a really tiny lens to see if it would help create the illusion of a much more substantial vehicle. It worked pretty well I thought, though it probably would have helped if I'd taken the time to dust them off first.

 

[cb123]

d-jones, picture 2 and 3 appear to be a Panzer 7, fantastic job! Here's some photos of the Battleship Tirpitz. Many thanks again for showing your terrific work!

 

[cb123]

tolivac!

It's not only one of my favorite movies, it's now one of my most favorite LP's...awesome!!!

 

[d-jones]

Calem

Nice looking Tirpitz. I see it's 1/700th scale. Would you happen to know what scale the waterline kits are? It's been so long since I built one that I don't remember anymore. I do recall that there was a 1/350th scale bismark kit available, perhaps it still is, but what a shelf hog that would be. I think I recall it being about three feet long. Anyways, here's mine. It's been so long since I put this together that I honestly can't say whether or not I even finished it. Somehow in looking it over I don't think I did.

 

[d-jones]

Here are a couple U-Boats I built about twenty years ago, maybe more. Unfortunately both have been damaged. One lost its cables, the other lost its periscopes. Thankfully I still have them so they can be reinstalled at some point. Each one is about a foot long.

 

[d-jones]

Here's a handfull 1/72nd scale WWI aircraft that I put together years ago. Unfortunately the decals seem to be failing. Late war WWI aircraft are one of my favorite subjects because of the variety of designs and crazy color schemes.

 

[cb123]

David

Fantastic color scheme and fantastic modeling! I think pretty much all of the waterlines are 1:700 scale, if I'm not mistaking.  Here's the CSS Arkansas. This one is made of wood, with the exception of the chains, screws, and anchors. I took the liberty of using the western battle flag or Polk's flag as used by Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston.

 

[d-jones]

I really like wooden ship models, but they require an aditional set of skills not generally needed for their plastic counterparts. I've only attempted one in my life. It's a nicely detailed solid wooden hulled model of the legendary English clipper ship Thermopylae. Americans may have invented the clipper ship, but english ship builders took the concept and made some significant improvements to it, creating some of the most beautiful ships that ever sailed in the process. In the case of my model, I built it exactly per the instructions until I got to the part where the masts are supposed to be installed and hit a major road block. The hull was not pre drilled for the three masts, so I need to drill these holes myself, and each one needs to lean aft by a very specific number of degrees without leaning to the left or right at all. For the life of me I can't figure out how I'm supposed to accomplish that without a drill press(which I don't have), so progress came to a screeching halt about twentyfive years ago. Then I got interested in other things and just never got back to it. I keep telling myself I will, but so far........well, you get the idea.

Was your CSS Arkansas scratch built or was it a kit? I've thought of trying my hand at scratch building, but so far that's as far as it's gone.

I looked up that Tirpitz kit I was thinking of. It turns out it's made by Tamiya in 1/350th scale and measures in at about 30 inches. So it's shorter than I thought, but still a monster of a plastic ship model. Maybe one day.

Thanks for the compliments on the photos I posted. It's always fun to share ones models with others that appreciate them. I can see from the photos you provided that you've built quite a few models. Do these represent a recent interest or have you built this collection up over time?

 

[cb123]

No, it was all self-inflicted! I make them out of solid wood. Here's the CSS David, one of the first torpedo boats.  

 

[cb123]

Here's the CSS Fredericksburg.

 

[cb123]

This is the CSS Gov. Moore. It was a cotton-clad which served in the Mississippi river squadron. I always liked how the walking-engines looked. 

 

[cb123]

Here's the CSS Manassas, which also formed part of the Mississippi river squadron. I once had a CSS Tennessee, but I donated it to Fort Gaines last year. 

 

[cb123]

David,

I found this on YouTube, it has some pretty spectacular stock footage of U-boats in action. Its music score is " Wolf Pack " preformed by Sabaton.    

[this post was last edited: 1/26/2015-20:59]