Ship Model Building

In Ship Modeling Simplified, master model builder Frank Mastini puts to paper the methods he's developed over 30 years at the workbench to help novices take their first steps in an exciting pastime. You don't need the deftness of a surgeon or the vocabulary of an old salt to build a model. What you need is an understanding coach. Mastini leads readers from the mysteries of choosing a kit and setting up a workshop through deciphering complicated instructions and on to painting, decorating, and displaying finished models--with patience and clarity, not condescension. He reveals dozens of shortcuts: How to plank a hull "egg-shell tight"; how to build and rig complicated mast assmeblies without profanity; how to create sails that look like sails. . . . And along the way he points out things that beginners usually do wrong--beforehand, not after they've taken hammers to their projects. Ship Modeling Simplified even includes an Italian-English dictionary of nautical terms, the key to assembling the many high-quality Italian kits on the American market. Model building is fun, and not nearly as difficult as some experts would have you believe. Here is everything you'll ever need to get started in a hobby that will last a lifetime.

The United States and Europe. Whether you're a beginner or an expert, and whether you have hours to spend on a project or years, you'll find money- and time-saving ideas on every page. Book jacket.

The 'plank-on-frame' method is the pre-eminent ship modelling technique, which nearly all model shipwrights aspire to: this practical manual is the foremost guide to its intricacies. Taking as his example the two-masted sloop Cruiser of 1752, the author leads the reader through every stage of building a model of the vessel, from preliminary research and taking off lines to the actual construction of the hull and fittings, and its masting and rigging. Each clear, step-by-step stage is described in the text and illustrated with explanatory line drawings and photographs. Though a single ship is employed as an example, the techniques can equally well be applied to any wooden sailing ship. Since original publication in 1994 this volume has established itself as the standard work of reference for model hull construction and is indispensable for modelmakers who pride themselves on an accurate, elegant scratch-built technique.

Easy-to-learn techniques, arranged in order of difficulty, range from relatively simple models to complicated square-riggers. Starting with the construction of a half-hull ship model, the book advances to a whole-hull model and replicas of twelve vessels, with separate chapters on rigging, gear and furniture, and tools and materials.

A highly detailed, superbly illustrated manual introducing serious model builders to hand-crafting ship models from the bottom up. Not for beginners. 133 illustrations.

This vintage book is a complete guide to designing and building model boats, with information on tools and equipment, rigging, fitting engines, and many other related aspects. Profusely illustrated and highly accessible, this book is ideal for those with little previous experience, and would make for a fantastic addition to collections of allied literature. Contents include: “Building Model Yachts”, “Rigging and Sailing Model Yachts”, “Making and Fitting Simple Model Boats”, “Building a Model Atlantic Liner”, “Vertical Engine for a Model Launch”, “Model Launch Engine with Reversing Gear”, and “Making a Show Case for a Model Boat”. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on model building.

Clearly written text, detailed illustrations, and full-size working plans provide novices and experienced model builders with all the information they need to create exact replicas of two 19th-century sailing ships—the Benjamin F. Packard, a classic American clipper, and the Alice Mandell, a famous whaler. The one-volume edition of two rare model-building manuals also devotes chapters to ship’s rigging (ancient and modern) and abundant information on clippers and old-time whaling ships. A treasury of essential information for hobbyists, model builders, and devotees of the great age of sail.