Jim Goodwin

Excellent work! Fantastic detail. Enjoyed seeing your progress.

The earliest tugboat was built in Scotland around 1802 and used for river traffic. They advanced since that time. During conflict periods, such as the Civil War of 1861-65, many tugs were armed with a bow & stern gun. Often many small schooners were converted to a tug. The design we associate with a tugboat, typified by Tugboat Annie film, has been around since the 1840's.

What bottle will this piece go in to ?

An interesting note about the sunken Alabama...it is a shared historic site, and Perrier bottles and golf balls have been found on her deck

A note about historic flags: the Alabama when launched carried the 1st National Confederate flag (Stars & Bars ). Not many folks can identify this flag I have observed. Later the 'Bama carried the 2nd National & Naval Jack which has the noted Battle Banner. I only make Confederate vessels upon request now and do not display them at art shows I attend. Given the association and controversy of the Battle Banner with current groups presently, it is the modeler's choice on what flag the vessel should bear. What one person finds offensive, another may find historically accurate. Certainly modelers striving for historical accuracy these days have a delima in view of our evolving culture. Still, the Alabama has a neat design and is a challenging build for a bottle. Cheers, Jim

A note about historic flags: the Alabama when launched carried the 1st National Confederate flag (Stars & Bars ). Not many folks can identify this flag I have observed. Later the 'Bama carried the 2nd National & Naval Jack which has the noted Battle Banner. I only make Confederate vessels upon request now and do not display them at art shows I attend. Given the association and controversy of the Battle Banner with current groups presently, it is the modeler's choice on what flag the vessel should bear. What one person finds offensive, another may find historically accurate. Certainly modelers striving for historical accuracy these days have a delima in view of our evolving culture. Still, the Alabama has a neat design and is a challenging build for a bottle. Cheers, Jim

Have made this vessel numerous times...and one for a descendant of Capt. Semmes. Looking forward to seeing your log on her.

A champion build in a small bottle ! Very inspiring. Both versions( w/ star background and ship alone) are marvelous.

A hopefully helpful suggestion: try a mortise and tenon joint on the nacell struts. That may help control the strut angle.

Jeff, Yes, staying in NC, bUT can see SC from the new place...moving only 18 miles from the present house. Yet a move is a move, and we have been downsizing.

Great start! Looking forward to your building log and going into a small bottle. Have been wanting to build the Trek Enterprise myself, but cannot find a bottle able to hold Capt. Kirk's ego. Folding the saucer is the way to go . Have a diorama in mind of having the history of the Enterprise from schooner, brig, aircraft carrier to space crafts. Since my shop is boxed up for an upcoming homestead move, that project and others, are on hold. Fair Winds, Jim

Like Alan, most of the plans I use come from books. I typically photocopy them to the scale I want to build. Howard Chapelle books are good and can be found on ebay and often used book stores. Cheers Jim

Daniel is correct that it is tough to sell model ships these days. One problem is the size for many home owners. Smaller is better. Museums are often interested, yet most do not have the finances to pay one for actual time & expenses. Have recently sold some to museums and was glad to do so since they will be viewed by the public. Donating pieces for museum fundraisers is good for the museums and gets one exposure... though with tax deductions of created art, one can only take off the materials (a different rant altogether ). We make models for personal challenges and enjoyment. Having an actual sale of our work is a bonus.

A museum in Hartford, CT contacted me about doing a sib demonstration. Since I am in the Carolinas, it is not feasible. So I am sending an inquiry to any bottle shipwrights in the New England area to see if there would be interested in doing a demonstration. Though the museum's budget is limited, they do have funds for local travel and demonstration fee. Time/date for the demo is fexible. If you are interested, please personal message me and I will forward your contact info to the museum's coordinator.

It is an informative video...provided you can get past the dumb jokes & bad puns. Have attached the link to that show below. Do not think that it is shared on this forum. https://video.unctv.org/video/woodwrights-shop-ship-bottle/

That has been a good episode on the Woodwright's Shop devoted to the bottled ship art. Met him at the NC Wooden Boat Show. For some odd reason, he wanted the bottle to be MD 20-20. Twas fun working with Roy on that and at his folk school.

This is a heads up for those that sell their work over the Internet on a personal or your business website. Scammers are targeting artists and craftspeople I typically accept payment card info over the phone though sometimes take a check by mail. This past week I had a situation that just did not feel right and emails from the customer had inconsistencies. I had the sense to go to my bank and see if their check was valid. It was indeed a stolen check from a lawyers firm in Springfield, MA. The person claimed she was moving from Georgia to Canada and would include additional funds for the shippers. The additional amount was $3000. They communicated that they desired $2k to go into a Zelle Payment account. Have not communicated with these scammers since I filed the FBI report. Tis a shame that this occurs.

With Napoleonic POW bone ship models...essentially one prisoner started making a model ship. A French guard saw the piece, then told his officer. The officer informed someone higher up, then formed sweat shops to produce models for the elites ( that were not suppose to exist with the Equality, Fraternity, & Liberty movement ). Very detailed pieces many of the models are. Most made by seamen. In some, one could see the furniture and guns through the aft cabin windows. Most hulls were about 18" (+/-) long. Most of the rigging was originally done with horse hair. Have thought that nice subplot in a Napoleonic War era novel would have a POW model ship used to deliver messages and battle plans.

Couldn't tell if it is faded blue or faded black...though the bar color sequence was the key. Thanks for sharing this unique piece. May want to investigate German-built clippers, though as mentioned, many were purchased from other countries.

The black white red flag looks like the German merchant used from 1860-1900 (Wikipedia search ) . Russian for that period is white blue red. The bottle looks like an old wine based on the large punt for collecting sediment...though late 1800 scotch bottles had a minor punt. With the air bubbles in the glass, bottle is most likely late-1800's. Historically, numerous clipper ships for Hamburg-based companies were built in England and Scotland with many having iron hulls. In addition to trade, many Hamburg vessels were immigrant ships to America. A very old piece, Daniel , probably made pre-1900. WOW !!!

My generalization of cork-type bottles is perhaps erroneous, though based on the POW samples that I have viewed. Certainly any bottle available would had been used. Thanks for supplying the beautiful example of a mid-20th century European-style bottle. Like the high luster glaze on the mountain. The bottle looks like a medicine or extract bottle. Unlike the POW's of the Napoleonic Wars who made bone ship models in French prison sweatshops, the WWI & WWII POW sibs were made by individuals.

To add some items to Daniel's post... 1) Early to Mid-20th Century European Style: Most of these are dioramas with village and seaside scenes. There are very detailed. Also, some European artists painted the inside of the bottle with sky and clouds. Often these were painted with an egg-base medium which will flake over time & UV exposure. 2) Prisoner of War bottles: Axis power prisoners camped in England, Canada, and the US often made bottled art for luxury items exchange. These pieces were often done in the European style mentioned above. The bottles used were mainly corked so no screw top threading. Often the artist would inscribe them...where they were, and who they were. If it is documented, the POW bottles are very valuable...have seen a few ranging from $600 - $1000. 3) String work and rope work: This enhances the piece/value. The header bottle is a great example of a macramé weave graced with a turk's knot. Some string work, like the coach whip handle weave, is very time consuming ( personal testimony), though the chevron pattern looks great on the neck. The cord can also be used to date the piece. Polyester came into main use during the mid 1940's. 4) Right handed verses left-handed artists: ( "He has a sinister hand"...Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet ). Right-handed artist will have the vessel sailing to the bottle neck to the right. For left-handed artists, it is to the left. I have encounter a few pieces that were made by a left-handed artists. It is open to debate it the value of a left-handed artist is more/equal to a right-handed person. Though in appraising a bottle, it should be noted.

Started making plastic models as a kid. The silver age types...Aurora, Pyro, & Airfix were my favorite. My sketchbook was filled with ships and seascapes. At Boy Scout camp, got into wood carving with the handi-dandi-cut-yourself multi-bladed knife I got at the trading post. Shortly after that, I acquired the First Aid Merit Badge. Got out of models in high school then picked up wooden kits while in the oil field...worked on RC sailing schooners & some static pieces. Launched my first RC schooner in an Oklahoma cow pond where dozens of water snakes came up from the deep to see what was on the surface. Took a break from ships & carved about 100 decoys which I sold. Returned to making ships & one, the 1807 Hornet, was accepted into the 200th Constitution model show. Have made several models for museums since then. An artist friend suggested that I try a ship in bottle, so I read two books and got hooked. Sold to a gallery on the Outer Banks and then discovered art shows & maritime festivals. Am thankful for the various museums support over the years. In preserving this art, one has to learn glass. That in itself is just a interesting. The ions in the silica mixture will give the glass color, and Uranium will yield yellow to orange...and it is still hot ! Am slowing down now due to family genes ( if Mom & Dad wanted to give me something, a T-shirt would had been dandy !!! ). Still have numerous vessels to build both in and out of the bottle. Often I ponder, as perhaps others have, if the affinity with ships and sailing is a past-life carryover. Cheers & Fair Winds, Jim

WOW ! Really neat. Just looked this up on Ebay. Lowest is $100. Addar Productions, former Aurora, came out with several bottled scene of The Planet of the Apes as well as some ships.

Greetings All, I was just contacted by an individual whose company makes Lift Boats in Southern Louisiana. He is looking for a person to make 1:175 scale models for a customer in North Africa. Talking about 25-30 of them. Detail is needed on these commissions. Plans will be provided So what is a lift boat? It is like an oil field platform...three legs, cranes, helipad, bridge/crew quarters. Worked on some back in my younger days. If anyone is interested, just personal message me. This looks like a long time commission where good money will be made.