All Activity

I forgot to upload this pic of an old lightship sailor made model,I received this model many years ago,I have no idea of its age it has a pennant on the mizen mast with a red outline and the word ROSARIO printed in pencil also on fore and main masts are flags but are so faded I am unable to be sure of the colours,the ship has come loose from its bed of what looks like the old horses hoof made glue and the hull is lamp black on the outside and inside the hull is matt paint which was called brown adma. I would be grateful if anyone could throw some light on this model,it has a cork in the neck which at one time had been covered in red sealing wax which has now become very discoloured wih age

I have been looking at the topic when ships were first put in bottles.I joined the lightship Tongue in Jan Feb 19-75 and was told by my lightship master when talking about this that lightshipmen had been putting ships in bottles for a good 200 or so years the first manned lightship was the Nore in 17-31,and what better position to be in to observe the many types of sailing craft than being swung around an anchor for 6 weeks at a time,at the time I joined we did 4 weeks on and 4 off,and was told that many lightsmen supplemented their income by putting ships in bottles,sadly with the advent of TV aboard the ships in about early 60s the hobby rapidly declined,and when I started on what was called the south relief there was only one other lightsman making them he also made them for sale and he never deviated from 1 type of model he must have made scores of them all the same over the years,as when I joined he was nearing retirement,on the lightship you had lots of time on your hands.There was one well known pub in Harwich which had a model of every lightship in round gallon bottles and I believe they were made by the same lightsman over the years the models sat on a high shelf around the bar.

I am deviating slightly from the book, however I want to utilize the techniques within' for the majority of the build. Deviations are primarily for historical accuracy. I am going to try not to overthink too much, as I sometimes get lost in the tiny details, rather than producing a realistic facsimile of the ship overall. I have misplaced my pin vise and while I wait for a new one's arrival I have fashioned the basic hull shape, shaved some bulwarks, the bowsprit, a capstan, windlass, cats head timbers and a bit of planking in the fore. I don't know about anyone else, but I am pretty good at consistently creating a huge mess, just to produce a miniscule piece.

Welcome R Johns! There is nothing quite like looking at your first SIB completed. You already have modeling experience so this should be a smooth transition for you. Would love to see you do a build log here when you get started. Jesse

Welcome!

Up to a couple of years ago all my modelling has been railway related. Wanting to do something new I have been building some wood ships and nautical wood kits. Being from Portsmouth and also living in Plymouth and working in the dockyards, all things nautical have also been an interest of mine. Now, having run out of wall space, and the smallest wood ships being about two foot long and not forgetting the height of the masts, I have decided to give ships in bottles a go as I can get more of my completed work on display.

J.L.Runeberg,Porvoo,Finland.