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Greetings All, Work on the second hull continued with the start of a first layer of planking. This time I used well saturated cardboard that was thinner than that used on the first hull. These planks were stiffer, but also much more brittle. I also changed things up a little by using a white card stock, also saturated with thinned poly varnish, to delineate the waterline. The following photos show this work in progress. One thing to note is that this time I did not fill in the bow and stern areas with solid card stock, not sure if it was a good idea or not, it make planking mu

I am trying to make some little sailors to sail the Hobie's and it is turning out to be more difficult than I thought. since they are so small. Oh well, thus the life of a bottled ship builder. I found some 2 part epoxy for this purpose and formed some 24 gauge wire to put the epoxy putty on. Obviously with anything new there is a learning curve so consequently, I have numerous partially done sailors that just wouldn't make the cut. I tried to pose them doing what they should be doing when they should be doing it but still a work in progress. I

Greetings Omni, Yes, twisting of the keel is a problem with any bulkhead type of model. I had previously made one in styrene plastic, but there I made the bottom of the keel, center piece, deeper than needed, and used a wooden board with a slot to keep it all straight. Patience, as I often tell people who comment on my models in person, is something you need when you are doing something you don't like, I LOVE what I do so time doesn't matter. Anchor's A Weigh! John

Have you thought of printing your own waterslide decals for the numbers. I've used this a couple of times for ship's names. A pack of A4 sheets is only about £5 in the UK. I get the right size by printing out different fonts and sizes on paper plus any other suitable detailing, cutting out and trying for size. When correct I print the decals, a couple of copies in case of mistakes. I still have about 4.5 sheets so its going to last. The windows and name on the Colvic Watson 28 SIB in the phot were made this way Alan

I've seen some of the modelers who scratch build from styrene use right angled metal blocks and magnets to hold the styrene sheet in place while the glue sets. It would probably work with card as well. Similarly, when I used to build balsa wood planes and boats years ago, pins hammered into the building board were used to keep things aligned until the glue set. Merry Christmas to all and wishing you a better New Year than the one we've had. Alan

Greetings All, Before continuing with this build article I would like to review some of what I've learned, and how it affects the work as it progresses. First of all I have learned that I need to soak/saturate the card stock from packaging much better. Originally I only used multiple painted coats of thinned poly varnish to do this work. I was only saturating the uncolored side, which is in effect sealed off by the printing. I have since learned to sand the colored side of the card stock, using 320 grit sandpaper and a small wood block, to roughen up the surface and remove as

Hey Everyone, excited to be joining this group! I have always had a fascination with ships in bottles and have finally decided to build one. My other modeling subjects mostly revolve around wooden ship models of various scales ranging from 1/48, 1/96, and 1/128. I am hoping I can leverage some of these skills on this endeavor. What are some resources people would recommend for a first time ship in bottle builder? Also, what are people's favorite places to buy bottles?

Welcome aboard bsmith. I sometimes buy bottles from charity shops.I think you call them thrift stores in the states. Quite often you can pick up a nice specimen for a few bucks. Other than that I get them from friends or else bottle banks. Resources, well first delve into this site for some great tips; perhaps invest in a ships in bottles book and then set about deciding what ship or boat you really want to make. Get drawings from books or the net and size them to fit your bottle. The internal size of your bottle will determine the scale of the model .A lot of tools can be home made

Finished up my sails, I probably made 8 or 10 between spraying the wrong colors, getting battens on too large, my dog actually ate my finished jib sail but all is well in the end. I ordered some numbers which arrived but I miscalculated and they are too large, so I've ordered more. While I wait, I turned my attention to the sea. I am going to try something different so these initial steps are just a test. I think it will be too difficult to create the ocean, or sea that appears the way I like because this Asbach bottle is so long. I got some acrylic modeling paste and smeared it on some waterc

I carved up an inflatable buoy to use as a race marker. I decided to change the color scheme so it looks a bit more realistic that these two would be racing. I cut the sails out of silkspan and taped them off, airbrushed some color on them. I decided to make battens by glueing some 40 gauge magnet wire onto silkspan strips corresponding with the color of the stripe, then glueing that on the sails.

I have re-done the "decks" numerous times with different materials and I am still a bit unhappy but I'm going to press ahead. I am actually waiting on a few materials to get mailed to me, but it is slowly coming along.

Hi-- thanks for adding me. I've been building all kinds of things for over 60 years; model planes, plastic model ships, musical instruments*, etc. I'm currently building a 1/64 Baltimore Clipper from the Pride of Baltimore II kit. I'm building it as a more generic Baltimore Clipper, leaving off all of the modern stuff like propellors,radar etc. The real Pride has a LOT of stuff on deck that would not have been on a real period ship. Much of that is for safety,which is terrific for the real ship but it makes for a much more cluttered deck than a real working Baltimore Clipper would have. I

Been a while since I've posted any of my work. Its been a bit tough to get to ships in bottles the last year or so. I've been studying and taking CPA exams but not passing them. They're no joke. So still fighting that fight. I'll get there. I also had an issue with pain in my thumb everytime I went to build. Probably from to much phone use plus model building putting a stain on my joints. So I've become more mindful of how do things. That seems to have helped. So now I'm trying to get back in the swing of things. I'm lucky to be working in healthcare in I have friends

Welcome! Finding bottles is a fun part of this hobby. I always keep an eye out in thrift stores and antique shops. Hobby stores have some pretty good ones as well. Most importantly though tell all your friends who drink that you build ships in bottles. They'll show up with a ton of bottles. Usually they'll ask if the bottles are good enough. I tell them if they aren't I'll throw them away for you. My friends have brought me some really good ones.

Worked the "sea" a bit.

Greetings Jeff, Well, thank you for the honor of being recognized! Sounds like a plan to me, it's all here so just a notice pointing to the ongoing article should work fine. And, yes, everyone is suffering from the CV-19 pandemic, it's not like my classic 60'-70's soft rock is all that popular except for the few older people like myself. Most of that work is practice to keep in shape and remember all the lyrics and chords, but do make a few music videos for my friends. Thanks for the honor! Anchor's A Weigh! John

I've been intrigued lately when viewing build logs on the NRG web site, among other places. Decided I would give it a try and see how it all works. I started by viewing the vast number of CAD ship plans I've developed over 40 years of modeling sailing vessels. I was interested in something fairly simply, but one I had enough information already drawn up in plans. I ended up settling on the clipper Flying Cloud. I drew up the plans 27 years ago for a ship in bottle model at 1:750 scale. For a card/paper model I decided on a scale of 1:350, making the hull slightly over 8" long.

Hey John very cool. Question would you be willing to summarize everything and put it into an article for the Bottled ShipWright Journal? Secondly, I would like to add you as an honorary member of the Journal. Are you okay with it? Jeff

Crew selection has been made.

Hi John. That is fascinating. I imagine that rolling the paper around the tube was quite difficult as the paper would have a tendency to slacken off at one end whilst being tight at the other. Sometimes when I roll paper it tends to skew because keeping it taut all round the centre is difficult. Looking great though John. Keep posting the pics, I love seeing them. Best wishes Bernard

Models like the Sicily take only a few hours to buid. Ones like the one pictured take a little longer. For anyone into Facebook, I have a group: Merchant Ships in Miniature - Link https://www.facebook.com/groups/1841532386133008 Over 4,000 members, and very active, with both sail and steam, but merchant ships only - Closed group, but one can apply to join. Many techniques are supplied by members almost on a daily basis-

Hello BrewerPaul I rarerly come here these days, because I am totally lacking in patience for things like ships in bottles, but do quite a lot of miniature work. As far as I know, there are no kits for miniatures, and this is about all that you will find written on the subject. https://payhip.com/b/T98k Scroll down a bit after it opens to read the synopsis. Then, if you wish to purchase a download, a button for Paypal or cards is provided for £1.49. Here is a Utube presentation of the build. This is as simple as they get, and very few hand tools are needed, especially if yo

I just learned the sad news. Terry Lynn Butler passed away on January 2nd. I don't have any more details than that but I'm saddened by the news. She was the information collector, editor and printer of the Bottled Shipwright for many years and worked hard to bring us the quarterly magazine. She was also a great mentor. She often answered a lot of my questions as I was getting started in ship in bottle building. I'm very sad to hear she passed away. As many of you may have known her too I thought I'd share the news.

Yes this is very sad news. I had the privilege to get to know Terry through email response/correspondence. She passed the baton on to myself for editing the ShipWright magazine etc. She will be missed. For this years edition I will try and put together a special remembrance edition in her honor. Jeff AKA Chasseur

Hey Jesse I trust your Christmas was good. Happy New Year to you and yours! Let’s hope and Pray 2021 is a better year.

Greetings All, The work on the card and paper clipper model continued with quite a few more sealing and sanding, with small amounts of Bondo. Once I had a decent hull I made up the keel, stem and stern posts out of multiple layers of board. After reading more online about card models I learned to saturate the card stock with thinned down poly varnish, in order to make it stiffer and less prone to fraying when sanding. It also made cutting a wee bit harder, but worth the effort as it shapes up nicer when saturated. I did this by using a large art paint brush an

That looks great!! Paper is an interesting method. I did one similar a long time ago and at a much smaller scale. Had a guy in our club show us how to make long boats with a wood mold. He put a bit of wax on the mold and placed paper over the top brushing it with water downed white glue. After it dried it could be removed from the mold and you'd have a hollowed out hull. I took the idea and made a version of the Queen Annes Revenge. The rigging wasn't great but the hull looked good. Having done a few minis since I should try it again. The part I found interesting was you need to b

Hi John. A couple of years ago, one of the members of the European Association of Ships in Bottles (EASIB) had an article published in Bottleship, EASIB's 1/4ly magazine on making SIB hulls from card and paper. This was to introduce young children to the art safely by only having to use scissors and not sharp blades. The technique was to make a card laminate hull, the 'layers' being cut to shape using reducing sizes of deck outline or hull lines and using PVA glue to stick and harden. This block when dry could be sanded to final shape and drilled as required for masts, etc. Photographic

Continuing on with my card/paper Flying Cloud model build. The next step was to fill in between bulkheads and keel at the bow and stern with layers of board cut to fit as I added them. Photos below shows the results after cutting and shaping them a bit, and applying CA glue to harden them. I also started sanding the bulkheads edges to fair in the hull shape. What I found was that in many places the weaker inner parts of the board would splay the outer harder parts outward as I sanded. I continued sanding and fairing the hull, had to apply CA glue between each sanding session.

Welcome to the group!

I wouldn't want to meet them on a dark night tho'. 😁

Wow!! I absolutely love that build. Very, very nice. Never thought of veneer but it looks superb, as does the translucent sail. The plans, layout, detail work on your mast, boom, vang, roller furling etc. are really so convincing on such a difficult scale. It's so inspiring to see what real artists can do. Gives one something to shoot for. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks Moab, Just started yesterday, but already found out if the basic form is there on day 1 (the epoxy hardens a little quick for me) It's easier to add detail on day 2 because the basic form is hardened, and doesn't move when you add on a bit here and there. I also pulled this old moveable figure guy from a dusty closet and posed him the way I want the sailor to be, then try and bend the wire to the proportions of moveable guy. Challenging but I am finding it an enjoyable endeavor.

Greetings Bernard, I use both hand when rolling the paper around the tube, one near each end, but also move them into the middle occasionally. When it start going ascrew, I loosen it up just a wee bit and correct it as I reroll the paper. Thanks for the comment, I do try! <Grin> Anchor's A Weigh! John Fox III

Greetings Mikey, Had that happen a few times in all the models I have built. My solution was to break the bottle, carefully, remove the model, then fix it all up. I would then buy or build a small case for the finished model. Not the ship in bottle I intended, but it saved all that work and still made for a nice model presentation. Anchor's A Weigh! John Fox III

Hi All, After the debacle of getting all the lines tangled inside the bottle, I was able to remove the mizzen mast without damage. However, by that stage, I had lines caught around anything in the bottle that could trap a piece of string, from the yards on the sprite, to the flagpole at the transom, including the cannons, gunnels, ships wheel, anything on deck! So I spent a month trying to straighten things out, I made up pokey tools, hooky tools, pushy and pully tools, all to no avail! The boat hull is still firmly glued inside the bottle! Then little bits and pie

Trial and error on my "deck" or trampoline. I first tried to paint some silk-span black and make the deck from it but it would tear and I couldn't make the line look consistent where it laces together. After noodling around for a couple days, I scrapped that idea and went with cardboard. It is more stiff and able to handle the thread being pulled taught. Had to take a couple days off to set up a hockey rink in our backyard as there appeared to be a long cold snap coming, only for Mother Nature to warm things just enough to make the neighborhood kids wait until Chri

A piece of thinner cardboard was then soaked in a bath of maple stain, to saturate it completely and evenly with color. I had tried just brushing stain on the board first, but the colorization was too uneven. Lines were then drawn on the board, spaced 1/32" apart, and the thin board templates used to trace the shape of the decks onto the stained board. These were cut out and tested to fit in their places, but not glued down yet. I also traced the outside edges of the main, lower, deck onto a non-lined area of the stained board and cut waterways for the hull. Following photos show some of this

Greetings All, The work on the hull progressed by sanding down all the planking, to get as smooth and fair a surface as I could. I sanded, then applied poly varnish thinned 50/50 with paint thinner until it no longer soaked in. Waited for the varnish to dry, then sanded again. I repeated this process many times. While sanding I could see areas where the planks pushed inwards slightly, and small gaps in the finish. I used Bondo glazing and spot putty, applied with a stiff piece of styrene plastic, to cover the gaps and low spots. Again, after Bondo dried the hull was sealed and sanded. I d

Greetings Bernard, Thanks! And, yes, it is fiddly for sure. Because this was an experiment, I did not photograph the really fiddly parts, like cutting all the bulkheads and such. I am already working on an improved plan, and have photographed all the bulkheads and other pieces, but that is all for future posts. Anchor's A Weigh! John Fox III

I have also made these paper and card hulls for many years using similar items as John but download ship plans/drawings from the internet and then resize them through Photoshop to a scale that I need for a particular bottle. I don't do this for every model as it is very time consuming and rather tedious but its just to give an idea of what the shape of a hull should look like. In the photo l-r Mayflower,PT109,Black Pearl.

She's Launched!!!! It's been a while since I've been here, but slowly bits have come together. There is a photo of the ship, rigged, (almost), sitting on the table, one of my launching tool,(launch ramp??),which is modelled after the Amarti tool I used for Hannah, and one of her in the bottle, with the air pump going to get rid of any fumes from the glue. I have the mast handling tool sorted out, it seems to work on the dummy runs, and a few suitable Swann Morton blades in the post, due very soon, which clip onto an extended handle. Now I just have to rig her! Cheers

I have to disagree that mini ships in bottles are easy. Most of the miniatures I decide to build are in bottles with bottlenecks that measure 2.0mm and smaller

This is looking fun and really coming together. Great job.

Fair enough John, yeah no commitment as an honorary member whatsoever. I just want to recognize you and your past and present involvement. As far as an article, I can just create a small submission on BSW and then link it back to here for any updates etc. Your suggestion makes sense. Too bad about your business as everyone is suffering these days due to CV-19.

Gosh exwafoo, I hadn't even thought of that but that's a great idea. I am going to check into that for sure. Thank you! What a beautiful little trawler!!

That's coming out really nice. The silk screen looks good.

Picked up some bamboo skewers. The difference from regular wooden dowels is amazing, the bamboo is so incredibly strong. Playing with ideas of how to "peg" it together once through the mouth of the bottle.

Medway Queen,heroine of Dunkirk (1940) where she rescued 7000 allied troops from the beaches. Here she is in post war livery. Now a museum paddle ship in Gillingham,Kent,England.

I’m always late to the party This is 43 AWG copper wire, anodized dark brown.