Christmas Present

[Shipbuilder]

I got a ship in a bottle from my sister-in-law for Christmas.    Commercially made, and quite small.   Fairly attractive, but very basic.

Not something I would ever attempt myself.   Too much in the way of detail and accuracy has to be sacrificed to put a ship in a bottle - hence my regular absence from this site.    Even my cased miniatures rarely get a casual glance if I exhibit them anywhere these days - I guess the modern generation has moved beyond  ship models (or "boats" as they seem to prefer calling them🙄   

Even here, on a specialized forum, not a great deal seems to be going on.

Anyway - Merry Christmas to you all!  

 

 

[Onni]

Even us ‘ship in bottler’s ‘need a holiday sometimes  hence the lull in our output!

Happy and safe New Year!

[Shipbuilder]

Virtually nothing has been happening here for months - I guess I am just too impatient for my own good!☹️

[tazam0827]

Alas tis true, it's been slow on here, myself included.  Perhaps other forums (Facebook etc) syphons off some activity.  

As to the waning interest in "model boats", as think as the older generation that was exposed to the golden days of ocean liners and ocean warfare leaves us, the younger generation is only really exposed to the big cruise ships and container ships, which aren't that romantic.  

 

Edited January 17, 2022 by tazam0827

[Shipbuilder]

With ship modelling, we are not stuck in any age though.     We can build whatever we want.    I personally find warships rather boring, as one battle is pretty much the same as another.    Merchant ships come in all shapes, colours and sizes from a few tons to more than quarter of a million tons, and life board always held variety, adventure and drama.     My facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1841532386133008/members

Has 4,699 members and is very active with all sorts of merchant ship models being displayed on a regular basis.

I do look in in here quite often, but next to nothing seems to be happening.   

I know a lot of modellers find the merchant navy boring, but the group seems to be attracting enthusiasts from all over the world -   All these models by myself -  

   

[tazam0827]

Wow, that is fantastic work.  The precision, the attention to detail, the beauty, are all amazing.  And at such a small scale! I could look at those for hours.  Just a rough guess, how many hours would you put into an average model?  200, 500, 1000 hours?

[Shipbuilder]

Thanks - Nowhere near that amount of time - I have very little patience.   

Gorsefiield - 60 hours      Melbourne Star - ?     Preussen - 117 hours

Primrose Hill -   66 hours   Braemar Castle - 69 hours    Miss Morris - 37 hours

I can't find the records for Melbourne Star!

Each build spread over a few weeks.    Completely scratchbuilt.    At the local ship model society, they hardly get a casual glance,. so I stopped taking them.   Just take a photograph these days.    Probably because they are not warships.   Collectors cannot get enough of them, but I do not take private commissions.   I just build what I feel like.     I time the builds on a stopwatch, and if I stop for any reason, I stop the watch, so the times are accurate.

 

 

[JesseLee]

On 12/26/2021 at 3:25 AM, Shipbuilder said:

Virtually nothing has been happening here for months - I guess I am just too impatient for my own good!☹️

Although I haven't had a build in a while I do check in here every morning even if I don't leave any comments. There is something I like about a smaller group even through the slow time periods. It is more personal and friendly here. In a much larger forum I am a member of it can get so overwhelming with so many people and sections it is impossible to keep up with it all. The administration of it can get rather strict and impersonal. People there form clicks and some who think of themselves as advanced builders can make less advanced builders feel "not up to par". You don't really get that negative stuff here much at all. I am permanently disabled from a chronic illness and not much cheers me up now days but this forum does- even during the down times.

 

Jesse

[tazam0827]

20 hours ago, Shipbuilder said:

Thanks - Nowhere near that amount of time - I have very little patience.   

Gorsefiield - 60 hours      Melbourne Star - ?     Preussen - 117 hours

Primrose Hill -   66 hours   Braemar Castle - 69 hours    Miss Morris - 37 hours

I can't find the records for Melbourne Star!

Each build spread over a few weeks.    Completely scratchbuilt.    At the local ship model society, they hardly get a casual glance,. so I stopped taking them.   Just take a photograph these days.    Probably because they are not warships.   Collectors cannot get enough of them, but I do not take private commissions.   I just build what I feel like.     I time the builds on a stopwatch, and if I stop for any reason, I stop the watch, so the times are accurate.

 

 

I find it amazing that your builds are so efficient.  That's the same time it takes me to make a crude ship in bottle with a fraction of the detail and finish as your models.  Well done!

[Shipbuilder]

Thanks - I am not of a suitable temprement to build SIBS - Too much in the way if accuracy  has got to be sacrificed to get them in the bottle.    And certainly not enough is going on here to hold my attention.     Also, I lack patience and like to get things done quickly.