Vol. 64, No. 4 winter 2019 326


9. A midship view of the in-progress model. T e lengthy and elegant bulwark railings presented an assembly alignment challenge. T e pre-scribed decking sheets provided in the kit present a scale- accurate and authentic look to the entire deck including the roofs of the deckhouses.


T e Down East schooner: an out-of-the-box build (with a few extras)


Despite the fact that my project was an unusual commission in that much of the detail would eventually go unnoticed, I decided I would build it like any other ship model with proper attention to the detail and accuracy the (expensive) kit demands.


The kit’s long plank-on-bulkhead keel former features an adequate number of bulkheads that provide a nice even run for basswood hull planking. Balsa fi ller blocks at the stem and stern were mandatory for this build. After mostly straightforward hull planking and the customary sanding and fi lling of the wide and fl at- bottomed hull, I achieved a smooth, unblemished surface for the ship’s red and black hull colors for which I used two acrylic spray paints with an overall dullcote sealing fi nish. These ships had a subtle, almost svelte sheer line with a sharp cutwater and a long, tapered stern; as the shallow bulwarks and stem and stern work progressed, this aspect became more obvious. The only signifi cant issue I had building the model’s attractive hull was that its rounded and severely raked stern was quite challenging to shape accurately. This task would have been made much easier to fabricate with a couple of cutting and sanding templates for the supplied solid balsa.


10. A view from the nearly completed stern (no rudder yet). The mod- el’s deck furniture is extensive and nicely augmented with both cast metal and photo etched brass components. Aligning and affi xing the many tiny cast balustrades to the top rail was challenging, but satisfac- tory in the end.


Pre-scored deck planking is one of the better aspects of many Bluejacket kits. All of these pieces fi tted nicely and, once stained and fi nished, presented a convincing platform for three deckhouses and loading hatches, the helm closet and ship’s wheel, and various other deck furniture like fi fe rails and nicely cast white metal fi ttings. Also included were small brass eyelets for porthole windows. A photo- etched brass fret featured nicely detailed touches including window frames, chainplates, stanchion braces for the deckhouses and a long boarding ladder.


11. A suspension detail: note the swaged brass tubing and monofi la- ment line. For additional security, cyanoacrylate glue was squeezed into the brass fastener. By the mid-19th-century, wooden deadeyes for mast shrouds were gradually replaced with cast iron turnbuckles. The kit included two different sizes of turnbuckles.


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