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Encyclopedia > Ship model

Model of a 19th-century vessel in the Bishop Museum, Hawaii
Model of a 19th-century vessel in the Bishop Museum, Hawaii

Ship models (or "model ships") are scale representations of sea-going vessels. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1400x1058, 152 KB) Photo of ship model (a whaler?) at Bishop Museum in Honolulu, taken March 2002 by User:Stan Shebs File links The following pages link to this file: Ship model User:Stan Shebs/Gallery/Ships Metadata This file contains... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1400x1058, 152 KB) Photo of ship model (a whaler?) at Bishop Museum in Honolulu, taken March 2002 by User:Stan Shebs File links The following pages link to this file: Ship model User:Stan Shebs/Gallery/Ships Metadata This file contains... The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum is home to the worlds largest collection of Polynesian artifacts. ...

Contents

History

Ancient Egypt

The Ancient Egyptians were first to carve detailed ship models. It was a common aspect of the Egyptian funeral practice to include highly accurate and detailed, painted, sycamore wood models of a ship and crew, intended to transport the soul of the deceased to the afterlife. These models, which may be almost 5000 years old, are truly remarkable in their state of preservation. Since the models usually show the crew in their respective places, these models have been useful in understanding the actual duties of the crew members, what they wore, and how the ship would have been steered. Much of what we know today about ancient seafaring has come to us from these models. The British Museum, the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and many other museums worldwide, display extensive public collections of these ritual boats. Egyptian mythology or Egyptian religion is the succession of tentative beliefs held by the people of Egypt for over three thousand years, prior to major exposure to Christianity and Islam. ...


Ship models created in more recent times

Church votive hanging up in a church; the workmanship is somewhat crude, but sufficient to identify as mid-19th-century
Church votive hanging up in a church; the workmanship is somewhat crude, but sufficient to identify as mid-19th-century
Model of a 19th-century English frigate
Model of a 19th-century English frigate
Closeup of the frigate's quarterdeck, showing quality of the detail.
Closeup of the frigate's quarterdeck, showing quality of the detail.

Some of the oldest ship models, still surviving, have been those of early craft such as Galleys, Galleons, and possibly Carracks, dating from the 12th through the 15th centuries and found occasionally mounted in churches, where they were used to bless the ships and those who sailed in them. Other rare and often very crudely built models of that time period have found their way into collections at various museums around the world. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 566 KB) Sailship given as votive by fishermen; in the Kapucijnenkerk; Ostend, Belgium Own work -photo taken by Georges Jansoone on 28 June 2005 File links The following pages link to this file: Ship model Metadata This file contains additional... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 566 KB) Sailship given as votive by fishermen; in the Kapucijnenkerk; Ostend, Belgium Own work -photo taken by Georges Jansoone on 28 June 2005 File links The following pages link to this file: Ship model Metadata This file contains additional... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 738 KB) fr: Maquette de frégate anglaise, début du XIXe siècle en: Model of an English frigate, beginning of the 19th Century Work by Rama File links The following pages link to this file: Ship model ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 738 KB) fr: Maquette de frégate anglaise, début du XIXe siècle en: Model of an English frigate, beginning of the 19th Century Work by Rama File links The following pages link to this file: Ship model ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 783 KB) fr: Maquette de frégate anglaise, début du XIXe siècle en: Model of an English frigate, beginning of the 19th Century Work by Rama File links The following pages link to this file: Ship model ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 783 KB) fr: Maquette de frégate anglaise, début du XIXe siècle en: Model of an English frigate, beginning of the 19th Century Work by Rama File links The following pages link to this file: Ship model ... A French galley and Dutch men-of-war off a port by Abraham Willaerts, painted 17th century. ... A Spanish galleon A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by the nations of Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries. ... The Santa Maria at anchor by Andries van Eertvelt, painted c. ...


Despite the fact that some fine artists painted and sculpted masterpieces of architecture and the human and animal form, it seems that no truly representative drawings of ships seems to have survived from this period. Most surviving pictures or engravings are apparently greatly out of scale, although like maps of that period, they were greatly decorated with drawings of real and imagined sea monsters, leaving the nautical historian very little to work with.


Through the earlier centuries, and even into the 18th century, virtually all small craft and many of the larger ships were built without any formal plans being drawn. Shipwrights were apprenticed to their craft at an early age and the art was passed down from father to son. Ship models were being built by designers of large ships primarily to show their prospective customers how the full size ship would appear, and also to introduce advanced building techniques. Few shipping merchants could read a construction draft, and still fewer individuals were sufficiently advanced in the art of drafting or the mathematics necessary to that art. Add to that the fairly primitive method of paper making, with its acidic product tending to discolor and disintegrate, and you will understand why so few ship's plans survived outside of the Royal Shipyard in England, which to this day is a major source of information on ships of the earlier centuries. Shipbuilding is the construction of ships. ...


Ship models often referred to as Admiralty or Shipyard models were built either before or during construction of many 18th and 19th century warships. Although many of these models did not illustrate the actual construction timbering or framing, they did illustrate the form of the hull and usually had great detail of the deck furnishings, masts, spars, and general configuration. Some of these grand models were decorated with carvings of great beauty and were evidently constructed by teams of artisans. The labor they represent would have taken an individual many years to complete, providing you could ever find a competent ship modeler who was also capable of such fine carving. They served to educate the non-seafaring types who were involved in the financing or some other aspect of the ship, to avoid construction errors that might have evolved as the ship itself took form, and more importantly, to demonstrate what a thing of beauty the real ship would be.


During the several wars between France and England, seamen who were taken prisoner were confined, sometimes for many years, and in their boredom, sought relief by building ship models from scraps of wood and bone. This evolved into an art form and the models were sold to the public, which responded by supplying the prisoners with ivory so that the models would be all the more decorative. Rigging was made of human hair, horsehair, silk, or whatever other fine material could be obtained. For the most part, the models had carved wooden hulls covered with thin veneers of bone or ivory, and other parts of the model such as masts and spars were also carved from bone and ivory. To this day they remain highly sought after, valuable collectibles. Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... A collectible (or collectable) is typically a manufactured item designed for people to collect. ...


Ship modeling did not immediatley take off in the United States. Many of the early ship models were built by seamen during rest, of the ships they were sailing on. Few home craftsmen of the time attempted ship models because of lack of information other than an occasional sketch or photogravure in the local paper. In the mid 1920s, ship model kits were introduced to the public and cast lead parts such as anchors, deadeyes, and rigging blocks became available. Magazines carried advertisements for these items, and the home craftsmen of the U.S. began to respond. Photogravure is a type of intaglio printing process used for reproducing monochromatic (black and white) images. ...


The big modeling boost came early in the 1930s when Popular Science magazine began to publish a series of articles and plans of famous ships by E. Armitage McCann. This was the true beginning of ship modeling as a popular hobby. It was also the beginning of nautical research as we know it today, an attempt by model craftsman to upgrade their work by researching newly available documents to determine the historical correctness of the models they were building. A hobby is a spare-time recreational pursuit. ...

John F. Kennedy's PT-109 has been a popular a subject for plastic and radio controlled models since the 1960s. Here is a 1/72 Revell kit positioned against a 1/400 Japanese destroyer model
John F. Kennedy's PT-109 has been a popular a subject for plastic and radio controlled models since the 1960s. Here is a 1/72 Revell kit positioned against a 1/400 Japanese destroyer model

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1296x976, 409 KB)[edit] Summary I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1296x976, 409 KB)[edit] Summary I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... For other persons named John Kennedy, see John Kennedy (disambiguation). ... PT-109 redirects here. ...

Basic types of construction

There are five basic types of construction used in building a wooden ship model hull: A hull is the body or frame of a ship or boat. ...

  • Solid wood hull sawn and carved from a single block of wood.
  • Gluing together two thinner blocks of wood so that a block is formed with the seam vertical, so that the seam will show running down that surface of the block which is to be the deck. No advantage is gained by having the seam show along the sides of the hull.
  • Cutting four or five thinner slabs of wood to be glued later into a laminated block. In this case, the slabs will be oriented so that they sit one on top of the other and the reason for this will be forthcoming in the explanation of this technique.
  • Plank on bulkhead, a technique in which a series of shaped bulkheads are placed along the keel to form a shaped stage which will be covered with planks to form the hull of the model.
  • Plank on frame In this technique, the model is built just as the full size wooden ship is constructed. The keel is laid down in a manner which keeps it straight and true.. The sternpost and stem are erected, deadwood and strengthening pieces inserted, and a series of shaped frames are built and erected along the keel to form the internal framework of the model. The planks are then applied over the frame to form the external covering.

Miniature model ships

Model ships have been used for war gaming since antiquity, but the introduction of elaborate rules made the practice more popular in the early 20th Century. Small miniature ships, often in 1:1200 scale and 1:1250 scale were maneuvered on large playing surfaces to either recreate a historical battle, or in the case of governments, plan for future encounters. These models were basic representations of ship types, with enough detail to make them recognizable. Firms such as Bassett-Lowke marketed these to the public in England, along with more detailed versions that appealed to collectors. Prior to World War II, the German company Wiking became a leader in the field, but the war ended its dominance. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... 1:64 scale toys 1:24 scale including promotional models of Dodge Intrepid and Chevy Van The term Die-cast toy here refers to any toy or collectible model produced by using the casting method. ... Wargaming is the play of simulated military operations in the form of games known as war games. ... Bassett-Lowke was a toy company, based in the Northampton, England founded by Wenham Joseph Bassett-Lowke in 1898 or 1899 that specialized in model railways, model boats and ships, and construction sets. ...


After World War II, several manufacturers started business in Germany, which remains the center of production to this day. Other companies started in England and the US as well, first centering on the war gamer, but as time went by and models became more detailed, and costly, marketing to the collector. The advent of the Internet has enabled this hobby to grow tremendously as more people became aware of it, and manufacturers were able to market more effectively, both directly and through specialized distributors.


Engineering models

Model ships are important in the field of engineering, where analytical modeling of a new design needs to be verified. Principals of similitude are used to apply measured data from a scaled model to the full scale design. A full scale X-43 Wind tunnel test. ...


Scale conversion factors

Table of Scale Conversion Factors
from to 1/8 to 3/16 to 1/4
1/16 2.0 3.0 4.0
1/12 1.5 2.25 3.0
3/32 1.33 2.0 2.67
1/8 1.0 1.5 2.0
5/32 0.8 1.2 1.6
3/16 0.67 1.0 1.33
1.5 0.625 0.94 1.25
7/32 0.57 0.86 1.14
1/4 0.5 0.75 1.0

Instead of using plans made specifically for models, many model shipwrights use the actual blueprints for the original vessel. One can take drawings for the original ship to a blueprint service and have them blown up, or reduced to bring them to the new scale. For instance, if the drawings are in 1/4" scale and you intend to build in 3/16", tell the service to reduce them 25%. You can use the conversion table below to determine the percentage of change. You can easily work directly from the original drawings however, by changing scale each time you make a measurement. Shipbuilding is the construction of ships. ... Spatial scale provides a shorthand form for discussing relative lengths, areas, distances and sizes. ...


The equation for converting a measurement in one scale to that of another scale is D2 = D1 x F where:

  • D1 = Dimension in the "from-scale"
  • D2 = Dimension in the "to-scale"
  • F = Conversion factor between scales

Example: A yardarm is 6" long in 3/16" scale. Find its length in 1/8" scale.

  • F = .67 (from table)
  • D2 = 6" X .67 = 4.02 = 4"

It is easier to make measurements in the metric system and then multiply them by the scale conversion factor. Scales are expressed in fractional inches, but fractions themselves are harder to work with than metric measurements. For example, a hatch measures 1" wide on the draft. You are building in 3/16" scale. Measuring the hatch in metric, you measure 25 mm. T he conversion factor for 1/4" to 3/16', according to the conversion table is .75. So 25 mm x .75 = 18.75 mm, or about 19 mm. That is the hatch size in 3/16" scale. The International System of Units (symbol: SI) (for the French phrase Syst me International dUnit s) is the most widely used system of units. ...


Conversion is a fairly simple task once you start measuring in metric and converting according to the scale.


There is a simple conversion factor that allows you to determine the approximate size of a model by taking the actual measurements of the full-size ship and arriving at a scale factor. It is a rough way of deciding whether you want to build a model that is about two feet long, three feet long, or four feet long.


Here is a ship model conversion example using a real ship, the Hancock. This is a frigate appearing in Chappelle's "History of American Sailing Ships". In this example we want to estimate its size as a model. We find that the length is given at 136 ft 7 in, which rounds off to 137 feet.

1/8 scale Feet divided by 8
3/16 scale Feet divided by 5.33
1/4 scale Feet divided by 4

To convert feet (of the actual ship) to the number of inches long that the model will be, use the factors in the table on the right.


To find the principal dimensions (length, height, and width) of a (square rigged) model in 1/8" scale, then:

  1. Find scaled length by dividing 137 by 8 = 17.125"
  2. Find 50% of 17.125 and add it to 17.125 (8.56 + 17.125 = 25.685, about 25.5)
  3. Typically, the height of this model will be its length less 10% or about 23.1/2"
  4. Typically, the beam of this model will be its length divided by 4, or about 6 1/2"

Although this technique allows you to judge the approximate length of a proposed model from its true footage, only square riggers will fit the approximate height and beam by the above factors. To approximate these dimensions on other craft, scale the drawings from which you found the length and arrive at her mast heights and beam.


Model shipwright guilds

People who work on building model ships often join together to form guilds; these guilds are intended to allow more experienced members the opportunity to pass on their knowledge to new members; to allow members of all levels of expertise to exchange new ideas, as well as serving as social function.


The USS Constitution Model Shipwright Guild, Boston, MA. This club meets on the first Tuesday of every month in the USS Constitution Museum at the Charlestown Navy Yard, just one hundred feet away from Old Ironsides. Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1 Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino (D) Area    - City 232. ...

The Nautical Research Guild website states that "The Nautical Research Guild is an international organization of ship modelers, maritime artists, nautical archaeologists and historians who are dedicated to enhancing the art and experience of ship modeling."

Guilds for those interested in building model ships are found across the world.

References

  • Porter, Kent (1977). Building Model Ships from Scratch. New York, NY, U.S.A.: T A B Books. ISBN 0-8306-7907-3.

See also

A hobby is a spare-time recreational pursuit. ... San Francisco Model Yacht Club X class (1000 square inches, few other restrictions), beating upwind under vane rudder control on Spreckles Lake in San Franciscos Golden Gate Park. ... USS Port Royal (CG-73), a Ticonderoga class cruiser. ... A Radio-controlled boat is a small boat controlled remotely with radio control equipment. ... For the songs, see Sailing (song). ... Italian ship-rigged vessel Amerigo Vespucci in New York Harbor, 1976 A ship is a large, sea-going watercraft. ...

External links


Scale modeling
Architectural models | Brass models | Building models | Diecast models | Model aircraft | Model cars | Model commercial vehicles | Model construction vehicles | Model figures | Matchstick models | Model military vehicles | Model robots | Model trains | Model rockets | Model ships | Miniature wargaming | 1:6 scale modeling

  Results from FactBites:
 
American Marine Model Gallery (2247 words)
Such models can sometimes be spotted simply because their appearance is too new or uniform to be authentic; however, the most important and effective way to identify a model's origins is to know the name of the marine model artist, guild or company who created it and whose methodology can be verified.
A model of the Folk Art or Americana genre, generally built during the mid-to-late 19 th or early 20 th century, is typically made to create an impression, versus to convey historically accurate naval architecture or details of a particular vessel.
Just as with the retail value of ship models, appraisal value is based on the reputation of the marine model artist, the nature or complexity of the original vessel, skill level or difficulty of the techniques and methods used in the hull construction, and the fame or notoriety of the vessel being replicated.
  More results at FactBites »

 

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