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4. MAKING SCENIC MODELS

Making a Scenic Model of the "Ark Royal," at one time the Flagship of Sir Walter Raleigh—The Hull is constructed of Cardboard and Full In­structions are given for building an interesting Model.

The details for this model of the Ark Royal, which was originally built for Sir Walter Raleigh, are based on an old picture in the Macpherson Collection, in the Naval Museum at Greenwich.

Some outstanding features of this ship are the enormous sheer of the stern; the brilliantly decorated sails, which Avere probably hoisted only on State or gala occasions; the side-castles and stern gallery. The picturesque appearance of the boat makes it very attractive as a prototype for a model; it has four masts, of which the fore and mainmasts are in three parts, with tops at the joint or doublings. The mizen mast and the bonaventure or aftermast hoist lateen sails, the mizen hoisting a topsail in addition.

Cardboard having been chosen as the material of con­struction for a model of this ship, certain limitations are necessarily encountered, and for this and other reasons some little modification has been essential to ensure a satisfactory and pleasing model, but the extent of these variations can be judged by comparing the print referred to, or of a reproduction thereof, with the pictures of the model.

The   possibility   of   using   cardboard   effectively   as   a constructional material for old-time ship models has not yet been fully realized, but some idea of what can be done with it may be gleaned from the illustrations of the completed model, while those showing stages in the work should assist in elucidating the constructive methods.

Stated briefly, the system here adopted consists of building up a cellular structure, shaped in such a way that the outside edges of the pieces of card conform to the shape of the hull. These sections or ribs form a skeleton on to which the surface covering or planks are applied. These ought to be laid edge to edge so as to present a perfectly smooth exterior, but in practice it is desirable to allow the edge of one plank to slightly overlap the next. These planks are cut to a curved shape, from a comparatively thin card, and are stuck in place with Seccotine or some other suitable adhesive. The sheer or longitudinal curvature of the main deck is attained by varying the heights of the cross-ways pieces of card, and pressing a deck card on to them. The bulwarks, the sides of the poop and other erections at the stern, as well as those at the bows, are built up with card—suitably shaped-^and gummed in an upright position to the main deck card. Various bulkheads are made with other cards placed transversely and the decks then gummed to the tops of these cards.

Masts and yards are shaped from wood, assembled in due order and stepped, or set up in place on the hull; the rigging effected with cottons or threads. The sails are made from paper or very fine silk or lawn, and gummed directly to their respective yards.

Painting is a most important matter and is carried out from time to time as is most convenient.

One of the most difficult items in cardboard modelling is to determine the exact shape of each piece of card; they cannot be ascertained directly from an ordinary picture or photographic reproduction, but only from a specially prepared design which must show the hull lines, a profile or sheer plan, a deck plan,  and  sundry  other details,  particularly cross sections at each bulkhead, or where one deck rises above another.

From such drawings the shapes of the various parts can be determined, and then the pieces can be cut to shape and assembled. It is practically impossible to determine the shapes for the parts by the trial and error method: it is imperative to make proper drawings and work accurately to them.

The Ark Royal here described has been designed in this way, and the various pieces needed for its construction have been determined and are reproduced full size on plate No. 2. If this plate is flattened and carefully pasted on to 3-ply Bristol board or thin white cardboard,   then   all   that  is necessary is to cut the various pieces to shape and assemble them in proper order. Novices will find this procedure is a great help, a completely satisfactory result being certain.

Alternatively redraw the shapes shown on plate No. 2 on any good grade white cardboard, preferably a No. 3 or No. 4 ply "Bristol board." The sizes may be enlarged, or reduced proportionately, or the parts can be made exactly the same size as reproduced. A practical size for the model measures 91/2- inches long overall, 8 ins. high and 4 ins. wide over the mainyard. Modelled to this size the scale approximates to 1/16- inch equals 1 foot, assuming an overall length of 152 feet in the prototype.

Coming now to a consideration of the methods and order of construction, the first step, as already mentioned, is to cut the card to shape. This must be done very accurately, and for this reason it is highly desirable that all straight lines be cut with a very sharp penknife, guided by a steel or hardwood straight-edge, in the manner shown in fig. 18.

Pieces with curved edges are readily cut out with scissors, but readers with sufficient dexterity will find a cutting knife preferable as it leaves a perfectly clean edge. When ordinary card is cut with scissors a slightly ragged edge is inevitable and the curve is not perfect, but this can be corrected as shown in fig. 19, by stroking—not rubbing—the edges withvery fine new sandpaper. If the sandpaper is used in this way a nice smooth curve can be obtained, any trifling errors in the cutting being very easily remedied.

Fig. 18. Method of Making Straight Cuts in Cardboard.

Fig. 19. Correcting the Curvature of a Card.

The next procedure is to assemble all the cross pieces on the centre card, and to fix the planks in place, a work which is fully described in Chapter V.

Fig. 20. Fitting the Poop Bulkhead.

After this has been done the various bulkheads, or transverse cards which appeal above the deck, or those which may be needed to stiffen the structure, are then fixed in place with adhesive as shown in fig. 20, this view and several others in this chapter being taken from the actual viewpoint of the constructor.

Fig. 21.  Building up the Bulwark Card.

Fig. 22. Fitting the Bulwark Card.

Fig. 23. Fixing the Quarterdeck.

The bulwarkcards are then secured with drawing pins to a sheet of strawboard as shown in fig. 21, and narrow strips of card gummed to the outer faces to represent the wales or longitudinal timbers. While doing this pin one end to the strawboard and curve and press the strip down into place with the finger tips. When the adhesive is quite dry, curve the whole card by running it between the fingers and thumb to a shape corresponding to that of the deck, and proceed to gum it in place on the hull as shown in fig. 22, taking care that it fits nicely on to the main deck card and is attached to the ends of the bulkheads. Fit quarter and forecastle decks as shown in fig. 23, adjusting them carefully and allowing the gum to harden before fixing the remaining bulwark card.

The next procedure is to fit the stern or transom card as shown in fig. 24; it has to be scored across the lower part, and bent to fit against the sloping ends of the bracket pieces, and also has to fit against the ends of the bulwark cards, the upper poop deck and the lower stern card.

Fig. 24.  Adjusting the Transom Card.

The beak-head card and the four stringers are then gummed into place at the bows. The stringers have to be curved by bending them between the fingers and thumb, and must be held in place as shown in fig. 25 while the adhesive hardens. This completes the work on the hull, except for the miniature guns, the side-castles and the painting.    The guns  are  merely  short  pieces  of round wood, painted black and gummed into the gunport openings. The side-castles are made from pieces of hexagonal shaped lead pencil, cut to length, shaped at the top with a penknife, and sandpapered smooth. The bottom part has a saw-cut made in it, the wood on the inside being then cut away to clear the deck so that the whole can be slipped on to the bulwark card; the long side goes on the outside of the bulwarks, the shorter part fits against the deck, while the saw-slot enables it to be slipped over the bulwark card to which it is affixed with adhesive, and a little moulding formed on it— iust below the tapered roof with a small knife file as used by jewellers.

Fig.  25. Fitting the Stringers.

Painting can best be done with "poster colours," the operation being pictured in fig. 2G and the processes completely detailed in Chapter XIV.

The colour scheme adopted for the model illustrated consists of a deep bluey-green below the waterline, a warm Vandyke brown for the bulk of the exterior part of the hull, all the wales and mouldings picked out in bright yellow or gold. Windows are represented by pale blue or white with streaks of darker blue, the gunport lids are bright red, while the moulded work at the stern and bows is carried out in red, black and a few touches of bright colours, The decks are a lighter brown almost a buff, the bulkheads a little darker, with doors and windows outlined in black, the side-castle roofs are slate grey, the masts a reddish brown and the top-castles bright red and blue. Any other colour scheme can be adopted, however, according to taste or inclination.

Fig. 26. Painting the Ark  Royal.

The next stage in the constructional work is to prepare the masts and spars, which are all made from round hard wood, the lower part of the main and foremasts being shaped from -j3T in. diameter wood; the mizen mast, bonaventure mast, main and fore topmasts and the bowsprit as well as the lower yards are shaped from | in. diameter wood. The remaining spars are made from ordinary matchsticks.

Masts taper from the bottom upwards, yards taper from the middle towards each end or yard-arm; the tapering can be accomplished by filing and sandpapering, and after that they are painted a reddish brown.The masts are then "stepped," that is, they are put into the holes already pierced in the hull and secured with adhesive. It is necessary to note that the masts incline backwards as shown in the drawings and also that they arc exactly in line and perfectly upright when viewed from the bows.

Fig. 27. Inspecting the Positions of the Masts.

This is best judged by stepping all four masts and the bowsprit, and then holding the boat in front of the eyes as shown in fig. 27 and adjusting the masts until they all appear in line, or as one single mast when looked at from the bows. Their correctness is easily ascertained by closing one eye and looking over the tops of the masts, as any deviation can then be instantly detected.

The next parts to be made are the "tops" which consist of two parts each; the floor is a disc of card, with a hole in the centre; the rim is made of a parallel strip when the top has vertical sides, and a curved strip of card when the sides are conical. The strip is bent around between the fingers and thumb as shown in fig. 28, the ends stuck together and the ring then stuck to the disc.

Fig. 28. Building up the Main Tops.

A few pins driven into a piece of strawboard as shown will hold the whole together while the adhesive is setting. When dry the tops should be painted and those for the lower masts should be stuck in place, allowing about ^ in. of the mast to protrude above the floor of the top. The upper masts and tops can then be similarly assembled.

The lateen yards are curved, and to get them to shape boil them in a saucepan and while hot curve them by hand, and then place them side by side on a piece of wood and hold them in place with pins, as shown in fig. 29, allowing them to dry; then sandpaper smooth and paint as before.

Now proceed with the standing rigging, by setting up the lower stays. These are composed of thick black thread, the mainstay reaching from the underside of the top to the lower part of the foremast, a similar stay being fitted to the mizen mast, and another from the top of the bonaventure mast to the lower part of the mizen. All these stays are fitted by tying one end firmly to the mast and securing it with a trace of adhesive, the other end being then tied to the other mast, with a single knot, and the thread drawn up until it is just taut, after which the knot is secured with a little adhesive.

Fig. 29. Making a Curved Spar.

The shrouds are put on by tying the middle part of a bundle of five or six threads to the mast, just under the top, and then attaching their lower ends withadhesive to a little strip of card, and while it is still wet the card is stuck to the inside of the bulwarks as shown in fig. 30, any slight adjustment of the length of the cottons being accounted for by drawing the threads downwards and then pressing the card firmly into contact with the inside of the bulwarks.

Fig.  30. Assembling the Fore Shrouds.

A piece of white card is shown in the illustration but actually it should be coloured to match the other work.

Fig.  31. Fitting Main Topmast Shrouds.

The shrouds of the upper masts are similarly fitted but their ends are stuck directly to the tops as shown in fig. 81, which illustrates the fixing of the main topmast shrouds. The upper masts are stepped—as shown in fig. 32—by applying glue to the lower end, placing the mast in position and steadying ituntil it has set hard.
 

Fig. 32. Stepping the Fore Topmast.

Fig. 33. Fitting the Fore Topmast Stays.

The other stays and ropes arc then fitted in the places shown on the drawings—plate No. 2 and on the various photographic illustrations, notably fig. 33. Several of them have forked ends which consist of a loop of cotton tied to the spar, a single cotton tied to the middle of the loop, and the other end fixed to the mast.

When all the masts are stepped, and the standing rigging fitted as before described, the yards and sails can be taken in hand. The sails are cut to shape from thin soft paper and many of them gaily painted as shown, others being shown furled and are represented by curled up tissue paper or silk.

Fig. 34. Making a Furled Sail.

A triangular piece of paper is gummed to the yard, the triang­ular part being then rolled up tightly, twisting the paper around to form a roll, not winding it round the yard. The paper is then tied to the yard as shown in fig. 34, using four or more ties to each. The yards are hoisted in place on the masts by tying them on with short pieces of cotton. Those yards which have sails spread on them should have the sails gummed on first and the cotton loop fitted by sewing it on with a needle.

The running rigging is then fixed, and consists chiefly of braces, lifts and sheets. Actually there were a great many ropes on these old ships but on the model it will suffice to reproduce a few of them, all that are necessary being shown on the plate No. 2 and in fig. 35, which pictures the finished boat.

Fig. 35. The Finished Model of Ark  Royal.

Proceed with the rigging in the following way: First hoist the fore and lower yards as before described, then hoist the topsail yards and adjust their position until the clews or lower corners of the paper sails can be gummed to the lower yard, or if preferred a short piece of cotton can be glued on to connect the clew to the yard, this cotton representing the topsail sheet.

Fix all the other yards and spars, then proceed with the rigging by fixing the main braces which run from the ends of the yards to the stern part of the ship, and the fore braces which go from the yard-arms to just below the after side-castles. Next fit the lifts to the spritsail yard by tying the middle part of a long piece of cotton around the bowsprit near the outer end, tie the cotton to the yard-arms and carry the ends on and fix them to the hull just below the forward side-castle.

The fore topsail yard should have a cotton taken from each yard-arm to just below the main top-castle and the main topsail similarly rigged but taken to the mizen top-castle. The two topgallant yards are rigged by tying a loop of cotton to the top of the mast, taking the two parts down, around the yard-arms, and then fixing them to the tops. The two lateen yards are rigged by fixing a loop to stand up about \ in. above the yard and taking the loose ends one to each side of the hull to represent the vangs, another cotton being knotted to the loop and taken to the top of the mainmast. The fore sheets are then fitted by gumming the end of a piece of cotton to each clew, or lower corner, and covering it with a little triangular piece of paper. The other ends are taken to the waist of the ship and gummed to the sides of the bul­warks. A great deal more rigging can be fitted if desired, but those mentioned are sufficient to impart a realistic appearance to the model.

Give the final finishing touches in the way of paint work, gilding and ornamentation, make and fit the anchors and other details as fancy dictates, and the result will be a fascinating little model pleasing to look upon and one which will open the door to more spectacular and detailed ship modelling.

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