The Hull

I started with the hull halves first. This is where the instruction sheet starts also. I cleaned off the flash from molding and test fit the two halves together to see were the problem spots will be. I look for places along the seam where there are ejector pin marks and high spots left from removing the hulls from the spru tree. These will prevent the hull from having a nice even seam when I glue the halves together. I use an exacto knife to remove most of the problem areas and 320 sandpaper (wet) to finish. At this time I removed the tabs on the bottom of the hull for the kit supplied display stand. I’ll be using a different method of mounting the model to a display base, so these will not be needed.

By the same token, I opened up the holes on the bottom of the hull where I’ll be mounting nuts(not included in the kit) for the screws that will eventually secure the model to it’s base.

After cleaning up the hull halves I used a pin vise and a small drill bit to open up the holes in the hulls used to mount other parts during assembly. This is an important step and this is the best time to do it.

The rail along the top of the hull sections has a seam from molding. I removed it with 320 wet sandpaper and went back over the area with wet 600 to remove the sanding marks from the 320. After doing this I washed the hull halves with dish washing soap and lukewarm water to remove any residue from the mold and to also remove any sanding dust and oils from my hands that got on the hulls while handling them.

Time to paint the inside of the bulwarks. The pin rails will glue to the inside of the bulwarks at a later stage of assembly. Since many lines will tie to the pin rails, it’s important that the glue joint is a good, strong one. I masked off the area of the bulwarks were the pin rails will attach using strips of masking tape . I cut them thin by placing strips of masking tape on a piece of glass and cutting the strips with a straight edge and an exacto knife. I next masked off the top rail and painted the bulwarks white with testors flat white from a spray can, spraying several light coats to obtain coverage. After allowing the paint to dry overnight I removed the masking and painted the waterways. These waterways appear to be a dark red color in photos on the Cutty Sark website. To prevent the new red paint from softening and lifting the white paint, I brush painted a heavy coat of clear acrylic on the waterways to make a barrier. After allowing the acrylic to dry for a couple of hours, I painted the dark red ( testors dark red enamel 1104) onto the waterways with a brush. Two coats were needed for complete coverage.

The hull halves are next cemented together. Liquid cement works best for this step. Put the two 8-32 nuts (not included in the kit)in the slots at the bottom of the hull and put the hull halves together using clamps to hold them tight.

I used a bunch of clamps off several kinds from my tool kit.

I applied the liquid cement with a glass eye dropper since a relatively large amount is needed here. Liquid cement works by capillary action to get into the seam between the parts and softening the plastic. The two softened parts will join and as the cement evaporates the plastic hardens leaving a clean joint which is quite strong. I next applied 5 minute epoxy to the inside of the hull, along the keel keeping it away from the 8-32 nuts. This is to strengthen this joint. The external seams were then sanded and filled using Squadron Green filler putty. After the putty dried I wet sanded the seams with 400 sandpaper and 600 sandpaper.

The hull was next painted after masking the top rail and the inside bulwarks. It is really important to put masking tape over the holes from the inside of the bulwarks. Otherwise paint sprayed on the hull will get on the inside of the bulwarks. I used testors flat black from a spray can and allowed the paint to dry overnight.

I used Tamya masking tape to mask off the top rail and the white stripe for painting. I like using the Tamya tape for fine masking like this because the tape has a very clean edge and is more flexible then ordinary masking tape. Once again, I painted a barrier of clear acrylic over the previously painted area to prevent the white paint from softening the black and lifting into the white. I painted the white stripe (Model Master Flat Insignia White) and the brown (Testors Flat Brown) top rail with a brush. Two coats were needed for complete coverage.

Tamya masking tape was again used to mask the hull from the copper sheathing. I say copper but the metal used for sheathing on the clipper ships of the 19th century was an alloy of copper and zinc called munz metal or yellow metal. Charles Lipkin wrote a great article in the July 2005 edition of FSM on his Cutty Sark model where he describes the mixture he used to duplicate the look of Munz metal. Charles used a mixture of 50% copper, 25% gold and 25% silver and airbrushed the paint onto the model. I’m using a rattle can with testors copper.

It is very important to keep the masking tight. The very fine metallic of the copper paint will get on anything not masked or not masked tight enough. I also use brown paper for masking rather than newspaper. Newspaper is more porous and paint can bleed through if applied heavy. After masking I sprayed the sheathed part of the hull with 2 coats of Testoes Copper from a spray can.

After allowing the paint to dry and removing the masking, the model is starting to look good and hints at how good it will look when finished. The model is now becoming large and a cradle is needed to support it. I fabricated one from scraps of foam core board hot glued together. It is very light yet supports the model well. The softness of the foam core board will not damage the paint.

At this point I will skip ahead to the decaling. Many modelers save decaling till last but I like to perform tasks when they are easy and will not interfere with subsequent steps. Decaling is not difficult but there are certain steps which must be done for the decaling to look good. First of all, decals are made to adhere to a glossy, painted surface. I painted the hull with Testors Glosscoat to provide a good glossy surface. No masking was needed since the gloss coat is clear. Because of their location between raised surfaces, I cut much of the excess decal film from around the decals when I cut them from the decal sheet. After soaking in water and applying them ( one at a time) I coated them with decal set to make them lye down flat and conform to the surface, like the sheathing.

The large decal across the stern is quite a challenge to get right. Mine broke into three pieces while I was trying to maneuver it into place. This actually helped get the thing right. I would recommend cutting the decal into 3 sections and install the center section first and the sides one at a time. The headboards were painted and decaled but will be installed later in the assembly. After allowing the decals to dry overnight, wipe them down lightly with a moist ( not wet) towel or tissue to remove any decal adhesive or decal set residue. I then sprayed the hull again with 2 coats of Testors Dullcoat to remove the gloss. The gold trim on the trailboards was painted after the dull coat dried. This is to keep the gold looking shiny.

Still skipping ahead, I installed the bullseyes at the bow of the ship. The instructions say to install eye bolts into the holes in the hull and tie the bullseyes onto the eyebolts with thread, but I do it a different way. I twist thin wire around one end of the bullseye and twist a pigtail about ¼ inch long.

I insert the pigtail through the hole and bend it flat against the inside of the hull. I then apply a few drops of thick super glue to hold it permanently. After the glue sets up, paint the wire to match the bulwarks. This makes for a very neat installation which is also quite strong. These bullseyes will later be the attach points for the bowsprit rigging.