Emma C. Berry: Redefining a Ship Model, Part One

The first part of an in-depth look at an unusual project-changing the purpose of a ship model. We'll examine what needed to be done, how it was done and at the end of Part Two, I'll address the question of should it have been done. I'm guessing you've already figured out the answer to that one. Enjoy!

[@fredmarrano5228]

Brilliant! Thank you. Always enjoy your videos!

[@shipmodelguy]

Thanks, Fred. Hope you keep watching.

[@4englishlies875]

Beautiful work as always, Did miss your videos and I for one, am very happy to see more of your artwork. Make me want to do better with my boats. Thanks for takin the time to video and edit this!!!

[@shipmodelguy]

Thanks for hangin' in there. Hope it was worth the wait. More to come soon.

[@robertcraig5741]

Well done Tom. I like your philosophy of approach. There is just so much you can do within the constraints you are given by the client. Looking forward to part two.

[@shipmodelguy]

Thanks, Bob. Glad you liked it. This project was a challenge, mostly because of the philosophical aspects of it. But, I really did enjoy it. I'm working on Part 2 now. Should be out soon.

[@kevinkenny5122]

Lovely video Tom. As always i love the quality of your videos and the time you obviously take in their preparation and execution. Best regards Kevin

[@shipmodelguy]

Thanks, Kevin. Always good to hear from you.

[@greg1268]

I laughed out loud when you said "breaks over"! I was all set to watch part 2 but knew you where right. Im looking forward to it though!

[@shipmodelguy]

I say that at the end of almost every video. I'm still not sure if it's for you or me.

[@steveremmert]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and skills. I have been studying your videos as I am researching and planning my first scratch build. Looking forward to part two of this series.

[@shipmodelguy]

Glad the videos are a help. Good luck with your first scratch-build. It's not as hard as some think and is always oddly satisfying.

[@boblister665]

Thanks for posting your beautiful work. The Berry is one of my favorite boats at Mystic .

[@shipmodelguy]

Glad you enjoyed it. She's one of mine, too.

[@DrTheRich]

Hype!! I was wondering where the videos went. Going to enjoy this

[@shipmodelguy]

Missed you, too!

[@jameslawrence8712]

Thank you Tom! A wonderful tutorial. I’m planning on building the Model Shipways version of the Emma C. Berry to gain some plank on frame experience before I take on my first scratch build. Your videos are both informative and inspirational. Looking forward to part 2!

[@shipmodelguy]

Glad it was helpful. Part two should be up in another week-I hope.

[@jameslawrence8712]

@@shipmodelguy Wonderful! Looking forward to it. I’m also enjoying your series on building the whale boat. 👍

[@marcoscaba3846]

This is quality work.

[@shipmodelguy]

Thank you

[@georgebain986]

Really really glad your back,was worried that something might have happened to you.😊

[@shipmodelguy]

Nope. I ain't that easy to get rid of. But, thanks for the good thought.

[@johnyandell3188]

Great work as usual interested in the copper work. Would like to see a video on how to do this Thank you

[@shipmodelguy]

Talk about a senior moment! I'm thinking, "There's no copper on the Berry!" Then I remembered about the copper foil for the trailboards. Yeah, that might make an interesting video. It could have many applications other than just the trailboards. It's going to have to wait until I finish all the started projects before I can get to it, though. Thanks for watching.

[@georgebain986]

Tom I was thinking about buying a Byrnes table saw and noticed that your use one. My question if you don't mind answering is if it's worth the high price? THANKS FOR YOUR RESPONSE AND TAKE CARE.

[@shipmodelguy]

Yes they are pricey. And yes they are worth it. I've had mine for quite a few years. It is the workhorse of my shop. I rely heavily on it.

[@georgebain986]

@@shipmodelguy Thanks for your response and your time.

[@DrTheRich]

I needed the "get back in the shop" I have 3d boat models to build for a client, and I've been putting it off. This time 2 large rowing boats uses for selling proviant in the harbor. A small steam powered ferry. and a steel hulled inland transport ship. Oh and for another a 3th century roman trader, and another wooden lake fisher.

[@shipmodelguy]

Sounds like you've got your hands full. Life is good, yes?

[@DrTheRich]

@@shipmodelguy It could have been, were I mentally in a better place. But people have it worse so, not too much to complain about

[@rcpmac]

Actual fairing of a full scale hull is done using a flexible long board. That’s how one eliminates the lumps. I don’t see a reason why that method couldn’t be scaled down.

[@shipmodelguy]

Yes, it can be scaled down and used to guide one through the process, but the person who built this hull some 50 or 70 years ago didn't seem to know or care about that. If you're suggesting I should have done that here, to some extent, I agree. But, as I'm sure you've seen, I was dealing with a hull that was suffering from slightly more than a few minor irregularities. Anyone who has built a plank of frame, or plank on bulkhead hull knows what you suggest is great for showing the trouble spots in one's work. And yes, I could have used this for finding the deficits, both high and low. You've seen the hull. Do you think anyone would have need help finding them? For the high, hard lumps, I could only "knock them down" by a bit less than the thickness of the hull planks used. As it was, there were a couple of spots where the planking got so thin, I felt it necessary to paint on some thinned down epoxy to reinforce them. Scheduling and budget are two main factor that determine how much time I get to spend on any one aspect of the project. I could easily (and happily) spent the bulk of the projects time on addressing the hull. But what happens to the rest of the project? I had to make a hard choice about how much time I could allot for the hull and still have enough time to adequately address all the other ills that afflicted this poor model. In a perfect world, I would have had carte blanche to fix every little thing I found wrong. But, this was not the case, here.

[@DrTheRich]

A bit disappointing that it needed so much filler on the hull, now the planks aren't visible through the paint anymore.

[@shipmodelguy]

One of the tough choices I had to make. If they were done even marginally better than they were, I might have been able to save them. The fact that this is going in a museum meant the model had to look its best. And letting the planks show was not in the model's best interest.

[@NemoVir]

Probably been better to build another from scratch, especially since it was commercial kit to begin with. You did a beautiful job, though.

[@shipmodelguy]

Even for all the work done to this model, it would have been two to three times the price tag for a new model. Just not in the budget, I guess.

[@tonyromano6220]

Almost seems like a new build would be simpler.

[@shipmodelguy]

It nearly was a new build, but the cost of building an entirely new scratch model of that size would have been way out of the budget. Besides, doing the repair work allowed me to do some creative problem solving. And, it's always interesting to see how others build their models, And what better way to do that than by dissecting one.