Clearwater Models: NEW BEDFORD WHALER (Academy)

This is a 1:200 scale model of a New Bedford whaling ship named Charles W. Morgan. (Academy kit #14204)

It is a 72 hour build from purchase to finish. Try it sometime. It is a great way to rekindle why you got into the hobby to begin with. Enjoy a weekend of building just for fun.

The rat lines are moulded, and the four sails for each mast come as an attached set. You have to add the rat lines (the trickiest part of the build), and then add the sail set to each mast. Once everything is in place then the rigging begins. I used mercerized cotton thread. The thread cost half as much as the kit, but with a few hundred metres of it the spool will last for years.

Paints are Vallejo acrylics. I spray painted everything before a single part was glued. I added the golden chain connecting the prow to the bowsprit, and then added a small flag. Everything else is out of box.

In 1835 the Massachusetts town of New Bedford (on the north Atlantic) was a true whaling capital. Over 430 whaling sailing vessels were registered on the town books. The whales were nowhere nearby, so these ships often plied the Pacific ocean looking for whales. Whaling voyages, in search of sperm whales to render into oil for Massachusetts factory machinery, could last up to three years.

New Bedford whaling ship (c. 1835) Charles W. Morgan

SHIPBUILDING IN PROGRESS OVER THE WEEKEND....

Tuesday 10 March 2020

NEW BEDFORD WHALER (Academy)