I had gone to work one day, bringing in some pictures of the Cutty for my supervisor and friends to see. some were more impressed than others, which is what I expected….modeling isn’t for everyone. during my first break, I ran into a fellow coworker named Harold, who was about to return to work, his break almost finished. we chatted for a bit and then he said, “so…..you build models for a hobby.” I told him that I did and I then told him about it….decals and all. he then said, “you know, I have a ship kit in my attic….a fishing boat, made of wood. I bought it about 20 or so years ago and I gave up on it……I don’t know what condition it’s in, but if I go up there, I’ll pack it up and bring it in to you. you can have it…..I’m not gonna build it. …..got the brass and fitt’ins to go with it…..like I said , you can have it.” he then went back in to work, for fear of being late, taking too long for his break. I sat there thinking about it, running the information through my mind….a wood kit. what am I going to do with a wood kit? I then thought of the model ship world site and figured I browse through some of their tutorials to get a sense of what I had gotten myself into. I had always said that one day, I would try a wooden kit. the ships on the site look so beautiful, with so much detail and realism, maybe it is time for me to switch gears and go for the next step in craftsmanship. I could then shake off the self appointed title of plastic man and involve myself in something a bit more challenging.
a week went by without anything more on the matter. the following week, I was on vacation, something I felt that was long overdue. In that time, I did a few things around the house and built myself a work bench, after getting permission from our landlord. in fact, he told me that if I could use it, I could have all the odd pieces of lumber that was in the cellar……it was there when he bought the place. I managed to use up quite a bit of it and I set myself up a dandy of a work area, complete with a florescent light that was already affixed to the rafters, only missing a bulb. I was helping the landlord out as well, mowing the lawn, as well as a little landscaping that I saw needing to be done.
I came back from vacation the following week, a bit saddened that a good thing had come to an end. I had given some thought to the ship that Harold had spoken of, but had dismissed it as idle talk…..something that is probably forgotten by now and nothing more would come of it. it was the following morning that I met up with Harold and Ross before shift start, outside smoking at a table under a covered structure that was our outside break room. they broke their conversation long enough to greet me and carried on with their discussion. I listened to how Harold knew a person who had a working replica of an army tank. soon the subject died out, Harold turned to me and reminded me about the ship. he asked me if I was still interested in building it. I told him that i was and then he said again that if he went up there in his attic, he would bring it in for me. the following Saturday came, the start of our work week. I met up with Harold and Ross at the outside break room, and he announced to me that he had the ship in his car…..he would give it to me at the end of our shift.
this is what i got….The Nordkap 476. the only things that he could find at the moment, was the wooden aspects of the ship, there was a fittings kit somewhere….he was going to look further in his attic, or it might be at his house in Maine. the hull resembles a whale skeleton perched on a board….a grove is cut into it to support the keel. the kit is a 1:50 scale, measuring 32 inches long X 17 inches high X 7 1/2 inches wide. as you can see, he built the keel, installed the ribs and left off fitting the cross beams in their place {not all of them are there due to being loose and apt to fall out}. When I brought it into the house, my wife starred at it….and then looked at me, “now where do you think your gonna put that?” for the moment, it sits on a large table in our dinning room.
I went on the model ship world site and posted about my newly acquired project and it was met with cheers and tips on how to prep her before build time comes around. now that it is out of the attic, moisture is the thing to watch out for, wood warp-age could be a problem. so far, I have seen none of this occurring….this is good. I went on line to find a site for Billing Boats. I found a site in Wisconsin for billingboats: BBUSA@billingboats.com
I spoke to a gentleman there who was very helpful….I won’t mention his name, simply because I don’t want to be the cause of an e-mail flood to his office. I told him about the kit and how I came by it. I was interested in finding out some information on it and if they still listed the fittings kit for something this old. he returned an e-mail back to me within a couple of hours…..concerned about the condition of the wood, ie…warp-age and the like, and that he wished that I had a more up to date wood kit to start my journey on. I assured him that I didn’t need a net {butterfly…or otherwise} and that my specialty is working with older kits. to show him what I had, I sent him some pictures of the wood.
during this past week, the e-mails shot back and forth. he sent me literature on billings and the products they carry. I asked for their catalog, which is due to come to me shortly. the kit for it is obtainable and has to be ordered from billings in Denmark, their main office/outlet.
I told him that I would hold off for the moment, to give Harold a chance to locate the fittings kit that he has, before I shell out the $220.00 dollars for another one. he let me know that another person that he knows is starting a build of the Nordkap and had a build log on it, only problem is, he didn’t say what site the gentleman posted it on. I’ll have to e-mail him again to find out……they get an “A” for customer service!
