The Seafaring Swift Ship
Built by Santiago Plicio in March 2021
Meccano is firmly entrenched as my main go-to in any free leisurely time and both fairgrounds and ship models have been among my favourite subjects to explore in my model making.
I guess it’s no surprise that yet another ship model creation should appeal to me then, and the trick as always is in trying to do something that differentiates a model from my previous constructions.
In that mindset on Monday the 15th March I started to experiment with building a possible slimline hull for a ship and, before I knew it, it had taken the appearance of a sleek clipper-like vessel. I was already in full swing and not only the hull but the masts too were complete.
The very next day I started erecting all the rigging and a few additional bits, and then I decided to cover all the masts which I had built using axles with plastic yellow tubing which I felt would aesthetically enhance the model.
The new ship’s shape was long and narrow and avoided the high deck style of my previous models, and once the rudder was in place I added some brassy parts to the hull too before I took a two-day break before completing the model.
During that time, I sent a couple of photos of its progress to Tim Surtell. (He normally displays new models from all members and adds them to the club’s galleries.)
I told him that perhaps in this instance I might not add sails to this ship, so he suggested adding furled sails, as the ship would have at port in readying for provisions, and also the addition of a gangway with people loading cargo!
With that great idea on board, I started almost immediately by building a long section of the would-be harbour so the ship could be moored at it tied to the bollards.
I then added a lamppost and a loading crane before making a further change to the hull. This was setting the deck deeper so that I could use some little plastic figurine men to simulate the crew.
On Sunday I measured and cut all the sails and attached them furled up to the ship and all that was left was to imagine it setting sail off to some distant shores or a paradise somewhere, but for now I am restricted by the reality of enjoying it moored up quayside.
The Seafaring Swift — catch it while it’s momentarily tied down somewhere, as once it sets off it swiftly disappears over the horizon.