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A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

Started by peewit
19 replies 24 likes Last activity: 6 years ago
#20

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

I remember having clockwork tinplate submarines as a child. I also have vague memories of a clockwork tinplate warship, on wheels, non floating. About ten years ago in France there was a weekly magazine offer consisting of a tin toy and a magazine all about it, They were mainly vintage cars, a seaplane and a warship (wheeled) they were all clockwork and said to be replicas of 1920's toys. I have a motorcycle and sidecar from that series somewhere around.

Cheers, Nerys
When the winds before the rain, soon you may make sail again, but when the rain's before the wind, tops'l sheets and halyards mind
Liked by Martin555
#19

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

Close though Martin😉
😎
Young at heart 😉 Slightly older in other places.😊 Cheers Doug
Liked by Martin555
#18

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

Sorry peewit looks like i got it wrong again LOL!!

Wrong link! Oops!

Martin555.
If it looks right it probably is.
#17

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

But this one will take you straight to mactin's various U Boat threads Peewit.
https://model-boats.com/forum?q=clockwork
I just searched 'clockwork' in the 'Forum' tab.😉
He must have run out of tins, haven't seem him around since May last year.
He used tins of all kinds, biscuits, drinks, etc etc, drives and gearboxes from old clocks, frames & chassis from old gas fires😮 What ever was being chucked out or cheap at flea markets! A very clever and talented guy.
Shame he's disappeared🤔 Hope he's OK🤔
Happy browsing👍
Cheers, Doug 😎
PS "Peewit, a fictional dwarf in the Belgian comics series Johan and Peewit.
Peewit: a blond, gluttonous dwarf, he lived in the forest neighbouring the King's castle playing practical jokes on the people and stealing meats and apples before being hired as the court jester. He agreed, provided that he was not obliged to wear the jester's outfit, which he felt made him look like a "fool" (which is another term for jester). His name is pronounced "Peewee".
Contrary to what he believes himself, Peewit is a terrible musician, though, unlike Cacofonix from the Asterix series, the other inhabitants of the castle cannot bring themselves to tell him how bad he is — though the King did once make a show of removing earplugs in Peewit's presence. His "music" has also been known to cause rain.
Peewit is easily upset, especially when Johan volunteers him to go on another adventure but, being cunning and agile, he is quite capable of escaping from a tight corner and putting up a fight. When outwitting his enemies, he screams out his cry of triumph: "Peeeewiiiiit". In the Smurfs cartoon series, rather than being a random dwarf, he is the King's nephew, as he states in the episode The Sorcery Of Maltrochu, and is portrayed as a kid, younger than Johan."
Or does your user name come from the Northern Lapwing or Magpie Lark?😉
Young at heart 😉 Slightly older in other places.😊 Cheers Doug
Liked by mturpin013
#15

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

Thanks I will try to find them. If you look on the “Bring back toy boats Facebook page they had something on clockwork tin submarines a couple of weeks ago.
Liked by Martin555
#14

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

Hi Peewit , a few years ago a member mactin put up some beautiful tin subs with clockwork internals the subs had been built from old biscuit tins ,worth a look .
Cheers Marky👍
Liked by Martin555
#13

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

Looking back at some articles and talking to a few people it seems that people were making model ships from tin plate from the early 1900’s.

Lot of advantages, a lot of things came, packed in good quality tin plate in those days from food to petrol. It was cheep, and people had the skills and time to work with it.

It seems to have been used almost exclusively for battleships and military marine models both working and static. Some were and apparently. still are being produced by specialist modellers although the source material ie good quality tin plate is more difficult to source these days.

This thing is not made from food grade tin - most of it is much thicker Oil drum stuff, but I suppose you use what you have got if you know how to do it, it’s about and it doesn’t cost you anything.
Liked by Martin555
#12

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

I live near Swansea, but do not have a dog to walk, perhaps that's why I never see schooners and A class yachts in dustbins. That's what I call luck.

Cheers, Nerys
When the winds before the rain, soon you may make sail again, but when the rain's before the wind, tops'l sheets and halyards mind
Liked by Martin555 and RNinMunich
#11

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

I think you are possibly right about the building and the oil drums. The brain gear sounds about right as well. The rudder spindle is much more flimsy than I would expect A model maker to use its supported but I suppose you used what you had.

I seem to specialise in the odd. The schooner was found in a skip in Swansea by a friend of mine while walking his dog.
The phone call went, “ hi Dave, I’ve sent you a picture but I am standing right next to it at the moment - do you want me to take it home?” To my answer of yes he replied “ do you want the A class yatch as well?”.

So I have two A class yatch hulls now. It’s good to have friends.
Liked by Martin555 and Nerys
#10

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

This is a very interesting model, let's face it, a bit different from the usual run of things on here.
My guess, also, is that she is a model of a real ship that was being built and one of the shipyard workers built her as a sort of souvenir. She looks pretty well in proportion. The Brain gear is interesting, I wonder if that was a latter addition. I imagine she was built from old oil drums was because that was what he had available.

At £80 in an auction I certainly think she was worth a punt.

I like the look of that four masted schooner you have.

Cheers, Nerys
When the winds before the rain, soon you may make sail again, but when the rain's before the wind, tops'l sheets and halyards mind
Liked by Martin555 and peewit
#9

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

Hi peewit,
RE :- the question I would like to know is exactly why Did he do it out Of old oil drums.

It could be that was the only material available to him/her at the time.

There were a lot of models and toys made from tin plate, even big toy manufactures were turning them out by the thousands.

Or perhaps it was just for the challenge.

Martin555.
If it looks right it probably is.
Liked by Nerys
#7

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

Someone's gone to a lot of trouble to build it ! Very interesting.

JB.


Edit. Moved here from the double post. Martin555.(Admin)
If it looks right it probably is.
Liked by peewit
#6

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

Hi peewit,
There seems to be two threads on this subject at the same time.

So i have deleted one and moved Jb's comment over to this one.

Hopefully LOL!

Martin555. (Admin)
If it looks right it probably is.
Liked by peewit
#5

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

I don’t really post near that much so don’t really know people but please anybody .... get in touch about it.
Liked by Martin555
#4

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

It’s not actually that big, probably about 60 hours to rig and sort things out.

A bit like the Grint it’s not going to sail much, to big to heavy and to far to get a good bit of water for it.

The mane thing is to try to document the thing. It came with an Italian merchant Maureen flag so I think it was probably a real ship registered in Italy. People were still making metal Barques Certainly until 1910 because they were being registered.

I want to find out what the ship is and if anybody else ever made any sail powered tin plate ships.

Looking at this one I suspect it was probably made by a tradesman working At a dock or boat yard in his down time or at home.

The old sails hooked on to the masts so you could set whatever sail plan you liked up for any conditions so he understood and had probably sailed on something like this.

The metalwork is - well Not exactly normal model quality. This chap certainly knew what he was doing with a soldering iron and built a battleship god help anything it hit. He understood brain gear but how things are laid out just isn’t how I think an experienced model maker would do things.
Still for £80 hammer price at an auction in Diss I could not really leave it.

Must have taken a long time to make - the question I would like to know is exactly why Did he do it out Of old oil drums.

It really is heavy.
Liked by Martin555
#3

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

Ah now that is a great looking model, at first glance it looks pretty complete and the rudder looks in proportion, but I think Nerys would be the right person to speak to, she has a lot of sailing experience both in models and real life, I'll certainly be watching this with a lot of interest.

Bill
Liked by Martin555
#2

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

Hi peewit,
It looks like you have a big job ahead of you.
Good luck.

Martin555.
If it looks right it probably is.
Liked by peewit
#1

A Tin Plate Free Sailing Barque

I have recently acquired a free sailing Barque. 110cm long Hull ..... and made out of tin plate.

I think that I am coming to some sort of an understanding of the working rigging of a barque now having had some input from a friend of mine down in Wales - although any other input would be most appreciated. I think I might leave this as a free sailor like the Grint - a four masted coasting schooner that I have.

More old rotted sails keep coming to light as I dig around in the bowels of this thing and dry it our. Yes there was about a gallon of water in it when I got it - don’t ask, I don’t know why, but I suppose it proves that the hull is watertight.

Not bothered about the sails - it came with a full set of new ones. I know a little bit about tin plate boats, well I do now as I have been reading up. Although I have found out quite a bit on people making working tin ships I have found no references at all to any sail powered ones.

Looking at this I think that it was initially made as a working model, watertight bulkheads, watertight hatches, drain holes to clear the decks of water, Much simplified fairly clear decks, detachable sails etc. Oh, and I forgot, what seems to be the remnants of brains gear which once operated of the spanker like on the Grint ( pictures attached) but on this one it operates on much too small a rudder. I dont think this chap had that much experience of sailing models.

It seems that at a later date things were rigged up so that the ships wheel could actualy work the rudder via strings but the roof of the arft structure has been soldered on over the workings so at the moment observations and examination is being carried out through a 2cm door while moving things about inside with operating forceps and shining a torch in through a very small porthole.

I can see why it finished up as a static, probably in someone’s workshop down at a dock somewhere. It is bloody heavy and you would have needed a very substantial pram to carry it.

Anyway, between other projects it is providing some light and enjoyable relief.
Liked by mturpin013 and Colin H and

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