The Cutty Sark - a build log {part 3}

    I was faced with a perplexing dilemma…..what to do about the white depth markers.  I went on line to try to find a solution.  I happened onto a site of another person that does decals.  I wrote to him, including a scan of the depth markers, explaining my problem.  he promptly wrote back saying that he could do them and told me it would cost around ten dollars.  I shot back an e-mail giving the go-ahead, not wasting any time.  I wanted these decals to be perfect.  given my current state of graphic knowledge, this would be a crap shoot, at best.  in order to produce these particular decals, a scan of these decals would have to be manipulated with a paint shop program.  The depth markers are made up in a group of roman numerals, stacked one on top of another….the bow is staggered in gradual steps, while the stern markers are listed in a straight formation.  the lettering would have to be changed to a color with pigment, like a light gray.  the alternative is to use the white decal paper, bordering all the letters with a black outline and then altering the background so that it becomes transparent.  this process is called layering.  the letters would be considered one layer, while the background would be another.  while i waited to hear from this gentleman, I tried my hand at it.  after a few tries and deleting each one, I tabled it, the frustration level too high to continue.  I turned my attention to what I knew best….I went back to working on the Cutty.       the frustration carried along with me, almost messing up the aft stanchions that are to hold the pair of life boats above the second structure.  I saw my mistake and quickly corrected it before permanent damage was done.  after a short pause, clearing my thoughts, I set back to work again.  before long, both life boats were saddled in the stanchion, the Cutty name embossing their bows.  all the while this process was coming to fruition, I was touching up minor defects as i found them.  I installed the trail boards and completed the anchor assembly, suspending them from the catheads and the bow cleats.  the figure head was next on the list, in which i had to make a slight change also.  in a photo of the bow of the original Cutty Sark, Nannie Dee, the depiction of the figurehead, is completely white with a gold sash around her dress.  where I had painted the horn of the bow a light gray as well as the bow spirit, I decided to change her up a little.  there is just too much artistry to pass up. I painted her in a light blue bodice with a gold sash.  her bare skin was painted flesh tone and her hair a dark brown.  when she was dry, she was then cemented onto the horn.
     The Cutty Sark was named after a poem called “Tam O’Shanter, written by Robert Burns.  it is a classic poem, written in old English with a Scottish flare.  the name Cutty Sark, translated, means “short shirt”.  in the poem, a farmer by the name of Tam O’Shanter, was in the town of Ayer, on the other side of the river Doon. he was drinking at the local tavern and he stayed much too late.  the setting of the poem is around the 1800’s, back in the days of folklore and stories.  due to these beliefs, folks didn’t venture out much at night, fearing that they might meet up with the devil, or something worse.  night time was know to them as sort of a witching hour, the plot of the poem is as such.  Tam left the tavern and on his horse, he went on his way home, on the other side of the river.  on the way, he paused to witness a ghastly sight.  a group of witches were dancing around a warlock, disrobing as they danced and Tam, as drunk as he was, watched with great interest.  he then spied a young witch that was clothed in a bodice that looked too small for her.  in his excitement, he exclaimed “weel done, cutty sark!”.  this enraged the witches and they gave chase after him!  his only chance to out run them was to cross the river, since witches can’t cross open water.  Nannie Dee was the name of the witch who led the chase and just as he crossed the river, she made an attempt to grab him.  she fell short, only to get a hold of the horse’s tail and tear it from the beast, by the root!  Tam made it home, safe and sound, the same not to be said of the horse though.
     by this time, a couple of weeks went by and still no word from the fellow about the decals.  I e-mailed him asking if there was any progress on them.  he replied, saying that it was very busy there and he hadn’t had a chance as of yet, but he would.  I really hated to bother him, but i was hoping that he might have at least something to tell me.  maybe soon, I thought to myself, tabling the Cutty for the time being.  in the event that I got the decals, I could still have the option of being able to lay her on her side to put them on.  I did some more research on decal making and winning a bid on e-bay to own another kit that I had built in the past.  this kit is the U.S.S. United States, a kit that since the late 80’s, I had not been able to find again due to it’s rarity.  in my travels, I heard many ideas about how to reproduce these decals…..one of which was to draw them on the ship.  I dismissed it though because the chance of making a grave mistake was too great.  I did start to wonder about this idea though….how about if I tried to trace the depth markers on the decal sheet with a paint marker?  I had around six copies of these decals and i could make more if i needed to.
     I went looking for a light gray paint marker.  my wife and youngest son was already looking and they brought home a couple that they thought would work.  they were of the metallic type however, an aspect of color that I couldn’t use.  I did manage to find a white, fine tipped paint marker, as luck would have it, but I still held hope that this fellow was going to come through with the decals.  a couple more weeks had gone by in this time frame, I decided to contact him again.  he wrote back saying that he had forgotten about them……..Which to me, translated into…..”errr, I really don’t feel like doing it.”  that settled it!  I was going to do these decals on my own…..using my idea!
     It took all six of those copies, but I ended up with a satisfactory set of depth markers.  they were not perfect….there are a couple of small defects, but I decided to use them anyway.  the tip wasn’t sharp enough, so I took it out of the marker {it is removable} and made it a bit sharper with my x-actor knife.  from there I had to figure out how much to bear down and how fast to move the marker.  once i got that down to a science, the next few started to look better.  after I had the set that I was going to use, I sprayed them with the bonder…remembering to go a little heavier with it.  I then let them dry for a couple of days……in this time I sent an e-mail to the fellow, telling him to cancel the order and that I did it myself.  when they were dry, I put them on the ship:






     now the decaling is complete…they are all on the ship.  she has a name, prominently displayed on the bow.  what makes me feel even better, is the fact that I did all this on my own.  i thank my friends for the pictures of the decals, because without them, I would be totally lost.  this has given me a whole different perspective about decals.  if I even have an idea that they are old, I will spray them with the bonder and perhaps save myself from all this grief.  I also am going to scan every decal I come in contact with, just in case something like this comes up again….or if I have a kit that doesn’t have any.  this will also widen my decal library, so that I may have more choices down the road.  my wife has told me that she has books on the subject of paint shop in the cellar.  I am going to bring them up and do some studying on the subject….maybe if my wife sees it, it may come back to her and she can help me if I need it.  as I said in an earlier blog….modeling is an accumulation of knowledge and skill.  I find that my craft has just broadened before my eyes.  this whole episode took about two and a half months to come to a close.  hopefully, next time, I will be better prepared.  this brings my build log up to date.  I will add more as the build progresses………we’ll leave the light on for ya!