Introduction:
Steven R. Covey coined the phrase, "start with the end in mind". Very solid advice to build upon, from a wise and scholared man.
The "end" in this case will be a completed Pirate Ship of your own design, built by scratch with your own hands.
So what shall you do if you are still pondoring how to begin, without a clear picture in your minds eye of the "end" goal?
Well, that is precisly what I intend to answer. In order to help you "start with the end in mind" I have provide a picture of the completed Pirate ship project. With this picture, you will now be able to visualize the end. Then you can walk with me as we work together toward the training and instruction that will guide you on the path of creating your very own hand crafted pirate ship. It is now time to roll back the clock, and start a step by step tutorial so that you can begin to build a pirate ship of your own design.
Part 1:
Start with the end in mind.
The ship that I have selected is named "De Wolven", or translated, "The Wolves". This ship is the Sixty First (LXI) ship in my collection. Most of my previous creations have been built by request for private collectors. In addition to the ships that I have sold, several are kept for my own personal collection. My studio office and game room have shelves lined with my fleet of ships, which are used for both display and historical pirate gaming.
De Wolven is a 2-mast Brig, square rigged, with a total of 8-gun ports and a removeable quarter deck that opens to reveal the captains quarters. De Wolven is equiped with up to four swivel/volley guns, two fore and two aft. In addition the sails are rigged red and black to add color contrast. The sails are made of imported Italian canvas, with orginal artwork designs to add the collectible touch to the ship. The ship is 25/28mm scale (or 1:72 to 1:76 scale) and will hold 10-12 figures on the deck, plus deck guns.
With time, and hard work, you CAN build your own pirate ships. Follow along and I will step you through the process.
Getting Started:
First you will need some basic art supplies.
- Various sculpting tools, dental tools, or assorted gadgets.
- Large rolling pin, and exacto knife or kit.
- A small saw blade, contained within the exacto kit.
- Sculpting clay, and a work surface.
- Wood doll rods and skewers of various sizes.
- Canvas for the sails and 110lbs card stock paper for patterns.
I have found that the Super Sculpey brand is an excellent material. It is high quality beige-pink clay that is very workable for modeling and tooling. Once baked in a conventional household oven, it is very strong, and is chip and shatter resistant. It can even be drilled as needed to add any miscellaneous parts. I however prefer to add most of the add-on details, wood dolls, masts, etc. before baking.
Super Sculpey gives a ceramic like finish and takes acrylic paints very well. After a quick primer, you will find that the clay holds the fine details with amazing clarity.
You can pick up all the items you need at your local art store, my preference is to shop at Dick Blick Art supplies, the pricing is fair and they offer coupons for frequent shoppers. It helps that I have one close by too.
Ships Plans:
Begin the build with a set of plans for your ship. For me I only use a few basic patterns, then I create as built parts with clay as I go. In time, I will make a full set of detailed ship plans that can be shared in a PDF format, then printed.
The plans shown to the left are of the hull, gunwale or sides, the stern, quarter deck and bulkhead, and the small forecastle deck.
=> Most other parts must be as built for size and shape as you go.
Cutting the patterns:
Use your large roller pin to flatten the clay. Keep the clay approximatley 1/2-inch thick for the main deck. Gunwales/sides will be the same or thicker.
As you flatten the clay, flip it over often to avoid it from sticking to the work surface, and to ensure you do not have air pockets trapped inside the clay.
=> Notice how the flatten clay is larger than the hull pattern.
The hull pattern has a center fold to help with alignment of the pieces. Flatten the patern on the clay, then use a flat cutting tool to trim the edges of the clay.
Follow this same step with the gunwale/sides. You will need to trace two side, one for the port and the other for the starboard sides of the ship.
For now, I will only cut the three main pieces, however the picture to the left shows the placement of the other pieces, which I will cut out later in the build.
I have found that as you work the clay the parts tend to expand a bit, so for this reason I hold off on cutting the quarter deck, and forecastle (forward) decks.
If you look closely, you can see the center line on the main hull and also you can see a center cross line as well.
=> Retrace these two lines as you work the clay for future reference.
Prepare the pieces for assembly:
Layout each of the two gunwale/sides. The picture to the right is the starboard (right) side of the ship. With the edge of the exacto knife handle, roll over the edge to flatten it.
This flatten edge will be used to form the main deck/hull with the two side of the ship. Notice how I am guiding the edge of the exacto handle and "pinching" the flatten edge to form a 1/2" inch boarder.
=> Do not flatten it too much, this will be used to bond the pieces.
Repeat the step above for the port (left) gunwale/side. Notice how I have placed the pieces, left and right next to the main deck/hull piece.
I find that arranging the pieces as they will be assembled, helps to visualize how the pieces will be placed together.
=> The flatten edges do not need to be perfectly straight.
Assemble the pieces:
Place the first side on the main deck/hull. Line up the flatten edge beginning at the stern (rear) of the ship.
The flatten edge will line up, assuming the edge and the hull are both about 1/2 inch thick.
Press the pieces together as you go, working the clay from the outside of the side/gunwale with your fingers.
Work your fingers along the edge from the outside, firmly pressing the side/gunwale into the main deck/hull piece to bond the two together.
Begin to form the ship:
As you place the second side/gunwale, working the edge as explained above, keep in mind the two bow pieces must meet.
You can form the bow of the ship by turning the two flat edges toward each other, then press them together. Pinch the two pieces together firmly.
=> You do not need to work the bow to much, we will tool it in much greater detail later in the build.
After both peices are formed together, revisit the edge by pressing firmly along the entire edge, port (left) and starboard (right). Work the edge from bow to stern and stern to bow repeatedly to ensure the pieces are bonded together.
Keep an eye on the shape, as you work the clay with your hands, meading and forming the pieces into your ship.
=> Remember to re-trace your center lines as needed.
Concluding part 1:
This concludes part ONE of how to build a Pirate ship. Stay tuned for the next installment, as we will being to "tool" the pieces, trimming any excess clay in some areas and adding clay to strengthen other areas.
- At this point, your ship is just beginning to take shape. Soon you be ready to add the stern bulkhead and quarter decks.
Good luck with your first steps into creating your own pirate ship and do not be too critical of yourself, art takes time and hours or patients. Your skill will come over time, with many trials and errors. So if the ship is NOT perfect, keep going forward. We have lots of time to work in the details and make it take shape.
John T Cusack
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