my point was not what is scratch building, what i was trying to get at is, has this hobby become a ship in a box with everything mass produced and all the pieces and parts put in a box. There is such a thing as a scratch built kit an example of this is the Swan Class projects where you buy the plans, select the wood you want to use, cut all your own wood or source out the wood and buy either pre milled or bulk. Search for things like fittings, rigging blocks etc. or make your own.
i consider myself a scratch builder and never search through available "kits" i pick a subject of interest start by planning out the build, make a material list, and use whatever resources i can ie. laser cutters, 3d printers, computer aided drafting. some of the work is sent out like the actual laser cutting. sometimes i hire a 3d artist. but the project started with me, i am the master shipwright on the build.
This has become the lost art of model ship building.
Kurt
No, just very scarce, made moreso by the scarcity of people inspired and skilled enough to make anything with their own hands.
i agree the lack of inspiration, it is easier to pick a box off the shelf as opposed to coming up with an original idea. but as for the lack of skill i do not agree it takes as much skill to build a kit as it does to start from scratch. To scratch build there is the prepping that is milling all your own wood but there are services available and sources of pre milled wood. What came in the mail is a stack of sheet wood and dimensioned scale lumber it is up to you to turn that into a ship model.
so! scratch building as was done by the past generation of guys like Harold Hahn and Robert Bruckshaw is a dying art form. and those who pursue the art of model ship building are few and far between.
what are we passing along to the next generation a bunch of hobby crafted mass produced ships from a box or the art of scale model ship building?
But then again who really cares?
Glen Grieco
liberalarts.tamu.edu
david Warther
David Warther Carvings Museum - We are preserving, promoting and exhibiting the artwork of nationally known maritime artist David Warther who has carved ships and vessels from Ivory and wood depicting the history of ships.
warther.org
Actually, there is a cobbler one town over who repair some German jackboots for me once. And, I know a guy who makes bagpipes. I just visited some glass makers in Minneapolis last week. Also, my friend makes supplements his family income as a 19th century copper lamp maker. Many of the old arts are gone, but some survive, and others are relegated to the hobby realm, like what I do.
