80th Anniversary - RMS Queen Mary

Today is the 80th anniversary of the maiden voyage of Cunard's flagship, the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary.

Hull number 534 became the RMS Queen Mary, and set sail from Southampton docks via Cherbourg to New York city on 27 May 1936. By summer she held the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing.

Both the Mary and her sister ship RMS Queen Elizabeth carried war brides from the UK to Canada during and after WWII. The Mary carried over 1000 women, plus their babies, plus 14 Red Cross escort officers, on a single voyage.

The Mary made 1000 trans-Atlantic crossings by the time she was sold in 1967, and is now a museum and hotel in the USA.

3rd Annual Military Hobby Show

CMMG will have a presence at the upcoming 3rd Annual Military Hobby Show.

For more information, click here.

More Meetings Start in the Autumn

CMMG has had its last meeting for the year. Subject to change due to circumstances the next one will be on September 6, 2016. In the meantime there are still some activities CMMG will be participating in, such as the upcoming Military Hobby Show.

HMCS Haida

Royal Canadian Mint Issuing Coin of Marco Polo

The Royal Canadian Mint is issuing a limited release one ounce gold coin depicting the New Brunswick tall ship, Marco Polo.

The mint will issue 675 of these coins at $2,699.95 each. Click here for more information on the coin and the ship.

Royal Canadian Mint releases Special Edition Silver Dollar Proof Set – 150th Anniversary of the Transatlantic Cable (2016)

The Royal Canadian Mint released a new dollar coin depicting S.S. Great Eastern. The earlier coin showed the starboard side of the ship. The new coin shows the port side. It is only available in the 2016 proof coin set, of which 12,500 will be available. See more on the Mint's web site.

"This coin takes you back 150 years to Heart's Content, Newfoundland, when the transatlantic telegraph cable was laid. Imagine the excitement as people gathered on shore to admire the gargantuan ship that completed the epic task—recreated here in stunning detail on a coloured silver dollar that's not available with any other set. A must-have collectible!

"The Special Proof Dollar Coin Design:

"This special proof dollar reverse design by Canadian marine artist Yves Bérubé features a three-quarter port-side view of S.S. Great Eastern anchored offshore in the natural harbour of Heart's Content, N.L. Selective colour over engraving recreates the appearance of this great iron steamer, whose impressive size easily dwarfs the local gaff-rigged fishing boat (known as a Jack Boat) that sits off her port bow. Her four funnels and six masts rise up to fill the upper portion of the reverse, while the rolling hills that surround Trinity Bay can be seen in the background. On the beach, local residents gather to admire and study this historic ship, while two of her officers proudly stand on the rocks that line the shore."

May 2016 Meeting

The May CMMG will happen on May 3, 2016, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Nepean Museum, 16 Rowley. Bring your show and tell items. Work in progress always helps everyone.

West Lake Pleasure Boat

This is a 1/30 (?) scale all-wood model of a Chinese pleasure boat still seen on West Lake near Beijing.
It is a plank-on-frame construction without metal parts. I added the brass bolts for look and strength. The hull wood is dark, possibly mahogany, but has been stained with furniture repair felt pens, then coated with clear varnish. I am very pleased with the outcome of this Chinese wood model kit I acquired from AliExpress for about $20.
John Clearwater

Chinese War Junk

Here is my newly-finished Chinese War Junk with five masts.
I know nothing about the actual ship as the instructions (seen in the first image) are totally and completely in Chinese, without even dates showing in English. This would have been a huge ship, and until the ruling class forbade distant sea travel, would have been the battleships of their time ranging around Asia prior to 1490.
It is an all-wood, plank-on-frame laser-cut kit I bought on AliExpress for about $15.
The colouration of the hull was accomplished with furniture repair felt pens which have various wood stain dyes, and are excellent for adding colour and depth to the actual wood. The deck was rubbed with grey powder to wear and wash out the new wood look. 
Now that I have more experience with Asian sails, I was able to build the sails and masts and rigging in a single weekend.
John Clearwater
Ottawa

Ottawa Military Heritage Show

The Ottawa Military Heritage Show 2016

Saturday  30 April 2016

09:00 - 15:00

Nepean Sportsplex

1701 Woodroffe Ave, Ottawa

Tickets $8. (or $20  for early 08:00 admission)

Wooden Greek Fishing Boat

This is said to be a 1/30 scale wooden model of a Greek fishing boat from a Chinese toy company. It is a plank-on-frame model. The fit is rather good but the overall kit is somewhat crude. A little bit of work makes it far better than the out-of-box version. The plans are awful and missing details, and are only in Chinese. It took three weeks to plank the hull, then a week to finish and paint the hull. Numbers on the side are from an aircraft model kit decal sheet. I like the effect of real wood and of the wooden deck. The stained wood effect comes from touch-up pens for repairing furniture damage such as small nicks and scrapes. It was mail ordered from Ali Express in China for about $15. It took less than a month to finish.
John Clearwater,  Ottawa

2016 Military Hobby Show Coming Soon

April 2016 Meeting

Here's hoping winter is a thing of the past by the time the April meeting gets here. The April CMMG will happen on April 5, 2016, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Nepean Museum, 16 Rowley.

Bring out your show and tell items and anything else you think may be of interest.

March 2016 Meeting

We start off early in March, while spring is imminent. The March CMMG will happen on March 1, 2016, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Nepean Museum, 16 Rowley.

S.S. Great Eastern on Canadian Coin

The Royal Canadian Mint has issued a commemorative coin of the 150th anniversary of the successful completion of a permanent transatlantic telegraph cable on July 27, 1866.

Designed by Canadian marine artist Yves Bérubé, the coin shows S.S. Great Eastern in Heart’s Content, Newfoundland.

Click here to visit the Royal Canadian Mint's web page with more information about this coin.

February 2016 Meeting

As you can see from recent posts on this blog site there is quite a bit going on at the monthly magazines. What you see here is really just the tip of the iceberg. The February CMMG will happen on February 2, 2016, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Nepean Museum, 16 Rowley. Bring your show and tell items. Don't have any such items? Come out and see what other members bring.

Sultana. This was a club project.

1/700 Scale Model of USS Forrestal

Ed Chan

December 2015 & January 2016 Pics

Ed Chan

Rotating Deck Cannon

Days after completing this 1:50 scale rotating deck cannon I fell on it when I slipped in water in a parking lot. It took a couple of hours to repair the minor damage caused when the cannon ripped away from the carriage.
I bough the Oneida kit from AliExpress.com in China for about US$20. The kit comes with everything, including very tiny photo-etch parts. It is lovely and I would recommend the kit to anyone with tiny tweezers!
John Clearwater - Ottawa.

Green Eyebrows - Admiral Zheng He - 1433

I have finished my third sailing vessel, Admiral Zheng He's "GREEN EYEBROWS".
The build took two weeks. The hull took one week and the sails took another week.
It is a model of a 30m general purpose ship which sailed with sixty vessels on the seventh world voyage of Admiral Zheng He and returned to China after a three year voyage in 1433. Zheng and his fleet got as far as Mecca and Mogadishu during the 7th voyage.
The kit cam from AliExpress.com in China and cost about $25.
John Clearwater - Ottawa.