IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND MANUFACTURE OF MODELS OF SHIPS, BOATS, OR OTHER VESSELS
Year: 1860

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Henry Batchelor at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 14th December
1860.
I, HENRY BATCHELOR, of Newport, Monmouthshire, Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
AND MANUFACTURE OF MODELS OF SHIPS, BOATS, OR OTHER VESSELS," to be as
follows:-
This Invention relates to several modes of constructing and manufacturing
models of ships, boats, or other vessels, by which the cost of such models is
greatly reduced, and by which means very perfect forms of boats or vessels
may be obtained at a comparatively trifling expense suitable for being, used by
ship and boat builders as models, or for other uses, such as ornaments, toys, or
for boxes for containing various articles; and the first part of my Invention
consists in constructing or manufacturing such models from sheets of card-
board, paper, or other material in sheets, such as prepared woven or other
fabrics, paper, cloth, leather, leather cloth, felted or waterproof fabrics, scale-
board, veneers, or thin sheet metal, which are capable of being shaped to the
desired forms, as hereafter described.
In order to construct the model of a boat or other vessel according to this
part of my Invention, I first take a sheet of card-board or other suitable material,
as above stated, and draw or print on one side thereof by lithographic or other
printing processes the various lines which, when the model is made up, will
represent the various lines of the interior of the vessel, such as the ribs, keel,
or other parts of the interior surface, and in like manner I draw, print, or

page_text: color the other side of the said sheet with suitable lines and surfaces to repre-
sent the water line, bottom, or other parts of the exterior surface of the boat
or other vessel when made up, and portions of the surfaces may be embossed
with lines or ornaments if desired. The printed or colored card thus prepared
is next to be cut or punched out at each end to form the bow and stern, and
suitable incisions or slits are also made in the sides so as to facilitate the
shaping of the model of the boat or vessel upon the block or form upon which
the model is made up. This block or formi may consist of a piece of wood or
other material, or a casting in metal, plaster of Paris, or other cement may be
employed formed or modelled to the same shape as the interior surface of
the model boat or vessel it is intended to make up or manufacture thereon.
To this block or mould the sheet of cardboard or other material previously
prepared as described is applied so as to fit the block, to which it is attached
in any convenient manner, and the joinings of the bow, stern, or other parts
may be accomplished by sewing or cementing together, and in some cases it
may be desirable to shape the model of the boat or vessel by pressure in a
hollow mould of corresponding form to the block above described. When the
model is thus far-prepared,-and-the-parts are firmly united, strips of card-
board or other material to represent strakes of plank are applied to the
interior and exterior surfaces, and secured thereto by sewing, by marine glue,
or by other means.
The model may then be removed from the block or
mould, and finished by hand, according to the taste of the designer, by the
application of raised or projecting parts to represent the various parts of a
boat or other vessel, and if intended to be used as a toy to float upon water, it
may be rendered waterproof by the application of waterproof or other varnish
impervious to water. The planks forming the interior and exterior of the
model boat or vessel may be printed separately in color apart from the sheet
forming the body of the boat or vessel, then cut out and attached to the inner
and outer surfaces of the model marine glue, or by other means.
some forms of model boats or vessels it may be desirable to shape or form
them in separate halves or parts, afterwards uniting them together, and
finishing, as before described.
For
The fore parts, the stern, and other projecting or ornamental parts of such
models may be formed by moulding them in suitable moulds from paper pulp,
cement, or other compounds, or by embossing processes, and afterwards
applying such parts to the shell or body of the boat or vessel when finishing
the same, and such shells, hulls, or bodies may be likewise formed by
moulding them in suitable moulds from paper pulp, gutta percha, or other
suitable materials or compounds. In place of constructing the models of

page_text: boats from a sheet of paper, cardboard, or other material, as previously
described, they may be made up of a number of strips of paper, fabric, or
other suitable material laid in diagonal and vertical lines over the surface of
a block or mould, and pasted or cemented together until of sufficient substance
to form the shell or hull of a model boat or vessel upon which the ribs, planks,
or other parts may be affixed in any convenient manner, or the shells or hulls
of such model boats or vessels may be constructed by coating the surface
of the block or mould with india-rubber solution or other adhesive materials,
and then laying fabrics or fibrous material thereon, or sifting flock or other
substance in powder over it, then drying so as to be able to remove the shell
from the block or mould, and finishing the same by hand as before stated.
For some forms of model boats or vessels it will be necessary to make the
moulds or blocks in separate parts capable of being keyed or held together
whilst in use, and so as to be easily separated and removed in parts when
required. The moulds or blocks may also have channels cut or formed therein
in which the ribs or frame of a model boat or vessel may be formed by means
of wax, cement, paper pulp, or plastic material pressed or otherwise introduced
into such channels.
Another part of my improvements in constructing or manufacturing models
of boats or other vessels consists in forming the various parts in separate
pieces so as to be capable of being put together and united by cement, or
otherwise to form a complete model, in order to afford instruction to young
persons or others in the art of ship or boat building; and I prefer to form
the several parts of such models by similar means to those previously described,
wire being inserted into some of the parts. When it is intended to make
use of model boats or vessels constructed according to my Invention for boxes
or receptacles for various articles, the decks, which will serve as covers or lids,
may be formed and printed as described in respect to the other parts of the
Invention.