It’s the most successful one I’ve seen. The others are built with no worries about the details that are too coarse in the original model. I also like traces of rust, shark cages and storage trunks. BRAVO ! Hello from FRANCE !
Just doing one currently, its a redo of one what was build in the 1970/ 1980’s i believe. Got it cheap on marketplace and still nearly 100% complete. Had to take it apart as the old glue used in the original build was failing due to its age i presume. Fun to do anyway. Your vessel has fantastic details, well done 👍👍👍
I bought the dumas model American Beauty in 1974. I built part of it, put it away, then life got in the way. Now retired, I finished the model and I also detailed the interior, although no one will ever see it, but it was fun. My next project is this very model, the Calypso model from Billings. My son bought it for me for Christmas. Right now he is redoing my model room and I can’t wait to get started. You did a beautiful job on yours. I plan to detail the heck out of mine also.
I did think of building the American beauty at one time. At 37 inches I bet it looks impressive. I have not built any models in the last couple of years but I`ve had some of my best moments building them. Have fun with the Calypso. I think I worked on it for a couple of years and it was a great Journey. Take care Earl....Josh
Only those who have built a Billings kit will know how challenging it is, and will appreciate what you have achieved, it is a work of art. My Zwarte Zee had me pulling my hair out at times. I am currently 3D printing a 1.1m Calypso just to see if it is possible, and yours is going to make an excellent reference model. Thanks for posting.
I love Billings Kits. The Calypso was hours and hours of fun ! I have thought about the Zwartz Zee. No doubt it will take you a while. Great time spent.
The helicopter that was flown aboard Calypso was a Hughes 269 (Howard Hughes aircraft company). Used a 4 cylinder gas engine. Sometimes it is mentioned that it was a Schweizer -269. McDonnell Douglas bought the rights from Hughes, then Schweizer bought them from McDonnell Douglas. Now Sikorsky owns the design. They are the same aircraft with minor upgrades over the years. It's typically known as the Hughes-Schweizer 300 (300 for an improved engine).
I’m a Master Mariner and sailed for many years on many different cargo and container ships. I was a big Cousteau fan and my favourite ship was always the Calypso. I built a small model of it as a teenager but Mr Willson’s model is truly amazing. The detail is quite astonishing from the lighting to the radar to the work benches the helicoptor and everything else.
Hi Martin, welcome to my channel. It sounds like you have lived an adventurous life. I love to build ships but have a bit of weak stomach on the water. The Calypso has always been a favorite of mine. Cousteaus adventures always facinated me. Cheers
Absolutely beautiful model, incredibly well done. I'm picking up a part done one next weekend. Looking forward to having one again very much. I had the kit back in the late 1980s when it first came out and loved it, very much regretted selling it, so I'm eagerly anticipating having one again and getting it on the water.
Just in the process of completing mine at the moment...love all the extra bits and pieces on board....your right it is a crying shame on the state of her at the moment..she should be on show for all to see not lying in a boat warehouse all broken up...anyway love what you’ve done with the kit 👍
Great job ! Finally started on mine this week and plan on having it RC as well . I bought the kit like 20 years ago , ha haa ! I like the side wooden detail on the hull you did and the other weathering as well.... Really adds realism to it .
Very nice build. I have an old Graupner Littorina, Robbe Paloma and Dumas Carol Moran that I've built years ago and still enjoy today. Covid-19 forced me into an early retirement so I have been wanting to do some building again and watching your videos really motivated me. I'd love to see any other boat projects you might have, and since you mentioned your a smoker, I would encourage you to try vaping. There's a lot of controversy over vaping but 99% of it is BS. Both my wife and I transitioned to vaping and we immediately started feeling more healthy. Within 2 years we were vaping zero nicotine varieties, and I've since quit vaping, which was as easy as just saying no more, but my wife still vapes from time to time. Anyway, it's your life so you do what you want for it, but I'd sure like having you around longer. Best wishes!
Hi there, Thanks for the kind words...I`d love to get back into modelling. I havent built anything in a couple years. Life just sort of taking over and Covid hasn`t helped matters. I`m so pationate about my rc ship models. I`ve built 7 of them. I still love looking at them and they always gives me a great feeling of accomplishment. I`ve built about 40 models in the last 25 years. One of these days I will put up some more videos. Just need to get a new camera. The last one I broke. Good to hear that your getting back into it. A wonderous hobby and a great way to escape. Take Care...Josh
Thanks for the vid. I have the kit been in closet for 20 years. I like the radar spin idea and the inside lighting idea, with my kit i also got the brass hardware parts twin screws propshafts, props, railings etc. maybe some day i will build it, I need to find a gear box thou so one motor can run the two prop shafts ??
Excellent model. I’ve been building wooden ships for a few years mainly sailing ships. My ships included HMS Victory, USS constellation and the Seeadler. I’m now moving into radio controlled in which i’m an absolute beggar. Found your videos interesting but would be helpful to learn more about long term maintenances and how to keep a hull water tight. Im looking at the Fairmount summit or alpine by billings so anything about tugs would be helpful videos. Look forward to seeing your other ship.
Hi John..Thankyou for your interest. The Victory of course is a classic. I`ve thought about building it often but the last sailing ship I built..Billings "Norske Love" took me 10 years to build. The Calypso is a plastic Hull so other than pouring a small amount of epoxy inside, I didn`t do anything else. My boats that are wood in construction, I typically glass the inside and use a good paint on the outside. A few coats of paint and some filler typically. Sometimes I glass the outside. Depends on the boat. Maintenance is minimal except that you will want to be able to lubricate the prop shaft periodically in some fashion. Cheers - Josh
the best built on you tube, I have been building it with the calypso for a year now and get inspiration from your construction. how did you get the johnson lettering on the outboard motor? super built.
Thanks. I`m glad you like it. It was tons of fun to build and a great learning journey. The outboard Johnson print I found on google images. I reduced it in Word and glued it on.
Beautiful! Absolutely love it! The weathering is fantastic! Building the same kit now (well, sort of: sat on the kit for 20 years, started building last year, stalled…). On the decks, did you plank over the the little markings for where things should go and then put the stuff over the planking…or did you plank around them? I did the former on the lower deck, but haven't yet planked the upper deck.
Mr Wilson thanks for the video. I am novice and I haven't bought yet something and I want to begin. Could you suggest me a boat to begin? And if you could tell me what materials I ll need for shading and etc. Thanks.
There is a big book that was published a long time ago that shows the ship in great detail - lots of scale engineer drawings. Would be worth looking for - on eBay for about $100. "Jacques Cousteau's Calypso" published 1983. By Alexis Sivirine, & Jacques Cousteau.
I started to build this model, then stopped because I thought the same: it's too small. Now I am building it completely from scratch at 1:32. I would have preferred 1:25 but that would be too much for my shop.
