Mary Byrne Admiralty 1826 - 1:48 - Modellers Shipyard

[Dubz]

Wood -Intermediate - Mary Byrne 1826 - 1:48 - Modellers Shipyard

Manufacturer: Modellers Shipyard
Kit No: KTMS1022
Released: July 2021, Australia
Price: USD $242.-, AUD $295.-, GBP 170.-, EUR 198.-

Available here: https://www.modelerscentral.com/model-sh...lty-model/

Modelers Central were so kind to sent me their Modellers Shipyards Kit "Mary Byrne 1826 Admiralty Model" in Scale 1:48 for reviewing. 





History

Ketches were river & coastal traders brought to the colonies of Australia by Europeans in the early nineteenth century that evolved into designs that suited Australian coastal & river waters. The vessels had two masts and a simple sets of sails so they could be managed by crews of three seafarers.

Ketches were integral to Australia’s maritime history. They connected the city and country before the advent of road and rail. The ketch is quite manoeuvrable in light winds and with a shallow draught they were well suited to negotiate the coastal rivers to transport farm products, grain and minerals to the city and shipping goods and supplies to isolated river and coastal communities along the extended coast of east and south eastern Australia.

The ketch Mary Byrne is named after a young Irish girl. In 1826 Mary Byrne was sentenced in Dublin to seven years and transported to the colony of New South Wales from Dublin. Her crime was stealing a lace handkerchief. Mary’s mother Jane appealed in writing to the local authorities to save her daughter on the grounds that she was an only child and her father was dead. This was all to no avail. Mary was transported on the Lady Rowena, which left Dublin in January 1826 and arrived in Sydney in May. The ship carried 102 females from Ireland, most transported for 7 years for minor crimes.

Upon arrival in Sydney Mary was assigned to Mr Still, at Bunkers Hill as a servant. The Sydney Gazette reported that Mary had an argument with a fellow worker in the kitchen which resulted in the police being summoned. Her employer Mrs Still came to her defence saying she was a church going lass and engaged to a policeman. Mary, again, found herself in trouble when another employer refused to pay her and Mary confronted the woman demanding her wages. This time, Mary received 3 months in the Female Factory at Parramatta. There is no doubt Mary was a feisty lass, for upon sentencing Mary was heard to state that she didn’t care as she’d just have to sweep a few floors.

Mary eventually set-up house in the Rocks area of Sydney with John Burke, himself a convict who was issued with a ticket of leave. John Burke was a blacksmith, by trade but did serve some time as a police officer. The 1828 census shows that Mary and John had a daughter called Margaret, but sadly there is no further evidence of her existence. In about 1832 they had a son called John, who went on to marry Mary Coe at St Mary’s church in 1856. Mary Coe too, was descended from convicts.

We next hear of Mary Byrne, when she was admitted to the Sydney General Hospital in May 1842. She died soon after of Erysipelas, which was also written up in the Sydney Gazette. The government records of Mary’s autopsy state that she had a ‘visitation from God’. Mary died, a convict, when she was just 36 years of age. Mary Byrnes descendants lived in The Rocks for well over 100 years and continue to live in Australia today.

The Admiralty model kit of the Mary Byrne 1826 is expertly designed and built by John Staib - master model ship designer and builder.

As with all new release model ship kits from Modellers Shipyard the frames of the kit have laser scored fairing lines that ensure the fairing of the frames is easy, accurate and symmetrical – this feature is unique to Modellers Shipyard designed kits

The kit comes complete with quality fittings, clean and accurate laser cut parts and highly detailed English written building instructions with color photos of every step of the kit’s construction.

The Mary Byrne model is dedicated to Mary Byrne and her descendants.

Source: Modelers Central


Technical data

Scale:  1:48
Length: 380mm
Height: 140mm
Width:  120mm
Level:  Intermediate according to the manufacturer

The kit

1 x Big full colored Photo Instruction Booklet in English
6 x Sheets of lasercut plywood
Various strips of wood
Small parts (Wire, Eye Pins, Rings, Nails, Pumps, Holes, Rudder Hinges, Wire and Deadeyes)

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All parts of the kit are stored safely and tidily in the box. 









The wood package





Let's look deeper at this kit and start with the perfectly lasered plywood
























No Laser marks on the backside, Laser seems perfectly adjusted. I like that.





And we go on with more lasered parts.











The small parts come sorted in bags.







Paperwork.

Essential for a good kit are the instructions. There are no real plans, they are not missed, but a great big size Photo Instruction Booklet.

In my opinion it would have been nicer to make the booklet of a smaller size so that it fits in the box without getting folded ;-)























Conclusion

This is a great kit of the Mary Byrne. A wonderful example of how dedicated companies with a lot of love for detail can develop wonderful, affordable, new innovative model kits these days. 

The really first-class and well lasered woods connected with the great illustrated instructions - they do fulfil their task well and leave few to no questions unanswered - round this kit off. 

All parts are really very good up to high quality and you can feel the attention made to details in this kit.

It is certainly a question of price that the frames, which are visible, are all made of plywood. You have to like it, it's not perfect, or think about how you can add color to the frames, red or white as an example. I can understand that solid wood (yellow cedar maybe?) was not used, as it would certainly be considerably more expensive to produce the kit. And yes, the framework is also rather exemplary, not historically correct but I am sure that beginners will enjoy it.

What is nice is the potential for kit bashers with the Mary Byrne. So much possibilities to extend the Interior or else :-)

I can't say for sure if its a beginner or intermediate kit (according to the manufacturer) but either way it is worth to build it and the instructions are excellent. Great job done by Modellers Shipyard!

My sincere thanks go to Modelers Central for sending this kit for review here on Dubz Modelling World. 

To buy, ask your favorite dealer or directly at https://www.modelerscentral.com/model-sh...lty-model/

[tkay11]

Interesting concept for a kit, which, as you suggest, provides for quite a bit of modification. How does it deal with the cant frames? Are they shaped to the curve of the bow or do these too have fairing lines lasered in?

Tony

[Dubz]

Hey Tony,

good to read you. The cant frames have fairing lines lasered as all of the frames. See here:



cheers

Dirk