Placeholder for a sailing ship build To Be Named Later

[Joe CalPo]

I've three to choose from, a cutter, a corvette, or a frigate.

Are we allowed to think up the back story before the week starts or is that part of the build?

[Old Wombat]

Let's face it, there no whif builds that don't have a backstory before they are built, it just comes down to how in-depth they are.

As I understand it, the back story is not considered part of the build unless the backstory is being entered as a non-physical entry in its own right.

However, if it's good enough, the Moderator(s) may decide to enter it for you as a Wild Card as a non-physical entry (there may/may not be a specific category for non-physical "builds").

[zenrat]

I'd argue with you about that Womby.  I often make it up as I go, developing the back story later to fit what I have glued together.
Sometimes there is no back story other than "a _________ in _________ service".

[NARSES2]

Are we allowed to think up the back story before the week starts or is that part of the build?

As far as I'm concerned, and I'm moderating the build, then yes you can think up the back story before the GB starts.

Some people need a backstory to build to, others form a backstory around a build, others just call it a ****** ******.

[PR19_Kit]

My backstory and build idea appeared simultaneously in my  head, and you'll see why when it appears on here. That's the only way it COULD have 'happened'.   

[Weaver]

I'd argue with you about that Womby.  I often make it up as I go, developing the back story later to fit what I have glued together.
Sometimes there is no back story other than "a _________ in _________ service".

What I call "Whifjitsu": the arcane martial art of wrangling the backstory to fit the model you actually ended up with...

[PR19_Kit]

What I call "Whifjitsu": the arcane martial art of wrangling the backstory to fit the model you actually ended up with...

See Kit's 2nd Rule................. 

[Old Wombat]

Even if you're just picking up the first random piece against which you'll be trying other random pieces & seeing what works, there is an underlying aesthetic at work &, within that aesthetic, is the germ of an idea, & that germ of an idea holds the DNA of a backstory.

[zenrat]

Even if you're just picking up the first random piece against which you'll be trying other random pieces & seeing what works, there is an underlying aesthetic at work &, within that aesthetic, is the germ of an idea, & that germ of an idea holds the DNA of a backstory.

Maybe.  I work on the principle "if in doubt, put it in the anime".

[Joe CalPo]

Okay, I have a name for her and came up with a whole new backstory. I wasn't impressed with the story I'd already written, it wasn't whiffy enough for me or us.

She's the USS East Jersey, an old frigate/corvette acquired by the nascent US Navy after the Revolution.

Building her out, looking forward to having fun rigging her.

[Joe CalPo]

Even if you're just picking up the first random piece against which you'll be trying other random pieces & seeing what works, there is an underlying aesthetic at work &, within that aesthetic, is the germ of an idea, & that germ of an idea holds the DNA of a backstory.

Maybe.  I work on the principle "if in doubt, put it in the anime".

Och, the anime! Our local IPMS has a Gundam squad always showing their snap-together yet REALLY expensive kits and then the very confusing backstories of which particular thread from which particular oddly-named anime.   
Of course many a modeler gives us whiffers the side-eye!     My favorites of those are people who build either sci-fi or telly/movie subjects, which are by their very nature what-if subjects!

[Joe CalPo]

Argh! Because of a power outage and heavy storms we lost several hours of good modeling time here. And now there's this futbol match, and I'm exhausted from the morning's chores.

So I'll post what I've managed to finish, with the story. She still needs sails and rigging, and the aircraft needs painting.

US corvette East Jersey
Formerly the 18 gun HMS Incromulent

Sailed out into a squall as the Royal Navy fleet were departing NY harbor after the Treaty of Paris.  Incromulent's rudder failed, and she drove hard into shifting sands of the Hook.  Abandoned as unsalvable.
Local were able to dredge a channel and tow her off the shoal and beached her in Atlantic Highlands for repairs.  Sent to NYC and put back into service, and given the name of the state where she was rescued, to bolster the small fleet and maybe thumb a nose at the Royal Navy.

After the 1793 demonstration of a heated air balloon by Blanchard, one Lieutenant Gordon had the idea to use a balloon for long-distance observation. By tethering the balloon to a winch it could be raised and lowered in a controlled fashion, giving ports and forts eyes in the sky.
Experiments worked, though communication with the ground required some trials. Vocal, even with a speaking trumpet, was often unheard or misheard. A carrier pigeon or two worked but wrangling the bird in a small basket took time. Finally the idea of written messages attached to iron hoops around the tether rope worked well, and so ten rings would be hooked to the basket.
Lieutenant Commander Rogers suggested trying this on a ship.
The broad and solid hull of East Jersey was chosen. A small furnace replaced the aftermost four guns. A metal pipe run up to a platform whereupon the balloon and winch were placed.
A young and small ensign, one Gene Callee, with a reputation for excellent eyes, was sent  up while East Jersey was anchored in Sandy Hook Bay. Getting up as high as 500 feet the ensign was able to describe ships approaching the NY harbor beyond the horizon.
The ship was then sent out to sea to try the same experiment, but the winds made controlling the balloon tether more difficult.  Sailing down to Cape May the ship anchored and sent balloon and Ensign Callee aloft when the sailor drew a sketch of the fortifications.
There were further issues as the balloon acted as a sail, so there was no chance of safely launching while under sail, and indeed it had to be deflated and folded.
On a mission to survey the coast of Africa for a potential new port, the balloon tore. Ensign Callee smartly grabbed hold of two rings and flew down the tether, jumping into the water rather than crashing on the deck. He was rescued from the water, only for the same to reveal rather unmanly shapes, and Ensign Callee was outed as a woman!
As the empty balloon settled and sank it threatened the ship, so it was cut loose. With that, and the revelation that America's first pilot had been a female, further experiments were cancelled, the ship, already a very old design, was decommissioned, and Jean Callee paid off.
In her 70s she would sue for a mariner's pension, and with the testimony of her surviving shipmates and the ship's logs making explicit mention of her fears, her courage, and her surprise exposure, she was given a half pension.

[NARSES2]

I do like that