National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

[Dallinson]

Hi there paddlers.
Some time ago PJ asked me if I would write a note on obtaining plans from
the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Here goes:-

Full address:.
National Maritime Museum,
Greenwich
LONDON SE10 9NF
England
Tel (0)20 8858 4422
Fax (0)20 8312 6632
Web site www.nmm.ac.uk

Contact:-
Mary Edwards
Curator of Historic Photographs and Ship Plans
Telephone (0)20 8855 1647
Fax (0)20 8317 0263
E-mail medwards@nmm.ac.uk

There is note on my quotation that says "All matters regarding ordering and
pricing of photographs are dealt with by the photographic sales dept (0)20
8312 6600". (However as this was signed by Mary Edwards, I believe that the
first point of contact should still be Mary Edwards). The photographs are
covered by a coding system that will tell you from which angle the photo was
taken, and the quality of the print. The coding system is explained in an
attachment to the quotation.

It seems to be quite an expensive way to get plans, however in many cases it
may be the only way.

They will provide a quotation for your request (if they have anything
suitable), which will include "Research Handling" in addition to the actual
printing and postage charges. Incidentally it seems that they have a policy
of sending quotation letters to overseas addresses via normal mail, so you
will just have to wait!!! I got tired of waiting and they eventually sent me
a fax.

For my large single sheet drawing of the "Scotia" the bill was as follows:-
Lines Plan L15.98
Research Handling L11.28
Postage and Packing to Spain L13.87
Grand Total of L41.13
L= Pounds Sterling.
They accept all generally used credit cards.

You also have to sign a copyright agreement, when you make the order, that
covers the supply of the drawings etc "....for the purposes of research or
private study only and must not be reproduced ...........etc etc"

The quality of the print I received was very good indeed. It is photocopy
type of reproduction.

I read in the January copy of "Model Boats" magazine that it is possible to
browse A4 copies of the collection, which are apparently available in loose
leaf binders. For this you will need a Readers Ticket. The number given to
call to get this is 0181 312 6529. I have not used this service so have not
been able to verify this information.

Hope that the above will encourage anyone wishing to obtain plans to make
contact with NMM:

Regards

David

[Paulrjordan]

Hi David!

Excellent piece and on behalf of all your fellow paddlers, thank you
for putting this highly useful post up for us and for responding to my
request.
*********************************************************************

David will be placing a text version in our files section to serve as
a permanent record for future researchers. Eventually his original
post will also come up in Google searches under National Maritime
Museum.

Thanks again, David..and you too, Christian, for previous information
you have posted on the NMM. NOW..if ONLY we could get a comprehensive
list of their paddler MODELS and (dare I hope) PLANS?

PJ

[Christian]

Hi all,

No doubt about that. As I said, I wrote to the National Maritime Museum
regarding the Great Eastern plans. They are poorly labeled. The lines plan
is said to be to 1/96 scale. That is wrong. It is (not exactly) to the half
of that: 1/192 scale. I am still not 100% able to give a full review of
these plans since I still need to compare them to info taken from books and
photographs. Too many differences. It would take many pages even to list and
comment on the ones I know are wrong. These plans are NOT reliable as is,
because they are not builders plans used for construction (I.K. Brunel
himself changed many things during construction - many without the knowledge
of shipyard owner J.S. Russell since there was a clash of egos between the
two men) but most likely the ones published in the Three Volume book: The
Modern System of Naval Architecture, John Scott Russell, London 1864-65.

There is one IMPORTANT INFO regarding these Great Eastern plans:

If you have the book: Brunel's Ships (Chatham Publishing, London 1999, which
sells at Motor books, for 30 Pounds Sterling), you don't need the Spar deck
(main and only visible deck) plan as it comes in the book together with a
complete starboard cross section showing all decks, and plans of the lower
decks. The only two plans relevant for the modeler that don't come in the
book are:

Rigging (good for reference, especially of paddle boxes and rudder assembly)
not to any specific scale. Hull shape is not 100% correct. Like the Spar
deck plan it contains the steam launches that didn't come into being.

Lines. As said above: to about 1/192 scale. The latter is indispensable for
scratch building the hull and seems pretty accurate except for the erratic
scale ruler that comes with them. Also: the wooden bulkhead above Spar deck
is incorrect in the lines plan. It is better depicted in the rigging plan.

Complete info about the Great Eastern, plans, existing models and scratch
building in an upcoming Web page. Stay tuned.

Cheers, Christian

[Christian]

AI said, I wrote to the NMM regarding the GE plans and they sent me a list.
Unfortunately these plans are poorly labeled. Sorry, I forgot to insert that
phrase. I didn't write to the NMM because the plans are poorly labeled. I
only will do that when I know 100% how they SHOULD be labeled.

Cheers, Christian