Sultana by jablackwell – FINISHED - Model Shipways – Scale 1:64 - first ship build

[jablackwell]

I started a couple of months ago on the Sultana as my first wood ship model build and have been lurking about these forums for quite some time. I must admit, there is a HUGE wealth of knowledge here, and for that I am most thankful to you all. Thank you!  I probably would have hung up my tools for another year without this place. 

 

My background: I love to work with my hands, but I am not a woodworker historically. I have build lots of airplane models, starting from plastic kits decades ago, to balsa, to remote control and such. I got really good at that, and still have many hanging around the house.  I also got into HO and N scale railroad modeling with two large layouts in the basement. Thinking that now was the time to take on the dream of building some wooden ships, I researched a bit and decided to take the plunge. I must admit, there have been some stumbles along the way. 

 

Errors along the way: how does one really do a good job of curve-fitting a solid wood hull? I need to see this one in action to really "get it". I almost think that planking would be easier. 😉  I messed up the stern a bit and have found the joys of using wood filler as a patch solution. It has saved me at least twice. 

 

Current status: I am rigging. I really like this part.... so ... here are some images of along the way... the last are the most recent.  I promise to be better about logging my work as it is in progress. I should have joined the group earlier! 

 

~johnb

 

 

[hexnut]

Nice work!  This may be your first ship,but the model aviation and railroad skills really show.

[patrickmil]

John, your Sultana looks very sharp! That is some great work.

[jablackwell]

Thanks for the kind words all. I am happy to report that I am enjoying this a lot, although I am far from a woodworker ;-) 

 

Here is the Sultana as of March 27th. I have taken a little break to work on the booms and spars to complete the wooden pieces. The rigging is the major drama now. I am enjoying it a lot. It's like a meditation, really - so much focus. I am loving my magnifying headset. I am looking constantly for tools, and making some, that allow me to get into the mass of rigging lines without damage. I admit, I would be lost without the various available tutorials on the Sultana. It is an art to understand the model plans.... so with the combination of tutorials and the reading of old ship rigging books, I am making good headway. The devil is in the details, as they say. Every little thread counts. 

 

~john

 

 

 

[jablackwell]

I've been working on the yards now, starting with the topsail foremast yard. The mini lathe was a real help in getting the shape quickly and evenly. Once the cleats were glued on and the blocks seized onto the tips, rigging the yard was a real challenge! A couple of hours later, the results are in. I am pretty happy about it overall. Now.... three more to go!    

 

~john

[jablackwell]

Happy Sunday!  The topsail yards are completed on both masts. I get to go back to the basement and work on the lathe one last time for this project and build the lower spars. It was fun making the spars parallel and level. Here are two shots from today's work, one with flash and one without. I still have to trim some knots and twist the spars to their proper orientation.

 

~john

[jablackwell]

Working on the lower yards now, starting with the foremast. Lots of little details to work through here, especially with the attachment of so many blocks. Attaching this to the mast will be interesting with all the other rigging in there....

 

~john

 

[yvesvidal]

John,

 

This is all very nice. I have the Sultana kit waiting and your Build Log is a very good incentive and guide. I am following with a lot of attention.

 

Yves

[jablackwell]

Hello Yves,

Happy to post what I am doing, what I am having issues with, and what works. I am by no means an expert at this - this is my first attempt at a wooden model, and I am having a lot of fun with the challenges. I must say, the very best part is that it slows me down a lot. I am forced to think and work on solutions to things that puzzle me. Sometimes I come here to these forums and search for solutions, and.... find them, which is a marvelous revelation for me. This place is great, very supportive. 

~john

[jablackwell]

On the home stretch here. I have to finish the main mast lower yard installation then work on the vangs and back stays. After that the forward jib rigging needs to be installed. That will sum up the rigging. Wow. After that the remaining tasks will be to do some paint touch ups and install the cannons. I kept them off the model for now, as they were constantly getting in the way of long rigging threads. 

 

Here is the main mast lower yard under construction. There is a slightly tricky part on the ends in which two blocks need to be attached to each other. The one closest to the yard will be for the topsail sheets while the top most block will be for the lower yard lifts. They need to be flexible enough to rotate a little in their positions. 

 

 

I then started seizing the (day) rest of the blocks to black threads for their attaching to the yard. Do this all before installing the yard. DO as much as possible before installation, in fact. There is a lot of rigging in there now, and it can be a trick getting in there with long tweezers to thread anything. 

 

 

Here are all the seized blocks, all ready to go. It's best to have some music playing in the background to keep the pace up.

 

 

Here is the completed yard ready for installation. There are nine total blocks in this. It takes quite a bit of time and the use of a handy head-mounted magnifying set!  I got one recently that has white LEDs which help a lot to illuminate the work in progress.

 

 

Lastly the yard being hoisted into place.... below. I really have been enjoying making all the rigging in such a way that it actually works as it would in real life... at least to the best of my abilities. Heave!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jablackwell]

The model is almost complete now. I have some finishing touches to add: some coils here and there and some black paint dabs to cover up some shiny glue spots. All in all, I am pretty happy with the whole thing with exception of the stern. That part kept me in trouble for most of the project, but I am very happy with wood filler and its ability to mask some pretty tremendous errors.  The rigging was a lot easier than I had anticipated. I am still looking for a good pair of long reach tweezers with flat grabs which can get the threads from a distance. I have found that most tweezer makers have pointy tips and a very small region that will grab thread well. I am not even sure how to describe what I am looking for,,,,,

 

So, some images....

 

 

 

 

 

 

I want to thank all of you for helping out so much, some directly and some without even knowing it. Your posts and information shared on this site have been a real wealth of input and knowledge. It is greatly appreciated!  

 

My next project is already on the bench: the Kate Cory brig. This is a little larger and more detailed. I am looking forward to the added detail work, and this time, a coppered hull. I will try to post more than I did with this model... now that I know this site exists!  The Cory will be the last solid hull work for me. I am planning to go to plank builds next and want to get through a build of the Surprise. We'll see.  

 

~johnb

[russ]

Congratulations on a fine model and build. Excellent work.

 

Russ