mikiek

I just started Lancia Armata. The hull frames are installed but they are the type that will be taken out after planking. The instructions briefly mention rubbing the edges of the frames with a candle. I believe this is done so the plank glue doesn't stick so tight to the frames, making it easier to remove the frames without damaging the planks. This build is more of a ships boat than a large ship and it is supposed to have 3 layers of planking. I guess what will end up as the inner planking is what will be glued to the frames and they will be visible so I don't want to see a build up of glue where they came in contact with the frames. I think I have have heard of this before, but I'm hoping that someone with a little more knowledge can fill me in with more details. Mainly what types of glue can I use? In previous builds I would usually "nail" a plank to a frame with a dot of CA then use white glue along the plank edge. Thanks in advance.

Chris, Ian - thanks to you both. I appreciate your looking in. I'm still trying to decide if I have a display case built for this one.

Well I guess this is it. A few retrospective comments. Overall, the build went without too many hitches. I think the worst task was getting the false deck glued to the frame pieces due to the curvature of the frame tops. That actually turned me off enough to shelf this model for about 8 months. Besides that, this was my first double planking kit and I still say - what a waste. Sure it helps with the outer planking - if you need it - but it is double the work. I much prefer to just get it right the first time and be done with it. This was also my first build with full square rigged sails. Or at least sort of since there were some fore/aft sails as well. I guess I must have ordered a sail upgrade kit - there were several comments from viewers claiming their sails did not match mine. I had several threads with rowboat as he was building the same model but evidently an older or newer kit than mine. Same manufacturer, but his plans were different. Particularly the rigging/sail drawings. So beware if you decide to use any of this to influence your build. The guns were kind of funky. They looked sort of like carronades but the carriages didn't quite match. You might consider a bash here, but I didn't. Also I went with minimal coloring. While probably not terribly realistic, I think the supplied wood looked quite nice with just some lacquer, so that's the direction I took. Even the guns I left as brass rather than painting or blackening them. The build has been compete for about 5 weeks but I have struggled with producing decent final images. I am working my way into photography so selfies just don't cut it. I have worked with several lighting setups - some working better than others. But I need to get this project to closure, so here's what I have ended up with: One more post to tag this as finished. Thanks to all who followed along. I commend your persistence, given the huge gaps in reporting my progress. BTW - I will be giving this model to my father who has been waiting patiently for almost 2 years for me to complete. Considering Corel Eagle as my next build.

With Chuck discontinuing Syren rope it might really be worth going for one of his rope walks like you said. Although I can say, it ain't easy to turn out nice looking rope even with his machine. I used to have a bunch of bookmarks for articles on how they used to make real rope. There is some actual science behind it. Which way the strands twist and then which way those strands twist if you are making bigger rope. The problem I had was with the twist of the first strands (usually sewing thread). I can't remember if the first strands are supposed to twist left or right but I do remember that most thread purchased in the US is the wrong twist. I ended up buying some European thread that had the correct twist. Now that I'm down from building for a bit it might be a good time to work on that. Stay with it....

Hey Rowboat - what did you use for a stand? Those little blocks of wood that com with the kit are pretty cheesy. Not sure I trust them.

The spar holder looks good. There's a lot of rigging you can do right there - off the boat. For your stanchions and hammocks check out a material called tulle. It's used in fashions and wedding dresses. It comes in several colors. If you don't entirely cover your hammocks with some material the tulle can be used as a webbing - page 21 post 624 in my log. I used white with Niagara and black with my current build. I prefer the black. You can get it at any fabric store - probably online too. Besides protection, the idea of the stanchions and rails was to let hammocks dry/air out.

Nice move - on the mantle. I'm proud of ya! You stayed with it even when things weren't going your way. I sometimes think these builds are a real test of character. Are you considering a case of some sort? Over time these things collect all sorts of debris, bugs and dust bunnies and they are not easy to clean out. i hope you stay with this hobby. There will be up and down periods. Just don't get too crazy with the highs or too depressed with the lows. You have what it takes to be successful. Which all leaves me to get after the completion of mine.

Hey Tom - if it makes you feel any better, I put off rigging for almost a year. I tried to find photos in my log but could not so pardon if I post a couple here. The bowsprit is a good place to start, just so you can start seeing results. The more results you see, the more you may want to accomplish. There is a ton of rigging you can do without ever touching the boat. Almost everything on the masts/yards for instance, at least the standing rig. Take a look at the stand I used. There was a hole for every section of mast. As you can see I grouped the ropes to keep from having a big spaghetti bowl. These days I use alligator clips instead of tape. They help keep the ropes taught while they are hanging. When you are ready, take a section off the stand and mount to the ship and figure out where the loose ends fasten too. You may hear many suggestions on where to start - bow to stern, stern to bow, top to bottom and even a few bottom to top. Honestly I don't think it matters that much. My only suggestion is to do the lines that run down the centerline first - kind of inside to outside. It's terribly frustrating to reach thru a bunch of lines to tie off a rope. Another suggestion is to get a couple of hiliter markers - yellow and blue. As you begin to work on a line hilite it in yellow on your plan for "in progress". When it's finished go over the yellow line with blue for "done". It's an easy way to make sure you don't overlook one, because going back later is never fun. Just relax - mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Hey hey - it's a good feeling isn't it? I like how you set the fore main. So what's next?

You might want to start experimenting with rope coils to hang over the pins in the rails. All your rigging will terminate at a pin. Then you want to hang a coil over that. Theres a lot of ways to make coils and you will need quite a few of them. Thats what is holding up my completion. You might try making a mockup pin rail to work with. Getting the coils to hang naturally takes some finessing and you will be reaching in thru the rigging to hang them. This is where those alligator forceps can come in handy.

Rowboat I posted my drawings to your thread. Maybe that will help. I believe your plans are older than mine. Since you have a paid version of the plans I don't think there is any copyright issues in doing so.

ok lets see if i can remember how to upload pix 🤔 - see if any of these might clear things up - note the ref no, i assume my plan is newer than yours. There are still some confusing spots but sometimes if you look for the same rope or block in another drawing it will make better sense. I think the worst thing is looking at some tackle from the side and you see just one when really there may be 2 side by side. Hope this helps.

I will photograph the drawings from my plans and send to you. I dont see that symbol in mine and the jibs are fairly straightforward.

Your plan sheet is layed out different than mine. Your ref no is 80822 - mine is 80837. Probably why I have been confusing you. However I see something similar to your pictures on the big drawing that shows the entire ship from the side. The 2 lines you are referring to are the sail edges - at least on my plan. Very hard to distinguish from a rope except that mine shows the 2 lines terminating at the bottom corners of the sail.

Rowboat - PM me if you want to go thru what you are seeing vs what I am seeing. If you haven't reached rework fatigue. I HATE REWORK - but sometimes ya gotta do it. I'm here if you need it.

Something wasn't sitting well from reading your description of the gaff topsail rigging. I reviewed mine and had a look at the plans again. That gaff topsail yard only has 1 rope seized to the center. That rope runs thru a block at the top of the mast then straight down to pin 46. Try googling ' 4 sided "gaff topsail" ' and it will come up with a few pix of how they hang. I also came across an item that called our 4 sided version a donkey topsail. Try alligator clips for grouping ropes and easily pulling them out of the way. They add some weight so your ropes stay taught. They are also easier to remove than untaping and reusable . You can buy a bag of 50 for about $5

Usually the bracing is the last thing you do. So you don't have to stick your hands thru it. If you haven't seen them before checkout alligator forceps. They can be a huge help grabbing lines from a distance and reaching across the deck. The 5" & 8" ones are the most useful.

Hammocks are a tough call. I agree with Darrell in one sense. However, I can't tell you how many times I knocked part of them off while rigging. There are a lot of different styles as well. This is something you definitely want to design on some scrap before you 'go live'. In my log there was even some conversation as to whether they even had the rails (and hammocks) on the original. There was really not much room to hang them below deck.

I wish the drawings were numbered. On the rigging plans in the upper right section - theres a row of 3 drawings at the top. Below that there is a row of 2. Take a look at the 2nd row left drawing which is showing the entire system for furling/unfurling the sails. A concern I have - at least based on what I can see in your pix - is both the top sail yard and mainsail yard should have 2 blocks seized in towards the mast on each side of the mast. It looks like you only have 1. Again, it may just be the angle of the photo. The drawing will show how those are used. Your 2nd photo that shows the large & small block combination. A rope should come from the top gallant corner thru the large block, over to one of the inner blocks on the yard then down to the deck. It looks like you have drilled a hole in the yard and are running that rope thru the hole? BTW - the smaller block in that combo is used to raise/lower the yard. You can see that in the drawing in the upper right corner. It looks like you are doing that. Both the topsail yard and mainsail yard are rigged the same way. If you think tying off 2 ropes to the sail corner is odd wait till you get to the main. That should have 3 blocks seized to each corner.

btw - that sail is called a gaff sail and as I said the triangle shaped version of a gaff sail is much more common. It also sits better as the mast and gaff make 2 sides of the triangle, the luff of the sail makes the 3rd side.

For future reference, an easy way to do the rings is to open them wide enough to slip by the mast then lightly glue them in place on the sail with some CA. When it is time to install the sail all you need to do is slide a ring over the mast and squeeze shut with long nose pliers or forceps. That way your fingers and the shrouds are not fighting each other. I'm sorry I always seem to be too late with comments.

Yes the front corner rope of the topsail goes straight down to the deck. No blocks. The 4 sided version of this sail is rather odd and it just doesn't sit very well in a model. It needs some wind to fill it and blow it out some. The 3 sided version is pretty common in schooners.

I'll address the first question - your main topsail corner. There should be a single block out towards the end of the gaff and another on the gaff close to the mast. The rope from the sail corner goes thru the outer block, then the inner block then down to the pinrail. Make sure the outer block is seized farther out than the sail corner. The idea is that pulling that rope from the deck would stretch the sail out tight. Looks like you may have it although maybe the outer block needs to go out a little further.

Thanks man - I am so grateful to have had the Marestella designer, Zoran there with me all thru the build. As I mentioned, I did a lot of practice on scrap before attacking the real materials. I can't stress enough how much that can help. Maybe the most helpful thing was using a thread that closely matched the sail. This was some true linen thread (european) although every situation will vary. If you want the invisible look try using flyline - about a 6/0 - the stuff is about as thin as a hair and if your colors match you will barely see it. This is especially helpful for the bolt rope. Just Google 'flyline' and you will see all sorts of vendors. I have found the Uni-Thread brand to be the best as some of the others tend to fray a lot I would strongly suggest getting used to using flyline. For that perfect scale it should be used for most seizing. In most cases seamen would carry some thin rope in a belt pouch and this was used for most seizing repairs. So almost all commercial/kit rope is too thick for seizing. Stay with it you are almost there.

Oh, and you are improving with each sail. Sometimes these types of tasks are best practiced on scrap material before moving to the real thing. If you are folding material and then hemming it iron/starch the heck out of it first. In fact I do that to the entire sail. It'll look like a starched shirt at first but by the time you are finished bending and rigging, the sails will have a nice look to them. If you want to add a 'billow' to the sails wrap them longwise around something like a glass or something to give them some roundish shape.