shortgrass

Just interested in potential sources in case I want to switch the planking that comes with the kits.

Thanks for the update Chris.  Totally understand where you are coming from.  The Alert looks like a great model and I am sure the following kits be the same. 

A lot of good info here, but here is my problem.  I live in Victoria, B.C. and I notice that the majority of wood suppliers mentioned are back East.  Does anyone know of any wood suppliers in the Vancouver Island area ? Thanks.

Thanks for all the info.

Looking to purchase some Swan Morton products.  Cannot find any local distributor out this way . (British Columbia).  Would appreciate any suggestion as to where I can purchase some of their equipment.  THanks.

Glad to be back.  Working on the Bounty and just starting to get the bulkheads ready for planking.  How are you doing ?

Welcome fellow Canuck !

I have a Keel Klamper which is O.K., but need something sturdier so the ship can be held in place while I am working on it.  I jury rigged one but didn't really work that well as the stern section kept lifting when I was gluing/nailing the deck down.  Any ideas/hints would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone.  Glad to be back.  Am having to try and remember all the intricacies in model ship building and at my age, that can take a while.  

Am having some difficulty nailing deck planking on my model.  The deck and the top of the model do not exactly line up, so I am going to have to nail the deck down until the glue dries.  Has anyone had any success with the "nail pushers ?"  Appreciate any input and help.  Thanks.

Just a short re-introduction.  I was a member of Model Ship World many years ago and built a number of ships - some finished and some remain unfinished.  I took a sabbatical from ship modelling for a number of years (have 2 Bernese Mountain Dogs - that kept me busy).  Have got the bug again and am in the process of trying to complete some of my unfinished ships.  Currently working on the HMS Bounty. 

In the process of building one of my models and unfortunatley made a slight error.  Now need to unstick one of the bulkheads.  Used while glue.  Remember a while ago there were some suggestions as to the best method to use.  Would appreciate any suggestions.  Thanks.

Looking really good Don.  Like Sawdust, I look forward to seeing it up close.  Well done.

Dave

Thanks Garward for looking in.  Always appreciate your input.

Have finished re-working the pudden on the anchor rings.  Took off all my previous work and re-did all the pudden.  Much more satisfied with how they look now.  Ended up using 1mm thread; then painted it black and covered with some white gliue.

Recently I have been trying to build the launch for the Mars.  It does seem a bit small, in my opinion.  It is built with the same method used for building the Mars.  All the parts are laser cut plywood.  It say to plank with walnut but I am going to plank with some cherry that I have in stock.  It will probably be painted anyway.  I have included some pics showing its current status.  I will post  more pics as construction progresses.

Dave

Back to the pudden again.  Not being totally satisfied with the result, (see above), I did additional research and discovered that for a similar ship, they 4-4 1/2 inch rope for the pudden.  According to my calculations, this would result in approx. 0.75 mm thread and I had used .050 mm thread.  So, I took the pudden off the anchors and am in the process of re-doing the pudden.  I am caught between using 0.75 mm or 1mm thread - but will probably use the 0.75mm thread.

Will post some pics once everything is done.

Dave :)

Blue Ensign  (B.E). - you are totally right !!!  Thanks for picking that up.  Won't do that again.  Again, working before thinking.  Seems to be a common amongst us modellers.  Thanks again for pointing it out.

Dave

Have been working on the anchors for the Mars, and finally finished putting the pudden on them.  I used some 0.25 mm black thread for the pudden.  Have attached a couple of pics.

Will post more later.

Dave

B.E.,

Just finished doing some pudden  (hope that spelling is correct !), and  I used some 0.25 mm black thread and I think it looks pretty good.  The first one is a bit rough, but the following are better. (I hope).  As far as the anchor rope is concerned, I am planning to use some 1.75mm thread.  Feel much more comfortable with that.  Your advice really helped.

Dave

Thanks B.E. and Norman for looking in and helping with my questions.  With this kit, I am finding that with each stage, I am questioning what the instructions say vs what they would use in the real ship and also taking into account what actually looks right on the model.  I, too am with you B.E.  re being confused.

Dave :)

I am working on the anchors for the HMS Mars, an 18 gunner.  The instructions say to use 2.5 mm natural thread (rope) for the anchor rope - this works out to about 5.6 inches - am wondering if this seems a bit on the large size ?

Also, re the pudden for the anchors.   For this size ship, what size  thread (rope) would they normally use ?  Again, the kit instructions indicate using 0.5 mm black thread and after some experimentation, I was wondering if this was a bit small ?

Thanks in advance for any and all input.

Dave

David B,

The brand name of the sealer I got from Michaels is - Decort Multi Purpose Sealer.

Dave

Alex,

Just an awesome build.  Beautiful work and detail.  In particular, really liked the jig for the breeching rope and the way you installed the breeching rope around the cascabel.
Dave

I have used sanding sealer before painting and it works out very well.  Believe it or not, I found a sanding sealer at Michaels that works well.  Have also used a primer before painting metal fittings and this worked out fairly well.  Just my two cents.  Also agree with the above comments recommending acrylic paints.

Dave :)

Hi Jay,

Sorry I couldn't get pictures up earlier.  Here are a couple of pics of the Luthier sander on my drill press.  Actually works quite well and am able to takle off as little or as much as I need.

Dave :)

Well, finally finished the rigging of the breeching rope to the cannons.  I used 0.75 thread for the breeching rope and 0.25 for the seizings.  Both natura (tan)  in colour.   I ended up using "zip" seizings for the breeching rope and that seemed to work quite well.  (Thanks to Hubert for the idea of zip seizings).   I attached the breeching rope to hooks which then went on to eyebolts that were on the inner bulwarks.  There isn't much room on the deck of the Mars so I can only imagine what it was like when a broadside was fired. 

After the cannons were put in placed, I glued them to the deck.  This was a bit tricky, but I applied the PVA to the wheels of the carriage assembly by using Microbrushes this worked out well.

Attached are some pics showing how the cannons look.  As usual, comments/critiques are welcome.  Enjoy the pics.

Dave