Cap'n Rat Fink

Thank you all for your compliments.  
 
Sorry I haven't posted to this in a while.  School started up again and they tricked me into taking statistics.  They relabeled the class to quantitative business analysis so I thought that can't be to hard I'll take it with cost accounting.  Yea....  Any ways I squeezed in a few minutes to build and put together the next section.   
 
This part is one of the harder parts of the builds.  Mostly because of the darn gun ports.  I'm still figuring those out at this scale.  My first version of this build I was able to carve the deck out and leave the bulwarks in tact.  I then drilled out the gun ports with a tiny drill bit.  I must have had a nice piece of wood then because the second time I tried this build that method failed miserably.  At that point I cut out each section of the bulwarks between the gun ports and glued each in individually.  That proved tedious especially at this scale.  This time I tried another method that worked pretty well and was less tedious.  IF you have suggestions for this part let me know.
 
I started with a piece of sketch paper and I painted one side with a wood stain.  
 

 
I then went about measuring the height I needed.  It's hard to measure this small so I eye balled it.  The height I'm looking for is the distance between the channels and the top of the bulwarks.  The channels will be used to hide the edge of the paper.  
 

 
I cut a stip out the entire length of the page.  This allows for plenty of screw ups.  This one came out a tad thick but that's ok.  I can do a little trimming after the fact.   
 

 
Here's the hard part.  I cut out the gun ports with an exacto knife.  I may redo this part forward to get it better but in the interest of time I'll post what I have.  This time I tried cutting out the ports leaving the bottom portion of the paper to hold it all together.  
 

Very nicely done Dave,
    Just read through your build log here. Really some slick moves on how you scratch build some of your items. Looks great as everything comes together.
    Haven't been by Joshua Tree in a long while. Usually when I head the back ways to Arizona for car shows.
 
Take care,
 
Mario

Welcome back!
 
Fortunately, my fourth attempt at the Sea of Grass was a failure. I say "fortunately" because I had used up all the plastic grass and I was forced to re-think what I wanted. Some suggestions from a friend and his links to some wargamer sites and videos eventually led me to model railroader foliage techniques and products. Instead of the idealized uniform grass I initially had in mind, I went for realistic.
 
I'll go back to the fortunate failure.
 

The "potato chip" effect caused the plastic to curl and peel away from the plywood disc.
 
I researched tallgrass prairie and ordered several Woodland Scenics products to model the most common grasses and wildflowers. All the products, except for one tree, were basic pre-colored materials. When the products arrived I set to work making exemplars and settled on three species of grasses and four species of wildflowers.
 

The start of work with two grasses, two wildflowers and the surviving portion of a small burned
tree. The bare rectangles locate Ogallala's wheels so the wheels will glue directly to wood.
 

About three-fourths complete. I laid out the wheel tracks in black and the
concealed area under the wagon where I wouldn't need to plant any grass.
 

 

Two views of the lower hull and carriage in my new Sea of Grass. One species of
grass grows to over 12 feet / 3.5 meters as does one wildflower. The rest are 3 to
8 feet / 1 to 2.5 meters. Three of the wildflowers were made one flower at a time.
 

The fourth try re-posted for comparison. Now you see why I say its failure was fortunate.
 

One last photo showing the segments of the Sea of Grass to go in the bottle and their method of assembly.
 
As it turns out making this greatly improved version took considerably less time than the failed fourth try and was a lot less tedious and boring. In fact, this was fun! Clearly, I'm delighted with the results.
 
Work progresses on the other four figures (I added one), finishing up some minor rigging details, and making a base to hold the sphere. I ordered the photo-etch kit from Micro-Mark to make name plates and to experiment with making small parts and figure armatures for other projects. I still need to make up a bunch of rope coils to hang on the belaying pins and cleats. Bottling this project isn't far off.
 

 
Dave
 

Thank you, Piet and Bob, and the likers and lurkers. I don't mean "lurker" at all derogatorily - I "lurk" several builds and topics myself.
 
Worked on some odds and ends. I started with some cleats.
 

Cleats ready to install. They have a piece of bug pin through them for strength when glued to the bulwarks.
 

Some of the cleats glued into holes and rigged. The crossing ties on the cleats are fakes.
The lines to the cleats will be glued when inside the bottle and trimmed close to the cleats.
 
 
Then I finished the foremast yard braces and foresail gaff vangs.
 

Upper portions of the braces and vangs.
 

Lower portions of the braces and vangs.
 
 
The remaining rigging will be finished when the sails are installed.
 
I also worked on my trial figure by building it up with some more gesso to the point where I can try to detail it. I discovered that the cured gesso is flexible, almost rubbery, and I can adjust the pose, which may be a blessing - or a problem. I didn't test it to find out how much flexing it will take, maybe later if I don't like the finished figure or replace it with another after some practice making three more figures. 
 
 
A photo I posted a while back for comparison to the more "filled out" current condition.
 
 
A pair from his larboard quarter. I trimmed the legs and will add feet below the cuffs of his pants.
 
 
And from his starboard quarter. It seems my photography has improved somewhat in the interval.
 
 

 
Dave

I'm finally getting to my favorite part of a build when all the different mini-projects are installed and I can start tying them all together with rigging - in fact I enjoy doing rigging just on its own.
 
I took the method of making blocks (two discs with a thread sandwiched between then a thread tied around the block) and expanded it to double blocks.
 

This is part of the steering tackle with a double block. I still need to strop it. The white
discs are.040 in./1.0 mm in diameter, same as those used to make the double blocks.
 
After I finished making twelve deadeye assemblies with .060 in./1.5 mm deadeyes and eight assemblies with .040 in./1.0 mm deadeyes (plus a couple extras of each) I started rigging the smaller assemblies to the topmasts.
 

Main topmast while rigging the topmast shrouds. After the glue cured on the lower
deadeyes at the top, I routed each shroud through the same .020 in./0.5 mm hole in
the topmast and tensioned the shrouds with standard size clothespins as shown here.
 
I can't rely on "feel" for equalizing the tension in threads at this size so always use weights, usually clothespins - in this case two on each shroud until the lanyards looked right. I filled the hole in the topmast, which is .035 in./0.89 mm diameter at the hole, with ca. A spar gets seriously weakened at a hole and I avoid holes greater than 25-30% of the spar diameter unless the hole can be filled with ca to restore most of the spar's strength. After the ca cured I trimmed the excess thread flush then tied off the lanyards. I should have tied them off when I made the assemblies - something to remember next time.
 

Completed shrouds at topmast. I'll tie off the futtock shrouds to staves on the lower shrouds later.
 
Before I could step the mainmast I needed to make a heart and collar for the mainstay. I chose to split the mainstay around the foremast simply because putting the mainstay on the starboard side of the foremast messed with my sense of symmetry. After making them I needle spliced an eye around the heart and rigged a lanyard through the heart and around the collar. This stay will be used to erect this mast inside the bottle so I routed the two lower ends through holes drilled in the deck and out the bottom of the upper hull and stepped the mast and rigged a temporary pair of backstays. I needle spliced the upper end of the mainstay making sure that the mast was at the correct rake and the collar near the foremast would not interfere with it.
 

Completed mainstay heart, collar and lanyard. The .063 in./1.6 mm drill bit is standing in for the same diameter foremast.
 
With the mainstay in place I moved ahead with rigging the mainmast shrouds. After gluing the deadeyes to the channels and fixing the chains through holes in the hull I routed the shrouds through the top, attaching each to the opposite side shroud with needle splices. The middle shrouds have one shroud forward of the mast the other aft to form a cut splice around the mast. Not quite accurate to actual practice but pretty close - it's easier to get the mast vertical, side to side, this way than by duplicating the right way. It took a while to get all the tensions balanced out and all the needle splices done, but once I was satisfied that I had the rake correct and the mast was centered I glued the needle splices. After that glue dried (I use pva thinned 50/50 with water on my needle splices) I completed the second pass through of the needle splices, glued them, attached the shroud stretchers and tied off and glued the lanyards.
 

Completed shrouds with chains, stretcher and tied off lanyards. I still need to
 rig a breast backstay and touch up the paint on the edge of the channel.
 

Inboard view of deadeyes, stretcher and tied off lanyards.
 
Before I could do any of this work I had to cut holes in the bottom of the upper hull to get access behind the holes for the chains.
 

Another angle of the chains showing the access hole where the chains were
fed through a hole, bent to the sides and glued.
 

While the schooner was on its side I got a shot of the underside of the top
to show needle splices of the shrouds and the eye splice on the mainstay.
 
I found that the blackening on the chains flaked off from handling and bending (which left black smudges on the hull I need to touch up) and tried a permanent black marker on them which worked very well. I tried the marker earlier but it wouldn't take so must assume that the acid in the blackening product etched the copper enough for the ink from the marker to adhere. A bath in acetic acid (vinegar) will probably work just as well.
 
Sorry, I forgot to include visual size references in the photos. Next, the foremast rigging and finishing the incomplete work on the main.
 

Dave

I decided to drill holes in the dead eyes and to rig lanyards rather than to fake them by gluing segments of thread to both faces of the dead eyes. I don't fully trust ca (used to make the dead eyes) and paint, in particular, to withstand rigging stresses. By rigging them, even if the ca fails, the dead eyes are less likely to come apart with the lanyards to assist in holding them together. By faking the lanyards I would be trusting the paint-to-deadeye bond to not fail. In either case repairing failure(s) would be next to impossible inside the sphere. I realized I had no choice but to rig them for real.
 
I started by fabricating a fixture using a standard spring clothespin as a clamp to hold the dead eye for drilling through guides in the clamp. I used 1mm hobby plywood to make the parts added to the clothespin. The guide holes are .010 in./0.25mm.
 

The pieces on both sides of the clothespin keep the two wooden parts of the pin from shifting sideways.
 

Three bits of ply glued to one of the ply yaws to locate the dead eye and the three guide holes for drilling.
 
I also made a fixture to hold an upper and lower dead eye for reeving with a lanyard. I modified two mini clothespins to hold the dead eyes by the previously installed tails with a piece of the ply positioned between to sort of wedge the dead eyes against the clamps.
 

Dead eye reeving fixture, lower dead eye to the right.
 

Closer view of the fixture. The out-of-focus light thread is the tail from the knotted end of the lanyard.
 
I used some thinned white pva glue to secure the lanyard in the holes and on the knot. I will secure the other end of the lanyard after rigging the shrouds and attaching a stretcher just above the dead eyes. I know this all seems backwards to the method used on larger models but tying and seizing and reeving the lanyards on the model at this size seems to me next to impossible. It was hard enough with the parts held steady in clamps and fixtures. This way the only tying while on the model will be of the shrouds at the tops to form short splices or bight splices with a needle similar to the way I seized the dead eyes.
 
After letting the glue set I removed the shroud from the fixture and posed it in position in a channel on the model with an X-acto blade for size reference.
 

The lanyard is not tensioned at all. It has acquired a bit of a twist which comes out with a little tension. I have to
be careful when I reeve the lanyard so that the lay doesn't tighten as I pass it through each hole of the dead eye.
 
Now to get back to the other eleven pairs of dead eyes to drill holes and reeve lanyards, then go through the whole process again, starting with cutting discs, for the smaller topmast dead eyes and shrouds.
 
 

Dave
 
 
 

Mario












 
 
OK I THINK I HAVE EVERYTHING IN ORDER. I AM VERY GLAD TO ADD THIS BUILD BACK INTO MSW. IT WAS JUST FUN TO DO....
 
TAKE CARE EVERYONE. GOTTA GET BACK TO THE J.O.B. LUNCH IS OVER..............
 
MARIO

HEY EVERYBODY. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. HEY MARK, I DO HAVE THE BUILD LOG HERE OF THE LAUNCH.....
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/849-hms-bounty-launch-by-teleman-116-bashed-completed/?hl=%2Bbounty+%2Blaunch
 
AS FOR THE BAND SAW IT'S FROM MICRO MARK. JUST GOOGLE MICRO MARK AND YOU WILL FIND IT. STILL READING BUILD LOGS. JUST TRYING TO CATCH UP. AS FOR BUILDING, NOT JUST YET'
 
MARIO

Mario












 
 
OK I THINK I HAVE EVERYTHING IN ORDER. I AM VERY GLAD TO ADD THIS BUILD BACK INTO MSW. IT WAS JUST FUN TO DO....
 
TAKE CARE EVERYONE. GOTTA GET BACK TO THE J.O.B. LUNCH IS OVER..............
 
MARIO

Hi All,
I decided to go with the idea of using FABRIC PAINT to give the look of nails n roves. I am really not crazy about a lot of those nails n roves to do. Since at a size between .05mm to 1mm, just not worth the trouble for something that would really not be noticed. Plus I am not a fan of trenails and/or nails n roves anyway. Call me crazy but I rather do ratlines. I do really not care for the the look. But I thought I would giver a go...my boat now has a bad case of the pimples. LOL!


If you remember Jeff plans show dashed lines on the frames. Which would assist the builder in faring the frames. So what I did was fare each frame individually before I installed them on the boat floor. I left enough material to finish the faring after the frames were permanently glued into position.
Has with my Bounty Launch build the instructions had me leave off the cant frames till the rest were fared. So I decided to leave off frames D n E nearest to the bow section to fare after the rest of the frames were completed... Once completed I glued them into place and I used frame C as a reference to do frame D and E. I layed my sanding block on frame C and went from there to get them all in line. Using a batten to keep me in line....

Now if you go back to page 1. You will see the that the boat bottom at the stem n stern areas come to a point. The plans had me cut out the stem n stern with a squared joint...So I spoke with Jeff and he did say I was right in deciding to Nip off the boat bottom ends to a squared end and butt he stem n stern post to them...(he is going to correct the plans at a later date)

So here's a few pictures...




















Well I knew things were going too smoothly....

Ok I am now at a stand still. I started to trace out the gar-board strack. Then I transferred it to white card. Then I placed the card gar-board against my frames to see how close I was. Well I was way off. I could not figure out why for the longest time. I took my traced out gar-board and layed it on the plans and it matched perfectly.
You ever get one of those nights that all you do is think and your production is nil. Well after staring at my project and then back to the plans hoping to figure out what was going on, I finally saw it. If you look at my project my flat bottom boat floor is flat. But on the plans it is not so. It curves up slightly at the fore n aft ends. I never saw it till NOW.
So am I correct in assuming that I will not be able to transfer the strakes on the plans to my material. Because measuring from stem to stern on the plans it 15 inches, on my model it's 16 inches. My option is now to mark of my own strakes on the frames and go from there. By creating my own planks. I need to know from you experienced scratch builders that I am making the right decision, and that I am understanding these plans correctly. Since this is all new to me. Thanks for any advice to help me out here....


here's a couple of pictures

Well who says you don't learn from midwest models. If I had noticed the upward rake of the boat floor I would of gone the way midwest had me build my Dinghy. All I would of done different on the Batteau was cut out the frames about 1 inch longer so when I nail it to the building board. Because the stem n stern posts are much longer then the frames themselves. here is a pic of what I am talking about.
I have to start thinking a different way since this a scratch build. is this what you mean by the dark side.....HAHA!

i recommend anybody building the Batteau to make a building board and invert it as you see my dinghy. It will make thing a whole lot easier....


So now that building board was too late for me to use, I had to fashion one to suit the situation I was now in.....here are the results. Oh please give me your opinions and let me know if i could of done it a better way....
_________________



_________________


















 
 

Well I have been busy this weekend. Here's my progress...



Mario








































 

Hi All,
A small update. I wanted to show you how I scratch built my planks in detail.....



BFN Mario

BATTEAU UPDATE TIME HAS FINALLY COME. BOY THIS HAS BEEN A BUSY MONTH FAMILY WISE BUT I AM BACK AT IT AGAIN


BFN
MARIO























 

A LITTLE MORE PROGRESS ON THE BATTEAU TONIGHT....


BFNMF

MARIO

Well friends I have added the tholes,,,,cleats,,,,rub rails,,,and another coat of minwax ebony.....


next up the turning of the mast,,,,spare and the swivel cannon...


BFNMF's

Mario

Well I decided to finish sealing the boat with sanding sealer. i also decided to build my display board and mount the Batteau before I go on with the spares and such.
If you remember my little board I rigged to help me put the bow in to the flat bottom of the boat which I missed early in the build. Well I decided it made for a nice little display board. A little black felt,,,,,1/8th square basswood for trim, and a couple of left-over barrels from my Bounty Launch and there you go...
I also decided to display the oars and hook pole on the board rather then clutter the inside of the Batteau....

So now it's time to turn thinks and continue on....

here are a few pictures from different angles...


BFNMF..........

Hi my Friends,
Well it was time to turn the Swivel ½ pounder for the Batteau. Since I did have experience working with Ebony Gabon I knew the warning of the type of wood. You might say you can treat it like a Bee Sting. Some people get stung and get a hard pinch feeling. Few with be rushed to the hospital because the glands swell up and they can't breath.
So with Gabon you should wear a respirator or the very least a paper face mask. Plus eye protection. The danger comes from the dust of the Ebony Gabon. Ebony can cause eye irritation, respiratory problems, or even a skin irritation.
So me I was going to live with the skin irritation if the ebony bothered me. Because from my high school we were taught to never wear long selves when working with a lathe. So no long selves for me in this case....
but with all these negatives with ebony it is a very wonderful wood that was born to be turned... easy to work with. But you must use HSS turning tools because if it's hardness...

SO EVERYONE HERE ARE MY RESULTS. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. IT WAS A LOT OF FUN WITH THIS LITTLE CANNON....

A WHOLE LOT OF PITURES...COMING UP(28)

B y F or N ow M y F riends

cheers Mario







 













 
 




 
 
 

HI EVERYONE,
  IT'S BEEN A WHILE SO I HOPE I STILL KNOW HOW TO POST PICTURES...
 
Hello,
  Well I’m trying to get back into the modeling mode, since I have been away for a while.  Because of work getting crazily out of hand. Well they implemented a new system that is making us work at a snails pace now. Which is a good thing. Cause sometimes enough is enough.  When MSW switch to this new site. I did a model that I never added back to the new site. So I got a little time right now. I built this boat back in April 2012.
MARIO
 
Hello Friends,
 Well I have started. I downloaded the plans to my flash drive. Jumped in the truck. Drove down to the neariest print shop. I had 2 copies of the plans on 17x11 printed up. I ran out the door with plans in hand with a big stupid smile on my face.
So last night I was able to cut out the frames, cleats, stem n stern posts, boat bottom from the plans. They are now glued to the material and ready to be sawed out tonight.
 
MARIO
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I cut out my frames, stem n stern posts, the fore n aft knees, and the boat bottom. Now I will spend the rest of the day sanding the items cut out and ready them for install. Plus I will experiment with my rove creating. I will show my results later this evening....

So now I'm going to go back at it. Just stopped long enough to finally show some progress my friends

















 
Still have a bit to sand on the frames and cleats. But did not get to my testing the look of the roves.
On the plans it shows a butt seam of two planks running down the middle of the boat floor. I figured in real life this should not be. Because since the stem n stern posts will reside in their respective positions. Wouldn't this create a week joint? This is just me using assuming things again. So I drew a center line on the floor bottom and repositioned the plank seams.

cheers Mario

So here is a little more progress on the Batteau....










 
 

Mario












 
 
OK I THINK I HAVE EVERYTHING IN ORDER. I AM VERY GLAD TO ADD THIS BUILD BACK INTO MSW. IT WAS JUST FUN TO DO....
 
TAKE CARE EVERYONE. GOTTA GET BACK TO THE J.O.B. LUNCH IS OVER..............
 
MARIO

The Bateau final pic's...