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Moonbug

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Everything posted by Moonbug

  1. Moonbug
    Meanwhile, the planking has progressed pretty nicely. As I mentioned before, I've decided to go with stealers so that I can just use the planks from the kit rather than cut wider ones for the stern. Honestly, I'm not that confident in my ability to get them perfectly straight along the length of the hull and don't want too many gaps to fill. Here's my exercise in stealers at the stern - cutting card stock to measure and use as a template, then fill in the plank. Meanwhile, this little plank that meets the transom and the stern post is pretty tricky. It took me several tries to get the card stock measured, then another couple of tries to translate it to wood. From there it was filling in the hull from the keel and the gun ports. Of course by the time I got to the middle my measurements were off and I needed a couple more stealers. Despite not having a completely cleanly planked hull, I'm pretty happy with way it turned out. This is all pre-sanding of course, and I'll also need to thin out the area near the keel and stern to create a new beard line and rabbet.
  2. Moonbug
    When I put together the ship stove I added a temporary vent that is removable. The actual vent needs to be measured and inserted through the quarterdeck into the stove after assembly. The realistic vent caused me quite a bit of consternation in determining exactly how to make it happen. It's a very visible piece, so needs to be a good representation. I'm not particularly adept at silver soldering, but that was pretty much the only way to go here. There really isn't any kind of glue that works well for small metal bits - and JB weld or other epoxy is just super messy. At any rate, I cut a small brass tube at a 45 degree angle, then reassembled it 'backward' to create a 90 degree vent. This took me a few tries before I got it right, and got it to stick. Each time I tried to either sand down the newly soldered vent parts or cut the vent to size, it would break off and I'd have to start again. The vent cover was a really tricky little bit. I drilled to small holes into a circular piece of brass and used cut off straight pins as mounts. After measuring to the quarterdeck I sized out the brass vent, then blackened it (which only partially worked). I ended up having to give it a light coat of matte black paint, then the same metalizer as used on the stove.
  3. Moonbug
    New bounty just in: guns, carriages and a stern lantern kit from Syren. Thanks @Chuck!
  4. Moonbug
    Hey @SpyGlass - you’re 100% correct. My intention is to lay this layer out as a practicum illustrating number of planks and methodology - then I’ll create second rabbet line and thin it down for the second layer. A bit of extra work, but will help me plan out my second layer. I’ll also be able to thin it down the exact amount of thickness based on the second layer planks. (It makes sense in my head). 😛
  5. Moonbug
    Thanks everyone for your feedback and likes. I've been plugging away slowly at planking. One or two strips from the keel, one or two strips from the bulkhead - measuring each where it needs to be spiled or tapered then letting it dry in place before it's glued. Still working on some deck fixtures while the planking goes on, some more cistern updates are one the way soon. I'm trying to keep the stealers consistent and not random; using a card to measure - making sure that they don't end in a point and are not randomly placed.
  6. Moonbug
    Other than your nice build work - I've always also enjoyed your innovation when it comes to make-shift tools. Always a great source of ideas B.E.
  7. Moonbug
    Thanks Richard - all input is greatly appreciated - I’ll check it out.
  8. Moonbug
    Meanwhile, while in between planking and waiting for planks to soak and then waiting for planks to dry - I've continued to work on the lower deck fittings. I started on the pumps. Now... I think it's safe to say that the Cistern that comes with the Peg kit leaves something to be desired in terms of appearance... So - back to the FFM reference to get some inspiration for the pump. I measured out the amount of space that we have between the mast and the grate and it's limited at best. Not much room to play with there. I started with my leftover boxwood strips to frame out the basic boxes. I added some framing and feet, leaving a little extra space in the front of the pump for the doorway that opens up for the pump dale. Once again - in addition to the FFM, Dan's Vulture build served as a great reference for these details. This angle doesn't show it, but I failed in the "measure twice, cut once" lesson this time around and the pumps were just a smidge (a mm and a half) two wide to fit between everything. Fortunately I was able to solve this problem by sanding all sides of the pumps thinner - giving me just enough room if I notched out the inside legs of the pump to make room for the mast partner. I cheated a little bit on the cistern hoods - and instead of making them hollowed out, I piled the boxwood strips to create the right amount of depth, then used a compass to create a rounded template. From there it was a matter of sanding them down. As an additional touch I cut off the ends of a 2mm dowel to simulate the pump tubes that run through the deck. There is much more to do with the Cisterns. The pillars need to be crafted and I'm still noodling through how to do the pump cranks. Honestly, I'm not great at soldering this kind of thing. I can solder the heck out of wiring (I'm completely rewired my Camaro by hand), but silver soldering often leaves me frustrated.
  9. Moonbug
    I'm continuing to chip away at the planking nice and slow - following the tutorials and pdfs. As I said, I'm going to add stealers a little later as I go with this first layer. I'm trying really hard to not let the fact that it's double planked give me an excuse to take too many shortcuts on the first planking. Not only because I'm obviously trying to avoid the "filler & sanding" pitfalls that make the second layer sketchy, but because it's giving me good practice for the second layer. I practiced some spiling by soaking the plank then holding it in place with clamps on my desk. But then I decided to use that practice plank as a jig for some forthcoming planks. I can adjust the severity of the curve by adjusting where I place the plank holders. The exercise proved fruitful and I got the first plank below the canon ports in place. I originally just tried to get it in place without spiling, but it turned out funky so I pulled it off and did it again.
  10. Moonbug
    Hey Mike - I just visited Chuck's place for a few cannons and he has quite a few new goodies since I'd been there last. The lantern (which I got for my Pegasus as well) is pretty sweet. The down side of course is that the more I look around the more it ends up becoming pretty easy to fund Chuck's Roth IRA. 😛 Really nice work on this Fly Tim - I concur with the others, this is impressive on its own, but especially as a first model.
  11. Moonbug
    Here's a bit of my experience when I made the shift from plastic modeling kits to wood. I had build the revel Constitution and a couple of other three mast ships in plastic, so when I made the shift to wood I went with something that looked "cool" - the San Juan Nepomuceno. Ooof. Steep learning curve to be sure, and of course made a lot of mistakes. My advice is to pick up something relatively inexpensive, so that when you DO make mistakes (which is inevitable) it's not a huge deal. For me, I spent a fair amount so not 'getting it right' made me feel a little guilty. Since then, I've also built the Swift twice - which I see as a great little ship that lends itself to practice when it comes to planking but also with enough rigging and deck fixtures to get the hang of it. Just my two cents.
  12. Moonbug
    Don’t get too discouraged Bruce, that’s a super challenging and delicate part of the build.
  13. Moonbug
    Even though it's going to be nearly impossible to see, I too (like almost everyone else) wanted to do justice to the Ship's Stove. I took the plans from Antcherl and also inspiration from the various interpretations by Blue Ensign, Dan Vadas, and others. I began by carving out and putting together the basic frame of the oven, then I needed to measure it's scale on the deck. The stove barely fits between the bottom and quarter deck with the vent/chimney sticking through the upper deck. In order to accomplish this measurement, I had to go ahead and trim the bulwarks so the upper deck would lay flat. The Victory kit has these little notches that stick up through the quarterdeck. It's a no-brainer that they have to go. Not just for this reason, but because they inhibit proper planking of the decks. Once I had the basic size and shape figured out, I started adding the small elements of the stove like the side doors & hinges and the grates. I dove into my little trove of miscellaneous little scraps and cut and shaped brass strips left over from other builds - mostly the Stagecoach I built the Admiral. Some other parts I used were old stanchions and port lid hinges. There are a couple of really specific pieces for the stove - the grate and also the hooks that hold the rotisserie bit on the front of the stove. This is where it's really handy to have built other ships - especially, in this case, Chuck's USF Confederacy. Not only is the Confederacy also a 1/64 scale, but there were a plethora of extra laser cut pieces. So I looked through my handy stash of extra bits and found just what I needed. I drilled some holes and used wire pins to represent the bolts. This was a solid three days worth of work in between setting planks on the hull to dry to shape. After it was put together, I hit the stove with a layer of flat black, then a soft brushed coat of this super cool metal-izer that I use on my WWII plane models. For the final product, I added the brass rails and the little skewer.
  14. Moonbug
    Ok - Lest you think I'm not actually going to plank the Peg - these next few photos show that I have indeed actually started planking her. After a good two hours of re-reading tutorials and watching Chuck's videos, I finally plunged in. As you can see, I've got the tutorial and measurements all laid out so I can go by the book. I measured out the plank sizes and divided the hull into four sections. I used some old pin-striping tape to mark. Then, lo and behold I actually laid the garboard strake. More to come on planking of course, but I'm taking it very slow. I've also decided with the first layer of planking I'm going to go with stealers - especially since I'm not cutting my own plank sizes, but using the kit wood. Incidentally, this is also the first time I purchased and used the little screw in plank holders from Micro-Mark. I saw them on Dan Vadas' builds, and I've gotta say - they work pretty great. The only downside with the Peg is that they have tendency to split or strip the MDF if you're not very slow and careful.
  15. Moonbug
    Thanks Vahur! I've seen other folks do this, and it might be a good idea for this one, especially since the build is for my youngest daughter.
  16. Moonbug
    Managed a little bit of work in the shipyard last night despite having to spend much of the afternoon after work in the yard taking care of our yearly "Leaf-pocalypse" that occurs. Looks pretty, but a lot of work... So, a relatively short update working on the lower deck doors to the cabin areas. I was quite tempted to mock up the cabins though they will not be visible (mostly of the cool work done in several of the other Peg builds here), but then decided against it. However, I did want to set a bit of a 'barrier' to the deck by crafting a doorway. I started with a firm template to measure out both the measurements and the deck slopes, and actually glued it to the beam. This let's me slide it in and out of the space until I'm ready to mount it. Pretty basic stuff after that, measured out some framing and doors. I carved out some relief in the doors to give them depth and shape with some pin files in case someone gets frisky and tries to look down in there at some point. I gave that several attempts and this is about as straight as I can get those by hand. Really need to order that drill press from micro-mark.... Christmas is around the corner right?
  17. Moonbug
    Good evening Chuck, To provide some feedback on your patience / impatience observation - this concept is the exact reason I started my first build (the San Juan in 2008). Without digressing to much, I had just retired from the military and got a job in a pretty 'high-speed' career field as a civilian. I had a type-A, military leader mentality and did everything full-bore. Building forced me to adopt the mindset of taking a little extra time to take something to the next level. My thought process became "If this is a project that (when completed) will last forever, and be passed on to my children some day - isn't spending an extra hour, or day, or even week on an aspect of it worth it? In all fairness - I still have to remind myself of that regularly - frequently in fact. I get excited about completing an element and I start to rush it. The first capstan I just botched is a great example. But doing it again, and taking a couple extra days to get it right paid off. EVERY time I do that, it has paid off and I feel much better about what I've done. So I guess what I'm saying is - my personal opinion is to not simplify your belfry or other elements any more. These aren't plastic model kits - they're works of art, and the way you design kits doesn't just teach patience, it teaches us to respect the art.
  18. Moonbug
    Hey Popeye, good to see your fine work again!
  19. Moonbug
    Nice, clean looking little ship Lapinas!
  20. Moonbug
    Thanks Mark - honestly, I'd spent so much time out of the hobby room dealing with work and life crisis, I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed the quiet time in the shipyard. So I may be obsessing a bit. Also - if it seems as though I'm overly focused on deck fittings to avoid planking the hull... that is also correct. 😛
  21. Moonbug
    Admittedly, I have a bit of an unhealthy fascination with Capstans. While the Capstan parts that come with the Peg are alright, I really wanted to get this one right. So - I did what any rational builder would do - I consulted not only Antscherl, but Dan Vadas' Capstan build for his Vulture. I used the Victory kit capstan as a scale guide, and some leftover boxwood strips to build out the parts. Following Dan's process, I channeled out the slots in two halves of the top then worked them together. I had to rig up a way to get it into the lathe, but that allowed me to even out the circle and also carve out a channel for the ebony parts. I don't have much in the way of equipment in my shipyard (other than my nifty Proxxon lathe), so I had to use some alternate tactics than Dan, including much use of pin files, x-acto, razor blades, and my handy dentist picks and tools. I also don't have any ebony or super dark wood in my stash, so I used ebony wood filler. I loaded it into the channel, then scrapped it flat and even with a razor blade. This particular wood putty doesn't dry solid, so sanding it requires at least 600 - 1000 grit paper and a VERY light touch or it just smears. I topped it all off with drilled holes and cut off pins. The 'body' of the capstan is relatively standard stuff - I had to do each of the whelps individually without machinery. I split a couple of boxwood planks and glued them together, then filed out the shapes of the whelps. From there, it's gluing them to the base, filling in the gaps and sanding it all down. Clearly I'm going to have to do some work with the framing to get this guy to fit, as well as connect the two capstans. More to come on that. The bottom capstan was relatively experimental, so I shored up my process for the upper capstan. I used the same basic process as the bottom for the drumhead, and I put the whole thing back in the lathe to even out the diameter and carve out the channel for the ebony. Lest you think this all went smoothly - my first attempt at the upper capstan turned out pretty crappy. Too wide of an ebony circle , kinda thin, and overall just kinda crappy looking. So I gave it another shot using three sections of boxwood instead of two, carving out the capstan bar holes from the middle piece. This extra thickness gave me some wiggle room when it came to shaping the drumhead. I sacrificed one of my chisels to get the right sized notch for the ebony ring then used the same wood putty filler and smoothing the whole thing out. Finally, after adding the whelps and filler pieces, I connected the two capstans for mounting later.
  22. Moonbug
    For me, the deck fixtures are always one of my most enjoyable aspects on which to work. I feel as though putting in a little (or sometimes a lot) of extra time on these pieces really enhances the overall build as they often stand out to the viewer. Although the deck fixtures included with the Peg are pretty decent, they still represent an opportunity to add some realism. The grates are pretty straight forward, and the grate pieces that come in the kit were easy to work with. I did pull out my own walnut pieces for the coamings to get a little more shape to them. Otherwise putting the grates together is relatively standard. Personally, I like to group the number of grate linings that I need then cut them with a jeweler's saw so I have them as even as possible. This is a delicate process because the little 'nubs' have a tendency to snap off pretty easily. My mast partners are pretty basic and made by gluing a few pieces of boxwood together, shaping the edges, sanding out the hole, and then mounting them to the deck. The oddly shaped little fella is the step for the Capstan as illustrated in the FFM.
  23. Moonbug
    Aligning the gun ports always seems like a pretty simple process when I see it on other builds, but always ends up being a little sketchy. Obviously a crucial process and sets the stage for the rest of the planking from wales on down. The pre-fabricated gun port templates with the peg line up pretty well, but of course there's some shifting and bending along the bulwarks. I soaked them in water for a couple hours to loosen them up, then clamped them to the sides of the ship - careful to line up the ridges with the bulwark posts that extend up through the deck. Then I left them there overnight to dry in that fixed position. Then, I glued them along the sides using PVA (wood) glue along the posts and outside the deck and add nails into the bulwarks and posts. I used a little bit of CA (super glue) on the inner posts just to hold the gun ports in place. But these posts will be removed later. The pre-fab template comes in to pieces that link together toward the stern. This is kinda funky because there's really nothing holding them together and very little space with which to adhere them. So, I added a flat piece of wood behind the seam to bolster the joint. I'm hoping it's thin enough that it won't interfere with planking - otherwise I'll remove it and let the wales hold it in place as it's planked. When the hull is planked, so shall the gun ports - so some imperfections will be covered. But, needless to say the smoother the job here, the easier it'll be to have a smoothly planked hull later.
  24. Moonbug
    Really, really nicely done.
  25. Moonbug
    So.... this is what happens when you're not paying attention and you knock a little can of wood filler off the shelf onto the deck. Doh. The little repair did give me the opportunity to smooth out the deck a little more and give it a good couple more runs with some 400 & 600 grit. After that bit of a distraction, I moved on the bow of the ship. one of the things I wasn't thrilled about was the extra 'meat' at the front. I realize a couple things here of course - A - it provides extra support for the upper deck and B - there won't be much to see. None-the-less, I wanted a little more accurate representation of the bowsprit. Also, I figured it would help me out when it's time to mount the pesky gunport patterns. So, I shaved off the extra materials, put together new bitts to extend the bowsprit. I'll add a couple more details later (probably manger boards, etc). I test fit the upper deck here just to see how it'd look.

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