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Moonbug

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Everything posted by Moonbug

  1. Moonbug
    Thanks Frank! Tedious, but fun! - Bug
  2. Moonbug
    Beautiful stuff mark! That's really, really nice looking work. Something to envy for sure for those of us who struggle mightily with hull planking. And of course - particularly given my recent post regarding furling or unfurling the Santa Maria's main sail - I'm predisposed toward agreeing with the Admiral. :-) - Bug
  3. Moonbug
    Here's a better picture of the styrofoam glue.
  4. Moonbug
    Good morning, Not a lot of photos to show just yet, but I've delved into the tedious job of coiling and tying off rope. I started out by building a jig, and going with that particular method - but it's only useful in a couple of places where the coils are essentially sitting on their own, or hanging off a cleat or rail. For most of the rope, that's attached to the end of a rigging line, I'm actually coiling by hand for each spot, so that it wraps around the end of the rigging properly and looks more natural. I am primarily using two types of glue. The Scenic glue that I mentioned before dries very clear and clean. As I said - it's NOT very tacky, so the coils need to be in place and how you want them laid out, then the glue is applied with a Q-tip, or sometimes small brush. The glue behind it - sorry it's kinda blurry - is actually a styrofoam glue that I came across at my local hobby store. It's VERY tacky - much like a rubber cement - so it's a bit messy, and quite honestly a pain in the butt. HOWEVER, it's also very effective if you brush it on the back of a coil because it allows you to immediately shape the coil and place it where you want it. It holds very nicely, but then takes several minutes to dry giving you plenty of flexibility to make changes. Once again, I'm growing more enamored with the somewhat haphazard way the rope coils are looking.
  5. Moonbug
    Thanks gents! And thanks for the comments Frank - really appreciate it. That's what I love about MSW - so many great, unique builds, it's pretty easy to get lost for a while. And always a good call to go with the Admiralty. ;-) - Bug
  6. Moonbug
    Just catching up - what a beautiful build Frank. Absolutely love the naming on the stern! - Bug
  7. Moonbug
    Ha Nils! I'm confusing a Pickle with a Pegasus! Nice work Peter! *laff* - Bug
  8. Moonbug
    Hey Nils, Been a while since I stopped in on the Pickle. That's my mistake - I'm going to have to stop by more often. Nicely done! Great idea with the hoops. - Bug
  9. Moonbug
    Hey Joe, thanks for the response. I can't argue with logic - so that was my task this weekend. I unfurled the sail, and took another look. Now, if I was going to go with unfurled, I'd also want to detach and re-sew the sail along with bonnets. I also considered whether or not I'd want to add one of the symbolic crosses on the sail as well. Turns out - I didn't really have to go to far to realize that I really liked the sails both ways. So, I did what any normal, red blooded man would do - I asked the Admiral. She liked the sail furled, and since I already have a couple around the house with sails down, she convinced me to go with the "just pulled into the bay" look. :-) The good news is - the entire exercise gave me the opportunity to re-furl the sail and little differently. This time, I wrapped the sail a bit differently, and the sheets and clews are a little further out on the yard. I am much happier with this look, and I think it's ultimately more accurate.
  10. Moonbug
    Nice! Great to see you back at it Sjors! Well done! - Bug
  11. Moonbug
    Nice Mark!
  12. Moonbug
    Thanks Don!
  13. Moonbug
    Been working on finishing the rigging with deck accouterments, etc. As I mentioned in the past, I'm such a huge fan of the kinda of 'underway' look of working rigging and "messy coils" that I decided that was going to be my style for this build. Sure - doesn't say much toward the tidiness and efficiency of the crew. But - I'm going to go with the idea that since Captain Christopher had such disdain for the big slow Santa Maria, that all the slackers ended up on that deck. :-) Anyway, here's a sneak peak at my look:
  14. Moonbug
    Thanks Marktime - I remember going through those from the old forum. And thanks Grant - certainly something to consider, particularly with the main. -Bug
  15. Moonbug
    Good observation Marktime - I'm using the proper size, and the same fabric as the other sails. But maybe there's an opportunity to 'roll' it a little cleaner to furl it so it's not quite as bulky. The good news is - by rigging it down prior to furling, I should be able to loose it, and re-try it at some point without it being too much of a struggle. We shall see. - Bug
  16. Moonbug
    Good morning, Pushing through the running rigging - on to the main mast. A bit more complicated parrel on this guy of course. Like the others, it's bound in the front of the mast with two looped ropes running through one another and secured. This apparently gave the rig the opportunity to loosen and tighten - which I suspect is needed to get over the rope wraps around the main mast itself. Hoisted with two lines attached to the yard, then up through the crow's nest and through the two sheaves. The line that secures the parrel is dropped down and secured at the base of the mast with a coil of rope. This initial coil of rope is a bit haphazard - but gave me an inspiration for what will be most of the rope coils of the ship. As it's an aged "working" ship, I'm going to go with "messy coils" instead of the clean and uniform look of the coils on the San Juan. Hopefully this will give it an underway look and not appear disorganized. As with the other sails and yards, I fully rigged the main sail before furling it. I followed closely the Pastor diagrams, and this was super fun. It did however - for the first time - make me second guess my choice of furling the sails for a few moments. So I included a few photos of the sail down before it was finally furled. You'll notice in the one shot a bottle of white "Scenic" glue. I used this a lot when I did train sets, etc. It's a diluted white glue that - as it turns out - works wonderfully for coiled ropes, and other types of rigging. It's not thick, and provides what is ultimately a very delicate adhesion. However, it dries very clear and does not appear to discolor the rigging after it dries. Finally, somewhat regretfully, I furled the sails. You'll also notice in the last photo that I have the rear deck raised. I'm going to figure out a small rigging system to be able to raise and lower that as needed. Obviously not something that was on the original vessel. *laff*
  17. Moonbug
    Looking good my friend. Another option for your window coverings may be lighting diffusion material or gels for photography / videography. It's relatively inexpensive and can be found at camera stores or websites. It also comes in a very wide variety of thickness and "cloudiness" so may have several options. Here are just a couple examples of what I have in my equipment room. -Bug
  18. Moonbug
    Good afternoon Don, On the holes in them masts / sheaves: It's clear in several areas that the tops of the fore and mizzen masts are sheaves - either added on top or built into the mast. It wasn't as clear for the topsail, but I assumed so for consistency, as well as the fact that it likely made it much easier to hoist the yard. Great question. It's definitely not easier, and can be a bit tedious, particularly when you're rigging single blocks together to form a pulley. I do it because one of the references that I've referred to is the 15th Century Mataro Model discovered in a church in Spain. Even though it's just a model - it's a pretty accurate model from that time frame, so it's been the inspiration for aspects of the Santa Maria and other ships of the time - based on the fundamental lack of information of the time. At any rate - in Xavier Pastor's book, he references several Mataro aspects and how his perspective may or may not differ. While Pastor goes with traditional blocks, I've chosen the Mataro version here: Thanks! - Bug
  19. Moonbug
    Good morning, Wrapped up the rigging on the topsail. Pretty basic stuff here. I drilled a hole in the topsail mast, then took a 2mm dowel, filed out grooves, and cut off a piece as a pulley / sheave. My parrel is much more basic than the other masts of course. Then the yard is hoisted through the sheave. The rest is your basic yard / sail rigging.
  20. Moonbug
    Thanks Don, appreciate the comment. And thanks marktime - no pressure. -Bug
  21. Moonbug
    Thanks Popeye, Marktime! Marktime - Good eye! Yes, you're correct. That was a definite challenge for sure - they are indeed a bit bigger than should be. At the same time - the clews sewed into the sails are a little larger than they should be also. So it's become a matter of toggles that stay put in the clews, as well as stay a reasonable size compared to the blocks. And my fat fingers were a little factor as well. :-) Those toggles are going to be something I take another look at though during the "finishing touches" phase. - Bug
  22. Moonbug
    Good morning Matt - concur with Mark - particularly with regard to the coloring / aging. Very nice. - Bug
  23. Moonbug
    More Rigging - the Foremast. Rigging the masts (somewhat out of order) based on Pastor's book required a bit more preplanning. I did quite a bit when I laid out where the rails and cleats would go, but there was still some interesting challenges when it came to rigging in and around each of the masts. It also got a little sketchy in terms of furling the sails. So my methodology was to rig them down, then actually use the rigging to raise them, then furl them. Challenging, but fun. I created the parrels for the foremast, then attached and raised it using the pulley I built at the top of the foremast. Which I then tied off on the railing of the foredeck. I'm going to go back and put a coil of rope every place a rig is tied off, but I went ahead and did this one now so I could get an idea of what the coils would look like. I attached the bridles and bowlines to a ring. There is some indication that these were attached to blocks instead of rings in some cases. In fact, there is a bit of conflicting information - about a 50/50 split on either rings or blocks. Probably a captain's choice. But this captain thinks that the rings look good - and I like the differentiation. The other thing I liked is the sheets and tacks attached to the clew with little toggles. Loved the way this ended up and looked. It also provided me with some great flexibility when it came to actually rigging the sails. Then here are some generic shots of the rigging, first with the sail down - then after it had been furled.
  24. Moonbug
    And as an added bonus, a shot of the shipyard. Notice to the right, is my 11 year old daughter's little car kit. She enjoys hanging out with Dad working as well. I've started her addiction early...
  25. Moonbug
    Good evening ladies & gents. Here are a few photos of updates to the rigging on the bowsprit. Nothing super mysterious here, just following the illustrations from Pastor's book.

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