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Moonbug

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Everything posted by Moonbug

  1. Moonbug
    Guess it's been a while. I have been keeping up with other builds, even if I haven't been posting here. And... not posting doesn't necessarily mean not working in the shipyard - albeit, not nearly at the pace I was working throughout the winter. Warming up here in Colorado means getting out to golf a bit more when I'd otherwise be in the hobby room. At any rate - I've been toiling away at the launch and what kind of vessel I wanted above the waist. The truth is, I've always been partial to a pinnacle; and I think the sleek lines match the elegance for which the swan class is known. For my pinnacle, I borrowed the bones from the Confederacy Pinnacle, then went scratch from there. The keel was pretty easy to duplicate - but the bulkheads not so much without a laser cutter or some kind - so I just outright stole the ones from the Confed kit. I'll worry about that Pinnacle when the time comes - but I do have my eye on Chris Watton's pre-cut kits - so I'll definitely be at least trying out that route. A couple of things I did a little differently as I built upon the keel and bulwarks - I glued a strip to the top of the pieces that'll later be removed. This adds LOTS of stability to the boat as you plank it. Otherwise, the much smaller pieces tended to wiggle around and get out of place - and yes, that crooked one was fixed first. Second - I actually double planked this little bad boy. The thin, narrow planks are really tough to get flush as you taper and shape them. Double planking gives me the opportunity to fill in some gaps with filler, sand smooth, then get the second layer of even narrower, and thinner planks really nice. After the insides are removed to reveal the frame and sanded even, I filled in some of the parts such as the seats supports, floor boards, gunwales, and planking with Swiss Pear to create a nice contrast and also match parts of the Peg herself. This is a technique I used on Augie's Confederacy and really liked. The seating, and oar locks are all boxwood. The oar locks were shaped with a needle file in one strip, then cut off before being glued to the boat. The rudder parts are brass shaped and blackened. Interesting note - the little round 'handle' on the tiller is a tiny bead that's called 'caviar beads'. Apparently they're used as decorations on women's fingernails. They were the smallest bead I could find on Amazon a while ago. Finally painted the sides the same color blue as the sides of the Peg. I've still got the oars and other things that will go inside the pinnacle, but here's what she looks like with a coat of Tung oil and sitting in her spot on the spare topmasts.
  2. Moonbug
    Nice work getting such a tight fit with those railings and support knees BE. And if you find a good nozzle cleaner, please let me know. I cringe at the amount of dust and build up every time I take a macro shot these days.
  3. Moonbug
    Welcome, from a fellow Coloradan a bit north. Clamps, sanding tools, and tweezers mostly. You’ll also likely find yourself making as many tools and jigs as you purchase.
  4. Moonbug
    Thanks Cisco, much appreciated. Greg Herbert now sells a series of downloadable computer generated photos from The Fully Framed Model Swan series that have been really helpful.
  5. Moonbug
    After I put the spare masts in place, I thought it was a good time to add the 1/2 pounders where they belong. This also represented what I thought to be a good opportunity for some general photos of the progress thus far. I'm just under 600 hours.
  6. Moonbug
    The nice thing about doing two extra top masts that mount on the deck and hold the ship's launch is that it gives one an opportunity to try a couple different methods to get the masts correct - or at least close to it. I used two different types of wood for the fore top mast and the main top mast respectively, and the first one turned out with much to be desired. It was an extra dowel I had lying around and I'm not even sure what kind of what it is - but it was too dense, very difficult to shape properly. The second was a basswood dowel which turned out much better. Which gives me a plan for the "real" masts that will come later. As others have pointed out, the kit plans for the top masts leave out some detail, so I did some research with Steele's books and drew out my plan for the top masts. The good news is - @Blue Ensign graciously did all the math in his Pegasus build log here - so I didn't have to spend as much time interpreting Steele's archaic verbiage, just some double checks. Unlike BE however, I am more comfortable starting with a round dowel a bit larger than the target, tapering it where necessary, then squaring off the ends. Really just a matter of preference and taste I think. Perhaps I'll start with the square when I do the Main and Fore masts as the round dowels I have may not be large enough in diameter to start with. Either way, with these I transferred the newly calculated lengths etc to the dowel, then start creating sawdust. I did keep my fore top mast that was pretty rough looking as the paint and the fact that it'll be under a launch will hide many of the flaws. Just don't zoom in too closely on the photos. 😛 Here are the two spare masts in place on the gallows.
  7. Moonbug
    Welcome - glad to see you around our forum. I've enjoyed five of your kits - four ships and a stagecoach.
  8. Moonbug
    Nice work. I think each additional bit that you add to the transom and that area shows off how well your hard work and attention on the letters has paid off.
  9. Moonbug
    The subject of hammock cranes is another that seems to lend itself to quite a bit of variation depending on country, era, type of ship, etc. There's a good topic that dates all the way back to the relaunch of the MSW site here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/716-hammocks-cranes-and-covers/ For my hammock cranes, I've once again decided to go with the Swan Class examples illustrated in the TFFM where the cranes are along the length of the quarterdeck parallel to the rail. I started by cutting and bending lengths of 1mm diameter brass rod then flattening one end. My method of flattening is putting the end in the flat part of needle nosed pliers (the smooth area NOT the ridged area) then laying the pliers against an anvil and give it a couple of good whacks. The flattened bit does need to be shaped a bit afterward so that they're all consistent width. I stuck a couple of pins in either end of the rail and ran a thread so I could measure the necessary heights of the stanchions as they ran alongside the railing. It's important to ensure that the height of the hammock cranes falls short of the 1/2 pound guns - also figuring in the loops that are to be soldered to the top that facilitates the line. Stanchions are cut to height and a small bit of a 2mm brass tube is soldered to the top - same method as other railing stanchions on the ship. Everything is blackened and mounted. A couple notes - I kept all the railings in height order as I blackened them, which was a bit tricky. But I didn't want to mix them up after I'd measured them all. I mounted them with a 'bolt' through the center of the flattened area. Technically, I should have used two bolts, but at this scale that was too much to ask. The fore end is knotted at the stanchion. Technically (again) this should have been pulled down and mounted on a ring bolt at the railing, but my wood railing is a bit too far forward for that and it looked terrible, so I compromised. The aft end is seized at a ring bolt. Overall I'm pretty pleased with this arrangement. You can see in the broad photos I've mounted one of the 1/2 pounders to make sure nothing would get fouled with this layout.
  10. Moonbug
    I took a couple of hours to knock out the entry ropes. Seems simple enough, but of course trying to get the knots equal distance apart is always a little bit of a challenge, especially with .20 mm line. The stanchions are the circle top laser cut fellas that came with the kit and that I'd replaced in other areas.
  11. Moonbug
    Welcome Todd - both Colorado and the military are well represented here! Glad you could join us, good luck on your build. Don’t hesitate to reach out for anything.
  12. Moonbug
    Rigging the boomkins is my first little foray into rigging the Peg. As I mentioned in the gammoning post I'm making my own rope/line for this project, and as such I've put together my own line server. Basically I just looked at a few of the ones being used by our members and replicated them as well as I could. It really only cost me some scrap wood, a couple brass rods and $3 or $4 for a set of plastic gears. Works pretty well! Most likely not as great as Chuck's "Serve-O-Matic" or some of the others, but gets the job done for me. Based on scale, I took a .30 line and served it with 120 gauge Guterman thread for the strops and the boomkin shrouds. The fore tack block is one of my larger (6 mm) boxwood single blocks sanded down to create the shoulder block look and the served line for the strop. This is looped over the boomkin first, then the aft shroud is up with a pretty simple hook into the eyebolt set up. The fore shroud is a bit more complicated with a triangular eye bolt strapped to a heart and lanyard. The eye bolt is a bit of wire angled into the triangle with the end soldered then attached to a standard eye bolt. I don't remember where I got these laser cut hearts, but after a little sanding they worked out well. Strapping the heart to the triangle without it looking like a just a big lump was a bugger though. For the second one, it made much more sense to do that part first, then loop the other end over the boomkin and finish the shroud.
  13. Moonbug
    Very nicely done BE - and certainly well worth it.
  14. Moonbug
    The other task accomplished this weekend (while watching many hours of the Masters) was the boomkins. Although they are pretty straighforward, the slight curve does provide one complication. However - as many of you know - one of the benefits of having done a handful of builds is having a stash of extra bits and pieces that one refuses to get rid of - because why would you? Add to that - one of the benefits of having one or two of Chuck's kits particular is that he's not shy about providing extra parts. So my boomkins were adapted from the parts I have leftover from the Confederacy; which lucky for me is also a 1/64 build. Although the Peg's boomkin dimensions are different, this did save some work. I did however have to make up that extra work when I discovered that my seats of ease were just slightly off - about a half millimeter to be exact. The boomkins run right along side the sides, so although I did measure for this - being off by even the slightest is no bueno. Moving the seats of ease meant readjusting all the ledges. A little bit tedious, but necessary. Capsquares are cut from brass and shaped by curving them over a pin file handle. They're then drilled & blackened, then mounts the boomkins to the head. Next step for the bow was the berthing rail. I followed the same procedure here as the foc'sle by soldering a brass tube to a pin head, filling it down and running the same cabled wire through it. I still dig how this 'railing' looks as compared to using a line or a straight metal rod. However, I think this will preclude me from adding netting to the bow because I think that will look funky. I may change my mind after mulling it over as the netting can be added at any time. A word on drilling out the capsquares and other brass / metal parts. I was having great difficulty doing this so reached out to this forum for advice. Since then - I have had much more success by taking the following steps: First, I ordered a very good (and expensive as heck) set of mini drill bits from McMaster-Carr. Pre-drilling, I anneal the brass first with a small torch and tap out a dent with a small, pointed metal punch. This gives the drill bit something to grab on to and prevents it from sliding all around and ultimately snapping off. Finally, I make sure my piece to be drilled is secure in my drill press with a piece of wood or something underneath it and lower my drill press very, very slowly as I drill out the hole.
  15. Moonbug
    This is true of a few Artesania kits - but the good news is, there are a handful of Swift builds here on the forum. In fact, these days I often only use the instructions as a guideline, and much of my builds are put together using a combination of build logs from here, and research. Good luck on the Swift - I always enjoyed that kit. So much in fact, I've built it twice.
  16. Moonbug
    I felt as though the Fish Davit and associated span shackles were going to be one of those relatively easy additions - but I was incorrect. It was very fiddly to get correct. As most of you know, the Fish Davit extends across the forecastle and is used to help haul up the anchor for stowage. Square span shackles are used to hold the davit in position as it is leveraged. For the shackles, I squared off a round piece of brass (because I didn't have any square ones), then shaped it around the davit. I then sanded both the inside and outside edges square, blackened it, and added the eye bolt. The Davit itself is a pretty simple piece to shape - tapered toward the edges and given a bit of a crown. But a hand rope is fitted along the sides and secured by little eyestrops. Holy cow what a pain these were. I ended up getting them in by drilling holes along the davit, putting a touch of CA glue on one end of a line so it would stiffen, inserting the stiffened end in the hole, then stuffing the other end into the hole until it closed around the hand rope. Most of this was accomplished using a combination of needle nose tweezers and a dental pick. After all that, the davit was mounted but not secured yet in case I need to move it around or wish to store it differently for the final presentation.
  17. Moonbug
    Bowsprit cap re-accomplished with the jackstaff accommodation. An interesting note here - those following this build (and I thank you!) have already noticed that I have a fair amount of "re-do"s. Sure - the best method is to think far enough ahead that you avoid them, but personally - I get in a groove and pretty regularly overlook something or botch it. I point this out because at the end of the day, for me, the re-dos are almost always worth it. Sure, there are some things that'll never get noticed - like a wonky plank on a lower deck that no one will ever see, or something. But if something bothers you - go ahead and give it another go. You'll feel better. I also handled the gammoning today. I reviewed Steele's books and Marquardt's "Eighteenth Century Rigs & Rigging" just to make sure I was confident, then did the wrap. A couple things worth noting - I'm making my own rope for the ship's lines this time using @Chuck's recipe and Gutermann thread, so I'm opting for the darker brown instead of black. I know this a pretty contentious topic in terms of whats 'more' accurate, and caused me some consternation - but I've settled on this option. Steele and Marquardt call for 9 to11 wraps for a ship this size, but I couldn't get more than 8 without it looking funky. I think the more important element is that the number of horizontal wraps is the same as the number of vertical wraps.
  18. Moonbug
    Hey BE - love your observational insight. No, I sure didn't. I intended to - then totally forgot once I got into the groove. An oversight I realized when I took the pictures. Then I spent some time agonizing whether it is worth it to go back and redo the block with all those angled holes, etc. Of course it is. Because ... you know... we're gluttons for punishment. And, of course it's a nice little detail - especially when you add a capsquare, etc.
  19. Moonbug
    Thanks @starlight, appreciate it - along with all the looks and likes. Continuing with the bowsprit, had to make my own cap as the kit has a simplified version of this part of the ship to accommodate different skill levels of building. The kit version of the caps has two circular holes, as the bowsprit is simply tapered along with the jib boom. This cap is pretty finicky to make as all the entry/exit angles must be exact. I measured a 4mm dowel as a temporary jib boom to ensure placement and fit is correct. I used basswood for this piece as it'll be painted and doesn't require fine cutting or sanding. I used boxwood for the bees and bee blocks however, as they DO need fine cutting and sanding. I used my usual technique for creating the sheaves. Likewise used boxwood for the sling cleat and jib boom saddle. For the woolding I used sliced pieces of electrical tape before wrapping the line. The electrical tape has some stretch to it, allowing me to layer it while still ensuring that it's even. The saddle and gammoning cleats are also shaped from boxwood and mounted. After everything is added to the bowsprit, it's painted black, fashioned with the necessary eyebolts and woolding wrapping, then given a coat of wipe on poly.
  20. Moonbug
    This weekend I started on the bow and the bowsprit. I am modeling this work on the TFFM images rather than the ship plans. First steps were to take my bowsprit "nub" that I've had in place and take some measurements. Obviously the plan lengths won't work because my bowsprit extends on to the main deck and into the support. The marks below represent the notch into the support, how far it extends inboard from the knightheads, then I marked where the gammoning will wrap. That allowed me to then line up with the plans to determine the overall length. Based on the plans, I am tapering the diameter of the bowsprit at 8mm in the middle and 7mm as it enters the bow and as it reaches the square fore end where the bees will attach. I squared off that end of the bowsprit first, then tapered the rest on the lathe - test fitting until it slid in smoothly. Once I had the length proper, I notched out the aft end so it would sit in the step. And interesting note here: On the TFFM plans - as well as some other Swan Class builds - the bowsprit should sit on the saddle were the headworks comes together. However, on nearly all the Pegasus builds I've seen (including mine) there is a distinct gap between the bowsprit, saddle, and figurehead. A first this bothered me, but the bowsprit will be gammoned tightly and it should be an issue. After the bowsprit is temporarily fitted - I moved on to finally adding the bowsprit partner. I fashioned it from planks of Swiss Pear so it would have the same look/feel as the deck and shaped it similarly to Dan's Vulture. I cut out the space for it, then added it in place. Yes - I understand there are a couple of anomalies here in terms of accuracy - first that the partner would most likely have been a single piece rather than planks glued together as I have it - but I'm pretty much out of Swiss Pear, so I'm adapting; and I didn't want to use a color wood that was vastly disparate. Second: The way this kit/build is engineered, the bowsprit does not overlap and insert into the upper deck quite as it should, so the partner is essentially useless. I also understand that most of this is obscured by the breast hook which was made next. The breast hook was also made from Swiss Pear after the shape is measured with card stock. As I said above - I'm running low on Swiss pear so I stacked and glued a couple of pieces to create the proper thickness. The breast hook is then shaped and mounted with 'bolts' in the front. Finally, I carved out some small cleats that are mounted parallel to the bow's rail as laid out in my TFFM photos. I carved these out of boxwood using a couple of different Dremel attachments and some light hand sanding.
  21. Moonbug
    Though I haven't had as much time to work on the Peg as I'd like, I did manage to get the billboards up. I used 1/16" x 1/8" strips of basswood for the portion that covers the wales since it's going to be painted as well. However, I used boxwood for the bolster just below the chains plates, the upright stanchions (1/16" x 1/16") and planks (1/16" x 1/8") so that they would match the other hull fixtures (such as the fenders, etc) once coated with wipe on poly. Final touches are the blackened bolts.
  22. Moonbug
    Nice touch!
  23. Moonbug
    That's been the case around here for quite a while, and I'm sure not uncommon amongst this lot. Heh.
  24. Moonbug
    This is one of those short updates that represents a bunch of work. I've been noodling through how to make the netting along the waist rail. I spent quite a while looking for a good "fishnet" representation - even going so far as to ask the admiral if she had any 'delicates' lying about that were no longer in use 😉. I found a couple of 'acceptable' options at a fabric store, but nothing that I was really happy with. None of them looked like "rope" but rather just laced thread. First, I tried weaving together my own netting using Dan Vadas' example from his Jib Net here. Here's my attempt: This is after something like 6 hours mind you, makes tying off ratlines feel like a breeze. After all that, I still wasn't digging it. I think it looks fine - and I may well still use it for a Jib Net, but I didn't like it for the waist. So, after more research I found this guy on youtube. He over explains a bit - which is better than under-explaining I suppose - but more importantly, his method was transferrable to a much smaller scale and I was able to replicate it using .20mm rope. Here's a shot of my first attempt (bottom) which was pretty sketchy, but a good practice to get the hang of it and improve my method. In the top one, I used more pins to hold my tiny work in place and thus create more even loops. I didn't use any sort of net needle, I just used rope with the end stiffened with CA glue. Still took 6 or 7 hours each to complete the netting which ended up being about 113mm long by 11mm wide. I then mounted it to my waist rail by first using a tiny dot of CA glue to attach the loops to the rail and stanchions, then tying off the loops to the stanchions, and finally looping and tying off another length of rope around the rail itself. I've seen other example of this looping on rails in this time frame - usually metal ones to create a better grip on the rail when wet. So I figure it too much of a stretch to have seen it on a waist rail. Finally, it's mounted on the waist. Last touches were to add another tiny drop of CA to hold the bottom loops even with the ship's rail. Overall, this was a boatload of work (no pun intended) for a relatively small area and detail; and I still have the port side to do. I think it's still a touch out of scale (especially the knots), but it's about as small a rope as I could go and still successfully work with. But I'm much more pleased with this than I think I would be with a more modern alternative to netting.
  25. Moonbug
    Thanks @Techtonic, thanks for letting me know! I may have to give them a try. It’s nice to have another option besides the infamous Amati crew. Be sure and post pictures of your fellas when they’re painted.

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