jack.aubrey

Saturday 20 July 2019

In these days with the weather becoming warmer and hot, I worked around some preparatory activitoes to paint the quickwork. The varnish, according to the images of the model shown at the beginning of this log, will be black.

In order to apply the black (acrylic) paint it's necessary, however, to mask the border area which must remain wood-colored. A couple of days ago I applied a coat of matt acrylic from the lower wale to the keel, to prepare with a base coat the area to be colored. Before proceeding with the masking and painting I decided to wait a few days to make sure that the initial coat of paint is well dry and perfectly anchored to the wood.

So, as alternative task, I started to prepare the two platforms that are positioned almost at the top of the mainmast and foremast.
The material provided by the kit, this time, proved to be really good. All the pieces are laser pre-cut and are of absolute precision. Their assembly, although to be carried out with the utmost care given the fragility of some pieces, did not create any kind of problems.

The only aspect to be emphasized is that it's practically impossible, given the fragility of many pieces, to remove the burned wood. a side effect of the laser cut. For this reason the two platforms will be colored instead of left in natural wood color: their nature as pre-cut laser pieces would be too obvious and so on.

My only problem (just to speak): the choice of the color.

For today there are no images but they will arrive soon. Salutoni, Jack.

Many thanks to all of you for the comments and the likes, Jack.

Wednesday, July 17th, 2019

A little work with toothpicks to simulate wood nails on the wales and on the vertical reinforcements . . .

01 Ragusian Carrack/16072019/IMG_20190716_112035.jpg

02 Ragusian Carrack/16072019/IMG_20190716_112057.jpg

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Monday, July 15, 2019

A couple of days ago I applied a coat of oil for wood, to nourish the wood itself and highlight its colors. So I had to wait a couple of days for the oil to be completely absorbed by the wood and leave dry the model surfaces. Now the model can be manipulated again and I am providing the tree nailing of the wales and vertical reinforcements.

Below is a review of model images taken this morning in natural light. Good vision. Jack.

01 Ragusian Carrack/15072019/IMG_20190715_114850.jpg

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Tuesday, July 9th, 2019

I've terminated the installation of the stern decorations.

The original decorative material supplied in the Marisstella kit consists of raw laser cut pieces on a walnut wood board. These pieces, once separated from their board, must be manually carved. Unfortunately, the wood used (walnut with fairly coarse grain) proved to be absolutely unsuitable to be carved.
So this operation was terminated, in my case, miserably. In my opinion, another type of wood should have been used, such as boxwood or pearwood; perhaps the carving was successful.
 
Taking into account that this model should represent a generic Ragusian Carrack, therefore not a specific, named ship, I felt free to decide and improvise on these details.
 
I therefore resorted to my own reserve of metal decorations (accumulated over many years by building other models) and I prepared the decorations that you can see illustrated in the images that follow this script. Personally I am satisfied with the choice of these decorations, quite in synergy with the decorations in vogue of the late 16th-early 17th century.

A cordial goodbye, Jack. Aubrey

01 Ragusian Carrack/09072019/IMG_20190709_104115.jpg

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Wednesday, July 3rd, 2019

For more than ten days I have not provided any information on this project. In this message I try to show the results of the work I carried out in these days, work that was quite huge but with the flaw of being scarcely visible. In practice, a lot of many very small details where the time needed to implement them was generally high, but with a practically insignificant visibility. Apart from some details at the bow and midship area, which are also shown in the first detailed images, my work focused particularly at stern, where I started to apply the planned decorations.

01 Ragusian Carrack/02072019/IMG_20190702_175810.jpg

02 Ragusian Carrack/02072019/IMG_20190702_175502.jpg

Here are highlighted the scuppers for the main deck, on the ship bulwarks. But, to consider them really finished I still have to proceed to drill the bulwark itself.

03 Ragusian Carrack/02072019/IMG_20190702_175509.jpg

Most of the details are concentrated in the stern, here we see a portion of the gunwale of the top poop deck seen from one side and, in figure 05, from above.

04 Ragusian Carrack/02072019/IMG_20190702_175518.jpg

05 Ragusian Carrack/02072019/IMG_20190702_175525.jpg

The next images show part of the stern decorations, obtained with household means painted with coats of primer and gold polyurethane paint.

06 Ragusian Carrack/02072019/IMG_20190702_175546.jpg

07 Ragusian Carrack/02072019/IMG_20190702_175612.jpg

08 Ragusian Carrack/02072019/IMG_20190702_175644_BURST001_COVER.jpg

09 Ragusian Carrack/02072019/IMG_20190702_175627.jpg

The next tasks will still be concentrated on the other poop decorations that are still missing. For these elements the matter becomes more complex and we will talk about it in the next message when I'll finish this task.

Sincerely, Jack Aubrey.

Saturday, June 22nd, 2019

FINALLY I completed the installation of vertical reinforcements and the channels !!!!!!!

Here below I submit you a series of images on both sides of the hull, some with more detail.

I have now two/three days while planning the next activities, then I'll restart again. Greetings, Jack.

01 Ragusian Carrack/22062019/IMG_20190622_102032R.jpg

02 Ragusian Carrack/22062019/IMG_20190622_102045R.jpg

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Wednesday, June 19th, 2019

Activities are still focused around the hull of the Carrack.

At the end I decided it was better to continue with the installation of the wales and the vertical reinforcements and this week I focused my efforts on this objective.

The most demanding activity of course was to install the wales: on Monday I installed (obviously on both sides) the upper wale while on Tuesday I installed the two others below.

Today I was able to proceed with the vertical reinforcements, something much simpler but more boring. At the moment on the side highlighted by the photos here attached there are still two of them missing, the ones that support the fore channel.

I plan to finish both sides by the end of this week.

Sincerely, Jack.

01 Ragusian Carrack/19062019/IMG_20190619_175914.jpg

02 Ragusian Carrack/19062019/IMG_20190619_175925.jpg

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On 6/15/2019 at 1:38 PM, JpR62 said:

Superb job ! Precise and clean ! I like the choice and the warm shade of wood species. Magnifico !

Do you upgrade the wood or user the one provided by Marisstella ?

Hi Jean Paul,

I used the wood provided by Marisstella (in practice only walnut strips) just as first planking for decks (for the hull I used limewood, better suitable for this task than walnut).

As second planking I used wood not included in the kit (tanganika and cherry veneer).

20 hours ago, vossy said:

Hello Jack, I am so glad I found your build log. This is a superb job you are doing. I love the Carracks! Your skill is unbelievable. Congratulations to you and your many feline assistants. If I may ask a few questions; is this model originally supposed to be double planked on the hull? Where on earth did you find your 0.4mm cherry strips? On the Maristella site it lists this model as for sale both upgraded kit and retro. Do you know what the difference is there?

Hi Chris,

this model has originally born as a single planking hull. The strips provided for this task were walnut of 4x1.5mm. As first idea I tryed to follow this single planking goal but I found it very difficult and unpractical to pursuit and very soon I changed my mind and decided for the double planking. The first plaking was done with 5x1,5mm limewodd and the second with cherry veneer 0,4mm. Considering the particular shape of this hull, specially at bow, this was a very good choice, at least for my skills and taste.

I found the veneer at a wood wholesaler near the town of Pisa (Italy). It is sold as in the pictures here below as linear meters. You can easily obtain strips at your choice by using a common cutter in cojuction with a spacer and a metal ruler to cut strips at the proper height.

Regarding a basic and upgraded kit from Marisstella I cannot answer 'cause I don't know, I bought the kit more than a year ago. Regards, Jack.

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. . . Continuation

The starboard side where this task is practically finished. Friendliness, Jack.Aubrey.

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Friday, June 14th, 2019

This week I was not very active, however I almost finished the installation of the vertical reinforcements located in the midship/poop/stern area: now only two reinforcements are missing and then I'll move on to other activities.

Basically I have two choices for the near future:

1) continue the installation of the wales and vertical reinforcements from midship-to-bow, in practice an activity similar to the one performed in these days; in this way I would complete these details on the whole ship;

2) make a digression and prepare and install most of the poop/stern decorations and maybe even the railings of the two rear decks; a way to make life less boring.

I have to think about it; anyway, it's a matter of next week. Sincerely, Jack.

01 Ragusian Carrack/14062019/IMG_20190614_112006.jpg

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Saturday, June 8th, 2019

The installation of all the wales in the stern area, including the mizzenmast channels, are the result of my work done between Friday and today. These details unlock the installation of the remaining vertical side reinforcements and other details . . . but tomorrow is Sunday and I have other programs to pursuit, and they don't include modeling.

Enjoy the pictures and accept my best regards, Jack.

01 Ragusian Carrack/08062019/IMG_20190608_170113.jpg

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Friday 7 June 2019 - Shipyard reopened . . .

Last week I managed to finish all the many commitments related to my return to Cinisello and then, finally, last Monday I was able to reopen the Ragusian Carrack shipyard. Because of my "trip" to Tuscany, I left in January this year, this shipyard has been closed for approx. six months and I was looking forward to being able to resume activities around this model.

First I spent Monday by fixing a mistake I made before closing the yard, an error related to a wrong shape of the  vertical reinforcements in the poop area. This correction caused a nice amount of very fine walnut powder that gave me a hundred sneezes !! In fact, breathing this powder is like pulling a pinch of tobacco from the nose, a remedy, I don't know for what, used by our grandparents until 60/70 years ago.

Then I started, on Tuesday, to do new things that you can see in the photos below: a first wale, at the moment still incomplete, and five vertical reinforcements integrated with the mainmast channel. Obviously this on both sides of the hull.

Finally, today, I applied two other (still incomplete) wales from midship to the stern. The photos shown here do not contain these last details. It may seem few progresses but I can assure you that my three hours per day were full of work, without breaks or similar loss of time . . .

Cheers, Jack.

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Saturday 18 May 2019

I returned from Tuscany to Cinisello a few days ago and I'am now involved in many matters raised during my absence from Cinisello. I believe as soon as possible to finally resume some real kind of dhip modeling.

I am publishing the latest news about this model which, due to the various location changes, has been a little forgotten, preferring other models that luckily, were completed in a quicker time.

I honestly don't know when I will resume full-time work on this model, but before I can do it, I would rather finish the Ragusian Carrack model.

See you soon, Jack.Aubrey

The third launch of Guadeloupe. . . there is still a lot to do.

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The other two boats are now finished, except for some small details (oars, etc.) to be nade later

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4 hours ago, vossiewulf said:

Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail: The Evolution of Fighting Tactics, 1650-1815

In this book I found this matter well explained and covered. 

One of the main points to consider are the fleet actions vs the single ship duels: here the tactics are obviously very different . . 

Another matter is related to the ordnance strategic view: english approach vs french approach is very important . . .

Again, the sailmanship of the different navies is important to pursuit a tactic or another: Royal Navy was always on sea, French and Spanish navies vere manily blockaded in harbours . . 

Don't forget the famous "Fighting instructions" set up during the anglo-netherland wars and continously updated until begin XIX century . . 

So, to conclude, a very interesting matter, useful to understand how the battles were managed by admirals, navies, etc.

Regards, Jack.

Saturday, April 20th, 2019

Tomorrow is Easter and I take the opportunity to submit to all the members of this forum my warmest Easter greetings.

I also take this opportunity to inform you that today I am still "wintering" in Calci (near Pisa) but I decided, obviously together with my wife, that we will return to Cinisello (Milan) on Sunday, May 12.

So, if everything goes according to our plans and no unexpected events arise, I should resume activities on this model in the second half of May.

See you soon, Jack.

After 2.5 years from your last sign of life,

are you still on this project ?

What about your current and future plans ?

Sincerely, Jack.

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Gentlemen,

From now on the shipyard will be closed for a while. 
I believe to resume works next June, when I'll be back from Tuscany.
Here below some new photo in daylight.
Kind regards, Jack.

01 Ragusian Carrack/29122018/IMG_20181229_141016.jpg

02 Ragusian Carrack/29122018/IMG_20181229_141023.jpg

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Thursday 20 December 2018

Last updates: I finished the two hatchways by applying the missing rings, followed by a browning process, and then the permanent fixing in their position. The photo below shows these details.

01 Ragusian Carrack/20122018/IMG_20181220_143658.jpg

Then I applied the gunwales in the area of the quarterdeck plus its related external border.

02 Ragusian Carrack/20122018/IMG_20181220_182825.jpg

But the most important part were the works around the external vertical reinforcements, fosused now on the extreme poop area. But I am absolutely unsatisfied with the result, for two reasons:
1) The timber released for this purpose in the kit is in walnut and the chromatic effect does not satisfy me at all, too dark. A lighter wood would be better, such as beech. Unfortunately, now I have to continue with the walnut and it does not excite me, I hope that once all these elements are finished the overall situation will be better. We'll see.
2) I have mistaken the shape of these elements. But in this case I can still fix it. If I had checked the images of the finished model I probably would have avoided this error but I forgot the smartphone at home and so I could not check them before and I was wrong. We will see to remedy.

03 Ragusian Carrack/20122018/IMG_20181220_182920.jpg

Complete images of the model, the negative feeling towards vertical reinforcements is confirmed: at least in these photos the walnut too dark color hides these very spectacular details.

04 Ragusian Carrack/20122018/IMG_20181220_182757.jpg

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I take this opportunity to greet all the people who follow this diary and I wish them a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2019. Optimism is extremely necessary given the times. .
Jack.Aubrey.

Yes Yves, you are right!

I'm planning to stay in Tuscany for 3/4 months and I don't think to continue modelling there. 

But there is a reason: me and my wife are in the process to sell a house, located in the Milan neighborough and we cannot plan when it will be really sold. In this climate of uncertainty may be I will be back most before 3/4 months.

But my workshop is located in that house and will be obviously lost.

And I'll need to look for another solution.

So, as you can imagine, the future is not clear and I'll have a lot of other issues to follow; this is a complex matter and I don't want to bother all of you with my personal problems and plans.

Surely I will try to find solutions that allow me to continue, in the meantime, with this hobby.

Regards, Jack. 

Friday, December 14th 2018

More details have now been built and added to the decks, although some of them are not yet been fixed, as they would only bother for now. I have today reached a point of relative stability in the execution of the tasks: it is no longer necessary to insist on working on the decks but start now to finish the outer part of the hull, where many horizontal (wales) and vertical reinforcements must be installed, typical of the ships of the time. But time when I will leave Milan for Tuscany is approaching fast and, as I anticipated, this time I will close the shipyard.

01 Ragusian Carrack/14122018/IMG_20181214_173347.jpg

The ladder leading from the main deck to the quarterdeck . . Same technique used for the first ladder.

02 Ragusian Carrack/14122018/IMG_20181214_173416.jpg

The hatch to reach the hold, not yet completely finished but already at a good point of completeness . .

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And the same to access the forecastle, at the apex of an imaginary internal staircase . .

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Thursday 13 December 2018

And this new deck is finished too: I applied the second planking and finished the whole with a fine sanding. The result is equivalent to the other three decks.

01 Ragusian Carrack/13122018/IMG_20181213_105343.jpg

I tried to build the ladders: in this model only two of them are visible, but the usual pre-worked elements were not included in the kit to set them up. Perhaps because the scale of the pieces on the marketplace was not suitable for this model. The fact is that I have achieved the result in complete scratch building mode. Yesterday I was able to prepare the pre-worked material needed for the assembly of the two ladders but I managed to finish only one ladder, that I show you in this post. I'll build the next one tomorrow, contingencies permitting.

Apart from some thoughs that allowed me to succeed in the enterprise, it was an interesting experience, further improvable.

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Monday 10 December 2018

Update: the deck has taken its definitive appearance, still missing only some details that will follow in the coming days (horizontal planking in tanganika veneer, as for the other decks, waterways, a central column, a ladder and little else).

01 Ragusian Carrack/10122018/IMG_20181210_121453.jpg

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Friday 7 December 2018

The build of the quarterdeck is in progress. 
This is the first 4x1.5mm wooden planking. Then the one in Tanganika will follow. The second layer will cover everything, including flaws, like the other decks already completed.

01 Ragusian Carrack/07122018/IMG_20181207_180703.jpg

02 Ragusian Carrack/07122018/IMG_20181207_180720.jpg

Thursday 6 December 2018

Latest updates: the work done may seem a small thing, but in terms of time the installation of the two guns has taken quite a bit. In short, I decided to proceed with the building of the quarterdeck, over the main deck at poop, and, in order to build it, I had to set up two guns under it. This because they will still be visible.

To avoid that subsequent activities on the outer hull can detach these two guns, I have set in place a series of defensive measures, including that of not protruding outside the barrel of the gun. That's why the two guns are presented in the fully retracted position.

Subsequently I proceeded to complete the installation of the beams above and now remains the application of the planks of the deck to complete the task. I'm thinking to close the deck matter within a week.

See you next time, Jack.

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Friday 23 November 2018

Having finished the second planking, I propose you a nice feast of images.

01 Ragusian Carrack/23112018/IMG_20181123_180740.jpg

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Now the problem arises of what to do next.

There are several possibilities but I will have to choose the one that I can reasonably complete by December 15th, when I should leave Milan, move to Tuscany and stay there until next spring. 

Unlike other times, I'm not going to continue working there, for reasons that are too long to explain here. So I will be forced to suspend work on this model for a few months. For this reason I have to find an activity that can be completed in a couple of weeks or so.

I have to think about it.
We'll see.
Greetings, Jack.