Landlubber Mike

It's been a while since I did the jib traveler for my Badger, but here is a link to my post on how I constructed it (using the Lennarth Peterson book and TFFM Vol. 4): http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/604-brig-badger-by-landlubber-mike-caldercraft-164/?p=130687

Hey Frank, nice unique model to work on. Can't wait to see you work your magic on this one. Nice start!

Very nice touch Mark, very thoughtful of you.

Looks great Mark. Sorry to sorta free ride off your efforts, but I'm looking into scratching my stern and quarterbadges on my Pegasus. Your log is very handy for giving my ideas on how to proceed. Thanks for sharing!

Hey Don, I just re-read your reply and saw you wanted a picture of the clamp in action. I took the wrong picture, ugh. Let's see if I can explain. The Zona clamp works like most C-type clamps, except both ends aren't fixed. You slide each arm along the rod to get the clamping gap you need. When you get the pieces clamped as you want them, you slightly pinch the top of the arms together where the bar is. That essentially locks the arms in place - kinda surprising, but it really works. The nice thing about these is that unlike C-clamps where the two arms are on the same plane, the arms on the Zona clamp actually swivel, which give you lots of options. There is also some other gizmos that came in the pack that help you turn this into more of a modular type of tool for even more purposes. Just found this link that describes these clamps much better than I can. To the right of the page are some illustrations on the multitude of uses you can have with these clamps. I highly recommend them. http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/misc/tools/Berna/berna.html By the way, in my picture above, the Zona clamp is on top, the Irwin in the middle, and the Amati on the bottom (don't buy the Amati). You can see how much more clamping area you have with the Zona over the Irwin. Happy 4th of July to all my friends! Here's a slab of ribs I smoked earlier today to help get in the spirit

Happy Birthday Mark!

I agree with everyone above. Don, that planking looks fantastic - get a nice finish on it and it will be gorgeous. Put the paint brush down and slowly walk away

That dowel system is very clever. Probably a foolproof way to make sure the bulkheads are aligned and vertically and square to the keel. Very interesting! Great to see manufacturers thinking outside the box so to speak and coming up with better ways of doing things. A lot of thought seems to be going into the MarisStella kits to make them better for builders - novice and pro alike. It's a pain in the *posterior* to get everything square on some kits, when in today's world with laser cutting precision, you wouldn't think this would be an issue.

Looking really nice Jason - very crisp details! If you're still having labor issues, I know a few guys in NY who are pros at breaking up labor strikes...

Great start Don. The fit on the parts seems impeccable. Are the pieces plywood or MDF?

Thanks Martin I found the Zona Berna clamps on Amazon. Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/Zona-38-725-Assortment-8-Inch-Connector/dp/B0006N734W It's amazing how one can use every possible clamp type in this hobby. By the way, I tried buying the Irwin "mini" bar clamps thinking they were a tad longer. Well, they are longer and much much bigger. Too big for modeling, but I'm sure I can find some other application for them in the future.

I'm going to smoke some ribs tomorrow Don - I'll bring some over with some good beer.

Looks really great Don. That lady has a lot of curves! Love the unique subjects that MarisStella is offering.

Hey Don, that looks like an amazing kit! The plans, wood and fittings looks really top notch. I'd have a hard time not starting it either if it was on my shelf I hope you don't mind me being your first subscriber.

Thanks Bob, really appreciate it. Means a lot coming from someone of your skill!

One thing that was a bit frustrating was that I had replaced all the upper bulkhead extensions with red heart, even the ones at the waist that were to be removed anyway. That ended up being a real pain for me as I did the upper hull planking, because a couple of the redheart extensions snapped at the waist. as a result, the gunport patterns ended up slowly pushing outwards to a more vertical position, rather than curving inwards like they should (Ian, similar issue you were having on your Unicorn). So, I ended up having to clamp the tops of the patterns to pinch them inwards as I planked. If I didn't, the bevel on the planks would be wrong which would make it harder to get the tops of the patterns back to the proper position. That sucked in a lot of ways because the Irwin micro clamps I was using were a touch too small and would pop off at the slightest movement. Eventually I found these Zona Berna clamps, which really worked well. They are a bit pricey, but well worth it. Amati has similar clamps on the market, but they aren't very good. As I added the upper hull planking, the gunport patterns began behaving better and staying more or less in the proper position. Once I add in the inner bulwark planking and glue in the quarterdeck and forecastle support beams, things should be fine. A real pain though! I wish I had left the MDF extensions at the waist as I would have avoided these problems. I can't tell you how much I kicked myself for that oversight.

I've been a little busy with work the last couple of weeks, but managed to sneak in some time on my Pegasus. I had left about six planks on each side to keep the bulkhead extensions at the waist. Now that the outer hull planking is complete, I was able to fill in those planks. A bit tricky to fill in the top and butt planking, but it wasn't too bad. I first created card templates, then cut the planks slightly oversized which I then sanded back to get a snug fit. Still need to do a little finishing, but in generally I think they came out pretty well. If I had to be critical of myself, the last top and butt planks are slightly oversized by about 1mm in width or so. I was planking according to the TFFM deck plan, and this is a good example how being off by little increments of even 0.1mm in the prior planks will catch up to you. Luckily, the cannons and other deck details can be used to hide this issue. BE, thanks for the tip on the veneer saw. It made removing the bulkhead extensions a breeze. The deck is in maple, which is a really nice wood to work with. Even at 0.5mm, the planks cut very smoothly with no issues at all with splitting, etc. In terms of workability, I would easily put it on par with boxwood and pear. The only drawback is that the wood is not uniform in color like boxwood and pear, but has waves or a slightly darker brown throughout. Personally I like it as it goes with my preference to show the grain in my build and not cover it in paint. For next steps, I think I'm going to work on the inner bulwark planking and the exterior hull. For better or worse (probably worse), I'm very much a "lap" modeler. Once much of the heavier exterior work is done, I'll turn to the deck details. I learned my lesson on my Badger, where per the directions, I installed the cannons and then worked on the rails, etc. I can't tell you how many times I busted off the cannons and their rigging

Really nice tutorial Steve. Looking at the jigsaw patterns in these pictures, mine lined up in the same spot, and I also found that the patterns were a bit long at the stem. I soaked and pinned my patterns twice. I didn't find that they held their shape very well, but maybe I needed to do it a few more times. Soaking and pinning does help loosen the fibers to get a more natural feel. One key point that I missed early in the build was that the outer stern extensions should curve inwards. Use the quarterdeck ply piece to help you line them up. It wasn't a problem to pop them off and realign them, but easier to get them done the right way the first time.

Sorry, I think I may have confused things. Don't start at the bow! Start at the jigsaw joint and then line everything up with clamps. The patterns are too long, and you will need to take material off the front end.

Herb, I just went back through my log - take a look at this post here: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/7267-hms-pegasus-by-landlubber-mike-amativictory-models-scale-164/?p=271803 Reading that post, apparently I did start with the jigsaw joint, and worked my way forward: "Here are some pictures when I started with the starboard side. My approach was to get the two halves pinned and clamped, then start with the end of the front pattern and work my way forward. Then I worked the back pattern starting from the jigsaw connection to the stern. When I got to the stem, I slowly sanded the fore edge back until it fit snug against the stem. I don't think you can fit the patterns starting at the stem and working towards the stern - aligning the patterns at the middle was a much better approach I think." Take a look at my pictures in that post to see how I clamped/pinned the pattern. I found it easiest to use clamps at the tops of the bulkheads, and then those planking pins from Micromark for the bottoms. Start by setting up the pattern with the clamps at the tops - the clamps are easy to adjust, unlike pins. Since you can't use clamps at the bottom section of the pattern, once the top of the pattern is clamped to all the bulkhead tops, then use pins to ensure a tight fit against the bulkheads. Once you're done with all that, glue the pattern in sections. Start with the front gunport pattern at the jigsaw joint and work your way forward. Glue the first few bulkheads, let it dry, then finish the remaining bulkheads. Then start with the jigsaw pattern of the back gunport pattern and work your way backwards. Slower, more methodical approach but much easier than trying to glue the pattern all at once. Good luck my friend

It's a little hard to tell from pictures given the angle, but my jigsaw joint might have been a tad further back than Steve's, but the front edge seems to be on the bulkhead: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/7267-hms-pegasus-by-landlubber-mike-amativictory-models-scale-164/?p=271803

One thing to consider is buying a good scroll saw off of Craigslist. Many seem to have been used for a weekend kid's project and then never used again. I got a great deal on a Dewalt 788 off of CL a year or two ago. Guy was a hobbyist furniture maker with an amazing workroom, and had bought the scroll saw on a whim at a show, brought it home and turned it on to make sure it worked, and then never used it again. Essentially got the saw, stand and light, and a whole bunch of blades, for less than half retail for a practically new machine. The Dewalt came highly recommended from the folks here at MSW. I like it a lot - it's served me very well on a variety of cuts. I'm in a similar situation as you, though with many more years until retirement I don't have as much time to model as I would like given work and family. I figure when I retire I'll be able to jump into full-on scratch building, but in the meantime, it's still fun to play with machines when I can. I'd also rather spend the money and buy good quality machines that will last a lifetime - the Byrnes and Sherline machines are really great tools, you'll enjoy using them.

I hate to say it, but Steve is right. Shifting the gun ports is going to be tricky. 3mm at this scale is sort of a lot and it will likely cause you problems down the road. In particular, your planking runs on the starboard and port sides will be different, which could cause you some grief. I forget exactly how I glued mine on, but I think I first clamped both sides to the bulkheads, and after getting them in the right position, I glued the strips in stages - essentially, keep the clamps on the areas that weren't going to be glued, take the clamps off the areas to be glued and re-clamp, then after the glued areas dried and were stable, take the clamps off the remaining areas and then glue and re-clamp. I may have started at the bow and worked my way back, but I might have actually started near the jigsaw joint because it was a relatively flat area to glue, and it's pretty important to get the joint to line up evenly. That was the best way (for me at least) to ensure that the line of the strips remained the same, otherwise trying to glue in one shot can be very tricky. Up to you though. Good luck!

There you go, looks much better. Nice job, good to get the step behind you. It's all downhill from here I always get a kick out of pictures showing all the clamps used to set the gunport patterns. I had to empty the clamp box myself.

Looks really great Martin! Very nice job! The hatches came out really well too. The boxwood looks really nice against the holly deck planking.