Landlubber Mike

Here are pictures of the model that was displayed alongside it:
 
 

Sure thing Elijah - here are the photos I took.  The lighting wasn't great, and I had to change the exposure of the cannon at the bow, but here are the pictures.  If you want me to send them directly to not clutter your log, let me know.
 
Cannon shot that sunk it:

 

Here are pictures of the model that was displayed alongside it:
 
 

Sure thing Elijah - here are the photos I took.  The lighting wasn't great, and I had to change the exposure of the cannon at the bow, but here are the pictures.  If you want me to send them directly to not clutter your log, let me know.
 
Cannon shot that sunk it:

 

Spring and summer is a slow shipbuilding season for me as my other interest, baseball umpire, take up a good portion of my free time. Bad weather has kept me off the baseball fields, and added some time in the shipyard. 
 
Main shrouds rigged. A few loose ends still to be cut off on the starboard side. 

Grid made from a copy of the plans, and taped to a thin plastic sheet for some stability.  Now ready for ratlines. maybe I can get them done before the Northeast joint clubs show in 2 weeks. 

I don't have a lot of time over the summer for modeling, but I managed to make the masts this past summer. 
 
Decided at this point to start the standing rigging of the foremast and bowsprit. (in an attempt to put off carving the whaleboats even longer )






Added the davit and bearing post on the port side for the waist boat. This davit goes on the outside of the hull. details are sketchy so it was a a best guess as to how to portray it. 

Which brings me up to date on this build. I guess uit's time to dive into the whaleboats. I don't want to add the iron davits other than the one above until I have the whaleboats done at least to the point where I know the davits will line up over the hoisting eyes on the whaleboats. 
These whaleboats are the old machine carved that came with the original kit way back when. There's a lot of sanding, filing, and chiseling to do to get the walls to 1/32". The process has begun. 

I guess I can always take a break and start stepping the main mast. 
 

Hello and thank you all for your comments and likes,
 
I was not very busy the last week, but I made the hawse hols with the linings and bolsters.
 

 
 
The next things are the trail boards between the cheeks. I have a trail board, all in ocker but only the little dragon in green, in my mind. I saw it somewhere, but I did't find that picture again. If anyone has that picture, or know where I could find it, tell it. 

Presently I'm working on the 'furniture' of the upper deck. The oven is finished and set aside. It is a very nice detail - a pity it won't be visible on the finished model.
The hatches and ladder ways are nearly done. However first I had to plank parts of the gun deck through the hatches. This would better have been done before installing the upper deck but it worked somehow.
An unsolved problem are the shot garlands. Those furrows shown on the plans don't seem practical as the balls will roll and perhaps jump it when they're not full e.g. during an action in a lively sea. I try to fabricate boards with holes for the individual shots as seen on other models. This isn't easy. After splitting the first three attempts lengthwise I noticed that those cannon balls seem rather big. I found them to be 2,5 mm which is too big. For an scale 1/72 18pounder they should be less than 2mm. Fortunately I found some old 2 mm balls - a 30 years old leftover from the Vasa - which will be a better fit. So the next few tries will be with smaller holes.
 
I wonder also about the wooden rail around the forward hatchway, shown on the plan. It stands in the way of the forward capstan and differs from all the other rails. If I have enough parts it will replace it by stanchions and rope, similar to the others.
 

planking the gun deck - the hard way
 
 

the captain examines one of the attempted shot garlands and is not happy
(stanchions and rope are provisionally fixed and will be removed for gun rigging)

Really nice work Elijah!  My daughter and I went to the Smithsonian American History museum earlier this week and saw the Philadelphia.  I took a few pictures and can send them if you’d like.  

Really nice work Elijah!  My daughter and I went to the Smithsonian American History museum earlier this week and saw the Philadelphia.  I took a few pictures and can send them if you’d like.  

Really nice work Elijah!  My daughter and I went to the Smithsonian American History museum earlier this week and saw the Philadelphia.  I took a few pictures and can send them if you’d like.  

Dear fellow builders....
 
my Chebec "Eagle of Algier" has been finished totay, for the final photo session in our garden, and with a good daylight illumination.
Many thanks to all that followed the build, for looking in along the 9 months yourney and for your kind comments and compliments. Very much appreciated. Also many thanks to all the "Likes".....
 
The final pics-set of the "Eagle of Algier" can be seen in the scratch build gallery now...
 
Nils
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

The gun carriages have now all been reworked. Those which will not be visible below the forecastle and quarter deck only got a reworking of their front part which will be visible through the gun ports. Also those barrels will not get the full details but will be used as cast. To paint them I finally found that a first coat with a simple big black marker works well as base for a thin second coat of Caldercraft's metal black paint. The markers paint seems to be aggressive enough to remove all traces of fat and is thin enough not to smear any details. Unfortunately it's to shiny to leave as finish.
Just for fun I provisionally put the guns on one side in place to have a look at the lady's teeth.



 


reworking of the 'hidden' gun carriages and barrels


 
 

 





The lady's teeth are quite impressive

Dear friends,
here is another one version of my rope making machines.
This time I proud to present WIRELESS version.
So you are no more limited with power line in making rigging ropes. You are no more needed to use any extenders or extra long power cables.
Moreover you may put your tool even on the second floor of your summer house :-) to make extra long ropes.
More details on my web site
https://shipworkshop.com/products/tools/vr-mobile
 
This version is HD Adaptable as well as VR 3.1. This means soon you may use it in horizontal direction with special option (will be available soon).
 


Video
 
 
Here is user's manual:
VR Mobile
 
 

Here is the cover design showing the model:

I just bought it!  Are the plans amenable to enlarging to 1:24 scale?  (You know what I'm thinking!)

Hi everyone - work on the ship continues(slowly).  Working on the head rails,I was hoping they would go a little smoother than the stern work - not so.  The upper head rails are pre-cut from 1.5mm plywood & attach to the bottom of the samson posts which are pre-cut from 5mm plywood - glued end to end. So what I did was make the .8mm brass bar for the trim a bit long to overlap the post for strength,plus I tapered the inside part of the post to make a better transition to the much thinner rail. The plans show using some 1mm brass wire for the trim,but I thought that looked a little cheesy,so I used square brass bar instead. The middle head rail was pretty straightforward & fit where it was supposed to.  The lower head rail was shown attached to the bottom of the cat davit support knee,but to do so it would fowl the first gunport,plus it would be impossible to bend the 1.5mm plywood to conform to the curve of the hull without breaking it. So instead I fastened it to the rear edge of the samson post/upper head rail assembly.  The rails were painted black,with the yellow pinstriping in the center before glueing in place. After the rails were glued in place,the short pieces were added between the rails. Still need to finish the starboard side,then work on the bow gratings.
 

 

 

 
Mark

Hi - a little more progress. The next thing I did was installed the small poop deck.The columns across the front were to be made by cutting the large supplied columns in half,which would be a pain to do and get them all even,so, I used some from my stash that were just the right height. There was nothing at the transom to hold up the aft end of the deck,so I just glued a couple of pieces of wood to the transom to support the deck.
 

 
Next, I started working on the bow. First thing to do was glue the figurehead in place. It was a bit heavy,so I added a pin at the back of the lion`s head to help hold it. Next was the cheeks & their rails. The cheeks & rails consisted of 2 pieces each & when glued together fit pretty good. They are to be painted black with a yellow stripe down the center - no problem painting them black, but much trouble painting the yellow stripes. So,I decided to use some very thin pinstriping tape instead. The tape was sealed down with 2 coats of clear. Then,the fairings for the hawse holes were glued in place & the holes drilled into the hull.
 

 

 

 
Mark 

You guys sure have some good solutions. I opted for a painters easel on wheels with a white board on it. My only mistake was not getting a magnetic white board. I may end up replacing it with one.

I second...or third and fourth the recommendation about the Alaskan Yellow Cedar.  I like to use it to replicate the yellow look of the ship sides.  Oil finish really brings out the color.  Some black paint on the edges replicates the caulking.
The best part for me is the cedar smell....if you like that sort of thing.
 
Below is a pic of the "Union" 1792 under construction.  Yellow cedar, ebony and Holly for the different colors.
 
 

Really amazing work.  Your simulated wood looks better than my real wood  

First yard done and mounted -- lower main yard.
 
I hadn't run into stunsail booms before, but really like the interest they add to the yards.
 
I know that some modelers pin the yards to the mast, but I'm always concerned that I will "prang" them during rigging with a random elbow or hand strike (and have done so many times), so I installed a pin on the back of the mast and "hung" the yard to that, which supports it but still allows for play in the yard.  This one is lashed to the mast, but the next one above it will be installed with parrel beads and ribs.
 
One yard down -- 9 more to go.
 
Regards,
David

Ahoy Peter!  I'm with you on the gunport size, that's a consistency that really shows.
 
And what a tortoise!  You're really lucky to get to meet such a handsome fellow!  Did you do any sailing in the Seychelles? 
 
And just about every retiree I've ever met seems to be going on vacation this time of year -- I have a bit more work time to go myself, but I'm following suit by heading up to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.
 
Cheers
 
Martin

It was quiet in the wharf lately because I was away on holidays - despite some dear friends asking why retirees would need holydays. We visited the Seychelles where we not only met wonderful people, largely intact nature and interesting weather but also the Aldabran giant tortoises which I believe to be close cousins to Stephen Maturins world famous Testudo Aubreii.





Interesting tropical sailing weather with a waterspout left of that rain shower...


 
 



not Testudo aubreii but Aldabrachelys gigantea


 

 
Back home the framing of the upper gun ports with lids was started. The beginning was a bit hard - or as somebody else said in his log: I liked the work so much that I did the first frame three times. Finally the routine was established as follows:

- measure the angle of the tumblehome to the deck

-cut a rough frame with that angle, glue (and wait long enough for the glue to set - otherwise you may happily do the same work again.

-cut the outer opening in the hull to the exact size of the particular frame

-cut the frame to a thickness that it sits on the inner bulwark and finishes 1 mm within the outer hull

-glue the frame into the opening and onto the inner bulwark

-open the inner bulwark through the frame

-check with a gun and hope for the best

This way the planks of the inner bulwark cover the frame as it should be - not that it will be noticeable on the finished model but anyhow. The pictures show that the frames still need some cleaning before painting.

In this context a remark to the Amati plans concerning gun ports with and without lids. On the plans they are drawn in the same size, a fact which lead to a mistake on my Pegasus. You should consider, that when building the hull with its frames all the gun port frames have the same size. Those without lids are then covered with the planking up to the opening while the planks around those with lids stop short of the opening to leave some room for the lids to overlap the opening. But the CLEAR OPENING of all gun ports for the same calibre guns should have the same size.




raw  gun port frame...


 


 


...and trimmed to fit


 
 



frame glued in


 
 



opening of the inner bulwark


 
 



test with a gun

I finished the bulwark planking, though I left the very tops open for the thin strips of above the forecastle and quarterdeck. I think the redheart is a really nice touch.  It won't stay this red, but over time will fade to a more orange-brown color which I think will be a nice effect against some of the other colors in the build.  It's a nice wood to work with, though it can be a little crumbly and has a little of a burning rubber odor when working on it with tools (it doesn't bother me at all, but given that some people mention it, it must bother them).  To tie everything together, in addition to the bulwark planking and red strip on the upper hull, I will likely use redheart for the bitts and possibly capstan.  I'm also planning on integrating it into the stern as well as the quarterbadges as a bit of a decorative touch.
 

 
I didn't bother with different thickness woods for the spirketting and waterway or with any focus on the widths of the planks for the non-waist areas, as those areas will be covered by the forecastle and quarterdeck.  In case you could see a little of the bulwarks, through the gunport or otherwise, I figured I might as well use the redheart for consistency instead of stains or paints.
 
Not sure what I want to tackle next.  I'm mostly a lap modeler, so I'm thinking of doing the upper hull rails and certain other elements now, including possibly the stern and quarterbadges, and at some point I'll also need to treenail the deck.  I want to delay adding the cannons as long as possible given my propensity for popping them off my Badger, but I'm also hoping to delay the coppering as long as I can as well.  My guess is that I'll do most of the outer hull details, copper the hull, then switch back to the main deck to add the deck items and guns.