Landlubber Mike

Funny you should mention those.  I didnt want to start treenailing the other side today.  I wanted to wait until after  Tuesday which is when I will get a chance to finish that planking.  So I added some of the fancy molding.  Those thin 1/16" wide strips were the first layer of what would become the fancy molding.  It was important to add them below the ports in a special order before the other planking above the wales could be done.  This would ensure a proper run of the planks and what would become the second layer of fancy molding.
 
I actually added that today.  They were made as you usually see them,  with a scraper.   I was very careful to make sure they were very thin.  One thing I notice is that folks tend to place molding on their models that is too thick.   The molding on the Cheerful is 1/16" wide but less than 1/32" thick.   I started with strips that were 1/32" thick and after scraping,  I thinned them down even more.  It makes for a more delicate look.   In hindsight,  I could have gone even thinner.
 
 
At the bow,   the lower molding will carry over onto the stem.  But it wont be as I show it in the fourth photo.  It should be thicker in the corner between the two so the transition is smooth.  But I have only lightly tacked it in this area to show you how it may actually look.   I will try and finish that up tomorrow and I will take more pictures.   My transition onto the stem with the molding was only a test to check the run of the molding and see how it looks.  I will do it for real maybe tomorrow.
 
Take a look at the contemporary model (last photo) and you will see a standard at the bow (not a molding strip)  that will look similar to how I will eventually do it.  That is the kind of transition onto the stem I am looking for.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh WOW!. I keep telling myself I have enough kits on my shelf, and suddenly the Amati Victory is on the horizon. Better start saving or maybe try to sell a couple of the kits in my stash.

I needed a bell for a model I am restoring and I did not want to see what the internet had, nor wait for it to arrive if it even existed in the first place.
3mm was the thickest solid rod my local art supply store had, I was hoping for something thicker that I could then carve down to a bell shape. 
Instead I used a ring of brass wire set into a grove cut into the rod stock to represent the flared out shape of the bottom of the bell.
I used the high speed cut off wheel for most of this. I have a love/hate relationship with these disks. On the one hand they cut through anything. On the other hand they are so fragile they always break apart. I have used hundreds of them and maybe only three of those actually wore down to a tiny doughnut. The rest broke being handled or flew apart while under load. I have never been cut by flying pieces but then again I ALWAYS use eye protection when using a cut off wheel.
I have no lathe so this is all by hand and eye. I cut a groove around the rod and I round off the end of the rod to resemble the curved top of the bell. I wrap thickish brass wire down into the groove I cut, aiming for exactly the right length so the wire forms a ring. Then I hammer this down with a tack hammer, trying to mash the wire into the groove while smoothing the juncture with the rod.
Then I use the cut off wheel some more, this time as a shaping tool, smoothing the transition from the wire to the rod.
Then I part off the "bell" and as I was doing this I realized I could leave a bit of the "stalk" intact to look like a clapper.
I drilled a hole in the top of the bell and put in a fine brass wire eye, secured with super glue. I did not want to solder anything as I was going to use the brass in its natural finish.

Righty Then.. heres my version of Kesters Chimney.. still needs to be painted (I left it 'natural' so as to see it better) and a final light sanding too.
 
It isn't fitted in place but this is essentially where it will go.. I wrapped thin strips of black card around it to act as iron 'binders'.. 
 
Tip of the Day.. The Black Card I bought proved too brittle (once glue was applied to it) to do the jobs asked of it so I coated a 2'' square of it in Dilute PVA and let it dry.. the result was a much more usable Black Card !  this 2'' square has done numerous jobs over the last few months and is a more manageable size than coating the entire sheet of A4..
 
Thanks for the Big Assist Kester.
 
Stay Well Folks and Thanks for looking in..
 
Eamonn
 
Photo Time Again..

Hello to everyone and thanks for all the likes and comments.
 
After 4 days of hard labor I managed to install and finish the Cutting-In Tackle. These are the lines that handle the Blubber and whale parts much like a crane. I went into this procedure in depth on my website as there is not much info on this on the plans or instructions. Please refer to the website for anyone interested. I'll just show some photos here for reference. I used Chuck's 5/16" and 9/32" specialty blocks for this and I am really happy I did. The kit blocks were just a rough laser cut oblong circle and unusable....why did they bother??? This was rigged here at this time as nothing is in the way and I'm really glad I did it now instead of later.

A couple of more

Finished off

Thanks for looking in Mike, I did it both ways (pre treated and after they were in place) there is no discernable discolouration to the painted wood and the work was done almost 6 hours ago.. be warned though there is a pungent rotten egg smell from the LoS.. so don't do it in the kitchen   
Regarding applying the LoS after instaling the 'nails' into bare wood.. Hmmm I couldn't say for certain, though I think you may find the answer over on EdT's Young America Log.. he seems to apply the LoS to the pre installed nails but check whether he has treated the timber first (coat of Polywax etc)
I had a quick look and found this.. scroll about 1/3rd down and you will see him apply the LoS and discuss pre treatments.
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/3453-young-america-by-edt-extreme-clipper-1853/page-42#entry192759
 
All The Best Mike
 
Eamonn

Thanks Eamonn, this is an effective technique and your results look great.  Did you consider pre-treating the nails with liver of sulphur before installation?  Just wondering, as I'm considering adding nail heads to my build but didn't know what the solution would do to the surrounding wood.

Ok Folks it's about time for a.. wait for it.. wait for it.. A Photo Update.. Woo Hoo !
 
Though I haven't posted here in over 1 month (I know I know) I haven't been exactly sitting back, there has been much planning and scheming going on over here.   
 
The main part of my Planning & Scheming has been to replace the 'Seating' arrangement of the Bowsprit, the kit supplied solution is an Arch Shaped block of wood with a circular hole cut into it that takes the bowsprit.. well it always looked ungainly to me so I drew up a different model borrowing heavily from Sherbourne & Pickle  (the original kit supplied version can be seen beside my 'solution' )  Originally I had planned on incorporating the Riding Bitts into it but as the gap between the 'uprights' is only the width of the Bowsprit (6mm) this didn't prove ideal (the spacing between the Hawse Pipes is slightly more than this, not much but enough to feel wrong,  sorta pinched in.. if you follow)
I also squared the inner end of the Bowsprit to fit the new arrangement, I simply used a hollow piece of dowel that was lying around (an old Turned Wood Pen) that had a 6mm inner hole, glued it in place then sanded it square and faired the edges.. I am in two minds regarding the outcome as the hollow dowel I used is a different coloured wood to the Dowel used in the Bowsprit itself resulting in a dark & light wood effect.. I don't hate it but am not in love with it either   my fall back would be to follow Bobs (Rafine) example in his Essex Build and sand the B'Sprit right down then glue on 4 strips of timber to bring it back level and sand fair.. but as I said I don't hate the current state of affairs (it looks kinda unusual) and I could always Blacken the end 2 cm's anyhoo.
 
I have also been practicing my Brazing for the Gudgeons & Pintles, and thankfully it is going fairly well.. I bought 1mm thick Brass Strips which I figured would be easy to manipulate to the correct shape, but when it arrived Holy Moley it has all the flexibility of an Anvil.. so I ordered something thinner 0.5mm and less!! (it's in the post) the 1mm stuff felt too thick when offered up to the hull anyhoo (you know the old model building saying.. 'If it looks too big then it probably is'..  well if you didn't then you know the old saying now anyhoo     !!)
 
Oh and I cut some round head nails too (using the method demonstrated below by someone waaaaaay more skilled than me!) and fitted them into the riding bitts etc (you may just be able to make them out in the (ahem cough cough) super quality photo that I'm spoiling you with.. sorry in advance   ) I blackened the copper with Liver of Sulphur too  (Yup I've been well busy over here eh?)
Link to Nail Making Here (I hope) 
 
All Righty Then it's Photo Time.. 
 
All The Very Best
 
Eamonn

Then came the stern. That was real hard, but I think I got it.

But now it comes. The thing I had the most respect for, the carvings. That was after my visit of London. I saw at the British Museum carvings, after that I thought that I could carve 3 time larger figures blind ;-) 
 
Here you can see also that the color of the hull changed. Most of the gold and yellow is gone. 
 
To the stern carvings I have to explain, some know them already from the so called Thunderer. I think that this model is the Dragon. Both ships where build at Deptford and launched 1760. From the stern carvings I would say, that this are Dragons and there is the batch of the Prince of Wales. At those times the later Georg III. Wales has a lot to do with Dragons in there mythology, the red and white one. And the draughts of the Dragon are nearer to the model than the draughts of the Thunderer.
 
 

I am considering lying down to work as I will be close to all the bits and pieces that I drop.
When I have tried this out I will report back.
 
Mike.

So all lower shrouds and Stays are done.

Well, surprise.....today I recieved a package of Deadeyes from Model Shipways, other than a little bit light in color, they got here. So, needless to say, I finished the Shrouds for the Mizzen, and the Mizzen Stay. Progressing again.
Thanks for the likes from all of you.

Build Log HMS Pickle
The Caldercraft kit has arrived and seems of the same good quality as I could expect from Granado.
However, before I start, I made a bit of research and will add a few corrections.
I like Pickle as an example of those elegant schooners and for her role after Trafalgar. But – I find that the kit’s Pickle looks somewhat strange in some respects:
The bow seems too bluff for the period The overall proportions of hull length, mast distance and mast height seems wrong The stern looks ugly and the taffrail is completely different from other schooners of the period. According to some correspondence with CC (I lost the copies, sloppy me) the kit is built according to plans found in the Bermudas which show an unnamed vessel of about the same size and specifications as Pickle built around 1800. It is however not confirmed to be Pickle. The plans are held back as somebody seemingly wants to write eventually a book about Pickle. They also referred to a contemporary sketch showing Pickle with seven gun ports per side and a rig according to the kit but with a vertical foremast which configuration was not adopted.
To me the kit Pickles hull looks much more old fashioned and ungraceful than other contemporary schooners. As I have no access to the original plans used for the kit I will make some corrections based on different sources:
 
Plan of the Royal Maritime Museum in Greenwich (RMG) of the Adonis – class cutter Laura
Although the 12 Adonis – class vessels were ordered as cutters they were built as (or converted to) schooners. Their hull size is very similar to Pickle and the armament was with 10 instead of 8 12-pounder carronades although there were only 6 gun ports per side. They were built in the Bermudas in 1806
I bought a copy of that plan from RMG. It’s not only a plan full of information but a fascinating object of art.

 
Sketches of the Adonis – class schooners in ‘The Global Schooner’ (TGS)
Karl Heinz Marquarts book is a treasure of information about schooners and contains some small plans of the Adonis – class.

 
Pictures of different plans from the collections of RMG
J2147 sail
J8265 unnamed 18-gun two-masted brig
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hi all, thanks for the likes and commens! Time for an update. 
 

 
The wales have gone on the ship. The vertical bend was first achieved by soaking the wood for 48 hours, and then clamping it tightly to a jig. Once dried, they have to be used within hours of being removed from the jig, otherwise they will straighten up again! 
 
The lower wale was made from kit supplied walnut, dyed black. Once lightly sanded, the lustre of the walnut shines through the black.It is a marvellous (but totally unintended) effect. The walnut wale was incredibly difficult to get on. As noted by others, Feast Watson stains reject CA glue, even though they are water based! My first effort resulted in the wales falling off time and again until I thoroughly sanded off all the stain from the contact surfaces. 
 
The upper wale was made from pear, which I milled from a block supplied by Hobbymill. Pear is a much nicer wood to work with - it is softer, finer grained, cuts cleanly, and much easier to sand. It was MUCH easier fitting the pear wales than the walnut thanks to its bending properties. My first attempt at finding the line of the upper wale involved tediously reading the plans, but then it was much easier to simply run a compass across the top of the lower wale. 
 
Once done, the metal pieces were test fitted. 
 

 

 
This is a close-up of the metal pieces. You can see the difference between the metal pieces at the stern (which I have cleaned of all moulding flash), and the metal pieces at the bow, which I have not yet touched. Note that the total length of the pieces is more than adequate to cover the length of the ship, even will the side strakes taken into account. 
 
Having done all that, I started work on the deck furniture. 
 

 
I was not happy with the kit supplied capstan, so I turned my own on the lathe. It took me all day to make a capstan. Why? 
 

 
Because of numerous failures and because i'm still learning how to use my lathe properly! Here are the failures lined up before my final successful attempt on the right. 
 

 
I also fabricated the ship's stove. Note that I have deviated from the plans suggested by Euromodel. Euromodel suggests that the chimney is square and opens up directly to the sky. This means that any rain or seawater will fall directly into the fire, quenching it. My research suggests that chimneys were angled rearwards, and had a moveable cover - so that's what I made. 
 
The rest of the stove will be hidden below deck, so I did not bother detailing the stove very much. There IS detail from where the stove can potentially be seen - from the back (peeking below the deck), from the top (through the grating), and from the side (through the gunports). But the front of the stove is pretty much left as it is. 
 
The "bricks" that the stove is sitting on is simply painted plastic. I could have done a much better job if I had used masking tape, but I decided that nobody is ever going to see my shoddy paintwork, so I painted the bricks freehand. 
 
Many MSW members like to pose a scale figurine on their model. I thought I would get some practice with my lathe by turning a 1/72 Android figurine out of aluminum stock. Cute fella, isn't he? 
 

 
I have also made a start on the gun carriages. I first attempted to make these on the milling machine, but after cranking those knobs I became fed up very quickly. It was MUCH faster to make them on the table saw! 
 
That's it for now. Thanks for dropping in. 

Here's the finished tryworks sitting but not cemented to the deck.
The chicken coop is a bit clunky, but overall I'm fairly pleased.

I like to steer beginners to Midwest models for several reasons: they are inexpensive, have very clear instructions, require a minimum of tools, don't take very long to build, and are very good looking models when finished. There is quite a learning curve when it comes to building wooden ship models and you can't learn everything at once. If you start with too complex a project, you greatly diminish your chances of ever finishing. Even with a simple project, you might find that you don't enjoy wooden ship modeling and if you have only made a small investment in a kit and minimal tools, you won't feel that you've lost much. But if you complete a simple model well, you will have learned a lot about the hobby, you'll have a great sense of accomplishment, and even simple models are something you can be proud of.  Here is a link to the Midwest site - http://midwestproducts.com/collections/boats I'm particularly fond of the Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack and the Sakonnet Day Sailer as good starter kits.
 
I do not recommend AL kits for a couple of reasons: they tend to be historically inaccurate and the instructions are minimal at best. I'm also not a fan of double planking, but that's a personal choice. You mentioned historical accuracy and double planking with thin veneer strips is anything but. Of course, there's plenty of help available on the forum for when you get into difficulties so if you find yourself drawn to an AL model, you can probably get it built despite the lack of instructions. Sometimes your passion for a particular boat can overcome a lot of problems with a kit.
 
Cheers -
John

Time has flown by, maybe time to note down a few thoughts on my plan of attack.  Its been a lot of fun spending lots of time tinkering with various bits so far, but I do want to make some concrete progress.  None of the diagrams solve the aligment dilemmas, and I'm less than convinced that the placement/shape is correct on various supplied parts, and I really wanted to be comfortable that I wouldn't be setting myself for future frustration.  
 
My prediction of running out of lime strip did come to pass so I have some on order (some of the kit supplied 1.5mm lime strip was on the thin side (~1-1.25mm) so I didn't use it,  and I want make sure I've got plenty of thickness here to sand back)Here's what I've concluded, and the alignment I'll proceed with...at least until I find a new problem.
 
Stern fascia:  The top of this should align with the top of the keel former at the stern.  Looking at many contemporary models, the stern windows feel larger in proportion to the fascia itself, and the proportions overall shown on the box art art and instructions just don't look right.  The former itself appears over-sized to me and will require trimming at the bottom and the sides to maintain what I see as the correct proportions. This will mean that I will probably need to figure out my own solution for decorations in place of the supplied PE, but that should be fun.  The PE windows should definitely be useable as are the castings.  The two holes (assuming chaser ports) will also be enlarged.  This is all for down the road though.
 
Side galleries:  The stern fascia size/alignment needs to also consider the side galleries, which should align nicely with the lines of the stern fascia and also align with the line of the gunports.  The low-res NMM plans show the gallery windows appearing slightly above the line of the gunports, however, every contemporary model I've seen seems to show these lining up exactly with the line of the gun ports, as does the AOTS book and plans. I'll try to follow the latter, and use the NMM plan as justification if I need to sneak them up a little.  The supplied parts will need to be reshaped to get the correct proportion, this seems a common Caldercraft scenario.
 
Photos below show a little trick I found useful.  Knowing I'd be using the PE windows, I copied the sheet on my home printer and simulated final placement, also whittled up a balsa wood quarter gallery so I could visualize the alignment.  The grey-blue I'm using will likely not show correctly, but its a Tamiya colour and I quite like it - seems to sit well with boxwood I plan to use...
 

 
Keel former: Once the above alignment  is determined, the positioning of the upper and lower counter are shown to be too high.  No problem, will just require the various former peices (26 & 27) to be 'corrected'.  The other item that I'll address is not in the instructions.  The termination of the lower counter and the hull planking would be perpendicular to the keel if taken to the last frame, however, I believe this should also gradually curve forward as it curves down.  
 
I also laminated some maple strip at the base of the stem to better shape this allowing for the needed extra depth to the keel.  I've positioned a few strips to show how I plan to include the false keel.
 

 
Upper Counter: The kit supplies a poor representation of the shape of the upper counter and simply says the lower counter should be planked.  I'll plan to shape my own out of some spare 1mm maple sheet, this requires the stern fascia positioning to be known first.
 
Quarterdeck bulwark:  Positioning this also is a challenge like all premade templates.  These need to be aligned so that the bottom of the gun ports are a consistent distance from the upper deck (which of course is not yet permanently fitted).  I may leave these off for now as they will be very delicate once installed, but I will need to know the lie of the planks below so I can install these.

Well, I've completed the coppering on one side. Not as perfect as I'd like, but for my first attempt it's not too bad, hopefully the other side will be better.
 
I kept the tiles in their strips for the longer runs. The rows overlapped quite a bit at midships, then curved upwards towards the bow and stern. I found it quite difficult to try and keep the rows level in places and I had to be careful not to let the plates 'buckle' when trying to lay the row.
 
Not too keen on this first experience of coppering, maybe after the other side is done i may feel a bit more confident.
 

 

 

 

Update.
Here's the tryworks. I haven't put the side braces and wood sheathing on yet.
This took time but was not really hard. Took some time mixing paint to get a good brick color that wasn't too red - the admiral didn't like the color on my test wall of bricks.
Almost 500 bricks!
I'm relatively pleased, although the eye goes immediately to the "errors". One chimney is a bit wider, and the walls sloped in enough that I had to mount the cauldrons below the top rather than having the room to drop them through the top.
However, I like the overall effort as my modeling skills improve (3rd wooden ship build).
After the supports/sheathing, probably will make the tank and scrap box before moving on to the next most fiddly bit - the winch. I'll have to dry fit the bowsprit and put the bowsprit bitt in place first, I think, and likely the framing for the anchor deck.

Hello -
 
Welcome to my first build log on the mighty little Le Hussard, feared by the enemy for superior mobility and firepower from two carronades standing guard at both her bow and stern...now I need to build it...she may not be the prettiest gal to sail the seven seas, but she will be sea worthy Captain!
 
i recently with much enthusiasm renewed my model ship building campaign which has sat idle for almost 20 years. Regrettably at that time I charged forward with zero experience at hand thinking with my vast WWII plastic model ship building glory days would give me a head start on wood models...well that proved to be a massive mistake!
 
I took it too far without paying enough attention to the necessity of patience and research which I believe is par the course behind this incredible hobby. At this time I plan to take my time in a logical and unhurried approach. My situation is I may have too much of a challenge in fixing the poor judgement and workmanship from years past.
 
The bow and support frames are not level due to excessive amount of sanding. The deck does not sit level on the frames near the bow...which is a shame as the cutouts are a nice perfect line...what was I thinking back in the day! Is it best to start all over and remove frames or can one use a filler type of method? Perhaps glueing some planks on top of the frames to fill in the gaps. Is it a major problem if the decking does not sit perfectly flush with the tops of the frames?
 
You will note from pictures attached I removed the #3,4 and 8 frames in order to finish a nice square cut, but now I have the problem with the bow.
 
I welcome your feedback, comments and critiques.

Phil,
 
I use scalpel blades and scalpel handles.  I've had my current scalpel handles for many years.
 
Just a tip - don't buy from a surgical supply house - they charge like wounded buffaloes; some hobby shops sell genuine scalpel blades and handles, itherwaise you can get them a bit cheaper (for the same product) than at surgical suppliers by going to a veterinary supply place.
 
John

Foot ropes are done. I still need to do a wrap or two of thread around the spars at each stirrup to make it look as if they are actually wrapped around the spar, and not a wire. The stirrups are simply 28 gauge brass wire which have a small eye formed in the end by wrapping around a drill bit. I then wrapped and glued thread around the spot where the wire doubles back above the eye to better hide the fact that it is wire. The foot ropes themselves have been brushed with very diluted white glue to hold their shape.
 

 

 
No updates for a bit, as college visit for my son tomorrow, and then I am off to Germany for a week plus for work. Hopefully by Domanoff serving machine arrives by the time I return!