Landlubber Mike

I've been missing in action the past few months as my wife had twins at the end of March.  It's been a bit hectic to put it mildly, so I haven't had time to hit the shipyard recently.  Thankfully the girls are almost three months now and sleeping better, so I'm gearing up to get back to work on the Badger.  
 
Here are some pictures of where I left off earlier this year.  Most of the standing rigging is done, and I'm about to start on adding furled sails.  I'm hoping to finish it before the end of the year as I now have the Corel Unicorn and the Amati Pegasus on my shelf.  Between kids and honey-do's, and of course being a complete novice, the build has taken me four and a half years.  

First planking:
 

 

 

 

 
Second planking:
 

 

 

 

 

 
Deck Planking:
 

 

 

 

 

 
Post-planking details:
 

 

 

 

 

 
Cannons Rigged:
 

 

 

 

 
Additional details on hull and deck:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought the AL 1/48 Surprise and was surprised (pun intended) at the quality of the plans and instructions. Full 1/1 scale drawings and plans in full color. The thick instruction booklet is filled with several color photos in each and every page. I started doubting this was an AL kit, after building the Bounty and Endeavour. Only one negative thing I have to comment this far... the figurehead is hideous.
I have not started building this monster and I may not do it soon due to its size: 1.33 mts., so I can not comment very deep on it, but what I have seen in the open box, pleases my eye.
I read somewhere that AL has now a new line of products, much better than the previous. The Surprise might be one of those.

If you plan to work on small parts on the bench then I suggest finding a way to cover or plug the dog holes so you're less likely to loose them.

Wait for it to go on sale....AND....if you get their newsletter on-line, often they send a 20% off any single item coupon.  Even better!
Tom

Mike,
 
When you decide to purchase one of these workbenches; Harbor Frieght has two of them listed on their website.  One is listed as "60" Workbench" and the other is listed as "Workbench With 4 Drawers, 60" Hardwood."
 
I really can't figure out what the difference is because they both have the same description and specs and are the same price.  I went with the second one.
 
Wait till it goes on sale.

I have that work bench and I left off the (lower) shelf and one bank of drawers so I could have room for my legs to fit under.  I also laid another piece on top to extend the surface area a bit.  I cant make a bench for the price.
maury

I think those are corelware for cooking, Bill. I haven't seen any kits for those!

Trying for a more realistic look
 

Ha ha, only joking. I went to an awesome antique show last weekend and had to buy this double block. Next to it is one from the kit for scale. When I finish the Syren I'll clean up the old block and hang it in a place of honor in my shop.

Mike,
 
I have not seen this one before. The workmanship is very good. In deed it looks to have no modifications. There are extra details like crew and barrels.
 
The transom detail is the later variant as per your instance of the kit. The flags are the post 1801 version as supplied with the kit ie the union flag has red diagonals which is the version post unification of Ireland. The flags that were supplied with my ancient kit were poor. Apart from being wrong period, the red diagonal lines were on the centre line of the white diagonals rather than being correctly offset. Something else to be replaced in the kit.

Its been a while since I updated my log so here we go. I have been working on the ship although progress has been slow lately due to other obligations like gardening and yard projects. I had to prep and put down 500 square feet of sod and I built a garden area.
 
Anyway, I've been skipping around a bit on the various things I need to do on the model, most likely to avoid rigging guns and making chainplates. I started working on making the belaying pin racks and installing the chocks. Frustratingly enough there are no chocks included with the kit, no cast ones, no wooden ones, nothing. I am irritated by that. Fortunately I have some cast ones laying around that I can use.
 
I also finally built a stand.
 
Here is the belaying pin rack at the bow.
 

 
I have assembled two of the four racks required for the fore mast. Below the rack in the picture you can see what I think is a mooring chock. I managed to get it to fit although the maker of the practicum wasn't able to do so. You can also see the eyebolts installed for gun rigging. I decided not to use the rigging parts made from styrene as recommended by the practicum and just go with eyebolts.
 

 
Here is the stand. A chunk o' teakwood with cradles made from mahogany.
 

Currently on that bench I have a 3" grinder, a cutoff saw, a dremel/workstation and the small disc/belt sander from Harbor Frieght.   Plan to add Byrnes Table Saw and Ropewalk at some point.   I have not had any issue with vibration.
 
 
Il take a picture of it when I get home and post it up here.
 
-Adam

Mike,
 
I purchased the Harbor Frieght Workbench about three months ago.  I love it!
 
It's as sturdy as any workbench I've either owned or used.  Assembly was very easy and I was able to do it unassisted.
 
I waited until it went on sale for $129.95.  I contemplated going to our local Harbor Frieght, but opted to have it shipped to my house because shipping was only $6.99.  Yeah! $6.99 and it came from California.
 

I am using that desk, have been for over a year and love it!   Very sturdy, plenty of top space.   The only wierd thing about it is the drawers don't open quite as far as I like, but it is not a problem as much as a wierdness.
 
I would recommend it.
 
-Adam

Hi all,
 
I've had several requests to show how I built some special clamps that come in particularly useful if you are building a Fully Framed hull. They could also come in handy for other more "conventional" builds.
 
 

 
 
There are three types of Clamp :
 
1. The first goes between Frames to hold internal or external planks.
2. "Spreader" clamps that hold internal planking.
3. Parallel clamps that don't pull two pieces out of line like normal spring clamps have a tendency to do.
 
Full Credit for these clamps goes to EdT (Ed Tosti) - I'm only showing my method of copying his ideas. Ed's are probably of superior quality to mine - I've used a more simplified approach that can be done fairly easily by most builders using common Right-Hand threaded screws.
 
"Between the Frames" Clamps
 
 
In Use :
 
 
These are made from 3/4" x 5/32" (19mm x 4mm) brass machine screws or threaded bar and matching Wing Nuts - I found them at Bunnings, but they should be available at any reasonably good Hardware Store. The other brass part is some thin brass strip - I used 0.5mm. Note that you can use any sizes of screws and strip - I just used whatever I had "on hand" or could buy easily. I wouldn't go much thinner than the 0.5mm strip though - it's plenty strong enough and will fit right down into very narrow gaps between frames.
 
I cut the heads off the screws, cut a 4mm deep slot into the cut-off end and Silver Soldered the two pieces together. Then I drilled a 2.5mm hole to accept the 2mm Pin. A bit of "oversize" makes it a lot easier to push the pin through the hole.
 
The wooden pieces are made from a good hardwood - I used Australian Cherry Ballart because I had quite a bit of it in stock, but any other close-grained hardwood would do the job. A 2mm hole was drilled for the pin - this needs to be a good but "easy" slide-in fit.
 
The only item of note not shown in the pics below is some extra bracing I glued to one face of the larger block - this prevents the wood from splitting when pressure is applied. It strengthens the saw cut (these pics were taken before I had my first "Block Failure"). Note the direction of the grain in the large block.
 
 

 

 
 
 
Spreader Clamps
 
 
In Use :
 
 
These Clamps are particularly useful when you need to clamp planking etc and can't use one of the "Between the Frames" clamps, although they can be used in combination with one of them as shown in the pic above. They work very well anywhere inside a hull. I made these in 4 or 5 different lengths depending on the position in the hull they were to be placed. All parts were interchangeable, so a lot of length combinations could be used - the only difference is in the lengths of the brass tubing, the "heads" and "tails" of the clamps are all identical.
 
I used 4mm x 25mm RH-threaded Stainless Steel Machine Screws, Washers and Nuts (again because I had a lot of them in stock - any other combination around that size would be OK). The "swivels" are made from 1/4" (6.5mm) brass round bar that have been drilled and tapped to accept the screws. 5mm brass tubing of various lengths is the only other thing needed.
 
Again, the wooden pieces are made from a good hardwood. The "head" is drilled to accept the swivel, the "tail" is epoxied to the screw to prevent it from falling out when the clamp is tightened. I sanded the end of the "head" to allow it to pivot when necessary.
 
 

 

 
 
Parallel Clamps
 
 
In Use :
 
 
These clamps are particularly useful when you need to clamp two pieces together without distorting their faces from each other. They also avoid the twisting effect that you can get with G-clamps, but are usually used in similar situations to them.
 
They are made from two pieces of hardwood, 8mm x 11mm x 65mm. The same size Swivels as the "Spreader Clamps" are used, with the same size screws as the "Between the Frames" clamps. Again, use any sizes close to the mark that you can get - it's not all that vital.
 
Here's an Exploded View of the Clamp :
 
 

 
 
And a description of how it goes together is below. Two Swivels are threaded to accept the screws, one is a "clearance" hole drilled right through, and the fourth is a clearance hole drilled part-way into the swivel to act as a "stopper". This one is glued into the timber with Silicone or Epoxy.
 
 

 
 
I made about 18 "Between the Frames" clamps, 10 "Spreader" clamps and 6 "Parallel" clamps - that seems to be adequate.
 
  Danny

Hi Mike, thanks for joining my log. Model Shipways Quality is almost impossible to beat. I have built a number of their kits, including ones that have nothing to do with a ship and find them wonderful to build as well as customer service and general overall goodwill to the modeling community. A+++ here in that aspect. As far a references, I do find the instructions leaving a lot for interpretatation. I found a couple of build logs and photos on another site called shipmodeling.net. It is a difficult site to navigate, but there are some good reference photos. The other downfall to the site is that most info is 6-7 years old or older, but nonetheless there are photos. Im trying to document most of that into this log so that the questions that I have had perhaps can be answered easier. This format is very user friendly as well as many good people (yes Sjors, Augie, Andy, JPett, Keith and everyone else here) to help answer questions or guide you. Cudo's to the whole group! This is a good build in that you don't have to mess with the guns! You can devote your time to "whaling tools and many whaleboats" like 7 of them....lol....any way this would be a good choice for your build - in my opinion....not only that but I'd have someone to bounce things off of!!! Speaking of burnout - my last burnout lasted over 3 years...
John

This is a 48 page 9-1/2" x 6-1/2" color booklet put out by the Vasa Museum. I picked it up in "Very Good" used condition on Amazon for $1.90 + shipping! The amazing fold-out front cover photo of the stern is worth at least $2!

 
The booklet covers the history and salvage of the ship and is a good read. Nice photos, drawings, maps and diagrams.


 
I don't know if all used (or new) books would include them, but mine came with 3 large color postcards too.

 
This is probably the best $1.90 I've spent! Highly recommended.

I've been missing in action the past few months as my wife had twins at the end of March.  It's been a bit hectic to put it mildly, so I haven't had time to hit the shipyard recently.  Thankfully the girls are almost three months now and sleeping better, so I'm gearing up to get back to work on the Badger.  
 
Here are some pictures of where I left off earlier this year.  Most of the standing rigging is done, and I'm about to start on adding furled sails.  I'm hoping to finish it before the end of the year as I now have the Corel Unicorn and the Amati Pegasus on my shelf.  Between kids and honey-do's, and of course being a complete novice, the build has taken me four and a half years.  

Thank you very much for those references.  I downloaded them and will refer to them when I get going on my build.  Of course, I spent the last hour reading through Chuck's build log for the Winchelsea - all I can say is wow!  Don't know whether to be inspired or disheartened at not being able to build at that high level.
 
Good luck with your plan - you have a lot of guts to go forward with that.  I'll be watching and here for support

I use to use Meguiar's on my '76 black and gold T/A. They make a great product. It was the only wax I found that gave a swirl-free shiny in that Black paint,
I remember using a soft bristle brush on all those decals also, Ouch!
I shoulda kept that car
 

13) Finishing the Finish:
 
Now that the centerboard slot was cut, the hull's finish could be finalized. I had done one last sanding and French polish session just before making the slot. After the slot was completed, the last padding sessions were done using alcohol only. This clears the finish and adds more gloss. The trick at this stage is using a pad that is barely damp - too wet with alcohol and you would just be wiping the shellac off. It is also important not to rub in one spot to long for the same reason. To get the perfect barely damp alcohol pad, place the alcohol pad in your pad jar on top of your regular shellac pads and drizzle a little alcohol on top. Seal the jar up and let it sit for about 30 minutes. The alcohol seeps through the top pad but the trapped fumes keep it damp.

 
This is how it looked after the alcohol rub downs.

 
After several days, the finish was rubbed out with a fine swirl removing polish. This really brought the gloss up. I will do one more rubbing out in a few more days. Here's how it looked in daylight after the first polish rub. The honeysuckle smells really good!

 
Here's the polish I used. It's Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #9 which you can get at some auto parts stores or at automotive paint supply shops. You can also use something like Novus plastic polish and get similar results.

 
Any of these pics can be enlarged by clicking on them.
 
Best wishes,

The crow's nest for the spritsail of the bowsprit...
For the base, kit had provided plywood, the base was rebuilt with walnut strips...

Alright - the hull is planked and finished and the deck planking has begun....photos follow, but here is a brief digest of the progress
 
1. Second hull planking - in the last episode, I had lined off the hull and laid the second planking in band "A". I needed 2 dropped planks on both sides in the first and third strakes below the waterline. In band "E" (close to the keel) I ended up needing a great number (4 on each side!) of steelers....Clearly my planking skills need work.....I was less concerned about this on this particular build, however, since the hull is finished below the waterline and the actual structural dimensions of the planking would be hidden - I suppose I could have simply said that the planking went perfectly and without a hitch!
 
2. Keel/stem/sternpost planking - the kit calls for 1mm planking to be used here - no way!! It's much too thick. I used .5mm beech supplied for the deck planking instead. A very straightforward process - I planked the stem semi-vertically from the waterline up, and horizontally the rest of the way. Very straightforward.
 
3. Hull finishing - The top of the stem from the lower wale upwards is painted blue. There is a patch of exposed wood between the lower wale and the waterline at both stem and stern. The lower hull is "tallow", though I painted it Titanium White. Marking the waterline was a pain, since the jig I built (a pencil taped at an appropriate location to a block of basswood) was a little unstable. But eventually I got it. I followed advice given by Randy (lamarvalley) and Nigel (NMBROOK) and applied several coats of poly to the unfinished hull. I then stained the upper portion with Golden Oak, waiting for it to thoroughly dry. I then masked the waterline, sanded below and gave it five good coats, sanding between. A final coat of poly to finish.
 
-- One issue I encountered was with masking. In my impatience to finish the hull, I used scotch tape to mask the waterline. My experience using Scotch has been good - a nice clean line. The issue is that because it is transparent it is really hard to see....As a result when I peeled the tape back there were some jags at the waterline. I quickly went out, bought some Tamiya tape, re-masked at those points that needed correction and  using a scalpul blade (and paint where necessary) made the corrections.
 
4. Deck planking - the f'csl planking was very straightforward. As for the quartedeck - Goodwin clearly shows a nibbed margin plank. At first I attempted to replicate this, but my efforts were both unsuccessful and exceedingly frustrating. In the end, I went with this simpler planking scheme. Goodwin shows no butts on either q-deck or f'csl. The main deck is planked in 60mm lengths in a 4-butt shift. This is shown clearly in his book - I determined the plank length using the deck planking calculator in the MSW database - very handy! I've not yet completed the deck planking, but you can see it in process below.
 
5. The stand - I constructed the stand - the parts took a lot of modification, but eventually I got a good fit. The hull is not permanently mounted yet - I won't do this until a bit later in the build.
 
Anyway, that's it - more regular updates will follow now as I move into the next stage of the build. In the immediate future I will be:
 
-- finishing the deck planking - considering trunneling the deck, but with 3mm plank widths I'm not sure I could take it!! What do you guys think?
 
-- adding the rails - the plank sheer between the gunports on the main deck (which extends fwd and aft); the main cap rail (with similar extensions), the f'csl rail & the quarterdeck rail
 
-- adding the quartergalleries (I'm using the kit-supplied ones, but I may have a stab at making new ones from scratch following the simplest of the suggestions in Goodwin
 
-- building the transom - this is going to be a real challenge for me....but hopefully it will turn out ok.
 
Alright - enough talk! Here are the photos
hamilton
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Ian, thanks for the reply.  I'll take a picture of those pieces this evening and upload them here so you can see how the newer kit differs from yours.  I probably won't start the build log for another couple of months, as I should probably stay disciplined to finish my Badger before starting the Unicorn.
 
Thanks for the pictures of the model above.  Do you happen to know if this ship was copper plated, or white stuff was used? 
 
I'm thinking of approaching my build similarly, likely using a color scheme similar to what you see with other Nelson's navy ships of that period like the frigate Diana.  This would entail using more black for pieces like the transom, mast tops and wales, red for the bulwark planking and cannon carriages, etc.  Here's an example:
 
http://www.jotika-ltd.com/Pages/1024768/CKit_Diana_02.htm
 
I have some time before I will start the build, which gives me time to think about and plan for how I will approach the build:
 
1.  Rather than use paint, I will try to use either stains or colored specialty woods for the colors.  I prefer the natural oiled or other finish of woods.  I see that some of the parts need to be scratch built, so I'll have to build parts anyway.  What will be a tough decision is what to do with the cannon carriages - they are very nicely pre-built and finished using a dark wood like walnut.  If I want red bulwark planking, the cannon carriages would either need to be scratch built to match or maybe I just leave them the natural walnut color with red bulwarks.
 
2.  The figurehead, which is a bright gold metal, will need to be painted.  I might try a tarnished bronze look or paint it to look like it was carved out of wood.  I really don't like white paint on models - even using Admiralty paints "dull white," the white comes off as too garish for me.
 
3.  I might try to build the transom and stern galleries from scratch, but maybe using the ornamentation from those parts which I can paint gold or some similar color.  That should be pretty challenging though, particularly if I decide to build the windows from scratch to avoid using white paint.
 
4.  If this ship was copper plated, I might just keep the natural wood.  If white stuff was used, I might try to simulate it using a very light/white wood like holly.  I saw someone else do that under the old MSW, I think on a Fair American build, which I thought was fantastic.  Probably way out of my skill level, but I might try.
 
5.  I'll have to decide whether to try using ebony for black areas, or using stains or dyes.  I bought a Varathane ebony stain recently, which I'll test out first as I've heard about the various challenges of using ebony (hard on tools, black toxic dust that is hard to clean up, etc.).
 
6.  The kit blocks look ok, but maybe a tad bit oversized.  I might replace them with better blocks.
 
7.  Depending on how my Badger's furled sails come out, I might try and add sails to the model.
 
 
Ouch, looking back at this list, that's a lot of modifications to pursue.  I purchased the kit for a very good price (Model Expo recently put up a bunch of Corel kits for auction on eBay which sold for pretty low amounts relative to even retail sale prices), so I think the Admiral will be ok with the added expenditures - that is, if she should happen to find out 

Ahoy Ferit
 
Expensive and difficult
 
I think I dated her sister