MD11pilot

The rudder is a fun little project.  Shaped it with a mini hand plane and sanding blocks. 
Added the copper plates with the aid of a small square. 
 

If you’ve got one those fancy lighted magnifying glass gizmos, nows the time to set it up. These plates are small and there are a lot of them. My near vision ain’t what it used to be.

It’s important to get the pins on the stamps perfectly level. I used my water line marking jig to help with this. I squared the jig against the side of my grinding wheel and very gently leveled the pins. 

Now for copper bottom. I didn’t do anything creative. Pretty much stuck with instructions. 
First, I made a mount so could attach the ship upside down in my deskmate. 

Made the stamp jig and and dies. I don’t have a mini drill press but I was able to secure my pin vise in the chuck of my full size drill press. It actually worked pretty well. 

 
 

Hi all. It’s been a very long time. Time to dust off the Syren and get back to work. 
With the deck finished, it's time to add the cap rail. 

Good Morning All,
Well, I've finally finished painting the hull. This took quite a bit more time than I anticipated. My problem was the line at the top of the wales where the black meets the yellow. The lower line where the black meets the white was easy to tape and achieve a decent result, but not so easy at the top of the wales. The wales is thicker than the planking above it, with a ledge. I wanted the top of the ledge to be black, not yellow, but taping to the 90 degree transition was very hard to do. I must have made four or five attempts and no matter how carefully I thought I was taping, I always ended up with an unacceptable result. It occurred to me that if i could tape flat on the yellow, just a fraction of an inch above the transition point it would be easier to get a clean tape line and perhaps it wouldn't be noticeable to the eye that the line was just barely higher than the top of the wales. So I ran a slightly dull pencil along the top of the wales and it placed a parallel line on the yellow, above the wales  barely 1/16 of an inch or so. I taped to this line and it worked like a charm. The eye cannot easily detect what I have done and the result, while not perfect, is acceptable.
 
We're off to a family reunion this weekend. You know what they say - "Family isn't a word, it's a sentence!" If I survive, I'll be back with more updates.
 
David

Attention Syren Club!! Here is a big update. (I am taking a break before I begin all that sanding). First let me share with you my jig for bending the planking strips for the counter.
 
Ok with the latest version of this blog I don't seem to be able to intersperse pictures with text. So the next set of pictures is a little project I have been working on while waiting for planks to soak or bend. Or just goofing off.
 
I purchased a couple of Chuck's Cannons for the stern chasers and I was anxious to see how they would look assembled.
A couple of notes here for anyone using these cannons - First in the instructions Chuck says to glue the sides to the axles first then add the front and back strips. I found this difficult and very hard to get the angle correct. (the sides are not square) So instead I glued the front a back to the axle first. this gave me a reference point and a larger surface to glue. I still found it challenging at this scale. So I got a rather large diameter wire and used that to hold the sides while they were glued.
 
I then used an old belaying pin and sanded down the handle for the handle on the Quion. Drilling the hole for this was also and interesting challenge. As you can see there are still a few steps left but I am rather pleased with the outcome.
 
I am not sure of the limit on pictures for a post so I am going to close this one and continue on the next post.

Ok its time for a bit of a mid week update. Step 1 of Chapter 5 is complete. Step 2 calls for bending and planking the counter and transom. I soaked the planks over night and now as before I have cut out the template from the plans and clamped the strips to Plexiglas with the plans underneath. This will have to sit over night. So for now the Syren will take a break.
 
I would like to take this opportunity to talk about the metal parts that come with the Syren and tell you my plans for them and ask your opinion. I do hope the rest of the Syren club will chime in. I will take each part and offer my ideas and I hope you will the same.
 
Ship's Bell - I have ordered from Model Shipways part number MS0426. Which is a pair of copper Bells that are the right size and look so much better than the part that is supplied.
 
Ship's Wheel - I have ordered from Chuck one of his wheel kits. I haven't tried to assemble it yet but it is so much better than the metal thing provided.
 
Figure Head - Unfortunately I have not found a suitable substitute for this item. I doubt my carving skills at up to the task. I am going to try several different painting approaches. if I don't like the result I will order another from Model Expo.
 
Side Badges - These ugly things are in the trash. My Syren will live without.
 
Stern Decorations - Here again I have not found a useful substitute. I will try painting and use them.
 
Stern Chaser Cannons - I have order replacements from Chuck and I am now playing with assembling them.
 
Cannonades - Like most people I intend to replace these if I can find a US source to order them.
 
Cannonade wheels - I am hoping that Paint will deal with the ugly moldings. Over all these guns will need serious attention to be at the same quality as the rest of this model.
 
Metal Belaying pins - I would prefer wood. but I think I may have to stick with these.
 
Is there anything I have overlooked?

I have finished the planking above the wale on both Port and Starboard. I have some sanding and clean up to do.
 
Shawn - Are you sure about the #54 drill? my drills go from #61 to #80. I did some experimenting and even the #70 looks big.
 
I also found out what happens to supplies when you stop building for a couple years. My Putty is hard. Paint thinner is ... Any way I guess its time to go to the H/W store for stain, thinner, & Putty. I did try some Danish oil on my boxwood planks. I kind of like the effect.
 
I also found a micro square file that works wonders on my sweep ports. Stay tuned for more exciting progress.  

Just a brief Update. thanks to Rich I created a planking Board from some spare Plywood. I also stopped at my local H/W store and picked up some 1/4" tubing. I took the deck layout and screwed some screws covered with sections of tubing and began shaping my Wales. Tonight I plan to thin some MS dull red paint and paint the ports. Tomorrow is Planking!
 
Note: The 2 screws in the middle are for the shaping of the cap rail for the transom. I will be adding screws later.

By the way, I forgot to mention that like any good modeler I have already christened my Syren with a little blood. I was sanding some of the lintels to fit when my knuckle got to close and made a bloody mess.

Looking good!

Chapter one:
Clamped the BF into a desktop "Workmate" to straighten a slight warp.  Soaked and formed the rabbet strip.  Glued it on the next day.  I'm using "Gorilla" brand wood glue.  I like it.  It "grabs" rapidly and is tough stuff.
 
Cut in the taper to the rabbet.  It gets interesting at the aft end where the taper area is large - the grain of the different layers of ply want to fight your blade.  But with a combination of a wide blade X-acto, a chisel, and sandpaper, I got 'er done.
 
Tapered the fore end of the stem.  Added the stem knee and keel as one step.  I purchased a small bucket of assorted binder clips.  Glad I did.  I'm finding them very useful.
 

Eric! I am so glad to see this log. And you have some great stuff that will help me. How much will it cost me to buy your copper jig? Looks like you have done an outstanding job.
I am serious if you are no longer interested in your coppering jig. I would be willing to take it off your hands. Did you make 3 patterns as chuck suggests?

All hammock cranes and netting now in place >>>

With the exception of the 2 bow chasers and the 2 quarterdeck guns the deck levels are now virtually complete.  Still a few carvings for the stern quarters as well as a few minor 'things' then it will be a completed hull model . . . unless there are any other things I have overlooked ? ? ?
 
The following pics are really 'historic'.  Around 4 years ago, when I had eventually finished the hull planking I was keen to see the ship with it's rudder. At that time I didn't consider that I could have made my own rudder irons so went ahead and bought over-the-counter items. While their length was about right, their width was a bit more than was correct for the scale, but as they were all I had, I went ahead and fitted them. I've since often looked at them and wished I could remove them and fit better ones, but as they're glued and nailed on I fear that trying to remove them would make more of a mess of the planking than I would want to attempt to repair - - - so, I'm resigned to living with what I've got >>>

Copper bottom complete. 
 

Hey Floyd!  Glad to see you back. Like you, I’ve been on a VERY long break with my Syren. It will be nice to resume with some of the old chums still hanging around. 
I think your figure head came out quite well. It will look great in position with all the other rigging around her. 
Eric

Hey Floyd!  Glad to see you back. Like you, I’ve been on a VERY long break with my Syren. It will be nice to resume with some of the old chums still hanging around. 
I think your figure head came out quite well. It will look great in position with all the other rigging around her. 
Eric

Glad to see that there are still folks building the Syren. I’ve been on such a long break that I feared I might be the only one left.
I shared your fear of this kit being too advanced for a beginner, but with the excellent instructions and the very detailed build logs on this site, you'll do fine. Have fun!  Looking great so far. 
Eric

Glad to see that there are still folks building the Syren. I’ve been on such a long break that I feared I might be the only one left.
I shared your fear of this kit being too advanced for a beginner, but with the excellent instructions and the very detailed build logs on this site, you'll do fine. Have fun!  Looking great so far. 
Eric

At this point I have to give a special "Thank you" to Sal.  
 
Sal, your careful planning and thorough discussion of your deck plan made my job a lot easier.  I shamelessly "borrowed" a lot of your ideas and research.  I hope you will take it as a compliment.

Preparing for the interior bulwark planking.  I couldn't stand the thought of thinning down the bulwarks with a sanding block, so I used my electric detail sander.  To keep the edge of the sander from chewing up the deck framing too much, i laid down a layer of duct tape.
 

 
Then the planking is laid in.  Since the interior planking is flush with ports, I elected to overlay the planking over the ports, then cut flush with the hobby knife and sand to match.
 

 

Cap rail and "fashion pieces" added.  Like most folks, it took a couple tries to get the cap rail right.  
 

 

Okay, I admit it - I'm really lousy at keeping my log up to date.  So here's some catching up...
 
After completing the exterior planking, I paused for a couple days just looking at the ship and taking stock.  Unfortunately, I didn't like what I saw.  Specifically, the treenailing was garish.  Too big, and too dark.  So I made the decision to paint the planking yellow ochre, thereby covering up my mistake.  I actually like it painted, even though that was not my original intent.  The treenailing faintly shows thru the paint giving a nice effect in my opinion.
 

 

 

You guys crack me up. Are you trying to say, "Go big or stay home" doesn't apply to model building?