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Ed Mostowicz

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Everything posted by Ed Mostowicz

  1. Jaager notes a good method for determining the diameter of our rigging line, but I don't agree with coiling the line tightly around a dowel. This will stretch the line and result in a smaller diameter than it is. Instead, I wind the line just tight enough to stay in place and then push it lightly against the preceding coil. I'll do this 3 or 4 times and take the average. You can use any size dowel that's comfortable to hold. For the lightest line, I make 2 marks on the dowel 1/2-inch apart and double the number of coils before dividing by 1. Yeah, I know, very fiddly, but I'm a Virgo, it's what we do.
  2. Stay away from the Mamoli Constitution cross section - it's missing the orlop deck! One of the guys in my club is building it and he had a heck of a time fitting it in.
  3. As I understand the process, the waterway was installed first and attached directly to the deck beams and frames, then came the margin plank and the deck planks last. If the deck planks were joggled, they were worked into the margin plank. IMO, kit manufacturers have you install the waterway on top of the deck planks, without a margin plank, because it's easier. The end result will look fine either way. I find it easier to make up the waterway and margin plank in sections with simple scarph joints rather than one long piece. But a single piece with scribed scarph joints as Blue Ensign suggested is a good alternative. Ed.
  4. I built this kit 8 or 10 years ago, maybe more, and was pleased with the plans sheets by Ben Lankford and the supplied materials. It built into a pretty little ship. A friend asked me to build one for him and so I bought the kit again from Model Expo a few weeks ago. I did a dry fit of the bulkheads to the center former and it appeared odd to me. Comparing it to the first model, the new version is noticeably smaller. The plans sheets are also reduced so I'll have to take measurements directly from the plans in constructing deck furniture, spars, etc. … not my usual method. I haven't compared the cast fittings, but I typically replace them with scratch built components in wood. But maybe I'm wrong. There has always been some question about what actual ship the model represents. Perhaps the current kit is correct and my first model is too large. Who knows. End of grumble.. Ed.
  5. I did e-mail them and I got a confirmation the next day that they received it. I'll wait a week or so before following up. And you're right, they do react to issues like this.
  6. ASAT - here's hoping. Good tip, Mark. I didn't think of 3D printing. Regards, Ed.
  7. I read through the build logs and other posts here on the forum prior to starting this build. Very helpful info and photos - - thanx for sharing, guys. But I never read any mention of the quality of the castings of the 3-piece gun barrels. The ones in my kit are disappointing. I can clean up the flash and mold seam lines, but the fit between the barrels, muzzles and cascabels is poor at best. But worst of all is the barrel cross sections are oval, not circular. Given the scale of this kit, 1/2" to the foot or 1:24, it's really noticeable. I guess this poor quality control of the casting process; I can't imagine the original patterns aren't circular. I sent a note to MS, but I'm probably stuck with them. I'll have to get a lathe and turn them in wood or throw a tarp over them to keep the rain off. Just a grumble-gram from Ed. in New York.
  8. OK, that makes sense. I guess there's no harm in adding a shroud cleat. Thanks, Frankie. Ed.
  9. I'm just finishing Bluejacket's Smuggler kit. The plans sheets and the instruction book are very detailed and they presented no problem in the course of the build. However, there is no indication of where the halyards for the masthead pennants are to be belayed. Nothing about belay points in the manual and no callouts on the rigging plan. All of the belaying pins are in use for other running rigging. Any guidance would be appreciated. Ed.
  10. Z - Back in 1987 Model Shipways published a small book titled "Planking the Built-Up Ship Model" by Jim Roberts. It's very well illustrated and detailed and I highly recommend it. Model Expo has it http://modelexpo-online.com/planking-the-built-up-ship-model. If you decide to add a second layer of planking, I'd go with the thinnest material I could get or you'll end up with a hull that is too wide and out of scale. Ed.
  11. All good points. I've always used black line for my ratlines. The 'tar' they used was more of an oil that soaked into the rope fibers. It was also a very dark brown in color that usually looked black when viewed from a distance. So very dark brown or black would be my choice. BTW - I'm just starting the standing rigging on my model of Smuggler. Ed.
  12. I think that's safe to say. Unless you have specific information to the contrary, that is. Ed.
  13. I used to use at least 3 butt shift patterns, sometimes more. Then one of the older guys in the club, who used to work in a shipyard building fairly large schooners, said that they didn't use any pattern in planking a deck. They just took the longest length boards they had and installed them, just making sure that the butt joints weren't adjacent on the same deck beam. Since then, I use a scale plank length of about 24 feet - I read somewhere years ago that this was about the longest that a planking team could work with easily and safely. After the first plank is in, I shorten the next one by 4 or 5 feet and the next one 4 or 5 feet again. Then plank #4 is full length and so on from there. BTW, I work from the center out to the waterways. Ed.
  14. I'm not so sure about eyebolts; I haven't seen them on hoops. I think the lacing is just knotted around itself to tie it off.
  15. Thank you as well, Frankie. I wasn't aware of Ashley's whaler book. I'll have to look for it. I was deciding to just go with the information that I have and hope for the best and your remarks make me feel better about that decision. I'm using standing rigging sizes for 300-400 ton ships in Underhill's Masting and Rigging the Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier. It should be alright. Running rigging is some ways off and i'll work up something when I get there. Ed.
  16. Thanks for the offer, mark, but I'm really looking for specific sizes. I have a unch of photos from a previous visit as well. They're geat for placement of gear, belaying points, deck arrangement, etc., but you can't really get rope sizing form them. Ed.
  17. Hello, all. New to MSW and the forums here. Looks like a great site from what I've read - okay lurked about - so far. I'm doing my 2nd rebuild of the old Marine Models kit of the Morgan. I rig my models with scale size line or as close to scale size as I can. I usually start with one of the references on my shelf - Lee's Masting and Rigging, Biddlecombe's masting and Rigging, Steel, Underhill, etc. - and work out the sizes of line required, but they all concern warships or merchants of an earlier era than the Morgan and certainly none of them mention whaling ships. I was wondering if anyone could direct me to a source for the sizes of rigging used on the ship. Or if I can use the merhant ship information in Underhill's Masting and Rigging the Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier for instance. I contacted Mystic Seaport and they were no help; maybe I asked the wrong person. Regards, Ed.
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