mtdoramike

Thanks for the response anyway Jan.

mike

WOW, I'm surprised there haven't been any replies to this thread, I figured there would have been plenty. Does anyone else recall a larger Sovereign of the seas kit that was produced back in the early 80's to 90's, or are you feared of being ridiculed. Come on, I don't want to feel alone here hahahahaha.

mike 

Very nice start on your build. I'm quite surprised though at the contents of the kit. I figured with the price of this kit, the small bits and pieces would have at least come in a plastic container and to not lose any once the packages are open. That is one thing I like about Artesania Latina and OcCre, they supply nice reusable plastic storage cases with the bits and pieces already separated and stowed away.

mike

It looks like I have a confirmation on delivery of the Victory to the http://mylakelibrary.org/libraries/wt_bland_public_library.aspxwhich will be Friday morning December 11, 2015. I will try and get some pictures of the delivery and setup at the library and post them here on this thread kind of as a closure. Now the hard part will be getting it there in one piece. I tried building it with the thought in mind that it would have to travel, so I hope I have everything supported enough to make the trip without any issues.

mike

Well, is was supposed to be, but I think I may have one more left in me as long as my health holds out. I bought a OcCre Montanes kit from a forum member last year just in case I felt froggy. So it's waiting in the wings for me once I re-coop from building the Victory. Yes, I had a plaque made up for it with my name on it and the date of the start of the build and the finish date.

I may not be getting totally senile yet, I did find a large SOS on one of those Chinese rip off sites called ZHL they have one listed at 1420mm which is equal to about 56 inches I reckon and is more along the lines of the larger SOS that I was thinking of. But, I don't believe ZHL was even around back in the 90's. I know there was a fellow building a Larger scale kit of the SOS, who I Knew back when Ship in Scale had their own chat room and it was back in the late 90's if I recall.

mike

This might be old age creeping in, but I can recall or at least I think I recall a smaller version of the SOS, which would be the Mantua version that measures like 43 inches or so when finished. But I also seem to recall a bigger version of the SOS possibly by the same company Sergal/Mantua that was quite a bit bigger like in the 50-60 inch range that was arounf back in the 80's or 90's. Is think factual or am I delusional  

mike 

I don't know about that, but that finish is beautiful.

mike

Here is a little something that I ordered for my next build once I get into it.

mike

I usually varnish the hull even if I'm going to paint it especially from the waterline down. This seals the hull and gives the copper plates something to stick to besides the raw wood. I have found paint works well for this too, but not as well as varnish.

mike

Paul, you are coming along nicely on the Vic. This is going to be a real beauty when you finish her.

WOW, absolutely beautiful work. I'm impressed.

mike

I've been modeling for well over 20 years and have built numerous ship models (25-30) actual amount unsure of, and I have never used a drill press or drill attached to a stand. To me, I can drill a straight hole with a free standing drill in my hand, especially with the new drills now a days that have the bullseye bubble on the end of the drill which helps to keep an eye on level while drilling. So in my opinion, it's not necessary.

mike   

WOW, brass gratings, that had to cost a bit. I'm surprised they would have put those in the kit. I'm wondering if there were some other benefit for using the brass over the wood?

mike

I wish you were located in the US, I wish you luck with your sale. 

mike

I agree with the above statements. But if the seller isn,t a well known member, then i would ask that they ship first, before the money is sent.

I look at it this way, there needs to be a little trust on one side or the other and if they are fresh to the forums then the trust factor should go to the current members.

Also, please do not send payment using paypal gift as some may ask to avoid the 3percent seller fees. You as the buyer will give up any recourse you have if the deal goes south.

mike

Any more progress on this model?

mike

They look pretty good to me, but I usually don't go by instructions that much anyway. I go by the plans.

Go with the Bluenose, I built this model and it will teach you some need to know fundamentals especially hull planking and deck planking. Plus not much rigging to have to worry about.

mike

I bought this kit from a forum member some time ago with the intent on building it as a donation project once I finished the Latina Victory Library donation project. I will start the build in a month or so once I have taken a break from the Victory build. I do not intend to do a build log of this kit. But I may do a little review of the kit. This would just be my observations of the kit, manufacture and content. I also will not make a decision as to who or what organization will be the benefactor of the Montane's donation until I'm about 3/4 of the way through the build as to not place any added pressure on myself while building.

A little back ground on the ship: The figurehead of this ship is not the royal lion but a “Montañes” (highlander), in gratitude for the financial contribution towards her construction made by the people of the mountains. She was launched in Ferrol on 14th May 1794. It is said that she was an extraordinary vessel, whether sailing close to the wind, running free or with a following wind, and that, more than any other ship, she kept her batteries out of the water. She was engaged in a number of battles, including Trafalgar, where she mounted 76 guns and 4 carronades with mortars, located on her quarter deck. On 6th March 1810, in a violent storm, she sank off the Bay of Cadiz.

Thanks John, I was lucky to find that case as cheap as I did. That mahogany sure looks nice compared to what I would have had to use from our local home improvement store.

mike

No, but I want one. I have seen them used for several applications, but not as a hobby tool per-say. I would think it would work as well as a scroll saw or band saw. By the way, they have another version of this called Blade Runner that has a metal Offset blade arm that I think might be a better built unit and the price is usually $30.00 or so more than the X2 version.

Try one out and report back to us whether you like it or not.

Dimitris, I wish I had known that was your issue, because that is an easy fix. I have cut off the mast below and above the mast rings or mast heads and have drilled them out before, which works or at the very worst effort, I would break them off and replace with some that I fashioned out of wood. There is always another way to skin that cat. I'm glad to see it's working out for you and you have been doing some exceptionally fine work. GREAT JOB!

mike

I agree with J, I think once the rigging is applied, there will be too much stress on the pieced together mast. Wouldn't it be ashame to get that far along only to have to redo the mast and most of the rigging. If it were me, I would opt to bite the bullet now, it will amount to a lot less work than if left. 

Thanks guys, I was questioning myself numerous times during the build. But I had to keep plugging along. I'm proud that she turned out as great as she did and I couldn't be happier with the display case choice that I made.

I was thinking of doing a separate thread for the Library donation or I could just add the updates here, what do you guys think?

mike