Jack12477

I am always antsi when putting in the main mast. Measured many times to see if it rests on the floor of the hull and at the same time that it is at the height of the deck according to plans. This time the mast was too short by 6mm. So I added a piece of dowel of that length and glued it into place. Now it is good.
 
Also the piece of wood that goes across the deck that holds the sheet block for the main sail wasn't curved enough, so I redid this. Just need to cut to length and sand down.
 
The mast cleats are too big. Have to redo them as well. 
 
Measured the sails by using card board templates. Once I do the sails I will show how I do this in a step-by-step manner with lots of pictures. 
Marcus 

Piet thanks for the comment and everyone else for the likes. 
I inherited lots of double and triple blocks and very few single. So I have been making singles from doubles. The setup below shows how. First I make the hole larger with dental drill reamer. Then fit the double block through one pin. The pins are stainless steel rods cut to size. Then I saw the block to get a single. Works great. 
 
Mast and spars have been painted with Mars black acrylic paint from Golden. Blocks have been attached. 
 
Once I start on the sails I will show the way I do it with a step by step faq. Also give some references that talk a little about sails. 
Marcus 

Thanks, druxey.
 
When I started working this morning, I noticed that where I left off last night shows just how much the hooked scarphs interlock. I was initially skeptical that those relatively small hooks would make a difference, but modeling the joint has shown me the exceptional strength this joint has created.
 
Mark

Thanks, John, your comment means a great deal to me. 
 
Work proceeds on the port wales, using the old clamps at midships to grab from below where the deck is too high relative to the wale for a clamp from above. The second photo shows hanging the clamps on the starboard side to keep them level when tightening.
 
And a view of both wales from the bow, although the lower two strakes are not yet installed and the battens are not yet removed.
 
Mark

Ok, A bit of an update. I am having some difficulty with the Copper Plating jig that Jim loaned me. I am sure it is something I did not retain from his instructions. But in the mean time I am moving ahead with some other areas. I am still nervous about my Carronades lining up with the ports correctly so I decided to build a few. (How it that for an excuse?) I am just fascinated this these Carronades.  Well I am glad I did this. Oh Boy! these little buggers are a model in themselves. So let me walk thru the steps I have taken in the order I did them and comment on the outcome. I hope this helps someone.
 
1. I replaced the carronade barrels with 3D printed barrels as described above. I am quite please with the result.
2. I painted these barrels flat black (2 coats).
3. I cutout the brackets and painted them. these little buggers as just a bit bigger than saw dust (but I have cried enough on this above)
4. I cutout from the laser cut sheet both the lower and upper sled parts.
5. Painted these wood parts with the same red used elsewhere on the model.
6. Blackened the eyebolts
7. Using my X-Y table I carefully drilled a #65 hole in the sides of all sled parts. (If you look carefully on the picture below you will see a bundle of sled parts taped together and drilled).
8. Cut the eye bolts to the proper length and glued them into the sled parts. (I used CA and this resulted in the splitting of 2 of the sleds - there is 1 spare so there is another request to Model Shipways for parts)
9. I attempted to paint the coasters for the bottom of the sled. (I found that after painting if I used CA to glue the paint came off.) I also found that the coasters were so poorly molded there was no flat surface to glue to the wood.
10. Sanded the tops of the coasters.
11. glued the coasters to the bottom of the sled.
12. repaint the coasters (this is where I am now).
13. Glue the metal arc pieces to the tops of the sleds. (These were previously blackened)
14. Glue the to sled pieces together.
15. Mount the barrels. 
16. Test fit on the deck of the model.
 
Enough? 
 
 

Thank Don! Traveler makes sense. It is a very simple term.  I was imaginating something super technical. 

Nice work, I believe it is called a traveller and you did a remarkable job on it

Working on the bowsprit. I used the French plan to create a rocambeau (French word) not sure what it is called in English. Any idea? 
 Attached the bowsprit.
 
 
First chain attachment in place. 

The saga continues! In marking out the masts I discovered that the main is about 20 mm too long and the fore is about that dimension too short! I guess I was so happy to have Krick of Germany support me I never checked the measurements. So now the question is can I get away without some surgery. I am concerned that the sail patterns just won't match the stay and mast outlines and look a bit out of kilter. In a cursory check the foreshortened fore has enough "top" clearance that the 20 mm difference will still handle the sail.
 
Secondly I have decided to completely rig it in my shop and transport it to it's final destination with the masts stepped. I have to travel about 35 miles south of Rochester NY and up the side of a very steep and poor road to its final hill top home. Stepping the masts seems the best alternative. Here is how I plan to move forward. We have a great RC shop in our town and they carry an extensive line of DU-BRO fittings for all type of RC models. I was introduced to what is called  "2-56 Push Pull System" that will facilitate shrouds to be made up and then disconnected. The kit comes with crimping sleeves and shrink tubing to dress over the crimps. The kit also comes with nylon coated stainless steel braid of the right diameter as well. For the fore and aft stays I just ordered turnbuckles of the right scale to further enable mast stepping. Some running rigging for the booms will need to be considered (made up and then removed, belayed at site) but should be achievable.
 
In addition, there is a clever mast shroud tightening mechanism built into the kit so I think I can make it all happen.....I hope.
 
The world of RC modeling is a world unto itself. I do have an electronics background but even so there is so much to learn. I am quite relieved that the client wants this to be a static model!
 
Joe  

Thanks druxey and all others. I am beginning to think I may actually finish this model on time. I continue to find parts missing and poor, very poor instructions to confound my work. After I work up a sketch on running rigging I will tackle machining the aluminum masts and booms taking into account the RC versus the static rigging differences. I have attached a picture of the ketch I came across that is helping me along. In it is a good picture of the way a wish bone is attached and used.
 
Joe

Thanks for the compliment Captain, flattery will get you everywhere with me!
 
Mast Reinforcements
Before I go off script again, the next items to be added per Mr. Hunt’s practicum and the kit instructions are the mast reinforcement. These add sides to the mast slots in the keel bulkhead. The main and mizzen mast are constructed the same. The foremast has the added complication that it also is in a slot of a bulkhead. The kit plans state that the pieces are to be 1/8” thick, no width or length is specified. The practicum calls for 1/8” x 5/16” stock (basswood). The problem is that the kit does not supply 1/8” x 5/16” stock. I used 1/8” x ¼” stock which close enough. The main and mizzen masts reinforcements were cut to length by eyeball and glued into place. The foremast had to be notched along one side to allow for the bulkhead to slide by and notched at the bottom so that it could sit low enough on the bulkhead to cover the keel notch. Once those were done, stock dowels for the fore (3/8” ᶲ), main (7/16” ᶲ), and mizzen (5/16” ᶲ) masts were notched to create a mortice to fit into those slots.
 

looking good in the progress dept Piet.   I'll be getting into some of that P.E. stuff myself soon.   can't wait to see the model in it's present stage  

This post is for Day 14, 2017.  Yes, it's still past history but such is life.
 
I had a late start today because of chores and trouble shoot my little Chevy pickup truck. I needed to run a few errands and she wouldn't start, The solenoid was chattering but didn't engage the clutch to the tarter motor. Jumped the truck from Gwen's Buick and she fired right up. Clear indication I needed a new battery, ouch. Yeah, they aint cheap. Long story short, bought the battery, installed it and now I can use my truck.
 
I finished cementing the railing to the searchlight platform and then the two searchlights. Looking quite convincing.
This completes the work on the aft funnel, except for the smoke deflector on top that I'll cement on till I can cement the funnel to the vent housing.  I'll wait with that till the vent housing is cemented to the ship.
 
Next I directed my attention to the twin Bofors AA gun deck and fire control center. I decided to cement the distance finder on the longitudinal axis because I intend having the ship fire her guns more or less in a broadside.
Removed all the necessary PE for this section per the installation instructions. Cemented the two "houses" to the gun deck part. Cementing the PE parts was fun, at least they were a little larger and things went rather fast. This time I formed the railing as I went around the PE platform, that worked okay. I started at the ladder position and tacked the railing in spots as I went around. The handhold of one of the ladders had to be bend up and the rungs bend to simulate steps, Tweezers kinda work.
I managed to cement all the PE parts as indicated on the instruction sheet.
 
Actually I did manage to do a lot of work today, I'm proud of me
 

The completed aft funnel
 

Part of the instructions drawing for the AA gun deck.
 

Ship's frame 43 location for the AA gun deck.
 

Top view of the AA gun deck, from the scratch build drawings I have.
The two "houses" cemented on with the range finder. Looking forward.
 

Looking aft.
 

A photo of the Bofors AA gun deck looking forward, starboard side.
 

The completed AA gun deck, painted and all, as it is on 02/ 14/2018. I forgot to take a few pics as I went along in November last year.
 

Closeup pic of the aft housing on the AA gun deck.
 

Closeup side view of the aft housing. There will be a small flag staff yet cemented to the aft side of this housing with the Dutch National Ensign.
 
Cheers,

Yeah John, fiddly is not even the right word for them, they were difficult picking up from the table. I had to wet my left hand index finger to pick them up and then the tweezers in the right hand. Had to be sure to pick them up in the right orientation. 
 
Well Jan, before I got them in the tweezers I dabbed a little CA on the brass part, wiped most off, then picked the part up and trying to steady my hand, placed it where I were I wanted it, one at a time. I did use a 3X reading glasses and the optivisor. 
 
I also learned to use the finest dentist's bur for removing excess CA, but only from metal parts though. There is almost no getting away from too much CA at this scale and the thin stuff don't work for me. However, after the parts are painted it mostly disappears from sight.
 
My thanks also to all who clicked the like button.
 
Cheers,

Hello,
and many thanks for your likes and comments.
 
Today I finished the first ten gun ports at the Gun deck. These one are not so complicated, but the next will be. The next one I have to do manually for each port. 
 
I think I must not to explain the pictures.
 

 

 
At the inside I made them nearly flush with the hull, so that I have not so much to file and sand later.
 

 

 

 
At the last picture the outside of the port frames are cleaned up and are flush with the outside of the hull.
 
The next time you will hear not so much from me, because I'm busy doing the rest of the ports.
 
 
 

Hello all,
 
after building the Dragon, I'm starting now the blog about building the Tiger from 1747.
 
The Tiger was a 60 gunner after the 1745 establisment. Last year I ordered the plans for the 60 gunners of the 1745 establishment, but learned later that all the 6 ships, build after that plan, where all a little different. So I decided to build the Tiger and that, because it was the only plan that shows also the artwork of the ship. Interessting is also, that they moved the captains cabin sometimes down to the upper deck! There was more space.
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Tiger_(1747) Here you could see the plans.
 
Then last fall I went to Chatham to see two models of 60 gunners, the Centurion and a unspecified ship (SLR0442 SLR0472). Both ships from the 1730s, but the models are made ca. 1745/47. They will be my reference for the Tiger.
 
And because I had build the Dragon already with frames, I decided to be lazy and build in the bulwark technique. So I started early this year with the hull and that he is.
 

 

 

 
 
 
But before I started with the hull, I made the figure head. Just to see if I could do it after pause for a year. 
 

 
And before the questions come, with what did you do the carving, here is most of it to see. Just with hand tools. To the right you see Leo the second.
 

 
And here is Leo III. From toe to crown hi is 9 cm high, in reality he was 4,5 m high  
 

 

 

 
Here Leo did a sit sample. The guy in the background it's me. 
 

 

 
The next steps would be to close the counter and then made the cannon ports. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

First couple of pictures are from the boat without mast, spars, sails and rigging. 
 
Next, the finished mast and spars which are still unpainted. I will be adding a few extra items such as blocks for the flags. I am not going to just glue them to the flag pole and bowsprit. Still working on the blocks and deadeyes. 
 
Went to Joann's fabric store and bought a yard of tightly woven cotton fabric. While looking through their items, I compared it with left over sail cloth from past boats and sail cloth from former Dutch boats I built in the 80s that did not survive all the moving from country to country. 
In the picture on the left is brown sail cloth from a Friesian tjalk that I will be using for the topsail. In the middle their is a picture from the kit (from the Authentic Shipmodel Company, Amsterdam, no longer in existence) on the right the cloth I purchased today.The topsail will be washed together with the off white cloth, ironed, stretched, sails traced on it, hemmed, bolt rope attached, and final installation. The brown cloth already has the lines stitched in and lucky for me is that the distance between them is the same as the Utrecht. 
Marcus 

Yes it was but, dont relate this to what your traditional kit might look like.  There are dozens of people asking for dozens of things....and the kit can not be everything for everyone.  Its kind of funny actually.  Who wants holly...who wants masts and rigging...who wants copper plates...Pump details...a boxwood option....the list is endless.  The beauty of the hobby is that any of you can very easily bash a kit like this to include copper plating.  Or buy a few sheets of Holly to plank it with,  or whatever else.  What you guys dont realize is that with every upgrade it will add $$$ to the cost of a kit.  For example,  many have balked at the price I am charging for the barge.  They dont understand how its different than other kits and what it takes to MFG it. 
 
I would like to keep this kit reasonably priced for the majority of builders...and not push this into the realm of where only 15% of the market will be willing to buy it or could afford it.  I am shooting for the $225-$250 range....but you guys can bash it easily enough.  I really dont mean to sound harsh but I wanted to let you know its a bit overwhelming and if you guys look back on the shear number of requests...thats a lot of upgrades and work for what most wouldnt want to pay more than five bucks extra for.  
 
Overwhelmed in New Jersey......

It's amazing how obsessed people get with cheapness at the expense of all rationality. Sorry you have to deal with that crap. Try to keep in mind that you don't hear from all the people who do respect your work and think your prices are fair; it's just not in the human nature to send random emails or phone calls saying "attaboy" even when it's deserved. When's the last time any of us took the time to write/call a restaurant we really enjoyed, even though we'd be far more likely to write/call to complain about a problem?

Hard to believe I am finally approaching the end of the deck cabins for Atlantis. They have been mini projects in themselves that never seemed as though there was an end in sight. Fundamentally the deck furniture woodwork is done save the main cabin sky lights and handrails for this and the aft cabin. The body wood is boxwood and the roof and some trim is mahogany. They have been coated with Minwax wiping varnish. The last appointments will be the running lights, air vents and hatch handles. I have not decided how to treat the porthole and cabin "glass" quite yet. I was reading McCaffery's book and he suggests .025 microscope slide glass. Only timidity I have is how do I accurately cut the porthole glass. Secondly the back side has to be opaque as I did not finish the interior of cabins.
 
One final note. I took some stylized liberty with the furniture. Call it aesthetic license or whatever they just looked better to me. Note the "gauges" on the helm (aft cabin). I went on line and found an actual boat panel I liked, then modified it and reduced it to scale. Maybe that is why it has taken me way too long to get to this point!

I have begun the deck furniture and as I said I could not deal with the shoddy materials, fit etc of the kit so I began building them anew. The process is going slowly as there are no dimensional drawings so with a combination of existing die cut parts and measurement of deck opening I have begun pretty much "building in place". This is not ideal as one can imagine as the deck furniture forms were slightly titled in the vertical plane on all sides and the hull mold isn't exactly uniform about a center line. The first photo is what would have been realized using supplied parts of the kit. Pretty ugly even in its unfinished form. Oh, I forgot to add there was no trim accessory pack in what I took in. The second photo is my built up version using boxwood and mahogany materials. It is yet to be fully detailed but I think you get the idea. I would again add I discarded the acrylic forms shown earlier as they just didn't work with this method. I do appreciate that if one were to sail this model they would have possibly been more appropriate as these new elements are all assembled using "yellow" glue.
Joe

 
 
 
 

The Robbe Atlantis.pptx
 

In another thread on this site I said I would pay more attention to the pictures I take. I fibbed a bit. I wanted to record a milepost for the client (and any one else interested for that matter). The model hull has reached a painting milestone. If you have been following along on this thread you know I didn't hide my failures on this stage of the project. The painting journey was awful. There is no better word for it. I did finally overcome the crazing/wrinkling by spot priming the areas of concern and repainting that entire surface again. I was going to paint in the gold waterline but I lost my nerve as a result of the previous set backs. The waterline is 3M Scotchcal Striping Tape (1/4 inch). It is so easy to work with. Just pull back the backing paper (as you go) and purposefully lay it down. Press firmly only at the beginning and continue on. If you have any misalignment it lifts relatively easily and can be reapplied. The directions indicate that you must rub it down at the end with a soft cloth and over a short period it will fuse to the surface. There is a top clear layer that can be peeled back. It is there to protect the tape during application.
 

Hello everyone and thanks to those who visited and clicked the like button, much appreciated.
 
In this post I'll be combining Days 11, 12 and 13, which brings us to November 26, 2018. I'll write my notes as I have recorded them for the noted dates.
 
Still no word from the IT guy who is fixing my iMac. That hard drive was really a mess he said. So we continue using Gwen's laptop to stay abreast with what's going on on MSW.
 
On day 11, 11/24/2017, I separated the PE parts for the aft funnel. The most difficult were the bands around the funnel and the searchlight platform braces. The funnel bands are smaller then 0.05 mm.  In order to form the railing around this small platform I figured making a wooden form. It seemed to me almost impossible forming the railing without some guide.
After reshaping the bands I managed to cement the bands around the funnel. Removing them from the PE sheet they do tend to lose their pure form and need to be reworked. After the cement was cured I removed most of the excess but still not a pretty sight, from close-up. Once it's painted it should not be too noticeable.
I'll wait attaching the smoke deflectors to the top of the funnels till after they are cemented to the vent housings. Too much handling in the meantime.
I also cemented the little platforms with railing on each side of the rear funnel vent housing.
 
On Day 12, 11/25, 2017, I cemented the searchlight platform to the funnel making sure it was positioned at the right height to allow enough space for the access ladder.  I also cemented the ladder with its platform to the forward side of the aft funnel and the oval ring on top of the funnel. Removed more excess cement from the funnel. Not much work this day, too many other chores around the house.
 
On Day 13, 11/26/2017, I made the search light platform railing form - after a few gardening chores. Hey, I live in Florida and November is still warm enough to walk in shorts, besides I have to get the yard ready for winter.
After I had the railing form made I delicately formed the railing around it. It seemed to work okay but the material is only 0.05 mm. Next I cemented the railing to the platform   I tacked the center first and as soon as the cement was hard I worked my way around the platform. When this was done I cemented a small ladder from the base to the platform.
Next was cementing the platform braces to the underside. Removing the excess cement was done with a modified small broken drill bit. It will not be visible anyhow because it's on the bottom of the platform but I like to keep it a little neat, as much as I can anyhow.
 
Well, that's all for now. A few photos below to show what I have been talking about.
 

Parts of PE for the funnel. #30 are the funnel bands and #25 is the smoke deflector. The #11 blade gives you an idea of the sizes I had to deal with. In removing the rings from the PE sheet caused these rings to deform quite a bit.
 

Bands cemented to the funnel shown before dressing the excess cement from the funnel.
 

Funnel mostly cleaned from excess cement and the forward ladder with platform cemented to the funnel. There is a small railing cemented to it as well. The ladder is only tacked to the bands and will be straightened out.
 

Funnel is temporarily placed to the vent housing. I have also cemented the two side platforms to the vent housing. There are also braces cemented to the underside of these platforms. Don't ask me how I managed to get them glued on.
 

This is the railing form I made.
 

This shows the railing nicely formed.
 

These are the support braces for the searchlight platform. Again, the #11 blade for size comparison.
 

The support braces in process of being cemented to the platform. To remove excess cement I took the shank of a small broken drill bit and ground a triangular point to it.
 
Cheers,

Thanks to all who selected the like button, much appreciated.
 
Yes, John, they could very well have been painted white and I can still do it, they are accessible still. Don't forget that these posts are all about work done a few months ago. Thanks for dropping in.
 
Hi Jan, I don't have the lines for the "Celebes" but a comparison picture of her with "Java" on color. As you can see on the below picture, "Celebes" was supposed to have them im enclosed twin turrets and no guns on the side. For the rest she had the same lines.
 
Hello mark, thanks for visiting and yes, a little added work is getting her closer to being finished. I hope I can do a believable sea for the diorama and the gun smoke.
 
Yesterday I showed the semi completed sloops and motor launches, not the finished product. So I took two pics this morning as they now sit on the model.
 

 


Cheers,
 

Hi again to my amigos who are following this journey.  I hope you all have romantic plans for Valentine’s Day.   Dinner with my first mate in the main salon is always a good start.  But enough mushy stuff, here is the latest segment.
 
When I last ended the log, the bow superstructure had been finished up to the Sun deck rail, its deck house built but not detailed or installed.   Above that, the Belividere deck had its deck laid and solid railing applied, but little else.

I first installed the PE railings around the perimeter of the Sun deck, having them meet the railings of the aft stairways.  This was a mistake.  I realized that there was now not much room to work on the main pool which will fit between the arms of the Sun deck.  Although the pool area will be built as a separate assembly off the model, it requires a hollow in the deck to accept the depth of the pool box.  But I had forgotten to plan for it when laying out the Lido deck and now had to cut it in with all the railings, stairways and other fragile details nearby.  I did not want to chance using a power tool since the odds of a catastrophic mistake in the confined space were pretty high.  I therefore took a mini-chisel and slowly dug away at the wood, being careful not to let the handle touch the PE railing or any of the other details, till I had the hollow needed.  I figure I added almost two hours of nervous, unnecessary work to make a hole no one will ever see. 

I made up a test pool and its surround to check that I had adequate depth.  The pool looks OK, but I was not happy with the color or surface of the surround, so Mk.1 will be used only as a pattern.

From there I used my usual techniques to detail the Sun deck house with its windows, doors, handrails and stairways.  On the Belvidere deck the PE railings were installed, along with the staircases at the aft end and their guardrails.  On deck there are two features.  The simple one is, I believe, the radio shack.  The radio antennae and masts sit on its top surface, while the sides are ringed by ridged features that seem to be ventilation louvres that would be needed to cool the equipment. 
     Forward is a ‘D’ shaped raised platform that I would call the ‘monkey deck’ for the ship’s officers, but neither the plans nor the photographs show a wheel or binnacle here.  In fact, unlike earlier ships, there are no telegraphs or other control devices anywhere on deck, even on the bridge wings.  I guess walkie talkies were already in use. There is a tall searchlight platform that will go on top of the monkey deck, and the large foremast mounts just aft of the radio room, but these are details for later. 

This would have been the finish of this segment, but that monkey deck worried me.  Even though its height had been correctly taken off the plans, from most angles it sure seemed too tall.

Looking at an enlarged photo I compared the height of the deck with people who appeared to be standing next to it.  From this it looks about 6 feet tall, or 5mm, rather than the 6.5mm measured from the plans.

Although the piece was already glued down, fortunately the PVA glue was still not fully cured and I was able to pry it up without damaging the railing around it.  I took off the PE stairway and, using my Preac table saw, very carefully removed 1.5mm from the bottom of the piece.   The lowered piece was reinstalled, then the stairway was trimmed at the bottom and reattached.

I think that the piece looks much better, and closer to the photos, even if it is further away from the plans.  Here are the Sun and Belvidere decks as finished.

In this shot from the stern you can see that the aft stairways have solid walls around them which make convenient storage spaces under the stairs.

So here is the completed forward superstructure, with a dime tucked against the rail for a bit of size comparison. 

With these last decks the basic structure of the ship is complete.   The funnel cages show some of what still needs to be done.

Next the detailing begins with the three pools and the bar that looks like a space ship.  More soon.
 
Be well.
 
Dan