Jack12477

I'm still trying to find that mistake ... can ya gimme a hint ??

It seems to have been a long time since my last post, so just to show proof of life here is a quick update.
 
Upper Deck Framing
 
These last few weeks have been a very busy time since returning to work, and so visits to the shipyard have been few and far between.  As the opportunity has arisen, I have kept plugging away at making the various knees, Carlings and Ledges.  Preparation of the Carlings was very similar to that for the Deck Beams, with notches cut on the mill and finished by hand with a chisel. Knees and Beam Arms were all cut on the scroll saw and finished on the Spindle and Disc Sanders.
 
Unfortunately, despite the care that I took in aligning the Deck Beams, Beam No.2 is slightly out, meaning that the Carlings between Beams 1 and 2, and between Beams 2 and 3, are also slightly out of alignment.
 
Here is an overall shot to show progress to date – of course the angle was carefully selected to hide as many imperfections as possible!  This shot was taken immediately after sanding, so some clean-up is still required. The side that will not be planked will also receive a coat or two of Wipe-on Poly in due course.
 

Hi Grant,
 
Slightly out of alignment, must be by a gnats hair coz I cant see it, all I can see is some superb joinery.
 
If your not happy with it then I'll be happy with it for you.    Some great work mate.
 
Take it easy with that four letter word thing mate because you still have a ways to go before you finish w---.   :D    
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

I'm with Mobbsie, Grant. Your idea of a mistake looks like perfection to the rest of us.
 
Bob

There has been very little time lately for modeling but I was able to build the forecastle bulkhead.  In keeping with the rest of the model, I only made the port side and mid-portion of the bulkhead.  I made this up with a center core of basswood sheet.  Costello was then applied to both sides of the basswood to represent the bullkhead and doors.  The edges of the center panels are sanded down to simulate a floating panel.  At this magnification, I must admit that some of the edges look a little rough but when you look at it installed, it really looks ship-shape.  The hinges are brass photoetch from Admiralty Models.  The window is glazed with acetate.  I will not install this until the forecastle beams are permanently glued into place.  Once installed, I will add the edge piece that intersects with the hull and the deck cant into which the bulkhead inserts.
 

 

Toni, so sorry to hear about Sadie. I know how hard it is to make that decision. You have my most sincere sympathy.

Toni, I'm sorry to hear you may have to put your dog to sleep.  As a dog owner I know that's the hardest thing to do, but it's the ultimate gesture of love shown to your pet.  You never want to see  them suffer.  I don't look forward to the day when I will have to make that decision for my dog Toby.

System, thank you for sharing your picture of Sadie with me.  Hopefully my Sadie will be able to pose for the camera soon.  
 
Thank you everyone for your kind comments and thanks for all the likes.  The good thing about a recuperating dog is that they sleep a lot.  So I got in a little workshop time today.  With something as complex as a stove, one needs to ask how much detail is necessary.  I decided to make the spit holders, the vertical ash grate (the horizontal one cannot be seen once the stove is installed) and the ash bin.  These were made from brass wire and shim brass cut and filed to shape.  I rolled the grate rods between my fingers to get that "used" look.  I left the ring bolts bright just for some contrast.  I may change my mind and blacken them before final installation.  They are only press-fit in place.  The stove and ash bin sit on an iron platform.  I used blackened brass and burnished it to get some color variations.  I am considering removing it as the stove visually fades into the black background when viewed from above.  One must remember, unless I put a fiberoptic scope through a gunport, the only way the stove will be seen is from above.  I will decide in the next few weeks.
 

 

 

 

 

prayers to your dog, here's a picture of our former dog Sadie and My son, who's now 20
Sorry it's not nautical but I'll take the hit/warning as how many other Dalmatians named Sadie do I know

Captain America and Wonderdog
by jr jacobs, on Flickr

Hmm... complementary $15 pedicure for I'm guessing $3000 of veterinary bills. Sounds like a good deal, Toni. It's an axiom among us veterinarians that if there is to be a "complication" it will always be a physician or lawyer's pet. I hope she continues to improve under you home care and remember - she's as likely to eat your new galley oven as she is her treats!

Let me give you an example of life getting in the way.  For the last 8 days I have been dealing with a sick dog.  To make a long story short, my 12 y/o dog stopped eating and was obviously in pain.  Two trips to the vet later, an X ray demonstrated a foreign body in her stomach.  Off to surgery we go.  She becomes critically ill during the night and a repeat X ray was performed.  The overnight vet called to ask why they had only removed one of the two foreign bodies!  Back to surgery the next day to remove the other two foreign bodies.  She has been teetering on the edge of life all week but decided to eat some scrambled eggs today.  They have decided she is depressed and, besides, I am a physician, so she would do better at home.  So now it is six medications, each on a different dosing schedule, syringe feedings and hourly walks since (for the docs and vets out there) she is starting to mobilize the 4 kg of fluids she acquired during her holiday.  At least she got a complimentary nail clip. 
 
For you savvy dog people out there, the middle foreign body is the Daily Growl, a white plastic squeaky toy that she has not had access to in several years. 
 

 
 

Impressive display, Toni.  I love the eggs.
 
Ed

John, Druxey, David and Dave thank you.  The eggs are a fun distraction.  I always keep dyes ready to go in the fridge.  Michael, I did not mean to imply that I built the cases.  We had a cabinet maker build them.  The mere thought of using "big boy" tools makes me shudder.  Now if there was a kit...  Actually we have built furniture but it was always provided pre-cut as a kit.  All that was required was assembly and the finish.

Hi All,
 
OK.  So I played, had fun and finished this little boat. There's not much to say about what was done to finish.  The sails were made and installed with the running rigging.  In the last picture of the cockpit, notice the cam cleats.
 
Now on to other boats.
 
Bob
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 

None of these are mounted yet, I want to get everything that goes on the bulwarks in, before I install anything that may get in the way of accessing the bulwarks.

Yes, my experience with ME is they don't accurately count the small parts - I've come up short a lot. Altho their customer service is really good about replacing missing/shorted parts.  AL on the other hand supplies too many small parts (so I usually have extra parts for the parts bin).
 
Ken your model is looking great, in fact 10,000 times better than the one I co-built with a friend a few years ago (it was his kit so he has the "finished" model)
 
Re: cannon - rig them off ship first with hooks, then install to ship and hook the lines to the rings, and snug them up. I did not use hooks when I did it and it was a living hell getting those lines rigged to the rings. Big fingers don't work to well in cramped quarters. As I recall MS' instructions were a little vague on how to rig the cannons and I made the mistake of not using hooks.

And it's probably the 4 hours you guys on the west coast are sleeping !    That's not much of a customer service then.

And it's probably the 4 hours you guys on the west coast are sleeping !    That's not much of a customer service then.

And it's probably the 4 hours you guys on the west coast are sleeping !    That's not much of a customer service then.

Mark, you have far more patience and tolerance than I do! That machine would have been packed up and shipped back to MM with a request for refund. Thanks for the review tho, it's very informative.
 
Regarding your email to tech support: Very professionally stated by you, so they should not have taken offense. I suspect they do not have have in-house tech support and have to farm the questions/emails out to either the OEM or a third party vendor but they should have sent you a response saying that. There is no excuse for not responding to a customer.
 
If I ever need any custom laser cutting work done, I will definitely call Chuck.

Yes, my experience with ME is they don't accurately count the small parts - I've come up short a lot. Altho their customer service is really good about replacing missing/shorted parts.  AL on the other hand supplies too many small parts (so I usually have extra parts for the parts bin).
 
Ken your model is looking great, in fact 10,000 times better than the one I co-built with a friend a few years ago (it was his kit so he has the "finished" model)
 
Re: cannon - rig them off ship first with hooks, then install to ship and hook the lines to the rings, and snug them up. I did not use hooks when I did it and it was a living hell getting those lines rigged to the rings. Big fingers don't work to well in cramped quarters. As I recall MS' instructions were a little vague on how to rig the cannons and I made the mistake of not using hooks.

Thanks Tim. The deck above it will certainly obstruct some. I have to work out how much I cover and how much is left open. I am hoping that once I start working on the main deck beams I will be able to figure out how much will be obstructed. I will not be fully planking the main deck, so I do have some control. If I fully plank beneath the cannons it would cover up nearly all of the cabins so I will need to be creative in how I approach the planking on the main deck.

Working away on hull details and sorted out the sheaves that go through the hull walls. I decided to make a length of sheave profile using 1/32" stock forming a hollow rectangle shape. I then carefully cut a slightly undersized rectangular hole through the outer hull wall and then very carefully enlarged the hole to fit the profile. Then with a small drill bit drilled the four corners into the inner wall and cut it to size. 
The profile end was primed,sanded and then painted with green paint and inserted into the hole to fit flush with the inner hull surface. Once fitted it was CA'ed in place and when set placed masking tape around the profile to protect the painted hull surface and cut the outside length off. With masking tape still in place the exposed surface was sanded,primed and painted yellow. Tape removed and painted to blend with surface. Three more were repeated using the same profile part.
Here is a picture of the profile inserted.

Here is the finished outside of the sheave.

 
Next I started adding eye bolts . The kit has two sizes so I added the larger ones to the outside bow and side surfaces since they seemed too large for inside application and not enough of them.
 
I then added the small eye bolts down the waterway and sheer plank and outside transom per kit plan instructions. Keep in mind the bowsprit (4) and foremast (8) have these already added. I then thought I would start at the center gun port as a pattern for the rest and added the 4 rings to eye bolts on either side; then two on the planksheer on each side of the gun and finally the eye bolt and ring towards the center of the deck. I then looked at the remaining bag of eye bolts and thought not enough there in the bag. Sure enough the Bill of Materials said a bag of 120; counted out the the ones I used and the remainder in the bag and totaled just 80 not 120. Then quick math told me that 22 x 7 = 154; not enough to begin with. Emailed Model Expo and they should send more so I will just finish out with what I have.
Here is a picture of the gun port pattern. If I am understanding correctly the ropes are attached with hooks to these rings. Feedback would be appreciated.

 
Back to eye bolts and rings.
 
 
 
 
 

Mark, you have far more patience and tolerance than I do! That machine would have been packed up and shipped back to MM with a request for refund. Thanks for the review tho, it's very informative.
 
Regarding your email to tech support: Very professionally stated by you, so they should not have taken offense. I suspect they do not have have in-house tech support and have to farm the questions/emails out to either the OEM or a third party vendor but they should have sent you a response saying that. There is no excuse for not responding to a customer.
 
If I ever need any custom laser cutting work done, I will definitely call Chuck.

Mark,
One of your pictures shown an item submersed in water in a bucket??!!
Please tell us more about it?
This is interesting!