Jack12477

the outside world does take it's toll.  doesn't it.     not to worry my friend...it will always be here when you get back.   I have found that the kit color scheme isn't totally correct.   this kit has some really nice detail.........with the trove of information out there,  I see no reason not to define the colors for the next person who builds this kit.   although just a tad smaller,  I'm sure that the Revell kit would benefit from this as well.   I still wish that some of the molded detail {bollards,  hold walls, etc.} wasn't molded onto the parts.   it would be easier to do texture work to the decks...with the way they are molded,  I'd be concerned with creating paint piling in the corners and such.  thanks for the good word,  my friend 

ohhhhh wait.....what about those chrome parts I've been soaking?  well.....I checked them,  and they look ready.   so, I brought them all to the kitchen counter and set up the plastic bags again.   pulling them out one by one and scrubbing them with the stiff brush,  they cleaned off well enough to be thrown in the tub of soapy water.  when I was done,  everything was triple bagged and thrown in the trash.   the parts are tiny......I used a strainer to rinse them off after washing.
 

 
when they were dried off.....this is what they look like now.   I used a dime for reference.
 

 
the A deck when I turned it over.........
 

 
some assembly was done to the fore deck......four of the capstans and two of the hold covers.   I'm kinda miffed about the hold covers.   clear parts are nothing but pure styrene......the hardness hasn't been compromised by the addition of color pigment or additives.  even though I took care to get them off the sprue,  marks can still be seen.
 

 
...and of course,  the A deck with all the clamps off of it
 

 
there are some small part to go on there yet........then I can get going on the boat deck.   I will continue with the fore deck, and begin work on the stern.   the fore deck has two lengths of chain {plastic} that needs to go on there........I want to sub in a couple pieces of actual chain.   I have been looking for a good picture of the chain routing.........if anyone has one,  I'd be pleased to see it.......can't find one out there,  anywhere!   {so far....anyway} 

Thanks Russell.
 
First job is to get the Plug ready. This comes in 3 pieces, two hull halves and a removable piece in the middle to enable it to be removed from the framing later on. I drilled two 1.2mm holes through all three pieces whilst holding the whole thing together in the vise. Then I inserted two lengths of brass wire to keep everything in line :
 

 

 
I gave the plug a light sand to remove any lumps and bumps. Due no doubt to some limitations in the casting process the grooves for the frames weren't perfect, so I used a narrow chisel blade to scrape them out :
 

 
 Danny

whoa.........74 inches!!!  must be the Warrior that's 51 inches.  one of these days Gary......I hope to attempt a build that size.  glad to hear you have that site to work from 
 
 
I hope to do something like that with the handrails.......they are like that throughout the entire ship.   there's quite a bit too!   I like the color of the decks.  the sand that is still on there does give it some different hues.   I did the fore deck and the stern.......came out pretty good.  these two deck should be slightly darker due to the different woods used.   spotty progress today,  but I did get something done.   I'll post the progress soon.
 
at the moment,  everyone's clammering for food...........better go man the grill 

Welcome guys .
 
I remarked earlier on that there were no Instructions for making this boat.
 
Thanks go to David Antscherl who emailed me the complete set . He'd pulled the Instructions from the Admiralty Models site when the Timbering set was no longer available.
 
I don't know how I'd have got on without them - there are 19 pages of beautifully written instructions, complete with pics and plans. I expected nothing less .
 
 Danny

Danny, just pulled up my chair to watch your build

Boy, that's one enthusiastic little ship builder.  Go for it, Cricket!
 
John

Greetings, one and all.  We have visitors here for the summer, including my grand daughter Cricket (aka Kimber, but Cricket will suffice).  Some of you may remember her from a couple of years back assisting with my Harriet Lane build (see the post here for a "then" view http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/48-harriet-lane-by-trippwj-model-shipways-1144-scale/?p=747).
 
Well, after landing here in Maine late last night, then driving the 2.5 hours to our home, she asked if she could help build a ship model.  Well, since none of the ones I am working on are at a stage where she could dig in, I offered her the opportunity to build her own ship model.  She accepted, and has begun work on a Phantom that has already had the hull shaped by her uncle.  Rechristened the Elsa, she is now underway!  So, here is where we are as of just now:
 
Hull faired, she has sanded it thoroughly and just applying the primer.
 

 

 

 
I am hoping to keep her interested and moving along on this build - we have 6 weeks to get some good progress done!

Jack:
MSW members are Associate NRG Members. 
You will need to show MSW in the NRG Member # space on the form.  In order to verify that you are in fact a MSW member and thus an Associate NRG Member we will need to know your MSW ID - yours being Jack12477.  Yours will fit in the space completely but others may need to add it in the margin if mailing the form.  If calling the office, just tell Mary your MSW ID.
Hope to see you and a lot of the MSW members in Mystic.
Kurt

Thank you all for the likes and compliments, especially from those who followed the entire oddessy from the beginning.  I am glad if any of the explanations of my own methods and techniques made another modeler's efforts a little easier.
 
Here is a final photo of the model being crated for shipping.
 

 
I hope to get down to the museum for the installation.  If so, I'll post a photo or two.
 
Be well
 
Dan
 
 

No No you have it backwards Pud is training Danny,   Pud could see that Danny needed more practice on those parts so gave Danny a bit of a push, you have to understand how a cats mind works.
Perhaps a large mosquito net shrouding the bench area might cover for the lack of a door Sir.
 
Danny every time I see your rigging I realize just how much there was to sailing these early vessels. You are doing great work in detailing these areas.
 
Michael

Things are moving right along now and I think I see the light at the end of chapter nine’s tunnel (or maybe it’s the headlights of oncoming traffic    ).  For the letters making up the ship’s name I decided, since there was more than one photo-etched set, to double them up to make the letters a little thicker.  This was done by removing one whole set of letters and gluing it on top of another set.  I also liked the spacing of the letters so I removed them as a whole.   The letters were given three coats of paint and allowed to dry thoroughly.
 

 
 
To apply the letters to the hull, first I wrapped a 1/16” square wood strip, about 1” long, with painter’s tape sticky side out.  I then pressed this strip to the painted side of the letters.  Next, using a nice little flush cut nipper that I recently purchased, I carefully cut the letters loose from the part of the photo-etched sheet that was holding them together.
 

 
To affix the letters to the ship I sprayed the back side of the letters with a spray-on-adhesive and then pressed them into position.  After a minute or two I carefully removed the wooden strip. In the long run I don’t know if all that effort was really required to set the letters but the name appears to have come out okay.
 

 
After the name was applied I installed the stern gun port lids.  Please note that I installed these ports with the ship upside down and the picture has been rotated 180 degrees hence the gravity defying lid ropes.
 

The laser cut main and fore channels were removed from the basswood sheet and sanded to remove the char.  Eye bolt shanks that were cut off the eye bolts used to make the gun port lid handles were used for pins set into the channels to help secure them to the ship.
 

 
To help locate the holes in the channels for the eye bolts used for the rigging I made copies of the channels from the drawings to use as patterns.  The port channels are shown on sheet 1and the starboard channels are on sheet 8.  The patterns were cut out and placed over the channels and the holes were drilled at the appropriate locations.  The eye bolts were not installed until the channels were glued to the hull.
 

 
The channels were painted and glued into position.  I found it easier to mark the location of the channel pins and to drill the holes in the sheer strake with the ship upside down but then installed the channels with the ship right side up.  The eye bolts were glued into the channels after the glue set over night.
 

Yes, I do remember using DuPont's Simonize Car Wax and there was another one that also contained Carnauba wax which I also used but can't remember the name

I'm now onto the hull planking starting with the first of the two wale layers. I made sure that each plank fit nicely into the stem to avoid as much sanding as possible. I don't have the clamp and glue technique sorted out yet so I just worked my way aft by hand and glued two or three bulkheads at a time. Although the wale location was previously marked, I did make some tiny adjustments as I went along. This was especially true where I had to ensure that both wales end up at the same location where the break of the counter and square tuck meet.
 

Wonderful job on those.  But they are not fake, they are simulated !

Augie, Thank you for the kind words. The inspiration for this idea is from several of you, including you Augie.

And thank you George and Jack .
 
The Main Braces start at an eyebolt above the quarterlight. The halyard then reeves through the pendant on the yard, back through the fixed block near the taffrail, and belays to the aftmost timberhead :
 

 

 
 Danny

Beautiful work, Danny. Thanks for the explanation also.

That's some lovely work Danny! So precise! 

Beautiful work, Danny. Thanks for the explanation also.

Thanks George. Maybe it's because they are among the last bits of rigging you fit? . I still have a few more to go, as I've found it easier to start at the stern and work forward.
 
Braces
 
I've fitted most of the Braces, which control the fore-aft swing of the yards. I've come to a slight stand-still as I've run out of 0.3mm line (I'm less than 1 metre short, but have to wait a week or so to get some more from Chuck).
 
The first ones to fit are the Topgallant Yard Braces, starting with the Mizzen mast. These are seized around the yard without a Pendant (all topgallant braces are similar). The brace runs through a double block fitted near the peak of the Gaff, through a lead block hooked to the taffrail, and belays to the quarterdeck rail :
 

 

 
Next come the Mizzen Topsail Braces. The halyards are attached to the strop of a block each side of the peak of the gaff, reeve through the blocks in the pendants, back through the first blocks, and belay off in similar fashion to the topgallant braces.
 
The Main Topgallant Yard Braces run through Pendants hitched around the Mizzen Topgallant Mast. The brace goes straight down to deck to belay to the quarterdeck rails :
 

 
The Fore Topgallant Yard Braces run through the pendants attached to the Main Topmast Stay, forward through two blocks hooked to the aft end of the fore top, and go to deck to belay at the cleats either side of the Belfry :
 

 

 

 
The Main Topsail Yard Braces make use of a Pendant clove hitched around the mizzen mast just above the Crossjack. The standing ends of the halyards are hitched to the strops of the pendants, reeve through the blocks in the pendants on the yard, back through the first block, and belay to cleats at the foot of the mizzen mast :
 

 

 
I can fit the Main Braces, but the other two Fore Braces will have to wait until my rigging thread arrives.
 
 Danny

They look great Danny! I don't know what it is about that phase of rigging, but every time I see the vangs go up, it seems to give the ship that finished look.  I feel bad for Pud though, with all that temptation always staring him in the face, resistance is futile. 

Thanks guys. I'd keep the door shut if I HAD one - no such luck . Pud stays outside while I'm working on the ship, but we have to let him in overnight (winter and all that ).
 
Vangs
 
The Vangs control the swing of the Gaff. They are clove-hitched around the end of the gaff, and the falls reeve through a lead block hooked to the taffrail and belay to the quarterdeck rail. In these pics the Mizzen Topsail and Mizzen Topgallant Yard Braces have also been fitted :
 

 

 

 
 Danny

Blue Coral, Jack.