Jack12477

We've just returned to Seattle after a few months.
It has been six months since the kind posts of Daniel (Sailor1234567890), Scott Larkin and Jason (Beef Wellington) to this site.  While taking the "Victory" out of mothballs, I've replied by PM.
Peter, many thanks for your remarks.  I'll look for photos on rope coils, or make them, however it may take a bit of time to get organized.
And Jack, thanks for your kind comments, however you are far more experienced than I in model ship building.
There is still work to be done in preparing our real boat for the winter, but I look forward to bringing the Victory back to life.
Cheers, Gil
 
 
The "Victory" mothballed.

Steve, Mark
 
I just bought one this summer from MM on sale for less than $80 (US) based on the recommendations of many on these forums.  Steve you can also use the "nail file" emery sticks you can get in an drug store or grocery - they have a different grit on each side. Have used them for over a year and they work fine. Seem to last quite a while as well.
 
Jack

Bluejacket Shipcrafters sells a blackening solution that I have used for over ten years. Works well. They are a MSW sponsor and you can find their advert on the forums page.
 
Russ

Amazon sells what seems to be a similar product.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Birchwood-Casey-Brass-Touch-Up-3-Ounce/dp/B0000C514O/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1411595890&sr=1-1&keywords=blacken-it
 
And Model Expo will have it in 15-30 days
 
http://www.modelexpo-online.com/product.asp?ITEMNO=AW2

It's time I got around to working on my 18th Century Longboat.  I'm about six months behind my fellow Tri-Club Members.  (I'm a member of the Nautical Research & Model Ship Society of Chicago.)  My excuse? I was finishing up Scottish Maid.  This was my first model -- since I was a teenager, anyway -- and it took me eight years to finish.
 
Granted, my wife and I had two kids during that eight years and there were several years when nothing got done, but still -- start to finish -- eight years.
 
I think it turned out really well, though.  I entered it in the 37th Annual Model Ships and Boats Contest and Display.  On May 18th, it was awarded a Gold Award and I got received the Best Novice Builder Award.  I'm still walking on air.  It was the culmination of a lot of work.  The ship was judged by people who really know what they're looking at and the contest was held in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.  I grew up near there, in Green Bay.  It was like being recognized by the people of my native land.  (For those who don't know, life in Wisconsin, is very different from life in Illinois, where I live now.  I live near Chicago, a city of 2.6 million, about 8 million in the metro area.  Green Bay, when I was growing up, had a population of 47,000.  There is no metro area ... unless cow pastures count.)
 
Anyway, while others in the Tri-Club were making progress on their longboats, I was toiling away on Scottish Maid.
 
 

I have been using Great Planes sticky back sandpaper that was meant to be used on their aluminum hand sander.  I got it from Tower Hobbies. The roll is 12 feet long and cost about $8.00.  I just cut a piece off and stick it to the pad.  It sticks well and the grit lasts longer than the Micro Mark version which is hugely expensive.  I bought this roll when I started the Oseberg and as you can see the roll seems to last forever.
 
  
 
I have had both of these tools for more than 10 years.  The pen sander just chugs along and with no signs of giving up.  I have had to replace the tips over the years because I just wore them out.  The Wahl sander is cordless and I have replaced the battery and now the switch is going south.  I will replace it when it finally gives up but I will probably buy the corded version.

Rich
 
Nice job on the hammocks. Really adds to the model. I have the USS Constellation by AL yet to build; I think I will follow your lead and add them to mine as well. Thanks for the inspiration. Your model is very impressive
 
Jack

In the Spring 2014 issue of the Nautical Research Journal I read a brief review by Kurt Van Dahm (page 69, Vol 59 No 1) of a new tool called a Micro Combo Saw by Unique Master Models of Deerfield Illinois.  It seemed to be exactly what I was looking for in order to make very fine cuts, so I ordered the saw and the Micro Miter Box that was designed for it.  I couldn't be happier with it.  I've shown it to a few other ship modelers, and everyone who has seen it has wanted one, so I thought I'd share it on MSW (I haven't seen any other references to it).
 
The saw itself has a plain wooden handle, and the blades are very similar to 2-edged razor blades. 

 
The blades are .005 inch thick, and have a 'coarse' side and a 'fine' side.  The 'coarse' side is finer than any razor saw I've found.  There are also some spacers included in the kit so you can mount two blades in the handle for parallel cuts.
 

 
Everything comes in a nice storage box.
 

 
The Micro Miter Box has positions for 45, 60 , and 90 degree cuts.
 

 
Since the Micro Miter Box is very small, I made a small holding jig so that I could hold it securely in my vise.  This keeps the miter box from slipping out of my fingers.
 

 
The next picture shows the underside of the jig.
 

 
The saw and miter box are very economically priced, and I recommend them for anyone looking to make fine cross-cuts on small stock.  You can find them on the Unique Master Models website at www.umm-usa.com
 
Frank
 
 
 

At the museum, most of the model you are all building were there. most looked scratch built and old. Some were very big like 7 feet long. One exhibit was the prison ship models made of carved bone scraps by the prisoners on the infamous British prison ship during the American Revoltuion. They were astonishing! It was dificult to take photos because of the lighting so I show a few where the lighting was okay.

Continuing with the braces.
 
We think of rigging as complicated, rather tedious and once done, to be left alone. However, I'm currently reading "The Life of Captain James Cook" by J.C. Beaglehole and I'm intimidated by the fact that in severe gales or storms, Cook strikes the topmasts and yards, only to send them aloft again  when the weather moderates.  Can any of us do that with our models?  Perhaps Grant is the most experienced among us, with his vast experience with broken masts. (Sorry Grant, I couldn't resist). Of course the point is that when one looks at real life experience, rigging takes on a dynamic role with every line serving the ship.
 
This will complete the braces for the mainmast yards and crossjack yard.  Then we can deal with the prodigious excess of line each generates.
 
Main Topgallant Yard Brace. Originates from the mizzen topmast stay collar, passing through the yard block and back to a block on the collar, then to a shroud cleat.
 
 
 
Main Topsail Yard Brace. Originates from the Mizzen stay collar and returns to a block on the mizzen just below the bibbs.
 

 
Main Course Yard Brace.
 

 
Lizzard off the after mizzen shroud.
 

 
The origin at an eyebolt, passing through a block at the rail and belaying to a large deck cleat.
 

 
 

Crossjack Yard Brace.  Braces arrise from the aft main shroud, pass through the opposite yard block and return to the block on the shroud before leading to the pinrail. Note the yards cross each other, seen better in the second photo.
 

 
This completes the braces. 
 
Cheers, Gil

The fun stuff.
Small details that were left unfinished earlier.  The chain from the spectacle plate acted to  secure the rudder when it was unshipped as well as provide another method for emergency steering.  The end was left free to avoid interference with the gun port lids.
 

 
A hook connecting the chain with the line (made from an eyelet).
 

 
Lashing the hook
 

 
28 G. dark annealed wire through a hole in the channel, to allow seizing the line at the eye formed in the wire, and to act as a messenger to pull the line up to the channel.
 

I found the "emery" sticks you can purchase in the cosmetics dept of most drug stores and/or grocery stores to be equally useful as sanding sticks. The usually come in packages of 8-10 sticks.
 
Jack

So I redid those stairs and I like them much better now that you can see the lower deck cannons.
 
Working on finishing up the chainplates. Decided to just go ahead and do all the brass brass and focus on the practice on construction this time around. I"m not going to be painting this ship so I'm just going for modeling and natural woods. On my next ship I  I plan on utlizing paints and will blacken my brass to start trying to get more authentic colors.
 
Question: Gunports on the main deck (top deck) don't get any sort of gunport lid or cover? Do they just stay how they are?
 
What a great hobby.

Moving onward at a nice clip.
 
I finished getting the rest of the deck furniture on. The wheel mounted. Had a tiny bit of trouble getting the line through the deckholes on the wheel. I've noticed it's always the last thing I I try to do for the night that gives me the most trouble. 
 
I didn't like the cannonballs. The way I framed the spaces for them on the box just didn't look right, they were chrome and I would have needed to blacken / paint them, etc. I ended up using left over black metal chain I had from my San Francisco which was already black, was easier to work with and I'm pretty happy with how it looks. On my next one? I'll try to measure and trim better the alleys for the cannon balls and fight with blackening them. I also didn't have enough cannon balls for what I laid out and I wanted my ship to be armed to the teeth!
 
My next step was to place the cannon ports. The kit had me using mahogony strip to make the covers. This wasn't to bad. Dremeling the ports into uniform shape and sanding them went pretty well as well. Gluing brass onto wood is a real pain in the butt and then when I tried to get into drilling holes for the pins on the hinges I admit I got a tinge frustrated. I decided to opt out of that. For all you vets out there you can criticize if you must but I like how the finished product looks, they're small enough and tucked under the rail enough that a bystander won't really be able to tell. I got the ropes to hoist attached and I like that, once again a learning opportunity. ON my next ship I'll approach it a little bit different and I think it will come out better.

Worked on the rudder. I hate doing rudders. It's such a bear. Not truly happy with how it came out, but I am happier with how it came out than I was on my San Francisco so that's good.
 
I also went ahead and put a coat of stain and 2 coats of poly on just the lower hull. I'm pretty much done with that part and that thin mahogony is sooo brittle I got tired of it chipping on me. It's much more sold now.

It's been a bit, but I've been working!!
 
Got the first layer of planking done, second layer of planking done, bulwarks on and planked...and the portholes cut and keep put on.
 
Pros: First layer of planking was pretty easy, kind of nice not having to worry about what it looks like.
Cons: The bulwarks weren't pre-measured or cut and I hda to cut all the portholes by hand. Thank goodness for dremel. 
 
Second layer of planking as a pain in the butt. That mahogony does not like to cooperate no matter what thickness it is. The super thin strip used to do the second layer of planking was finiky on gluing, tended to splinter, and when sanding in several spots I sanded right through and had to execute some repairs.
 
Keel also didn't fit quite perfectly and had to do a lot of sanding to ofset a few little gaps.
 
Overall I think it's coming along though. Worried about getting the rudder on. That part was a little tricky on my last build as well. 
 
 

Side Project: Mantua Naval Cannon
 
In my adventures with the USS Constellation model build I hit a 'road bump.' I happened to be browsing the isles of my local hobby shop and happened upon this little gem. This kit was marked down from $90 to $40 bucks. At a $50 discount I couldn't pass it up. The guy at the shop said a fella had come in and traded in a bunch of old kits, hence the markdown. I left feeling like a winner. I think it's technically a 'French Naval Cannon' but I liked the red, yellow, and black scheme of a Victory style ship so I painted it up that way. I ran out of room on the board so the one rear line isn't exactly accurate, but it works.
 
For giggles I made a few extra little accessory pieces like the power canisters and the cannon bore scraper. I think it came out pretty good. It was just the distraction I needed to get my mind off of tying all those tiny damn knots.
 
Now back to work on the Constellation!!
 
 

Thanks for the suggestion Jack.
I'm not into un-armed ships, if it ain't got cannons I'm not interested.
HOWEVER-That ship you suggest has a pretty sweet looking swivel cannon I've not seen before.
I may have to give that one a shot.

My finished Longboat, a very rewarding and humbling experience.
 
A big thank you to everyone for all your support over the past eight months. You have kept me going when I was seriously in doubt. I know that this wonderful group of people here on MSW will help me to move forward and I look forward to sharing thoughts and ideas with other members in the future.
 
Now, if I could only decide on what to build next?
 

 

 

 
 
 

Having completed the rigging it's on to the oars, anchor and stand to complete the model.
 

 

 

 

Those Ibex are great.   Nice shape too....   heres a source.
 
For anyone reading this since Bettina has already made a choice, the Veritas line of planes offered at Lee Valley are very good, heirloom quality tools as well.  They have a very nice mini-plane and spoke shave set that is a little less expensive than the Lie-Nielsen. 

Slowly trucking right along.... fore cant frames are in and need fairing.  A lot of fairing but that's what I planned.  I'm working on cutting out and fitting the hawse timbers as this is being written.
 
Much research still going in in the background.  Probably more research than work right now...     I fully believe that Mr. Delacroix is spot on about using the Belle Poule monograph for details and rigging which is not what Hahn used.  Hahn used Le Venus which is too late in the period and things were done differently in the planking, rigging, and details area.  Le Renommee is too early with the wales, quarter galleries and stern areas as well some minor details.
 
I fully suspect that Licorne was built originally along the lines of Le Renommee per the bow, stern, wales and gallery drawings I've seen but that there was a major rebuild somewhere before she was captured as she has much of the Belle Poule features.  I'm still sorting out the odd yard dimensions which match Le Venus but not Belle Poule.  Again, this may have been part the transition period so the rigging will probably be the spar and yard dimensions per the NMM (as captured) but use the Belle Poule rigging plan as that seems more appropriate for the time frame.  I still have a long way to go before I even think about rigging, but its something that needs to be sorted out for the hull sheave placement.
 
My plan, subject to change,  is to carry on and once the hull is framed and faired, plank the exterior per the NMM/Hahn drawings with mods from Belle Poule. 
 
By all means, feel free to click the pic for a larger view.  Critiques (negative, corrective, etc.) are always welcome as I'm still trying to get a handle on this beast.
 

Running the risk of filling up this forum with topics about the Shipyard HMS Alert kits, I had to share this. This guys build is just incredible. Shows what you can do with the Shipyard "Laser Cardboard Kit". I just ran across this yesterday and I initially posted it my own own topic about the smaller scale Shipyard kit. I was afraid it would just get buried in there, so moved it to this new post.
 
These are links to the 1:72-scale kit that Janet B is building and I know others are building or interested in building – Ages of Sail just sold another one of these kits just a few days ago, so it got my attention. I see a reference in the build logs to the builder living, or had lived, very close to my location. I'm temped to seek him out, though this stuff was done about 6 or 7 years ago:
 
On a German Site: 1/72 Alert Awesome build log
 
On Flickr: 1/72 Alert Awesome build pics
 
I'm tempted to toss out what I've done so far and to just buy this kit. Nice 5-hole deadeye on that mainstay. Anyone know if that's in the kit or if the builder made it? Nice touch with the served lines and mouse's (mice?) too. I only wish he hadn't put it under full sail on the launch ways... Still, a beautiful job on the model.
 
Clare

Hi Buck
 
Just discovered your build log. This model was my 1st also albeit some 20 years ago. Didn't come out as nice as yours tho. Been enjoying your build. Good luck with the new house. I have a sister who lives in Colorado also ; they live in Lakewood, used to live in Arvada until a "prairie fire" started by some kids burned them out of their house. I was out there in 1977 with the family - toured the whole area - rode the Denver Rio Grande & Western out of Durango to Silverton. Great times.
 
Your workmanship is inspiring. I especially like the effect of the French polishing.
 
Jack