Piet

Thanks Carl and Denis for dropping by and your comments. Also my thanks to all who clicked the like button.
Yeah Carl, a typical pick for a photo op. There always was either a non-com or an officers to "supervise" but actually to "motivate" the crew. That reminds me of what my father told us. A couple of Indonesian sailors were painting a part of the hull from a scaffold over the side. He caught them napping so he cut one rope and they fall into the water. Great commotion because most the Indonesians can't swim. So my father threw a life preserver to them.
 
Today's post is for days 46, 47, 48 and 49 which brings us to February 22, 2018.
After a late start I tried my modified drill bit in my mini drill motor and it worked just fine, almost no wobble. So I commenced drilling the two holes in the gun receiver. I diluted my thick CA to make it less globby and cemented both barrels into the holes.
Next I cemented the crew seats to the platform and it to the plastic base. When the cement had cured I cemented the curved guide to the base and then the receiver with the barrels pointing skyward, scaring the Jap pilots - not. They cleverly stayed out of range.
 
Day 47: Completed the first Bofors gun by cementing the gun sight to the receiver and the railing to the platform. This pretty much finishes the first gun and is ready for cleaning and paint. I figured to wait with straightening the railing out till after the assembly is painted. The material of the PE is rather soft and delicate, the slightest touch causes a distortion.
 
Day 48: I was able to complete all four Bofors in the same method as my first one. They are now ready to be cleaned and painted but not today.
 
Day 49: Cleaned the Bofors with enamel reducer, air dried them and painted with rattle can grey primer.  After the primer had dried I painted all the Bofors with medium grey paint.  Scraped some of the brown deck paint from the AA gun deck for the guns. Instead of using CA I mixed up some two part epoxy cement. I wanted some extra time to position the guns just so. Instead of pointing them all in the same direction I decided in different sections of the sky simulating the guns in individual firing mode. It looks rather sharp this way and I am happy with the results. 
Okay, we are now ready to start work on the 15 cm canons. Not today but tomorrow I hope.
 

The gun barrels. At this magnification you can see the details clearly, quite well done.
 

The receiver being drilled.
 

The base. The center U shaped part is where the receiver will be cemented.
 

The gun-sight.
 

The crew platform and curved gun receiver guide cemented to the base with the rest of the parts to follow.
 

The proto type Bofors assembled and ready for dressing, cleaning and painting. I'll wait till all four are completed.
 

Four 40 mm Bofors guns. I staged them in different positions for an overall view. The railing is still in need of more adjustments.
 

The Bofors cemented to the AA gun deck
 

Overhead view.

40 mm shell boxes for the Bofors, photographed by Kevin Denlay. As previously explained Kevin is the first diver on Hr. Ms. Java's wreck. This location is on the AA gun deck.
 
Cheers,

Skylight fixture....
Progress on the skylight fixture is coming along very slowly.  The brass railing has not been cleaned up yet, and I haven't added the stanchion footings.
After I finish gluing the brass bars in place, I'll try to find a way to assemble all those little parts.

It might be playing to you, but it looks like artwork from here.  Nicely done with interesting imagery.

Thx. Just playing

Thx..Only wather

Nice study, what do you use for transparency, Nenad?

Damn Nenad!!!!
 
That’s a mighty fine piece of art you’ve made there.
 
I like it!
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Waiting for full recovery, dropping antibiotic in my eye, I try not to expose it to dust, so, Her Najesty has to wait to the my next medical control.
In mean time, another hobby is active
Acrylic paints, experimenting with their transparency

 

Good morning Piet
 
LOL a few months time and everyone will be moaning it is 25 C
 

Denis,
 
As OC just said - splendid indeed. Your center finish is over the top perfect. Awesome detail!!
I might have missed it, what did you use for the perfect looking caulking between planks? Looks superb.

Such splendid work you are doing there, the planks sit so nice together.
 
OC.

Thank you Lawrence for visiting and your kind words. Also my thanks to all who clicked the like button,
 
This post is for days 54, 55 56 and 57, which brings us to March 12.
All these days involve mainly the installation of all the deck railings with some associated items.
Day 54 on March 6 I planned on cementing the stern deck railing but needed to think about it a little first. You see, the PE parts are made to fit between the aft main deck gun platform and the depth charge launching ramps at the fantail. Here then is my dilemma, None of my photos of "Java" show these ramps, nor the flagpole at the fantail. I already looked for a longer PE railing I can use to close the fantail. But then I thought, why not cement the railing meant for it and add a simulated cable type addition as I have seen on a few photos. These railings are foldable anyway so my thinking makes sense. 
I need to do some more thinking on it.
 
That brought my attention to the bow railing but before I can install any railing i needed to install the refueling rig on the main deck. It would otherwise make it too difficult to do. I needed to drill a small hole in the deck for the supplied brass rod where the PY support rigging is to be attached to. In reality this is quite a complicated rig but at this scale Boris did a real nice job simulating it. A shame that it kinda gets lost due it's small size.
 
Day 55 on March 9, I started to cement the forward railing. I started at the bow first with a small dab of cement and let it harden, then slowly bending the railing following the curve of the bow and tack cemented it as I went along to the end of that railing. Next I followed through with the thin CA along the bottom of the railing. I used the same method for all the railings, which proved to be working real fine for me. At least I had no damage to the railing. 
I also cemented the small flagpole against the forward side of the AA gun deck rangefinder house.
Now the flag. Boris supplied two small decals with the kit but can't use them as a flag - - - or can I?  So okay I tried and soaked the decal in some water and slid it off the paper, folded it around the flagpole and bingo I had the flag. Problem is that it's just too delicate and I can't make the flag wave in the breeze. So I gently brushed some thin CA on it, let it harden a little and then made a few folds in it. As long as nobody touches it it'll be fine.
 
Days 56 and 57 were occupied with cemented the rest of the railings to the ship. The # 9 gun deck was a little difficult due to the ladders going up. I had to improvise with some spare longer pieces because of the gaps for the ladders but in the end it worked out just fine. Next was painting them following the camouflage scheme on the hull.
I'm rather pleased with the railings. Below are a few pics of the railing project. The next installment will show more on how they look.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,
 

Thank you Lawrence for visiting and your kind words. Also my thanks to all who clicked the like button,
 
This post is for days 54, 55 56 and 57, which brings us to March 12.
All these days involve mainly the installation of all the deck railings with some associated items.
Day 54 on March 6 I planned on cementing the stern deck railing but needed to think about it a little first. You see, the PE parts are made to fit between the aft main deck gun platform and the depth charge launching ramps at the fantail. Here then is my dilemma, None of my photos of "Java" show these ramps, nor the flagpole at the fantail. I already looked for a longer PE railing I can use to close the fantail. But then I thought, why not cement the railing meant for it and add a simulated cable type addition as I have seen on a few photos. These railings are foldable anyway so my thinking makes sense. 
I need to do some more thinking on it.
 
That brought my attention to the bow railing but before I can install any railing i needed to install the refueling rig on the main deck. It would otherwise make it too difficult to do. I needed to drill a small hole in the deck for the supplied brass rod where the PY support rigging is to be attached to. In reality this is quite a complicated rig but at this scale Boris did a real nice job simulating it. A shame that it kinda gets lost due it's small size.
 
Day 55 on March 9, I started to cement the forward railing. I started at the bow first with a small dab of cement and let it harden, then slowly bending the railing following the curve of the bow and tack cemented it as I went along to the end of that railing. Next I followed through with the thin CA along the bottom of the railing. I used the same method for all the railings, which proved to be working real fine for me. At least I had no damage to the railing. 
I also cemented the small flagpole against the forward side of the AA gun deck rangefinder house.
Now the flag. Boris supplied two small decals with the kit but can't use them as a flag - - - or can I?  So okay I tried and soaked the decal in some water and slid it off the paper, folded it around the flagpole and bingo I had the flag. Problem is that it's just too delicate and I can't make the flag wave in the breeze. So I gently brushed some thin CA on it, let it harden a little and then made a few folds in it. As long as nobody touches it it'll be fine.
 
Days 56 and 57 were occupied with cemented the rest of the railings to the ship. The # 9 gun deck was a little difficult due to the ladders going up. I had to improvise with some spare longer pieces because of the gaps for the ladders but in the end it worked out just fine. Next was painting them following the camouflage scheme on the hull.
I'm rather pleased with the railings. Below are a few pics of the railing project. The next installment will show more on how they look.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,
 

Beginning to look like a boiler. Nice looking front.
 
Cheers,

Thank you Lawrence for visiting and your kind words. Also my thanks to all who clicked the like button,
 
This post is for days 54, 55 56 and 57, which brings us to March 12.
All these days involve mainly the installation of all the deck railings with some associated items.
Day 54 on March 6 I planned on cementing the stern deck railing but needed to think about it a little first. You see, the PE parts are made to fit between the aft main deck gun platform and the depth charge launching ramps at the fantail. Here then is my dilemma, None of my photos of "Java" show these ramps, nor the flagpole at the fantail. I already looked for a longer PE railing I can use to close the fantail. But then I thought, why not cement the railing meant for it and add a simulated cable type addition as I have seen on a few photos. These railings are foldable anyway so my thinking makes sense. 
I need to do some more thinking on it.
 
That brought my attention to the bow railing but before I can install any railing i needed to install the refueling rig on the main deck. It would otherwise make it too difficult to do. I needed to drill a small hole in the deck for the supplied brass rod where the PY support rigging is to be attached to. In reality this is quite a complicated rig but at this scale Boris did a real nice job simulating it. A shame that it kinda gets lost due it's small size.
 
Day 55 on March 9, I started to cement the forward railing. I started at the bow first with a small dab of cement and let it harden, then slowly bending the railing following the curve of the bow and tack cemented it as I went along to the end of that railing. Next I followed through with the thin CA along the bottom of the railing. I used the same method for all the railings, which proved to be working real fine for me. At least I had no damage to the railing. 
I also cemented the small flagpole against the forward side of the AA gun deck rangefinder house.
Now the flag. Boris supplied two small decals with the kit but can't use them as a flag - - - or can I?  So okay I tried and soaked the decal in some water and slid it off the paper, folded it around the flagpole and bingo I had the flag. Problem is that it's just too delicate and I can't make the flag wave in the breeze. So I gently brushed some thin CA on it, let it harden a little and then made a few folds in it. As long as nobody touches it it'll be fine.
 
Days 56 and 57 were occupied with cemented the rest of the railings to the ship. The # 9 gun deck was a little difficult due to the ladders going up. I had to improvise with some spare longer pieces because of the gaps for the ladders but in the end it worked out just fine. Next was painting them following the camouflage scheme on the hull.
I'm rather pleased with the railings. Below are a few pics of the railing project. The next installment will show more on how they look.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,
 

Nicely done Kevin. I would think that nonskid is applied in areas of most expected traffic, so it looks like you may have nailed it.  The only nonskid I ever painted was on aircraft wings
Hhhmmmmm, snow eh, that's a dirty 4 letter word here in Florida, today was only 82 F or 28 C. This meant yard work for Pieter.
 
Cheers,

Thank you Lawrence for visiting and your kind words. Also my thanks to all who clicked the like button,
 
This post is for days 54, 55 56 and 57, which brings us to March 12.
All these days involve mainly the installation of all the deck railings with some associated items.
Day 54 on March 6 I planned on cementing the stern deck railing but needed to think about it a little first. You see, the PE parts are made to fit between the aft main deck gun platform and the depth charge launching ramps at the fantail. Here then is my dilemma, None of my photos of "Java" show these ramps, nor the flagpole at the fantail. I already looked for a longer PE railing I can use to close the fantail. But then I thought, why not cement the railing meant for it and add a simulated cable type addition as I have seen on a few photos. These railings are foldable anyway so my thinking makes sense. 
I need to do some more thinking on it.
 
That brought my attention to the bow railing but before I can install any railing i needed to install the refueling rig on the main deck. It would otherwise make it too difficult to do. I needed to drill a small hole in the deck for the supplied brass rod where the PY support rigging is to be attached to. In reality this is quite a complicated rig but at this scale Boris did a real nice job simulating it. A shame that it kinda gets lost due it's small size.
 
Day 55 on March 9, I started to cement the forward railing. I started at the bow first with a small dab of cement and let it harden, then slowly bending the railing following the curve of the bow and tack cemented it as I went along to the end of that railing. Next I followed through with the thin CA along the bottom of the railing. I used the same method for all the railings, which proved to be working real fine for me. At least I had no damage to the railing. 
I also cemented the small flagpole against the forward side of the AA gun deck rangefinder house.
Now the flag. Boris supplied two small decals with the kit but can't use them as a flag - - - or can I?  So okay I tried and soaked the decal in some water and slid it off the paper, folded it around the flagpole and bingo I had the flag. Problem is that it's just too delicate and I can't make the flag wave in the breeze. So I gently brushed some thin CA on it, let it harden a little and then made a few folds in it. As long as nobody touches it it'll be fine.
 
Days 56 and 57 were occupied with cemented the rest of the railings to the ship. The # 9 gun deck was a little difficult due to the ladders going up. I had to improvise with some spare longer pieces because of the gaps for the ladders but in the end it worked out just fine. Next was painting them following the camouflage scheme on the hull.
I'm rather pleased with the railings. Below are a few pics of the railing project. The next installment will show more on how they look.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,
 

Thank you Lawrence for visiting and your kind words. Also my thanks to all who clicked the like button,
 
This post is for days 54, 55 56 and 57, which brings us to March 12.
All these days involve mainly the installation of all the deck railings with some associated items.
Day 54 on March 6 I planned on cementing the stern deck railing but needed to think about it a little first. You see, the PE parts are made to fit between the aft main deck gun platform and the depth charge launching ramps at the fantail. Here then is my dilemma, None of my photos of "Java" show these ramps, nor the flagpole at the fantail. I already looked for a longer PE railing I can use to close the fantail. But then I thought, why not cement the railing meant for it and add a simulated cable type addition as I have seen on a few photos. These railings are foldable anyway so my thinking makes sense. 
I need to do some more thinking on it.
 
That brought my attention to the bow railing but before I can install any railing i needed to install the refueling rig on the main deck. It would otherwise make it too difficult to do. I needed to drill a small hole in the deck for the supplied brass rod where the PY support rigging is to be attached to. In reality this is quite a complicated rig but at this scale Boris did a real nice job simulating it. A shame that it kinda gets lost due it's small size.
 
Day 55 on March 9, I started to cement the forward railing. I started at the bow first with a small dab of cement and let it harden, then slowly bending the railing following the curve of the bow and tack cemented it as I went along to the end of that railing. Next I followed through with the thin CA along the bottom of the railing. I used the same method for all the railings, which proved to be working real fine for me. At least I had no damage to the railing. 
I also cemented the small flagpole against the forward side of the AA gun deck rangefinder house.
Now the flag. Boris supplied two small decals with the kit but can't use them as a flag - - - or can I?  So okay I tried and soaked the decal in some water and slid it off the paper, folded it around the flagpole and bingo I had the flag. Problem is that it's just too delicate and I can't make the flag wave in the breeze. So I gently brushed some thin CA on it, let it harden a little and then made a few folds in it. As long as nobody touches it it'll be fine.
 
Days 56 and 57 were occupied with cemented the rest of the railings to the ship. The # 9 gun deck was a little difficult due to the ladders going up. I had to improvise with some spare longer pieces because of the gaps for the ladders but in the end it worked out just fine. Next was painting them following the camouflage scheme on the hull.
I'm rather pleased with the railings. Below are a few pics of the railing project. The next installment will show more on how they look.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,
 

Thanks Piet,
 
yes, it works well with making the gun-tackles seperately, I did all the 40 boat tackles for my KWdG davits also this way and could reflect to that procedure again....
 
Nils

Thank you Richard and Patrick,
 
with respect to the cramped deck conditions it is hard to understand how these ships could carry 200- 400 men (depending on size)of the ship). 
I already had problems to believe that the Swan Class sloops could carry a crew  of up to 300....
I found this nice article on the web, describing a chebecs characteristics...
 
Nils
 
Xebec (Chebec)
GALLERY
Posted on October 28, 2012
 The xebec owes much of its design to the earlier galleys of the Mediterranean. The root of the name probably comes from an Arabic word for small ship, and is rendered into English in three forms: xebec, chebec, and zebec, though the word exists in many other languages as well, indicating its popularity (or at least knowledge of its existence) in the rest of Europe.
These ships had long narrow hulls, and were fitted with oars like their galley predecessors. They were intended to be fast and maneuverable, whether under oar-power or under sail.
17th and 18th century Christian shipping in the Mediterranean was threatened by the Barbary corsairs, who were Muslim pirates based in Northern Africa. The vessel of choice for these pirates in the early days was the galley, whose oars allowed them to overtake merchant vessels caught in light wind. But as time wore on, the trading nations responded to the threat by deploying warships to tackle the corsair problem. Galleys were swift and carried many men, but were not designed to stand up to the broadsides of modern warships.
In response, the Barbary Corsairs evolved their galleys into a new design that would stay competitive with the warships sent against them. In order to mount broadside guns, they widened the hull for extra deck-room and stability, and they removed many or all of the rowers to make room for broadside guns. These changes shifted the motive power of the vessel away from oar-power and onto the three huge lateen sails. And thus, the graceful and distinctive form of the xebec was born.
 
Their foremasts are typically raked forward, while the main and mizzen were either straight or raked slightly back. The massive lateen yards were so large that they were frequently composed of two spars lashed together — more like masts than typical yards. Most xebecs did not have a bowsprit, but their beakheads frequently featured a long prow.
A few of the western nations tried square sails on the xebec’s mainmast and sometimes even the mizzenmast. The square-rigged mainmast would have topsails and even topgallants, and the mizzen would have a square topsail (while still maintaining the lateen lower-sail). A xebec rigged this way was known as a Polacre-Xebec.
Commonly, though, the standard lateen rig for xebecs had a single triangular sail on each mast, and had none of a square rig’s topsails or topgallants. The lateen rig offered many advantages over the square rig, the most significant of which was the ability to pinch far closer to the wind than square sails could. This meant they could both quickly catch up to and quickly flee from square-rigged vessels when sailing close to the wind.
 
The corsairs favored the xebec for its speed and maneuverability, and for its shallow draft which also aided in escaping larger vessels. These qualities were recognized by many of the European navies, and the vessel was quickly adopted into the Mediterranean squadrons as commerce-raiders and anti-piracy cruisers. As warships, xebecs mounted as many as 36 guns on their topdeck. Depending on the weight of the guns, this made them competitive with naval sloops of war, and even with some of the frigates of the day.
The xebec under sail was a beautiful sight, and it is said that the design was one of the fastest and most agile in the Mediterranean. Some of the same qualities that made it so successful in light seas also made it unsuitable for rough weather. The low freeboard and the shallow draught made the vessel vulnerable to swamping, and it would roll heavily on anything more than moderate waves. Thus, the advantages that the xebec has inland make it a poor choice for open-ocean sailing.
 Xebecs were also lightly-built vessels. Unlike the massive, bulky timbers of ships of the line, xebecs were delicate and graceful. They were gazelles, not war-horses. Their tactics in battle reflected this. Xebec captains were loath to engage a foe of equal armament in a gun-battle. Instead, they relied upon their speed, maneuverability, and sweeps to pick their battles, and deposit large numbers of boarders on the decks of their enemies.
The xebec’s qualities of speed and shallow draught, and the ability to sail extremely close to the wind, are highly prized by traders as well — particularly those engaged in the coastal trade and its close cousin, smuggling. While it requires a somewhat larger crew, and has a smaller cargo capacity than other vessels of similar size, its sailing characteristics and combat ability make it an excellent choice for those interested in a swift and powerful coastal vessel.
Mediterranean corsairs greatly favored xebecs and purposefuly built them with a narrow floor to achieve a higher speed than their victims, but with a considerable beam in order to enable them to carry an extensive sail-plan. The lateen rig of the xebec allowed for the ship to sail close hauled to the wind often giving it an advantage in pursuit or escape. The use of oars or sweeps allowed the xebec to approach vessels who were becalmed. A corsair xebec would have carried a crew of 300 to 400 men and mounted perhaps 16 to 40 guns according to size. In peacetime operations, the xebec could transport merchandise. Its draft allowed it to hide in shallow coves, and escape from heavier pursuers over reefs and shoals. Even the huge lateen yards were useful during boarding where they could be dropped onto the victim’s deck, creating a makeshift bridge for the boarders to clamber across.
 As swift and ferocious as these vessels were, xebec captains were constantly aware of their many limitations. The same sails that gave them such an advantage while sailing were extremely vulnerable to dismantling fire. It only took losing three yards to leave a xebec dead in the water. In addition, xebec hulls were light and sleek, and they didn’t hold up well under heavy fire. Even their shallow draft had a downside, as they sailed poorly in rough weather and high seas.
Xebecs were sometimes employed as light warships in the national navies, often to combat these pirates and privateers who also found the vessel so appealing. And in fact, the same sailing characteristics that make xebecs so suited for the hunt are also appealing to coastal traders who value speed and draft over cargo capacity.
 
 
 
 

Thank you Lawrence for visiting and your kind words. Also my thanks to all who clicked the like button,
 
This post is for days 54, 55 56 and 57, which brings us to March 12.
All these days involve mainly the installation of all the deck railings with some associated items.
Day 54 on March 6 I planned on cementing the stern deck railing but needed to think about it a little first. You see, the PE parts are made to fit between the aft main deck gun platform and the depth charge launching ramps at the fantail. Here then is my dilemma, None of my photos of "Java" show these ramps, nor the flagpole at the fantail. I already looked for a longer PE railing I can use to close the fantail. But then I thought, why not cement the railing meant for it and add a simulated cable type addition as I have seen on a few photos. These railings are foldable anyway so my thinking makes sense. 
I need to do some more thinking on it.
 
That brought my attention to the bow railing but before I can install any railing i needed to install the refueling rig on the main deck. It would otherwise make it too difficult to do. I needed to drill a small hole in the deck for the supplied brass rod where the PY support rigging is to be attached to. In reality this is quite a complicated rig but at this scale Boris did a real nice job simulating it. A shame that it kinda gets lost due it's small size.
 
Day 55 on March 9, I started to cement the forward railing. I started at the bow first with a small dab of cement and let it harden, then slowly bending the railing following the curve of the bow and tack cemented it as I went along to the end of that railing. Next I followed through with the thin CA along the bottom of the railing. I used the same method for all the railings, which proved to be working real fine for me. At least I had no damage to the railing. 
I also cemented the small flagpole against the forward side of the AA gun deck rangefinder house.
Now the flag. Boris supplied two small decals with the kit but can't use them as a flag - - - or can I?  So okay I tried and soaked the decal in some water and slid it off the paper, folded it around the flagpole and bingo I had the flag. Problem is that it's just too delicate and I can't make the flag wave in the breeze. So I gently brushed some thin CA on it, let it harden a little and then made a few folds in it. As long as nobody touches it it'll be fine.
 
Days 56 and 57 were occupied with cemented the rest of the railings to the ship. The # 9 gun deck was a little difficult due to the ladders going up. I had to improvise with some spare longer pieces because of the gaps for the ladders but in the end it worked out just fine. Next was painting them following the camouflage scheme on the hull.
I'm rather pleased with the railings. Below are a few pics of the railing project. The next installment will show more on how they look.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,
 

Nicely done Kevin. I would think that nonskid is applied in areas of most expected traffic, so it looks like you may have nailed it.  The only nonskid I ever painted was on aircraft wings
Hhhmmmmm, snow eh, that's a dirty 4 letter word here in Florida, today was only 82 F or 28 C. This meant yard work for Pieter.
 
Cheers,

Nicely done Kevin. I would think that nonskid is applied in areas of most expected traffic, so it looks like you may have nailed it.  The only nonskid I ever painted was on aircraft wings
Hhhmmmmm, snow eh, that's a dirty 4 letter word here in Florida, today was only 82 F or 28 C. This meant yard work for Pieter.
 
Cheers,

Thank you Denis and Nils for your visit and comments. Also to those who clicked the like button, thanks.
 
Yes Nils, this scale has been a challenge, mainly due to the very delicate PE. I'm not afraid working at a small scale but this PE stuff is difficult.
 
Here is another photo of "Java" taken from the Australian cruiser "Hobart." This was most likely in Lampung Bay on February 14, 1942, one day before the action in the Gaspar Straits. (From the collection of J.A.Dorlas).

Cheers,

Hi Nils
 
Oustanding!!!!  I must say, that I wouldn’t want to have been a sailor on that boat....talk about ‘cramped’...!
 
Cheers.
 
Patrick