David Lester

Good Morning Everyone and Happy Friday, 13th!

 

A little update on my Ontario progress -

I've been spending a lot of time on the stern and it's coming along quite nicely. I'll have some pictures in the next post.

 

Concurrently, I've been working on some other bits and pieces.

I've assembled the cannons and carriages and they have all come together very nicely without problems of any kind. In the past I have sometimes found the carriages a bit tricky, getting the cannon to sit a the right angle, etc, but I've had no trouble with these ones at all. There are two different sizes - 14 larger ones for the gun deck and six smaller ones for the upper deck.

 

I finished off the boat, which I scratch built, basing it on the pinnace from my Constitution build, but detailing the interior for the Ontario.

 

And lastly, I've made all the masts and yards. As you would expect, these were as straightforward as could be. No real need for much explanation. As is often typical, the mast tops and cheeks are provided.

 

I wasn't sure what shade of yellow the stripe on the hull and the masts should be and I know from experience that no matter what shade I settled on myself, I would be convinced that there was another shade out there that would have been better and why the heck didn't I choose it instead. Since this is a British ship, I decided to order the admiralty paints that Caldercraft provides. So the masts and stripe are their "yellow ochre" and the gun carriages are their "red ochre." This way, I won't second guess myself. I wasn't as concerned about the black, but since I was placing an order anyway, I also got their "dull black" which you can also see.

 

 

 

Next time, I'll have some pictures of the stern.

Thanks again for your interest.

 

David

 

 

 

Paul, I built the bulwarks in sections off the model as well. For some reason it seems to be a good method for this particular model.

David

Don, It sounds like you got the same kit as I did, with the 3d stern pieces as standard and not any wooden ones. As I understand it, the kit is now produced with wooden parts for the transom and galleries as standard and the 3d parts are available to purchase separately. I don't know if the wooden parts are laser cut or to what degree the components have to be made, but I suspect at least part of them are laser cut, because Zoran told me that the photo etched windows will fit the wooden parts well, even though they don't fit the 3d parts very well. I'm not sure why the photo etched windows would ship with the 3d parts when they aren't a good fit. I tried to make them fit, but it was difficult to do because quite a bit had to be carved away from openings on the inside. The resin is quite brittle and fairly easy to break (especially the gallery pieces.) After Zoran suggested that I might be happier with scratch built windows, I tore them out and made new ones from my stash of 1/32 x 1/32 stock. They aren't quite as elegant as the photo etched ones, but at least they fit well. If you choose to use the 3d pieces, you'll be able to make them work ok, and when veneered with thin wood, they look quite good. It's just a bit tricky figuring out how to attach them to the hull.

David

 

 

 

Thanks Bob!

This was my favourite kit to do of all the ones I've done. I'm sure you'll enjoy doing it too.

My CWM now resides at my son's house.

Thanks again,

David

Don, I meant to mention something for your benefit in my last post, but forgot to. If you are thinking about getting this kit in the near future, I believe that Zoran is now packaging it with wooden components for the transom and galleries, rather than the 3d printed ones, which will still be available for purchase separately if you thought you wanted them. However, as beautiful as the 3d printed ones are, I would stick with the wooden ones. Because the resin ones are rigid and can't be altered, they are very unforgiving. This means you have to build the hull to them, rather than the other way around. Normally if your hull varies slightly from the plans or (as if often the case with me) from side to side, you can accommodate it by adjusting the stern pieces slightly. This is not an option with the resin pieces.

 

I know you have built a few Maris Stella kits before, so you might not find some of the things to be problems that I have. It might in part just be my unfamiliarity with their kits and plans. I have build MS kits almost exclusively, and as a result, my experience might not be as broad as it could be. There is a certain similarity to all kits produced by one manufacturer.

 

I am really thankful that I have been in communication with Zoran, who takes such an interest. He has been a great help. I know this will be a nice model in the end.

David

Hello Everyone,

I have been working away on various elements of this build, but I've been a little bit all over the map, so I don't have too much that's too concrete to show.

 

I've finished planking the hull and I'm happy enough with the result (remembering that I'm a "wood filler and paint" kind of builder.)

 

 

I have been in regular communication with Zoran at Maris Stella and he has been very helpful with some of the problems I've encountered. I'm really appreciative of his interest and help.

 

I hesitate to show you any further pictures as they show things in process and look pretty rough, but here goes nevertheless.

 

The kit ships with exquisite photo etched windows, but I could not make them fit into the transom and gallery openings very well. Zoran indicated that they will fit more readily into the wooden pieces that now ship as standard with the kit, rather than the 3d printed pieces that I have. So I made new ones from stipwood. They aren't as elegant as the photo etched ones, but at least they fit the openings well. In addition I have veneered the window frames, which will look ok when all sanded and painted yellow ochre. (I realize that the windows need a bit more sanding/filing and at least one more coat of white paint.) When finished, these three pieces will be virtually entirely covered with wood and should look ok.

 

 

 

I've also been working on the boat. The system that the kit comes with involves carving a form out of a block of balsa wood, attaching  the keel, stern and stem posts, then planking it and finally removing the carved form. I found that I simply could not make this work at all and had decided to abandon the idea of a boat altogether when it occurred to me that it was almost exactly the same size as the boat  on my Constitution. The two models are different scales, but the two boats are nearly identical in size and shape.

 

The Constitution uses a method, that I think I've heard referred to as "bread board" and I have always found it easy to do. So I hauled out my old Constitution plans and build one from scratch. I glued up strips into boards and then cut out the six layers.

 

I remembered a trick I read on this forum, (but forget just where) about how to carve out the interior of the boat. Once the layers are glued up, cut the boat in two lengthwise and shape the interior profiles separately. It's much easier to do in two pieces than in one. Then glue it back together and shape the exterior profile.

 

I detailed the interior to match the Ontario rather than the Constitution and it's going to work just fine. I still have paint touch up and a bit more detailing to add.

 

 

 

So that's where I'm at so far.

 

It's been raining most of the week here, so little leaf raking has taken place, but it's supposed to be clear tomorrow and as they are almost knee deep already, I think I know what my Friday is looking like.

 

David

 

That's great - it's perfectly clear to me now.

Thanks,

David

OK, I've got it now. Joe, your are right - they're the top gallant shrouds. It's just that the plans are so poorly drawn and components not identified that it's quite difficult to figure out what's what. You have to rely on your own knowledge and experience, (and of course, I seem to have to learn from scratch with each model! I even have to look up how to tie a clove hitch every time.) I may take your advice and substitute an eyebolt; I'll see how it goes when I get to that point.

 

Allan - thank you - I'll check out Lees' Masting and Rigging. It may be well worth the investment. I have the Petersson and while it's quite clearly drawn, every time I refer to it, it seems to illustrate something that I already know and skips over exactly what it is I'm looking for.

 

Many thanks,

David

Hi Allan,

The difference between "version a" and "version b" is simply the way the deadeyes are attached to the mast top. Version a uses the photo etched part shown just to the right. Version b (which isn't shown here) omits it and uses a piece of wire instead. Both versions show both the deadeyes in front and the bullseyes behind.

 

The only thing I can think of, without really knowing, is that instead of the deadeyes being rigged in pairs, each is rigged individually, with the shroud running up from the deadeye, wrapped around the mast and down again to the bullseye behind. I don't know, I'm just guessing. In any case, I think I'll be leaving that detail off. Even if it is correct, I'm sure I would end up with a very cluttery mess if I include it.

 

The rigging plans for this kit are so vague and unclear, and as I am beginning to suspect so incorrect that I'm going to have to ignore them almost completely and rely on other sources. For example, there isn't a single belaying point indicated anywhere on the plans and there are at least two too many stays shown between the main and fore masts and two or three too many between the fore mast and bowsprit. I can't even imagine what these stays would be. They don't even show how they're supposed to be attached. It's like someone just took a pencil and drew lines at random and it's quite a mess.

 

I think I can find enough references for a brig rig to be accurate enough for my purposes (the only audience I have really is my wife and me,) but I don't know to what degree the fact that this is a snow brig changes things.

 

Anyway, I'll continue to scour the internet to see what I can find. Any all input is welcome and appreciated.

Many thanks,

David

Have you tried Modellers' Workshop in Montreal? (www.modellers-workshop.com)? They carry it. It's not clear from the website if it's in stock or not, but worth a shot if you haven't tried them already.

David

I'm not anywhere near the rigging stage of my HMS Ontario, but I've been looking over the plans, trying to iron out the many, many questions that are arising. Here is the first of what I anticipate will be many.

 

Maybe I'm revealing my ignorance by asking this, but I have not run across this before and I simply don't understand it.

 

Here is the diagram of the lower deadeyes on the main mast top:

 

 

 

 

It shows two bullseyes rigged together with the lower line appears to be wrapped underneath the deadeye.

 

Here's the mast at the mast top:

 

 

The deadeyes and shrouds appear to be rigged in the usual way. It also looks like the pair of bullseyes is behind the deadeyes,  (red arrows) but I don't understand what they are, nor where the line they are securing originates. It would seem that the line marked with the green arrow is the right line, but if I follow it up it just disappears in an indecipherable mass of black lines where the shrouds converge. Do these lines wrap around the mast in the same way as the shrouds?  I have never run across this before. Is this something unusual or am I just displaying my limited experience? In any case, I'm curious about what they are and how and where they originate. Can anyone shed any light? Many thanks,

David

Good Morning,

I now have the hull planked from the wales down. I'm afraid it's in my usual ham fisted style. Despite having build a number of models, I have never really gotten better at it. Oh well. If the hull is double planked, I don't really care too much about the look of my first layer. If the hull is single planked, I always have a decision to make as to whether I can live with the job I did or if I need to apply a thin second planking, which is what I did on my Pride of Baltimore. I used .5 mm strips for the second layer and the result was ok.

 

 

I think I could have lived the results on this model if it were not for one problem. I think there is a design flaw in the profile of the hull at the bow. The prototype shows a nice rounded shape at the bow as you would expect, but on the kit, from about the third bulkhead forward and from about half way down the hull, the shape was actually concave! There was a huge indentation that was simply too great to ignore.

 

At first I though I had done a poor job of fairing in this area, but I don't think that's the case because I did the minimum amount of fairing possible to achieve a smooth run, and I discovered that the problem was exactly the same on both sides. It seems that the second and third bulkheads are not nearly "full" enough and taper inward far too much.

 

I "fixed" the problem with about a bucket of filler and was able to reshape the hull into an acceptable profile, but of course I now know I will be double planking. I've ordered some .5 x 5mm strips which will finish off the hull without adding too much bulk.

 

 

I don't know about this kit - I know many people say great things about Maris Stella, but this one has been a struggle from the get-go.

 

David

Good Morning Everyone,

I'm working on the gun ports. I'm not sure if other kits work this way or not, but this kit suggests interior planking first, then attach the framing for the gun ports to the planking. This method is working extremely well. I used thicker framing than needed, so I could sand it down to the profile of the bulkheads.

 

Despite my complaints about the plans not showing all the detail that I would like, I have to admit that where they are clear, they are very accurate. The measurements taken from the plans match my hull really well.

 

 

There is also a number of sweep ports along each side. Since they will be closed, I'm not opening them up, but rather putting solid blocks in their locations, so I can interrupt the planking and attach the "door" easily. There's a nice piece of photo etched brass to use for the hardware on each one.

 

I have decided not to finish most of the gun deck, as it will be invisible once the upper deck is in place. Because of that, and because the stern and gallery windows are so large, I decided to install a solid bulkhead near the stern, as well as "shadow boxes" at the gallery windows to create a cleaner look. My interior work in this area is a bit of a mess, so flat black paint is the obvious solution!

 

 

I've taken a hard look at everything that is yet to come on this build and I believe that I now have all of the confounding issues behind me, (apart from the questions I still have on the rigging, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.) It appears that it will be straightforward from now on.

 

Thanks again for checking in.

 

David

 

 

Hi Andy, I considered all kinds of solutions, but in the end I think these blocks are the simplest. I've now secured it with a brass rod running through each block and into the deck and it's really very stable. I won't glue them however until I'm sure that I'm ready to add the transom permanently. I also drilled through where the blocks connect to the counter and placed brass rod in there to help secure those joints.

 

I can carry on now with some confidence that I won't have a nightmare with the planking at the stern.

David

 

I'm jumping ahead a bit to take a look at the transom. One of the "features" of this kit is the 3d printed transom. I'm far from ready to attach it, but I could see some problems looming, so I wanted to develop a plan to solve them ahead of time.

 

The transom and galleries are designed so that they can be laminated with wood planking. I've started that process and I have to admit it works really well and I believe that when I have the wood fully sanded and stained/painted it should look pretty good. (Yellow, of course, need touch up.) I've gone as far as I can with the pieces off the model. The rest of the planking will have to wait until the pieces are mounted on the model, so that the corners of the planking will meet properly.

 

 

The big problem with the pre-formed transom is that there appears to be no way to attach it. There is no underlying structure of any kind. It just shows the hull planking ending where it meets the transom at the sides. The upper deck meets the transom just above the windows but there is nothing to support it at all. You can see where I have glued a small block of wood on each side of the transom between the sets of windows in order to give me something to glue the ends of the hull planks to. I will have to do something similar just above the windows to attach the false deck to.

That odd bit that you see on the back of the stern post, is supposed to be used as a guide to position the transom, then it's supposed to be cut out.

 

I had to come up with an idea of what to do, so I shaped a couple of blocks and glued them to the inside of the transom which I will later glue to the gun deck. The hull planking has to end at the stern by butting up against the transom. In order to get the length and profile of each plank correct, the transom should really be in place, but I don't want to install it prematurely. I would like to get much of the rough work of planking and sanding the hull finished before added the more delicate transom. I think I will drill the blocks and temporarily secure them to the deck with pins which will hold it in place when I need it, but let me remove it before I'm ready to install it permanently.

 

 

 

I'm really beginning to wonder if anyone, including the manufacturer, has actually built this kit. There are no photographs of it anywhere, neither the finished model, nor the building process. The only photographs they provide are not those of this model kit, but rather the scratch built prototype built by John Andela at the Art of the Age of Sail. While the finished scratch built model looks essentially the same as the kit, I know from his videos that the method of construction is entirely different.

 

Anyway, I shouldn't complain; I told myself I wanted a challenge!

 

Thanks for looking in, likes etc.

David

Planking the gun deck -

So the adventure continues with this kit. It's so different from the others that I've build, I feel like I'm flying blind.

 

I think I mentioned in any earlier post that the decking comes all pre-cut, tapered etc. You cut the pieces out of a billet. Below is the billet with the gun deck planking all removed -

 

 

The system works in theory, but it's quite a different matter in practice. The pieces include a "frame" which comprises the nibbing strakes, which is infilled with the decking planks. It's like a jigsaw puzzle. In a perfect environment, they all fit together with impressive accuracy, but the problem is, there is absolutely no margin for error. There are four pieces to each side of the outer frame and they all fit together with scarf joints and of course they have a curve. If any of them is misplaced by even a millimetre then the whole thing falls out of whack and nothing will line up on the other side or at the other end.

 

In addition, there's the problem of having to sand each plank. As you can see in the photo, there are the little bits that attached each plank to the billet and they have to be sanded off. The least variation in how much you sand affects the fit and the effect is cumulative.

 

 

It's normal to start planking in the centre and work out to each side, however I felt that if I did that this time, I would have a poor fit on each side where the last planks meet the outer frame. So this time I started on the port side and worked across the deck, my thought being that I would have to adjust only on one side.

 

I got a good fit all the way across at the bow, but by the time I got to the stern, here's what the fit looks like -

 

 

It's hard to believe how quickly the errors in placement compound and I can't imagine how to compensate for them. Nevertheless I got a passable result in the centre of the deck which is the only part that will be visible when the upper deck is in place. Even so, due to sanding inconsistencies, I was short by almost the width of one plank, and because all of the joints are pre-determined there was no way to maintain the staggering of joints at the spot where I inserted the extra plank.

 

 

I was pretty sure these issues would arise, but I decided to proceed anyway, because about 95% of the gun deck is completely obstructed from view by the upper deck. There's only one area that's open and the life boat is over top of that, and I made sure the planking looked ok in that area, so I figured I couldn't do too much harm. My thought was if the right approach to this planking method became apparent in this "practice" run, then I would use it on the upper deck. But at this point I don't believe I can successfully plank the upper deck using this method, so I have ordered some wood and will plank the upper deck in the more usual way.

 

I'll report again when I discover the next surprise!

 

David

Hi Paul,

Many of the Model Shipways kits just call for putting the planks directly on the bulkheads. As I recall that never caused me too much trouble, but it can be a bit tricky keeping it smooth and level and it certainly can cause problems with your planking pattern as you don't necessarily want your planks always ending on a bulkhead. For my POB, I chose to use a solid subdeck first. It gives a really nice smooth flat surface to plank on and you can easily place the plank joints wherever your pattern calls for. However, as you mentioned, thickness is a concern on the POB. The planking is 1/16" thick and it you add a subdeck, you will probably be too high. I ordered a 1mm sheet to make the subdeck and .5mm strips to use for the planks which worked out about just right. Together they are just under 1/16". The .5mm planking from Cornwall Model Boats is quite inexpensive so I ordered a ton of it. I ordered both 3mm and 5mm widths. I bought both their cherry and tanganyka. I wasn't sure which colour I would prefer, but when it came the two were indistinguishable. It finished really nicely, but I had to be careful sanding, it's easy to go right through!

 

I like the colour of your hull.

David

Thanks everyone for checking in -

I've started in on this project and trying to get used to its idiosyncrasies. On the positive side, the pieces fit together with much more precision than I am used to on Model Shipways kits, but on the other hand already there have been some pitfalls which I have managed to catch, but I am worried about the ones further down the line that I miss until it's too late.

 

The stem, keel and stern went together beautifully -

 

 

They attach to the false keel and fit virtually perfectly. The false keel is 4mm thick and the keel/stem/stern assembly are 6mm thick. I tacked a 1mm strip down both sides of the false keel to help position it correctly -

 

 

 

I would have expected the kit to include a thin walnut strip to fit along the bottom of the keel, but there was nothing even close in size. So I used a piece of basswood that I had that was the right thickness, but I had to sand it down to the right width.

 

There are two pieces that are held in place by two of the bulkheads which receive the ends of the two masts. These are not mentioned in the instructions and it takes a bit work to even find them in the plans. They have to go in at the same time as the bulkheads or else it's too late.

 

 

This one is for the fore mast

 

This one is for the main mast, but look where it's located. Right in the middle of the bulkhead. That bulkhead will have to be cut out to accommodate the mast!

 

Similarly, I discovered that some serious adjustments have to be made to accommodate the bowsprit -

 

The part marked BH comes as one piece, but it needs to be cut in two and a large opening made it in. Also, the first bulkhead has to be cut, otherwise there is nowhere to put the bowsprit, which passes through the upper deck and rests on a bitt on the lower deck.

 

Otherwise, it's progressing nicely. There are horizontal strips that tie the bulkheads together and they fit so precisely that it's amazing. Once I have all the bulkheads in place and the strips glued it, it should make for a quite rigid structure.

 

The odd location of the bulkhead where the main mast goes caused me to look ahead at the gunports and how they're located vis-a-vis the bulkheads. I actually found a casual reference to it in the instructions, which suggested that it might be possible to find that a gunport opening was obstructed by a bulkhead  (as if it was something that might or might not happen!) It looks from the plan that it is a certainty.

 

Anyway, that's all for now.

 

Thanks again,

David

Here's what I did -

I searched for images of wood grain, then printed gold lettering (I didn't worry about the carved aspect of the lettering). For the yellow, instead of painting the wood yellow, I printed yellow on a piece of paper and printed red lettering on it. Then I combined the two and glued them to the stern and coated them with some varnish.

 

 

 

 

I did the same for the star on the bowsprit, this time searching for images of patinated copper and stars. I re-coloured the star and combined the two images

 

 

 

It takes a little bit of trial and error on the computer getting the curve in the lettering, spacing etc. as close as possible to the real thing.

That's one idea at least.

David

 

 

 

Hi Andy,

Thanks for your input. I am aware that this is a snow brig. I'm just not sure how much that affects the rigging compared to a regular brig. The area of the kit's rigging instructions that is weakest, (apart from lack of belaying points shown) is in fact the lower main yard. I was looking at the on-line manual for Caldercraft's Badger, because it is a British brig of approximately the same period and it indicates that its lower main yard is rigged like a crossjack, so I'm really interested in seeing your input about this detail. The main question for me is the braces. There are none shown on the plans at all and I can't believe that there wouldn't have been any. I believe if the yard was rigged like a crossjack, then the braces would lead forward from the mast. If this is not how this yard should be rigged, then I assume they must lead aft, then through a sheave in the hull and belay to an inboard bulwarks cleat. Does that sound right I'm not sure if I'm ready to spring for a copy of TFFM just yet, they all appear to be pretty expensive. Anyway, this is all far in the future for me as I have much to do before getting to that point.

David

Good Morning All,

So, I bit the bullet and ordered this kit from MarisStella. I couldn't believe how quickly it came. I ordered it on a Wednesday and it was on my doorstep the following Tuesday. It was shipped with DHL, which I had heard was the best courier for international shipping and I can see why they have a good reputation. This kit was expensive, especially when adding in shipping, duty, taxes and all in Canadian dollars. I have not looked at the VISA bill, so I don't know what the actual total was and my wife and I have tacitly agreed not to discuss it.

 

I don't normally bother with showing the parts of the kits, but I thought it might be of interest this time, since this is such a new kit.

 

There's a large manual - it has very little in the way of written instructions, but is mostly computer generated images that take you through the process. They will require a fair bit of scrutiny to follow, but appear to be quite comprehensive.

 

Here is a sample page:

 

 

There are four sheets of plans - two for the hull and masts and two for the rigging:

 

Many sheets of laser cut parts. Here are just a couple of examples:

 

 

 

This kit has an interesting and different (to me at Least) approach to the decks. I don't know if other MarisStella kits use this method or if it's unique to this kit. The two decks - gun deck and upper deck each comprise a thin sub deck over which is laid the actually decking. However, in this case all of the decking planks are pre-cut, tapered, joggled etc. You can see the decking planks in the top sheet in the picture below. I'm not sure yet how successful this will be, so I will find out.

 

 

Strip wood, dowels and blocks: stripwood is walnut and lime, blocks are balsa.

 

Appropriate set of fittings - the blocks are standard issue, but there some very nice parrel beads, cannon balls, hearts, bullseyes etc.

 

There are many photo etched parts, which look very nice.

 

And of course, the most interesting aspect of this kit - the 3d printed components. The cannon barrels, windlass, anchors all make a welcome change from cast metal and I expect will paint up really well. The more "controversial" parts are the stern components and the head rails, which you would normally expect to see made from wood. I have always hating making head rails, so I won't mind just having to paint these ones, but on the other hand it's going to require some precise modeling as I have to ensure that they will fit. When you scratch build them you can always alter them to fit the hull; I won't have that luxury this time, but on the other hand if they really don't fit at all, I can always make some new ones from wood.

 

With the stern and galleries, the idea is that you plank the flat surfaces with thin planking, and only the painted trim work of the resin component will be exposed. This will be a bit of an experiment and we'll see how it goes. Again, if it's a complete and utter failure, I can always scratch build these parts.

 

The kit provides for a fully finished gun deck and suggests using one of two options - either closing in the upper deck completely in which case none of the details of the gun deck would be visible or leaving a large portion of the upper deck out, exposing much of the gun deck. I am leaning towards fully closing the upper deck, but haven't decided yet. In any case, I will fully plank the gun deck as good practice for using the pre-cut decking planks when it comes to the upper deck.

 

Until I start building, I won't know what all the pitfalls will be, but at this point, I can identify one huge problem and that is the very poor rigging plans. There is no mention of the rigging and no illustrations of it whatsoever in the manual and the rigging plans are very sketchy. I don't like to complain or find fault unnecessarily, but I can see that this is going to present me with a real challenge. I have become pretty good at following Model Shipways rigging plans, which I find to be quite comprehensive and easy to follow. But here, lines seem to begin and end at random, no line is labeled and not a single belaying point is indicated. The rigging plans are virtually incomprehensible and I'm not even sure of their accuracy - for example at a quick look, it appears to me that there are a least one too many stays on both masts, certainly more than are shown in the photographs of the finished model. So, I am going to have to be resourceful and round up other sources for details. I have never build a brig before, so I'm not too sure how much it differs from other ships.

 

The original model was researched and built by a model maker named John Adela, whose business is called The Art of the Age of Sail. I was surprised to discover that he's located only about 30 miles from me. I have contacted him and he has offered to help me with any specific questions, but I can't be pestering him on a routine basis, so I'm going to have to discover some other sources. John suggested that British brigs of this period were rigged very much like British three-masted ships of the same period which is helpful to know. I know I can buy plan sets for American brigs from Model Shipways, which might be of some help, but I'm not sure how much they might differ from the British ones. Also belaying points look to be unique on the Ontario - there are only fife rails, no pin rails. Instead there are many cleats mounted to the bulwarks. Any suggestions that anyone has about where I should turn would be more than welcome.

 

I spent the day yesterday "retooling" my shop by which I mean cleaning up all the detritus from my previous build, so I'm ready to get started.

David

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks again all.

Bob Hermann - it hadn't occurred to me to put the gaffs in the lower position until a friend sent me a video he took of Bluenose II motoring with no sails up and the gaffs were lowered. So I decided to show my model that way too. I think it's a good option for the Bluenose because it really shows off the rigging and the many large blocks of the peak halliards.

Bob Garcia - lucky you for having made it to Lunenburg last year. We saw Bluenose in Ontario last September on the Tall Ships Challenge and we decided to make a trip to Lunenburg this year, but you know what occurred and we never made it.

David

Thanks guys!

I am the world's worst maintainer of build logs. I forget to take pictures until I realize that I am quite a way along since my last update and then for some reason, the longer it goes, the harder it seems to be to do the update. So better late than never, here are some pictures of my completed Bluenose.

 

To be honest you haven't missed much during the rigging as this is a pretty simple model and the rigging couldn't be more straight forward. There isn't too much of it, and there are no unique problems to overcome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The trickiest thing about this kit is deciding how to handle all of the metal work on the rigging. I've chosen to eliminate much of the metal work as I doubted my ability to recreate it well enough. I did use some around the mast tops and I made some turnbuckles.

 

One detail that I did choose to include was the use of internally stropped blocks, which I purchased from BlueJacket and they seem to recreate the look of the original Bluenose quite nicely.

 

I can see why the Bluenose is such a popular kit. Apart from being a very handsome model, it isn't too difficult to do, doesn't take too long to do, but at the same time is a very satisfying.

 

So now that this one is done, I have decided to jump off the deep end and launch into a challenging new build - the HMS Ontario from Maris Stella. I had been unaware of this ship until reading about it on this site, and I find it to be of interest because it's so local to me. I live a five minute walk from the shore of Lake Ontario and it's only about 40 miles across the lake to the site of the wreck.

 

So far, I have built Model Shipways kits almost exclusively and have gotten pretty comfortable with them. So I expect the Ontario will present some new challenges for me which I am looking forward to.

 

David

That should work Paul. Just be careful not to get the stanchions mixed up. It's very easy to do; the differences are minimal, but fairly crucial.