GuntherMT

Keep going...
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

Just dealing with getting products to the customer is not easy today.  Our cost of getting Journals delivered overseas has more than doubled during Covid.  And the time it takes with the reduction of flights between the US and overseas is a big factor.  We have seen shipments sit at O'Hare airport for 6 weeks waiting for a flight - why we are not using normal mail for Journals now.  It routinely prior to Covid took about 90 days to some counties.  Some places are taking a lot longer now.  It has really complicated business for small places like SeaWatch and the NRG.
 

Sides are on and port holes drilled. I checked the prints and added a cabin beam for  top plank support. Then a bunch of sanding to get the cabins to fit flush. My deck planking should cover the bottoms of the cabins. I added a shim on one of the ribs for the deck planks to sit on. Also near the bow, I glued some shims where the ends of deck planks can connect better.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

My Admiral says I have to add some rigging to this ship as well as a reclining figure of Slocum. Now I'll need to find a two inch figure and make it look like a bald bearded man.

Almost there. One concern about the kit: Almost every cherry sheet that contain the frame parts seems to be from a different wood source. So the completed frames vary in colour, grain pattern and hardness. Most sheets were very clean and of good quality while a few had some very ugly black wood defects that were to be seen after removing the laser char. So I had to make several replacements. But the cherry wood will eventually darken over time and that might compensate the colour differences. 


 
The last frames require quite a lot of tapering and  I will do them tomorrow. The frames 1 and 2 are just single futtocks but they have to be tapered from several angles to fit the keel and planking run. I will eventually show them in detail later.
 

 
Stay tuned and save.
 
Andreas 
 

I am currently building the Occre kit of HMS Beagle and noticed an error in the instructions.
The channels for the main mast are attached the wrong way in all the plans, most of the pictures and in the videos. The deadeye chains get in the way of the gunport.

 
The right way looks much nicer:

 
I hope this helps prevent some mistakes!
 
I hope I post this in the right section. If not, feel free to move this topic where it belongs.

I am finding adding the ratlines to the mizzen mast to be very therapeutic and it is a task I am very much enjoying at the moment.
 
I started using the black ratline thread supplied with the kit but I found it difficult to see and adjust the clove hitch knots to get the desired tension in the ratlines. Therefore I have opted to use 0.1mm natural thread which has made the task much easier. I have the option to dye the ratlines black when the task is completed, e.g. by using Indian ink.
 
As can been seen in the photo below I printed out a paper template for the ratline spacing. I also have a small wooden strip of the same width as a double check.

 
I will adjust the position of the ratlines as necessary and then tighten up all the knots once I have added all the ratline lines. I will then apply a diluted pva solution to shrouds and ratlines before trimming away the excess thread and applying the dye.

 
 

Post Three
 
 
 Bringing together keel and frames.
 
 
 
The futtocks are sufficiently firm in the base board, and the frames sit cleanly in the keel slots, so I can move onto the next stage.
 

0838
Support blocks added to the board underside.
 
 
The prime concern now is to ensure that the frames are properly centred in the build board, the keel is vertical and centred along the frames, and the final fixing and tweaking is achieved before the glue starts to set.
 
Chuck mentions in the blurb that there is a little wriggle room in the slots of the build board so the frames can be shifted left or right.
 
 

0839
This does not seem to be the case with my kit, there is no leeway to tweak the Futtocks in aligning the keel along the top.
 
With the Futtocks fixed I am limited to ensuring that the keel is vertical across the top.
 

0843(2)
Sighting along the set up the keel does not sit naturally centred across all Frames.
Warp in the keel is not the issue.
 

0850
The mismatch in aftermost frame 10 is clear to see here.

0851
If Frame 10 is centred it throws several of the others out.

0854
I am reluctant to introduce ‘wriggle room’ into the building board slots but I do need to resolve this issue before I can move on.
 
 
 
 
B.E
Postscript

Having disassembled everything again I think I have found the issue.


The tabs in the board feel ok for removal but from beneath there is no ‘wriggle’ gap apparent. From the top laying the Futtocks on the board there is a gap of around 1mm.

The board slot cut must have a slight inward angle to it top to bottom which prevents the futtock tabs from moving.

I will take a shave off with a micro chisel and try again.

 

 
B.E.

 
 
 

Hello, this afternoon my book arrived, 65 days late. It is worth every penny and day to wait for it. It is a beautiful frigate and in the 1/48 plans it looks huge.

Fill your backyard with epoxy all done up like ocean waves, place the Bismark near one edge and put another 1/200 model of the HMS Hood on the far side of the yard.  🤣

I think so.
 
All I've done is the very basic bevelling with the laser lines, leaving some room to play. Where I've been a little tighter to those lines is where they snug up next to the angled template that guides the upper sides. 
 
I faired the inside of the hull inside the jig, then stripped the jig to clean it.
As soon as the interior of the hull is all built, that is when I'll then fair the exterior.

Guess you live too far away!  It's showing $11 shipping for me.  😁

Another tricky rigging task completed with the addition of the catharpins and futtock staves and shrouds to the mizzen mast. As can be seen in the photo it is not the work of a master but, once again, compared with my last build it is a marked improvement. I found it better to add the catharpins either side of the mizzen mast.
 

 
I found fitting the futtock stave the most complicated aspect of this task but it was not as bad as I first feared. When adding the catharpins I did experiment with using 0.5mm copper wire (as per DelF on Speedy) but I ended up using 0.5mm black thread. The futtock shrouds look OK but there is definitely room for improvement. 

Thank you, Jason,
 I found your insights and tribulations regarding the frames of great assistance, and also a little worrying, good that you are returning to the build.
 
Post Two
 
Prepping the frames.
 
With the keel section completed a simple jig/building board is made to hold the keel straight and prevent warping whilst I attend to the Futtocks and frames.

0759
A slow process but valuable in the sense that it lowers the natural build pace. This is not a project to rush, deliberate movements and soft hands are I suspect essential to avoiding mishaps on this build.

0765
I started with the fore half and found that futtocks J – F required tape over the tabs to give a good fit, and Futtocks E -B required the building board slots easing for a good push fit. The final two Futtocks ‘A’ fitted without attention.
 
 
One slight hitch, I mistakenly glued a Frame O to Futtock A because the incised reference letter was closer to the O than the A frames on the fret. There are two Frames A and O.
 
My error was quickly rectified but I note it as something to watch out for.

0767
The aft half of the Futtock/ frames generally fitted without attention, only a couple required slot sanding and the application of tape.

0819
Before going further I test checked each of the frame bottoms into the keel slots, most needed a pass with the sanding stick to fit in the slots.
 
I hesitated about what to do with the keel slot for Futtock 7. This was narrower because the long central keel slot section was slightly reduced to fit on the keel.
 
I settled on a combination of shaving a fraction off the forward edge of the slot and reducing the frame bottom. I didn’t want to thin the frame bottom too much lest it weakened the structure.
 

0832(2)

0825
Having checked both slots and tabs the parts will now be taken apart and the building board support blocks added to the underside.
 
 
B.E.
04/03/21
 
 
 

Depends on the museum! Some of them are stuck up and you might have some problems but any museum that can recognize quality and skill would grab this build up in a heartbeat. Look up the pictures of the Providence Model in the Boston Museum Of Fine Arts made by Charles Davis and then compare it to the Providence made from the same plans by Alfred Brownell in Mystic Seaport museum.

 
 
Your build is just as nice as either of them and much better than Davis's version. Possibly Brownell's as well.
  

Guess you live too far away!  It's showing $11 shipping for me.  😁

Guess you live too far away!  It's showing $11 shipping for me.  😁

Some great display ideas there.

On figures, I know that Shapeways has a bunch of 1/48 stuff available but I haven't found any figures there that were specifically sailors from this time period.  However, Amati has 6 different sailor figures in 35mm, which works out to between 5'5" and 5'6" in 1/48 scale, which isn't too far off from the average height back in those days.
 
Ships of Scale carries these figures and I ordered 1 of each just a couple of days ago to see how they look and use them for scale on my 1/48 models, you might give them a look!

The deck on WYOMING will be done with 1/16" square basswood strips with 1/16" x 3/32" mast partners. The modeler will determine plank length to show butt joints. I haven't found any documentation that the planks were a consistent length. The photos I have don't show nibbing.
 
 
 

Gun Port Cleanup and Bulwark Prep
 
Some gaps to fill in the bulwarks. I avoid sanding whenever possible. Mask the area.  Fill with plastic wood.  Peel masking tape before drying.  Remove chunks with chisel and smooth with sandpaper.
 
Last few ports were cut with a Tamiya mini saw.  I like to chisel for the practice, however, going forward will use the mini saws.
 
Pattern file used to smooth gun port sides and sill.  Safe sides are helpful.
 
Tip: when working the gun port sides, cut and file from the inside out to avoid tearing the wood fibers on the bulwark board ends.
 
Tamiya razor saw used to cutoff extensions.
 
 

This has been sold. Thank you!
 
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I’m downsizing, and while I love the kit, it’s time to admit that having this unbuilt beauty in my to-do pile is aspirational.
So, unbuilt BlueJacket Shipcrafters CSS Alabama. Kit #6 of 150. Included with it are the following:
 
-          BlueJacket CSS Alabama Photo CD
-          BlueJacket CSS Alabama Paint Set
-          Flagship Models Flag Set
-          Flagship Models 1/92 Civil War Figures
-          Cottage Industries 1/92 CSS Alabama Upgrade Kit, (gun and carriages, rammers)
-          Cottage Industries 1/92 Civil War Gun Crew
-          Cottage Industries Scale Rope, (for the Swivel Gun Carriages)
-          Caldercraft 1/92 Navy Figures
-          Lauck Street Shipyard Practicums, (Planking and Small Boats)
 
PayPal Goods and Services preferred, and it’ll ship UPS w/no International Shipping. Looking for $550 and I’ll need to calculate shipping.
 
Thanks for looking!

I've purchased holly boards from Domex Hardwoods.  Excellent quality, nice bright white.  Biggest is 5/4.  Prices on par with Gilmer but better selection.

The deck is Finished! I airbrushed some matte topcoat on. Love that airbrush. The hobby shop guy talked me into trying a new product. Testors Aztek clear matte. I don't have anything to compare with but it did a great job. It went on a bit dry but I think that was due to my airbrushing. I used a soft pad to buff it out. Looks great!

 
I added the inside plates for the "mooring chocks" and touched up the paint'. Here's a picture showing the plate and a hawse pipe.

The traveler is blocked by the tiller.  Jibing would be pretty exciting if removing and replacing the tiller became part of the process.    The tiller should probably be under the traveler.

Yep, you just do exactly what you did in your post, enclose your search in quotation marks.
 
Example "Steam Capstan" will only return results with the phrase.  Just searching for Steam Capstan defaults to returning results with either Steam, or Capstan or both.