GuntherMT

The large transom sculpture was a lot of fun to do.  The kit sculpture has some pretty good detail on it, and it's challenging to get it all out and visible.  The first photo is my first attempt, and I was still remembering how to paint so I didn't get it all quite the way I wanted.  The row of busts at the top have very little detail - basically blobs - and I wasn't sure I could get them to look like people.  So I decided to paint them green and gold and make them look like balusters rather than people.  The lions and gryphons went through a few iterations, and I finally settled on a red wash that picked out the details pretty well.  The grotesques at the bottom were also fun.  There's not quite enough detail to get teeth to look good, but the result still looks nice.  The center shield isn't present as detail on the figure - it all needs to be painted in, which was also challenging.  Definitely my favorite part of the build so far.
 

 
Here's the current result.  As I got more comfortable painting again, I added a bunch more detail here and there.  It's subtle, but I think the effect is very nice.  I decided to paint the row of busts at the top as they are on the 1:10 model, even though the faces have no detail.  The different colors on the arches above the busts were difficult, but I'm happy with the result.  You need to zoom in if you want to see the full effect.  I tried doing green inserts for the gryphon wings as they are on the 1:10 model, but it didn't look right, so I went back to gold with a red wash.  Some highlighting for the curtains, gold edges at the base, and I decided to leave it alone.  That's the problem with this kind of painting - it's easy to get lost in details and endlessly tweak things.  With so many sculptures, eventually you need to move on to the next area.  Which for me was the large posts on either side of the transom.  I have close-up photos of them which I'll post next.
 

 
 

Ready with paintings and think there will be more coats of black. Different details are finnished such as ladders, simulated sheaves and so on. The 0,6 mm plywood list was installed on to the deck. Also testing how the deck should look like. Next steps are the deck and copper plates so it'll take muuuuch time. Perhaps I'll leave the hull without copper plates cause the wood looks fine for me. But I didn't decide yet.

I had run out of small brass strip. So a small delay while I waited for it. Completed the rollers! Next up are the dreaded dredges!
 

 
An overview!
 

Next is the buntlines. Only two but they have an interesting angle. The next step will be the clue lines then the sheets which will allow me to brace the yard and do the lifts before I can start belaying all these lines which will keep then taught without actually lifting the yard upwards.

Next is the jeers and jeer blocks. Given in the real world they are one continuous rope, i cheated so the Blocks could be stropped properly, joining them at the mast so they sit equally. I have outlined in red where they sit with bare poles and when up with sails. The single block sits on the channels.

When last we saw our intrepid little boat, the subdecks had been glued, but no fairing had been done.  Since then some progress has been made in that department.
I began by doing a 'rough' fairing to see where I needed to add any shims.
 

 
Because of adding all of the shims to the bottom of the bulkheads prior to mounting them, I found that no shimming was needed except for about half a dozen extensions that were not going to touch the planking without causing a 'dip', or needing to remove far too much material from their neighbors.
 
Once again I dipped into the 3/64ths basswood deck planking, and cut pieces for the extensions.  I used a second piece of basswood in the clamping so that the alligator clamps I used wouldn't leave divots in the shims where I didn't think I needed to sand very much material away.  Here you can see my clamping system so that I could use regular wood glue to hold the extension shims in place.
 

 
I made some blocks to reinforce the mast mortise, and placed them.  I made them overly long as I didn't want to apply a lot of glue right around the mortise.  This is also why I added a 'shim' to the edge of them, to get more glue surface away from the mortise opening.
 

 
I cut out bow fillers to a rough size with a hand scroll saw (I see a nice power band saw in my future I think, every time I use the scroll saw I see how useful of a tool it would be where I could guide a piece with both hands or a fence) and then did all the shaping with my Dremel and a drum-sanding attachment.  Once I had them nearly right I glued them in place before the final fairing, as I wanted them fixed in place to do the final shaping against the bulkhead, keel, and deck.
 

 
I did another run with a rough (120 grit) sanding block and reduced all of the bulkheads until I was seeing 'kit bulkhead' material on all the higher bulkheads, so that my mass shimming didn't cause the hull to be too 'fat'. 
 

 
I also realized that I had never beveled the stem, so I finished that, and trimmed the excess wood from the keel that extended aft beyond the sternpost.  At some point I need to make a tiny filler for the hole where the sternpost and keel connect that was left because of the keel being the wrong length.
 
And a couple test plank runs.  Very happy with how nicely they lay all the way from the keel up to the top of the bulkheads.
 

 
Still need to do a final pass with a 250 grit sanding block, but I am going to build out the stern and get it faired up with the hull before I do that.  Looks like the stern should occupy quite a few hours to get it right.
 
Fairly amazing to think that on the Carmen I was at this point in the build within a few hours of starting, since I didn't know any better, and did pretty much none of this early preparation work!  Then again, the planks didn't lay anything like this when I started working on them.

When last we saw our intrepid little boat, the subdecks had been glued, but no fairing had been done.  Since then some progress has been made in that department.
I began by doing a 'rough' fairing to see where I needed to add any shims.
 

 
Because of adding all of the shims to the bottom of the bulkheads prior to mounting them, I found that no shimming was needed except for about half a dozen extensions that were not going to touch the planking without causing a 'dip', or needing to remove far too much material from their neighbors.
 
Once again I dipped into the 3/64ths basswood deck planking, and cut pieces for the extensions.  I used a second piece of basswood in the clamping so that the alligator clamps I used wouldn't leave divots in the shims where I didn't think I needed to sand very much material away.  Here you can see my clamping system so that I could use regular wood glue to hold the extension shims in place.
 

 
I made some blocks to reinforce the mast mortise, and placed them.  I made them overly long as I didn't want to apply a lot of glue right around the mortise.  This is also why I added a 'shim' to the edge of them, to get more glue surface away from the mortise opening.
 

 
I cut out bow fillers to a rough size with a hand scroll saw (I see a nice power band saw in my future I think, every time I use the scroll saw I see how useful of a tool it would be where I could guide a piece with both hands or a fence) and then did all the shaping with my Dremel and a drum-sanding attachment.  Once I had them nearly right I glued them in place before the final fairing, as I wanted them fixed in place to do the final shaping against the bulkhead, keel, and deck.
 

 
I did another run with a rough (120 grit) sanding block and reduced all of the bulkheads until I was seeing 'kit bulkhead' material on all the higher bulkheads, so that my mass shimming didn't cause the hull to be too 'fat'. 
 

 
I also realized that I had never beveled the stem, so I finished that, and trimmed the excess wood from the keel that extended aft beyond the sternpost.  At some point I need to make a tiny filler for the hole where the sternpost and keel connect that was left because of the keel being the wrong length.
 
And a couple test plank runs.  Very happy with how nicely they lay all the way from the keel up to the top of the bulkheads.
 

 
Still need to do a final pass with a 250 grit sanding block, but I am going to build out the stern and get it faired up with the hull before I do that.  Looks like the stern should occupy quite a few hours to get it right.
 
Fairly amazing to think that on the Carmen I was at this point in the build within a few hours of starting, since I didn't know any better, and did pretty much none of this early preparation work!  Then again, the planks didn't lay anything like this when I started working on them.

When last we saw our intrepid little boat, the subdecks had been glued, but no fairing had been done.  Since then some progress has been made in that department.
I began by doing a 'rough' fairing to see where I needed to add any shims.
 

 
Because of adding all of the shims to the bottom of the bulkheads prior to mounting them, I found that no shimming was needed except for about half a dozen extensions that were not going to touch the planking without causing a 'dip', or needing to remove far too much material from their neighbors.
 
Once again I dipped into the 3/64ths basswood deck planking, and cut pieces for the extensions.  I used a second piece of basswood in the clamping so that the alligator clamps I used wouldn't leave divots in the shims where I didn't think I needed to sand very much material away.  Here you can see my clamping system so that I could use regular wood glue to hold the extension shims in place.
 

 
I made some blocks to reinforce the mast mortise, and placed them.  I made them overly long as I didn't want to apply a lot of glue right around the mortise.  This is also why I added a 'shim' to the edge of them, to get more glue surface away from the mortise opening.
 

 
I cut out bow fillers to a rough size with a hand scroll saw (I see a nice power band saw in my future I think, every time I use the scroll saw I see how useful of a tool it would be where I could guide a piece with both hands or a fence) and then did all the shaping with my Dremel and a drum-sanding attachment.  Once I had them nearly right I glued them in place before the final fairing, as I wanted them fixed in place to do the final shaping against the bulkhead, keel, and deck.
 

 
I did another run with a rough (120 grit) sanding block and reduced all of the bulkheads until I was seeing 'kit bulkhead' material on all the higher bulkheads, so that my mass shimming didn't cause the hull to be too 'fat'. 
 

 
I also realized that I had never beveled the stem, so I finished that, and trimmed the excess wood from the keel that extended aft beyond the sternpost.  At some point I need to make a tiny filler for the hole where the sternpost and keel connect that was left because of the keel being the wrong length.
 
And a couple test plank runs.  Very happy with how nicely they lay all the way from the keel up to the top of the bulkheads.
 

 
Still need to do a final pass with a 250 grit sanding block, but I am going to build out the stern and get it faired up with the hull before I do that.  Looks like the stern should occupy quite a few hours to get it right.
 
Fairly amazing to think that on the Carmen I was at this point in the build within a few hours of starting, since I didn't know any better, and did pretty much none of this early preparation work!  Then again, the planks didn't lay anything like this when I started working on them.

Ah, Banyan is catching up! I'm doing the main and foremast  staysail yards. First off the parrells, which are photoetched and blackened. Tied on and lashed. As there are no sails they will be lowered.

Hi folks, I am about to head off on some holidays so I thought I had better post an update of my latest additions to my Endeavour.  the rigging is proving to be a challenge in determining what goes where as this is my first rigged model.
cheers
 
Pat
 
 
 

So far, the fairing looks like it is coming along well. Keep at it. In my experience, just when you are sure you have it faired, go back and check again. The moment you are sure about it is when the rug is likely to get pulled out from under you.
 
Russ

Spar is now attached to the bowsprit. I now have to run eight lines from the bowsprit through the eyelets on the spar to blocks mounted on the anchor davits. I still can't imagine what the function of this spar is?

Interior work continues.  I love the sliding doors on the front of the cabin.
 
 Bob R.

Hello again! Well, maybe I´ll get more updates as I enter the final laps. Here is the hole fix over the cabin and the switch for my cabin´s lighting. I made a step by step on the fixing/lighting as I´m proud to have done it. I know it´s not the greatest of executions or the best mechanism I could´ve used, but those hours spent on science fairs at school weren´t wasted. :D
 

First picture shows the led with a circuit board - I used the led from a garden beacon with a timer, so the battery wouldn´t be consumed when I forgot to turn it off.
 

This is my remade lantern - first version I used tin and painted paper. Replaced the painted paper for silk and better painted the tin frame.
 

Attached the lantern to the circuit board.
 

Cut two 2mm copper stripes from a copper foil and soldered them to the battery box.
 

Cut another 2mm copper stripes and soldered them to the circuit board.
 

Fixed the circuit board on its place (there was a hole for the lantern to be placed in the cabin) and glued the copper stripes parallel - that way the battery box could be placed and turned into the switch.
 

 

After the eletronics were placed, used the same wood for deck planking to close the hole. Part of the stripes were left for the switch.
 

Hole closed, planking aged and battery box/switch placed - ligths on. I thought on replacing all the planks so that trapdoor look wouldn´t be there, but kinda liked the idea. Maybe I´ll fix some holder for it.
 
Next pictures shows the lighting effect.
 

 

 

 
Now, all for the rigging!!!!!

Update on the Planking below the wales:
Slowly going bow to stern adding the planks on.
 
Planks mid ship are easy(straight), just need a bit of the upper edge for the round and glue on.
 
Planks fore and aft ! each is planned, cut to shape, edges bevelled and placed under steam(kettle) and bent as close to the hull shape as possible > pic below. Makes it so easy to then glue in place. But each is a lot of work.
 
Bow: I am continuing to drop planks(5 now) to let each lower one to run up to the wales just back from the bow. These dropped planks just don't sit flat(naturally) when I tried to run them to the bow, so have dropped them. Maybe the bow in this area should be more rounded "bluffed" ?
 
I've spent a long time planning the next 4 to 5 planks, have decided to drop 2 more(pic # 3 below shows a small arrow for these 2 planks) then the rest will go all the way to the bow. Probably be adding in a couple of "steelers" as the planks work there way to the keel. 
 
When all the planks on and with a light sanding, hopefully come up a treat. ?
 
 
Dave

Here's a perfect example of tool overkill. Recommended for only the most serious tool-aholic! The piece created is the top of the brake pump, based on the illustration of David Antscherl in The Fully Framed Model (vol. 2). The piece is hexagonal with a tapered cylindrical head, a central bore and a discharge tube. Here's how I made it:
 
1. The hexagonal shape was laid out using the 7:10:7 technique.
2. The hexagonal shape was created using the Byrnes disk sander with the table top tilted at a 45 degree angle
3. The piece was transferred to the Sherline lathe where a center bit was used to start the bore.
4. A drill bit was used to enlarge the bore to it's final diameter.
5. Thin strips of 180 grit and 320 grit sandpaper were used to taper the head to a cylindrical shape.
6. The piece was transferred to the drill press where a center bit was used to mark the opening of the discharge tube.
8. The discharge tube was drilled using the appropriate bit.
9. The piece was transferred to the Byrnes table saw where the final sloping outboard face was created using the fence set at the correct angle.
10. An over-sized cylinder was created on the Sherline lathe for the discharge tube.
11. A center bit and drill bit were used to create the inner diameter for the discharge tube.
12. The outer diameter was then shaped using a cutting bit on the lathe.
13. The discharge tube was parted at it's correct length and glued into the pump tube.
 
While this is a very small piece there are many angles involved, not to mention a bore which needs to be perfectly centered and a very thin walled discharge tube. Could I have made this piece using only chisels and a Dremel drill? Yes. In fact I did so, but discarded the effort because the machined version was better. Would I buy all the equipment just to make this piece? Certainly not. But I have had these tools for many years and they have paid for themselves many times over. Total time to make this piece using the above method was twenty minutes. The less successful hand produced version took over an hour. Those of you who love their power tools (Is Norm Abrams from This Old House present?) will totally get it. The rest of you will think I've gone off the deep end. I respect all views!
 

 

You can actually use the machine for seizing as well.
 
Here is a video by Alexey, who is the maker of the serving machine.  I think my link takes you to where he is finished assembling the machine and begins the demonstration on how to use it to serve rope, make beckets, strop blocks, and do seizing.
 
http://youtu.be/o5gZQRN6yoU?t=7m8s

The top deck is now attached. It surprises me to see the amount of detail work completed early on that is almost entirely hidden by the various decks. It makes me glad that I took photos of each step along the way.
 

 

So this is really much easier than I expected it to be.  I measured along the longest bulkhead from keel to deck level with a tick strip, and set my chopper to that length and cut up one of the 3/64 basswood deck planks.  This made 9 pieces of the exact same width as the bulkheads.  I threw these into water to soak for a while, and then got after it.
 
I started with bulkhead F, which was the one that had the bad laser cut, with one side lower than it should be.  It's also the '3rd' bulkhead in the previous photos that didn't reach the bearding line, so I shimmed the top and sanded it down, and then shimmed both sides of the bottom.
 

 
The wet basswood is really amazingly easy to bend.  All of the terrible time I had with the planks on the Carmen made me think this was going to be a giant frustrating mess, and instead, they just bend right around the bulkhead, no problem at all.  I went ahead and bottom shimmed G, and double bottom shimmed H.

 
Couldn't ask for anything better than the result.

 
Based on how easy this was, I'm going to use more of the deck planking (since I'm not going to plank the deck with it) and shim out every bulkhead that isn't touching the bearding line, even if it's very close.  That way I should have a much easier time fairing, as I'll not run into a low spot that makes me have to shim a bulkhead that is already glued to the keel.
Thoughts on extending the shims up the bulkhead extensions?  Is there any point to that, or will I just need to sand them all down like I did on bulkhead F already?

Sooooooooo it looks already a bit more friendly by now ...
 

 
... closed the gaps with Evergreen and Apoxy-Sculpt ...
 

 
... and the new steps are a awaiting :-)
 
A good trick to get an even result ist to just first fix every second one ...
 

 
... and use the ones in between to average out the rhythm :-)
 
 
 
And to finish put the crown onto its place :-)
 
Cheers, Daniel

The rigging of the flag halliards is complete.  I decided to use the American flag and the 'pilot’s on board' signal flag that came in the practicum but not the number flags.  I did a little research into signal flags of the period and found in Captain Marryat’s Code of Signals, dated 1847, Part III, under merchant vessels that there is a listing for the name ‘Phantom’ with the corresponding numbers of 9574.  I used these numbered flags along with the First Distinguishing Pendant and seized them to the flag halliard.  Before printing any of the flags I reduced their overall size by 20% of what was in the practicum.  Although they may not be dimensionally accurate I didn't want them to stand out so much that they would take away from the ship itself.
 



 
The ship is complete and the only remaining task is to mount it on the launching ways and a display base.  I made a base from a piece of oak that I purchased at Home Depot and just need to give it a few coats of polyurethane.
 

Good afternoon everyone
 
Today is the day that I mounted the ship's lanterns and now I can go no further until certain parts arrive from Jotika.  They were shipped a day or so ago so it'll be touch-ups, fixes and worrying about a display case and mountings until the parts get here.  The parts are for the ship's boats so I'm stuck until then.  I also have to figure out a way to stand the ship in the display since I failed to drill holes in the bottom of the keel for mounting.  I don't want to use a cradle as it distracts from the ship so I have to work on some method......  Any suggestons will be greatly appreciated......  My first and only other build, the Cutty Sark, has been sitting in an acrylic case for abou 15 years now and there is no trace of dust (I did wax all the lines) and no discloration in the acrylic.  I have more or less decided on another acrylic case but this time I'm going to stand it on a low wooden table instead of an acrylic bench like Cutty Sark.  So until the parts arrive for building the boats I plan to spend my time thinking about mountings and display cases. 
 
Here are a couple of pictures of the ship's lanterns.  I achieved the yellow candle burning look by lining the inside of the lanterns with yellow plastic, an idea that Lawrence suggested.  He also was very kind to send me the plastic. 
 
Have a great evening everyone and take care,
 
Jerry

You can actually use the machine for seizing as well.
 
Here is a video by Alexey, who is the maker of the serving machine.  I think my link takes you to where he is finished assembling the machine and begins the demonstration on how to use it to serve rope, make beckets, strop blocks, and do seizing.
 
http://youtu.be/o5gZQRN6yoU?t=7m8s

Hi Everyone,
 
There is a link on the above post which shows a Wappen von Hamburg very different from the one I am building. Does anyone have any information about what this is?
 
I spent the morning attaching the lower wale to the bulkheads. I knew this was going to be a critical job, and I had spent quite awhile trying to figure out how to do it, but my approach didn't work. I then tried 2 other ways, but they didn't work either. The problem was that the wale strip was so thick and springy that even though I had bent it, it was still pulling out any fastening method I used.
 
I kept thinking, "Oh no, if I don't get this done the whole build is going to be ruined!", but I finally stumbled across an approach which worked. I figured I'd better stop for the day and let the glue dry.
 
Andy
 

 

 

Hello everyone,
 
I started making sketches for the boarding ladder by using the photograph of the O19 when docked in Alexandria, Egypt.  First I thought that it seemed to have a fold-down lower section to board over the mine bin section.  So, I designed a ladder with a foldable lower section that would work just fine.  However, when I blew the picture up (no, not with dynamite    i.e. enlarged it) I realized that they stuck a board under the lowest rung, at least according to the shadow on top of the mine bins.  So, all my efforts of this morning are for naught, at least for the foldable part.  It will make it a lot simpler for me, which is welcome.
 
With the boat not fully loaded she'll naturally ride a lot higher and being clever Dutchmen they improvised.  I also have a nice photo of the KVIII with the crew posing and there is also a boarding ladder.  I think that I have enough info to make a passable ladder     
 
Well, while we must wait for pictures of the building process I figured I'd "bore" all yuns with some pictures of the O19 snorkeling.  You may have heard it said that this system was a German invention but that would be wrong.  They copied this innovation and used on their U boats.  
 
​This also reminds me of a story my father told me about what happened during one of the proving runs.
 
They were coming up to surface and as is customary the CO peeked through the periscope and to his horror he saw a close and very speedy Navy vessel boring down on them.  There was no way avoiding a collision!  So he yelled "dive, dive, emergency dive."  They got the boat down real fast but not quite fast enough because that eager beaver Navy ship thundered right over them, with a goodly down bubble and full ahead, even shaking the boat by the turbulence.  Fortunately it didn't hit the boat just hit the periscope the CO was looking through       Talking about one shook-up CO.
That was a close call but excellent performance of the crew.
 
 
I made a picture this afternoon of the O19 in snorkel mode and add a few pics of her actually snorkeling.  Hope you like them.
 

This is a copy about "trimmed dieseling" as it's officially called, from a book by van Jalhay.  I have translated the Dutch text so all you non Dutchies can understand what it says.
"An invention by a Netherlands Navy officer, Lieutenant Commander 1st Class J.J. Wichers, that would play a great role in the Second World War.  The officer of the Navy Steamship Service 1st class J.C. van Pappelendam tasked himself with the technical execution and the result was a pipe through which air was sucked in so that the boat could use the diesels when sailing under water and the batteries would thus not have to be used.  Naturally the boat was committed to a specific depth but she could practically remain submerged continuously.  The sniffer or snorkel did its entry. 
 

This shows my model of the O19 that I configured in snorkel mode.  Sometimes they would leave the communications antenna up but I elected to retract it and the battle periscope into the boat.  I have annotated the exhaust and intake pipes.  I didn't stow the dingy loading boom and tackle, too much trouble for now.  Will do that when I'm making the "official" photographs.  I love it when I can do a show and tell with this model.
 

This shows the O19 at the builder, Wilton-Fijenoord in Schiedam, the Netherlands in 1939.  The reason for the Dutch national flag on the con is that the Kingdom of the Netherlands declared neutrality as in the first world war.  They had all ships in Dutch registry paint the national flag on the sides.  This didn't help because Herr Hitler had other ideas.  In any case, you can see the exhaust pipe extended in this shot. 
 

This is one of the action pics of the sub snorkelen.
 

Here is another action shot of the O19 snorkelen.
 
Cheers,