Ryland Craze

Port side upper planks installed and the outer aft frame thinned.  I used a Jewelers saw and chisels to thin them.  I was afraid to use a rotary tool at this stage.
Maury

I've assembled the false keel, keel and stern.

I have added another layer of varnish had it dried - and removed the tape.
In this picture you will find the difference on the planking.
 
The top plank is regular boxwood untreated while the rest has the 75/25 ratio of my varnish.
I like this as it gives the longboat some weight feeling.
I could be wrong, but as Chuck mentions in the manual, this kit is based on one of so many thousands made.
And I think no matter how we will do ours, in one or another way -  all are right.

I'm going to attempt to build this kit that I bought a few years back. I've looked thru many of your build logs which is invaluable knowledge. I know that I'm probably not going to have a perfect model if I'm successful at completing this boat. I guess the best way to learn is just dive in.

I thought you would all like to know that I have heard from Sam. He wants you to know that he is facing further procedures, but is still with us, although unable to do any modeling at this time. He thanks everyone for their concern and support.
 
Bob

The flags are placed on the model and the model is completly finished.    

The two halves of the false keel are joined using 1 hour epoxy.  A 1/8” x 1/16 rabbet strip is glued along center of the false keels edge. The false keel has been tapered from the bearding line to the rabbet strip.

 

The completed stem post and keel assembly is now glued to the false keel. I used a # 4b pencil to darken the seams. Treenailing was done using Chuck's method as described in chapter one of his Cheerful practicum. Once completed, the stem post and keel were given a coat of Wipe-on-Poly. The WOP was buffed immediately in order to prevent a gloss finish.
 

It has been awhile since my last posting.
To much work around the house and an up-coming vacation in June that does require some studying. Priority 1 as this is seaman ship related. Pictures will posted later this summer.
On top of that studies for certification of Windows Server 2012 is added. Those studies has the priority 2 almost P1.
 
Bottom white done since long.
After that I trialed with different mixtures for the staining, and found my own staining versions.
For the outer-hull I mix MinWax Natural 75% with 25% Mahogany.
The scribed parts will get a mix.
Enhanced scribed 50/50 Golden Oak and Mahogany, then sanded to enhance those lines. Toping with 50/50 Golden Oak and Natural.
The trial was to my liking. 
 
Ps. Any staining should be done after regular painting, the regular paint will work as a mask.

Got all the frame pieces & spacer blocks glued in place. Cut planks for the partial lower deck. Penciled the sides for caulk lines. When I stained the planks it seemed to have washed the lead off the edges & didn't show much so I penciled them again after the stain dried. I know it doesn't matter much right now but I'm testing this out for the upper decks later.
 
 

All good points. I think that the better you get, the more detail you can put into your model. One reason for this is because you are getting better and can do things quicker. If it takes you forever to do the basic stuff, it will take several forevers to make it detailed. Secondly, when you get better your quality improves. Crappy details don't improve crappy models (trust me on that one). However when you have a quality model, quality details improve it.
 
That having been said, there IS such thing as too much detail. I think scale dictates that. Sometimes you can overwhelm a model with too much detail. Personal preference. Take a step back and let the model tell you what is right.
 
Who is your audience? If you are doing if for just yourself, make it for you. If you are making it for the public to see, remember people will only look at it for a few minutes, then go away. Some will look for 30 seconds some for 10 minutes. Make your model so it appeals to all of them in its own way.
 
...and whatever level of detail you decide upon, make ONE thing significantly more detailed. People will focus on that, you will get your "Holy Cow!!!" and people will walk away with a feeling it is far more detailed than it really is, because of the one they fixated on.

Welcome to my build of Chuck's HM Cutter Cheerful. Most of the parts will be scratch built. Others like the false keel, windlass, rigging material and blocks will be purchased directly from Chuck. The wood for this project (all sheet stock) was purchased from Jason at Crown Timberyard. The quality of his wood is excellent and I am looking forward to working with it. As with my other builds, there will be many new things to learn and I will rely heavily on the knowledge base from MSW to help guide me through the process. So please don't hesitate to post your comments along the way. Thanks!.

My first saw  (1978 or so...) was a  36 tooth slotting saw blade mounted in my dads 1960's Black and Decker drill fixed to some kind of horizontal mounting stand that he had for it. I think the stand was meant to use the drill as a grinder or something.
 
I'd bought C Nepean Longbridges book about building  HMS Victory and I thought that a model of the Victory  would be the perfect  place  to start  my ship modelling hobby.
 
I built a dodgy saw table around the drill  out of Mecanno (spellcheck has underlined Mecanno - is that not a known US thing? If it isn't then  its a metal kids building system -  Google it for more info) There was no safety guard and I only had wood bought from the local hardware shop to choose from.
 
I think I ended up using western red cedar. Maybe because it was softwood I still have both hands.
 
 The planked hull is still sitting in my shed, looking exactly like somethnig made by a 15 year old as a first attempt using hardware shop timber cut  with a killer saw made from a childs construction set...
 
What has this to do with the thread topic? I am not too sure but I do now have a Jim Byrnes saw and a full size table saw, which is one of the questions brought up in this thread.
 
This is my full size tablesaw and its brilliant because a standard circular saw turns into a precision table saw.   Is the Triton (or similar)  saw table available in the states?
 

 
Its an Aussie thing and is awesome and what makes it better is that everyone buys one and never uses it and sells them cheap on Ebay a few years later so like me you can get a bargain.
 
The only issue is the waste due to the saw blade widths. So when the Oz dollar was buying more than the US one I bought a Jim Byrnes saw. The postage to Syndey was in the hundreds of dollars but even with that it was cheaper than getting a Proxxon one locally.
 
And it is sooo  good. I use mainly local timber -primarily  Tasmanian -  eg Huon pine - and  given that it only legal source is from lumber yards scavenging from already fallen trees,  its rather expensive, but the bigger the plank size the cheaper it is. So I use the Triton to rip large planks into  sizes that the Brynes saw can manage.
 
And the Byrnes saw IS amazing. Not just using it but everything about it -  moving the fence, tightening the machined thumbscrews, feeling the quality... I'm not a plastic hater but not having anything plastic just makes it even better. I don't know why - it just does!   Just geting my Byrnes  saw out and setting it up  brings a smile to my face. I do remember the postage cost a bomb, but I'd buy another one tomorrow.
 
I think basically theres an equation you need to answer - cost vs satisfaction. I certainly don't need a Jim Byrnes saw, but I feel that the satisfaction I get using it outweighs the cost (even the outrageous shipping...)
 
That said, I still look at my unfinished 36 year old HMS Victory hull and am  amazed at what I did with a Black and Decker drill, a slitting saw and some Meccano.

The deadwood was cut from ply and designed to interlock with and to square up the aft-most frames. Here you can also see the frame positions drawn on the building board as per the frame location lines on the plans and support blocks to help square up the frames.

 

The deadwood was sanded down with a beard line to take account of the planking width to come and the keel had also been given a rabbet with a combination of files, dremel and table saw earlier.
 
The wing transom looks simple but has both a camber across the top and laterally. This was cut from ply and sander in. A slot in the deadwood holds it in and the stern post will lock it into position later.


 
The aftmost frame had slots for the stern supports cut in and the supports added. Like many brigs The cruizer had distinctive chase ports and the supports frame these on one side to help with positioning.


 
The stern was cut from 2mm ply and bent to shape before being epoxied into place.


 
Filler blocks of balsa have been added at the bow and stern and are being shaped as the frames are being sanded in preparation for planking. The stern post is visible in the foreground of the stern pic. It'll be installed when the planking is finished.

After a month of work on my new project it's at the stage where I suspect it might turn into something worth continuing so here it is...
 

 

 
A Cruizer class brig in 1:36 scale which is (hopefully) destined to be a working RC square rigged sailer.
I've kicked this project off before finishing the rigging on my current Granado build after seeing a few build logs and being filled with inspiration and a reckless confidence to simply have a go. It's a good vessel to practice on as it's relatively simple with flush decks, only two masts and little decoration. I can experiment with the rc servos, ballast keel and sail operation once the hull and masts are done and if it works then move on to the nice to have items like head rails, carronades and deck fittings.
 
The cruizer was a possibility for my next scratch build originally planned at 1/64 but I'd helped my father build the 1:20 scale Valdivia schooner kit from Robbe a few years back and being so taken with sailing it that I wanted one of my own.
I'd love a 1:24 scale RC Surprise or cruizer from Steel Chapman and Hutchinson Ltd http://www.modelsailingships.com/ships/grasshopper.html
But it's out of my price range once freight etc is taken into account, hence an effort to scratch build, especially after seeing the very informative logs from Jerry Todd for his Macedonian, Constitution and others.
 
1:36 was chosen as it's large enough to look the part and have some sailing ability and be easily managed with a length of 84cm on the gun deck.
 
If successful with the brig the ultimate goal is a frigate and at 1:36 scale a large vessel like an Artois class frigate of 146 feet on the gun deck would be just manageable for transport and launch at roughly 120cm. But that's pretty optimistic at this stage and I've got a lot to learn yet.
 
The plans for this vessel are those included in EW Petrejus' fine book 'modelling the brig of war Irene' scaled up with bulkhead widths and deadwood for building purposes etc drawn in.
 

 
Using relatively cheap materials was a must for this project as there's still an element of doubt over if it will work. If it doesn't I don't want to feel like it's been a huge investment that fails.
As such the brig will be built from 9mm plywood for the framing with the keel and planking from matai - a New Zealand native timber which is moderately hard enough to hold detail at this scale while still easy to work and has a nice tone although the brig will be painted anyway.
The matai is in the form of old tongue and groove floorboards from a demolition yard that are going for about $6/metre for short lengths that are pretty much unusable for anything else. I can mill these on my table saw and with a home built thickness sander.
 
The hull will be built upside down on a building board for stability and will be cut loose once planked. A base line parallel to the keel a few cms above the max height of the sheer line was drawn on the plans to provide a point from which to measure from. All the bulkheads were drawn with this line as a top (or bottom once upside down on the board) square edge to ensure they would all sit at the correct height from the board and provide a level run for the keel to attach to.

 
A test run of bulkheads on the board.

 
To avoid installing deck beams later these were drawn onto the bulkheads using the camber indicated in Petrejus. The bulkheads were then cut down to ribbing size. In hindsight I should have left the bulwarks above deck ticker to account for the reduction from subsequent sanding but it's nothing major.

 
Most of the framing on the build board here. The keel and stem is matai ripped on a bandsaw and run through my drill powere thickness sander (thanks to MSW member Snowmans for his fine instructions on making one) down to 9mm. The stem was then cut in one piece on the bandsaw and gammoning and bob stay holes/slots drilled.

I received  this kit as a gift. Very excited about it. Here are pics of the box & contents. Pre-reading over the first part of the instructions. Everything I've done before has been more simplified so I know this one will take me longer but I am ready to dive in!
 

This week, I decided to push ahead and make some more progress. There are so many tiny pieces to cut out!
 
I decided to work on the windlass as that seemed like a good project goal. I got a little ways along and a tiny piece of paper with a bunch of parts on it went missing. I searched high and low, swearing I had just seen it hours before. Next morning, I see it on the armrest of my chair. I must have leaned on it and it stuck to my elbow and got deposited on the chair! I've never had that kind of problem with wooden ship model kit parts. 
 
Well, pressing ahead with my report here. I finished the main part of the windlass barrel, which consisted of approximately 31 parts... A 1/96-scale windlass barrel with 31 parts! Am I crazy? Well... maybe. It was a daunting task, but it actually went by fairly quickly and it IS pretty cool that I only needed scissors and knife and some glue...
 
 
Here's part of the barrel under construction and some other parts too. Sorry about the short depth of field on the macro focus.

 
When you build something, you gotta try it for size on the model immediately. It's a rule. The barrel came out just a tad long, which wouldn't be a problem except that the deck has thin black outlines where the bitts are expected to fit in place. These will show, but the lines won't be very noticeable when it's all done.

 
 
Here's a closeup of the completed windlass barrel assembly before cleaning it up.

 
 
And one of the same assembly after some touch-up painting. Again, I'm using the paints sold by Shipyard, which is fairly opaque, so I could paint it on without losing the black printed details.

 
 
Here's another view of the skylight, gratings and hatch I made last time. I went back and added a piece of fine gauge wire for the handle on the sliding hatch.

 
 
I was on a roll, so why stop? I'd cut mast hoops from brass tubing on my last model and thought about doing the same for the Alert. In the end, I decided to make my own mast hoops from a piece of a brown paper bag. I did this for another model years ago and it worked out great. So, I thought I'd refresh the skill.
 
I used a piece of brass tubing slightly larger than the diameter of the mast and wrapped the paper around it, applying white glue to it throughout the process. Once dry, I used a razor blade to cut thin rings off. It's been a long time since I've done this, and it took many tries to get even, thin slices. But, I managed to get enough for my purposes.

 
 
So, what did I learn in paper ship modeling school this week? There are a lot of frickin' little frickin' tiny little frickin' pieces that have be cut. The hardest part is really looking at the work ahead. Yeah, it's like ship modeling that way. But, once you start, all you have to do is cut, cut, cut and cut and cut and then glue. As long as you keep your head down and don't stop to count how many more pieces you need to cut, projects finish up pretty quickly.
 
Clare

Thank you very much Pete for your kind comments.  It was for me a labor of love and very satisfying.  I'm so pleased that everyone enjoyed the voyage and having been able to add something to all your capabilities.
 
BTW, I like your name - - - mine is pronounced the same too 
 
Cheers, 

Marc, thanks for the photos. As Clare says they are very helpful. I might just have to install a shrine and add some cargo. Had the model in New London today and received many positive comments. I will try and update my build this week.
Clare, pm me so I can give you my new email address. I need to ask you a few questions.
 
 
Bob R

Wish I could go this year but unfortunately with my medical problems I will not be able to sounds like a great time to be had.  I hope you get a sell out and have a great time.  
David B

* 2015 Nautical Research Conference   *
 
Fellow Guild Members,
 
CONFERENCE 2015 - SAVE THE DATES
 
The 2015 Conference will be in Mystic, Ct. on Thursday October 22 thru Saturday October 24.  
 
We are preparing special tours on Thursday not offered to the general public at the Mystic Seaport. The tours will be:
 
1)   Inside the Archives/Library
2)   Model Collection - models not on public display
3)   Small Craft Collection
4)   Inside the Shipyard
 
Each tour will be approximately one hour and will be conducted through out the day in a round-robin format such that about 100-120 members can take part in groups of 25-30.  Tour times starting at 9am and ending around 4:30pm with an allowance for lunch on your own. 
 
As the tour space is limited, we urge that spouses who are not interested in the special tours not to sign up so that those interested are not closed out.  There is plenty to do elsewhere in the Seaport.
 
The special tour arrangements will pretty much fill the day Thursday, so if you wish to tour the rest of the Mystic Seaport attractions available to the public you will want to plan this for the Wednesday before the conference or on Sunday following the conference.  All who register for the conference will receive free admission to the Mystic Seaport Wednesday through Sunday.
 
There are plenty of things to do and see in Mystic including the Aquarium and Mystic Villages located right across the street from the Hilton.
 
Even though these attractions are within walking distance, others such as the Seaport will require a car.  It's just a mile down the road and the Hotel does have a shuttle but renting a car for your stay would allow you to visit so much more.   You will need to get yourself to the Seaport for the tours on Thursday.   Many will have cars but you can take the shuttle.  Its best to rent a car however.
 
There are two Casinos within 30 minutes drive of the hotel along with the New London submarine base.  Not to mention many area restaurants including the Famous  Mystic Pizza.  Click here to download a list of Mystic area attractions.
 
The Mystic Hilton will be the conference hotel and the location for the Modeler's Tech Sessions on Friday and the General Sessions on Saturday as well as the Model Display and Vendor Room.
 
  
 
Registration information and details on the speakers, topics and tech sessions will be posted very soon.  Below is a partial list of speakers - several are yet to provide final confirmation:
 
            Melbourne Smith - Naval Architect
            Paul O'Pecko - Mystic Seaport Archivist
            Douglas Brooks - Expert on Japanese Small Boats
            David Antscherl
            Grant Walker - Curator / Rogers Collection
            Steve Wheeler
            Chuck Passaro
            Kurt Van Dahm
            Nic Damuck
           
A list of the Vendors that will be attending the show:
 
Syren Ship Model Co.  - Ship model Blocks, Rope and fittings
Sea Fever Books - Nautical books - new and used
Crown Timberyard  - Milling services and wood for Ship Models
Bluejacket Shipcrafters  -Ship model kits and supplies
Byrnes Model Machines  - Ship Model Power Tools
SeaWatch Books -  Nautical history and Ship model books
Ship Ahoy Models and Miniatures - Models, canons and tools
 
Don't Forget to bring your Ship Models to the Conference.
Displaying your ship models is a very important and enjoyable part of the conference.  Everyone looks forward to it.  If you intend to bring some please fill out the section of the registration form with all of the details.  Room will be limited so please register your models early.  Once the tables fill up we can't accept any more for display.
 
Mystic Hilton Hotel Information 
 
20 Coogan Boulevard, Mystic Connecticut 06355
 
Call hotel direct to make reservations: 1-860-572-0731 (This skips all the prerecorded Hilton choices on the national reservation line).
You must use the GROUP CODE - NRG14 to get the special $145.00 room rate if you reserve rooms on the Hilton Web site.
http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/connecticut/hilton-mystic-MYSMHHF/index.html
 
AIRPORTS
Hartford, CT and Providence, RI are the major airports serving Mystic with each being 50 - 60 miles away.  Neither airport has shuttle service to Mystic.  A cab/car service or rental car will be needed to get to Mystic from either airport.  
 
Thank You and Happy Modeling!!!
The NRG Board of Directors
info@thenauticalreserachguild.org

Hello all y'all swabbies and swabbettes,
 
The O19 has been patiently waiting for some tender loving care but there is really not much more to do on her, other then nick-nacks.  I think I'll be finalizing the build soon and go on with the VOC ship.
 
Reworking the side trim on the display board will be done whenever I have the time for it and have the proper stain.  There is no big rush with it.
 
Coming week I'll be buying a few steel brackets to bolt to the wall in my studio / office and man cave so I can place the O19 on it - finally.
 
I'm waiting for some decent weather to take the pictures for the Gallery and a few glossies to take with me to Holland.
 
In the meantime the shipment of Heineken beer has arrived for the O19 and is being stowed away in the forward compartment of the con.  It appears that my father has ordered the cases for the crew.  You see, he was also the quarter master on the boat as well as chef d'equipage.
 
That reminds me of the story he told us about testing a potential purchase of "unbreakable" glassware.  One day a salesman came to the boat trying to sell "unbreakable' glasses.  Now, Schipper van Warmerdam being a cautious quarter master asked if he could test a glass.  The salesman agreed and so my father climbed up to the bridge with a glass.  He proceeded to hold the glass over the deck and ley it go.  Well, the glass hit the deck and promptly broke into a gezillion pieces.  There were no further words uttered between my father and the salesman who packed up his stuff and left the boat.
Now you would think that with all those wooden slats on the deck the glass would fare better but alas, the glass must have hit one of the steel tracks for the torpedo loading dolly, pity
 
Okay, enough of my banter and let yuns see the Heineken shipment.
 

 

 
Cheers, 
 
 

Piet,
 
A moving and fitting tribute.  We, who have gone in harm's way know that life change in an instant.  Those left behind don't always understand. 
 
I'm proud to know you and Dave at least through this forum.  I wish I were closer to the east coast as I would have loved to have been there.  Let's hope there's  a "next year" and more of us can be there.

Thank you all for your kind words and my special thanks to SawdustDave for planning this event for a very worthy cause.  Children who have lost their fathers in a war.  
Regardless how tragic this is for them, at least they have their father buried in a tangible grave they can visit.  I do not have that, and not till a rather recent time I did not fully know how my father died.  The part of the ship where his battle station is is the part that was hit by the Jap torpedo and in the resulting explosion that part just vanished, evaporated, with him and his shipmates.  Yes, I write it in the present tense, for a reason.
However, I now do have actual photographs of the wreck and the stern section just aft of his battle station, so now I also have a grave marker.  I do have closure of sorts but the hurt is still there.
 
So, I do fully understand the loss of these children, the mental anguish they have to deal with for a long time.  I was fortunate in that my father came home while his ship was being rearmed and fueled, to say his goodbyes.  One of the things he told me man to man was, that it is his duty to go out with the fleet to meet the enemy.  That word - duty - is burned into my memory.  No matter how unfair this world deals with us  These fathers have sworn an auth as well.  It was their duty to put their lives on the line, tragically, some did not survive.
 
Dave deserves our admiration and thanks for his time and effort to set up this affair in order to gen up some capital to give something back to these children as a small token of our gratitude for the ultimate price their beloved fathers paid.
That's why I did not hesitate to drive 450 miles to be an active part in that effort and share my story.
 
Sorry for the sob story but I felt all of you needed to know why Dave set this up, for there is a great need to help these children and of course the widows who are left behind.
I sincerely hope that more can be done in the future.
 
Cheers,
 

Continuing work on the quarterdeck, the waterways and margin planks were prepared from Swiss Pear and installed P/S:
 

 
Although the deck will only be partially planked (to leave visible some aspects of the gun deck and Great Cabin), I wanted the margins all around for the sake of appearance.
 
Next was to prepare the lower stanchions for the quarterdeck rail.  The simulated sheaves are 'functional':
 

 
Aligning these lower stanchions behind a deck beam requires that they match the curvature of that beam.  To assist in this, a photocopy of the rail was made and attached to the beam:
 

 
The stanchions were then glued behind the deck beam:
 

 
The planking of the starboard side of the quarterdeck (up to the centerline) may now proceed.