Ryland Craze

Have been neglecting my pictures and working very slowly on her lately. Too many irons in the fire as the old saying goes.
 
 

Not a lot of progress lately on the model. Been getting the yard, side and back patios ready (spring cleaning) for an upcoming birthday party for one of our grandchildren. Here is the current state of the ship. Trying out some Flory Models weathering pigments. Keep in mind, I have much shading, paint detailing, and weathering to do before its anywhere near finished. 
I could have put a lot more detail on those torpedo launchers seen at each side of the cockpit area (last picture), but they are so darn hard to see it hardly seems worth doing too much. Will try to make sure and give everything on the deck attention to detail where it can easily be seen.
 
 

A little more  surgery, photo etch added, a little paint, and now some more dry fitting.
Not a real good fit on some of the parts out of the box. Need some tweaking to ensure a decent fit.
 
 

Added the gun tub detail to the forward deck including the ammo racks. Added the rail stanchion base plates and a new hatch, then gave everything a gray base coat for the decks. Put some base color paint on the center superstructure and will now begin adding all the detail bits and pieces. Lots of folding photo etch to do.
 
 

Greetings,
Another update. I completed the port side of the main deck gun ports. I thought they came out rather well. Slimming down the interfering bulkheads and cutting one off is a real pain. I can't wait to see how much trouble this is going to be on the quarterdeck and middle and lower gun decks.
I had my first service problem with my Byrnes saw in it's 15 +/_ years service. The switch went out. First, the polarity reversed and I continued to use it even though it wasn't safety smart. Then it died. 30 minutes to buy it and 15 minutes to install the replacement switch. And, away we mill.
I need to get a start milling the .045 in planking. There's a lot to do.
A little wood filler in the gaps and a good sanding should take care of most of the defects.  Most everything will be covered the second planking. The rest of the markings have been added to the upper sills.
It is worth noting; maybe: At first glace the gun ports on the three decks appear to be symmetrical. Not so. I was looking at the Corel template and they had some of them offset. I thought it was poor manufacturing. Not so again. I took a look in AOS and sure enough there are offsets between the decks.
 
Next up completing the gun decks and quarterdeck gun ports p/s. This is going to take some time. Next
update might be a while.
 
Regards to all

Pinnace Cleats
I’ve noticed that some builders have installed the pinnace cleats and others not. The practicum does not. Being the crazy fool that I am, I made the attempt.
Using a technique that as far as I know, no one else has used, I made six cleats. The first four images below are from my Rattlesnake build where I needed one very small cleat. The last three from this build.
 
The US Navy plans give the dimensions of two different size cleats, 8’ x 1 7/8” (the other being 6 ¾” x 1 5/8”). At this scale, it won’t make much difference. I chose to base mine on the larger of the two which worked out to be approximately 1/8” x 1/32” at scale.
 
Using some picture hanger nails, ones with a flat head, I filed off two sides of the nail head right up to the nail shank. Then placing modified nail in my rotary tool, I ground it on a file held in a vise. When done, I was left with a very stubby shank just under the modified head followed by a very thin shank. The thin shank is what will anchor the cleat into the wood. Holes were drilled into the rail and the six cleats were then CA’d into place.

Not too much to show for this weekend's work  The weather has been so bad for the last several weeks that the garden called to me louder than the workshop.
 

 

 
I had just enough time to make the trail boards.  These are located between the upper and lower cheeks.  There is a hole through it for the gammoning.  On Atalanta there is a frieze painted onto it.   This show's two of Atalanta's apples.  On the Fly, the only other Swan class whose plans I have, there are two dragons on the trail board and the cheeks are decorated as well.  I left the starboard side unadorned and put the frieze on the port side.  The gap between the starboard trail board and the hull represents the thickness of the planking.  The frieze was made the same way the rest of the friezes were made, painted onto paper and then applied to the wood with a thin layer of glue.
 

 

Well...it took all day, but I finally put Humpty Dumpty together again. Then I fixed the pads near the stern to prevent that from happening again. I usually put those in place, but got lazy this time. Haste makes waste.

The gap is getting smaller

Gettin' there.

After spilling coffee on my Manual, I decided to cover the pages with Avery Plastic Sheet Covers and put them in a binder. What's nice is that I can remove only the pages I need to work with.  I am saving work space, and have the ability  to hang up a single page.   Spilled coffee, munchies stains, or being a little wild with the glue and paint, no longer a problem.

Thanks for looking in again Eddie and Bug .
 
While there are relatively few of the major components fitted to the body I thought it might be a good idea to add the Decals. The Kit came with the usual American ones - "Wells Fargo", "Butterfield Overland Stage", "U.S. Mail" etc. I modified these a bit to give my coach the Aussie flavour by cutting out individual letters and re-arranging them. Fortunately I was only short by two "B"s which I made from a couple of spare "D"s. The decals will get a coat of Minwax when they are properly set :
 


 
One of the most famous towns in Australia is Gundagai, which was immortalised in Banjo Patterson's poem "The Dog on the Tucker Box" and the song "On the Road to Gundagai". What more fitting town for a destination?
 

 
I did a bit of research and found an article about early Gundagai, just to make sure that Cobb & Co actually had a route to the town. They sure did :
 
Here's an old pic of the Hotel mentioned in the article, with a Cobb & Co coach in the foreground :
 

 
  Danny

Long overdue update. Work and family life  have kept me very busy lately. 
Nevertheless, here it is. 
 
Swivel gun post on.
Deadeyes on. 
Catheads on. 
Rigging cannons
 

The hurricane deck is coming along nicely. I am using  strip styrene to make the bands on the stacks and sheet styrene for the decorative crown at the top of the stack. I also mitered the top railings on the stair rails rather then the butt and overlap joints shown in the plans.

Laserboard would not be ideal for routing.   Its not strong enough.  Its also not strong enough to replace certain things you might photoetch like eyebolts or hooks.  For those you should try these materials.   
 
http://www.ultra-grave.com/#bydesign
 
Chuck

Guys
 
Just found this topic.  That is NOT Laserboard.   Its just a company using the "nickname" for what laser cutters call "lsaserboard.   
 
Laserboard is basically resin soaked kraft paper.   It is specifically designed for use as the backer for kitchen cabinets and veneers, etc.  It is sold in huge rolls and 4 x 8 sheets.   There are other backers available commercially BUT they are made with some nasty stuff that is poison.  It has some nasty chemicals usually.  But this one Brand does NOT have those chemicals (formaldehyde) that could kill you when you laser cut it.
 
Before I tell you the Brand Name....let me say that it is almost impossible to get unless you are a cabinet maker or contractor.   It took me years to find a supplier and basically I get the scraps from this cabinet maker whenever he fills  up a box with the stuff.
 
The Brand Name is "polybak".   It is wildly successful and used by model railroaders....but for whatever reason it has NOT found acceptance by ship model MFGs.  At least not yet.  As far as I know I am the only one who uses it.  Probably because its so hard to find.   You cant order just one sheet.   You need to order a ridiculous number of 4 x 8 sheets or a 250 pound roll of the stuff.  It comes in varying thicknesses but mostly its really thin.   The different sizes and colors have different properties depending on the commercial use it is being used for.
 
Here is the MFG's website.  They dont sell direct to the public.  There are very few distributors.....because in the industry most cabinet makers will buy the cheaper stuff because even though its NOT a danger to them.  It is a real danger to laser cutters.   
 
http://www.richwoodind.com/polybak.html
 
Laser cutters affectionately refer to this material as laserboard BUT recently that other company decided to use the name for its completely different and thicker material which has now added to the confusion.  The best way to find this stuff is to contact local cabinet makers or veneer makers and CONFIRM that it is Polybak and NOT another material that could kill you if you laser cut it.  Then beg for scraps.  Unless you can find a distributor that will sell you one or two 4 x 8 sheets.
 
Chuck
 
 

I am guilty of doing exactly what most of you have warned begginers to not to - picking hard kits to built. Started a few Polish Shipyard paper sailing ships ( i was mesmerized and obviously wanted to try) failing misserably, but learned a great deal. With paper its easy, i build from copy (original kept for retirement) so printing replacement is easy. For the wooden kits i went for deagostini victory. Thats my current build. I have sodomised the hull, but have managed to rectify most of the offending bits up to one: the hull is twisted. Not badly but its there. That i cannot fix as i would have to start again and frankly, i cannot be bothered. This kit is for learning. I spen only about GBP200 to get it so it doesnt bother me. As a side build i picked 18century long boat... and that is a mistake. Even though its well documented kit, has been finished plenty times i cannot get further than starting to plank. Its too flimsy for me. So put that aside, the whole experience also depends on how big your fingers are

Thanks for all the advice. I will use the engine in the kit for this model. One of my "worst" traits, is that I´m a bit impatient and like to build and finish things. It would delay finishing the model quite some time if I would try to manufacture the engine with a 3D printer. The engine in the kit is in no way perfect but it will do. If I would correct all the discrepancies in the kit I fear I would never finish it.
 
Anyway, I´m working on the engine, all the cylinders are in place and its going fine so far. The reason that I started on the engine was that I needed the silver spray to start putting together the landing gear. Well, the silver spray is salvaged so I will stop with the engine and finish the landing gear!
 
No pictures today but some pictures by the end of the week will follow!

Hello Thomas,
Hello Carl,
many thanks for the interest and the nice words.
Also thank you to all for the LIKES.

Here is an update:
The wood processing for the top of the foremast is finished.
Now the fittings are made.




 
 

@druxey
Thank you for the kind words.
 
And here, continue with the report:
 
The Grätings for the top of the foremast are ready for installation.


Fitting in the frame is very carefully carried out.

The size difference between the tops of the foremast and the mainmast can be seen here.

Hello Greg,

here are two images of drilling a 0.6 mm hole in the ball of the stanchions.

@all
Many thanks for your interesst und the LIKES.
 
Here is my interpretation of the Bolsters on the trestle trees.
This gives an optimal support for the shrouds.
 
Thanks to Dirk @Dubz for this. He gave the decisive hint.

And here we continue with the top for the foremast.
The following two pictures show the basic structure of a top.

What will be the interior of the bus has been given floor lining and seats and the drivers seat has been 'planked'.
 
 

I'm in the middle of a run of 12 hour night shifts and don't have too much time but was able to finish opening up the windows today.
 

 
Dry Fit..