Ryland Craze

Hello again, my friends. I´ve come back to show you a new project I intend to see through in less time than the last ones. It´s funny to perceive we may be away from the shipyard for some time, but it still calls us rightly into it´s arms. So, to begin with, a presentation of the kit´s content, followed by impressions and the reason why my title has a "modified" in it.
 
 
The box is a strong one, better than Artesania Latina´s Red Dragon box, with some info in it, pretty default.
 

On openning it we can see that magic things that makes us happy and going.


 
 
The plans are simple, but precise, there are no much more to say about them. There are lots of castings, all the fittings, a beautiful sailcloth with a venetian flag. The woods seems ok, love their smell - some Mahogany, walnut and lime tree.  Have to say this was the most anticipated model from the ones I´ve bought, since its larger and have a greater rope work - it also goes in the direction I want to move for the next types of ships I want to build. After this one I plan on starting a plank on frame "Nao de Mataró" for which I´ve been researching for quite a good time.
 
About the ship:
 
"Many ships are also referred to as ‘coca’, ‘cocha’ or
‘cocche’. This sounds very similar to the Dutch word
‘kog’ (cog or cock-boat). This is no coincidence. According
to the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani
(1277-1348) the first West European cogs arrived in
the Mediterranean Sea in 1304. He writes: “Certain
people from Bayone in Gascogne entered the Strait
of Gibraltar in 1304 as pirates, in their ships called
cogs, and caused huge damage. But the Genoese, the
Venetians and the Catalonians then started copying
the ship.”
So the northern method of building ships was introduced
to the Mediterranean in the 14th century.
What were the differences southern and northern
European shipbuilding? In the Mediterranean ships
were traditionally built with a triangular lateen sail
and a side rudder. The cog on the other hand was
clinker-built, square-rigged, and had a rear rudder.
The Mediterranean and West European shipbuilding
traditions are actually merged in the coca. The coca
is clinker-built with rear rudder, one or two masts,
and square rigged."
 
As the present kit intends to give us a 16th century ship, I begun my research so I could turn it a bit older. I tried to buy a book on the subject, refered to by a member from this distinctive site, but couldn´t either because it was over on Amazon and on the italian online bookstores (I even paid for one, but got the money back - I wanted the book!). So, I decided on researching online as much as I could to fill the gaps - I want it to be a 15th century ship - Already read there are no great changes trough that period of time, but, any help is always welcome. 
 
Other things I´ve got to modify - no castings on windows and doors - those will be wooden made and may have other materials as I see fit to close the gap in time - don´t know if the small boat which cames with it would have existed at the 1400´s, so, maybe it won´t be part of the ship. The crow´s nest is too simple, so, I´ll scratch a new one. Various frames will be cut so I can make room for cabins, cargo holders and such - I´ll try to put some lights on, if I find space - 1-70 scale is a little small for me, but I may get it done. The rudder is plywood, don´t know if I´ll be using it, too.
 
That´s it for the time being. I´ve already started this one 2 years ago, but as things got messed up, had to hold it. Now, I think I can make it to the end.
 
 

Yes, Danny, I did say that. And I really mean it after this model is completed!
 
Your stagecoach is awesome. Glad you're back.
 
Speedwell has a beautiful quarterdeck bulkhead (see NMM photo above) which I'm working on now. The arched door and molded frame has taken me almost two weeks to reach this point.
Thanks for those who have commented. David and I are hoping to get the first volume of our Speedwell book into print this year (late, very late). It will give three options for building - plank on frame, plank on bulkhead and lift method. Volume two will cover masting and rigging.
 

 
 
 

Hi Guys not sure if this post is at home here as its not specifically maritime but to my mind could possibly be an alternative to a joining lengths of a keel together with no movement – Wonder if the Japanese ever used it for their Vessels ?
In any event it is a superb demonstration of carpentry to join what appear to be very long lengths of timber using nothing other than a wedge with no discernible sag or movement even after the wedge is removed.
Link to video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPUPyuz_ink
Cheers Pete

Keep the pictures and post coming, have always like this ship.

One of the quarter galleys rough cut out and fitted.  After cutting the moldings it sits nice and flush.  Will be set aside for final sanding/shaping and painting.
 

AND BANG, finished.
 
Thanks for the likes and support, to the followers who suffered the 8 month build. 20K views on a plastic model is flattering to say the least.
 
The next build will not be so complex, there is so much detail it just gets lost. You can see from my previous builds, it is a magnitude more involved, but I have learnt to use an airbrush (thanks Banyan) and that Dutch people have a very similar sense of humor to Aussies (Cog).
 
Off to the digital graveyard.
 
 

A tricky bit - I had to rivet these seat brackets together so they could actually work. I used 0.7mm soft brass wire held in my vice and tapped the ends down with a small hammer :
 


 
  Danny

Thanks Eddie and Mike.
 
Two of the moldings I cut earlier from Castello need bending to follow the line of the side. I soaked them overnight and placed them in this simple jig to dry. They are slightly over-bent as they will straighten a touch when removed :
 

 
  Danny

Hey howya goin all, here I've just started to put sanding seal on the trunk.    
 

 
In the  instructions manual they show you just butting the pieces of wood together to me that looks crap here I've mitered all the timber
 

 
Here is a macro look at the small pieces with 45 degree angle on them all hand cut.

Thank you everyone for the likes and comments.  Time to move on to the head.
 
This is an absolute birds nest of inter-related structures which appears daunting but (so far) is not horribly difficult if one fabricates and installs one piece at a time.  Sorry that there are no construction pictures but taking photos of 3-D objects while keeping everything in focus is beyond my simple camera.  The key to each structure is one word...template.  The lower cheek is constructed first.  Make a template in the horizontal plane.  On the plan, determine the total thickness of the cheek, remembering that there is a gentle curve upwards as the cheek follows the knee of the head.  Also remember that the hull drops away inferiorly so make the aft arm wider than per the plan.  Draw out the templated cheek on the wood, keeping the arms along the grain as much as possible.  Cut out the rough blank and offer it up to the hull until a good fit is achieved; It is still oversized in thickness at this point.  Next, draw the curve onto the side of the blank and shape it  with sanding discs.  The edge of the cheek has a molding cut into it.  Make another scraper (since none of the other shapes made so far are correct) and carefully scrape the shape onto the cheek.  Simple, right?  Actually, very tedious although not technically difficult.  The first one took four hours to complete.  On my model the starboard side is unplanked so there  is a gap between the frames and the knee corresponding to the thickness of the planking.
 
The upper cheek is made in similar fashion except that it must fay into the hair bracket with a scarf.  On Atalanta it is slightly thinner than the lower cheek at the aft end and tapers in width going forward.  That simply makes adding the molding even more fun because the fore arm molding must be cut free hand.  The hair bracket is simple to make after the cheeks are installed.  Again, make a template.  The molding is cut in free hand because the width continues to diminish on the ascending arm.  I used a dull #11 scalpel to gently impress the design.  Then a 2 mm V-chisel was used to cut the groove, changing direction as necessary to always cut with the grain.  Finally, it was finished with jeweler's files.  The scarf was cut into the hair bracket first.  This was then drawn onto and then cut into the already installed upper cheek.  The hair brackets were installed and the joint cleaned up so that the molding flows between the cheek and the hair bracket.  This can be seen when one compares the second and third photos below.  The total time invested so far on the headwork is two weekends.
 



 

 

For those who may be vaguely curious about the face behind the model, here's yours truly posing with Pegasus before she is cased.

 
B.E.
 

Not a lot to show yet but this is the beginning of the lower 'deck'!
 
Much to my surprise for an OcCre kit one sheet of laser cut pieces has a very nasty warp. I have managed to flatten it but a quick email to OcCre and replacements are on their way. Pretty good I reckon and they always have been when a fault occurred.
 
 

I have seen many people asking about OcCre models on this forum but very few logs about them. I realise this is a non boat topic but just at the moment there are several stagecoaches being built so I though I would continue the trend.
 
I have made lots of OcCre models and I think they are great. Wood is usually of good quality, metal mouldings excellent, instructions some of the best I have seen as they come in the form of a booklet with step by step instructions and photos. I appreciate their kits would be a total anathema to the scratch builders out there but they are good fun and make up into lovely looking models.
 
So, onto the usual box contents which you can see. There are always a lot of metal pieces in their kits but all small items are enclosed in a plastic box. The laser cut sheet parts are some of the best I have come across.
 
 

The final 25mm turrets added, little bit of rigging to go and the flags. 

Ok, floatplanes finished and plonked on the back deck. You can just see the little MG on the plane near the match. The rear 25mm's are now added, as well as a few trolleys for the planes lying around. 

Thanks folks, I've finally (almost) finished the ships boats. I'm pretty much crap at them but they'll suffice. No references provide any advice on the slinging of the boats so after much trial and error I made up some winches and slung them as if they are being retrieved or deployed. I have a bit of tidy up to do yet but that can wait till the end. I tried to lower them with copper wire but could not get the tension right so I used ezline. Parked a few longboats on the back deck and will put the 2 sampans on the flight deck. 

Spent the last few modeling days on what I think is the hardest part of the entire build to date...The headrails.  Got them in and once the glue dries will work on a bit of final finishing.
 

 
Next step is the stern and quarter galley resin castings.  At one time I thought that maybe I would replace these with my own carvings but after a bit of practice I am nowhere near patient enough for that.  Maybe one day in a few years
 
Here they are (the stern has been filed down to shape and fits pretty well on the back).  One thing is the casting is flat but the stern has a curve to it.  It is not to bad but I would have to CA it to get it to bend and I hate to use CA.  Going to try a piece of scrap to see if I can heat it up a bit and bend to shape.  I have no idea if that is going to work.  Will probably start with just a hair dryer and go from there.
 

Thanks. Before I started getting sick 10 years ago, I was a Wildlife Nature Cinematographer and Photographer.  This new hobby of model making has given me an excuse to take a few pictures.  Photography is nothing more than the manipulation of light. 

More shaping, sanding and staying on the level.  Since the onset of my disability, I have had difficulty with reading and writing. That is why you will get a lot of pictures. 

Dear Friends,
I am proud to present my new improvement of best-selling Serving Machine.
Ball bearings are now used for both parts - main and transmission. It allows you to serve and make other jobs as smoothly as possible .
 
Here is the photo of new cheek with ball bearing.

Here is the short video on how to assemble. (English subtitles available)
 
 
 
And more details you may find on my site:
http://shipworkshop.com/products/tools/serving-machine-2.6
 
regards,
Alexey

I just got this machine a couple of weeks ago and will say it is a real pleasure to use. Extremely smooth running and easy to use and with the attachments that are included more than just serving can be accomplished. With the quality of this machine coupled with Alexey"s customer service you just can't go wrong.
 Job well done Alexey

Back from visiting the grand kids and getting back to work on the Constitution. I reached a point where the bowsprit is needed for the rest of the stay lines to be rigged. I glued nuts to the strap indexing them on the holes drilled in the straps. I then opened the ends of small jack stays to form hooks for the chain. Chain was hooked on the port side stays and the hook closed on the chain. The chain was dropped down and I made a feed needle for the chain to fish the chain through the holes and attached them on the starboard side stay, closed the hook and carefully cut the chain. I may stain the chain later once the glue has set. In the meantime I found a size of key chain at Michael's that worked for the cannon balls. The chain was glued in lines and cut to rack lengths needed and glued to the racks.





Now onto the back stays and the bowsprit, but first a couple other projects to work on.

Thanks, Denis. Yes there were two - People's Choice award (1st, 2nd, 3rd place) and the Jim Roberts Award .  Everyone who registered got a ballot to vote for the People's Choice award. The Jim Roberts award is a more formally judged award based on a set of criteria - panel of 5 judges did that judging. It's present by the New Jersey Club.  Don't know much else about it since I'm new to all this.  The winner of both awards is in the NE Joint Clubs forum see this post https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/15240-35th-annual-northeast-ship-model-conference-and-show/&do=findComment&comment=496528
 
The rest of the models are a post or two prior to this one.
 
The Admiral won one of the door prizes - the MS Sultana kit - so I guess I'll be building that for her sometime down the line.

We did make it to the Northeast Joint Clubs Conference in New London CT and displayed the Willie Bennett.  So to finish off the build log, here's a photo of her at the show. Great show; great models; enjoyed meeting  members of MSW.
 

Hi Carl,
 
I'd love to know the name of your book on Japanese temple construction. I think I could learn a lot from something like that.
 
In the meantime, I just posted Part V of my build, which puts me just about half way through completion of the project: https://shipmodeler.wordpress.com/2017/05/04/building-woody-joes-shinmei-zukuri-shrine-part-v/#more-3716
 
Here are some photos...
 
 

 
Thanks,
Clare