ccoyle

This is not my first ship build but it is about 40 years since my last one. My first was a 35" plastic Cutty Sark, no sails but full rigging. Most enjoyable part was the rigging. Since then I've done a wooden Robert E Lee, river boat, and the Bluenose. Being isolated at home now I decided I'd like to try one again. I pick the Terror but, really wanted to build it as it was originally built, a bomb vessel. I started doing so research on it, actually received so help from this site. By the time I recieved the kit I still hadn't been able to find all the information I needed. Wife was getting upset because I got it to keep busy but wasn't doing anything with it. So I've decided to go ahead and start on it and once finished do some more research and try the original from scratch.
 
Once I got started I forgot to start taking pictures or start a log. So I'll start a log now and include what pictures I do have. I've finished the first planking. Now I remember why it's been nearly 40 years since last build. I hate planking.
 
 
I hope you will point out any mistakes I make or correction I need to make. I welcome criticism, how else will you learn.

I have always thought that the Tiffy's big radiator intake gave it a particularly hulking and menacing look. My card modeling interests lean toward the interwar years, but I think that I might one day have a slot in my queue for a Typhoon. 

I picked the East Coast Oyster Sharpie for my next project using the plans and practicum by Bill Strachan and available from the NRG.  Everything is outlined at https://thenrg.org/genericsharpie.php, and the practicum has tons of pictures.  It is so well illustrated that I will probably limit the build log a little and not include things that are well outlined in the practicum, which is available on the NRG website for free.  The plans are beautiful, the build looks like it won’t take 6 years like my last one did, and it looks like a very different kind of project, which will make a good break.  I’m a little nervous as there are only two logs on MSW, and they both stop fairly early in the build. 
 
I started back in February with big plans to keep the project moving along, then COVID-19 hit.  I work in health care, so rather than extra time to model at a social distance, work has been completely consuming in terms of patient care and pandemic preparation and management.  I mostly go to the workshop at the end of a long day to decompress.  Working while tired has led to a lot of re-do’s already.  Not sure if late 19th century Sharpie’s had names, but this one will be christened “Corona”.
 
So far, I’ve made the two building jigs. There have been a few discrepancies between the plans and practicum, and I’m starting to work off the plans with the instructions more as a guide.  Jig 2 went together easily.

The first jig needed some shims on frames 5 and 6.  Not sure what happened as I cut to the line in terms of frame shape.  I had a nice smooth curve along the top, but needed to shim the sides of frame 5 and 6 around 1/64 and 3/64 retrospectively.  With the shims, I have a smooth curve along the sides as well.  There are also some slight discrepancies between the as built jig and the profile on the plan, but given that everything seems fair, I don’t expect it will cause a problem later.

From this point on, I’ll be building the model instead of jigs, so will include more pictures.  I have enough boxwood left over from the cross section, so plan to use it.  I usually use contrasting wood colors, but have wanted to try a model using a single type of wood. I will finish in wipe on poly. I think the rigging and metal work should have enough contrast to keep it visually interesting.

I have always thought that the Tiffy's big radiator intake gave it a particularly hulking and menacing look. My card modeling interests lean toward the interwar years, but I think that I might one day have a slot in my queue for a Typhoon. 

I have always thought that the Tiffy's big radiator intake gave it a particularly hulking and menacing look. My card modeling interests lean toward the interwar years, but I think that I might one day have a slot in my queue for a Typhoon. 

I have always thought that the Tiffy's big radiator intake gave it a particularly hulking and menacing look. My card modeling interests lean toward the interwar years, but I think that I might one day have a slot in my queue for a Typhoon. 

I have always thought that the Tiffy's big radiator intake gave it a particularly hulking and menacing look. My card modeling interests lean toward the interwar years, but I think that I might one day have a slot in my queue for a Typhoon. 

I have always thought that the Tiffy's big radiator intake gave it a particularly hulking and menacing look. My card modeling interests lean toward the interwar years, but I think that I might one day have a slot in my queue for a Typhoon. 

Hi everybody, another newbie here. We've all reacted in different ways to this pandemic. For myself, I've been having the urge to make something, to keep both my hands and my mind occupied, to have a large on-going project as a break from teaching and writing a book. Not entirely sure why I got so determined that it had to be a model ship, but here we are. I made plastic model cars and planes as a kid and, back then, I always thought it would be cool to make a ship. So I guess maybe this is an unfulfilled childhood fantasy. 
 
After much research on this forum and other sites, I finally bit the bullet last night. Ordered the Artesania Latina Bon Retour kit, along with some tools I didn't already have and some glue, stains, and varnish. Why the Bon Retour? Well...this site has some great advice for newbies to the hobby and I got intimidated enough by the kits I really want to make that I (wisely) chose to start with something simpler and more affordable. (Seriously, thanks to all of you who have posted guidance and recommendations for newbies, as well as those of you who've posted detailed build logs.) I'm a historian, so look forward to eventually building some of the ships that hold particular historical interest for me. I'm also a francophile, so am looking forward to doing some smaller French ships while figuring out how to do planking and rigging.
 
Now, the long wait until the kit arrives and I can get started...

I have always thought that the Tiffy's big radiator intake gave it a particularly hulking and menacing look. My card modeling interests lean toward the interwar years, but I think that I might one day have a slot in my queue for a Typhoon. 

so now we plug in the stern post and the stem at the bow.... i sure prefer making these from a solid piece rather than the two sides and a piece to cover the edges approach taken here.
you can see that some pretty drastic surgery was needed at the stern, as it did not tuck in enough

Unfortunately, I really dropped the ball with keeping this thread up to date. Even though I haven't been spending too much time building this model over the last year, but I'm already pretty close to finishing it. Here are the pictures I salvaged from my phone:
 
26. Once the chainplates have been installed I proceeded to rigging the model (honestly, this is the most difficult step for me as I find it is a lot easier to work with wood rather than with threads). Here are the jigs I made out of brass wire to carefully align deadeyes. I made 14 of those altogether(7 for port and 7 for starboard):
 


As for the rigging order, I didn't follow the instructions booklet too exactly. I mixed standing rigging with some running rigging to simplify the workflow. I didn't want to end up seizing something to a yard amid a spiderweb of lines.
 
This is the current state. The standing rigging is 100% done and the running rigging is 85% done (I completely rigged the boom and and both gaffs). Currently I'm working on setting up the ratlines:

 

Continue with bulkheads... and stern...




Happy modelling.
 
 
 

Having not used a Zvezda kit and GMM PE in a long time,  I forget how good modern stuff is. Nothing fits well at all. Plastic or metal.  
 
the gantries and superstructures, then dry fit of the masts and funnels 

Hello, Termi.
 
I have only built one Corel kit, their schooner Flying Fish, which I bashed as Jack London's Ghost for a teacher friend to use as a visual aid when doing a unit on The Sea-Wolf. It was truly an awful kit with a long list of issues. However, I have heard members speak well of higher-end Corel kits -- I guess it's one of those "get what you pay for" things.

Slow progress. Was held up a few days by the need to get some more spray adhesive. I wasn't paying attention and got the wrong kind too, 3M 90 instead of 77 (90 is the heavy-duty spray and is not dispensed in anything like the fine pattern from a can of 77). Whoops! Made do with it anyway. As I hinted earlier, I'm still trying for that elusive "perfect hull." These kits have a longitudinal profile former spine that glues down to the base by means of a series of folded tabs. I don't care much for that method, since the folded paper fibers store some elastic energy, resulting in the tabs tending to push upward on the spine. What I did instead was remove the tabs and add two card strips on either side of the spine, creating a slot for the spine to fit into. Next up are the transverse formers. As you can see in the accompanying photo, the horizontal lines on the formers do not match up correctly with the corresponding line along the spine; if all is glued in place like this, the deck will not have a perfectly flat surface to lie on. The transverse formers will need to be shimmed to fix the alignment, and the amount of shim needed is slightly different at each station (due simply to the tiny variations in the cutting out of each part), so that will be the next task.
 
EDIT: Forgot to mention that I also laminated the formers onto a second sheet of card, which substantially stiffens them. This simulates the practice found in most Eastern European kit designs, but is not standard practice for Paper Shipwright or HMV designs.
 

 
Cheers!

I've got some issues with the other kit I'm working on at the moment, and I'm also going to need some work done on the AC at my new house before I can work in my new "man cave" in comfort. While I'm waiting on these matters, I decided I'd dig out one of the card models in my stash and poke around with it. This one is CGS Canada, a Canadian fisheries protection ship built in 1904 that did service in the Great War and later, after being sold off to private interests, sank off the coast of Florida in 235 feet (70 m) of water. You can read more about her history here.
 
The kit is designed by David Hathaway of Paper Shipwright in the UK. I have enjoyed building several other Paper Shipwright kits, including SMS Rhein, the Swedish monitor Folke, and the Spanish monitor Puigcerda; all of these are in the gallery. Like many Paper Shipwright kits, this is a comparatively simple model consisting of three sheets of parts, two pages of diagrams, two pages of English instructions, and a cover sheet. At £6.50, it's a sweet little deal. I chose this particular kit because I like the look of it, but also because it has a minimum of railings that will need to be built. David includes a template in each of his kits that allows the railings to be made from thread. It's a nifty method, but not my favorite task, so the less the better.
 
Another reason why I chose this kit is because one of the main challenges for me with card ships is getting a nice-looking hull without arriving at the "starving cow" look that card hulls sometimes get. David's kits use the "egg crate" style of hull construction, as do for example kits from HMV (Hamburger Modellbaubogen Verlag). I will be trying out some new methods to try and get the "perfect hull". We'll see how that goes. The finished hull will be about 10 inches long.
 
Here's some photos of the kit elements. Since it's a card kit, all of the elements are on (surprise!) paper or card stock. Ciao!

Welcome aboard, Shepherd! Your job description sounds very interesting.
 
Getting started in the tool department is always kind of tricky, and probably every modeler has tools in his possession that he thought he would need but never did, or tools that he once though were indispensable but now seldom uses. It's part of learning the craft, as well as developing your own particular style and methods. Starter tool kits can be problematic, because of course they're based on what someone else thought were the required tools, not what may work best for you; on the other hand, they can be a good way to get started. Personally, I started with a tool set aimed at model railroaders and got by reasonably well for my first couple of beginner kits. Much of what you need in addition to such a set can be acquired at any local craft or hardware store. Good beginner kits also include some advice on what tools and materials are needed to complete the kit.
 
Take care! 

Hello all. I am an extremely green ship builder as in this will be my first ever. I am going to attempt to build the revenue cutter Blue Jacket.
 
Any thoughts, recommendations or help will be greatly appreciated..as I said this will be my first as attempt. 
 
Wish me luck
Tony 

Not to my knowledge.

Welcome aboard, Shepherd! Your job description sounds very interesting.
 
Getting started in the tool department is always kind of tricky, and probably every modeler has tools in his possession that he thought he would need but never did, or tools that he once though were indispensable but now seldom uses. It's part of learning the craft, as well as developing your own particular style and methods. Starter tool kits can be problematic, because of course they're based on what someone else thought were the required tools, not what may work best for you; on the other hand, they can be a good way to get started. Personally, I started with a tool set aimed at model railroaders and got by reasonably well for my first couple of beginner kits. Much of what you need in addition to such a set can be acquired at any local craft or hardware store. Good beginner kits also include some advice on what tools and materials are needed to complete the kit.
 
Take care! 

Allen, hull and deck questions go here.
 
Cheers!

Welcome aboard, Shepherd! Your job description sounds very interesting.
 
Getting started in the tool department is always kind of tricky, and probably every modeler has tools in his possession that he thought he would need but never did, or tools that he once though were indispensable but now seldom uses. It's part of learning the craft, as well as developing your own particular style and methods. Starter tool kits can be problematic, because of course they're based on what someone else thought were the required tools, not what may work best for you; on the other hand, they can be a good way to get started. Personally, I started with a tool set aimed at model railroaders and got by reasonably well for my first couple of beginner kits. Much of what you need in addition to such a set can be acquired at any local craft or hardware store. Good beginner kits also include some advice on what tools and materials are needed to complete the kit.
 
Take care! 

FINISHED!
I spent the weekend cleaning off dust and touching up paint in preparation of placing the Niagara in its glass enclosure. While I designed the case with an option of removing the ship, it will not be an easy process, and I don’t have plans on doing so. So sealing it away knowing I will not be able to work on it, or tweak something, was a tough moment.
This was a great project. I give credit to the folks at Model Shipways for putting together a great kit. This was my first wooden ship build, and I would recommend the Niagara for any first timer.  There are easier kits out there (and a lot more harder ones) to cut your teeth on, but the Niagara is a good choice. It is reasonably priced (I bought mine at a half off sale). The instructions and plan sheets are good overall, and if followed, will produce an end product you will be proud of..
The kit lacks expensive wood, and some critical parts, but again, for the price, it is still a good purchase. With the exception of the hull planking, I swapped out all of the basswood lumber and laser cut parts with hardwoods (cherry and holly mostly). Those parts that the kit requires the builder to engineer and produce tested my model skills and have made me a better builder. I have seen the term kit “bashing” when someone “goes off the plan.” I guess I did this with this kit, but I can’t say I bashed it, I would rather say I enhanced it. Thanks Model Shipways.
I also have to give credit to Chuck Passaro and his Syren products. I used his rope, blocks, hooks, and hearts for all of the rigging. These products make any ship look great, even for us amateurs.
I also give credit to Model Ship World and my fellow Niagara builders. I would never have purchased this kit, let alone make the effort to build it, without the wealth of information and full color pictures available on this site. Builders like Bahamas Diver, Xken, Patrickmil, Greatgalleons, Mikiek, and others who sailed the lakes with their Niagara Builds were inspirations and great teachers. My project would have sunk to the bottom of Lake Erie without their guidance. They had my back.
I can't forget my fellow members of the Shipwrights of the Central Ohio modelling club. The long drive to our monthly meetings is always worth the trip. Great knowledge, experience and fellowship. Thanks Bill for everything you do for our club
And finally, to those of you out there that stopped in to see this project and lent advice and words of encouragement. As I am sure you all know, getting an “atta boy” from an experienced shipwright is energizing.
Here are some final photos as I mark my build log officially FINISHED.

Today's progress:
 
Tapered the ends some more in the bow area to avoid overcrowding and it looks pretty nice. The ends are 3.5mm out of 6mm in width which means i'm playing by the rules. No drop planks needed for this layer of planking. This first layer of planks looks so good that my next build will definitely be a singer layer build. 
 
I'm working at the speed of two planks per hour and it's exhausting me fast. I found that working in mirror gets rid of the hassle of taking measurements for each plank on the other side. Once i trim one plank, i use it as a template to cut the corresponding plank from the other side. Then bend them to shape with my flatiron and carefully glue them in place. Little sanding needs to be done here and there to get a perfect fit and so far i have no gaps or weird warps. Got the roundness i was looking for 😁 therefore i won't be using fillers and very little sanding needs to be done prior to second planking.
 
What do you guys think?