ccoyle

Re-titled to fit search function parameters.

You're welcome Robin .
 
Main Lower Shrouds and Burton Pendants
 
I've fitted all the Main Lower Shrouds. The foremost one is served all over, and the others are served for the uppermost quarter.
 
The Burton Pendants are slipped over the mast head before fitting any of the Shrouds. These are used for heavy lifting of any cargo, in conjunction with other rigging on the yards. They have a Thimble spliced into their lower ends, and are made up as a pair with a Cut Splice around the mast :
 

 

 
The foremost shroud is a single and also uses a cut splice to connect the port and starboard shrouds :
 

 
The rest of the shrouds are paired on each side as were the mizzen shrouds. This pic shows all the shrouds fitted around the mast head :
 

 
The deadeyes and lanyards :
 

 
An overall pic of the rigging so far :
 

 
  Danny

I usually clean up those ragged edge bits with the tip of a #11 knife blade.

Hi everyone,
 
Thank you for the likes (p.hoek, AntonyUK, egkb, Ian B and GuntherMT)
 
Here are the latest updates.
 
I finished painting the hull below the waterline (3 coats of paint), the rudder (thank you to the 3 pins!) and installation of deadeyes.
 

 
I also added the rudder and used simple pins instead of 1 mm brass wire (0.5 mm vs 1 mm)
 



 
I also advanced the laying of the thirty eyelets.
 

 
When the deck will be completed , I think starting the "varnish" operation. So I have 2 questions:
I hesitate between "Flat Matt" (my first choice) and "Matt" : what is your opinion ? How to reduce small traces of paint on the waterline (see next picture) ? Are there tools ?
Regards

As promised to Stergios I have documented my method for producing one of the shrouds.
 
Started off with a suitable length of 0.75mm black thread for the shroud line and mounted up into the serving machine.

 
Passed a needle through the shroud.

 
Threaded the needle with Gutermann thread for the serving.

 
Passed the needle and thread through the shroud line.

 
Repeat at 90 degrees.

 
Knot the end, trim and paint with some diluted PVA and allow to dry.

 
To serve hold the Gutermann thread between finger and thumb to keep taut but still allow to pass through as the serving machine is rotated.

 
I estimated that I needed 8cm served for the top loop of the shrouds.

 
Keeping the tension in the thread, cut off and thread through a needle and pass through the shroud line twice, tie off and paint with PVA.
 
Once complete the loose ends can be trimmed back to the main line with tweezers and a sharp scalpel.
 
 
 
 

Right then, time for an update!
 
Got a few bits done. Added ratlines to the foremast shrouds, decided to go with natural thread for the ratlines. Really like the contrast between the shrouds and the ratlines. Still don't enjoy tying loads of love hitches but hey ho, it's got to be done. Shouldn't really complain as there aren't that many. Wait until I get onto Diana and Victory....
 
Completed the foremast stay. Used the serving machine to serve around 6cm of line, then passed back and forth several times over a 5mm length to build up a mouse. Each pass was painted with a dab of diluted PVA to help hold the mouse together. Finished off with a further couple of centimetres of serving.
 
Added a loop in the end of the stay by folding the stay back on itself, holding in place using a set of helping hands and then added a false splice to complete the loop. Passed the other end of the stay through the loop and tightened until the mouse was snugly set in the loop and added to the top of the foremast. Added in a deadeye as per the shrouds and threaded in the lanyard.
 
Finally, rigged in the bobstay from the bowsprit to the front of bow with a rigging hook.
 
 

I am living without a table saw, band saw, scroll saw, disc sander, and scratch-building.  It's hard, but my support group helps me cope.

I am living without a table saw, band saw, scroll saw, disc sander, and scratch-building.  It's hard, but my support group helps me cope.

These books are not easy reads. O'Brian likes to toss out French and Latin phrases, and make the reader look them up. But he is a concise writer, and he packs a lot into a minimum of words. He repeats nothing, so if you miss the significance of an event, however minor, early on, then you might be confused  later. He has a different style of writing too, with phrases that just seem to flow. You have to hear the late Patrick Tull's book narrations (Recorded Books, inc.) to truly feel it. O'Brian has often been called "The Jane Austin for guys". His Napoleonic Period histories, his nautical descriptions, his naval intelligence methodologies, and his medical and "natural philosopher" descriptions are spot on.  His characters are the best of any other seafaring genre. The Hornblower sailors just seems wooden compared to them.
 
Not an easy read, the Aubrey-Maturin Series, but well worth the time.

Greetings all
Well at last the ship is in it's case. The photos don't do it justice, as I pointed out in the display case log. But the ship does really look impressive. The photos showing the full case are very fuzzy, and we tried everything we could think of to eliminate it. I did notice the fuzzy pictures when I moved into my new shipyard and blame it on the blue walls which I was advised was the best colour to use. The walls in the other yard were magnolia and the photos were much sharper. Anyway you can see the difference with the close up photos. So that's my lot, and now I turn to my next build which is the royal yacht caroline by panart. I did purchase the pegasus after following blue ensigns brilliant build, but the admiral said she wanted me to build a galleon. She said my late fathers last two ships were galleons so she wanted a galleon. She had a look through Cornwall model boats list of ships and between herself and her friend decided the caroline was a nice ship. So I am now beginning the only royal galleon caroline on the site. I would like to thank you one and all for following my build over the last few years, which has been wonderful experience. I am now off to build my Galleon. Here's the last few photos. Keep enjoying your builds....DAVID

Hi everyone. Thanks for all your Likes and comments; all of which are greatly appreciated.
 
Tonight I realised that I couldn't really do too much of the interior because I needed to get the correct heights of the superstructure to build the cupboards, etc. So, I set about building the superstructure out of tiny strips of jarrah veneer. Tricky, to say the least, but I don't think it looks too bad. It's still very rough and will definitely require internal stiffening to get rigidity to the structure; not to mention sanding and finishing. It's a start anyway.
 
Hope you enjoy the photos.
 
All the best!

Thanks to everyone for the likes and Sam and Brian for the input and advice. Will try the ‘spot putty’ next time I need it.
Yeah should definitely seal the paper first, although my concern was the jointing compound wouldn’t stick to the varnished paper well but this was unfounded.
 
 
Working on the outer propeller shafts.  There are a couple of cones to form for each end of the prop housing.  When these are formed the smaller holes are 4mm for the prop shafts.  Rather than try and roll the paper shafts (long yellow strips in the photo, part S3) I used some 4mm dowel from the Endeavour kit.  The cones slipped over the dowel pretty good.

 
 
The support struts were a bit of a head scratch as the diagrams only show an isometric drawing with no other advice about orientation.  The parts themselves have slightly different ends and are 2 sizes, an outer and inner which I used google translator to determine which is which.
 
A look at the AOTS shows the struts lean forward and the outer strut is vertical looking from the rear so that is what I went with.  There are lines on the hull for placement of the struts but nothing on the cone housing so tried to line them up for a best fit as per the AOTS.  I wouldn’t say they were a mirror image but hopefully won’t be noticeable right way up and close to the base board.


 
 
Okay all masked up and ready to spray

 
 
The Tamiya spray cans are pretty small at 100ml and quickly went through 1 and half cans giving lots of light coats.  The white patches of filler took a lot to disappear compared to the red paper as expected.  The photos below were taken right after spraying as the light was going and doesn’t look to bad as still wet.




 
 
Thoughts?  Well to be honest as it dies out it is still pretty rough in areas and once its fully dried and matted out it will only be rougher.  I am going to just live with it and move on.  I could keep going on and on with it but truth be told getting sick to death of working on the hull.  I really need to get on to some other parts of it to keep my interest going and do some modelling again instead of body shop work.
 
I think a paper hull looks a millions time better if done well and left alone instead of painting and a bit of care away back would have been more acceptable even if a bit bent and buckled.  But at the end of the day its my first paper ship hull and ready for more.
 
Cheers
Slog

No work of art has 100% universal appeal.  My wife can't understand what I find so funny about Monty Python -- go figure.

No work of art has 100% universal appeal.  My wife can't understand what I find so funny about Monty Python -- go figure.

I plan to build a 1:12 model of a 28 foot yacht. This design has never been built, but is a variant of a 24 foot yacht design usually called ‘a Ranger’ (see Wooden Boat magazine issue 227). The first of the type was called Ranger, launched in 1933. They are popular & loved because the design fits the purpose so well: day use on Sydney Harbour, with short coastal trips & overnighting capacity. The design was adapted by the designer to a 32’ ocean-going variant, & also a 28’ ocean-going variant. The 28 footer came 8th on IRC handicap in the 2006 Sydney Hobart Race (see youtube video of her in 2012 in 30-35 knots http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd9LqrDP510). The design I will build is slimmer & with less buoyancy in the bow than the ocean-going 28 footer.
 
The ‘Ranger’ yachts are generally 24 foot (7.3m) waterline & on deck, with bowsprit, gaff rig & a raised deck. They are very beamy at around 9’6” (2.9m), or a beam/length proportion of about 40%. This version is 28’ & 9’6” beam, so it’s basically stretched, not scaled up.
 
This design is of interest generally because: the smaller ones are admired & loved, at least locally; this 28’ design has never been built; the designer (Cliff Gale) was a self-taught boat designer & in his day was considered one of Sydney’s best yachtsman. But it’s also personal: I’m lucky enough to have one of the 24 footers. I love the design, that they can be so beamy yet look good & sail so well, & they are a terrific motor boat as well. They sail well in 5 knots & can also sail unreefed in 40 knots.
 
These photos show well the nuggety shape:
 

 

 
This is the existing ocean going 28 footer, she's the most similar boat to the design I'm building, but much fuller. It's a big little boat:
 

 

 

 
Cliff Gale was a self-taught designer, who learned by towing carved models behind a dinghy. Ranger was designed by carving a bread & butter half model, which was taken apart & measured. Cliff’s son Bill recently wrote this about his father:
 
"Cliff Gale left school in 1898 aged twelve, & knew arithmetic but had insufficient mathematics to be useful in boat design. As a boy he lived at Woolwich & the family owned a rowing skiff for transport & pleasure. From thirteen to nineteen he made in excess of one hundred rough sailing models, each one progressively different, which he tested from the skiff. At nineteen he felt he had completed his design self-education.”
 
I would like to build the model plank on ribs, & possibly make it RC sailing - although plain sailing is an alternative as well. But I’ll leave that alternative open until I get to that point, I will also be happy if a nice display model is the result.
 
The issue that needs to be resolved is actually what to build... I do have the original drawings as done by a naval architect to Cliff’s design, but having looked carefully at them, they do not relate accurately between the different drawings. The history of the Ranger design makes this even worse: for Ranger herself we have Cliff’s original half model, we have the original drawings done from the half model, & we have lines drawing of Ranger meticulously done by 2 local shipwrights … & they don’t match up.
 
If you compare station 4 on the drawings below, the design drawing shows more tumblehome, & much less buoyancy - the volume below the waterline was increased while being built, to increase her load-carrying capacity:
 

 

 
Bill Gale tells me that his father went to the boatbuilder often to supervise the construction, & that he made a number of modifications to the lines while she was being built.
 
For the model, I will have to adapt the lines drawing, trying to do it in a similar way that the lines drawing of Ranger was adapted to the built design. Because of the uncertainty, the model building method needs to help resolve thoughtfully these differences between the various possible shapes, & not be a way of getting caught up in plotting lines on a screen that fit but might be going away from the design. Initially I spent some hours trying to resolve a set of lines that is consistent, as they do not quite match up on the original drawing. My CAD skills are fair but you can’t really see a subtle 3D curved object in a drawing, so making changes to a curve on screen seems risky in this case. So I’ve concluded that I must see the shape in the flesh, & so carve the solid hull shape, based on a set of lines I adapted from the original lines drawing. The shape will be fair, so then I know the molds will work. If the method is too difficult I will be reluctant to make corrections, so it needs to be fairly simple & easy to make & to change.
 
In putting this up early, I hope to benefit from the knowledge & experience of this forum. So I’ve done some sketches below that show the idea for my construction method, & hope that I can get some constructive criticism & help to iron out any issues now. In a few weeks I’ll get back to the computer & finalise the lines drawings; but for now I’ll describe the idea for the building method - as I see it now.
 
1
Work up a set of lines in CAD, from the original drawings.
 
2
Cut plywood molds from the station lines.
 
20141103145702436.pdf
 
3
Assemble the molds with solid balsa blocking between them, the balsa blocking is to be removable. Possibly brass rods inserted at angles through the balsa & molds.
 
20141103145708075.pdf
 
20141103145720688.pdf
 
4
Carve the hull shape out of the solid, using the molds as indicators. If I need to add to the molds, glue strips of timber on the mold edges.
 
5
Make the stem, forefoot, keelson, keel, transom etc, to sit neatly over the hull shape.
 
20141103145726052.pdf
 
6
Remove some of the solid blocking, where the ribs can sit directly on the molds; leave the blocking where the ribs want to lie at angles, I’ll probably need to put in temporary spacers to help hold the model together. By keeping blocking in the bow area, the ribs can follow their natural line rather be pushed into being straight across the hull. It's not so bad for the aft 2/3s of the hull shape, I think they'll be able to sit on the plywood ribs.
 
7
Cut the rabbet, rib the hull.
 
8
Plank the hull.
 
9
Remove molds & remaining blocking, progressively putting in some deck beams as it goes.
 
10
Have a cup of tea
 
thanks for reading this, I hope to learn a bit more before starting, & maybe revise the method if needed
 
MP

No work of art has 100% universal appeal.  My wife can't understand what I find so funny about Monty Python -- go figure.

More work done on the stanchions and a new cut in the bulwark for the gangway. That was fun! Taking my time and enjoying listening to music at the same time.... 
~john
 

Have been playing with the brass window frames. My lovely wife is going to glaze them with Perspex supplied.1 done so far- will do all 5 before gluing- Perspex goes in from behind and buts to brass frame cross with some canopy glue

Afternoon all,
 
Construction has commenced!!!!!
 
First things first, I checked the kit against the register of parts and all were present and accounted for! Next I checked the quality of the parts, and Oh My Word, the quality was outstanding! No fraying of edges on any of the stripped materials, all lines were straight and true, and the castings for the carronades and mortor were execptional, the fact they've cast the evelation bottle screws on the carronades with a thread was just insane!! I squealed like a little girl when I saw those (my girlfriend thought I had cut myself already)! As you can imagine, I was very impressed, and compared to Matura/Sergal President kit, this was a shear delight! I am one very happy shipwright!
 

 
I then proceeded to cut out all the false keel items, clean them up, dry it, and test my improvised set square (balsa block & 90 degree angle bracket glued together), and enough roughly shaped balsa blocks to build up the bow and stern bulkheads. Unfortunately, I could not get Bulkhead no. 2 completely staright as I put the balsa packer in the wrong way round (d'oh)! So I will have to rasp the proud edge down slightly more than the others, but that is no problem.
 

 
As I superglued each bulkhead in place to start off with, I later ran a bead of PVA glue along each join to help reinforce the interface between False Keel and Bulkheads.
 
Whilst the PVA was drying, I turned my attention to the keel. I cleaned the gash material off from the keel, and and cut out the stern post and the stem. I used a permanent marker to imitate calking in between the joints, but I realised this is probably a fruitless effort, as I'll be painting the under water profile white. Oh well!
 

 
Lastly, I decided to dry fit the keel and false deck to check for overall "square-ness" of the ship so far. This proved to show me that Bulkhead 2 was not too much of an issue, and a slight trimming to the false deck, and it fitted perfectly!
 

 
Tonight, first priority will be moving all of my President bits and bobs to another tool box so I can use the dividers to partition off the Convulsion part, then I will be sanding down the balsa blocks and bulk heads to the required shear, and if the "boss" lets me, I might start running a few planks. Fingers crossed!
 
Cheers,
Jonny

So what exactly is a “card model”?  A card model (more properly a paper model, since card is only one of many kinds of paper, though the terms card and paper are frequently used interchangeably) is simply a model made primarily out of paper.  Many modelers are surprised when they hear for the first time that a ship model can be made from humble paper, but paper as a modeling medium has a long history dating back to the early 20th century.  During World War II, paper was one of the few resources not heavily regulated due to the war effort, and paper models enjoyed a brief peak in popularity, even in America.  After the war, though, plastic model kits began to take over the market, and paper model kits eventually become so scarce that most modelers have never heard of them, except in the countries that formerly made up the East Bloc.  Communism may not have had much going for it as a system of government, but what it did do is preserve card modeling as an art form.  Because plastic models were prohibitively expensive in Eastern Europe, card modeling remained a popular hobby there.  Once the Cold War thawed, commerce started flowing between East and West, and one item in particular had a huge influence on card modeling: CAD technology.  Our card modeling friends in Eastern Europe were quick to apply computer-aided drafting to the art of designing card models, and as a result an ever-increasing number of card model designs became available with better artwork, more detail, and closer fit tolerances.  Although the number of Western designs is also increasing, for the most part the hobby is still dominated by designers and publishers from the East, particularly Poland, home to some of the preeminent publishing houses, including GPM, Modelik, JSC, Orlik, Maly Modelarz, and the company considered by many to be the gold standard of card modeling, Kartonowy Arsenal.  Germany is another leading producer of card models, with HMV, Moewe-Verlag, and J. F. Schreiber being some of the better-known publishers.
 
Paper has a number of selling points as a modeling medium, probably the most important of which is that it is relatively cheap.  With the prices of wooden and plastic kits exploding in recent years, the fact that most paper kits can still be purchased for under $20 US makes them attractive candidates for modelers with small budgets.  Paper Shipwright of the UK, for example, offer 44 ship designs in their catalog, none of which has a price tag greater than $16 US.  Of course, just like with wood or plastic, after-market additions can push the price of a card model project up considerably, but even with the cost of laser-cut or photo-etched details thrown in, a card model costing over $100 US is rare.  In addition to being inexpensive, paper is also versatile, and with careful manipulation can be molded into almost any three-dimensional shape.  A third advantage of card models is that they are, with very few exceptions, pre-colored, meaning that the color of the finished model is printed on the paper.  Modern graphic design programs allow designers to produce card model kits with exceptionally realistic weathering already printed on the model.  In most cases, painting or coloring of a card model is limited to the need to obscure the seams between adjacent parts.  And finally, card models require very few tools to get started – most people probably already have the basic cutting and gluing supplies in their house somewhere.
 
One of the most compelling reasons to try card modeling is that a card model kit that starts as a set of flat, printed sheets can be transformed into a stunning finished product.  There is a learning curve, of course, but hearing someone say, “I can’t believe that’s made out of paper!” upon viewing one of your finished card models never gets old.
 
An excellent one-stop site to see a variety of completed card ship models is the website for Hamburger Modellbaubogen Verlag, better known as HMV.  Their site is available in both German and English.  Enjoy!
 
Continue to Part II: Start for FREE!

Winter is approaching, this means model ship building season is upon us (or at least me)!
I have been thinking whether I should pursue building my Hesper (http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/723-hesper-by-frenchguy-pilot-schooner-scale-148/?hl=hesper ), or put her on the back burner and start something else. Hesper is a beautiful model, but it’s a scratch build model, and despite fantastic plans from Erik Ronnberg, this model has already tested my limits with scratch building. So Hesper will stay on the shelf at least until next year.
 
There are two other models from kits that have been on my radar for some time: the America Yacht from BlueJacket, and the Benjamin W. Latham from Model Shipways. Both are 1:48 model, the first one is POF, the second is POB
 
I finally decided to go with Benjamin Latham for the following reasons:
1-      I love New England Schooners
2-      The America kit from BlueJacket is fairly expensive (although I found their kits to be of better quality overall that Model shipways)
3-      There are already several logs of folks here building this model - and I will shamelessly steal any good idea I come across J
4-      There is solid information about New England schooners  in Chapelle’s schooner bible
5-      I got  a 40% coupon discount for MS
6-      I love New England Schooners
 
There is plenty of documentation and pictures on her. I also saw a beautiful model of this schooner at the Cape Ann Museum in Gloucester, MA http://www.capeannmuseum.org/collections/objects/schooner-benjamin-w-latham/
So here we are, I just received the box, and inventoried the content. The kit was backordered, but with the discount, it was well worth the wait.  I had printed the manual some years ago, and went through it a few times before (BlueJacket, take note: offering a free download of the manual from your website would be a great idea). The plan sheets are superbly detailed and I also like the down to earth approach of Ben Lanksford when it comes to instructions.
 
Let the building begin!

First - thanks to all who have commented recently - I haven't been AWOL, just busy
 
So, for a current update - I've been working on the modification of the center 40mm tubs between the stacks and have the basic mods in place. This area is now the Mk. 56 FC Director Platform. As with the rest of the model, it is in place but not adhered at this point. Work to be done on the other 40mm tubs (4) ahead and abaft of this platform. They will become Zuni Rocket Launcher tubs (to be built) and will require minor modifications. As a comparision to the orig. configuration, look at a couple of the photos from earlier posts of this area.

 
I hope to have another photo from the front of the platform later - the one I took last night was out of focus. The Mk. 56 directors are as yet to be built - I need 6 of these, so I am planning on making a master and molding the other 5 - that will be a project in itself. The remaining hole in the decking is for location of the antenna post (each side) to which antenna wires are turnbuckled and attach to the foremast yard.
 
I'm still doing research on the Zuni Launchers so those are not started yet. Photos that I have access to are not close up and details are sparce.
 
Len - do you recall the interior of the nav. bridge? I may have asked before - I was thinking it was pea green on the bulkheads, but perhaps simply haze gray. If you've any ideas, let me know.
 
Hank

Hi Grant, I knew someone would say that but it really did have issues. LOL
 
Hi Sam, I think you may be correct.  I will have to see what I can do in the future.
 
Hi Brian, I will have by the time I finish it.
 
 
Okay it’s been awhile since my last post as time has been tight and when I did have time just didn’t want to touch it.
 
Firstly a couple of realisations; I really liked the lower hull colour and feel of the paper skins.  They had a richness about them (as can be seen in the post above) so disappointed that I will have to paint them.  I mentioned previously how I didn’t like the double thickness of the overlapping skins.  Actually once they were edge coloured and on I didn’t mind them at all.
 
In an ideal world I would have been very happy to skin up the hull as the kit required, oh well hopefully next one turns out better.
 
I decided to use some plasterboard tape joint compound instead of auto-body filler.  Reasoning being it is made for gripping to the paper surface of plasterboard and can be sanded to a nice feathered edge.  I was worried auto-body filler would dry to a hard tough finish which would be difficult to sand down without going through the surrounding paper.
 
One problem with the tape jointing compound is it must have a high moisture content which doesn’t matter on rigid plaster board but did make some of the skins not supported underneath buckle up a bit but seemed to dry out okay.  I believe there is a very fine body filler for scratches called stopping or butter so will try that in future.
 
Once it was all dried and sanded, I went over and brushed on a coat of Caldercrafts Admiralty Flat Matt Varnish to seal the paper surface for spraying.
 
Photos below show the extent of filling. Even after a second skim coat there was still a few little bits could be improved on but will get some paint on it first to see how it looks and will fill again if really needed.


 
 
The centre prop housing gave me heaps of problems as it wasn’t clear (to me anyway) how it was supposed to be folded and glued so needed a fair bit of filler to build up the shape.

 
 
I have already bought a couple of spray cans of Tamiya’s TS33 Dull Red that I have seen used on another web site so once I finish the prop supports will give that a go.
 
Cheers
Slog

View of the interior of the Confederate submersible H. L. Hunley, as she appeared on her final mission in February 1864 near Charleston, South Carolina. Modeled in Rhino, based on plans by Michael Crisafulli and illustration concept by Dan Dowdey.
 

Hi all. I've done a little bit more work on Mystic's tiny hull. The work includes adding the internal ribs. On the outside of the hull, I've added additional planks at the bow and shaped them into the a nice flare. The hull's certainly a lot more shapely now. Lastly, I've added the rubbing strakes onto the external hull above the waterline and a bilge stringer under the waterline.
 
Still a lot more work to go, but, it should be lots of fun.
 
All the best.