ccoyle

Since I am still building this kit and had it posted up to the crash, I am going to spend some time reposting this build log from my backup files.  I have been and still am posting this log on Ships of Scale, a smaller forum than this one, however there are many names that I recognize that post to both forums.
 
This is a 1:70 scale model but even at that the model will measure 49" in length by 35" in height and about 19" wide when finished. The OcCre kit quality was excellent as the false keel and all 15 or 16 bulkheads fitted perfectly with just very limited sanding of bumps where the pieces were cut out of the laser cut wood stock. I finished assembling the entire carcass or hull in about two days.

The carcass looks good, all frames have fit perpendicular to the false keel with a tad flexibility to enable a proper fitting of the planked decks, part #27 and #32. In fact the support beam, part #15, going through the bulkheads is still not glued yet per the instructions.
 

David,
 
HMV is the firm you are thinking of.

As I prepare for a final marathon day at the San Diego Fair, I spent the week working on the decking aft.  The grain of the wood almost gives it a tatami mat quality.
 
   Bob R.

This will be my first kit build log on MSW and my second wood boat build.  The Sakonnet Daysailer, a 1937 club "one-design" boat, designed by John G. Alden.
 
Joe

As I'm slowly approaching the end (or at least the beginning of the end) on HMS Snake, I gratefully received what will be my next installment for my birthday.  Don't expect much progress as I want to keep working on HMS Snake as time permits, but I wanted to have the kit in my hands so I can start to do some planning ahead, and most importantly, get my order in for some upgraded wood.  I also want to take advantage of the warm weather to get the larger sanding jobs done outside if I can.  I plan to take the first planking slowly to avoid repeating errors and to hopefully ensure I can get the lines as close as possible to the plans.
 
I had a great experience with my Caldercraft Snake, and after  trying to evaluate other kits out there, decided to stay in the family due to the expected kit quality, interest in the subject matter and availability of aftermarket items.  I've been vacillating between HMS Agamemnon and HMS Diana for some time, but what finally swayed me was getting a copy of the AOTS Diana book which I'd like to follow as closely as possible as skills permit.
 
 
Initial thoughts on the kit and approach:
I'm going to build her as HMS Jason, the 5th of the 9 built Artois-class frigates.  Don't think this will mean any significant deviations, but I have downloaded the plans from NMM, and there is of course the narcissistic additional interest for me  .  This will require me to change the figurehead, I have thought through options.  While not quite a beautiful as the Diana admiralty models with open quarterdeck rails, I do plan to build her as she was when completed with the build up quarterdeck bulwarks.  My reading indicates that most, if not all, would have had this feature when actually launched as it was back in fashion.   Wood - The supplied walnut does not look great, not a surprise and this seems to be a (sadly) common factor in CC kits.  I have decided to upgrade/change the wood, and will probably go with boxwood for the external hull, and maple for the deck as I'll try to replicate the decking in the AOTS book which Ray so successfully handled on his build.  I'll keep the walnut below the waterline where possible to save on cost as this will be coppered . Instructions - Poor, but as expected.  I hope this won't present too many challenges, and hope my initial experience on Snake will get me through OK. Copper plates - The CC plates get a bad rap, and I don't think they are as bad as commonly perceived when looking at a completed hull.  That being said, I would like to try to replace them with Amati ones which look very authentic if finances allow (on a "cost per year" basis, this is easier to justify given my slow pace) Armament - The HMS Jason plans show her with 6 identical ports on her quarterdeck, suggesting the original 9lb'er configuration.  The kit provides a mix between carronades and cannons with differences in the gun port configuration and size.  I may change this but we'll see. Quality - Overall, I do like the quality of the kit, CC do provide some high quality parts that are correct scale.  Where I know the kit provided items will not be up to it, I'll replace/upgrade those (pumps, blocks, rigging line etc).  The keel and bulkheads are very solid.  
I have plenty more thoughts, but will keep those to myself for now.  Onwards and upwards!
 
 
The box, manuals and part identification

 
Frames and pre-cut parts

 
The wood strips

 
Photo-etch

 
All of the really small bits still in box until inventoried

 
 

Or............
 
..........you could come over to the truly dark side and try the Yamato in card.  Halinski publishes one in 1:200 and offers brass barrels and PE details (five sheets).  Digital Navy publishes one in 1:250.
 
Yeah, I know -- not the advice you were looking for.

Dry fitting of the fore-lower mast

Thanks again for the tips, everyone, they're helping me enormously.  The kit's gratings looked better that I had expected, so I decided to use them -- and they look good in everyone else's build as well.  They go together very easily, and they hold up under sanding much better than I'd expected.  Here's what I did.
 

First I just roughed out the frame of the coamings at about 3mm & head frames at about 5 mm.  I wanted to try to do the rounding -- and at this stage I am still thinking very much in terms of prototypes, seeing which procedure works best and looks best on my main deck.
 

I started sanding, and here you can see where I've gotten about a third of the way.  I began with 180 grit paper, laying it flat on the table and moving the head frames over it in a slight rocking motion.  I soon decided 180 was too, too aggressive, so switched to 220, and then 320.
 

Here's pretty much where I ended up (I still have to round off the corners, and sand the sides).  The sides (coamings) presented a bit of a problem here, since geometrically I couldn't get the grating to round down to the coaming, or the head rails to round down without also rounding off the edges of the coamings.  I got a tiny piece of 400 grit paper and lightly sanding the gratings to get them just about where I wanted.
 

Here's the piece in place:  this prototype is the "Lying atop the Planks" version; others will follow.  To get this one to fit the curve of the deck, I laid a piece of 320 grit paper on the deck, then slid the hatch back and forth to conform to the shape I wanted.
 
Tonight, I'll start on Prototype #2:  the "Fitting within the Planks" version.
 
Cheers,
 
Martin
 
 

I have to admit, the World Cup is proving to be a major distraction.  However, I did manage to install and rig the bowsprit and jib boom.  The boomkins (sometimes called the bumkins) were also added and rigged.  Everything seems to have turned out as planned with no problems.  Once the games are played less frequently, I will work on the fore mast.

Another few items completed in the waist. I've made and installed the hatch, the barricade and the two ladders.The hatch has a boxwood coaming and uses the kit laser cut grating. The barricade is made up from boxwood posts and the laser cut cross piece from the kit. Using the kit part simplified things considerably, because it has the square holes for the posts cut in it. I chose to paint this assembly black and pinned and glued it to the deck. The ladders are boxwood. 
 
This completes the work in the waist, with the exception of the waist rails which are very fragile and will be left for a later time. I'm now working on the quarter deck area, doing the limited deck planking and the bulwark planking.
 
Bob

This has been a productive week. Half of the hull is now coppered. There were some interesting moments, but there is one piece of wisdom here to make it all easier: it's just tape. Pull it off and start again if needed. ;-)  
Now to see if I can get the other side to look as good and in mirror image! 
 

 
 
~john
 
 

Introduction:
Imperial Russian Cruiser:  Varyag, (Variag)
 
 
I am really excited to work on this model, having followed it's development prior to release and finally purchasing one of the last remaining kits in the USA (that I could find anyway).  The kit was produced as a limited edition by Artwox Model, who are mainly known for their wooden deck offerings.  This kit was their first foray into a full model kit, detailed release photographs can be found here.  My interest in this kit was not originally in the actual ship itself, but rather in the type of ship, and the level of detail that the kit contains.  
 
What I was really looking for was a super detailed model of SMS Emden of World War 1 fame.  However, I quickly came to realize that if I wanted to do anything to the level of detail that I wanted, I would have to scratch build most of it.  Emden was appealing for it's operational history, type of ship, and the mission it was designed for.  These protected cruisers were at the time not conceived of as line of battle ships, but rather as commerce raiders.  Almost akin to the frigates of 100 years before.  Emden and her crew played that role to perfection in the Indian Ocean.  A highly detailed kit of Emden was not available, but the Varyag was.
 
So, not knowing much about the ship or it's history I sprung for the kit, putting it in my to do pile for a later day.  In the interim, I have learned a lot about the ship, it's history, and even it's crew.  I plan on doing a more detailed post later on to share some of the better details that I have learned thanks to a Russian co-worker, a museum curator, and good old fashioned research.
 
Some Quick Facts:
 
Built:  Philadelphia Pennsylvania, USA, William Cramp & Sons
 
Year Launched:  31 October 1899
 
Type:  Protected Cruiser
 
Length:   425'
Beam:     51' 10"
Draught: 20' 8"
 
Armament:
12 single mount 6" Rifles
12 single mount 3" Rifles
10 Small Caliber, 1.9", 1.5" rapid fire Rifles
6   Submerged Torpedo Tubes, 15"
 
Service:
 
Russia:   1899 - 1904
Japan:    1907 - 1916
Russia:   1916 - 1918
 
Fate:
 
Seized by the United Kingdom 1918, ran aground 1920. scraped 1925
 
The Kit:
 

 

 
Whats in the box:
 

 
as you can see from the photo above, there is a lot in the box!  The hull is a casting from Zvezda, the deck is a thick sheet of brass covered by a real wood veneer.  Everything else is either in the 248 pieces of resin, 86 scribed brass parts, or in two large sheets of PE.
 

Wood Deck + Some of the resin parts
 

Brass Deck Substrate
 

Scribed brass parts
 

PE sheet 1
 

PE sheet 2
 

Hull Detail
 
Kit Short Comings:  
 
Though at first glance, it appears that everything you could possibly want to build the kit was in the box, that isn't really the case.  For one, there is no stand or mounting contained in the contents.  Okay no big deal there.  The other, the instructions, though highly detailed, only show you where everything is supposed to end up in the assembly.  Not how to put the ship together.  So I hope that this log can be of service to others that may have a hard time deciphering the pictorial instructions.
 
The next post will include some history and research about the ship, then I will get into the build itself.
 
Best Regards!

Before moving on to the yard strops, there were one or two problems to sort out. The crew figure mentioned in my last post (I’m calling him the bosun – since he has an official-looking hat, now with a badge) has been finished and positioned – and is in the act of hauling taught the fall of the larboard running backstay. This was left hanging in my last post. One problem I had here was in fixing the line to his hands, there being no slot or hole in them for the rope, which would certainly have made the operation a whole lot easier – manufacturers please take note! I therefore cut the line into three and attempted to glue the lengths in their respective positions whilst the figure was off the model. The line between the hands took quite easily, but unfortunately the other two (the one from the long-tackle block to the left hand, and that from the right hand to the deck) came away on moving him. I therefore decided to glue the figure to the model before attaching the latter two lines. However, the line from the LT block to his upper hand, which I had stiffened with glue, wouldn’t take, I think probably because I couldn’t keep my hand still sufficiently – and no, I hadn’t been drinking, or was suffering from caffein deficiency! I then hit on the idea of hanging a weighted length of thread and stiffening it with glue. When it was dry, and straight, I was then able to cut it to the right length, and glue it between the LT block and the hand. Then it only remained to glue the line from the right hand and realistically trail it along the deck.
 
My other problem was with the acrylic paints that I had recently purchased (a neat set of 18 colours in 12ml tubes) with which to paint the four remaining figures, including the bosun. I had been under the impression that they would have dried to a matt finish, as had the bottled paints (now largely dried up) that I used previously for the lieutenant. Unfortunately, they dried to a semi-sheen – there being no indication of the type of finish on the box. On reading about acrylics however, I learnt that a matting agent is mixed with some types to dull them, and which had seemingly been mixed with the previous paint I had used. Luckily, I still had some of the older colours left, some of which I hadn’t used for some time, where the paint had separated and sunk to the bottom of the bottle. This had left a clear liquid on the top, which I reasoned was the matting agent, and it gave me an idea. I syphoned a little of this off into a small container, being careful not to include any residue of the paint – a dark brown(!) – which I then brushed over the painted figure. On drying, the paint was dulled somewhat but did not turn out quite flat, however I can live with it – just. It will probably be better to mix the liquid in with the paint for the remaining four figures or, if that doesn’t work, give the whole paint set to my wife who is something of an artist, and buy ones that dry to the desired, flat, look! Anyway, here’s the finished result:
 

 
Following that somewhat windy digression, I’ll now return to the yard strops. The AOTS book on the Alert, shows that three of the four yards were hoisted from blocks seized to rope strops on the fore side of the mast. From the bottom, these were the spread yard, square sail yard, and topsail yard. The exception is the topgallant yard, its halliard running over a sheave set in the topgallant mast head and thence to the deck. The hoisting method for the three lower yards appears to have been the practice up until around the 1780's, when it was modified to reflect normal ship practice – and as seen in the arrangement for the latter yard. Since the Sherbourne is dated some fourteen years earlier than the Alert, she would almost certainly have had a similar system. At around the same date the whole masting and rigging of cutters underwent a revision. The lower mast and topmast became separate sections, with the topgallant becoming an extension of the topmast. The shrouds now passed around the actual lower masthead as per large ship practice, and the top mast was stepped forward of the lower mast, necessitating the introduction of topmast backstays.
 
The three lower yards on the Alert/Sherbourne, were simply hoisted at their appropriate positions, at large single blocks suspended from strops, the halliards most likely being made fast at the foot of the mast (or at least that’s where I intend to belay them). It would seem that parrels weren’t used, apart perhaps from one on the topsail yard. It does seem an unlikely arrangement, and the wonder is that it lasted so long. The first strop and block above the backstays, is that for the spread yard. The strop I made of 0.50 mm black thread, with a 5mm block turned into one end and seized, as per the blocks for the backstays. This is the longest of the three strops and is set at what I thought an appropriate distance from its yard position. Next above that is the strop and block for the square sail yard. Again, 0.50mm black thread was used and a 5mm block was turned into its end and seized. Somewhat shorter than the strop for the spread yard, it too is set at a suitable position for its yard. The last strop and block over the masthead was that for the staysail halliard, and smaller diameter 0.25mm black thread and a 3mm block were used for this.
 
Since the yards will not be rigged for a while, I decided to temporarily make the blocks fast to their appropriate mast cleats to prevent any movement. The staysail halliard I have belayed to the centre pin in the bitts in front of the mast:
 

 
 
Next time: the staysail horse, and forestay.

These show the anchor deck, and anchors completed. Some pictures that I had in my past log I am leaving out, because I ended up removing the anchor chains, and made stud-link chains to replace them.
 



 

Or............
 
..........you could come over to the truly dark side and try the Yamato in card.  Halinski publishes one in 1:200 and offers brass barrels and PE details (five sheets).  Digital Navy publishes one in 1:250.
 
Yeah, I know -- not the advice you were looking for.

Having received the gun barrels of the main turrets, I build also the pairs of them and I would say that the result satisfied me a lot...
 

 

 

 
.......
 
Thanks
 
 
 

Or............
 
..........you could come over to the truly dark side and try the Yamato in card.  Halinski publishes one in 1:200 and offers brass barrels and PE details (five sheets).  Digital Navy publishes one in 1:250.
 
Yeah, I know -- not the advice you were looking for.

Not to forsake my Constitution build but I had the opportunity to purchase this kit while in Japan during the month of April.  A Japanese friend of mine picked it up on Japanese Yahoo for a great price.  It was delivered to his house the next day and I hand carried it back to San Diego. 
 
    The Japanese Cyprus wood used in the kit is outstanding and the laser cut parts are of the highest quality.  I quickly noticed that when sanding the wood there is a very pleasant odor.  Smells like Nana's old cedar closet.  The only downfall of the kit is that the instructions are entirely in Japanese.  Fortunately, there are not a lot of written instructions.  The instruction format is 90% graphics.  The packaging of the model is superb as seen below in the obligatory box / contents photos.
 
My goal is to complete this kit in time to show at next years 40th Rope Exhibition in Tokyo.
 
    The Higaki Kaisen (hee-gah-kee-kah-ee-sen) is an Edo Period cargo boat used from 1600 to about 1868.  Higaki was a Trades Guild in Osaka, Japan and Kaisen translates roughly to Cargo Boat.  During the Edo Period, Osaka was the center of the national economy and Edo, which is Tokyo today, was a big consumer city.  The Higaki Guild held the chartered right of maritime transportation of consumer goods from Osaka to Edo.  The Higaki-Kaisen were the sailing freighters of the Higaki Guild.
 
   The Higaki Kaisen hull structure has no framing.  Instead, its' hull consisted of only planking firmly joined with nails and clamps.
 
    I want to give a special thanks to Clare Hess.  Clare has helped me get this started and has provided me with numerous photos and information on his build.  Thanks also to Don Dressel who just completed his build and has provided me access to his model.
 
      Bob R.

Or............
 
..........you could come over to the truly dark side and try the Yamato in card.  Halinski publishes one in 1:200 and offers brass barrels and PE details (five sheets).  Digital Navy publishes one in 1:250.
 
Yeah, I know -- not the advice you were looking for.

Or............
 
..........you could come over to the truly dark side and try the Yamato in card.  Halinski publishes one in 1:200 and offers brass barrels and PE details (five sheets).  Digital Navy publishes one in 1:250.
 
Yeah, I know -- not the advice you were looking for.

Or............
 
..........you could come over to the truly dark side and try the Yamato in card.  Halinski publishes one in 1:200 and offers brass barrels and PE details (five sheets).  Digital Navy publishes one in 1:250.
 
Yeah, I know -- not the advice you were looking for.

Welcome to the Brigantine "Newsboy" 1854 build log,
 
As "Newsboy" is currently in storage awaiting my time to set masts and rig her, I have added a few summary pictures.  Thank you for your interest.
 
Pete Jaquith
Shipbuilder

I realized that I had not included the half hull model that I had made for this model when I referred to this thread from the Maria theread so here it is .
 

 

 

 
I will be making a new half hull based on the latest information from Roger.
 
Michael

I have this kit, and even started on it.  Since then, it's been bumped to the way back burner.  She's a lovely ship, though, and I will be interested to see how your model turns out.  Good luck!

Thank you Russ and David, I was very pleased with how the Transom turned out . Here is another shot
 
Best Regards,
Pete