ccoyle

Hey, I just got the Cabelas/Bass Pro Shop spring sale circular in the mail yesterday, and after perusing the prices for bass boats and gear I commented to my wife that I actually have a modestly priced hobby.

Okay, far enough along to justify an update. The build sequence for most card model airplanes starts with the cockpit, but for some reason this one starts with the wings. First, the internal formers. You might think that laser cut parts like this should fit perfectly, but they usually don't. Some minor trimming here and there was necessary. The key is to get the dimensions of the internal structure matched to those of the skins before one starts gluing the latter parts on.
 

 
Skins on next. Each is one large part, so there's a lot of glue that must first be applied, followed by quickly positioning the part. This is helped out by forming the sharp curve in the leading edge before attaching the skin.
 

 
Now comes the cockpit. Internal formers and seat come first. There's a rectangular part with four holes in the middle of the seat back. I have no idea if it's in the correct position. The diagrams were unclear on this bit, and I couldn't find any P-36 cockpit photos online that showed this particular part (even if one does find such a photo online, there's no guarantee that the seat in the photo is either period correct or correct for the H-75).
 

 
Interior cockpit skins with their various bits -- radio, throttle quadrants, etc.
 

 
Right skin on. The control stick consists of 14 separate parts -- bleah!
 

 
And finally, a couple of shots of the finished cockpit. Unlike many kits I have worked on, this kit did not include optional parts to allow for glazing the instrument panel. It does, though, include parts for building the two fuselage-mounted .30 caliber machine guns, but they are pretty basic structures. I'm going to omit them.
 

 

 
That's all for now!

Now will here come a real gem as a kit. If you haven't tried Eduard's 1:72 range I really recommend it. The detail is very good even if the plane is small.
 
 
Model: Fw190 A8
Scale: 1:72
Manufacture: Eduard
Extras: None
Colors: MRP 
 



 

 

Handsomely done!

Thanks Kevin, Andy, and Alistair, and for the 'likes' - much appreciated.
@ Andy - the jury is still out on the  coppering question.
@ Alistair - don't know about a masterpiece, but I'm fairly satisfied that the planking will be good enough to give me the  'unadorned' option.
 
Post Forty-eight
 
Planking completion.

1364
Two strakes to go and the hull is re-marked for the last time to shape the planks.

1365
The final strake.

1372
Last plank and completion.

1374

1375

1376
Complete. 🍾
 
Altho’ it feels I’ve spent a long time doing the second planking it has only been 25 active working days including the drop planks and Top and butt wale planking.
Not very long in overall terms for a build of this magnitude.
The work does involve several re-markings of the strake lines on the hull to keep things on track, the transfer of each reference point on the planks cut to scale, and the necessary tapering and spiling to get the fit.
There were failures along the way but the incidence of scrapping planks was thankfully low.

1380

1381

1382

1390
Onto the sanding and cleaning up the hull.
 
B.E.
12/07/2023

 
 
 

I received my replacement kit and I have taken your advice.  Previously I could not get the keel parts to fit over the frames.  A bit of sanding in all the notches and they went in perfectly.  The close fit on the parts in this kit is quite amazing!

I hope some makers build the Muleta kit. The design is very attractive and not too difficult. The scale should be 1/50 ~ 1/60.
 
Thank you for watching my build log, and see you again at my old ongoing logs. 😎

Gotta say it -- "form follows function", but darned if I can figure out the function of that rig! 🤔
 
But regardless, your model is looking great!

Hope you feel better soon. I've had COVID twice -- it's a good time to catch up on sleep.

I decided to tackle the bowsprit. I had been avoiding it as I was unsure as to how I was going to be able to construct the geometry at the bees. I eventually followed the same method I used when building the masts and I constructed the bowsprit shaft and head as separate entities. This meant that I would not have to redo the entire assembly if I botched one of the many cuts that comprise the end section. I then dowelled the two sections together using some 2mm diameter brass rod and the join was covered up by the woolding.

 

As suspected the end section was quite tricky transitioning from a tapered cylinder to a tapered square with an angled cap tenon further complicating matters. I milled out some slots for the bees. The bees and bee blocks were made from walnut. It will all be painted black so the wood does not need to match.  I noticed from several sources that the sheaves in the bee blocks are one each side and staggered however the AOTSD drawings show two sheave holes per side. I went with the one either side staggered arrangement. A 1mm diameter brass rod was inserted to simulate the bolts through the sheaves.
 





The end cap was cut out of some 5mm thick walnut. Getting the holes at the correct angle was quite challenging but I ended up eyeballing it. I drilled a groove down the starboard side of the cap to accept the jack staff and added some simulated bolts as shown in Steel. I should have used a smaller diameter wire for these as they are somewhat oversized. I spotted in Steel that there was an eyebolt midpoint at the top of the cap. I do not know what this is for but saw that HMS Trincomalee has the same arrangement. This does not seem to be in use in its parked-up configuration but I decided to include it anyway as it was no great bother.
 




I scratch built all the saddles and cleats that appear on the bowsprit as I had followed the dimensions in the AOTSD which resulted in the kit items not fitting the larger diameter I ended up with plus the kit items were made from the dreaded walnut ply so were not that appealing. The saddles were all cut out of 15mm diameter dowel sections. I drilled a hole in the center corresponding to the diameter of the bowsprit at the saddle location. The height and profile were then formed using some shaped mill bits. They are quite delicate structures but should be OK once glued in place or so I thought until I realised that I had glued the fairlead saddle askew and then managed to crumble it to dust while trying to remove it.
 




I formed the cleats from some 2 x 1.4mm walnut planks. I clamped eleven planks (9 + 2 spare) together in the vise and then milled them all at once for consistency. I then put the bowsprit into the dividing attachment and milled recesses corresponding to the cleat locations. This allowed me to get an even spacing of the cleats though it was quite a fiddly exercise.
 








For the jibboom I started off with an 8mm diameter dowel. I needed the additional girth so that I could mill the octagonal section at the heel and form the stop at the other end. I had painted the bowsprit in the ochre colour with black at the overlap. I decided to keep the rest of the jibboom natural to mimic the mast configuration and I used the miniwax Puritan Pine stain to match the masts. I am now wondering if I should not have painted it in the ochre colour. I think I will wait and see if the natural colour grows on me.
 


I added a strip of stainless steel sheet to simulate the lead sheathing that sits forward of the spritsail sling saddle according to Lees. It is a bit shiny so I will have a go at dulling it down using some paint.
 

The woolding was made using 0.5mm diameter dark brown RoS rope which is the closest I have to the diameter indicated in Steel. I used cherry shims to form the protective hoops as per the main mast. I still must decide if I am going to paint these black or leave them natural.
 



I decided to stop the process here and remove the jibboom as I will be working on the rigging which means that I will be spinning the ship around from port to starboard and the delicate jibboom assembly will not survive a hard clonk against the desk lamp. I may install the bowsprit though as this will allow me to further progress the rigging and add the fore stay and preventer stay.
 





 
 

Here is the first 1:72 kit. As you se I have stared to do these in flight mode. The pictures are bigger than the kit
 
Model: Hurricane Mk1
Scale: 1:72
Manufacture: Airfix
Extras: None
Colors: MRP 
 

I do model ship repair & builds of all media.  I have done all eras and am open to the adventure.

8. Now seems I'm into the slow portion, masts and rigging. Lol bowsprit almost done haven't permanent fixed it yet , have finished the formast and parts . My thread work sucks but I'm learning it and getting better ever time. It is in no way perfect as such I've seen but still loving this . Haven't had as much time to work this past month or so but I'm in no hurry. Going to start main mast and onto ratlines next. Need to stain and mount the masts before. Just doing as much research on this before hand. Almost debating leaving off the sails at the end. With so many I've seen they seem to cover up so much of the details and work you've done. But then again I need to learn how to attach them. Well going to relax , watch build videos and read up by my pool for the day. Enjoy my fellow builders. 

Gotta say it -- "form follows function", but darned if I can figure out the function of that rig! 🤔
 
But regardless, your model is looking great!

Thanks Mike decals and stencils have been laid.

Something to file away for reference for future builds is to check the straightness of the longitudinal profile former (false keel) before mating the bulkheads to it. Yours looks to have a noticeable bend in it. Another recommendation I would make, and this is worth putting your build on hold for a few days or weeks while you do it, is to get a copy of Ship Modeling Simplified by Frank Mastini and read it. It's a great introduction to the process of building a wooden model, and particularly so in your case because Frank used a build of the very similar Artesania Latina Bluenose kit to illustrate his methods. I think you would find his book very helpful.
 
Cheers!

Next is a Yak3 and here I experimented long time to find a good locking way to make to make a stand so I can build the planes in flight mode. I ended up to using a cheap round tree base and a stainless steel welding wire. In my opinion it looks clean enough. I will do this for all my 1:72 airplanes in the future. This experiment is in 1:48. 
 
Model: Yak 3
Scale: 1:48
Manufacture: Eduard
Extras: None
Colors: MRP 
 

Hey, I forgot to add a shot of the name plate, also added back in December.
 

 
Swivel guns should (hopefully) be on the way soon, after which I will post a set of final photos.
 
Cheers!

The Continental Galley Washington was a lateen-rigged, two-masted row galley built in the autumn of 1776 on Lake Champlain at Skenesboro N.Y. On October 6 1776, she joined the small fleet established and commanded by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold. The fleet consisted of schooners Royal Savage, Revenge and Liberty. Also the sloop Enterprise, and 8 gundalows outfitted as gunboats: New Haven, Providence, Boston, Spitfire, Philadelphia, Connecticut, Jersey, New York, and the cutter Lee. Washington was among three galleys  built, the others being the Congress and Trumbull.

A Sketch of the New England Armed Vessels, in Valcure Bay on Lake Champlain
as seen in the morning of 11 October 1776 A Contemporary watercolor drawing
of the American line of battle by Charles Randle. In the drawing Washington is
shown as the second ship from the left.
 

Hey, I forgot to add a shot of the name plate, also added back in December.
 

 
Swivel guns should (hopefully) be on the way soon, after which I will post a set of final photos.
 
Cheers!

I'm glad you're still with us!

(This was originally going to be part of the above post, but it was already pretty long).
 
At this point, I think I'm done with the furnishings. But, I've been working on a larger addition to the build: a mast and sail. I was especially inspired by the many fantastic build logs of the Bluejacket dory kit, which does include a sail. Although this dory won't have a rudder (or a centerboard) and isn't a dedicated sailer, simple spritsails were nonetheless common on dories, designed to be easily unshipped and used only if the wind was favorable. I plan to make mine so it can also be unshipped, which is not only an interesting possibility for displaying the model but also will make transporting it much easier.

The first step was preparing the mast step assembly. I noticed that the Bluejacket kit looks to be framed following the Shelburne dory style, with each frame made of three pieces held together with metal braces at the joints, while this kit, representing a Lowell dory, uses frames build of two pieces of wood. This means that each frame is rather thicker across the bottom than on the Bluejacket dory, which is relevant for the mast as the mast needs to be stepped through the number two thwart and down to a mast step on the bottom. The thwart in the kit sits centered on the frame, making it impossible to fit a mast as the frame is right under it. So, the first step for me was to make a new thwart from scrap wood, with the frame slots further back so that the thwart sits further forward. I also added a piece across the center on the bottom to reinforce the area where the mast step will be drilled, as I saw this on a photo of a dory in a museum (below). The mast step hole will have to be cut toward the front of the thwart to fit around the frame, but it will work. The photo below compares the kit's thwart (below) with my scratch-built one (above), prior to drilling the mast step hole.


Next, the mast step itself, which I made of scrap wood. Lacking any files, I decided the best way to make a square hole (measured for a 1/16th inch square piece) would be to cut the step in half, cut out half the step, then glue it back together. As can be seen, I first accidentally cut the wrong side, but I decided againat replacing the part. Instead, I filled it in with scrap wood and sawdust with glue. After sanding and painting, the mistake was invisible, as seen later.

 
After the glue was dry on the step, but before gluing anything to the dory, I drilled a pilot hole in the thwart and did a test fitting with the leftover 3/64th-inch thole pin material, just to check that nothing was horribly out of alignment.


It still wasn't time to attach the step, though--first I wanted to make the mast itself, so I could make sure to fit the mast step properly. I made the mast out of the scrap wood from around the display board. Following the suggestions given in the Model Shipways Norwegian Pram instructions (which are available for download on the model shipways site) I cut the 1/8th-square piece into an octagonal cross-section, making sure to always cut with the grain, and then carefully sanded it circular and tapered a bit at the ends by running it through a sheet of sandpaper that I held curved in my palm. I could do a better job getting it perfect in the future, but for a first attempt I'm happy with it. I also noticed that the basswood seems a little soft for making masts, and had to fill a divot that somehow got sanded into it with a mix of glue and sawdust, which seemed to work. I then drilled a hole at the top for tge rigging and added a bit of 1/16th-square wood at the bottom to slot into the mast step (I used the pin vise to drill a hole in the bottom to better hold the piece).

 


Finally, I drilled out the hole in the thwart for the mast. I did a test fitting, marked the location for the mast step, then glued it to the bottom after scraping a bit the paint that was where it would be. Then I painted the step.


I'm happy with how the mast fits!


As for the sail, I had no luck finding a really thin cotton fabric despite visiting multiple shops, but in one shop's scrap pile I did find a large number of pieces that are a good size for the sail (and extra in case I mess up). They're slightly thicker than I would like, but for now it will work, especially considering they were about 50 cents. I haven't started making the sail yet, but will be drawing on the Norwegian Pram instructions as well as the "Scale Sails For Your Model" pdf.
 
At this point, while I still haven't made the sprit or sail, there's something I'd like to ask for help to clarify. The Bluejacket kit depicts a spritsail rigged with a snotter and with lines tied off at cleats. This seems like the classic way to rig a spritsail. But, a different method seems to be used in the examples I've found online. The dory at the Mariner's Museum, seen below, seems to have the sprit basically just tied to the mast (which might technically be a snotter, just an extremely short one). The sprit-rigged lobstering peapod below also seems (it's a bit blurry) to be similar. No cleats in sight. (Image links: https://iscc.marinersmuseum.org/watercraft/grand-banks-dory/
And
https://maineboats.com/online/boat-features/evolution-maine-lobsterboat )

 

 
So, how should I go about rigging this? Part of me wants to just base it on the Bluejacket model and include cleats etc, which would look nice and be good for building experience. But part of me thinks I should follow the photos and go for accuracy. If I do the latter, though, there are two things I'm unsure of. 1) How does the loop of the snotter that goes around the mast stay in position and not slide around, especially given the taper of the mast? (I mean, I could glue it, but that seems like cheating). Reading online about spritsails on smsll boats, it seems like a sliding snotter could be used to adjust the sail, but that still doesn't tell me anything about how it would stay in position when you didn't want it to slide. 2) No hoist--I think that's the term for the line used to haul up the sail, but I might be wrong, different articles seemed to use different terms with one calling it a halyard--is visible. Where would it be tied off without a visible cleat?
 
If you have any suggestions, please let me know, I'd really appreciate any help. I've tried looking in David Steel's 1794 book "The Elements and Practice of Rigging and Seamanship," but while it's useful on the sails themselves it's not very clear on the questions I have. 
 
In any case, I'm learning a lot from this build, and really enjoying it!