NMBROOK

Well, I finally made up my mind on the braces. Let's just say that my heart  overcame my head (the purists can line up over here and start beating me around the head    ). This completes the rigging.
 
While I was agonizing on the brace issue, I made up the two anchors. Given my longtime aversion to metal work, the anchors are made entirely of sheet and strip boxwood. The bands on the stocks are black painted paper. The rings are wire bent to shape, with .025" line wrapped around them for the puddening. I'm still at a loss, even after consulting with Chuck and reviewing photos of contemporary models, as to how to mount the anchors. I've tried a few ways and nothing seems quite right.
 
Bob

Another quick update:
 
The platform I was working on almost finished. I say almost because it is missing the two chimneys that go on the darker square. The ones in the kit are just awful, so I ordered some replacements. Temporary nails are shown to hold the part while the glue dries.

 
Work on the gratings continues

 
A VERY important and necessary step when making these gratings: a good soak in strong diluted white or (better) wood glue. These parts will be cut to fit in their place. If they are not perfectly glued at every joint, they will fall apart.

 
A good batch of gratings already made. These come from Model Shipways and are perfectly cut. Highly recommended. My experience tells me that the notches in kit supplied gratings are poorly cut, and this makes assembling them a nightmare.

 
On with this next step. This is a 170 x 35 mm frame with a lot of work in the insides.

 
Work on the frame starts. (Look ma', not afraid of 45º angles anymore.    )
It was just a happy and fortunate coincidence that the width of my ruler was exactly the same as the width of the inside frame. 


 
Frame ready and just dry placed on its spot to check for fitting. Perfect fit. 
 


 
 
Thanks for watching guys!

Hi Dave
 
I ordered the widest sheets of Pear available (75mm) for Nuestra.You can then 'nest'the shaped planks side by side with a small gap to save material.My second planking is only 4mm max wide on Nuestra,but the last one I cut for the bow is probably 40mm wide across the corners!!
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hello friends, 
 
I continue to rig the  cannons on the upper deck. First I have made the big rope going around the cannon. Now I started to make the pulleys on the left and right sight.
 
Every parts are so small that I decided to make a few pictures to show how I manage to build them. 
 
I use the chain links of an old chain and paint them black. Sometimes I have to rework it with black color when everything is fixed. Unfortunately I had a little accident and touched the rope with the black color on the right wheel. Damn! I could not clean it without destroying it. You can see the mistake on the last picture.
 
I hope you like the result (instead of the black fleck of color, of course)
 
Greetings and wishes for a nice weekend 
:-)
 
Heinz

Hello my friends :-)
 
just a small update.
 
Not much words, just watch my pictures :-))))
 
All the best and a nice weekend
 
- Heinz -

Just  a very small update with 2 missing pictures of the pump and the clamps.
 
The pump is made of oak and walnut without this ugly sheet handle; the clamps are made of walnut wood. I don´t use the pieces of the kit. 
 
I hope you like it!
 
Best
-Heinz-

Frank - thanks very much. Glad to get that part done.
 
Janos - thanks very much. Actually I was just joking about needing a stealer - I originally thought I would need 2 or 3 .
 
Ian - no offense taken. I am always open to suggestions or constructive criticism.
 
Peter - thanks also for your nice comment.It is one big ship - I haven`t figured out where I`m going to put it when finished.
 
I have scraped,sanded,scraped some more,& sanded some more,so it is looking pretty decent now. More pics when I have finished the gun port linings.
 
Mark

A LITTLE update?   Planking looks great Mark  A good sand and scrape will eliminate any blemishes in the timber.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

She is looking good Ulises,great work
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Mates,
Some thoughts in two areas.
Shroud installation.
Used the wire spacer clip for only the first two, most forward shrouds. Subsequently I decided to use locking tweezers and “eyeball” each subsequent spacing after an initial rope knot around a deadeye (tended to be faster, easier, and accurate after a couple of adjustments) Key is using self locking tweezers that leave the deadeye and its rope “locked” into place ready for seizing’s.

Added the seizing’s and glued them tight. I find G-S Hypo cement to be so excellent for ropes, but it leaves a bit of a visible reflective residue on dark ropes (not so on tan) 

Once the glue dries I then brush on Hobby Master Flat Clear, and residue totally disappears. Then cut the overhanging threads. Spooled the deadeyes (will adjust and wrap tension ropes after installing the other side). PS: If you decide this is good. Be SURE to shake the heck out of the bottle-otherwise the results will not be flat, but semi-gloss clear

NEXT I needed to remove the four previously installed double blocks for the foremast backstays. They were just hanging in place, waiting for their chainplate blocks and ropes. Turns out that fiddle blocks were called for - grrrr. BUT the wo ropes were loose at the mast cap, so I could pull each side through, and I had enough length to easily remove the four double blocks with the ropes still attached to the mast J Made fiddle blocks by using two blocks, flattening (a bit) the tops and used CA to glue them together.

BLOCKS
 
IN BETWEEN this I wanted to add a bit of extra definition to Syren’s super excellent blocks. In a previous post I described this using a small drill bit and sort of reshaping the inside by “rubbing” the spinning bit along its side reshaping the inside “pulley”.
 
It’s a subtle change, but it works for me. Also deepened the blocks longitudinal attaching rope grooves as well as adding grooves at top and bottoms.
 
IMO once the blocks are spooled it gives them a bit more realistic look. The wood is very soft so it’s simple and easy to do.
 
Did the same detailing with the fiddle blocks, and also tried softening the sides by rounding the edges a bit more. 

Note the lower installed block rope ring/hook from a couple of previous posts – at the chainplate. This came out to my satisfaction.

OH one last bit (;-) I added the king to the foremast. Clayton had this detail on his Vasa. It is apparently an historically correct detail. He let me copy his example – so nice of him indeed. How?
 
Printed one of his foremast jpg’s;  adjusted the size, printed it, sprayed the page with Krylon Crystal Clear coating, cut out the king, glued it to the mast. King’s crown was not cut just right but -  oh well J

I need to improve my shroud seizings, Mark – Marktiedens gave me some tips, need to improve their horizontal alignments with their mates. And need to more evenly nip the tips of the seized shrouds to match the others heights as well. Always a learning thing - isn’t it? But I “get” this bit now.
 
And thanks for dropping by, always so appreciated
 
 
Regards,
 
Michael

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

She is looking grand Mark         The rudder is just a minor setback,I have the utmost respect for you for going ahead and reworking it.It makes me think,back in the day before internet forums,you just used to see pics of completed models in books and magazines and the reader assumed wrongly that everything went smoothly with the build.I wonder how many were discouraged when their efforts didn't meet muster the first time around?
I now view a project as just that,to build a model of 'X',whatever has to find it's way in the scrap bin between start and completion is immaterial
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Hi Frank,Mark beat me to it This is the only source I know of the period,all my own material for both English and French vessels is much earlier in time
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Excellent work Frank  
 
I beg to differ with Druxey,Vertical scarphs for English ships,but the French scarphed keels horizontally,as this ship was built in Quebec,the latter style may have had some influence in design.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Nice clean methodical work Nigel,looks great
 
Kind Regards
 
The other Nigel

Nice clean methodical work Nigel,looks great
 
Kind Regards
 
The other Nigel

A LITTLE update?   Planking looks great Mark  A good sand and scrape will eliminate any blemishes in the timber.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Now the work begins on decorating the beak bulkhead. An entrance way with a set of doors is shown sitting loosely on the model.
 

 
More to follow.............

Thanks Nigel - I guess it is more than a little update . I wish I could have gotten better wood for the planking,but I would have had to spend 2 to 3 hundred USD for better wood like pear or boxwood .Anyway,I told myself when I started this build I would try to make the best of the kit parts.I don`t know why the planking strips were cut so poorly while the deck planks were very nice & smooth.
 
Mark

The planking looks first rate Mark. Nice job. You may find that after a good scrape that the wood all of a sudden looks very nice. That's what I discovered with mine, even though I had a large percentage of really poor planks. The trick is to not go right through the planks, like I did once.
 
Best, Ian

A LITTLE update?   Planking looks great Mark  A good sand and scrape will eliminate any blemishes in the timber.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Excellent work on the wales Ian If you plan on using polyurethane for finishing them,I would say this will bring the differing shades of the timber out and make you planking pattern more visible.Give them a light wipe with white spirit,whilst still wet it gives a fair impression what they will look like when varnished
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel

Small update. From now on, once the hull is fully planked and work on deck furniture is in progress, I may do updates more often. 
 
Here I am making a wooden door, to substitute the plastic one supplied in the kit.

 
Wooden door placed on cabin, and cabin glued to deck.

 
Here I am gluing some planks side by side, to make the part where the capstan is, according to the drawing below.
The metal chimneys (part No. 100) in the kit are awful. Still don't know what to do with them, or how to make them myself.

 
 
Don't know what's more fun: tying ratlines or assembling these gratings.     

 
Thanks for watching!!!
 
 
 
 
 
 

A little update - second planking complete! The wood for the second planking was not the best quality - the thickness & width was consistent but the surfaces were very rough on some planks. A lot of scraping & sanding will be needed. It looks a little splotchy now since I haven`t started any scraping or sanding yet. I was a little disappointed that I had to use one stealer on each side at the stern .
 

 

 

 

 

 
Mark

The plywood form is now planked. It will be mostly covered in sculptures when mounted in place on the beak head. It is shown lying loosely on the ship.
 

 
Now to duplicate it for the port side.......
 
More to follow..............

I doubt anyone will have these,to my knowledge they were never available seperately and as the Mamoli factory went up in smoke,the only option would be to get a half built model and cannibalise it for them.
Personally though,having seen many Mamoli builds,I think these gunports can be more of a curse than a blessing.Your better option would be to make some wooden boxes up and glue one side to the bulkhead.This will make sanding the hull easier and you are not dictated by the tab positions,from what I have seen,rarely do these line up like the manufacturer intended.
 
Kind Regards
 
Nigel