vossy

Hey James, welcome. Number 1 thing I advise is build something you are interested in. No matter what your level of experience etc. we all run into problems at some point. By having a genuine interest in the subject of the build you will be far more likely to overcome the problems and complete the build. My very first wooden model ship was the Amati Santa Maria. Scale 1:50 (from memory), and recommended for intermediate modellers. The instructions were total garbage, as many European kits are, but because I was/am a Columbus fanatic I ploughed on through the problem area's and ended up with a very fine double plank on bulkhead model that I am very proud to say I built. So I reckon being invested in the subject of your build should constitute an extremely large percentage of the decision making process as to which kit to tackle first. And don't forget, no matter what problems you run into, you can bet your house that someone else here has experienced the exact same problem previously and can help you out with answers.
 
Cheers
 
Chris
 

hey dave, when I was in the oz navy, whenever we were abroad all the pilots were land based and came out to the ships from various boats. I cant remember a pilot (and I had a fair bit to do with them), actually being based on a vessel. I did hundreds of os deployments and cant ever remember a time we put our boat over to collect a pilot. it was always the other way around. they would come to us in a boat that was moored at the local dock until needed.
 
chris
 

any Australian suppliers/stockists for this?
 
Cheers
 
Chris
 

any Australian suppliers/stockists for this?
 
Cheers
 
Chris
 

A
A dodgy update is better than none i guess?
 

Well here I am back again after a variety of miscues and disaster recoveries.  I have learned a lot from the various sites here but the biggest thing is the  interpretation of the instructions.  So far I think the kit is fine.  I did review everything from start to finish but the very first instruction refers to a non-existent table. But I think it is still me and my lack of experience. At any rate after gluing some parts and then taking them apart again with hot water I hope I am going to get wise to this process.
While I was supposed to plank the stern first, my mistake had me gluing the stern beam on again so I moved on to planking the quarterdeck. I did it in 3 stages mainly because the glue would dry ahead of me.  But also because I could not cut the side pieces until the center area was glued. I used carpenters glue.  When dry I cut the excess with sharp wire snips. Added a little sanding.
I have tried to fix this page with respect to so many repeat pics but the harder I try the worse it gets. I notice it happens to others so I will accept it. 


 
 
So your handle is vossy.  I just took a look at the build on the Riverboat. Make sure you read my mistake about the "bulwark posts" which are really frame tips to be removed later in build.

I thank my friends for the appreciation and the "likes", both very welcome
The time had come to work on the scraps, both the forestay itself of the cage and the foresail tree, but before starting it was necessary to prepare smaller blocks than the previous ones, I made them with the usual system
but this time I used brass washers, left over from previous work, with a diameter of 1.5 mm


finish with the burnisher and straw oil

some details made previously are visible only in some circumstances of light and positioning of the hull, surely after the finished model they will be invisible, such as bilge pumps

After making the "twist" cable called "S"
I made the stay of the "cage" tree and I replaced the two blocks made on the straglio of the main tree with the smaller ones (also visible in the "ancient" photos of the Santa Maria)


the aluminum "hair clip" is used for hair by ladies, but in these cases it is also very useful for modeling
 
the forestay and the counter-stanchion of the foresail was then made (I don't know if the translator did a good translation ...)
I attach a series of photos related to the job perhaps they explain better



and with these I greet you,
wishing you a Happy and Merry Christmas
black Wolf
 
 
 
 

I started with the realization of the hooks for the blocks made with brass wire and with tin welding, they will be put under some blocks


for the realization of the shrouds of the other two trees, the foresail and the after mast, I used the usual system, I reported on the 2mm plywood the drawing of the shrouds and ropes


always align the bigots to the "tarozzo" which is the first wooden step, in the shrouds made on the foresail in which there is a shroud formed by a row of simple ratlines
I also finished the stay of the major mast, creating the horizontal support in which the maneuvers of the bowsprit will be tied

I continued with the work for a few days, finishing the maneuvers, you know the shrouds and backstays, I am attaching a series of images that show the construction phases in progression




after finishing the rigging with the ratlines I removed the support

fixing them with bigots to put them under tension

details


to hear from you soon
black Wolf
 
 

Plus it is far easier to get a nice, correct hull with no gaps etc. when using double planking. As Chris said, the first planking layer is
merely a foundation for your final layer. The first planking layer is when you find out any rises, that need to be sanded back, or
troughs, that need filling. The visual look, color, of the first layer is irrelevant. Its the contours of it that are important. The whole
first planking layer will be covered by the final second layer. The better you do the first layer, the better the second layer, and 
overall look of the model will be..
 
Cheers
 
Chris
 

Plus it is far easier to get a nice, correct hull with no gaps etc. when using double planking. As Chris said, the first planking layer is
merely a foundation for your final layer. The first planking layer is when you find out any rises, that need to be sanded back, or
troughs, that need filling. The visual look, color, of the first layer is irrelevant. Its the contours of it that are important. The whole
first planking layer will be covered by the final second layer. The better you do the first layer, the better the second layer, and 
overall look of the model will be..
 
Cheers
 
Chris
 

Plus it is far easier to get a nice, correct hull with no gaps etc. when using double planking. As Chris said, the first planking layer is
merely a foundation for your final layer. The first planking layer is when you find out any rises, that need to be sanded back, or
troughs, that need filling. The visual look, color, of the first layer is irrelevant. Its the contours of it that are important. The whole
first planking layer will be covered by the final second layer. The better you do the first layer, the better the second layer, and 
overall look of the model will be..
 
Cheers
 
Chris
 

Ist planking is simply to provide an underlayment for 2nd planking. Most kits utilize the 2-planking method, though some don't. In kits that do, getting the correct hull dimensions is contingent upon using both layers. "Limewood" is the European term for basswood, which you can get at most any hobby shop if you run short. Gaps in the 1st planking can be filled with wood filler and sanded before you start the 2nd layer. Cradles are a matter of preference. I always planked hulls while holding them in my lap. Some modelers use keel clamps or building boards; try whatever you think you'd like best.

This looks like an interesting build David. I will follow along with interest. All the best to you and your family for the season!
 
Cheers
 
Chris
 

Deck planking now finished.  
 
For those of you following the "alignment" saga on port & starboard sides, I have some close ups.  At the bow, I was only able to maintain it (barely) by using stealers, and you can see them in the close-up.
 
At the stern, it's aligned at the very stern -- but that will be covered.  Moving toward midships, the alignment falls off and I couldn't maintain it.
 
The issue is the angle at which the basswood planks hit the centerline.  That angle determines the width of the butted edge, and if the angle coming in on the second side you plank is slightly different (which is almost inevitable, I think), you can't maintain alignment.
 
Ah well, I'm happy with the end result.
 
Regards,
David

You can buy this online also. I have had it for 5 or 6 years. Agree with Bob, a great video about the topic.
And who can go past a VERY young Errol as Fletcher!
Highly recommended!
 
Cheers
 
Chris
 

You can buy this online also. I have had it for 5 or 6 years. Agree with Bob, a great video about the topic.
And who can go past a VERY young Errol as Fletcher!
Highly recommended!
 
Cheers
 
Chris
 

You can buy this online also. I have had it for 5 or 6 years. Agree with Bob, a great video about the topic.
And who can go past a VERY young Errol as Fletcher!
Highly recommended!
 
Cheers
 
Chris
 

You can buy this online also. I have had it for 5 or 6 years. Agree with Bob, a great video about the topic.
And who can go past a VERY young Errol as Fletcher!
Highly recommended!
 
Cheers
 
Chris
 

I discovered In the Wake of the Bounty on Amazon Prime TV last night. It's a one-hour long combination documentary made in 1934 of a visit by a film crew to Pitcairn Island in 1930. The documentary of life on Pitcairn Island in 1930 is interspersed with a dramatic portrayal of the mutiny story. I expect it would be of interest to many, and particularly those building Bounty models.
 
It is, of course, in black and white, and filmed 90 years ago, so let's just say it's "dated." The shots of sails in the dramatic segments conflate 20th Century bulk carriers with 18th Century Admiralty practice, but are some of the few contemporary film cuts of real sailing ship practice at the end of the Age of Sail. The production qualities of the dramatic reenactment scenes are amateurish and of no value to modelers, but movie buffs may enjoy watching Errol Flynn in his very first film role. The dramatic segments may also be of historical interest to movie buffs because the movie was made contemporaneously with the introduction of the "Hays" and "Production" Hollywood self-censorship codes and is one of a genre of long-suppressed travelogues and historical movies which served as a excuses to depict somewhat gratuitous nudity. The scenes of Bounty's crew in Tahiti have that quaint "National Geographic porn" quality.  No doubt, the movie's coverage (or un-coverage) of bare breasted Tahitian young ladies no doubt contributed greatly to its box office success. 
 
Seriously, though, the film and interviews of the Pitcairners and their daily lives, including their launching their whaleboats, is very interesting. This was (they claim) the first movie film taken on Pitcairn Island and in 1930 it was still a rather primitive place which had little contact with the outside world. At that time, the oldest people living there were only the grandchildren of the mutineers and original Tahitians themselves, and the local culture was still closely connected with the mutiny events even if all but one of the British mutineers had died of natural causes or been murdered in squabbles and feuds by the time Pitcairn Island's inhabitants were discovered by the Nantucket whaler Topaz 1808.
 
It's available for streaming on Amazon Prime TV at the moment. 

A
A dodgy update is better than none i guess?
 

COMPLETED!  A set of completion photos are in the gallery at https://modelshipworld.com/gallery/album/2021-cutty-sark-by-drobinson02199-mantuasergal-scale-178/ 
 
I enjoyed this -- my longest build at about 7 months.  As I noted above, I'm generally happy with the kit, but would caution others about multiple parts shortages -- copper plates, certain blocks.  I got around it with spares from my stash.  I was also disappointed with the flag, which is printed on one side only.  So I didn't use it.  But other than that, it's a nice kit.
 
Regards,
David
 

I'm in the process of rigging all of the yard lifts -- the ones that run from the mast to the tip of the yard (because all of the yards also have simple vertical lifts as well).
 
The bottom two yards are attached to the mast by a hinge, so they can take the upward force of the lifts.  But the other yards slide up and down, so without doing something it wouldn't be possible to tension the yard lifts to get each yard to be horizontally lined up.  Solution was to install a small vertical yard downpull starting with the third yard on the foremast.
 
Pictures attached show the first three foremast yards with the lifts rigged, and the small vertical downpull (marked with an arrow) that I used on the third yard up to create something for the yard lifts to pull against.
 
I'll be installing the lifts on all the yards on all the masts before turning to the other running rigging.
 
Regards,
David

 

Friday 29 November 2019
 
I'm working to prepare the sails. In total there are five sails: one on the bowsprit, one on the foremast, two on the mainmast and finally a triangular sail on the mizzen mast. To consider them finished I have to wait for my wife to sew stitches around their perimeter, task I prefer to have her do as I don't feel enough good for it.
 
The first image shows the main mainmast sail. I have greatly reduced the height of this sail because I want to present it curled up the main yard and therefore the task would be easier to manage with less amount of fabric.
 
01 Ragusian Carrack/28112019/IMG_20191128_155621.jpg

 
Here the lateen sail of the mizzen mast . . I think I will present it wrapped on the yard.
 
02 Ragusian Carrack/28112019/IMG_20191128_155613.jpg

 
Here is the upper sail of the mainmast that will be shown unfolded . .
 
03 Ragusian Carrack/28112019/IMG_20191128_155601.jpg

 
The sail of the bowsprit, shown unfolded . . I think to redo some sewing here resulting too coarse.
 
04 Ragusian Carrack/28112019/IMG_20191128_155548.jpg

 
The fore sail to be presented wrapped on the foreyard.
 
05 Ragusian Carrack/28112019/IMG_20191128_155553.jpg

 
That's all for now, cheers, Jack.

The yard lifts are all done now (see picture).  The other picture shows the first piece of rigging on the foremast lower yard.
 
I'm now going to get into the yard braces, and I have looked at the rigging diagram and concluded that the best sequence for braces to preserve ease of access for rigging is:
 
Do the top three yard braces on the main mast next. Then do all of the yard braces on the mizzen. Then the top two yard braces on the foremast. Then rig the inner brace on the main mast lower yard (matches the one I've done on the foremast lower shown below) Then rig the three lower yard braces on the foremast Finally, rig the three lower yard braces on the main mast. If I do it that way, I hopefully will minimize contortionist activity getting "inside" rigging already installed.
 
Getting close to the end now.
 
Regards,
David
 
 

Latest update.
Ive managed to complete the first layer of planking. It's very daunting to attempt this part of the build, so much to learn beforehand and during the process and I'm sure like most modellers I would do it differently the second time around. I'm reasonably happy with the outcome. I definitely would have added a few stealers if I had my time again.
Maybe I'll have to on the main outer layer of planking. I used an 8x5 mm plank for the garboard plank, it's a little thin at the ends but it is what it is and I'll learn from that. A little filler here and there before I move to the next stage of planking above the deck. I will now need to finally decide on the above deck stern area before doing attempting this.
I salute every first time hull planker, it really does make you feel like a first year apprentice who could do with an experienced tradesman to guide them along.
 
As an idea Ive taken about an inch of each side of the piece  that slides in just above the hull at the stern to gain the shape I want. Where I go from there I'm still not really sure but I have a few things in mind.
Cheers
Peter.