UpstateNY

Well now the fun begins again. I’ve dusted off the plans and instructions
and have started “working” again. It really feels good to start cutting wood
and making saw dust….hack, cough sneeze. Hmmm a bit out of condition I guess.
 
I cut some boxwood and shaped the timberheads, added the boom crutches,
outboard ladders, transom knees, cleats and working on adding the channels.  
 

 

 

 

 

 
Yippie  
 
 

Hi Mark,
 
The progress you have made on your Licorne is simply amazing since I last checked in..she looks fabulous!  
 
Looking forward to the very special day when you are able to finally remove the jig!
 
Hope you don't mind me rejoining your build log.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

Beak painted ....
 
All bulkheads fitted to the former with careful measurements taken to insure precise spacing at the outer edges and top surface alignment from bow to stern.
Next task of fairing the edges and creating bow and stern filler blocks.
Also, I finished the starboard side carvings and painted the whole beak flat black.  Then used a straight razor blade to scrape the top surface of the carvings clean, leaving the black background.
Then added the delicate double trim rails above and below the carvings and painted them flat black.
After three coats of acrylic white, mostly applied with a tooth pic, completed the beak by painting out the red/white/blue shield....again, acrylic paint applied with very sharp tooth pic. 
 

Thanks Allan
 
Yes the traveler ring is not made from wire that is usually the case.  It is made from 1mm brass tube.  Its easier to use and looks better.  You cut the rings like you would if you were using wire.  Just wrap around a dowel and then cut with a saw.   Then a small length of 24 gauge wire is inserted into the tube to close it up...you can push it pretty far into the tube so no solder is even required.  But first you should slide your shackle and hook onto it and then close it up....those are also made from 24 gauge wire.

Hi Gary,
 
thanks for your nice comment,...
Two of the stairs I was`nt so happy with were made new, now ready for primering and painting...
 
Nils
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

a small step forward.....but this is big.   the boom winch is in place!   I added the brake levers and cemented it in place.....no more parts will be added to it.   the levers are actually parts that I did not use for the AmericA build........they are the light boxes.   painted up and affixed to the winch,  they serve the purpose well enough.   you may not readily see them in the picture.......I took it this morning before the camera decided that it needed to be fed {charged up}.
 

 
the holes for the shrouds are already drilled......eye bolts dry fitted at the moment.  I need to adjust the port side though, since I found that the gallow for the port side is a bit forward than the starboard side.  I'm sure there will be more parts added,  before this is said and done  
 
more to come  
 
 

pennies from heaven!   thanks gents!   exactly the problem I was having John....as I zoom in on anything,  the picture becomes grainy and blurry.   the admiral wondered what I was hoot'in about...........she just mentioned to me that I could download a program called 'hover  zoom'.   I will look at that as well.
thanks so much.......I bookmarked the site     sitt'in here hoot'in like a kid in a candy store!  
 
thank you as well Jack !    I wasn't overly concerned about the language barrier,  since I will probably use them simply as a visual reference.  I down loaded it.......is that both sheets?    no matter,  I'll find out soon enough   there are a few changes I may make as well,  so going rouge will lead me away from them here and there.   I hope you follow along.......shared knowledge about the kit can be a life saver,  as well as a time saver.   what did you do concerning the life boats?
 
happy to say that it is happening....the hull planking has started.   the 1 mm planking is working well.........but I did have an after thought.   I could have measured bow to stern,  and down to the deck line,  and made up a pair of 1/16 panels for the bulwarks.   Billing boats kits are based this way.   I know they sometimes can be a pain to install,  but it would really sturdy-up the bulwarks,  since they want me to cut out all the posts.   I did not cement the planking to these posts,  so eliminating them won't leave me with a huge mess to clean......just sand the roots flush to the platform before I plank the deck.     easy-peasy!     I shot four pictures before the camera died........I need to charger it up.
 

 
1 plank strip equals two of the supplied planking strips for this model.   I will have enough to sand,  without fear of burning through......and perhaps I can get away with doing a single plank on her as well.
 

 

 
more on her progress today.....that's what I'm shoot'in for  

Hi Patrick,
 
Another jewel in the making i see...late to the build of course but will follow along now if you don't mind.
 
I see Shadow is a little larger so even more details to enjoy!
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

Hi Mark,
 
The progress you have made on your Licorne is simply amazing since I last checked in..she looks fabulous!  
 
Looking forward to the very special day when you are able to finally remove the jig!
 
Hope you don't mind me rejoining your build log.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

hello Steve    welcome  and enjoy
 
I was doing a little browsing this morning........I thought I had more sites bookmarked,  but only had one.   it only showed pictures of portraits done on different clipper ships.  nice,  but doesn't answer too many questions.   most of the pictures I did find are in black 'n white of course.......but descriptions can help with color schemes,  so I'm not too worried about that.   the mizzen/galley this is probably the most puzzling aspect on this vessel.   in my later days as a modeler,  when I began building ship mostly,   I settled on the larger scale vessels.   Revell was first on my list,  since they had their 1:96 series.  the Constitution,  the Cutty Sark,  and the C.S.S. Alabama were the first three that I did.   then I got the U.S.S. United States,  and found it to be a spin-off of the Constitution......the only real difference,  was the added galley {w/badges} and poop deck {basically, the aft section is altered}.   the same can be seen as true for the Cutty Sark and Thermopylae.   that early in my ship building,   I didn't really think of it;  but later on,  I began to see that ships of any specific type,  do have subtle differences.   I can't remember if I had ever owned a Revell Thermopylae {who could forget something like that},  but everything I had seen of these two kits,  mirrored each other to the point where it was hard to dispute that these two kits were clones.  Kpnuts introduced his build of the Revell Thermopylae,  and turned my thoughts upside down.  the galley on his model was an elongated rectangular looking structure... ......the Galley on the Cutty Sark model is an elongated rectangular structure,  but the sides flare out towards the fore end of the ship....has a bit of a curvature too.  the second structure was omitted on the Thermopylae as well,  and in it's place is a canvased hold.   these were the only two features that differ between the Cutty Sark and the Thermopylae.   there is one glaring feature that indicates that the same molds were used on both vessels....the deck sections still have the same location holes for the second structure and the Cutty galley structure.   the 'pad' for the galley can be seen in the Thermopylae kit........Kpnuts build shows this.   I found a site for wooden decks.......even the wooden decks reflect the difference to the galley structure.
 
 
 
even the over view of the deck shows it
 
 
 
http://www.radekshipmodels.cz/en/seznam-modelu-plachetnic-en/modely-v-meritku-do-1_100/cutty-sark_-en
 
if anyone is looking for wooden decking for the Cutty Sark.......and a select others......have a look here.   the instruction sheets can also be found here,  for revell,  Airfix,  And A.L. versions of these two kits.   I also looked at images od the Thermopylae.......the closest and best ones I found,  were of an admiralty style model.
 
   
 

 
I'll be looking for more pictures.........in the meantime,  planking the hull is the next thing to do.
 
 

Hi Mark,
 
The progress you have made on your Licorne is simply amazing since I last checked in..she looks fabulous!  
 
Looking forward to the very special day when you are able to finally remove the jig!
 
Hope you don't mind me rejoining your build log.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

well I think I have the faring just about done.   I was sharing it with another project.
 

 

 
might need a little more fine tuning here and there........especially around the stern  {part #21}.   I then realized that the poop deck wasn't cemented in place.   after cementing it in place,  I saw where the mizzen hole is.   this looks a bit odd to me.......
 

 
I'll have to check this out.       there is no direction to cap off the pop deck/main deck either.   I'm beginning to think some deviation is in order >the inner bashman is starting to emerge<

Just an update, nothing to report.  Very slow going removing the forest from the hull as I don't want to break anything or pop off any planks.  Still fiddling with the Deathstar but I think that problem is nearing the end.  And life just keeps getting in the way, lately.   
 
Thanks for the likes, the comments, and the interest in this build.  

the holidays are over...........steadily trying to pick up where we left off here.   there are two more parts I want to add to the boom/net winch....these got a coat of paint.  while they were drying,  I figured I'd do a little toggling between two larger steps,   faring the frame of the Thermopylae,  and starting on the nets for this build.   the templates were drawn out for them......I thought I'd try to do it,  so I'd only have to sew one side of the net.   I did both sides when I did the nets for the Cux....can't tell ya how many times I picked myself with the needle.    I thought this would do the trick.........
 

 
....till I came back to the table a bit later and realized that it wouldn't work.   not feeling like redoing it, I just cut them out.   I have two different colors of netting.......I bought this a while back {can't remember which ship I got it for}.  I got it from the local Hobby Lobby.
 

 
this is pretty close to the netting you get in most Billing's kits........the weave is small enough.
 

 
290 mm across x 290 mm deep....I chose the brown.   laying a big piece of thick cardboard on the table,  the template was laid out and the netting was paid over it.   I used a couple short lengths of 2 x 4 to weight it down.   the triangular cutouts were brought to my desk.
 

 
the first one I did freehand.......with nothing to hold it in place or anchor.......what a pain!   brought back some fond memories,  I can tell ya that!
 

 
using those clamps you see.........I devised an anchor system.    it made life a little easier  
 

 
now........I thought I had folded it out to make two sets of net halves.   seems I underestimated how thin this material really is.   I ended up with four nets........and I made them all.   I was rather bug eyed by the time I was done.
 

 
I still need to trim off the excess thread and turn them inside out.   there is still a little more prep work.......and then the net rig needs to be made.   I will also add the round buoys from the Cux instructions as well. 

Hi Mark,
 
The progress you have made on your Licorne is simply amazing since I last checked in..she looks fabulous!  
 
Looking forward to the very special day when you are able to finally remove the jig!
 
Hope you don't mind me rejoining your build log.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

Hi Mark,
 
The progress you have made on your Licorne is simply amazing since I last checked in..she looks fabulous!  
 
Looking forward to the very special day when you are able to finally remove the jig!
 
Hope you don't mind me rejoining your build log.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

Hi Mark,
 
The progress you have made on your Licorne is simply amazing since I last checked in..she looks fabulous!  
 
Looking forward to the very special day when you are able to finally remove the jig!
 
Hope you don't mind me rejoining your build log.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

Hi Mark,
 
The progress you have made on your Licorne is simply amazing since I last checked in..she looks fabulous!  
 
Looking forward to the very special day when you are able to finally remove the jig!
 
Hope you don't mind me rejoining your build log.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

Hi Mark,
 
The progress you have made on your Licorne is simply amazing since I last checked in..she looks fabulous!  
 
Looking forward to the very special day when you are able to finally remove the jig!
 
Hope you don't mind me rejoining your build log.
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.

Been a bit since the last update.  Thanks for following along on this journey of discovery and sawdust and for the likes and the comments.
 
A bit of a minor/major milestone... the ship is in the cradle... YIPPEE!!!!!
 
The next step is start removing the build board and trimming down the frames to the sheer strake(s).  
 
I considered pedestals versus a cradle as I didn't want to stress the keel, etc .nor did I want to attempt to put a large baseboard on at this point.  The cradle just seems (to me) to be steadier and stronger.  I noted that I do seem to get some wobble on my Constellation which is on pedestals.  It could be my method of mounting is faulty or just the way it is with them.
 
The cradle is 1/4" mahogany (see photo).  After finessing it into position, assembling it and re-finessing, I drilled a 3/32" hole through the cradle and inserted a brass tube of the appropriate diameter.  I mounted the cradle into position, and drilled (using the tubing as a drill guide) a 1/16" hole through the keel, frames and keelson.  A brass rod was inserted with a light coating of epoxy.  When set, the cradles were set into place with more epoxy on the brass rod and in two places on each end of the cradle.  The structure seems sound and steady. 
 
I tried to design the cradle so as not to hide the lines of her and I think I pretty much succeeded.   At some point, the hole where the crosspieces go through the cradle will be covered by a small carving on each.  I'm leaning towards a fleur de lis.
 
Anyway, here's the pictures.
 

 

 

 

Billet head carving....
 
Giving each bulkhead an hour under the clamps gives me time for some carving on the billet head.
 
Using one of the photos taken from the net, I have managed to rough out this relief carving for the starboard side.
Looks pretty rough for now.  I'll have to leave everything as a flat surface for now until after I eventually paint the entire piece black.
Note - I haven't worked on the oval area of the flag yet.
 
The pencil marks indicate the upper and lower rails which I will begin playing around with after carving the port side of the beak.
Eventually the knee with the howse holes will be created to blend into the beak and I will have to continue the carvings into that knee.
My plan is to paint the whole thing flat black, then carefully remove the black from the top surface of the relief with a scraper and try to paint the white scroll work.  At that point, I can work on getting some of the subtle detail to the scroll "leaves".

Keel former assemble done.....

Removed the assembled keel former from all the clamps first thing this morning.  Note the missing beak.
Looking closely, you can see that each of the bulkhead slots have a perfectly square track created with a 1/4" router bit.
The shallow track is routed to both sides of the former.... creating a very snug fit for each bulkhead and perfectly square to the former.
 

 

 
Also removed the holding base from clamps I glued up yesterday.
I will probably add a two inch wide board to the bottom of the holder base in order to have a really stable holder as this model will eventually become quite large and heavy.  
She's ready for some bulkheads.

Al
 
Unfortunately I cant add to an order already submitted.  Its protection for you and your CC's are deleted immediately after the order is finalized.
 
This is how the traveler ring looks after rigging it.  The jibsail and foresail rigging is now completed.  All that remains to rig are the two yards....once I make them.   That will complete the rigging and then its the final stretch with a few additional details....anchors....flag....boarding ropes......and she is officially done. 
 

 

I did manage to separate most of the fittings........too bad there isn't a parts list to compare it to.   I figured that I might want to scan the English instruction part,  so I wouldn't have to play with the big sheet every time I need to look up something {for what there is of it}.  with sheet #1 pinned to the wall,  I can't even look at sheet #2,  unless I take it down.   I did read though that all of the :  "blocks are all of the same dimension and one-hole."  quote.........unquote.  I don't care.....like I said,  I can fix that.   
     I did do a couple of things for right now........first,  I filled in the gap left by cutting out the broken bow bulkhead.   the gap is not needed,  since the center spine piece is supposed to slide in the slot.   I thought though that leaving it like it was would make the bow weak,  and apt to break off if I got too rough with it.   if I would have thought of it,  when I cut out the bulkhead,  I would have traced the part with the gap filled in.......all I would have had to do is shim it to the center spine and cemented it.    roughly 3.5 mm filled it in  
 

 
as I began to fare the frame.........oh,  here's a funny......in the instructions,  it says to fare only bulkheads #1,  #2,  #12,  #13, and  #14.   ehhhhh,  shouldn't you do them all?!?!?!   if for no other reason,  to get the char off'em.   told ya this would be a fun kit  
     anyway.......as I started,  I kept thinking that the deck platform should be in place.   I would have liked to plank the deck before this is done,  but they're instructing me,  that between the fore castle and the poop deck,  the bulwark posts need to be removed.   this will be the first kit that I've ever had to do that to.   the deck platform is the likes that I've never dealt with, it's made from some really rough thin plywood.   I've already cracked one of the appendages between the posts,  in the aft section.   it wouldn't have mattered if I broke it off.....it would not be seen after the poop deck is put on.   I heard another cracking sound,  as I cemented it in place.......I'll have to check it out after it dries.
 

 
this deck is hard to conform to the curvature,  tried my best to keep rubber bands and clamps from pushing down too hard on these appendages.   I wanted to take the sheet off the wall,  so I could see how some of the sub assemblies go together.....haven't taken it down yet.   pictured is part #21.........it needs to be beveled around the outer edge.   I did it,  but you might not be able to see it.   the poop deck must also be cemented in place,  in order to plank the stern transom and shape the counter.   the fore castle deck doesn't though.......the windlass is involved with it,  so best to do it later when the main deck is planked.
 
I mentioned somewhere on one of my logs that I had gone to Hobby Lobby,  to spend some of gift card money,  I had gotten for Christmas  {where I get my wood from as well}.   I got some more of those gears that I used on the Syborn and Andrea Gail builds.   I saw these other ones too.......a few of them would make great ship's wheels.
 

 
I saw those rings too.......thought about using the larger ones on the Flattie........but I'm thinking differently now.   the admiral showed me these.....my eyes lit up like a Christmas tree!   they look so cool!
 

 
these are made of wood.....as the name implies.   it'll be interesting to see what I'll be able to use them on.   then,  I got a spool of smaller size chain.   I can see if it can be used on the Syborn,  but as I recall.......I don't remember seeing the martingale......or the typical rigging that these clipper ships possess.  ya gotta have chain man.......not just rope {thread} rigging     I might have to go for an even smaller size....I can get it...not a problem.   

Hi Patrick,
 
Another jewel in the making i see...late to the build of course but will follow along now if you don't mind.
 
I see Shadow is a little larger so even more details to enjoy!
 
Cheers,
 
Nigel.