trippwj

La fortuna non giocata!!!

Hi there, Popeye. There are 2 wooden dowels (one on each side) that extend through all but the aft most bulkhead. It appears that they serve as both additional reinforcement as also for aid in maintaining alignment.

Thanks for the insight into working with Aeropiccola plans - this promises to be a challenge for me, but I am looking forward to it. Actually approaching this as though it were a real ship to a certain degree - working across the 6 sheets of plans to identify what needs to happen when, then building out a schedule of steps that I need to take to get there. Here's hoping I don't forget step 14 until i am at step 298!

LOL! My better half offered to buy some rat poison this weekend if that would make it any easier!

Thanks, Grant - switching to his rigging thread made a huge difference in both my satisfaction and the ease of rigging!

Thanks, Popeye. Not sure full speed is very fast, but it is moving! Still a great deal of little stuff to do on the deck but can work that around the rigging. Thank you, Sjors! Not nearly as impressive as your work on the SI, but I am quite pleased for a first build.

Thanks, Augie. This is probably my third or fourth iteration on some of it but I like the way it looks overall. Thanks for the kind words, Lawrence. I can only compare Chuck's line to the synthetic line that came with the kit. Chuck's is a lot easier to manipulate and form, looks much more natural as well. Thanks, John. Not much to show but at least I am moving forward again!

So, with the Harriet Lane nearing completion and the Emma C. Berry moving along, I figured it was time to start a whole new adventure. This Aeropiccola kit dates to 1974 (according to the drawings, at least). It is a very solid POB kit, plans are in Italian but a brief translation provided for the labels into English. No instructions, just the plans. My intent is to work through the plans, referencing the Model Shipways instructions for ideas. I will also be using the Hackett plans and the redrawn version by William Baker provided in The Frigate Essex Papers (1974). I also have The Anatomy of the Ship The 32-Gun Frigate Essex by Portia Takakjian, as well as several articles from The Nautical Research Journal and Model Ship Builder Magazine (Seaways Publishing). I have ordered a copy of Portia's plans for the Essex and the Model Shipways plans as well. My goal, over the time I am building this beastie, is to take it slowly and try to combine the best from all sources available to me. We'll see how that works out! This is quite a change from the Harriet Lane - 1:70 scale as opposed to the 1:144 for the Harriet (and 1:32 for the ECB). This one measures about 27" stem to stern for the framer - total length when finished will be 43 inches long, 13 3/4 inches wide and 29 inches tall with the rigging. The kit includes all the rigging, including material for sails. That decision is a long time off, so no idea yet whether to include the sails or not. Here, then, is the obligatory photo of the box (note this is one of the kits Maryann was selling last June). Some of the contents The Bulkhead framer and bulkheads laid out for inspection And, the bulkheads dry fit - all slid in slick as could be. I did have to file the fitting between the central portion of the framer and the bow and stern pieces. No glue has been harmed as of yet, but the first bits of saw dust have been made. So, welcome, pull up a chair, and look forward to seeing how this goes!

Progress continues, albeit very slowly! Each step now seems to take a goodly bit longer as I plan out the sequence, and at the same time try to keep from blocking other things I still need to do! The major accomplishment is moving the Model onto the stand - I had to cut down the stanchions about 1/8" but that was fairly straight forward (thanks to the new Dremel!) View of the Fore mast (with my ships superintendent Almanza). Have started to belay the lines from the lower lift. With all of the shrouds set, I have started on those miserable rat lines. I have not yet calculated how many are needed - I think I would disolve into a deep funk if i knew! The shrouds are .018" diameter from Chuck - I love this stuff! So much easier to work with than the synthetic that came with the kit. Last, a couple of views of the full ship.

Welcome to the show, Robbyn! Good thing this build is a big one - even here in the balcony I can see it just fine - which is exactly how it is looking, Sjors - VERY FINE!!!!!

There you have it! Certainly a loose interpretation of Frigate! 3 decks of guns - I counted over 50 cannons on the starboard side in the first picture you posted.

Very interesting picture! Based on the date you provided, I would suspect it was an older ship of the Line converted to a restaurant. Based on the role of Kiel as the home for the German navy Baltic Fleet, it seems plausible. Will do some digging - assume this is from the City of Kiel, Germany (not Kiel, Wisconsin)?

Not unique to British ships - see the example on the Confederacy. http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/1395-downloadable-instructions-for-the-model-shipways-confederacy-kit/?p=27142

Gary - I came across the following whilst perusing my copy of the 1691 Seaman's Grammar and Dictionary by Captain John Smith.

Fantastic work, Sherry. Nice way to stay in away from the cold!

Druxey - that is correct. British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1793-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates

And to think I paid $64 for a new copy on amazon last April!

Love the subject - the Essex has so much documentation available, yet at the same time so little! This one is on my "to do" list, so will also be joining the crew to enjoy your build!

Fantabulous work, Augie. Looks nice!

YIKES! Me thinks me needs to put my copy into a vault somewhere! it just became the most expensive book I own!!!

Only a couple of comments on the Ranger. First, it is a fictitious ship (no such Revenue Cutter) but it is based on a real class of cutters from the early 19th century. The instructions are fair, not great. The biggest issue is that the plans sheet and the instructions are at different scales - the instructions are 1:50 while the plans are 1:64. Creates some challenge when attempting to transfer dimensions from the plans sheet to the pieces (some do not match). This discrepancy can really be a challenge until you get used to converting measurements between plans and model.

Dang, Mobbsie - are you sure these are photo's of a model? VERY impressive work!

Ahhhhh...the sweet smell of a newly opened kit! Dang that is one big beastie!!!! Happy New Year, my friend!!!

Thank you, Dan, and please pass on my congratulations to Taggart. It will be a great honor to welcome taggart to the group of men who have earned the Eagle award. Eagle Class of 1977 - Troop 880, Connecticut.

While it may not answer all questions, you may want to check for the 1809 2 volume American Artillerist's Companion by Louis de Tousard (I found both volumes on Google Books). Doing a quick look through volume 2 (which has more on Naval artillery) I found the following table: