dafi

Dan's excellent work on his chain pumps prompted me to post these photos from Model No. 43, the Swan class model in the Naval Academy Museum collection. Keep in mind these chain pumps were made over 250 years ago by hand. No photo-etching. Of course these Navy Board models were built by teams of the best craftsmen of the time and the chain pump was no doubt made by a master jeweler.
 

Next thing is mentioned neither in any book: The cutting is just one thing - the gluing is the bigger problem ...
 

 
... used some soft adhesive tape and tried to put it together with 0,5 x 0,5 mm toothless bars - looks nicely uneven ...
 

 
... so printed a 0.7 grid onto paper and used transparent double sided tape and a loupe to fix them together. Nice meditational work :-)
 

 
So it is filling up:
 

 
The caliper is set to 1.4 mm.
 
And my little worker was so kind to lift one up to show the underneath :-)
 

 
... and the result is a cute 0.7 mm grating and soon I will be able to show where it will end up :-)
 

My litte helper was so kind to lift on grating up to show the underneath:
 

 
As promised, here is where the new gratings end up :-)
 

 
Even the split into four parts can be seen :-)

 
All the best, Daniel
 

Simply stunning and wonderful!!!
 
XXXDAn

Hello,
the La Créole had a total of 6 light swivel guns, which were probably intended for close combat.
4 of them were in the front and 2 mounted in the rear.
 
The swivel guns are made ​​of brass.
Here I show you the components before assembly.

 

 

 
Other pictures show the finished swivel guns.

 

 

 
And in the end a picture from the forecastle with swivel guns mounted.

 
 

Hello,
today I'll show some pictures of the figurehead of the la creole.
I used wood as boxwood. This timber is ideal for this.
The images explains the attempt to carve the female figure.
Here is the result.
The figure is not yet finished. To be continued ...
 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Hello dear friends,
 
here I show you pictures of manufacture of the steering wheel.
I hope that it is interesting for you.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Goodbye, see you soon.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Next thing is mentioned neither in any book: The cutting is just one thing - the gluing is the bigger problem ...
 

 
... used some soft adhesive tape and tried to put it together with 0,5 x 0,5 mm toothless bars - looks nicely uneven ...
 

 
... so printed a 0.7 grid onto paper and used transparent double sided tape and a loupe to fix them together. Nice meditational work :-)
 

 
So it is filling up:
 

 
The caliper is set to 1.4 mm.
 
And my little worker was so kind to lift one up to show the underneath :-)
 

 
... and the result is a cute 0.7 mm grating and soon I will be able to show where it will end up :-)
 

My litte helper was so kind to lift on grating up to show the underneath:
 

 
As promised, here is where the new gratings end up :-)
 

 
Even the split into four parts can be seen :-)

 
All the best, Daniel
 

Last night, I started tying knots.  I found this picture somewhere on Model Ship World.  (I'm sorry, but I forget where...)  And I liked the looks of these knots.
 
Two things became clear pretty fast.  First, it was hard to tighten the cow hitch.  I'd put some tension on it and it'd look good, but as soon as I let go, it loosened up.  Second, I'm not sure how to tie those clove hitches.  Mastini recommends simple overhand knots in his Ship Modeling Simplified book.  Those are certainly simple, but they don't look as good as those clove hitches.  Not sure which way to go on those two issues.
 
Also, Mastini recommends using tan thread for the ratlines and that's what's shown in this picture, but most of the models I've seen use the same color for the ratlines as for the shrouds.  I think I'm going to go with the darker color, but I'd be interested in the opinions of others.
 
Finally, getting the right tension on the ratlines between the shrouds seems to be a challenge.  Anyone got a good method for that?  Or is this just a task that requires a lot of fiddling to get right?
 
 
 
Dan
 
 

Based on the recommendations from you gentlemen, I started on the ratlines.  Scottish Maid is in 1:50 scale, so the spacing between the ratlines should be 0.32 inches.  Luckily, I have a ruler graduated in 10ths and 100ths of inches, so ruling those lines on a piece of cardstock was simple.
 
Then I cut templates about 1.5 inches wide, whcih will fit nicely behind the shrouds.
 
You can see the final result.
 

Thanks for the tip on wetting the ratline thread.  I think I'm going to have to do that, based on my work last night...
 
First, I learned how to tie the two knots invoved in rigging the ratlines:  the cow hitch and the clove hitch.  I found a good video explanation of the clove hitch and as you can see in the photo below, those knots look pretty good.  (Here's a link:  http://www.ehow.com/video_2355229_tie-clove-hitch-knot.html)
 
As for the cow hitch, that one was pretty easy to figure out, but hard to get to lie correctly.  You can see that in the photo too.  Maybe wetting the line will help that out.  I'll try that tonight if I can fit it in.
 
I tied four knots last night.  Took me about 30 minutes.  I'm going to have to get faster at that if I'm ever going to finish this job.  That said, most of my time was spent figuring out how to do it.  Repetition is going to speed this up a lot.  I'm also going to take the suggestion of putting the vertical lines on my template.  I can see how it would be easy to pull the ratlines together and distort the shrouds without some kind of guide.
 
 
Dan
 
 

And don't stop too often, or you'll discover that every time you start is just like the first time....
Half an hour every three weeks isn't the right way to go (speaking from personal experience)
 
Jan

Thanks again to everyone for all the help.  I've learned a few things, as the photo below illustrates.
 
Get the thread a little wet before using it.  That'll get the kinks out of it and make it a lot easier to work with. Use a template to get the vertical spacing right. Use a template to ensure the shrouds aren't being pulled together. Do every fourth ratline and then go back and do the rest. Things tend to go a little faster with a little experience.  
Although it probably won't make much difference to people looking at the model, I really do like the idea of not having loose ends hanging off the sides of the ratlines.  I was determined to get the cow hitch - clove hitch - clove hitch - cow hitch series right.  I've found that it's not that tough once you get the hang of it.
 
Box 1 shows my first attempts:  loose knots and ... what's that?  A string ball? Box 2 shows subsequent attempts:  properly tied and tighter.  (These were done after I learned I should get the thread a little damp to take the kinks out of it and make it easier to work with. Box 3 shows what I consider to be properly done ratlines.  The knots are tight, the they're not pulling the shrouds together and the knots are properly tied.  
If I can just replicate Box 3 about a thousand times, I'll be good to go!  Honestly, this is about the most mindless part of my entire building experience.  It's pretty relaxing.  Once you get the hang of the two knots, it goes pretty quickly.
 
I'm a little anxious about rigging the foremast ratlines.  Scottish Maid is a clipper schooner, so I have the foremast yards right in the way, along with all the other rigging.  I'm hoping my experience with the main mast will serve me well on the trickier foremast.
 
Next time, I'm going to do all the ratlines when I step the mast and rig the shrouds...
 
 
Dan
 
 

Druxey makes a good point. I forgot to mention that before tying each ratline row, I ran the thread through a damp sponge for exactly that reason (a trick embroiderers use).

Sometimes line that is stiff or has 'memory' and loosens can be tamed with a wet brush. Try that on your clove hitches.

Cruizers, part 2:  HMS Frolic vs USS Wasp
 
The Cruizer-class brig-sloop HMS Frolic launched on 9 February, 1806 and commissioned soon after.
 
She was one of seventy vessels in Portsmouth in December 1806 when news arrived that Tsar Alexander I of Russia had declared war on Great Britain and the subsequent seizure of two Russian navy vessels, the frigate Speshnoy and storeship Wilhelmina transporting payroll for a Russian squadron in the Mediterranean.
 
Frolic, under Commander Thomas Whinyates, sailed for the West Indies on 21 February 1808.  There she participated in the invasion of Martinique in February 1809, the invasion of Guadeloupe from 28 January to 6 February 1810 and was among the force present at the surrender of Saint Martin on 17 February.
 
The United States declared war against Great Britain 18 June, 1812.  Both sides pursued the naval war with privateer and regular navy vessels.  Fortunately for the United States, Great Britain was heavily involved in the war in Europe and had few vessels to assign to the war against the United States.
 
Frolic left the Gulf of Honduras bound for England on 12 September as escort to a convoy of approximately fourteen merchant vessels.  Near Havana, Cuba, Captain Thomas Whinyates learned of the war with the United States and USS Constitution's capture and sinking of HMS Guerriere from a passing ship.  Frolic, having now been five years in the West Indies, was due for re-fit and for her captain to take command of a vessel befitting his recent promotion to post captain.  She was also short handed (eleven short of full complement) with 92 officers and men plus 18 boys, and had one salvaged 12 pounder carronade, lashed down in the bow.  Her armament included the standard 16 x 32 pounder carronades, 2 x 6 pounder guns in the forward gun ports, 2 x brass 6 pounder guns (captain's property) in the stern chase ports and a 12 pounder carronade on a gun carriage (for use as a boat gun) on the forecastle platform. [see post #5.] 
 
Approximately 300 miles north of Bermuda the convoy encountered a violent gale of wind on 16 October.  The gale scattered the convoy and carried away Frolic’s main yard, sprung her main topmast and shredded both topsails.  She started jury repairs and recovered six vessels of the convoy the next day.
 
Wasp, newly refitted and with a full crew of hand-picked volunteers, Master Commandant Jacob Jones in command, left the Delaware River on 13 October heading south-east to intercept vessels bound for England from the West Indies.  She encountered the same storm and suffered damage to her jib boom and two crewmen lost overboard on the 16th.  At 11:30 pm the next day, look-outs spotted the sails of Frolic and the remnants of the convoy to leeward.  Jones maintained Wasp’s distance from the unidentified sail until dawn.
 
USS Wasp’s Specifications
Length:  105 ft 10 ½ inches
Beam:  30 ft 10 inches
Tonnage:  434 (burthen)
Rig:  ship-rigged sloop
Armament:  16 x 32 pounder carronades + 2 x long 12 pounder brass guns + 2 x 4 pounder brass guns, usually carried in the tops but taken down and on deck due to the recent gale.
Complement:  140
 
The next morning Jones identified the vessels as British merchantmen with a Royal Navy brig, flying Spanish colors to mislead Wasp, standing between Wasp and the merchantmen.  Although the weather was clear, there was still a strong wind blowing and heavy seas.  Both vessels cleared for action and shortened sail.  Frolic secured the unfinished jury main yard to the deck and set the boom mainsail and a reefed fore topsail.  Since both vessels carried a main armament of short-range carronades, there was no attempt at maneuvering to gain advantage before the fight.
 
They closed to about 60 yards with the Wasp to starboard and slightly to windward and Frolic to port.  Wasp's hail was answered by a broadside which was instantly returned.  Wind and sea reduced the distance and the action became close and furious.  In less than five minutes Frolic shot away Wasp’s main topmast followed by her gaff and mizzen top-gallant mast shortly after.
 
The sea was so rough that the muzzles of the guns on both vessels were frequently under water, the amount of roll worse for Frolic because of her diminished stores.  Still the cannonade continued with mutual spirit.  The American crew fired as the engaged side rolled down, into her opponent's hull, while the British fired as the engaged side rolled up, into her enemy's rigging.  Shortly after Wasp’s main topmast had come down, Frolic’s gaff head-braces were shot away.  Now, less than ten minutes since the opening broadside and without any sail on her main mast the brig lost the ability to prevent Wasp from taking up a raking position on her larboard bow.  As the action continued, the ships closed together until Frolic’s bow struck Wasp amidship and the American gunners struck the hull of Frolic with their rammers as they reloaded.  Wasp fired a final raking broadside.
 

"USS Wasp Boarding HM Brig Frolic", c. 1815 by Thomas Birch (1779 - 1851), (public domain)
This painting is claimed to have been the property of Captain James Biddle, USN, Lieutenant of the USS Wasp.
 
At 11:52 am, just twenty-two minutes since the opening broadside, American sailors boarded the Frolic to find that all the British officers and 58 men of her crew, were wounded or dead.  The Americans had suffered 15 casualties.  Although it was acknowledged that the British crew had fought to their utmost, it was clear that the American gunnery had been far superior to that of the British.
 
Shortly after the fighting ended, both of Frolic's masts fell.  An American prize crew went aboard the Frolic and attempted to repair the rigging, but a few hours later a British ship of the line, HMS Poictiers, commanded by Captain John Beresford, came into view.  Frolic was still unmanageable, and with its damaged rigging Wasp was soon overtaken and surrendered in the face of impossible odds.  Beresford was due to join the fleet blockading the American coast, but thought it necessary to collect Frolic's convoy and take them to Bermuda, where they were forced to remain for several days until another escort could be found.  
 
The subsequent court martial honorably acquitted Whinyates, his officers and his men for the loss of the ship.  Whinyates next assumed command of Bann, a 20 gun frigate.  Frolic, recommissioned later that October with her former first officer, Lieutenant Andrew Mitchell (acting commander until confirmed 24 August 1813) in command, was one of four vessels to participate in the capture of the ship Fame on 20 July 1813.  She continued in service until broken up in November 1813. 
 
Master Commandant Jacob Jones and his crew were soon released by an exchange of prisoners.  Jones received promotion and assumed command of USS Macedonian captured from the Royal Navy on 25 October.  He later served as second in command to Commodore Isaac Chauncey on Lake Ontario.
 
Wasp briefly served in the Royal Navy, first as HMS Loup Cervier – at one point she was challenged to a duel by her sister ship, Hornet, commanded by her own former first lieutenant, James Lawrence - and later as HMS Peacock after Hornet sank Peacock.  The ex-Wasp wrecked in 1814.
 
Next: Peacock
 
Sources:
The Naval History of Great Britain by William James, 1824
History of the Navy of the United States by J. Fenimore Cooper, 1836
The Naval War of 1812 by Theodore Roosevelt, 1900
The Age of Fighting Sail by C. S. Forester, 1957
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Dept US Navy, (online)
 
[Edited to include information from post #5]

Cruizers, part 3:  HMS Peacock
 
The Cruizer-class brig-sloop HMS Peacock launched on 9 February, 1806, coincidentally the same day as Frolic, and commissioned soon after.  Peacock over the next years developed a reputation of being a “yacht” for her tasteful deck arrangement and relocated shot racks, canvas lined breech ropes and brightly polished brass elevating screws and traversing wheel brackets for the carronades.  Someone, for an unknown reason, changed her carronades to 16 x 24 pounders instead of the class standard 32’s.  She probably had small raised fore and aft platforms, similar to those on Caldercraft/Jotika’s Snake; one report states that she had a carriage mounted 12 pounder carronade "on her forecastle" and a long gun (most likely a 6 pounder) as a stern chaser.  There is no space for these guns, as described, except on similar platforms.
 
On 26 October 1812, USS Constitution, Commodore William Bainbridge, with Hornet, Master Commander James Lawrence, sortied from Boston Harbor, just eight days after Wasp captured Frolic and one day after United States captured Macedonian.
 
On 12 December the two ships arrived at Salvador, Brazil where they found HMS Bonne Citoyenne with over a half million dollars in silver on board making repairs.  On the 26th, Bainbridge left Hornet alone to blockade Bonne Citoyenne and headed south.  He met, captured and blew up HMS Java on 29 December then returned to Salvador.
 
On 6 January Constitution departed for Boston.  Lawrence on Hornet continued the blockade until 26 January when the arrival of Montagu (74) forced him to leave.  Hornet headed north along the coast and took a few prizes.
 

HMS Peacock vs USS Hornet by Patrick O'Brien
24 February 1813
 
On 24 February Hornet pursued a British merchant brig into the mouth of the Demerara River where Lawrence saw HMS Espiegle (another Cruizer-class brig-sloop) at anchor, altered course around the sand bar that separated them, then soon noticed Peacock standing in from seaward.  He altered course at about 3:30 pm to gain the weather gage on Peacock.
 
USS Hornet’s Specifications
                    Length:  106 ft 9 inches
                    Beam:  31 ft 5 inches
                    Tonnage:  440 (burthen)
                    Rig:  ship-rigged sloop
                    Armament:  18 x 32 pounder carronades + 2 x 12 pounder long guns
                    Complement:  142
 
At 4:20 Peacock hoisted her colors; Hornet went to quarters and cleared for action.  They continued towards each other, close to the wind on opposite tacks, Hornet on the starboard tack.
 
At 5:10 Lawrence adjusted course to pass close to Peacock, maintaining the weather gage, and hoisted the colors.
 
At 5:25 the ships passed at very close range (“half pistol shot”) and fired their larboard broadsides as the guns bore.  All of Hornet’s fire struck Peacock while Peacock’s fire went so high that it did little damage other than killing one man in Hornet’s main top and wounding two in the fore top – the only casualties Hornet suffered in the battle.  Peacock turned down wind to fire a raking broadside into Hornet’s stern but Lawrence anticipated this, made the same maneuver more quickly, striking Peacock’s stern with Hornet’s starboard bow, and then opened a furious, raking fire with the starboard battery into Peacock’s stern and starboard quarter.  At 5:39, completely shattered and unable to bring any guns to bear in answer to Hornet’s cannonade, Peacock struck, immediately signaled distress, and then her main mast fell.
 
Hornet’s boarding party reported five dead, including Captain Peake, thirty-three wounded and Peacock sinking with six feet of water in the hold and rising.  Every effort was made by both crews to move the wounded to Hornet and save Peacock, but to no avail for Peacock.  She sank in 33 feet of water so quickly that she took three men from Hornet and nine from Peacock with her.  Most of the men on board when this happened saved themselves by climbing into Peacock’s launch as Peacock sank beneath it or climbing the foremast rigging.
 
Lawrence, aware that Espiegle, at last sighting anchored inside the bar at the Demerara River, could be looking for Hornet, ordered Hornet’s repairs.  By 9 pm, with the greatest of exertions, Hornet had new sails bent, rigging repaired, boats stowed and the ship cleared and ready for another action.  With 277 men on board and short of water, Lawrence determined to return home and got under way at about 2 am.
 
Hornet arrived in Martha’s Vineyard on 19 March and in New York soon after.  James Lawrence received promotion and command of the 38-gun frigate Chesapeake.  Bainbridge was assigned to supervise the construction of the first 74 built by the US Navy and take command when completed.
 
News of the fourth and fifth US Navy victories at sea in as many engagements between nominally equal ships upset the British public which was accustomed to naval victories even against nearly impossible odds.  The Admiralty was even less pleased and ordered that US 44-gun frigates were not to be engaged except with superior force.  The captain of Espiegle was court-martialed for not engaging Hornet and helping Peacock.  The US battle report had the engagement four miles from Espiegle but a reconstruction of the battle showed that Peacock was never visible from Espiegle and that the battle itself occurred 20 or more miles away.  He was reprimanded for not exercising his crew at the guns, in effect making him a scapegoat for Peake who had concentrated more on the appearance of his command than its fighting efficiency.
 
The Royal Navy re-named the ex-USS Wasp a second time to Peacock.
 
Peacock is the namesake for one of the three United States Frolic-class 22-gun sloops of war built during the War of 1812, the other two being Frolic and Wasp.  Two of these three will be heard from again.
 
Peacock might make an interesting variation of Caldercraft/Jotika’s Cruizer with small added fore and aft platforms with guns, the main battery changed to 24 pounder carronades and the addition of the “yacht” details. 
 
 
Next:  HMS Pelican
 
 
Sources: 
The Naval History of Great Britain by William James, 1824
History of the Navy of the United States by J. Fenimore Cooper, 1836
The Naval War of 1812 by Theodore Roosevelt, 1900
The Age of Fighting Sail by C. S. Forester, 1957
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Dept US Navy, (online)
 
Edited to correct a minor detail and typos

I was considering building Caldercraft's Cruizer, did a little basic research on her on Wikipedia and found that there were 106 of these brig-rigged sloops built. I quickly realized a modeler could build any one of these vessels with only very slight modifications to the kit.
 
Many of these large Cruizer-class brig-sloops had very mundane, unremarkable careers. Others came to tragic ends through shipwreck on uncharted or incorrectly charted rocks and shoals or departed for a destination, never arrived and were presumed to be lost at sea. Several had very distinguished and brilliant careers and a few had engaged in historically significant ship-to-ship duels during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. I'm going to focus on eight1 of them that intrigued me as subjects for a model: seven1 that engaged US Navy sloops of war in the War of 1812 and one that had been modified with an innovative experimental arrangement of her armament.
 
 
HMS Raven - Launched 25 July, 1804
 
Raven​ was commissioned in August with Commander William Layman in command. Layman was a protege of Lord Nelson with whom he had served on three previous assignments. With Nelson's support he changed Raven's armament by planking over the two forward gun ports and the two transom gun ports, removed two 6 pounder chase guns and built platforms at those two locations where he mounted 68 pounder carronades on transverse (pivoting) mounts on the ship center line which gave each a field of fire of as much as 180 degrees or more. I have not been able to find the use of pivoting mounts on another vessel larger than coastal and fresh water gunboats prior to Raven in 1804. Otherwise Raven was typical of her class.
 
Length: 100 ft 2 in (gundeck),  77 ft 6 in (keel)
Beam: 30 ft 6 in
Tonnage: 384 (burthen)
Armament: 16 x 32 pounder carronades + 2 x 6 pounder chase guns (before modification)
                16 x 32 pounder carronades + 2 x 68 pounder carronades on transverse mounts (after modification)
Complement: 121
 
Raven arrived near Cadiz to join Nelson's squadron with dispatches on the evening of 29 January 1805. Layman ordered Raven hove to, took a sounding (no bottom with an 80 fathom lead), left orders with the officer of the watch that the lead be cast every half hour and went below.
 
At about midnight the officer of the watch woke Layman and reported the lights of the squadron, then returned in minutes with the news that the lights were Cadiz. Layman started the lead finding 18 fathoms shoaling to 5 fathoms as he turned Raven about.
 
Daylight found Raven close inshore with the Spanish fleet at anchor on one side and the shore batteries on Santa Catalina on the other. Layman worked Raven over the shoals but was forced to anchor after increasing winds caused the main yard to break in the slings. The winds further increased to gale force, dragging the anchors, and drove Raven onto the beach at Santa Catalina. Raven was unsalvageable and her crew was taken into custody by the Spanish.
 
While in custody, Layman made inquiries among the crew and learned that his orders for soundings to be made every bell were ignored. He also learned that the officer of the watch was in his quarters, drunk, when the lights of Cadiz were reported by the look-outs.
 
After an officer exchange, Lieutenant Layman reported his findings to Lord Nelson in Gibraltar who advised him not to blame his officers for the loss of Raven. Nelson feared that the officer of the watch would be executed for his conduct and assured Layman "You will not be censured."
 
Nelson had misjudged the situation. On 9 March 1805 Layman was severely reprimanded and lost all his seniority. He appealed his court martial but the Admiralty was not willing to overturn the court's verdict. Nelson was killed at Trafalgar before further action could be taken. Layman's only powerful friend could no longer help him. It appears that Layman had annoyed many senior officers with his outspoken advocacy for improvements to the Navy and its ships and his career was destroyed in consequence.
 
Subsequent courts martial found Layman's master negligent in not monitoring Raven's movements and in not taking regular soundings. Layman's second lieutenant, the officer of the watch, was dismissed from the service.
 
Layman remained in the service but never received promotion to captain. He committed suicide on 22 May 1826.
 
 
 
[sources: "HMS Raven (1804)" - Wikipedia and the bibliography for that article;  Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900;  http://aboutnelson.yuku.com/topic/808/Captain-Layman-new-thread ]
 
 
I find HMS Raven an interesting subject for a model as much for the injustice done to an energetic and intelligent young officer as for the innovation in the arrangement of her armament. Raven is also interesting for having the shortest life of any of the Cruizer class brig-sloops.2
 
I'll continue with one or more of the Cruiser-class engagements of the War of 1812 in a day or two.
 
Dave
 
Edits:  1  Increased the number by one when I realized I had overlooked one engagement that occurred after the Treaty of Ghent had been ratified 17 February 1815 in which neither combatant knew of the end of the war.
2   Added information   

I tell you dear Daniel I would have finished Pegasus by now but for chasing  answers for your quests to settle  the minutiae of all things nautical.
 
It's all interesting stuff tho' keep it up
 
M.

Guys, on the OLD MSW there were some folks teaching the zip seizing method that is explained on the dummies site....well, I've been trying over and over and can't get my seizings to come free of the rod I'm trying to attach them with....I've tried gap filling CA (and that sort of worked but looked horrible) and so I tried thin CA as recommended on the dummies site....I can't get the seizing to come free of the rod.  When I do get it free of the rod it has all been shredded to pieces. I also tried waxing the rod first to add a little thickness that I could then melt away but that didn't work either...help please?

Hi,
in earlier years I build the Corel-Wasa Kit. Some pictures from this model I put into a german modeler site:
 
http://www.segelschiffsmodellbau.com/t1308f99-schwedische-Galeone-quot-Wasa-quot.html
 
Maybe it helps you a little
 
Regards, Joachim

Hi Daniel, I've looked thro' my reference sources but can't find any specific information on the tray sizes as yet. There is a lot of stuff on the organisation of messes, collection of food, and even that a lot of sailors had their own plates, bowls and cutlery.
 
Here's a shot of a table in the Gunroom of Victory which may help you to gauge the tray size. Note the pewter plates and drinking  vessels.
Not sure how authentic the table is, but pehaps the Petty Officers of the gunroom had  a better arrangement.
 
Boudriot isn't of much help in relation to British ships, as the French rank and file ate sitting on the deck out of communal  mess  bowls, they didn't have individual  plates and bowls. The Petty Officers fared somwhat better having tables to sit at.
 
If I come across anything more I will post it.
 
M.
 
 

It feels great to be back in the shipyard after some absence due to work and holiday. So got my building report out of page 47 and undusted it ...
 
A friend of mine once said, it is no etch, if it doesn´t hurt, so I tried one of the last parts, with some tiny lilies ...
 

 
... but I think they still need some water to grow a tad ...
 
:-)
 
XXXDAn

In this scale one could also try the method described by Reed: a short bit of wire and some white glue.
 
 
As I cut of the ones provided on my build, I had to do some new ones in 1:100 ...     ... some wire, put in a stand, some white glue to form a drop on the top and some paint spilt over it. All exactly 4 mm long, just standing a little bit messy in the stand.     Things got stuck together - pins with rail and pins-rail-mast together with trial poop deck ...     Worked very well, if the wire is not too soft, also quite stabele to rig.   Daniel

Thanks Michael! Yes I did manage to cut a stay by accident and it was ten times more difficult to install with the shrouds in place!
 
I think at this or any scale the choice of material for the rigging is key to getting the right feel for the ship. I have been using bead thread called "silamide" which is quite fine and not hairy, I have used this for the stays and shrouds.
 
For the finer rigging I am using fishing fly tying strand called "Nano Silk" this is very fine, non hairy and extremely strong. It is however made of many fine strands which are not bound together very well and tends to unravel while working. I impregnate it in white glue to bind it. Cutting it is very difficult and can only be done with a brand new blade.
 
One advantage with using the brass tube for masts and spars is that I can attach fine wire loops in the tube ends for rigging to pass through. A good source of very fine brass wire is the "net" around some bottles of wine (also a good excuse to stock up the cellar!)
 
I have now finally completed the standing rigging, the bowsprit rigging was more difficult than expected!
 
Spars next!
 





 

New recruit requesting permission to come aboard!
 
Having made a few ships in bottles I wanted to see how small I could make a static ship model.
I have been overawed by the quality and craftsmanship of models I have seen in these pages and know that I could never come close to these. 
I used to build small ships when I was a kid so I  thought I would have another go. this is one from 45 years ago that my mother still had!
 
  I really loved the models I used to look at in the NMM and Science Museum in London and decided to make my Victory out of boxwood for the beautiful colour and fine grain. I acquired some boxwood veneer and made a start.
 

 
I made the bulkheads and keel from 0.7mm ply the boxwood was used for deck and planking
 



 
I was keen to keep the model in a timber finish and started to construct the stern and galleries onto the base hull form
 

 
The gunports are closed! and therefore set out as simple squares on the hull. I also started to think about the few visible cannons with brass tube barrels.
 

 
Lower masts are bamboo skewers reduced through a draw plate and bands fitted in cotton thread
 

 
For the smaller solid parts I used sawn sections from one of my wife's used clay modelling tools which are made of fine boxwood