zoly99sask

Lots achieved today, she even has props fitted, but apart from small weapons to be painted and fitted,and some radar sets I will now concentrate on weathering her for the next day or so and then finish her off with the rigging, have enjoyed this build, and have other projects lined up like the 1/200 USS Hornet and 1/200 Sovremenny, but it looks like i am now back in the mood to push on with the Victory 

Good evening, Im still adding loads to the build, but can see the end in sight and actually have a completed builds portfolio to my name LOL most of the armament is made and in paint, then wethering and rigging, hope to complete her within a couple of weeks
 

And still a lot of amidships detail to go in, I already have my next project lined up in the same scale, 1/200 Sovremenny, with the detail set being sent from WEM

Thank you guys for all nice comments and likes, they are like a new blood for my body.
I completed the treenailing, next part of the build will be forecastle and quarter deck planksheer.

Thank you druxey.
Deck planking is done. It remains only treenaling.

I would like to thank everyone that viewed and commented on my build.  When you are involved in such a tedious hobby, any and all support is much appreciated.  I also appreciate criticism that provides me information to improve my skills and model building.
 
I have now embarked on another build - the Brigantine Phoenix by Master Korabel in 1:72 scale.

The arching planks towards the stern overhang looks a bit thick.
I would probably remove these and just use the second layer planking.
Remember, the decoration here goes on the outboard side of the planking without it being obvious from a distance that this is the case.
This is what I did (sorry, not very sharp):

Real ship:

Cheers,
Peter

I purchased this a few months ago from a www.hobbyterra.com, it is produced by ex USSR manufacturers – it's very complete and very detailed, all parts are laser cut – even the outside hull planking.  It has instructions in Russian, but I'm a little rusty so I'll refer to the picture diagrams and the English instructions.  When it's finished it will be 590 mm long, by 440 mm high and 220 mm wide.  So here are some pictures:

thanks,
nice profile picture :-)
I'm not printing them myself. I order them at materialize, a company here in Leuven, Belgium that prints over twenty materials. You just upload you model, they print and send it. Actually I pick it up my self.
I cloud share the models it you like.
 
Cheers,
Michiel

Hi Guys,
 
Here's a little overview on my progress on the guns, paining the 3D prints:
 
Blank as they come from the printer:

after the primer:
 

 
base layer of black:
 

 
Washing with green to obtain a weathered bronze look:
 
]
I'm using the golden fluid acrylic.
 
Thanks for watching,
Michiel
 
 

Hi Mike, Thanks for stopping by. Work on the Trabaccolo has been slow as of late but I am now determined to get it finished soon, if all works out. I think I have been stalling a little as I am unsure whether to install the sails or not and the time is coming very close to make this decision.
The Trajta is a nice looking boat and looks like she would be a fun build with great results. If it were me I would do the Trajta first to just get the feel for the MarisStella kits. They are wonderful kits and are certainly not the same as other kits which adds to the adventure of building one. If you decide to start the Trabaccolo I know the instructions have been re-done, it would be just a matter of contacting Zoran for them, if you have the old ones. As Zoran stated above many of the kits instructions have been re-written, a quick email and Zoran will be there to help with any questions you may have concerning any aspect of the kits or your build.
 Whatever decision you make I'll be watching and would be more than happy to help out and to cheer you on.

Port side gun ports are in place, hull is sanded and ready for the second planking! 
 
Started working on the stern below the cabin balconies. Framed up the stern ports and planked up to the balconies with the finish layer.
 
Going to take a break on her for a little while now before I really dive into the second planking. There is a lot of it but the second layer tends to go faster than the first and once I get going on it, I like to see it to the end. So before that I want to work some more on La Couronne as she is nearing completion. I may push to finish her up before I return to this log so it may be awhile before there are any new progress pics on here.
 

 

 

Hello, my name is Clare. 
I don't know how it happened. I suppose this is typical. Somehow, without knowing it was happening, I have become a card model junkie...
 
I began, innocently enough, experimenting with a kit from Shipyard, the 1/96-scale paper model of the cutter HMS Alert. I didn't plan on finishing it, I just wanted to start it to see what the build was like. But, it became very interesting and unexpectedly quite rewarding. I ended up completing it and a fellow modeler wanted to buy the completed model from me, so it found a home. But, building the model was such a rewarding experience, I ended up building a Shipyard lighthouse kit and starting another Shipyard paper ship model kit, HMS Mercury, which is now under construction.
 
HMS Mercury was intended as another kind of experiment and something I would just work on in between other projects. So, I haven't worked steadily on it. But, recently, I put in some work on the model and have had a difficult time breaking away from it. After my last build log post, I figured I'd step away from it, but I couldn't help myself. I did a little more work on it.
 
But, paper models cover a diverse range of subjects, and most paper model, or card model subjects (as some people prefer to call them), are not of sailing vessels, but of steel navy ships. My "Go To" shop for this stuff is usually the Polish seller GPM. They have all subject matter in kits from a wide range of manufacturers. One of the things I like to do is to check out some of the fascinating subjects, ships mostly, and look at the kits and available laser-cut and photo-etched accessory sets they sell for them.
 
I've been seriously temped to try out one of these, but then I took a good look at the card modeling tutorial that Chris Coyle did here on MSW, using the German V-108 torpedo boat kit from Digital Navy as the subject. Having finally replaced my malfunctioning color inkjet printer, it seemed like a good opportunity to test it out and to print the parts sheets for the V-108 model.
 

I hope Chris doesn't mind, but, above, I've posted a photo of his completed model from his tutorial, which is the subject of this build log.
 
The tutorial and the links to the download can be found here: V108 Paper Model Tutorial
 
Now, I'm not following the tutorial to the letter. Chris' model is a waterline model, and I really want some practice building the hull below the waterline too, so I'll be attempting the full-hull build.
 
This is a small model at 1/200 scale, and I don't anticipate this taking a great deal of time, especially in comparison with a sailing ship model. So, I'm planning on spending a bit more of my time on this build. 
 
 
I went ahead and downloaded the files from the links provided in the tutorial. There are four pages in all, but only two of those pages are parts. They fit on standard 8-1/2" x 11" paper. I didn't end up printing anything directly on cardstock, laminating Pieces onto cardboard as necessary. I then began cutting out the structural pieces as needed and building the basic framework.
 


Okay, so there we go with another one. I've glued up the upper and lower frames together, but don't have a photo yet. Next, I'm going to add some hardpoints to the keel so I can eventually mount the model securely on a display base.
 
Clare
 

Hi Clare,
 
There is a real insurgence of card models on MSW lately which is great.  I also notice a lot more 'steel' ships appearing in both plastic and card which is also good to see.
 
I look forward to following another card build log of yours.
 
Cheers
Slog

Hey Dave, I am now using the Gutermann 100% cotton thread and am having good results. I would be more than happy to share my results with you give me  a  pm anytime
Hello Zoran, Thanks for stopping in, this means a lot, it will be finished

Hello all, here is a quick update on the Trabaccolo not much has happened but I'll show what little there is:
 


 
Making chainplates, these were soldered afterwords. Then holes punched using a broken 1mm end mill bit
 

 
Brackets were made for channels, plans did not ask for them but I thought they would be a nice addition these and the channels are made from rosewood
 


 
Making of the oars
 

 
Brackets for the back stays
 


 
A couple of shots showing channels with dead eyes installed and also the back stay brackets. Brackets and chain plates still need to be touched up with some paint, I 'm waiting until all metal work is done to do it all at once.
 


 
Just a couple of fun shots
 

 
Made these yesterday not fancy or pretty but they will soon be filled with rope made on my new Domanoff ropewalk The one on the right in the front row is the one I copied from
 

Well, as long as I'm posting things here, I might as well post a few photos of some recent work I did on the Mercury.
 
When I have a chance to use laser-cut parts, I take it if they are sturdy enough. In general, laser-cut parts tend to use thick cardboard. Any pieces I cut for myself, I make from many layers of laminated paper, and they tend to be sturdier. So, there are places where I don't really like laser-cut parts. On a paper model, the nice thing is that laser-cut parts are an option. There always seem to be printed parts you can use instead, if you prefer.
 
But, in this case, these large parts go together quickly, and they're easy to use. I've been switching to the use of Liquitex Soft Body Acrylics instead of the Renesans brand acrylics. I LOVE the Renesans brand, but they're only available when you buy the boxed Shipyard kits. I've looked, but they are really hard to buy here. I have a supply, but I've been needing to test out alternatives I can recommend.
 
The main issue now is that I've found that some of the paints that Ages of Sail has been getting in the kits they sell are drying out on the shelves. In a kit of the Crowdy Head Lighthouse that I got off the shelf at Ages of Sail, the paints were mostly dried up. I found that with some work, and a little water, I was able to revive them. But, not everyone is going to want to go through that. I tried several acrylic brands, and I found the Liquitex Soft Body Acrylics seem to have the most similar coverage characteristics. I still prefer the Renesans brand as they go on VERY FLAT. Liquitex has a slight sheen unless you can apply it thinned with water.
 
Anyway, I decided to give the deck a wash of paint to kill some of that printed paper look. 
 
I also used the HMS Mercury Detail Set I bought from GPM.PL to make the new parts you see here instead of making them from the printed paper parts in the Shipyard kit.
 
 
 




You'll notice I painted the forward bulkhead. The kit doesn't mention anything, but it does show a photo where that bulkhead is black. I figured it was close enough to the bow to just go ahead and paint red. It's unlikely it will be very visible anyway.
 
Another thing you may notice is what some might consider a cheat. If you look at the gap in the inner and outer bulwarks parts, you'll see strips of wood I inserted to stiffen the walls a little and to keep them from bowing too much.
 
You can see that I still have some inner bulwarks pieces to add. Then, I can paint around the remaining gun ports and then turn my attention to the stern cabins.
 
Clare

I thought I'd ask.. how far north? 

Mark, I completely forgot that you lived up there in Medford. I passed right through your fine city on Monday afternoon! 
 
Hello Peg Leg Greg from Australia. Glad you found the build log. As I generally warn people, this is really a side project, but I'm having a hard time tearing myself away from it. This card modeling stuff is addictive!
 
And, I have to revise something I stated earlier about card modeling being challenging. The biggest challenge is a mental one. When you get one of these kits, you instantly see a gazillion parts, and you have to cut out each and every one, plus you might decided to cut out windows instead of using printed windows, etc. That's intimidating. So, I'm finding that it's like tying ratlines. You can't think about all those knots you have to tie – you just have to start and do one at a time until you get to the end. Building this model is about baby steps. You can't count how many baby steps you have to take, you just have to take them one at a time.
 
HMS Mercury Progress
Well, I made a little more progress that I thought I'd post for now. 
 
First off, I glued the new pieces into place in the fo'csle and then added the doors back on. If you recall, I'd added the doors earlier and then decided I didn't like printed windows. So, I removed them and the related partitions and cut out the window panes and used canopy glue to add the "glass". In addition to the doors, I also finished the inner bulwarks pieces at the bow. 
As you can see in the photo below, I still have to "edge" the gun port sills with red paint.
 

 
At this point, I began to wonder how well this model was going to go together and test fit the fo'csle and quarter decks. I had to dig through the diagrams and all to figure out if this was all going to work okay in the end. So far, it seems like it should be okay, though there's more gap around the bow that I would like. Not sure yet how to fix this, if it even needs fixing. But, it was nice to see how well the decks seated into place. There are a couple beams I will have to fashion and put into place before these decks can go on. And, of course, I'll need to finish some internal details, plus the cannons.

In the lower photos, you can also see the galley stove under construction. Below, you can see where it will eventually go.
 

Of course, there's a lot of work to do to the stove before it goes into place.
 
Finally, I added the remaining parts for the interior of the great cabin, aft. There's some furniture to go in here. That's one of those things which is pretty neat about these Shipyard ship model kits. Of course, if you want to be able to see any of this stuff, you'll have to modify the original kit, which includes printed windows. Those would normally need to be carefully cut open, but the detail kit I bought from GPM includes some laser-cut parts for the gallery windows. 
 

 
I'm starting to think about the outer layer that's going to go on the model. The kit includes printed parts for two configurations of the ship, one for the original 1779 paint scheme and another for the 1795 (Black and Yellow) paint scheme. I was always planning to build this in the 1779 configuration, but I'm thinking about the later configuration, just because it's different (for this kit, anyway).
 
With that, I'm going to try to set this aside for a bit and get some other work done. It's pretty difficult, as I'm starting to feel a little like a card model junkie!
 
Clare

thanks Bob.   there isn't much sag because I try to make the standing rigging more taught than the running rigging.  to dissect the roles that rigging plays the shrouds do {I believe}  about 80% in maintaining the erect centering of the masts.  the stays maintain the forward pull,  where the back stays provide the backward pull,  giving a sort of tripod support for the masts.  plastic models display the rigging.......the stays,  merely tied to the associated mast.   coming here on the site,  I've gotten to see how the stay rigging is actually done....routed through a block and then down to an adjustable pulley assembly,  at deck level.   having these blocks from the Revell kits,  enabled me to try this out on the model.   I really like how it looks.......and it's a lot more plausible than what is seen in the plastic model.
I arrived with a formula for finding absolute zero.  all thread has different amounts of stretch.   take a piece in your fingers and pull it tight.......then loosen it gradually,  until it starts to become limp.
     repeat the test and study the tension.....at the point where the thread begins to go limp.....that tiny window in between is absolute zero.  standing rigging should be a little tighter than that......the running rigging should be at zero.   I used to have that problem too.......but using this formula,  it's worked out much better.   ideas and methods that I gleaned from here have also helped.
 
thanks for the good word     thanks Russ and EJ for the likes  

I'm not a big fan of using CA for rigging.........for the very reason you see in some of the pictures.   it seeps down the thread and makes it stiff and hard to shape.   for most of the rigging,  I used white glue.   I ran into a bit of trouble with the spanker sail........punching holes in the wrong edge.   I took the one out of the Flying Dutchman kit to replace it.........I'll either trim the other sail,  or fish around in the box of sails for something that will work {I have an abundance of these sails from the Cutty build}.   of course the angle of the gaff didn't match the original sail and I compensated for it......but  I also forgot to do this with the replacement sail.   no harm though,  cuz I was able to do it.   

I added  a single block on the upper step of the main mast for the upper mizzen stay sail.   as I did with the main mast stays,  I will do with the mizzen stays,  tying a double block to each one of them.


they came out just as well too    I did the mizzen back stays before rigging these two.


the running rigging needs to be done,  in regards to the spanker sail.  eye bolts were added on both bulwarks,  and one was added to the rudder.   after I add two more eye bolts,  I can ad the monkey chain.


and this is where I leave off again.   there one more stay sail to hang,  and then I can move on to the yards........eight of them....seven will have sails.   more soon!
 
thanks for look'in in  
 

time for an update     I've been busy with the standing rigging......it's been interesting,  since the masts are pretty flimsy.   getting them so they are not contorted out of shape has been a trial,  but I've done a reasonable job of it.  where I left off was with most of the standing rigging done on the fore and main masts.......the mizzen had suffered a set back,  with the spanker gaff breaking off.   the build stand I made is working out very well,  in keeping the ship stable and upright......I've been able to go a lot further.   the first thing to be done,  was to cement the spanker gaff back in place.  I had to use the lift rigging to help with holding it in place as it dried.


while this was drying, the sails were sewed to the bow spirit yards and they were cemented in place.

it's been quite some time since I dealt with plastic sails.......they came out well.   the jib sails were cut out,  along with the main stay sail,  and these too were tied and rigged into place.




it can be seen that the spanker gaff was dry enough to complete the lift rigging.   the mizzen wasn't out of the woods yet though.........one cuff later,  and one of the shrouds became dislocated underneath.   I had to wait till all cement points were dry,  so I could remove all the clothes pins and repair it.   the mizzen stays and back stays have wet to be done anyway,  so that will get pushed back for a little while.  I need to add a couple more lines to the bow,  as well as the anchors.

Mike: the serving machine works good, I am enjoying it quite a bit
Zoltan: outside shots are always better, but this year with all the wind and rain we are having so far it is hard to find a day to take her outside
Eddie: Thanks, after seeing your last post in "what I received today" I may have to buy something else for those rainy days. I haven't played any sort of game in many many years, it's tempting to start again

Hi thomas, pleasure to meet you, and I'm glad you know my job and my photos help you build your model. I continue with the photos:  
 
 

Gunther,
It will be touchy work to layer/alternate the shrouds but they will go. I've already had them on and off a couple times without the ratlines.
The first time was to build the loops at the top - when I left plenty of tail at the bottom.
 
The second time was after the loops were finished, I put them on the mast - correctly layered - and got the deadeyes set at the right length and held in place with a knotted thread and a tiny bit of CA. The hardest part of this process was making sure the mast was straight up-and-down, which I did with a teeny, tiny plumb bob, smooth jazz and no small amount of Bourbon. Once I was satisfied everything was true and the right length, I removed them and finished the deadeye splicings.
 
Then I put them on again to test the length and was satisfied. 
 
Once the ratlines are done, I'll put them back on along with all the other spaghetti that I've been preparing. They are toward the bottom of the pile of line at that part of the mast, so if I need to cheat a bit to widen the loops and create 1/32" of extra tension, I'll be the only person who knows. (Except for all of you, and I'm pretty sure you won't tell.)
 
The technique for getting the shrouds on is straightforward; hold them all at the top section of the main mast and loop them on in proper order, then lower them into place and arrange them. 
 
The real pressure is to make sure I put on every system in the correct order. 
 
With all that said, this is my first build and it could all go terribly wrong. My goal isn't to get all the rigging set up beforehand; just the items that look like they'll be really difficult.
 
If I've really screwed up, there will be 2 options to fix it:
1: Adjust the height of the mast from the bottom as needed - the only piece I'd have to redo is the ring at the base of the mast. This is probably good for up to 1/8" in either direction.
2: Throw away 15 hours of work on the shrouds and start over with the mast in place. 
 
I'm prepared to do either but fingers are crossed that I won't have to. 
 
Meanwhile, here are the parrels. I'm really glad I didn't have to affix these with the mast already secured.