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rafine

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Everything posted by rafine

  1. rafine
    Thanks so much again to all who have contributed their generous comments and "likes". Nothing can mean more than receiving such recognition from modelers whose work I respect and admire so greatly. Bob
  2. rafine
    DONE!! Essex is now completed. The last item was the lantern kit from Caldercraft that just arrived from the UK. Etched brass with a white metal top and base and brass rod support. A fussy little piece to do, but correct in size and shape. Essex has now sat for her completion portraits and it is time for some reflection on the past almost two years that I have worked on her: 1) This was a great challenge. Those who have followed along from the beginning will remember that I almost gave up in frustration at the problems that presented themselves. I'm very glad that I didn't. It turned into an enjoyable and rewarding experience. I had my doubts about how things would turn out and some of my fears were realized -- for example, the placement of the quarterdeck gun ports turned out wrong when I did the rigging. This was my fault for not having thought it through well enough when I was making the various structural changes that were required. I thank everyone for kindly not pointing out the errors when they appeared. 2) I will not do another model at this small a scale again. The problems of aging eyes and arthritic hands made some of the very small work and particularly the rigging in very close quarters a pain. This probably also means that this may be the last large complex ship that I will model. My current plan is to stick to smaller vessels in larger scales. Chuck's Cheerful is next. 3) Some words of warning and encouragement to those wishing to build the "new" Essex kit. I have not seen it, but I've read the posts from some who have. If the drawings have not been changed, you will have problems. The drawings have scale issues, inconsistency issues and, according to Sam Cassano, were not his final drawings. Using the AOTS Essex as an additional reference is a help, but care will still be required to make it all work. Having said that, I think that anyone with moderate skills and some experience can turn out a creditable model. I would love to see some logs started, and I would be happy to provide any help that may be desired. Thanks to all for the interest, the generous thoughts and comments and the help and encouragement throughout this project. It is always appreciated and is what makes this site so great. A special thank you to Sam for all his help and a wish for his good health. Bob
  3. rafine
    Mercdaddy, If the plans are from the the original kit, be very careful using them. Sam confirmed to me at the time that they were not his final drawings. There are issues of scale, discrepancies between drawings and other problems with them. Good luck, and start a log when you begin the build. Bob
  4. rafine
    Simply, a wonderful piece of work. Joe, you have every right to be extremely proud of what you've accomplished here. Congratulations. Bob
  5. rafine
    Thanks so much Mobbsie. Always appreciated. Bob
  6. rafine
    Wonderful work on the deck Mobbsie. bob
  7. rafine
    A great start Nils on what will be a fantastic model. I'm really looking forward to watching this one grow. Bob
  8. rafine
    Thanks so much Rusty and the "likes". What I'm really missing now Rusty is any of your great work. When will we be seeing something? Bob
  9. rafine
    Glad to see you back at it Sjors. Looking good. Bob
  10. rafine
    Thanks so much Jeff, Jimz and the "likes". Jeff, I'm following your Fair American. The FA was one of my favorite builds, although , as you say, it had it's share of framing problems. Not even close, though, to the issues on Essex. Bob
  11. rafine
    Thanks so much Thomas and the "likes". Bob
  12. rafine
    Really nice work on the cannon, Brian. Bob
  13. rafine
    Thanks so much Tim, Grant, Nils and the "likes". Tim, I will miss this build ,as well. Nils, unlike you, I am no good at working with metal. That's why I make the anchors from wood. Bob
  14. rafine
    The anchors have been made and mounted. That leaves only the lantern ( I've pretty much decided not to do another boat). The anchors and their stocks were all made from boxwood strip, with the anchors painted black and the stocks finished with Wipe-on Poly. The bands on the stocks are black painted paper. The bouys were shaped from walnut dowel. I found a Caldercraft lantern that hopefully will be suitable, and I am awaiting it's arrival from Cornwall Model Boats. Bob
  15. rafine
    Great work, as always, Augie. I echo everyone else on the wheels. Bob
  16. rafine
    Thanks so much Sjors and the "likes". Bob
  17. rafine
    Hardly an old guy Joe. I've got a kid as old as you. Happy birthday. Granado looks great. Bob
  18. rafine
    Many thanks guys for the generous praise and the "likes". Augie, you're right about wanting to get back to deck level stuff. I enjoy rigging, but….. Grant, doing the boat is very tempting, and I haven't made up my mind yet, but after almost two years on Essex I'm inclined to call it "done" when the anchors and lantern are on and move on to my next project --Chuck's Cheerful. Mercdaddy27, you should take a look at the thread on the Essex kit under "Wood ship model kits and reviews". It's not clear yet just what has been done. Zoran, on Essex, the fore and main lower yards are both hung the same way. There is a truss pendant holding the yard to the mast ( I used a simplified version on the model); there is a sling, which consists of two thimbles connected by a lanyard, which are hung from the lower mast cap; and there are the jeers, consisting of large blocks on the yards and hanging from cleats on the mast heads. The sling and jeers are shown in a photo in post #1392 on p.70 of the log. The crossjack on the mizzen has the truss parrel and sling, but no jeers. Bob
  19. rafine
    Thanks so much to all for the nice comments and the "likes". Always appreciated. Martin, sadly Chuck's lanterns are too big. Chuck graciously attempted to cut one for me in the proper size, but it turned out not to be possible. Bob
  20. rafine
    The rigging is now done! I added the crossjack, topsail yard and the gaff and boom to the mizzen mast. The yards and their rigging are virtually identical to the fore and main and need no further description. The boom and gaff were made up with their jaws cut and shaped from strip and bead parrels added. The boom was rigged with topping lifts, sheets and guys. the gaff was rigged with peak and throat halliards and vangs. The access clearances got really tight between the main and mizzen, particularly in doing the braces, which basically run between the two masts .This work resulted in a number of "accidents" and some very colorful language. I have a few comments on the rigging process. I used Chuck's blocks and rigging line throughout. I tried to keep as close to scale sizes as possible. As a result, the majority of the blocks were quite small and the majority of the line of small diameters. The blocks are really good looking and well made. I did find that drilling the sheave holes with a very slightly larger drill size made them easier to work with. The rigging line is also very good looking and generally easy to work with. As I've mentioned before, my only problem with it is a tendency to stretch or sag once in place. This presented some issues when running rigging lines had to be attached to the standing rigging. With completion of the rigging, the only remaining items of work are the anchors, the stern lantern and possibly a boat to be hung from the stern davits.The kit castings for the anchors and lantern are not usable. I will scratch build the anchors and I'm continuing to look for a suitable lantern. I probably won't do the boat. Bob
  21. rafine
    Beautiful -- at whatever speed you're working. Bob
  22. rafine
    Wonderful work on the beams Grant, Bob
  23. rafine
    Thanks so much Martin and the "likes". Martin, the parrels are one of those items that are really much easier than they look. Using a trick I learned here on MSW, I glued 6 pieces of strip together, shaped and drilled them, and then separated the pieces with isopropyl. Bob
  24. rafine
    Thanks so much Nenad and the "likes". Bob
  25. rafine
    Thanks so much Thomas and the "likes". Bob

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