Chuck

That is looking so good. You can instantly tell it is made with so much care with each piece.

Just a heads up guys... I sold my last two rope walks today...at least for what I hope will be a short temporary hiccup. My supplier in Europe for the hubs, bearings and gears is temporarily halting shipments to the USA because of the T-Tariffs. I really dont want to spend the time to source new products in the USA and do a redesign just yet. This version works so well. I am hoping this situation will resolve itself in the short term and not be a 3 year halt on ropewalk availability. But who knows. If it seems like it is going to be a while, I will reconsider sourcing the items in the USA and doing a redesign. But unless someone magically started making this stuff in the USA over the last few months, its probably not gonna happen. My guess is that even if shipments resume soon, the price will be dramatically higher for these parts. Along with the Alaskan yellow cedar from Canada, these tariffs are making it hard to keep prices at Syren from increasing. But I promise I will try to keep prices the same for as long as I can...if I can even get the stuff that is.

Well so much for that idea. I have bought custom puzzles in the past. In fact I just ordered two for myself. But the prices are insane for 1000 piece puzzles of good quality. I think this is a dead idea....Oh well I tried. They want anywhere from $35 to $45 for each puzzle. Those that are reasonable have a 250 puzzle minimum for each design. So much for that idea...I should have checked first. Anyway, if folks are still interested they can contact me and I will email them the larger hi res image and you are welcome to order one on your own. I use Shutterfly or Ravensburger for my one-off puzzles. Sorry folks...everything is just so expensive these days. What a shame...I thought this could be a fun side project to offer folks. But at these prices, after shipping I would need to charge at least $55 to $60 per puzzle which is insane. Chuck

I started working on the channels and deadeyes today. Pretty straight forward stuff here. The channels are laser cut in 3 layers just like the Winchelsea model. The char was removed and the layers glued up. The outside layers are very thin but not thin enough for the final product. It is slightly smaller so after gluing it up, it creates a nice fancy edge. But you dont want the top and bottom layers too thick so they were sanded down even thinner. Almost card stock thickness. See the photo below. These do take a little time to complete but its worth it. I used spray mount glue to glue the thin outside layers in position. But I have also used a simple glue stick with success. They were glued to the hull as is usually done. The molding on the hull was carefully removed and the channels pinned into position with 24 gauge wire used as the pins. Then I did a quick test on the chainplates and deadeyes. I had already done this on the battle station mini kit so it was just a matter of repeating the process. There are two sizes of deadeyes. These are all 3d printed for you. The first thing you need to do is insert the deadeyes into their strops. The strops are laser cut for you out of plastic. It is quite easy to slip the deadeyes into the strop. The strop will flex so you can slip it right in. No glue is needed or soldering etc. Next you must prepare the deadeye straps. These are laser cut for you out of plastic as well. They have a pretty unique shape. But you will need to complete them before you can use them even though they are laser cut in profile. See the photo... The top of each strap has a “hook” of sorts on the end. This is hooked into the bottom of the deadeye strop after the deadeyes are inserted into the slots on the channel. But these “hooks” are too wide as laser cut. You will need to file them thinner in width so the hook will actually fit into the little loops of the deadeye strops. They start off as 1/16” wide…you will need to file them to 1/32” wide. File them a little on each side. Give it a test and see if the fit into the strop loop as you see it in the photo above. In addition, at the bottom of the chainplate strap a small brass nail secures it to the hull. You will need to drill a small hole thru the bottom of each strap for the little brass pins that come with the kit. Then I also rounded the bottom of the strap so it didn’t appear “square” at the very bottom edge. I used a #70 drill bit for the hole. This makes a big difference visually. So how do you add the deadeyes and straps on the model? You have two sizes of deadeyes which should already be stropped. Place the loop of the strop into the slots on the channel. You will see the loop stick out along the bottom of the channel. Use the plans to determine where the larger and smaller deadeyes go along the channel. Once the deadeyes are in the channel slots, the straps can be hooked into the loop under the channel. The straps are somewhat flexible. If one breaks there are plenty of extras. Use the plans to determine the angle of each strap along the hull. NOTE: there are two different lengths of straps as they are angled along the hull. The longer straps are used on the deadeyes on the aft side of the channels to keep the bottom of the chainplate straps lined up. It helps them line up better when pinned into the planking. Mark the locations for the brass pins on the hull using the plans as a guide. Pre-drill the holes for the brass pins. With the straps hanging from the deadeye strops, pin the bottom ends into the planking. I found it easier to cut the pins shorter because you don’t need them that long. Now to finish this off for all of the channels!!! I will post more pics when I finish it all up.

You can still go ahead and build them...No worries. You now know the situation. But no build logs here as it just encourages others to buy that stuff. Hayling is a pirated design and so is wolf....That same company UNICORN has a habit of doing so with all of their stuff. Wolf is just a badly converted wooden kit designed from the paper model plans. Even though you can buy them from third party sites they are all just drop shipped from China. Its a pretty common racket. I am sure you can start a log on other sites if you like but as I said, that just encourages others to buy them and some forums just do not care or they will insist that they are not ripp-offs just to make themselves feel better. My guess is that is where you heard about these two kits to begin with. I happen to know both legit manufactures and authors of those two who designed the originals for your ill-gotten kits. Sad to say...other sites just dont care since it doesnt hurt them, but it does indeed hurt folks. So best to check before you buy any new kits in the future. I hope to see you start a log here in the future of a legit kit. We have dozens and dozens of members who are in the same situation and dont care either way. They will build it on that other forum and just not start a log here on MSW...but most of them do it purposely without any remorse or thoughts about who it actually hurts. That is their choice. We see it every day. Our site sponsors arent very happy when we allow a pirated version of their product to be built here as a log....which makes sense. Again the other sites just dont care either way. But we do!!! Hope you understand. And yes you might hear from those other sites that the moment you buy one of these kits you are going to be banned and blacklisted from MSW yourself. That is just nonsense. We have never done that and will never do that. The only time we have asked someone to leave is when they refused to respect our wishes not to promote that stuff and insist on being able to post it here. So go ahead and build them and enjoy them. And we will welcome your next build log when you start it from a kit that is not on the banned list. Happy Modeling!! Chuck

They would be regular jigsaw puzzles and not wood...and 30" x 20" if 1000 pieces. Chuck

Coming soon MAYBE??? I was looking for a nautical puzzle that was interesting and colorful and there just isnt much out there. Soooo.... 500 piece and 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles of ship models/Ships like this. They are very fanciful and all in this style. Very whimsical Dali-esque indeed. Since they are somewhat expensive to produce I figured I would gauge how much interest is out there. The second image is actually my Winnie model but as you guessed it made into a fantasy image...very puzzle like as you would want and expect. I have this image on order for myself but thought maybe to produce others if you guys are puzzlers.

Lovely.... And you are using Basswood? or Lime? So nice.

I agree with you...its just a model convention. I like the way it look as well. I do also like the look using historically correct colors too. But again, its just an artists approach. I do however think Henry Culvers knew what he was doing. This seemed to be a very popular rigging style in the heyday of ship modeling from 1880 to 1930ish. Check out the fine auctions currently being held. A French model of Sirene made in France in 1880...It actually looks much older. A steal at $14K. Minor restoration and cleaning needed, LOL. My wife would kill me. Why in Gods name would someone ruin this patina by painting the port lids such a fresh bright red!!!!! That makes me hurt a little inside. https://www.chairish.com/product/21201899/large-ship-model-of-la-sirene-with-cannons-and-mermaid-masthead-france-circa-1880

Not to throw a monkey wrench in this discussion...but as a devoted student of studying contemporary models, I noted that many of them if not most of them used Tan rope exclusively. No brown or black for standing rigging. Now this could be early restoration work that was the "model style" in the early 1900's but it does give a model an interesting look however inaccurate to history it may be. Additionally, I have also seen contemporary models with original rigging that are exclusively rigged with "hemp" colored tan rope as well. So it adds another possibility. Dont put yourself in the usual "box" of what is popular today or expected of you. Think outside of the box and the results might just surprise you. Its no different than planking with pear below the wales and boxwood above them. Its just a visual style. I know that Culver was partial to this style and the vast majority of models at the USNA he worked on are rigged in this way. I have long wanted to try this and still might do so on a future project. Its quite interesting to me. I am contemplating this very choice for my Speedwell at this very moment. I am curious what a modern model would look like with such a rig.

The soon to be new owner of this model ….you guessed it….has an English Bulldog named meatball. All customer requests must be considered, LOL. He wanted Meatball on deck being walked by the captain. Hopefully I Will have a happy customer. Meet Meatball.

Here are some better pics....the last one was just on my phone. I wasnt just painting figures today, I also finished up the tiller. I was going to do a mash-up with metal and mixed media or even just make the tiller from all brass like Greg did. But that seemed a lot when I am awful at metal work. I also dont have those tools and havent soldered a thing in my life. So I said why not just 3D print the tiller. Its all painted black and many of you kit builders dont have the tools to do the metal work anyway. So the Tiller is 3D printed and all you have to do is paint it black which was done on the contemporary model...and glue it in position. I would say that it looks as it is supposed to and much better than if I fumbled through a soldering exercise. All of the deck-work and fittings are now done except for the binnacle. But next up is the remaining outboard hull details. Starting with the channels and deadeyes. But here are a few pics of the deck fittings all done including the tiller.

Not quite finished. But almost. Capstan per spot.

Havent decided on which one yet!!!

Just a little side project. My local club is having a figure painting workshop at my shop in a couple of weeks. So I printed a bunch more figures and painted one. Mind you I have never painted a figure before. I think maybe 20 years ago I added one to the Syren model which looked awful. But one of our members who is an accomplished miniature figure painter will be doing the teaching. I am very much looking forward to it. One photo shows the unpainted version. Painting figures is hard, LOL. The eventual owner of this model requested that the officer be holding a rope leash in his left hand walking an English Bulldog!! I have yet to print the English Bulldog. Yikes, it should be interesting.

That looks perfect...nicely done. Bend the corners of your sandpaper up a little bit as you fair so they dont get caught on your frames as you fair the hull. Take your time with fairing. Chuck

Very nice...excellent work on a model that is not a easy project. Its a challenging project. It looks great.

Lovely

I finally attached the rudder to the stern post. It was very similar to the way we did the hinges on the rudder itself. But here is the step by step for the folks building her as well. First thing I taped the rudder in position getting it tight against the stern post. Then I marked the angle and position for the hinges to be placed on the stern post. I used a very sharp awl for this. I had laser cut some small notched down the stern post where these were meant to be. This was also there just for reference and the notches were made narrower than the 1/16" needed to insert the hinge part. This was just in case you needed to shift up or down a bit from those initial reference points. They really shouldnt be far off. This also means that yes you will have to chisel those slots wider using your scribed marks. Its not much and it is yellow cedar. So it is soft and quick with a sharp chisel or #11 blade. This time we will pre shape the laser cut hinge parts as shown below. Just knock of the corners on an angle to match the ones on the rudder. Insert a small length of 22 gauge black wire in each of the four needed. Thhese were painted black ahead of time as well. Once you open up those slots on the stern post these should be a nice tight press fit in each slot. just center them make sure the sides are flush with the stern post. The wire or simulated hinge pin faces downward. A quick test fit with the rudder to see if I screwed up their placement. Luckily everything lined up pretty good. Note that if you have trouble sliding the rudder post into the rudder opening in the counter after adding these, you will need to open up that rudder port a bit. Not much but use a file to carefully enlarge the aft side of the opening until the rudder clears through it. It should sit on the hinge parts (pintles and gudgeons) very nicely. Then add some 1/16 x 1/64 strips with the edges painted black ahead of time. Just like on the rudder! Use the scribed lines you made with the awl to establish the correct angle. Only make these as long as the stern post at this point. We will take care of the two longer lower hinges later. Sand them as you did with those on the rudder and paint them black. Here is what they look like painted up... Finally the rudder can be added permanently, or NOT...its up to you. This is not a working rudder as I mentioned earlier. Its just simulated. The rudder hinges were just glued together to mount it. With the pins sticking out the underside it will look just like it is supposed to. Then just touch up the paint and add some bolts if you wish to. Or you can wait until after the lower two straps are added next. For the two lower straps that extend onto the hull we have a few options. I will tell you what I did though. Feel free to go another way with it. These straps should sit on top of hull planking that doesnt exit on our framed model. So a modest layer of planking must be added so the strap can sit on top of it. Sometimes you see a wider strip of planking that the straps sit on but I am going to make them the same width as the iron straps. Its easy to do. I just took some painted 1/64 x 1/16" strips which were black and glued them to another strip of the same size. Depending on your model you might need a 3/64" thick strip for the simulated planking or thinner. This is so the hinge strap lines up with what is on the stern post. I used 1/32" strips which worked out nicely for the underplanking. Use the plans to measure how long these straps should be on the hull. Shape them and glue them on. Make sure you glue them on at the same angle as the hinges on the stern post. You can mark that angle once again like you did before using a sharp awl or pencil. Some photos of the completed rudder mounted with my simulated pintels and gudgeons. Once again add bolts if you want to using the black fishing line. The tiller is next...let me know if you have any questions. Chuck

A little of both…LOL. I feel like a old vegas lounge act wearing that suit.

Just a heads up folks. The online store will be closed this weekend. My son is getting married and with family coming up to stay and all that surrounds a wedding it will just be too crazy to maintain it. I will probably open it again sometime on Sunday. Sorry for the inconvenience. Chuck

Thank you!!

Lovely work

To complete the rudder, we have to add the hinges (pintels and gudgeons). As is usually the case with me on such iron work, I wont be doing any soldering. You have heard me say often on this project and others..."Fake it till you make it"...this will be the case for these rudder hinges as well. To start, paint both sides of the laser cut pieces for the hinges black. You will be thankful you did later on. Then glue them onto position on the rudder. Glue them against the top edge of the slots for them in the rudder. Note...I wont be creating a working rudder with hinge pins. For the life of me I dont understand why folks do that at all. Its not like anyone will be playing with the rudder later. It will be displayed under glass forever so it doesnt make sense to me. But if you want to show this you can do so by inserting some 22 gauge black wire into the holes laser cut in these pieces. My rudder will be stationary but you wont be able to tell any difference once its all done. Hopefully. Both sides of these pieces should be flush with the sides of the rudder at this point so sand them flush if you need to. I have also prepared the hinge strips in advance. They are 1/16" x 1/64" boxwood strips. They edges were painted black in advance. Again you will be doing yourself a huge favor if you do that. These strips were added to the rudder using the laser etched lines as a guide so the correct angles are easily found. Just let them run off the forward side for now. Once they are all in position, you can sand the hinges to shape as shown below. You can also see the top hinge has not yet been trimmed or shaped. Once completed on both sides, sand the faces of the strips a little, especially if you prefer a thinner hinge strap. You dont want to make them too heavy. You can even taper the thickness thinner as they work their way towards the aft edge. Now its optional but this is the time where you can drill along those straps and insert some bolts. I used 20lb black fishing line. Then paint the straps black. You can even apply some weathering powder to these hinges if you want them to look more like metal. I brushed on a little brown powder although its hard to see that in the photos. Here is how the rudder looks all finished up and with black rudder hinges. Its a pretty effective way to make these and can be done on any model...and you dont even need a laser cutter to do it. With the rudder completed I will start making the married partners for these hinges in much the same way so I can attach it to the model. But at least you can get an idea of how it will ultimately look.

Started chapter 10. The rudder is first thing. The usual treatment for rudder. It is laser cut and etched on both sides with some lines for the ironwork and to simulate the two parts of the rudder. The laser char is removed from all edges until its pretty clean. Then the protective strip on the aft side is shaped and glued into position. But dont add the bolts yet. In addition, add the protective strip along the bottom of the rudder too. (1/16" x 5/16") The rudder must be shaped first with a taper. It tapers thinner from the top of this protective strip (1/16" x 5/16") down to the bottom on the aft side. And from the forward side towards the aft edge as well. I am sure you guys have seen this before yet so many kit builds still have a massively thick rudder. The forward edge is also beveled where the rudder hinges will be...again you have probably seen this detail before. Once the rudder is shaped and I applied some wipe-on-poly, I was able to add the simulated bolts with some 20lb. black line. Now it was time to do a test fit on the model and see how things look. You want to pay close attention to the height of rudder head. It will pass all the way through and into the rudder cover on the poop deck. This is why we didnt glue that top on the rudder cover yet. If the height looks good, you can actually mark where the tiller will be inserted into the rudder head. See below. I did bevel the top of the rudder head but it doesnt really matter since this will be all covered up anyway. After marking for the tiller I drilled part way through the rudder head with a 3/32" but. Here is a view from below...everything seems to fit nicely so I can proceed with the ironwork. Notice how I removed the brace on the build board but left the strips for the keel slot. The rudder sits in there good and this will be a great help when trying to get those rudder hinges on. It holds everything nice and steady. You just have to make sure everything is sittin properly in that slot and pushed all the way down to the baseboard.