Salty Sea Dog

The riding bitt

Getting the magazine in and the other rooms on the aft platform.
 
I still haven't lost the key to the magazine 

The shot locker was rebuild

The upper well

The cisterns

Working the aft platform

Adding the keel, limber board and the first foot walling

Having a bit of fun with the pasta machine and an old rat

Hi Mates,
 
Moving along, now starting on the cannon doors. Wanted to replicate the example from the original, so thought that the pics below were an acceptable solution. Pics are self-explanatory so I’ll remain brief J
 
So after 100 of these I should be done except for the hinge pins and installation.
 
The last pic is just a demo, need to square and make adjustments. I know that in the original the insert planks are vertical, and that mine are attached horizontally. A compromise, but so it has been going with this build  - hmmmm..
 
As usual thanks so much for visiting, “likes”, very kind and encouraging comments, and just dropping in for a look….
 
Regards,
 
Michael

I saw this in an exposition few years ago

I had a busy time at work. But found some time to build on this model.
 
Started the first planking, always a fun part to do. Keeping it really rough right now as the plank thickness gives me a lot of breathing room to sand it to a smooth surface. I expect this to finish soon, then i will start to work more delicately.

Hi mates,
 
Well it appears as though this worked out ok.
 
I had removed all of the heads from that plastic shipping tape, deciding that I was not up to doing eyeballs. I tried a few with resulting pupils too large, crossed eyes or hanging too low. Hmmm
 
Then looking at all those heads with bulging white-eye balls sans pupils irritated me, and on second thought I needed the challenge.
 
Put all of the heads back onto a tape, fine trimmed a toothpick, dulling the tip ever so slightly, thinned out a bit of black paint and gave it a second attempt, much nicer than just white eyes IMO
 
That said, I must give huge credit to Corel. The head castings are so excellent, including a pinpoint tip specific to the eye pupils. So toothpick in hand AND Optivisor attached I tried to hit each pupil pinpoint. Had Corel not done such a detailed casting of the lion heads I would have just painted the whole things yellow, and been done with this bit.
 
PS: With apologies to Ferrari and Lamborghini for using their “Italian Red” for lion mouths.
 
Now on to the doors, hardware, inside insert frames, hinges, and ropes.
 
Regards,
 
Michael

Hi Mates,
 
Thanks for your very encouraging remarks, likes and for just dropping in (;-)
 
----------------
 
So a very partial (just beginning) update, but I thought that if someone could find this useful I would post.
 
Working on all 50+ very small lion heads for the gun doors.
 
At first I picked each one up one at a time and started with the yellow paint
 
Then again one at a time painted the bit darker mane.
 
Then one at a time added the red for the mouth
 
Then went back to add the white for the eyes.
 
No no, no, no, what a nightmare; the eyeballs were too big, the mouths were odd looking. It was taking way too long. My eyes were asking me what I was doing?…
 
So going back to square one.
 
Needed to create a “factory” sort of assembly. My solution
 
Step 1 used a piece of packing tape and placed all 50+ heads on a board.
            Step 2 I will paint all 50+ eyes
            Step 3 I will add all 100 eye pupils
            Step 4 I will paint all mouths
Step 5 I will NOW paint the face and overlap correctly eyes and mouths with yellow
Step 6 I follow up with darker edge manes.
 
This should save quite a bit of time (I hope)
 
those that have been sort of completed will be "fixed"
 
PS: Yes I know that the 1/10th has just yellow, along with eyes. Adding a bit of poetic license to this bit.
 
I’ll post when done. May be overkill!!
 
Cheers.
 
 
 

J.Pett,
 
Thanks, I did check it out. These airbrush masters really walk on water...such artists. I have seen military figures that are almost impossible to believe; such as this one

25' Cutters Ver 2_5 continued
 
The next step for the cutters was to create some mast support bands to attach to the thwarts.  Each cutter has two of these.  I used some thin brass strap and bent them to shape by using a jig, the idea for which I "borrowed" from Ian Major's lovely Unicorn log.  Ian machined his in metal, however I cheated and used MDF for the pressing surfaces, with a brass rod inserted as the former.
 

 
After blackening, they were attached to the thwarts, which had been shaped for the other half of the "hole".  In this pic, the thwart hasn't been finished sanded yet.
 

 
After that, it was a simple matter of cutting the stern sheets, which I did using a paper template and cutting from a single piece of 1/32" pear stock, and then finessed to fit.  The remaining thwarts were cut to size and finish sanded, putting a slight bevel/curve on the upper outside edges.  The timber was left natural, only polished with successively finer grades of sandpaper.  I also installed mast steps under the appropriate thwarts - you can just make these out in the photos.  And here is a finished Cutter.  The macro lens is not my friend today!  I swear those blemishes on the cap rail aren't visible to the naked eye!!!
 

 
Here's a picture alongside the 28' Pinnace for comparison.  Note the very different hull shapes.
 

 
And here's both Cutters, with my usual "scaling" shot:
 

 
The Cutters (and all boats) are now FINISHED!!!!!!  Doin' the Happy Dance!      
 
To celebrate, I thought I'd take a few shots of my Lilliputian Fleet. I had to remove the Launch from it's home on the "mother ship" for these shots, and was surprised by how large it looks in comparison to the others.
 

 

 

 

 
And finally, one last "scaling shot"
 

 
That's it for ship's boats.  I do not intend to make either the Barge or the Jolly Boat.
 
Next up, fitting the Quarter Davits, finish and fit the Anchors, and install rope coils throughout.  Almost there..........
 
 

Just continuing from the previous post, a few more shots of the finished ship:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Now, a number of you have been wondering what’s next. 
 
As you know, I’ve been leaning more and more to the “dark side”, but I also want to take on a slightly smaller project - hopefully one that won’t take 19 years to complete!  I’ve also been encouraging my very good mate Mobbsie to come with me to the dark side.  So one evening while we were chatting on Skype, we decided that it might be fun to do a “group build” together and that is what we shall do.  The subject will be a cross-section model of the Bomb Vessel Granado in 1:48 scale.  We will be using plans drawn by Jeff Staudt (available through our neighbour site Model Ship Builder), and we are using timber from Jeff Hayes at HobbyMill. 
 

 
I’ve promised Mobbsie that I won’t start until he’s finished his Aggy, which he reckons is another couple of weeks away (yeah, right - so far, he’s achieved in 19 months what it’s taken me 19 years to do!).  So for a group build with a difference (since we're in opposite hemispheres), keep an eye out for our respective logs - coming to MSW in just a few short weeks.
 
I have also had a hankering to do a non-ship related build, so I will be doing this in tandem.  It is a (relatively) small kit from OcCre of Stephenson’s Rocket. 
 

 
Of course, I won’t be able to run a log of that here, but will provide a link for anyone interested.  And don’t be surprised if you see something “rocket-like” in the background of the Cross-Section updates!
 
Catch you all on the other side.  Thanks for following.       

Well, it’s done!  After almost 19 years in the making, I’ve finally finished my Victory.      

           

       

 

 

The end wasn’t without incident though……… After taking a series of photos before placing her back in the display case, my son came over to give me a hand lifting the case cover back on.  He was at the bow end, and as we were lowering it, he managed to catch the end of the case on the tip of the bowsprit.          

 

Fortunately the damage was minor - a couple of sprung rigging lines that were easily repaired is about all - although it came very close to snapping the Fore Topgallant Mast in one of the places where it had been broken and repaired before.  Close call, but all is well now.       

 

I took a range of photos and have cut that back down to a dozen or so, so with your indulgence, I’ll split these across two posts.

 

Before I do though, as this will be my last progress update, I think it timely to make a couple of observations and offer a few votes of thanks. 

 

When I joined MSW almost exactly three years ago, I had anticipated that I would be finally finished this model in about six months from then. I was, like everyone else who joins this forum, given a very warm welcome and almost immediately the advice and encouragement started to flow in.  Although it took me three years and not six months, the end result I have achieved is light years from what would have been without MSW.  So a couple of thankyous.

 

Firstly to Chuck, for making this site possible and for giving so freely of his time and expertise to help all who venture this way.  Chuck was also kind enough to share with me his techniques for mass production of rigging blocks - a technique that I was eventually able to replicate, thanks to his tutelage.  Thank you Chuck for teaching me to fish.   

 

Secondly, to all of the Admins and Moderators, who also give freely of their time to keep this site running in the way and with the spirit it has been intended.  A more friendly and supportive site could not be imagined.  Thank you ladies and gentlemen.   

 

I’d like to make a special vote of thanks to Danny Vadas. From a very early point in my MSW existence, Danny became something of an informal mentor to me.  But it was when I was contemplating re-doing my stern and quarter galleries that Danny really stepped up to the plate.  Danny did the design work and drawings, including the design of some special jigs, that enabled me to re-make these tricky parts.  Perhaps more importantly though, he gave me the courage to even attempt this in the first place, by offering to guide me through the process via remote control and email exchange.  The results speak for themselves, but while I may have provided the labour, the kudos belongs to Danny.  Thank you Danny - I look forward to sharing a nice single malt with you again someday soon.   

 

It was through this learning experience that I started to gain the confidence to try a few other things for myself as well.  The fleet of four scratch built boats are a direct consequence of this, so again Danny’s mentoring has pushed me to much greater heights in my modelling, and I continue to learn every day.

 

And of course, I’d like to thank all of you who have followed my journey and offered words of encouragement, or have simply hit the “like” button from time to time.  Knowing that you all are watching has kept me going at times, and has also helped to keep me “honest” - there were a number of times when I’ve thought, “no, that’s not good enough - the guys will never let me get away with that”.  And some of you weren't backward in coming forward with constructive criticism - thank you all for that (you know who you are!   )

 

Enough already.  Here are some pics.  A few general shots to start with, and then some more details and close-ups in the next post.

 



 



 



 



 

This last view shows both the rebuilt stern galleries and the clinker planking on the two 25' Cutters:

 

Still hard at work on the LEE, however I wanted to share a build with you of a Russian 3rd Gen Nuclear Attack Submarine.
 
This is a High Quality resin Kit from Ships-n-Such from Russia.  For those who do not know most of my adult life was spent chasing or being chased by Russian subs. I love'em!!!
 
Before you close this topic as "Resin kit? Really? I've built the battle of Trafalgar out of one log," I might suggest you give a resin sub a whirl.  There is more detail on a submarine than you think.  Remember in a modern sub, anything on the hull could make noise, so we must come up with ways to make cleats rote into the hull, capstans lower to deck level, chocks are removable. Heck the who darn thing is coated in rubber!
 
So here you see the Ships-n-Such 1/350 scale Russian Project 971 (NATO Code Name AKULA.)  A little bit of confusion here. In the Russian Navy the Akula is called the PIKE Class.  In the Russian navy the huge SSBN TYPHOON as it is known to NATO is called the AKULA. Ok take some time with that.
 
First thing you notice on these late 2nd, 3rd and 4th gen Russian boast is the long stern. This is called the Hogner Stern.  So don't cut it off!.
 
Take some time and look over the hull a few times, note the many little boxes and lines that cover the hull. Unlike American submarines and their single hull design, Russian subs are double hulled. (Typhoon has 4 hulls.)  It is because of this double hull design that many access points must be built to allow repair and maintenance work between the hulls.
 
So you have looked at all the neat little do-dads, keep them in mind because you might have to remake them!  Resin kits are made with a pressure pot or the spin method. These methods remove air and allow resin to completely fill the rubber molds. Molds for the Akula are two piece units. The halves are fit together and resin poured in and pressurized or spun.  This can sometimes cause resin to run from one side of the mold to the next creating a lip of unwanted material. This is also caused when heat from the curing resin breaks down the mold.
 
No big deal, but be careful!!  The obvious way to remove this mold line is sanding...right?  Well yes, but you need to plan and use the ultimate in patience or you could really spoil the look of your hull.
 
Remember a modern sub hull is round. If you sand the side flat, you no longer have a round submarine with is what you wanted in the first place.
 
I take some model putty and place under or over the lip at the parting line. This is NOT to fill in the lip.  If you did that you would have a great parting line but an out of shape hull.  The putty is used to let me know when I have sanded the right amount as have still maintained my hull shape.  I tell myself,  "Green-Gone-Good."  It is a slow process, but the results will give you a mean looking underwater killer.
 
Next installment we will get some parts on and make a few extra details and make some decals.  Stay tuned!!        

I am installing the rails and related accessories of the bow.
It is not easy to understand the drawings, since this bow is a transition between the XVII century galleys/polacres and XVIII century ships, so the rails are disposed in a different way if compared with the previous century ones.
in the attached file can be seen:
the original drawing, where I coloured the three rails: upper (main one), intermediate and lower.
in another contemporary drawing of a Venetian xebec, showed there, can be clearly see where the three rails end.
The upper one ends in the cateye support (coloured yellow in the original drawing).
The lower one reach the hull stright and continue following the hull (coloured red in the original drawing)
the intermediate reach the hawse holes.
In anycase the lower and upper rails are defined as a position.
the intermediate rail will "artistically" reach the higher wolf's head.
 
I am still study how to "artistically" reach the higher wolf's head, preserving the intermediate rail real support function....
in the attached photos can be seen the duty made at present on the bow.
THERE ARE MISTAKES MADE IN THE MODEL BUILDING, since I adeguate the drawing at the present model, so not everything fits in the right position as in the drawing.
But since I discover many construction details only working on them, sometimes it is not possible to make corrections, since it is too late.
In anycase I am satisfied .
Maybe it can be useful for the next one that want to start a similar project....
I installed the first four wolf's heads.
the two wolf heads of the cateyes results too big and probably I will re-build new ones.
But I can still use one of these for the wolf head which is installed on the bowsprit.
 

Hi all,
 
Well, I achieved a milestone of sorts this weekend by finishing the ratlines for all of the lower masts. 
 
Still have the topmasts and topgallants to go 
 
I know it's like watching grass grow, but here's a few progress pics to keep the log up to date.  Apologies for the quality of the photos - that's one aspect I still REALLY need to work on. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Well, here we go with what you might call the "Executive Summary" of my build log.  I started this log when I first joined MSW in Sep 2011.  At that time, the model had been under construction for 15 years, although the last six years had been a complete hiatus while work, family, and life in general got in the way.  This is state of the ship around the time of joining MSW:
 

 
Form here I'll just focus on some of the key events of the last 18 months or so.  First up was a decision over hammock netting.  We had quite a discussion over whether to use black or white (or other colour) netting.  After many, many trials, I settled on black netting made from Tulle (comes white, but painted black).  Here's a shot of the completed netting:
 

 
In Jan 2012, I decided to take a little side-road to scratch build one of the ship's boats.  I settled on the 34ft launch, using lines from AOTS and guided by a mini-practicum by Bob Hunt.  Here's a photo-essay of this little journey:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
A little bit further down the track, I became dissatisfied with the look of the Stern and Quarter Galleries.  Although I'd already made a mod to the kit some years ago, my experience here at MSW convinced me that I could do better.  Danny came to the party too, providing detailed drawings and long distance e-mail support, guidance and mentoring along the way.  I owe a great deal to Danny for the way this turned out and this whole exercise summed up for me what this wonderful site is all about.  Enough blathering, here's a little photo-essay of this adventure:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I'm not sure about limits to pictures in one post, so I'll just break this one off here and continue shortly.
 
Cheers,
Grant

Ahoy Mates
 
Augie: And it will be without the plans tonight 
 
Dragzz: Fun is the only reason to be here. Thx for the pics too. I would have never thought that planking the bow would have been the solution. Just shows what I "don't know"  
 
 
Back to the Build 
 
Well with one mystery solved, and thank you Mark for making the effort: the shipyard is knee deep in planking. I have completed my first "drop" plank and while it did come out "OK" I do not think it would be appropriate on the finished planking. I will repeat this on the Port side only maintain a consistency in my problems planking.
 
The drop plank did relieve some of the klinkering but after installing it I see that I am over the line on bulkhead 1 and under on B2. I had this same problem on the Ratt. I have also re-re-re done the measurements and belts. I have way too many of these tick strips, they are like Tribbles in my shipyard, and still do not get this belt thing. Its so bad I had to switch to colored pencils. Thankfully this is just the first planking. My new brainstorm is to finish this belt which now only consists of 5 planks, i have 4 belts now 5,6,6,6, then redo the belts one more time. This time only doing 3 bulkheads 4,7, and 10;  dividing them into three equal belts then do the battens marking the other bulkheads as per how the battens lie. 
 
I am very happy with my planking so far. I work each plank as its own small project. My order is to taper the wood, cut it just a bit longer, soak it and then use "brute strength and superstition" to make them comply. With my little trick to soften them kinking planks has become a thing of the past. After they dry i use sandpaper to fit them. I only work one side so I always have one true side. I do work the true side of the plank above the new plan when i think i can get some more room. I have made up some special sanding sticks to alter already installed planks. I am also only using the Original Titebond which is not waterproof. This allows me to go back and make small adjustments after installation to reduce my final sanding. By adding water and a little heat; the glue debonds allowing me to make corrections. I might be getting a little too carried away with this.
 
I am however slightly concerned about the plethora of seams in the bow and whether this will have any negative effects on the final planking.  I might just tree nail the crap out of the bow just to be safe. The stern is still a mystery but it does look like it is coming along. Only time will tell here. I am trying to make sure the wood has full contact with the fillers because it looks like I will be sanding the planks pretty thin to allow for a stern post. 
 
Until next time. Thanks for stopping by and comments are always welcome. 

Bob, thanks for stopping by!  Painting still scares me, so I've been doing lots of sample planks.  The photo below shows the hull planking details and that is one of my goals.  
 
Eamonn!  Thanks for stopping by!  I'm looking forward to reading about your holiday to Venice!    
 
Keith, Thanks for stopping by!  In the close up photo of the aft deck you can see some faint hazy gray spots down near the cockpit floor and near the transom.  The foredeck red paint in the photo is a bit misleading; the paint is actually a bit uneven in coverage.  Some weathering will be added to the fore and aft deck (and maybe even the cockpit decking) using dark and light gray.   
Funny you mentioned details.  I spent Friday looking for photos with details.  That's what I love about this build!!  I've found lots of photos with details, details and more details!  Did I mention I found lots of photos with lots of details!?!  This one photo has nine (9) details that I'm planning to add to the build - and this is just ONE of many photos!  

 
I'm working on the detailed 'to do list' for all of the interior planking and making changes based on the photos I've found.  What really makes this fun, is my build is based on a living, working boat!
 
Thanks for stopping by!
 
Dee Dee   
 

Finally!  I reached the next target point in my coquillier build - All decking installed. To get here, I made a list of every little detail for the deck / floor planking, face planking and more.  It was sort of anal with 38 line items, but once I started working on the list, the work flowed smoothly.  
 
In the end, I got the effect I was looking for and I'm happy!    
 
It would have been easier to 'fake' the fish well planking details.  But it was worth the time and effort to add detail.  Now, when someone asks me about the couquillier, I can do a 'show and tell' about the story of the couquillier.   Plus, I learned a lot of little build details that will carry forward to future builds. It was worth the time spent!  An 8" / 8mm thwart above the seam will partially hide the gap.  The cockpit floor boards were finished with a gray paint wash.

 
It only took a few days to loose one of the plank, specifically, the starboard side curved plank!  That was way too easy to loose, so I made a few changes:  The curved planks are glued to the bulkheads.  The 7 loose planks on each side are now glued together.  Instead of the 3 short loose planks aft of the mast, I scored a line to give the impression of the 3 loose planks.  

 
Don't tell anyone that this (false) seam is in the wrong place.  When all of the boards are in place, no one will know!   

 
The height of the transom was increased by 4".  This might be a bit too high, I'll decide after I add the cap rail.  I left the excess width on the transom to protect the planking from eroding away.  It will be removed when the cap rail is added.  The opening for the tiller will be added when I install the rudder. Most couquilliers have storage under the fore and aft deck accessible through doors.  I'll add cleats and hinges to define the two aft deck doors.   

 
I scraped down the foredeck planking a bit too much and lost some planking definition - lesson learned.  The red paint is intentionally uneven - it's a work boat!  Since the foredeck was extended, a few adjustments are needed for the mast thwart and trim.  That little blue strip near the bow stem is an example of the waterway, it will be painted before installing.  

 
Next up is all of the interior planking, waterway, false frames, thwart knee, mast thwart and a few more parts that are shown in the photos of the Shepherdess of Domrémy
 
As always, I appreciate the time you have taken to stop by to read my build log.  Your feedback or suggestions are welcome.
 
Dee Dee

I don't mind at all Dee Dee. That's what is so great about MSW. Sharing & learning from each other.