mikiek

I Like your red. Have same ordered and will probably redo my red as well. I have not seen Chuck's plans - do you build the on the bulwarks (on the hull) or do you build the deck outside the hull and then glue it to the bulwarks? I did the rails as the very last task for the bulwark sides. Figured it might give me a slight bit more room to move around and they wouldn't get beat up.

That is gorgeous wood Don! The kit just gets more impressive. Thanks for the update.

My resupply of Syren grates arrived yesterday along with a couple extra jigs. Chuck even sent me a couple extra grates to replace the ones I busted up the first night. Everything is working well. A few pieces needed sanding but most dropped right in. I got the extra jigs so I can be making more than one grate at a time. I'm glad everything is resolved, they look good and add a nice level of detail. And cudos to Chuck for standing behind his product and making things right!

I like that color! Now you have me thinking about repainting the red on Niagara. I get some realism and it's a more pleasing color to my eye.

The pigments to make bright red were not easy to come by. At least compared to others.

Will let you know if I find something. I'm thinking precision placement may not be too important.

Hey Scott - have you drilled the holes in the chock rail yet? I can't seem to find the spacing measurements anywhere in the plans. I see the rail on some of the plan pages but it's hard to gauge from that where they should be placed.

Mike thanks - I was trying to find the Tamiya version.

Thanks John - it's good to see you back again.

Had a suggestion for red oxide - described as a brick or barn red. Probably, a more accurate color for the period.

Thank you Scott. It was an enjoyable effort. I found some red oxides that seem to be popular with German tanks. Oddly, Tamiya doesn't make one or at least they don't call it that. Anyway, I am already too invested in the fire engine red at this point. For all you Niagara builders - I came across the chock rails last night. Painted and ready to go, but stuffed away in a drawer. I know it needs some holes drilled for rigging but I cannot find the actual spacing measurements in the plans. The plans and instructions have a pic with some holes but the angle of the view makes it hard to guess exactly where they are. Does anyone have these? Does it really matter if they are exact?

You can buy - however you can also make one.

Bob - I have the Veritas Mini Plane already. This turned out to be a non-issue for me. Rounding the edges was a better option.

Are you trying to round off the edges? If yes, Goole - block tumbler - or search this site

Joel - did you mix that Red Oxide?

Basswood is kind of famous for that. Even with the grain sometimes. I think some of it can be due to how well it is cut - or how poorly. Especially the thinner pieces. I've given up on it for most of the build. Of course the response to that is - thousands of people have done thousands of gorgeous builds with basswood. So what is my problem?

OK - I will add a binnacle to my list of deck items. Definitely not making a captains skylight. As for today - SUCCESS!! I think the kid nailed it today. The ladderway hatch came out..., well take a look. First off, the ringbolt from yesterday - used a few more today. How do you drill a <1mm rod with a #75 bit? I was using the brass rings from the kit and #75 was as small as I could go and still make a big enough hole. But getting that hole started proved challenging. Ended up with a styrene rod and squeezed the drilling spot to flatten it out a little. Much easier! After inserting the ring you can squeeze it back into shape. Please excuse the focus, but you get the idea. I'm using this color paint a lot lately instead of blackening. I like the looks. Back to the problem at hand - a ladder going down to the lower deck thru a hatch opening (ladderway). First problem, bulkhead N goes right across the opening. As does the keel. Solution - remove. Next - the ladder has to end up on a deck. Problem - there is no lower deck on this build. Solution - make one. Problem - when you look into the ladderway hatch you can see other bulkheads. Solution - darken the entire area where the ladder lands. Gives a whole new definition to the term false deck! My Evil Black strikes again. It is sooo black. The rest is sort of a repeat of the grate/frames. I elected to go with solid planks as a covering. This helps hide the "below decks". Keep in mind none of this has been glued yet so alignment is a little off. How about that for a rookie? I'm pumped! I think this was a nice addition and my first real "bash". For those that have followed this log for a while, you may know I have been threatening to glue down my deck for some time now, and trying to do whatever is necessary first. As someone who has yet to plank a hull to those that have - would there be any benefit to planking the hull before installing the deck?

Ouch! You're a braver man than I. Not sure I could "loan out" a model. On display somewhere, yes, but I would want to be there the whole time. No one touches it but me. Even then I hear horror stories about transporting models to and from shows, displays, etc. Actually the top was the same one as before , just flipped. Only problem was it was glued to the frame and didn't want to come off at first. I'll probably end up gluing it again. That is the type of part that I WILL end up losing. Besides, there is nothing to see underneath. Last nite, I did get the Dremel with a grinder bit and took out a piece of the keel and bulkhead directly under the ladderway opening. Even without a frame, the ladder looks quite good there. I think it will be a nice touch. I just need to decide how to integrate the ladder into the frame. As has been suggested, I will likely put a few planks in the frame, probably at one side or the other. Then the ladder will take up the rest of the opening. I happened to glance at the plans and realized that the ladder has to end up at the aft side of the hatch. Having a climber exiting to an alley is not practical and exiting towards the bow would put them face to face with the capstan. Joel - in your Niagara article you mentioned placing a binnacle rather than the captains skylight. Is that what you ended up with? If yes, did you make one? I will have to do something at that spot as I did drill a hole in the deck there in anticipation of cutting the footprint for the skylight. I have seen several model web sites that sell scale binnacles, however it's difficult to see what they look like. So far I am really pleased with how the deck pieces turned out. Thanks to everyone for their ideas and support!!!

Boy, we have to get our ideas and our production coordinated Making the handles was interesting. I have read "back in the day" if you didn't have brass strip you just smack some wire with a hammer and flatten it out - voila, strip. Did sort of the same with those handles where they are fixed to the plank top. I tried repeatedly to put some sort of rivet looking thing on the flat part to make it look like it is bolted down. That flat area is just too small and my rivet maker wasn't cooperating. Among other things, I painted the grating frames today. The red doesn't look near as annoying as it does elsewhere. I finished the grates with a Natural stain. No added color, it just gives some depth to the color of the boxwood. Same as the deck. Kept thinking about the rear hatch. Why is that called a Lazeret hatch? What is a Lazeret hatch? " A lazaretto /ˌlæzəˈrɛtoʊ/ or lazaret (from Italian: lazzaretto [laddzaˈretto]) is a quarantine station for maritime travellers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings. " Need more? " The name derives from the biblical story of "Lazarus". On the old square-rigged sailing ships it was located in the bow of the ship. The original purpose was to store the bodies of important passengers or crew who had died on the voyage, (lesser seamen would be buried at sea). It was a large locker obviously, and was situated at the bow in order that the stench of rotting flesh was blown away from the vessel rather than across the decks. (The wind cannot come from the front of the ship whilst sailing.) All that remains from these origins is that it is still generally the largest locker on a boat, and it's still known as the "Lazarette". A lazarette is usually a storage locker used for gear or equipment a sailor or boatswain would use around the decks on a sailing vessel. " It turns out that it is rather common to have a solid top rather than a grate here. Thus the term scuttle. So being as how I love rework, I give you the Lazeret hatch complete with scuttle and ringbolt. I don't know why, but for some reason I have been having the urge to bust into one of my other kits. Not for the purpose of shelving Niagara - not a chance. But the thought of working on some different wood is appealing. I need to watch myself. No room for 2 hulls on the workbench. I also made a ladder for the ladderway hatch. Will try to tackle that tomorrow. Not a huge task but I am contemplating cutting out a chunk of bulkhead and keel that run under this opening. The whole thing would look kind of goofy if I don't. Will also have to come up with a way to simulate a dark hole so the ladder just disappears into the dark. Should be interesting.

Went back to your Niagara paper and see that you did call for the red paint on the frames. Ah well, I guess that's what it will be.

Thank you S.Coleman. I'm glad to have you following us. Maybe like this Joel? You're reading my mind this morning. I was going to experiment with adding a handle to each end of the lid. Maybe using some thin brass rod. The lid idea might also work for the ladderway. A couple of planks running fore to aft on the port side of the opening with a ladder coming up on the starboard. Any feedback on the color of the grates/frames. Did your research turn up anything regarding the use of red paint?

Nice work! I'm always complaining about that red as well - Niagara's trim has it. We're not building fire engines.

The grates are off to a good start I believe. Here's where I was last nite on the first pass. The frames were boxwood 1/8" squares. This had come down from a 3/16" prototype but it still seemed a little over sized. Fair, but lot's of room for improvement. This was an attempt to fit grate to frame. It fits nicely, but the grate is not positioned properly and any attempt to reduce the sides so it would sit right would have left a gap. Soooo, rework. The side pieces are 1/8" (tall)x3/32"(thick). The fore and aft are 3/16"x3/32". I like this thickness better. The skinny pieces will be glued to the side pieces for support of the grate. The fore and aft parts are taller because of the camber in the grate - higher in the middle (fore & aft) and lower on the sides. I am really loving the Byrne's table saw for doing things like the lap joints. The precision is remarkable. Side pieces with grate support Test fit. The camber is obvious now. First pass at shaping the fore and aft pieces. A little rounding of the edges and - ta-da! Sitting on the deck but not glued. I'm trying to decide the finish. The plans call for the obnoxious fire engine red for the frames. I didn't see any notes regarding the grates. Personally I would like to use the Bright Cherry stain I used on the nibbing strake but I doubt that was the original color. All the openings in the deck will be grates rather structures. I do have to decide on the Lazeret Hatch. The location on the deck is too close to the aft edge for me to cut it without risking collateral damage to the deck. I imagine I'll just glue a frame to the deck. I'll need to decide whether to cover it with a grate or a very low roof or sliding top. I'm all out of grates for the moment but more is on the way from Syren. Maybe I'll work on fastening the deck down in the meantime. Glad to get these parts underway.

Joel - have you been holding out on us? You are turning up more and more great write ups. It would be interesting to peruse the Sanborn Nautical Library. Lot's of good stuff I'm sure. The MS grates you show from your Niagara kit don't look much like mine. On mine, the corners of the nubs are not squared well. Neither are the indentations. My instructions shows to either fit the strips in egg crate fashion or glue them edge to edge (this is the preferred method). I did the latter, and the result looks like a bunch of strips glued together - even with a lot of sanding the 'unsquareness' shows thru. It's good to see some write ups on Lexington and I would love to see any other material you have regarding her. The 'Lex' is on my shelf.

Going thru this routine last night I completed a grate and the coaming to go with it. It looks quite nice! I have some pix of the result, but also wanted to show a few pix of the steps I took. Will be making another tonite so I'll take a few more pix and post in my build log. I'm glad to get these grates working, as I have a number of holes to cover on Niagara's deck.