Brian the extraordinaire

How about a series devoted to Australian exploratory ships.
HM Brig Lady Nelson, top sail schooner Enterprize, HM Cutter Mermaid (slightly more accurate version) all come to mind.
Scale at 1:48
Price range $200.00 ~ $350.00 
 
With the number of Aussies on this forum alone I'm sure there's a market for models celebrating our history in addition to those "First Fleet" vessels already available.
 
Rick

I would like something in the sail-to-steam category
- Name of ship .....or type: USS Kearsage or USS Hartford
- Country of origin - USA
- Material choices and what style...POB or POF or Solid hull: POB
- Price range you would expect to pay...whether realistic or not $200-$300
-How long do you prefer a build to last from a kit.  Will you want to spend 6 months for a small kit or 6 years for that 100 gun French frigate from 1820?
-Advanced or beginner......Intermediate?
 
I also think a double-ended gunboat, such as Sassacus or a sleek, paddle-wheel blockade runner would be interesting builds. 

Ahoy Mates
 
Subject: Civil War Blockade Runner
 
Scale:  1/48
 
Build Type:  POB or POF doesn't mater  And a Short Kit. Fittings fine in kit,but planking is up to buyer-keeps price down,and buyer can go with either economical wood or other more expensive wood choices.
 
Price Range: $150-$300
 
Quality- Must have bulkheads and frames that line UP! That are fair and not being 1/8-1/4" off being fair,or shapes not the same frame to frame. Maker should have a outside builder build and show that they are right.And do it before the kit is being produced and on shelves for sale!
 
After buying kits from 6 manufacturers  over the last 4 years,not one has a kit without this problem. From 2 that have had just a couple problem frames to a majority where 75% of the kits frames-bulkheads were wrong shapes,and had to be corrected.
 
There are other types of kits using laser cut frames and bulkheads that have tapered and other shapes like the ships we build,but they do not have the same problem with their kit's.
 
I have been in production for all my adult life and quality control processes. There just needs to be a raising of standards of all in the kit making community. Some just need to be made aware and have very little to work on. Others will not care or even listen or try.
 
Just think of it this way,if you have a terrible first build and not the skills to deal with uneven shaped bulkheads to start with. Do you expect that person to want to build another kit-or even finish the first kit with problems?
 
It will only help all of us if the standards are raised up to a level that they should be with CAD and laser cut parts. We are not talking of old school steel rule cut kits of the past.
 
Build Time: I like short time builds and long. I lke to vary it. 6 month's to 2 years
 
I frankly think that raising the quality question and problems that we all are subject to is correct if you are talking about new kits and what we want. I want it to be taken in a positive  way not just a ranting way.
 
Keith

I think, as LA Don has said, that the transitional and early steam era is very interesting and would like to see some kits from that time.  Eighteenth century French and British warships are great, but there are plenty of those kits out there.
 
Name of ship .....or type
 
How about the Great Eastern, the steamship Arctic, the Civil War era double-enders like USS Sassacus?  How about some ships with paddlewheels or smokestacks and full sail rigs?  How about ships like the Dutch ram turret warship Schorpioen.  (There were a few US ships similar to Schorpioen...)
 
Country of origin - date:
 
I'm partial to American vessels, but that's not hard-and-fast.
 
Material choices and what style...POB or POF or Solid hull ETC:
 
Not a huge issue for me, but I like plank on bulkhead, wood construction.
 
Price range you would expect to pay...whether realistic or not:
 
I can swing $100 to $200 for a kit.
 
How long do you prefer a build to last from a kit.  Will you want to spend 6 months for a small kit or 6 years for that 100 gun French frigate from 1820?
 
I build slowly.  I see some complex kits -- like USS Syren, which I own -- as a Decade in a Box.  I'll get to it eventually, but it's going to be a while.  I prefer something that can be built in eighteen months to two years.
 
Advanced or beginner......something in-between?
 
Go ahead.  Make it advanced.  I'll figure it out.
 
 
 
 
Dan

If you really want to be something of a purist about rigging, very very few "knots" are used in actual rigging practice.  The few that I can think of immediately include the matthew walker knot, the manrope knot, the tack knot, and the spritsail sheet knot.
 
Everything else on the ship are hitches, bends, splices, seizings, and lashings.  Each performs very differently from what is traditionally called a knot and share an important difference.  A knot, once tied is relatively permanent.  The others, although very secure, can easily be un-tied.  Remember, a ships rig is a working system with parts needing to be unrigged and shifted easily and sometimes with a moments notice.
 
Depending on how detailed you want to make your model rigging, it may be to your advantage to learn a few of these ways to fasten ropes to various objects.
 
Regards,

Hello all,
As many of you know company C.Mamoli (producer of Mamoli model kits) completely burn down two years back.
I would like to inform you that this week after long time negotiations me and owners of C.Mamoli sign the contract for transfer license of all Mamoli model kits into my ownership.
As there are no parts which survived from the fire I have to start production from beginning and for this reason I cannot start production of all kits at the same time.
I plan to start production of MiniMamoli kits first which could be available in the Autumn and then I would like to add step by step also the kits from MV series. I also plan to redesign some MV kits into contemporary standards.
Best regards
Daniel Dusek

Continuation.
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
The beginning of the relation is available at this address:
 
 
http://5500.forumact...ndre-1-24#66516
 
 
 
Regards, Paul

Mass production of 4mm dia dead eyes started
 
In the back is little jig I made for easier manipulation with telephony Cu wire. 4mm dia BBQ strip and toothpick
 

Liberty Ship SS Stephen Hopkins - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1/192 scale
 
Kit Contents

 Although this kit has been in the BlueJacket inventory for quite a few years, it was updated just a couple of years ago to take advantage of new technologies and materials.
 
Difficulty Rating
BJ uses a 1-9 ranking to help customers figure out if a kit is within their skill level. They rank this kit “8” with the elaboration:
“Construction experience with more complex kits is helpful.”
I would not recommend this kit for a first time build mainly because the instructions tell, and sometimes show, WHAT to do but not always HOW to do it because prior experience is assumed. If you are interested in trying this kit I recommend you call Bluejacket and have a talk with them about your previous builds, they may recommend a simpler (and less expensive) solid hull kit to get you up to speed.
 
Instruction Book
The 28-page instruction book contains:
a list of recommended tools (just simple had tools, nothing most folks would not have on hand) recommended construction sequence with explanatory sketches a parts list that should be used to inventory the kit on arrival (mine had everything) 

Plans
3 sheets of plans show the ship in both plan and view, fore or aft views of sub-assemblies where needed, rigging plan, and multiple copies of the hull lines which you cut out and glue to cardboard as templates for shaping the hull.

Hull
When I opened the kit the hull was wrapped in brown paper, I left it wrapped and put it aside while I looked at the plans. Looking at the stern area I thought “How am I going to shape the rudder area???!!!” since the rudder post sits on a integral projection of the hull that looked complicated to bring out. Fortunately when I got around to unwrapping the hull I found the rudder rest already carved.
The basic hull shape and dimensions are in place. There are machining plugs at the bow and stern which are easy to remove, after that it is just a matter of sanding the hull until the templates for each station fit properly. The hull is 27.5 inches in length.


Laser Cut
One of the updates to the kit involved more use of laser cut wood. In addition to the expected pieces which are stacked to construct the deckhouses there were several pleasant surprises. Although the printed catalog photo of the finished kit do not show them, there are now etched hatch covers showing all the individual hatch covers. After discovering this I’ll be leaving most of the hatches uncovered and even trying to open a couple of them up. Another nice surprise was the bulwarks. I don’t know if they were always in the kit but I had assumed that like many solid hull kits with bulwarks I would have to carve down the deck leaving the bulwarks as a thin “fence” around the deck. On a model of this size that’s a lot of wood and I am a poor hand with chisels - I might as well use a chainsaw since it would be quicker and no worse than my chisel work. Fortunately the kit provides the bulwarks, with the scuppers in place (there are a ton of them). The bulwarks are simply attached to the deck edge along a rabbet. The last surprise is that thin facing pieces with portholes in place are provided to cover the exterior of the deck house. Drilling portholes has always been my bane, I either get tear-outs or have 1 or 2 that are out of line with the rest of them, now I don’t have to worry about that. 




There is also a sheet of laser cut plastic for gun tubs and other fittings. 

Photo Etch
There is just a little PE supplied with this kit which is not surprising - it is used for delicate parts and there was nothing delicate about Liberty ships. Having just finished a 1/350 scale USN frigate with hundreds of tiny PE parts it will be nice to get away from that stuff for a while.

Brittania Metal Fittings
There are quite a few Brittania and brass metal fittings provided, all of them well cast and largely free of flash. This kit does not have any resin fittings.

Misc. Parts
There are wood dowels, wire, brass rod for fabricating parts and a sheet of rub-on letters specific for the Jeremiah O’Brian, and rigging thread.


All told, it looks like there is everything needed for a nice model.

Liberty Ship SS Stephen Hopkins - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - 1/192 scale
 

 
While mulling over what kit to select for my next build I was giving some thought to taking a break from warships and BlueJacket’s Liberty ship kit caught my attention because of the amount of rigging on it:
 

 
Although I never served on any type of cargo or replenishment ship I figured “How complicated can it be?” Doing some photo research I came across the next photo of BIG CHAINS hanging from the masts of the SS John Brown and realized there is a lot I don’t know about cargo rigging and that this might be a good way to learn about it so I will be building BlueJacket’s kit of the Liberty ship SS Jeremiah O’Brian, which is still operating in San Francisco (BTW, I eventually found out that the chains are called Bull Chains).
 

 
The next decision was what Liberty ship to model. With over 2700 Liberty ships built between 1941 and 1945 there is an embarrassment of ships to choose from but after a little research the choice was obvious.  Although the Stephen Hopkins had a very brief life, being sunk on her maiden voyage, she would be a contender in any contest to name the greatest fighting ship in American history, despite being an “SS” vice a “USS.”  It’s an amazing story, one that I’m surprised Hollywood hasn’t pick up on. So I won’t be taking a break from building warships after all . . .

 
You can read her full story at http://www.armed-guard.com/hoppy.html, but in brief, after fitting out in San Francisco as one of the earliest Libertys, the Hopkins crossed the Pacific and the Indian Oceans, steaming alone and entered the South Atlantic  where on 27 Sep 1942, in low visibility, she encountered at the range of about a mile two ships laying to. The ships turned out to be the  heavily armed German raider Stier and the blockade runner Tannenfels. With a crew of 340, six 6-inch guns, torpedoes and numerous smaller caliber weapons the Stier had the armament of a light cruiser, in fact ten months earlier the similarly armed raider Komoran sank the cruiser HMAS Sydney off the West coast of Australia, although the Komoran was sunk also.
The Stier opened fire immediately and the Hopkins’ Master decided to fight it out rather than surrender as most ships in her position would have done. The Hopkins’ single, obsolete 4-inch gun was moved by hand cranks and manually loaded but her Naval Armed Guard had been practicing at every opportunity and it began to show. The Hopkins quickly knocked out the Stier’s steering and repetitive hits along the waterline soon caused fires to break out in the Stier’s engineering spaces and she went dead in the water, as the Hopkins did too, with her boilers disabled. Both ships continued to drift and fight at about a thousand yards distance, like something out of the War of 1812.
 
The heavy firepower of the Stier began to tell and after about 20 minutes the Hopkins was afire and sinking with two-thirds of her crew of 55 dead. Engineering Cadet Edwin O’Hara, from the US Merchant Marine Academy, made his way to the 4-inch gun after the engineering spaces were abandoned. He found the gun crew dead and the magazine destroyed but was able to locate 5 loose shells and single-handedly fired them at the Stier just before before he was killed.

 
Nineteen survivors from the Hopkins managed to launch the one undamaged lifeboat. Meanwhile the Stier’s crew was unable to control the fires spreading out of the engine room and she had to be scuttled. Her survivors were recovered by the Tannenfels, who made no effort to aid the Hopkins survivors. Under the command of the 3rd Engineer and without any charts or navigation instruments except a compass the Hopkins’ boat set out to cross the Atlantic to Brazil. Amazingly enough they made it 30 days later with 15 men still alive.
 
The ships were built in 18 purpose-built yards, which themselves were constructed in remarkably short time, turning mudflats into complex shipyards in just a few months. Locations of the yards were based on available manpower, however untrained, and political considerations to “spread the wealth” of government contracts across the coastlines.

 

 
The Libertys were based on the then yet-to be built British “Ocean” design that was, in turn, based on successful coasters. The goal was to design a ship that was both inexpensive and quick to build, simple enough in design that inexperienced shipyards and workers could build them, that could make 11 knots and carry a significant amount of cargo. They departed from the British design in that they were largely welded, most of the accommodations were in a large deckhouse, rather than divided among the foc’sle, midships and aft.. Their boilers were water tube vice Scotch, and were oil-fired rather than coal. Without having to accommodate coal bunkers they could be fitted with heavier masts rather than king posts.
Although by 1941 the advantages of turbines over reciprocating steam engines were well known, the technical skill required to build turbines was much greater and the small number of plants capable of producing them were all dedicated to warship construction so the decision was made to go with reciprocating engines.
 
The Ocean design was further simplified to minimize the amount of curved plates in the hull and wherever possible bulkhead penetrations for piping were avoided by running them outside the skin of the ship. Cost saving measures included waiving a large number of US regulations related to Merchant ship safety, comfort and, ominously for the Hopkins, fireproofing. The ships had little in the way of forced ventilation and had the reputation of being hot and uncomfortable in most climates.  
 
Although the building time varied between shipyards , the common trend was that as they gained experience the time required to complete the ships steadily dropped. The first few could take up to 5 months to launch, although most only required a few weeks. The record was set by the SS Robert E. Peary, while admittedly a publicity stunt involving a lot of pre-fabrication and unlimited manpower, required only 4 days, 15 hours from keel laying to launch. By the end of the war an average of 3 Liberty ships a day were being launched.
 

 
If you are interested in learning more about the Liberty ships this URL will take you to a decent study produced by the American Bureau of Shipping:
 
https://www.eagle.org/eagleExternalPortalWEB/ShowProperty/BEA%20Repository/News%20&%20Events/Publications/WorkhorseOfTheFleet
 
 and this one will take you to a one-hour, color, wartime documentary film about the ships and the shipyard in Richmond, CA where the Hopkins was built:
 
https://archive.org/details/cubanc_00004#
 
I'll be using the following references: 
SS John W. Brown, a working Liberty ship berthed in Baltimore. Although she has some modifications from her conversion to carry troops and as a school ship in NYC she is still in remarkably good condition and largely unchanged from her WWII days. I was able to spend a few hours onboard, take a lot of photos, and watch the cargo booms at work. She takes day trips from ports along the East Coast. A Call to Arms by Maury Klein. Although the book covers the entire US WWII industrial mobilization, the chapter on shipbuilding is well done. Ships for Victory by Frederic C. Lane. Thank God I was able to get this from the library rather than spend any money on it. If 900+ pages of meeting by meeting and memo by memo descriptions of bureaucracy at work excites you then this is your book. Even while skimming it I was worried that I would pass out and then drown in the puddle of my own drool. The book provided some insight into the welding problems encountered in the early program but that was about it. Websites devoted to the SS John W. Brown, SS Jeremiah O’Brian, and SS Hellenic Victory all have extensive onboard photos to help with details 5)  http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/55-17/ch3.htm   is a webpage that has extensive info on cargo rigging, it will be my primary reference for rigging.
 
 
In the next post I’ll give an overview of what comes in the kit

A good amount of us will be pulling up a chair for this one. Time for a joint.

Thanks Jan I might hang on until this comes out looks stunning and it will allow me to do some research on the Vasa
 
Rgd BV

The Vasa from Billing boats is a good kit. But with allot of extra work before you get a good model.   Once the plastic figures are painted. What is then the difference with bronze figures? i dont now.   I am building the Wasa from Billing also View my model on :
 
http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/13249-wasa-by-backer-billing-boats/

Thank you all for the information I think I might have to go for the Billings kit .
 
Thank you all again and hopefully will post a build log
 
Rgd BV

No cut outs for hinges? That's strange, my rudder definitely had cut outs for hinges! Gee Mark, you have already had one error with your kit. I wonder if Euromodel is now not cutting cut outs in the rudder, or you came out the losing end with Euromodel's QA. 

Thanks Greg, Pat, Brian, and Greg (and welcome to this site!). 
 
Greg, looks as if you are considering a RW? I see that you have commented on two of the build logs this evening. Even though I am having problems with my build, I do recommend this kit as it is enjoyable, addictive, and presents different problems for you to solve! 
 
Brian, I considered making a post about what Euromodel needs to do to update this kit, but the last time I said something like this, I was accused of bashing Euromodel. So, all i'll say is this: 
 
1. Every builder of this kit, including PiratePete and Keith Julier, have replaced the kit supplied stanchions with their own. 
 
2. They need to supply a Photoetch sheet. Things that should be photoetched: gunport hinges, windows, those little decorations on the verandah of the 3rd deck and poop deck, the side entry door decorations. I am particularly annoyed at the gunport hinges - anyone who looks at them knows they are unacceptable, and it is close to impossible to fabricate so many on your own. As you recall, we got together and asked Rick Shousha to make them for us. Cost was close to 5% of the price of the kit. 
 
3. Pre-cut laser gunports would be nice. 
 
... anyway. 
 
A couple of days ago I reached another milestone. The poop deck went on. This is an event one year in the making, I took a bit of a break from posting between April last year till early this year because I was working out how to address those stern windows. Now, all the galleries have been built, glued in place, and the poop deck is on! 
 
I'll post some pictures later. 

Howdy Keith
I might do the RW after I finish my Royal Caroline build. A quite a few years off though.
All the best
Greg

It's just that you are being honest and posting your 'pick-ups' - many others don't but you can bet we all make them
 
cheers
 
Pat

Hi again
 
Had fun doing the stern planking.
 
Till I had taken the photo, when I sanded it down a bit of the plank came out ha-ha never mind will not take long to fix it.
 
 
Denis.

I found some more information trawling the Net, and particularly contemporary pictures of carracks, which might help with rigging if you decide to go that way. I got most of them from a flickr collection put together by a computer gamer called ModernKnight1. It's a mixed bag, and I've picked the eyes out of it - including (as far as I can judge)only actual contemporary representations appropriate to your model and leaving out later copies, reconstructions etc. I have to hand it to ModernKnight1 for persistence and dedication. That's a heck of a collection of stuff and his site's well worth a visit.
 
Several pictures of Mediterranean carracks of the mid-late 15th century show what appear to be small groups of ratlines at intervals up the shrouds. No use as ladders, but perhaps to keep the shrouds together?
 
Jonah and the whale (date and source unknown) has them, as does Modern Knight 1's "Unknown Carrack 3" (the text is in German, but the flags are crescent moons - perhaps supposed to be a Turkish ship? "Venice carracks", which appears to be a detail from de Barberi's view of Venice have them as well.
 
Reixach's St Ursula retable (Catalan, 1468)doesn't show them, and neither does another of Carpaccio's St Ursula series - the departure of the pilgrims (partenza dei pellegrini). Modern Knight 1's "Carracks in Venice" hasn't enough detail to be certain if they're there or not. The Venetian woodcut of the 1499 Battle of Zonchio doesn't show them, either.
 
There are some other worthwhile representations of carracks in Modern Knight 1's site, all with conventional ratlines, such as two which appear to be Spanish if the banners at the mastheads show (as they appear to) the coat of arms of the combined kingdoms of Castile and Leon. Lacking any other identification I've called them "Modern Knight1 Unknown Carracks 4 and 4A".
 
And then there's the wierd ones; I think they're simply bad art, and not very good representations (or in one case a really bad one) of contemporary carracks, but they may contain useful information.
 
I hope this is of use in your model. I've certainly had fun chasing it all up. Just love those carracks!
 
Steven

Hi, Bob! It's my dream, but real... It's lathe TV-16, 1964 year, made in Soviet Union.

Hi Brian the extraordinaire I use white pigment oil from Monocoat : -http://www.monocoat.us/Products 
 and over i put another oil : - Boen . 
 It is very important for the oil to be without yellow film . If you want to ask something else , just do it

the cheaper nail files (you can get them from the body shop)

 
Using the colored side to smooth small parts.

 
and the white side to buff to shine. 

 
this oil painting is cutted from An art magazine

the picture frame is one of the construction model (21mm x11 mm)

photos of the model of the Naval Museum in St. Petersburg.

 

Dear colleagues. Today, April 8, 2016 start construction of another ship model, the imperial yacht Standart. To begin with a brief historical background, drawings, historical photographs.and photos of the model of the Naval Museum in St. Petersburg.
 
 
 
 
 
It was founded October 1, 1893 at the shipyard Burmeister and Wain in Copenhagen. Launched Aug. 4, 1895. It entered into service in 1896 as the Imperial yacht. Delivered to the port in May 1918. In 1933-1936, it converted into a minelayer. He participated in the productions of mine, the evacuation of the base Hanko garrison, fire support of ground forces. April 3, 1942 awarded the title of Guards. In the 1950's converted into a plavkazarmu, and in 1961 - into a floating target for tests of missile weapons. Scrapped in the early 1960s.   Displacement 5480 tons. The dimensions of 112.2 x 15.4 x 6.6 m. Voruzhenie 8 - 47 mm booking Gears 2 steam engines 12000 hp 24 boiler, 2 screws The speed of 22 knots Cruising range 1400 miles at 12 knots. The crew of 16 officers and 357 sailors After conversion into a minelayer Displacement 6189 tons. The dimensions of 122.3 x 15.4 x 7 m. Voruzhenie 4 - 130/55-B 13, 7 - 76 mm 34K, 3 - 45 mm 21K, 3 - 12.7 mm machine gun (2 DSHK and Vickers 1) Booked conning tower - 12 mm Gears 2 steam engines 11426 hp 4 boilers Yarrow 2 screws The speed of 18 knots cruising range of 2260 miles at 12 knots. The crew of 29 officers and 361 sailor