Overworked724

They can also make you feel like a complete imbecile. 😝

Took a diversion for a couple days. I've had Chuck's Syren Servo-Matic in storage for over 2 years gathering dust. Since it's a skill I've not developed and one I will need for the rigging, I decided to sniff test my device and see if it was working, and whether I was up to actually being capable of serving my rope...something I did not do on the Sultana. So...long story short...it worked and I was able to serve a 20" section of 0.035" tan rope I had laying around with some black cotton thread. The problem I had was then thing was so squeaky my teeth were itching. This is where I did something REALLY DUMB! The squeaking was driving me insane and it was late...so my sleep addled brain said, "Hey...squeaky stuff needs WD-40!" So without thinking (at all), I took a few drops of WD-40 and dropped them into the joints. Boom...squeaking disappeared. You can see the WD-40 streaked wood below. Suddenly, the cog connected to the rotating lever started to slip and it fell completely off. I had to look it up, but yeah...WD-40 dissolves CA glue. Who knew? Besides the fact you shouldn't use it on wood in the first place...I'm an idiot. Instead if trying to glue it on again, I decided to get some new washers and some 'R' pins. Drilled some holes into the brass tubing sections where I needed them, and used a simple tack to lock in the cog with the R pin...waalaaaa. I also put in holes for R pins on both outward facing brass sections so I could use them to lock in various attachments I made for finicky bits I will need to serve later on. Final fiddly bits with my newly repaired and fully QUIET and functioning Servo-Matic in the last pic. I served up a 24" section of the same 0.035" tan rope with black silk thread and the result was astounding as well as fairly quick. I came away with newfound confidence that serving rope is not the bugbear I thought it was...so it gave me a little confidence boost. Moving on....

Got an answer to my question above from a shipmate who also researched into it. My flags are correct. I think some other modelers who built this kit noted the discrepancy when they made their own flags but didn’t mention it! 😎 I guess that makes me a squeaky wheel. Moving on…

I think she turned out just beautiful! What a fantastic achievement!

Was spending time organizing and doing odd little chores on my USS Syren parts and decided to make the graphics to prepare the flags when I get to that point. My intention is to prepare them using washi paper as I did on my last build. So, I looked up the flags online and prepared the flag and jackstaff graphics. I thought the graphics and sizes were pretty close to those in the kit, and was happy to move on and consider this little chore complete. But I noticed a major difference between my naval jack and the Shipways kit supplied naval jack. See the graphic below. The main country flag and reverse images are an exact match. Slight color differences but nothing else. The naval jack provided in the MS Kit is completely reversed from the gif I prepared. Considering that I got the graphic for both the country flag and naval jack from Wiki, I'm wondering which is correct. I could you some help here...is the MS kit provided naval jack incorrect or is there some mistake I am making?

Following along! If you look at my build I think my baton wasn't lining up on those score marks either. Looking good!!!!

And stained/blackened. The top one is just for comparison. I blackened the hooks before adding to stained block. Looks passable. 👍🏽

Getting slowly back into it…decided to attack a necessary chore to support the carronades. The tiny tiny blocks needed for the tackle are ridiculously small. 2mm single blocks need to be fit with hooks. Chuck’s practicum shows them shaped and rounded. After attempting and failing multiple times, I decided manual dexterity to create those perfected rounded little guys was simply beyond my ability. So…I just prepped the little blocks after sanding them a bit in the block sander. I made about 150 of these little suckers which should be enough. I had the mats to make about 20 more if I drop/crush/break any of them. The little hooks I prepared using the smallest brass rings I could find…forgot the part number but pic below. Much easier trimming these brass rings than trying to make them from scratch. Drilled the tiny holes on the blocks (easier than I thought)…and WaaaLaaaa! I’ll post a pick of the blocks after blackening and staining a bit later. Her are a few gratuitous pics. Do these little blocks make my fingers look fat? (He asked self consciously..🤣) Moving on…

Did 2025 really just hit me...wow. This link is still live. No pic to post, but progress is being made. Stay tuned.

Got the sweep port doors done. Much happier with the redo. The hinges don’t stand proud of the brackets on the doors. I put the metal brackets on with a little bit of room to fit in the hinges. It’s a cheat, but it saves me from having to glue them on after I mount the doors on the ship. I test fitted them and all is good. The only problem is the wood is so much brighter than the wood on the ship. That’s the result of waiting so long to restart my modeling journey. I’m hoping time and some tung oil coats will age the sweep/gun port doors until they are a closer match. Here are a few photos. Sweep port doors ready to mount. I’ll probably get to them this weekend. The block sander works great. Here’s a pic of my 2mm blocks after running them in the sander 5 min. I still have some gun port doors to prep/paint…the journey continues.

Those tiny hinges are a pain in the butt….he vented to no one in particular. 🤬

If they do, I can’t afford them!!! 🤣

Stupid tool hack. Not sure if I’m only just figuring this out and everyone else has their hack…but I’ve always struggled with my tweezers always being a bit too wide for tiny bits. It means you need to exert that tiny bit more pressure to make and maintain control of a delicate piece…which means, more often than not, that by being too gentle I reduce the needed pressure to hold onto the damned thing…and it falls out of my tweezer grip. So my hack is…dental rubber bands. I wrap a few around my tweezers to close up the jaw width and reduce the necessary pressure I need to exert on the tweezer sides to maintain a solid hold. Great hack…more control with less exertion and instability. Apologies if this was captured somewhere else in some other blog…but I felt like a genius when I figured it out. Gratuitous pics… Moving on…

Since I have tons of rings and rigging upcoming, decided to do a personal preference experiment with regards to brass versus copper wire. Using the Jax blackener diluted 1:3 with water. I ran a set of copper and brass rings of same dimensions through the mix. In truth…hard to say which I prefer. No chunky black oxidation fragments came off either batch. Drying, cleanliness and evenness of the blackening was consistent across both metals. I did ensure I pre-sanded the metal before shaping and dipping the rings. All in all…no winner here. I think the take away is that cutting the blackening agent and removing any preoxidized layer before blacking gives a consistent patina on either metal. Not going for black here…but a metallic sheen like gun metal. Some pics. Off to do the doors tomorrow. 🫡 Moving on…to dinner. 🥘

Thanks for the feedback, Dave. I modified the fins so they don’t rub the wall of the canister. Bundled 4 layers of sandpaper to extend out from the fins for a snug fit against the sides. Works MUCH better! No grinding sound and the sanding process is much gentler. Glad I can use this thing now. 😎👍🏽 Final pics on this side journey. Moving on…