Overworked724

FYI…and the rudder is easily removed and installed as needed which was my ultimate goal. 👍🏽

Ok. Got my gudgeons in…I’m not certain how others make/line up/install there P&G’s, but this part of the build is really intimidating to me. So I put a lot of preparation into how I would avoid bruising the copper. That was my biggest concern! So… here was my ridiculous approach to mounting these suckers. First, I put in the ‘pins’ into the pintles on the rudder: Next, I sanded in a slight bevel into the inner edge of each side of the gudgeons. Imagine snow skis. I wanted the gudgeons to slide across the sternpost without grabbing/scratching the copper foil. Then, I slid the gudgeon onto the stem post, using the tiny nail head I had placed into the post as an abutment to keep them from sliding. If you recall, when I test fit the P&G’s, I put in tiny nails (used in installing the P&G’s) as markers. They can’t really be seen and the copper easily wrapped around them. Then I lined up the gudgeons with the pintles and inserted the nails. The end result is pretty nice. 👍🏽 The copper plating was unscathed, and the rudder was cleanly aligned. The only minor discrepancy which my eye sees immediately is the fact that the bottom of the rudder ended up about 0.5mm higher then the false keel. However, I’m totally willing to accept that little ‘wart’ considering how nicely they turned out. Miller Time!!!!

Pintles in…they look OK. I think I could still go down a bit in thickness on them but they work. The small brass nails were actually quite easy to install…was lucky enough to invest in a ‘nail’ pliers which made inserting the bolts much easier. I test fit the pins into the pintles and will install them later after the gudgeons (🤞) have been installed. Baby pics: Moving on…

@Gregory Your P&G’s look marvelous! I did consider paper and had actually used them in the past on another build. This time, my goal was to actually make them as real functional P&G’s…bolts and all. Mounting the rudder using pins certainly makes the process more bullet proof. I’ll probably use this method in future builds. If anything, it will lower my blood pressure! 😁

Rudder made. Painted the entire thing black above the copper just because. Now getting ready for the part which has given me frets and the area I particularly struggled on the Sultana…the Pintles and Gudgeons! Moving on..,👍🏽

How’s your sinus infection? I hear champagne toasts during the New Year cure most infections! 🍾

Beautiful work, Dave. I love the detail! Those strops are awesome. 👍🏽

Thanks, Steve!!

Thanks, Dave! Flattery earns you a beer at the next MMS club meeting! 🤣

If I could repeat this step, I’d have used a round edge exacto like a #10 instead of the straight edge #11. I think it would have made the cutting easier and the exposed edge a bit less raw.

Quickie post. Got the false keel in. Wood glue with pins. Since I broke up the keel into sections, was much simpler to install. Also confirmed clean access for mounting screws. 👍🏽 Rudder is next…

Hey Cisco. Much appreciated! But I am still very much a newbie with only the completed Sultana in my model resume. I can say that most of my ideas are adopted (or modified) from other modeler’s posts. But posting the process helps me as well…to keep me motivated and to look back on what I did for future reference! Good and bad alike…it’s all beneficial to others. @niwotwill Will, 🙌 yes! I can honestly say I’ve got 3 miles of fingerprints on my hull. I tried using gloves but that’s simply a no go. I plan to do a gentle once over with isopropyl alcohol to try and remove the majority of the finger oil. Just tried on a swatch of plates I laid down a couple weeks ago and it doesn’t seem to impact the plate adherence. @Justin P. Hey Justin! I would say the Amati plates have some advantages…and you save some time in not having to make them. I honestly wasn’t too confident I could glue them on cleanly since they aren’t self adhering. You did a beautiful job with them. 👍🏽 Pluses and minuses to both options.

Coppering is complete! Cutting away the tape was a bit more difficult than I expected. Doing it this way made it easy to visualize the waterline, but it left a nasty edge to the existing copper plates. However, the copper tape was wider than the stripping tape, so installing the upper belt was a breeze. A few of the copper plate edges have popped up, but nothing major. So I’ll call this finished and move on to the rudder.

Thanks for the kudos, @Justin P. Justin! Deeply appreciated. Actually, I almost changed my mind to go with the Amati plates when I saw how beautiful your hull came out. But, I spent so much time making those stamps, I felt ‘pot committed’ with regards to using the kit supplied tape!!! 🤣

Thanks, @WalrusGuy! Your build continues to be one of my ‘go to’ blogs. I’m not done with this chore yet, but I am hopeful I can get the top belt on without too much damage. 🤞 Then it’s on to the rudder and the P&G’s…which are waiting in the wings. Got some momentum…looking forward to looking at the deck sometime soon! 🤣

The hull is fully coppered. I still need to cut away the tape and lay in the upper belt. This is why I left out the topmost trim pieces for stem and stern piece. I figured I might brutalize that area with my exacto and didn’t wish to repeat any coppering due to ‘slips’. In all, the coverage is symmetrical and consistent. I’m pretty happy it came out as clean as it did considering I eyeballed the entire thing! I was also pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to make subtle adjustments as you lay in the individual plates. I was nervous about the wrong things. Now I just need to gather the courage to cut that upper tape away. 😜 Taking a break today!!! That is one monotonous chore!!! Like others, I survived by binge watching a TV series during this process. The survival series, ‘Alone’ was my choice! 😁

Good question @CiscoH. Frankly, I have been prowling through every build log and Chuck's practicum. The photos don't really go into the curvy corner area at the stem. It was driving me to distraction trying to find how people got such great results at the 'seam' where the stem juts out from the hull. The Syren plating plan shows that the plates don't (and frankly can't) seamlessly 'bend' to lie in across that curvy angle. Lacking any specific directions, I went with simple - and winged it. The first two plating rows starting at the keel going up can be plated straight across from stern to the stem (overlapping). The subsequent rows I cut the plates for the stem and left a bit of an overhang into the 'corner' which the edge of the last plate on the hull would lay across. They are, frankly, cut to fit as closely as possible...and I had a lot of removals and redos in this area to ensure things looked 'consistent' even if it not historically accurate. Hope that helps. 3 books are: 'Tall Ships - History Comes to Life on the Great Lakes', Kaitlin Morrison 'The Sailing Frigate - A History is Ship Models', Robert Gardiner (GREAT BOOK...and excellent compliment to the build log for the Syren!) 'The Miniature Ships of August and Winnifred Crabtree', Vincent P. Scott

About 70% there. One side is done up to the upper belt. You can see where I still need to cut away the tape strip marking the waterline to put in the belt. A bit nervous about doing that…so will take the joy of at least completing both sides up to the belt before cutting away the tape and finalizing this job. Fingers crossed. Moving on…

@CPDDET Dave, to be honest, this might be my last copper hull! 🤣

Coming along. Showing these pics for the benefit of those yet to do this part. Got in the first 7 rows on each side. Spent a lot of time on the bow. Really no way I could think of to get the copper plates to seamlessly blend into the stem. Did my best but it’s a patchwork quilt. I’m about 50%…the remaining bands should be a bit easier than fiddling with the bow. Moving on….

About 1/3 of the way done. Really trying to focus on laying these little suckers down consistently. One thing I’m really happy about is the nail pattern. Doesn’t show up on the photos above, but the effect is really nice. The bolts actually show up nicely! It’s moving much faster now. But I feel like I’ll be making plates until Easter.

Thanks, @CPDDET, @Gahm Guys! I’m doing my level best. One thing I’m watching very carefully, and another reason I’m going so slow…is to watch for peeling. The copper foil tape was hit or miss…I’ve seen many builds where the plates started to peel shortly after install. Thus far, they are staying put (knock wood). So 👍🏽 Alright!! I am glad I spent the extra time smoothing out the hull and putting on a couple coats of wipe on poly. I think it makes a huge difference in adherence. These plates are on like glue…and they adhere so strongly that if I wish to remove one misplaced plate, I have to slowly and gingerly pry it off. Moving on…

Quick coppering update. I’m now a pro at making copper plates and tearing off the backing without crimping the foil. New skill set. First 7 rows on the port side are on. They look fairly decent. Again, not overthinking here, just trying to be consistent. Laying them on cleanly is not as hard as I had thought it would be. If I don’t like how a plate looks, I rip it off and repeat. The stem post was a bit difficult. Had a couple of plates that forced me to adjust a bit. Moving to starboard to get the first 7 rows in and do my best to make sure things line up. The grind continues. 👍🏽

Captain’s log, Star Date 12282021: My foray into coppering the Syren hull has met with some small amount of success…based upon current estimates, I’ll be done sometime next Christmas. Will refrain from additional posts on coppering until I have the final pics of the finished job. it’s a SLOOOOW process.

Yeah....so everyone has a method for making these plates. The foil is so fragile! In retrospect, I am really glad I made my stamps a while back. The process I use is efficient and doesn't take much time to crank out plates. The nice thing I've discovered is that the paper backing removal is really something you need to work out for yourself...I managed to figure out a way to do it without crimping the foil....which is bloody easy to do. Here is my plate process: 1. Cut ~ 12" strips. This is basically one wound off the tape spool. The strips are curly at first. 2. Simply pull the strips gently between your fingers a few times and the strips will straighten out. They may crimp in one or two spots, but that's ok. 3. Stamp the plate pattern into the strip. I used the old 'whack a mole' method with my high tech hammer. 4. The nails will be 'indented' into the strip. Rather than trying to straighten these out (burnish) after cutting and placing the plates on the ship, it made more sense to me to 'push' the dimples back in before cutting apart the individual plates. 5. Here is the back of the strip...clearly showing the protruding nail ‘dimples’. Note the background...I'm using an old notebook as a 'backing or support’ which is soft, smooth, and has a bit of 'give'. 6. Using an old 'roller' - can't remember where in the heck I got this thing. It's about 6" long and has stone rollers. I just rolled it along the back of the strip to push in the nail dimples. 7. This is what the strip looks like after #6 above. Nice clean strip...no protrusions. 8. Got this ridiculously small paper cutting gizmo. Actually, I think I got this at a dollar store, not Amazon. But I know they sell them on Amazon. I put in a track to keep the strips aligned. ...cut up the sections. This part goes very very quick. I get about 15 or so plates from one strip. I make about 5 strips at a time...only take a few minutes. 9. Remove the plates from the paper backing and gently apply to the ship...hard not to ding the plates, but at least I was able to create a process which doesn't crimp them before I get them on the ship. The nail pop effect is what I was hoping for....yes, they are not 'to scale' but I'll take my little victory! The marathon continues....