gjdale

Superb Danny. And thanks for the extra info on your method for cutting the grooves in the sheaves.

As long as it's only an eye patch you're needing.....................

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:

Nice set of new toys there Mobbsie! And I just love that stand you've made - real classy! Can't wait to see the final finished ship in its case.

That's just stunning Bob!

Welcome home Augie - hope the trip was an enjoyable one. We all look forward to the resumption of play in your shipyard now, er, I mean NOW!

Nice work on the bowsprit Bob. For the figurehead, just take a block of wood and remove all the bits that don't belong to the figure.

Coming along very nicely indeed John. Enjoy your holiday.

Me too! Looks great Mark.

As my Dad has always said, "you'll remember the quality long after the price is forgotten".

Well done Vivian, that's cool!

Larry - ROFLMAO!!! :)

Curse you and your recipe Greg! Now I have to get a planer that I don't really need!!! ;) :)

Okay Boyd, since you asked, you need one! And no, you can't live without one. There now, feel better? Yes there are others that would possibly do the job, but the difference is, the Byrnes saw is an absolute joy to use. It will bring a smile to your face every time you use it. And after all, don't we do this hobby for enjoyment? It will certainly come into its own when you start scratch building, but even kit bashing will give it a serious workout. If you're looking for it to "pay for itself", it will do that if you mill your own lumber to size - eg buy sheet stock from Hobbymill and rip it down to size. BUT, you don't buy one of these works of engineering art to pay for itself. You buy one because you can! And for the sheer enjoyment of using it. So, have you placed your order yet? Oh, and don't forget to order the Byrnes Disc Sander at the same time. That brings almost as big a smile to my face, and probably gets used even more frequently than the saw. Let us all know when you've pulled the trigger on this/these. :)

Looks pretty good from here Slog!

Hi Slog, Sounds like you're having an "interesting" time there! I'll bet the air is still a nice shade of blue I know absolutely nothing about card modelling, but if you're having issues with PVA, have you considered using something like UHU glue sticks? I was just thinking that they might be a bit easier to work with for those larger panels. You might also drop a PM to Chris Coyle seeking advice - he seems to be a bit of a "guru" on card modelling. Hope you overcome this temporary setback soon - your model is looking excellent so far.

Thanks very much Nick, Mobbsie, Slog, Mike, Keith and Nigel, and once again to all of the "likes". I feel somewhat humbled by the number of kind comments i have received since posting the completed pictures of the boats. All of the boats are now installed on the ship - the two Cutters from their respective davits (there was more involved in rigging those than I'd thought!), and the Launch and Pinnace on the skid beams. And yes Daniel, I did make and install the mast step in the Launch before mounting . I've also fitted the rudder chains - one of those things that's easy to forget (I almost did). I'm currently working on fitting the Anchors and hope to finish that this morning before I have to go away for work for the week. The last job will be to make and fit the rope coils, but it looks like that will have to wait until next weekend. No more pictures today - I'll save that until she is finally complete.

Lovely Danny, as always. I may have asked before, so please forgive the repetition, but what tool do you use on the lathe to creat the grooves in your sheaves. Some pics of the process would be great.

Very nice outdoor shots there Vivian. Your ship is looking terrific.

Nice catch Frank. As you say, better to fix it now than curse it later. Perhaps you should consider getting a cat.

Thanks very much Frank, Sjors, Daniel, Mark and Bob, and also all of the "likes". Daniel - sharp eyes, you may be right! I'll fix that before it goes back aboard the mother ship. Thanks for the catch.

Thanks Brian, Remco and Wayne. It is something of a relief to be finished this little side-trip.

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..........

Great idea with your jig and "dado" blade arrangement. Are there any issues to be aware of when mounting two blades like that? Would love to see more pics of your jig arrangement if you have any. The finished gratings look excellent.