petervisser

Thanks for very kind comment gents. Today I hope to start the masting and rigging and will post some pics later today hopefully.

There is definitely some light at the end of the tunnel.I can almost taste the Heineken!

Peter

Well, here are the sails out of the bath and after a cold water rinse. I am very happy with them and the colour seems to make them come alive. I am now glad that I used both colours of dye, and I have achieved the colour I wanted. They now have to dry overnight and I am hoping to start the masting and rigging quite soon. Instead of many weeks to rig the Unicorn I am thinking a couple of hours for the zeeschouw. Instant gratification, as the saying goes.

Cheers,

Peter

In that brown bath are the three sails that will adorn my model. I went to the fabric store for some fabric dye and was torn between the teracotta brown and the straight brown. At first I thought the plain brown would do, but then had a change of heart and bought the teracotta. I ended up using both because the sails didn't go as dark as I wanted.

I will leave it in the bath for another half hour and then give them a rinse. Anyway here is a picture of the first part of the process...

Peter

I have been busy in the sail loft sewing on bolt ropes to the edges of the sails. After my wife kindly worked her magic on the machine it was time for me to break out the needle and palm . Ok, I didn't need the palm...

Here are some pics of the progress. I have just the gaff sail to complete and then I plan on dying the sails an appropriate colour.

I hope to have the sails complete this week.

Cheers,

Peter

Hi Mike,

Glad to see you are starting your Unicorn and I will follow your build with interest. Sounds like you will have a far more accurate model than my own, which will be more satisfying in the end.

Corel did not spend a lot of time or money on researching the history of the ship but I had a great deal of fun building it. One pitfall of mine was not ensuring the gun deck height matched the height of the gun ports. A serious (and destructive) mod had to take place in order for the gun barrels to be centred out the gun ports. Yikes!

At any rate, have fun with this build. You might find that because of all the various stages of the Unicorn, building a second model alongside, might be a bit ambitious. Good luck!

Peter

She's becoming very fetching with your colour scheme Popeye. I really like models with lots of colour to them.

Peter

Making good progress Don.

I'll be home in a few days and would like to see her up close and personal.

Maybe a get together is called for.

Peter

Looking superb Shaz.

Peter

Congratulations on a stunning build Len. You have inspired lots of us who wish to build the definitive model ship.

Time to Splice the Main Brace! Twice!

Peter

Hey Luca,

I am really enjoying your log of Cutty Sark. I intend this to be my next model so be warned, I will be poaching some of your great techniques! Hope you don't mind.

Great photos too of great build.

Cheers,

Peter

Wow Popeye,

I just got caught up with your Half Moon build. VERY well done. Einar Billing would be very pleased, I'm sure. You are one of those rare breed of ship model builders who seem to have real fun, building, improvising, and crafting different aspects of the build. And, passing on all these little nuggets of your experiences to others. A rare talent!

Keep up the great work.

Peter

Hi Alex,

There is an article on the site which I cobbled together some time ago that may be a help. Go to MSW Site & Article Downloads link at the top of this page, then click Article/Downloads, then Furniture and Deck Fittings, then Building a Display Case.

Believe me when I say, I am no capenter but I did build a rather large case for my last model. It does not use channelled wood to join the corners of the case. Instead it uses angle stock inside and outside the corners. It is quite strong in that I used glass to make up the case. However, you can use plexi-glass as it is lighter and probably safer.

Have a look at the article. It might fit the bill.

Cheers,

Peter

Another little update before work is interrupted.

My wife has completed the sails. I have a bolt rope to attach still, but the hard part is complete. I am very happy with how they turned out so far and will have to make it up to her somehow. I'm sure she will fill me in on "how to" on this...

Here are the "before" and "after" sails.

The finished sails.

A close up of her handy-work.

A little teaser on the overall affect.

I teased her a little this morning, telling her that my next model will be the Cutty Sark which has about 20 sails to be sewn. Her response..."Well, I guess I'm going to give you some sewing lessons" in a matter of fact tone...

I'm thinking "bare poles" for that model.

Peter

Yes Popeye, I am a lucky man. With my previous models I have hand sewn the sails, but they look a little unrefined. Passable, but they could look a little better. So this time I opted for some "professionally' sewn sails. I still intend to sew on a bolt rope which I can do myself. I enjoy sewing, but the machine is a little intimidating. Besides, if I am taught how to use it now, I will have totally forgotten how to do it again when the time comes. My next model won't have sails you see.

The model will now take a little hiatus while the sails are being sewn. And I return to work in a few days which takes me away from model building. Oh well, the end is clearly in sight.

Cheers,

Peter

Attention zeeschouw fans... another minor update.

I have been working on the mast and its jewelry along with the other spars. Just a matter of staining, varnishing and painting really, but it does take time to put it all together. I also managed to make an athwartship traveller for the boom. Believe or not, I managed it the first try. I was certain it was going to take several attempts at getting the right bends at the right size. The flag is also flying! I used the flag supplied with the kit and am pretty happy with how it turned out.

So here are a few more pictures...

The flag flying from the the stern. I used some varathane to soak the material and then wrapped the flag around several dowels to give it some curves and life.

I used some scrap material to experiment with to find out what, and what not to do.

A shot of the traveller for the main boom.

A shot of the boat with the mast and spars ready for mounting.

My wife has kindly offered to sew the sails on her machine. She's awesome! They are a work in progress so I will wait to step the main mast until I can get the sail bent on. Stay tuned...

Hi Ron,

I just stumbled onto your request of drawings for Lilla Dan. I completed this kit a number of years ago and yes, I still have the instruction book and the drawings.

However, the sheet drawings are not in the best of shape and so they won't likely make great copies. If you like, I can get an estimate on how much it would cost to get copies made and into the mail for you.

Let me know via PM.

Cheers,

Peter

Hi Vince,

Just a great job so far. I am following along closely as I also have this model waiting in the wings. (Un)fortunately there are several models ahead of her. However, I will watch your progress and take some notes.

Cheers,

Peter

p.s. Thanks for the great photos as well!

Funny you should ask Nils! I just put on her name boards and now she has a proper name. "IRENE".

I named her after my sister. The kit's name is "BIANCA" but I don't know anyone personally by that name so I decided "Irene" had more significance. Here are some pictures with the new name board.

Now I have to start work on the sails. I have put another coat of paint on the masts and they are drying in front of the gas fire. Billing has supplied a sheet with the pattern of the sails inked on them. However, the material is a bit too white and stiff. So I will use them as pattern pieces and use muslin cloth instead. I am hoping to get a sewing lesson from my wife who has a sewing machine and a serger. I will do a little experimenting and come up with the best solution. Stay tuned to this channel....

Thanks for the encouragement and nice words guys.

Marc, the Amsterdam Maritime museum has a great selection of books. However, a few years ago, I tried buying some books there, but I could not actually enter the book shop. They had a counter person who would take the order and enter the shop to get it for you. I'm not certain if that's still the case, but you might want to think about the books you want before shopping there.

The weather outside is awful with snow and sleet today soooo, I'm thinking I have free reign to hobby today! This is our first snow of the year really, so not much to complain about.

Cheers guys.

Peer

A quick little update guys while the paint on the mast and spars are drying. The rudder minus the flag is finally finished. Boy, what alot of steps for finishing this one piece. Cutting out the rudder, laminating the strips of mahogeny, fitting the tiller, multi-layers of different colour paints and lacquer, fitting the pintles and gudgeons and aplying the decals. It took days and days! The decals were a bit challenging because I had not done any for many many years. They were applied and then I coated them with a few coats of varathane. They're not going anywhere!

Well here is the finished product and the rudder dry fitted to the transom...

Cheers,

Peter

Gil,

Great idea in staining your rigging thread! An sollution for many of us with less than perfect rigging thread.

I also like your fine detailing on the spars. Insprational!

Peter

Marc,

Yes, I have the Billing Friese tjalk also! And I also have a kit of Lemster sailing barge that is produced by Mamoli. I am very fond of the Dutch sailing vessels and I saw lots during a trip to Holland to see family. We rented a small motor yacht and sailed the canals of Friesland. Many many vessels of all types to see and admire.

Popeye,

Unfortunately, Billing has decided not to market these kits outside of Europe. I suppose they think only people who are familiar with these types of boats would want to build them. That's unfortunate because these kits are ideal for beginners. They are easy to put together and don't take a great deal of time to finish. They also offer beginners a fun intro to the hobby and allow them to acquire some basic skills. I purchased my kits in Holland while on vacation. They make packing challenging!

Kip,

I managed to find them at Lee Valley! I am going to have to go back and look at what else is on offer. Lot of things to spend money on there...

Today I painted a bunch of fittings and stained the mast and spar. Pictures to follow soon.

Peter

Thanks for the kind words guys. They are much appreciated.

Today I must go out and try to find some tiny drill bits. The hardware stores have 1/16" but that sems to be the smallest they sell. Where do you guys get your bits?

Peter

Well, a bit more progress was finally made. I am working on the rudder and have finished the lee boards. I am also working on the mast and other spars as well. A bit of light at the end of the tunnel all ready.

Here are some pics...

The rudder is assembled and I am now giving it a few coats of paint.

Here the lee boards are in place and rigged up.

I have dry fitted the main spars.

The gaff required a bit of bending in two different directions. A few dowels met their ends trying to get it right...

The kit provided some plaques for the name on the stern. I have stained them and will add some letra-set lettering I found in my cache of goodies to give my model a different name.

Tommorow I will stain the spars and paint some fittings in preparation to fixing the mast.

Cheers,

Peter

Beautiful model Danny! Well done.

I hope you plan a glass case to protect all your hard work and fine rigging.

Peter