gsdpic

18 hours ago, Alpsman said:

New modeler here. I have always thought that a bright copper bottom is not realistic as your photos and discussions have shown. Is there a solution that can be brushed on a bright coppered bottom to “age” it but not oxidize the copper to green patina? Thanks.

You might investigate "liver of sulphur" as an option.  I used it on the hull of my America (see link below) to give the copper an "old penny" look.

4 hours ago, closehaul said:

A very good looking work.

    -Angelo

 

Thank You!

4 hours ago, Kevin Kenny said:

This is the fun part so enjoy it

Thanks, the anticipation and satisfaction definitely builds as the finish line approaches.

After my last post I realized that this is pretty close to the four year anniversary of starting this kit.  Though there was one 19-month long break, from June 2019 through Dec 2020, and a couple other one or two month breaks where I did not work on it at all. 

Thanks for the likes folks, and thanks Nic for the comment.

It took me longer than expected but I've completed and attached the main sail to the boom, gaff, and mast.  I've also attached the top sail to the mast.  I did have one minor oops moment that I am trying hard to ignore.  Despite using a pattern that I compared to my particular model for the sail, I ended up with the top of the main sail about 1/8th or maybe 3/16th of an inch too wide.  Not sure how it happened, though I admit I never compared my sail to the pattern after initially cutting out the sail.  So the gaff is just not quite as long as it should be compared to the sail.  But I only discovered that after completing the sail....8 or 10 hours of work I think...so left it as is. 

Now I need to do at least some rigging to have a place to hang the jib, which I have not yet started to make.  Thus far I have just used regular thread or some leftover rigging thread from my not-completed Niagara build.  For the rigging I'll use the Bluejacket line, which also means I need to try out the brown fabric dye I bought to dye the white line some shade of tan.  I did a quick test on a short piece a while back and it worked ok, just need to figure out the process for doing larger quantities.

Anyway, below is a picture as she currently stands.  I really need that jib on there to balance things out.  But I feel like I can almost see the finish line from here, thanks to the relatively simple rig of the America, especially compared to those square-rigged behemoths that some of you like to build.

@Tomculb @Gregory  Thank you for the replies.  I apologize that I have not replied sooner....I failed to "follow" my own post so did not get notified of your replies.

What you say makes sense and is helpful....I ended up working on sails first instead of rigging so I have not tackled these bits yet, though I am close to starting it. 

Wonderful result with great features.  I really like the davit display and the "seawater".  Just amazing attention to detail here.   Some of those pictures in the last post could easily pass for pictures of a life size representation of a whale boat on a davit.

Your sanding and priming is paying off, the hull is looking really good.   Maybe for the deck, just rough it up a bit with some coarse sandpaper (80 or 100 grit)?   Remember you are doing a 1/32nd scale representation of something that is already just a tiny fraction of an inch on the real thing.

I've been waiting for this final post.  Wonderful build, congratulations on finishing her up.  I've been following this build from the beginning....I started following it thinking "this is the kind of project I'd like to do some day" but after seeing about 3 or 4 of your posts I realized just how far I am from being able to match this, and that was only validated more and more as the build continued.  Really top notch work.

Main Sail Details

I have not gotten quite as far with the main sail as I hoped but I am far enough to post my process.  I owe a lot to @TUEL's America log for my sail making process though I made some of my own tweaks.   This will be a long post with a lot of pictures to show the steps I took to make the sail.

1.  I created a paper pattern, traced from the sail plan then tweaked to match my model.  I marked the pattern with the direction of the panel lines and made sure to lay the pattern on the sail cloth such that the panel line arrow was aligned with the direction of the weave of the cloth.  I then traced around the pattern with a pencil.

2. I cut out the sail very roughly, leaving about an inch around all sides.

3. I ironed the sail and then sprayed it with a coat of clear polyacrylic to make the material a little stiffer.  I also cut a separate scrap of material about 3 inches wide and 12 inches long and sprayed that.  I gave this scrap of material a heavier coat of clear acrylic.

4. I used a paper cutter to cut some thin strips of material from the scrap.  I also cut a few circles of material to use for the corner reinforcements.

5.  Again using the pencil, I gently drew on the panel lines.  I also drew a second line just outside the sail about an eighth of an inch from the edge of the sail.   Using the sowing machine I sewed down each panel line.  After that, I glued on the reinforcing strips over the reef points and in the corners.   While getting other sail making supplies, I saw some "fabric glue" in the store that I picked up and used for this step, though it looked and smelled exactly like regular white PVA.  Oh, you can see I have also cut out the corners to facilitate folding the fabric over.

6.  Using a thin piece of cardboard (actually a hanging file folder) as a straight edge, I folded over the edges of the sail and ironed in a crease.  I repeated that process on the lines just outside the edge of the sail, resulting in a sail with two creases around the edges.  This is where the extra inch of fabric is useful as it is much easier to fold over and iron an inch of fabric than it is to do a quarter inch of fabric.

7.  I put little drops of glue every inch or two along the outer crease and then folded over the material on that outer crease.  After the glue dried I cut off the extra material as close to that crease as I could. 

8.  I then folded the sail over on the crease at the edge of the sail, held it in place again with a few drops of glue, then sewed all the way around the sail with the machine to hold the folded portion. 

9. Next I hand sewed a bolt rope around the edge of the sail, at least the edges that are attached to something.   While I was doing this I also formed some cringles at the appropriate places.

10.  And with that the sail is mostly done.  I still need to put in the reef ties on the first and second reef then attach it to the boom, gaff, and mast.

Thanks for the likes, folks, I appreciate it!

So in the prior update, I guess I betrayed my ignorance of sails and sailing.   On the sail plans, I saw what is shown below for the main sail and fore sail.

Now for some reason, where those horizontal reinforcements are, I just assumed that all of them had the dangly bits (reef ties?).  I assumed they just left them out of the drawing in some cases to not clutter things up.   So I added them to my fore sail.  But I started to wonder about that, particularly since the foresail does not have a boom.   I did some googling of reefing and sail bonnet, and can see that I was mistaken.  I am still not quite clear on how the bonnet is used or why the third reef does not have ties, but I am pretty sure the sail plans did not leave out any reef ties that should be there, as I initially assumed.  So I have extra reef ties on my foresail. 

I also looked at the reprints of contemporary paintings of America in the book The Low Black Schooner, and several of those paintings even showed this level of detail, with the bare reinforcement strips above the bonnets and the reef ties only on the first and second reef of the main sail.

At this point I am not quite sure what to do with the ties on the fore sail.  I may try to remove one and see how that goes.  I used a dot of white glue both where the tie goes through the sail and to hold the ends of the tie down.  If I am able to remove it easily I'll remove the others.  If it looks problematic I'll just leave the extra reef ties in place.  I guess if nothing else, it means I only have to do about 50 ties on the main sail instead of about 70.

As for that main sail, it is in progress.  I am on the lengthy and tedious part of hand sewing the bolt rope around the perimeter of the sail.  My hope is that by this time tomorrow I'll be done with that sail and have it attached to the gaff, boom, and main mast, and be able to post more details about how I am making the sails.

EDIT: The incorrectly placed reef ties on the foresail were easy to remove without damage.  I then used a thicker needle to poke through the sail to simulate the eyelets in the sail.

Really enjoying this build and I think there is a lesson to be learned here, if I am able to remember it and absorb it.   I see this build as the scratch build analog of that post elsewhere on this site warning beginning kit modellers to start with smaller, simpler kits and not jump right into a Constitution or Victory.   After building several kits I start to contemplate trying a scratch build, but I imagine boats that are on the same complexity scale as the kits I have built.   But, it would make far more sense build something smaller and simpler for a first scratch build, to get practice doing the research, figuring out how to read and convert the plans you have, and determining how to fabricate and assemble the pieces to best represent the original.   And your build superbly demonstrates that even a small, relatively simple scratch build can exercise and demonstrate craftsmanship and can result in an attractive and interesting little model. 

So, well done on the build so far and thanks for the lesson, if only I can really learn it.  I guess we'll see after I get another kit or two under my belt.

Looks like a good start.  I am a fan of both Bluejacket and of small work or pleasure boats so I will follow along to see how your build goes.  At first I thought this was the smaller of the two Bluejacket Friendship Sloop kits, but then I saw the ruler in the last picture.  Is this the larger one, the 1"=1 foot scale model?

By the way, I was just looking at your jig.  It looks you will not be able to remove those screws holding the model to the jig once you complete planking.  I assume you have a plan for that, but wanted to point it out just in case.

Second Sail Done....and attached

Thanks to those who have taken a look and those who have clicked on the like button.

I've completed making the fore sail, and attached it to the gaff and the fore mast.   I was going to show pictures of the steps I am taking in making the sails, but half way through I realized there was an easier/better way to do a couple of the prior steps.  I'll try that better method on the next sail, and document that one.   For now, here are a few pictures of the fore sail.   Obviously the blue wire holding the gaff is just temporary, not some new-fangled rigging technique.  I think (hope) the sails are not going to get too much in the way of the rigging.  I plan to do the main sail next, and attach it, then make the jib, then start rigging.  Obviously I need some rigging in order to have a place to hang the jib.

Man, these pictures are noisy.  I am using an ancient little point and shoot for most of these.  It is just simpler than getting out the DSLR or using the iPhone, but maybe it would be worth while to do one of those two things.

I've continued to attach blocks to things but have not started any rigging just yet.    The rigging/sail plan is not terribly detailed, but the mix of blocks in the kit seems a bit off.  I could've used another half dozen or so double blocks and will have at least that many single blocks left over.  So in some cases I've just simplified the tackle a bit.  For example, for the fore and main gaff lift, the plan appears to show 2 double blocks and I've changed that to a double and a single.

I have also finished one sail out of four.  Shown below is the top sail.   I did not take pictures of the process....I'll try to do that with one of the remaining sails.  Here's the finished product.   The panel lines and seems were machine sown; it is hard to see but there is a bolt rope around two thirds of the sail that I sowed on by hand.  That was by far the most time consuming and tedious part, and this is by far the smallest of the four sails.

6 hours ago, FriedClams said:

Beautiful work Gary, she's looking really smart!  I really like the color and tone of the model and your finish work is excellent.  The 3rd photo down on post #122 really shows the goods.  Nice.

 

Gary

Thank you!  That means a lot coming from the "king of weathering"
 

5 hours ago, Moab said:

Great build!...Moab

Thank you!

Welcome to MSW from a fellow Texas resident.  I was amused how the beverage in the background went from a Whataburger cup to a glass of red wine.   The fishing yawl looks very nice. 

58 minutes ago, DaveBaxt said:

Does using the wedges make it easier to step the masts.

I used wedges stepping the masts on my America.  They helped in getting the masts lined up correctly.  If the mast was leaning one way or the other, I could just force the wedge on one side in a little farther and shift the mast.  The holes in the deck were a bit large so the mast had some wiggle room.  I also glued the mast to the step and let that cure for a bit before using the wedges.   Once set I coated the wedges with wood glue to hold them in place.  I plan to use some white wood putty over the wedges to simulate the fabric covering.

I continued to work on the America last week, mostly attaching blocks to the masts, gaffs, and booms.   I think I am done with that effort but have about a dozen blocks to attach to eyebolts on the deck, and a few more in other places like the bowsprit.   I also did a bit of experimenting with sail making and believe that I will be able to make sails that live up to my relatively low standards

And I glued in the two masts, pictures below.  I had cut a tenon in the bottom of each mast to slip into a slot in the mast step, and I made the holes in the deck a little bit oversized to give some "wiggle room".  I first glued the tenon into the mast step and let that cure for a while, until the masts were pretty well held in place but could still move a bit.  I then inserted wood wedges around the mast to secure them in place, adjusting the wedges to get the masts in the correct position.  Once in position, I put wood glue around the wedges, and later cut off the top of any wedges that were too tall.  That worked out pretty well, I am quite happy with the position of the masts, though I admit the main mast has ever so slightly less rake than the fore mast.   Once the glue is completely dry, I'll put a bit of white wood filler around the base of each mast.

I think next up is alternating between attaching more blocks and making the sails.  I plan to attach the sails to the gaffs and booms before attaching them to the masts.

Fore mast with wedges:

Masts in position:

From the front-ish:  (That's my bluejacket lobster boat in the background along with some Porsche models).

John....That Endeavour looks very impressive.  In the past I checked in on your Grand Banks build log and you've done a fantastic job with that as well.

As for my America, the first few pictures that show frames are pretty close to what comes out of the box.  Bluejacket creates a pre-carved hull then slices it like a loaf of bread, and puts every other frame into a kit, making two kits from one hull.   So the frames supplied in the kit are pretty close to the right shape and beveled, though you do need to do quite a bit of finer shaping and sanding to get everything fair and symmetrical.   The keel is just printed on quarter inch thick basswood and needs to be cut out and you need to carve the rabbet.   The bow and stern pieces are supplied pre-carved similar to the frames but also require quite a bit of shaping.   You can do more or less work on the frames, depending on if you plan to leave part of the deck or hull unplanked to show them.

The deck beams were all cut from a glued-up block of basswood, so you will need some sort of power saw for that.  I  used my scroll saw, though a hobby sized table saw would've been much better.  The deck furniture is just cut from thin mahogany sheets.  There are no laser cut parts at all.

But I'll say I have not done a lot of carving in the past, have not used chisels that frequently, and I managed to do it ok.  Just get one or two decent carving knives and a few good chisels if you don't already have them, and a way to sharpen them all and I am sure you'll be able to handle it.

I am building the 1/48 (1/4" = 1 foot) Bluejacket America.   See the link in my signature below for the build log, to get an idea what is involved.  While it is a kit, I'd say it is a fairly advanced one.  Bluejacket ranks it an 8 on their 9-point difficulty scale.   Their smaller kit is quite a bit simpler, not just a scaled down version of the big kit.   If you have any questions about the larger Bluejacket kit I'd be glad to try to answer them.

2 hours ago, SimonR said:

I cant seem to create a Build Log, is there a reason the option is greyed out when I go to create a topic? Or is there another way?

@SimonR....Click on the little arrow by "Build logs for kits" or "Build logs for scratch projects" and it will expand to a list of choices by date of launch, and those choices should be selectable.

And welcome to MSW......consider posting a brief intro in the new member intro section.

On 1/25/2021 at 4:36 PM, closehaul said:

Another question is the disposition of the anchor on deck. I've assembled it with the crossmember in place. I noticed on gsdpic's build log of America the crossmembers are unjointed from the anchor and laying flat with it. Have I erred again? lol.

 

Haha, please don't assume that I know what I am doing

For the America, the deck plan depicted the anchor with the stock in that position.  It is connected to the anchor, just slid to the end with the 90 degree bend so that it lays flat.

Well done with the model, all the deck furniture looks really good.

Looks like a good recovery.   I think that somehow your planks are not overlapping as much as mine did at the bow and stern, particularly the second from the top.  Here's a quick shot of both bow and stern of my finished dory.  Of course no guarantees that mine is correct, just pointing out the difference.

5 hours ago, GuntherMT said:

Looking good Gary. 

 

If it makes you feel any better about your fat eagle, the replica America has a pretty darned fat eagle also, so it's fairly authentic!

 

 

 

Thanks Brian, I had not seen that picture.  I've seen a picture of the eagle from the original, but it is straight on so impossible to tell how thick it is. 

Ready for Sails and Rigging

Well, the model is, I am not sure I am.

Thanks for looking in and for the likes.  

I've pretty much completed all the other details, though as noted below I have found a few things I may need to tweak.  And of course, taking close up pictures always reveals flaws in the finish that I may try to fix, not to mention dust that has collected on the model.  Anyway, here are some pictures of where it stands now.  As I considered this another milestone I got out the "real" camera and took more care in taking the pictures.

Next I need to attach blocks to the masts, booms, gaffs, and eyebolts on the deck, then I will experiment with sail making.  While I'd really like to attach the masts at this point I think it will be much easier to attach the sails to the masts off of the boat.

Overall view....

With masts and booms.  They are just balanced in place here, not attached.  And yes I have enough wiggle room to make the masts parallel when I glue them in place.

Bow and anchor details.  After I did this, I realized there were two shackles that were supposed to be attached to the top of the anchor and then the anchor rope was to go to the shackles.  Oops.  Also, the kit did not include anything specifically for the anchor rope/chain.  I felt that even the thickest supplied line seemed too wimpy for the anchors.  I dug out the rigging line for my unfinished Niagara and braided together three lines to make one much thicker anchor rope.  You can also see the name plate.  At first I tried one of those inkjet printer decals but when I placed the yellowish gold decal on the black background, it just completely disappeared.  I ended up printing the name with a black background on a piece of paper and attaching that for the name plate.  You can also see the custom carved trail board in place of the Britannia metal one supplied by the kit.

I also attached the remaining deck furniture.

And here is the shot of the eagle on the stern.  It is not very visible due to the angle of the transom.  The Britannia metal piece was also pretty thick, more so than I would like, but I used it anyway.

Here are the main and fore gaff (top and bottom).  I completed the jaws and clapper since last time I posted a picture of them, though I fear that my clappers will not angle enough to allow the gaffs to point upward as much as they should, so some rework may be needed.  The jaws were just carved and shaped from scrap cherry wood and I inserted some short lengths of blackened copper wire to represent the bolts holding the jaws to the gaffs.

And here's a better picture than I posted before of the ends of the jib boom and main boom.

Finally some details of the masts.  First, the lower part of the mast with the mast hoops and the ring of belaying pins, and on the main mast (top) the gooseneck for holding the main boom.  Below that is the detail shot of the mast tops.  While taking the shot I realized I did not put the bolsters on the main mast (i.e. the rounded piece at the top of the trestle tree, I assume to reduce wear and tear on the shrouds).

I am working on Bluejacket's America 1/48th scale.  I am getting close to rigging and have started studying the rigging plans, such as they are.  I am not a sailor by any stretch of the imagination, and am a bit unsure of a couple things I see.  Most of the running rigging I can figure out...I can see how pulling a line here moves that thing up there.   But there are a couple places where there are a couple blocks that appear to just be there to tension standing rigging and it is not at all clear how/where the line terminates.  For example, see the two pictures below.  One is the top of the fore mast the other is obviously the bowsprit.  In these cases you can see the line through the blocks (or bullseye in one case) but the line just appears to be a loop, it does not terminate anywhere.  At least in a couple cases it is obvious the line starts off tied to the first block, but then where does the other end go?   Maybe it is tied off to the other block, or to the line the block is attached to  (similar to the lanyards for the shrouds)?  Looking at the build logs for the Mamoli America kit, it looks like they have those lines by the bowsprit go back through a hole in the bulwark to a cleat on deck, but that looks rather clumsy.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  I am not really concerned about hyper realism, mostly just curious about this.

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply.