JerseyCity Frankie

I’m a huge fan of Lees  but I gotta say, In my view it isn’t possible to have tackle attached to the toprop if it’s used to lower the Mast to the deck. Any block and tackle that starts out at deck level won’t be long enough to allow the Mast to reach the deck as the toprope must be  in length AT LEAST twice the distance from the crosstrees to the deck. Start with the Mast fidded aloft, the toprope can’t have a block on it’s hauling end since the block would hit the sheave in the heal of the Mast at a point precisely halfway to the deck.

@Frankie
 
Thank you Frankie... but the sails look like the way you teached me to.
 
You have been a great help. Its a great technik,which now I shall keep on using in all my future models.

Fore topsail in position. Fore and main topgalant prepairing with "wind blow liquiid".

And I am sailing.... ⚓

And here we go... the first headsail (out of three)  is allready blown by the wind.
 
I dont know guys how bad or good it actualy looks, but I think at least the sail is not hanging dead....
 
Does anyone thinks that the sail is hanging too high? 
 
 

 

I have now built and installed the rear cabin with it's companionway and skylight. This completes the deck items. The cabin was built up from boxwood strips, with some interior bracing to support the walls and roof. The skylight glazing is clear styrene sheet. The door handles are blackened pin heads.
 
The next thing to be done will be the lower deadeyes and chainplates.
 
Bob

Thank you all for your kind words and following along this build and helping with my ongoing education on ship building. This will prepare me for the future build of the HMS Victory 1:90 scale by Mamoli which will include some kit bashing. My next build which I am starting to work on and doing CAD drawings for is the container ship Maresk Detroit which my son-in-law is the Captain. This is the first ship he has command of since being promoted to Captain. This will be a complete scratch build at 1:356 scale with an overall length of 32" long x 4" wide x 7.25" high. Size is dictated by future display location in their home. I will start a build log once I have something more interesting than just CAD drawings.
 
I am also working on a couple of commissions which I will disclose at the time allowed.
 
Jon, my son is building a display case and once we get the word that it is ready we will drive the model across country from Morro Bay to Southold, at the end of Long Island. Literally coast to coast. I am sure both nose and finger prints will be a constant with the grandsons as they grow. Not exactly sure yet where my son will have it displayed in the house.
 
Anyway, for now the ship has be shelved out of the way here to clear the deck for my next projects.
 

 

 
 
Again, thank you to all for your kind compliments and advice throughout this build. 
 
 

Often the question, or variation on the question, “what are the most essential ship model tools” comes up. X-acto is the king, I think we all agree. But I’d say a decent compass is a close second on the list of Esential Tools. the discussion of available designs of compasses and dividers is valid and I hope others will put up photos of their favorite compasses and dividers. Maybe there’s a particularly good model we can discover that way? 
The point of expense is also valid, every one of us has a different amount of discretionary income. There are some tools that are simply too expensive for some of us.
I do feel that the joy of life is in part made up of owning all the particular tools to pursue ones interests! The hunt for these tools is part of the fun. I’ve often said that if I ever discovered a single source for all the nautical books I’ve ever wanted or needed to own, in one location for a price so affordable I could instantly own them all, it would take a great deal of joy out of my life since there would then be no worlds left to conquer. No reason to enter another used book store? No thanks!
I kinda feel the same way about tools.

Often the question, or variation on the question, “what are the most essential ship model tools” comes up. X-acto is the king, I think we all agree. But I’d say a decent compass is a close second on the list of Esential Tools. the discussion of available designs of compasses and dividers is valid and I hope others will put up photos of their favorite compasses and dividers. Maybe there’s a particularly good model we can discover that way? 
The point of expense is also valid, every one of us has a different amount of discretionary income. There are some tools that are simply too expensive for some of us.
I do feel that the joy of life is in part made up of owning all the particular tools to pursue ones interests! The hunt for these tools is part of the fun. I’ve often said that if I ever discovered a single source for all the nautical books I’ve ever wanted or needed to own, in one location for a price so affordable I could instantly own them all, it would take a great deal of joy out of my life since there would then be no worlds left to conquer. No reason to enter another used book store? No thanks!
I kinda feel the same way about tools.

Maybe try ironing it flat with a steam iron? Steam bending is a thing.  As mentioned above, veneer is shaved off a spinning log so it’s “real” shape is the diameter of the log, it doesn’t want to get flat and stay that way. Lloyd McCaffery covers the issue in his book Ships in Miniature, here is his illustration. He points out that in th process of making veneer, the cutting blade is continuously forcing the wood fibers to shear as the veneer is bent back away from the log by the cutter. These tiny cracks are what keep catching the x-acto blade and making it wander.  McCaffery states he won’t use veneer on the model, only the case and the base. But his model timbers are typically incredibly tinny.

Often the question, or variation on the question, “what are the most essential ship model tools” comes up. X-acto is the king, I think we all agree. But I’d say a decent compass is a close second on the list of Esential Tools. the discussion of available designs of compasses and dividers is valid and I hope others will put up photos of their favorite compasses and dividers. Maybe there’s a particularly good model we can discover that way? 
The point of expense is also valid, every one of us has a different amount of discretionary income. There are some tools that are simply too expensive for some of us.
I do feel that the joy of life is in part made up of owning all the particular tools to pursue ones interests! The hunt for these tools is part of the fun. I’ve often said that if I ever discovered a single source for all the nautical books I’ve ever wanted or needed to own, in one location for a price so affordable I could instantly own them all, it would take a great deal of joy out of my life since there would then be no worlds left to conquer. No reason to enter another used book store? No thanks!
I kinda feel the same way about tools.

So, I put Bondo 907 automotive filler on the hull (probably a little, maybe a lot thicker than necessary) and then proceeded to sand, first with 120, then with 220 using mostly the sanding sticks I made from tongue depressors. Generated so much red dust that I decided to use my air brushing face mask to keep from inhaling all the red particles containing probably more bad things than I care to know. Anyway below are pictures of the before and after. Need to go over the hull again looking for areas that need more filler but it looks pretty good a first glance. Will at least go over with 320 sanding sticks before priming. FYI, the pictures after sanding were taken shortly after wiping the hull down with a rag soaked in paint thinner so the wood is darker than it would be when dry.

Often the question, or variation on the question, “what are the most essential ship model tools” comes up. X-acto is the king, I think we all agree. But I’d say a decent compass is a close second on the list of Esential Tools. the discussion of available designs of compasses and dividers is valid and I hope others will put up photos of their favorite compasses and dividers. Maybe there’s a particularly good model we can discover that way? 
The point of expense is also valid, every one of us has a different amount of discretionary income. There are some tools that are simply too expensive for some of us.
I do feel that the joy of life is in part made up of owning all the particular tools to pursue ones interests! The hunt for these tools is part of the fun. I’ve often said that if I ever discovered a single source for all the nautical books I’ve ever wanted or needed to own, in one location for a price so affordable I could instantly own them all, it would take a great deal of joy out of my life since there would then be no worlds left to conquer. No reason to enter another used book store? No thanks!
I kinda feel the same way about tools.

Often the question, or variation on the question, “what are the most essential ship model tools” comes up. X-acto is the king, I think we all agree. But I’d say a decent compass is a close second on the list of Esential Tools. the discussion of available designs of compasses and dividers is valid and I hope others will put up photos of their favorite compasses and dividers. Maybe there’s a particularly good model we can discover that way? 
The point of expense is also valid, every one of us has a different amount of discretionary income. There are some tools that are simply too expensive for some of us.
I do feel that the joy of life is in part made up of owning all the particular tools to pursue ones interests! The hunt for these tools is part of the fun. I’ve often said that if I ever discovered a single source for all the nautical books I’ve ever wanted or needed to own, in one location for a price so affordable I could instantly own them all, it would take a great deal of joy out of my life since there would then be no worlds left to conquer. No reason to enter another used book store? No thanks!
I kinda feel the same way about tools.

Often the question, or variation on the question, “what are the most essential ship model tools” comes up. X-acto is the king, I think we all agree. But I’d say a decent compass is a close second on the list of Esential Tools. the discussion of available designs of compasses and dividers is valid and I hope others will put up photos of their favorite compasses and dividers. Maybe there’s a particularly good model we can discover that way? 
The point of expense is also valid, every one of us has a different amount of discretionary income. There are some tools that are simply too expensive for some of us.
I do feel that the joy of life is in part made up of owning all the particular tools to pursue ones interests! The hunt for these tools is part of the fun. I’ve often said that if I ever discovered a single source for all the nautical books I’ve ever wanted or needed to own, in one location for a price so affordable I could instantly own them all, it would take a great deal of joy out of my life since there would then be no worlds left to conquer. No reason to enter another used book store? No thanks!
I kinda feel the same way about tools.

I made a scraper from a blade using a small diamond cutter on my Dremel tool and it worked very well. The boxwood strip is just 1/16” wide. It’s hard to see the profile in the picture but it looks pretty nice.

I’m looking for “The Perfect Compass”. I’ve never found one that suited my specifications for “The Perfect Compass”. The world is encircled by inadequate compasses. If you drew a pie chart, using a disappointing compass, you could show that there’s only a tiny slice devoted to “serious compasses” and the rest of the pie is made up of cheap dollar store flimsy compasses, often made of plastic. 
the “serious compasses” are nearly as bad as the cheap flimsy ones in terms of performance. 
My requirements for a compass are simple. I need it to stay in the adjustment I set it to. Most compasses “open up” as you draw the circle and you only notice when the two ends fail to meet at the completion of the circle. 80% of the time I’m using my compass as a divider, for measuring, and this tendency for the tool to lose its adjustment mid-use means I’m treating the tool like a glass of nitroglycerin as I move it from the thing I’m measuring to the place I’m recording the measurement, I never trust the compass to remain fixed and unaltered. For this I guess you have to hav a Screw-adjusting Compass.
the other requirement is that I want the compass to allow me to use a pencil in it, not tiny awkward proprietary bits of naked lead I have to keep in stock and endlessly fuss with.
 
 You can certainly find compasses that accept an ordinary pencil.
and you can certainly find high-end compasses that are Screw-Adjusted. But apparently you can’t get both features in the same quality instrument. 
This one is my favorite, as you can see it’s ancient. Modern versions are available but the metal they use to make them is so malleable it’s FLOPPY.

I had high hopes for this one but the plastic sleeve that holds the pencil is elastic! The pencil isn’t really fixed and unmovable.

Same problem with this one. Everything is fine but for the means of attaching the pencil, the pencil flexes in the joint. Sigh.
 

Dry wall sparkle certainly fills voids but there is an issue with gluing to cured drywall patching stuff: glue sticks to it just fine but the material itself is chalky and a plank glued to it is only attached as firmly as the chalky material is strong. You can pull the plank right back off and it tears out the tiny bit of patching material it was actually glued to. I discovered this on a recent planking job and I wound up having to saturate the drywall patch with thin supper glue to stabilize it enough to hold a plank glued with white glue. I switched to Dap brand Plastic Wood which behaved much better and I was happy enough with.

Daler  Rowney makes a liquid masking product called Art Masking Fluid. I thinks it’s just RTV rubber. It behaves like rubber cement and smells like ammonia. paint it on and it resists  any paint that goes over it,  it dries fast then rubs off with your fingers very easily. It’s likely no good for sharp straight lines since it’s very gloppy but perhaps you could use blue tape as a pre-mask mask and get a straight line that way?  (Edit) and hey look! I just noticed there’s a tiny picture of a square rigged ship on the label!

Daler  Rowney makes a liquid masking product called Art Masking Fluid. I thinks it’s just RTV rubber. It behaves like rubber cement and smells like ammonia. paint it on and it resists  any paint that goes over it,  it dries fast then rubs off with your fingers very easily. It’s likely no good for sharp straight lines since it’s very gloppy but perhaps you could use blue tape as a pre-mask mask and get a straight line that way?  (Edit) and hey look! I just noticed there’s a tiny picture of a square rigged ship on the label!

Daler  Rowney makes a liquid masking product called Art Masking Fluid. I thinks it’s just RTV rubber. It behaves like rubber cement and smells like ammonia. paint it on and it resists  any paint that goes over it,  it dries fast then rubs off with your fingers very easily. It’s likely no good for sharp straight lines since it’s very gloppy but perhaps you could use blue tape as a pre-mask mask and get a straight line that way?  (Edit) and hey look! I just noticed there’s a tiny picture of a square rigged ship on the label!

To add to what Druxey says, reds and yellows are usually the most translucent/transparent colors. I'd use a white or light gray primer if applying onto a dark surface.

You will have to imagine me shouting comically “One hundred and thirty seven dollars”?!?!  Lol, too expensive. I’m too cheap to spend $100 for nearly anything in my life! 

We can all be very glad of an accident of history: the waist of most sailing ships has very few delicate protuberances. So it’s relatively easy to pass a securing strap or ribbon across the center of the deck and the bulwarks prevent it from squashing cannons or whatever. So many models can be snugged down via a single strap athwartships and this provides more security than relying entirely on the pedestal mounts or cradle the model sits on at home.

I am pleased to announce the publication today by Wayne State University Press of my first ( and last) book, Whaleback Ships and the American Steel Barge Company.  As the title suggests this is a comprehensive history of the design and construction of the 44 whaleback barges and steamships.  The book is based on original design drawings, company records, and extensive examination of SS Meteor, the only surviving example of a whaleback ship.  Copies are available from the Press, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
 
Roger