texxn5

she looks awesome John........adding the mechanics to a ship is always the most satisfying part

John... she is really shaping up to be a beautiful ship. your rigging is excellent....to bad you didn't come over to the seaport to rig the real deal... could have used you.....keep up the great work.. when your done i'll send you a thump drive and if you would id like all your pictures of this build as a reference...lester

Thanks for the likes and visits. Dave good to see you here, look forward to when you get back to your Conny.
 
Today - didn't get much done. Got the Mizzen Topmast Backstay done, then moved to the Fish Tackle up Forward. I was waiting until I got the Fore Topmast installed prior to rigging this. I used the last 5/16" Double Blocks from Chuck, painted them white and used blackened brass wire to strop them. Then rigged them to the Fish Hook with a small piece of chain. I hooked it to a small rope loop which is looped around the chock on the cathead. This is all rigged on the starboard side only. The rope is a dark brown rope I got from Chuck. All is tightened up and then tied off on the board above the Windlass.

George, they're not even in the same ballpark. I'm glad I discovered them before attempting to use the joke that came with the kit. Especially with as big of a focal point that they are. I have replaced ALL of the blocks that came with the kit with Chuck's, and I'm really glad I did.

Things are looking nice Piet. Sorry I haven't been around much - I've been a little busy myself. We'll have to have a Leffe or two once you're done!

Thanks for the likes and visits. Dave good to see you here, look forward to when you get back to your Conny.
 
Today - didn't get much done. Got the Mizzen Topmast Backstay done, then moved to the Fish Tackle up Forward. I was waiting until I got the Fore Topmast installed prior to rigging this. I used the last 5/16" Double Blocks from Chuck, painted them white and used blackened brass wire to strop them. Then rigged them to the Fish Hook with a small piece of chain. I hooked it to a small rope loop which is looped around the chock on the cathead. This is all rigged on the starboard side only. The rope is a dark brown rope I got from Chuck. All is tightened up and then tied off on the board above the Windlass.

Thanks for the likes and visits. Dave good to see you here, look forward to when you get back to your Conny.
 
Today - didn't get much done. Got the Mizzen Topmast Backstay done, then moved to the Fish Tackle up Forward. I was waiting until I got the Fore Topmast installed prior to rigging this. I used the last 5/16" Double Blocks from Chuck, painted them white and used blackened brass wire to strop them. Then rigged them to the Fish Hook with a small piece of chain. I hooked it to a small rope loop which is looped around the chock on the cathead. This is all rigged on the starboard side only. The rope is a dark brown rope I got from Chuck. All is tightened up and then tied off on the board above the Windlass.

Thanks everyone, your participation in this build is highly appreciated!  Thanks also for all the likes.
 
Hi Dave, thank you and your dear wive for the compliments, it's very sobering.  I'm also looking forward seeing you, your wife and your builds - - and of course all the other participants.  Hope Jesse Lee can make it and the others from MSW.
Hope you don't mind me making a correction with what you call this model - U-boat.  She is a Dutch submarine and in the Duch language it's called an O-boot.  The O stands for "onderwater," in the German language it's Unterwasser boot," hence the U.  In both languages the word boot is pronounced as boat in English.  
Ah, those crazy languages, no wonder I struggled with them in the Dutch school system, failing grades in all three of the foreign languages, French, German And English   .
 
Hoi Carl,  Yes indeed, that sly John  .  But others have also stirred the pot in egging me on to add some more detail here and there.  Remco is at the top of the list, he has been a great help in making this model what she has become.  Fact is that without Remco it would not have been possible!  Then there is  Amateur Jan and Gino den Ridder and Boris in Saint Petersburg and a few more with their suggestions, you included.  Then all the moral support I received.
I truly hope that all who have followed this build have indeed brought the best out of me.  Although, I think I could have done better yet.
 
This build has been an emotional roller coaster ride for me and am looking forward seeing her on a shelf in my studio / office.
 
Cheers to all,

Texxn5 John dropped a mine on you and Gwen let that happen!!!
Jupz Remco is a nice guy, he's Dutch, just like you ... a golly ... so am I Ah well, as you noticed lots and lots of people are involved with you and your build ... They even try to get the best out of you!!!

Hello everyone!  Yeah, I'm still alive, just been too busy with other things that needed done.  In the meantime I bought some wood for the display board for the O19.  The build board is much too heavy, not long enough for the future lexan cover and too wide.
 
I figured by making it lighter I'll make a frame and cover it with 1/8 oak veneer plywood.  I used a 3 X 1/2 inch pine plank and rip 3 strips of 3/4 X 66 X 1/2 inch out of that for the frame parts.  Forgot to make pics of that process but the short pieces are 10 inches long and joggled to fit into joggled cutouts in the long pieces.
 
Today I glued the frame together as shown in the photo below.  I had the DYI store rip the plywood.  I held my breath as the guy ripped it because he went much too fast to my liking. I was afraid that I would wind up with parts of the oak veneer shattered.  Fortunately it worked out okay, just a few spots on the bad side that'll be hidden by the frame.  
 
I had to cut them down to my required 66 inches but used an old fashioned handsaw which made me a nice cut.
 
I also cut two blocks of boxwood for the mounting blocks where the O19 will sit on.  Marked and drilled the 1/4 inch diameter holes for the dowels that'll secure the O19.  I intend to keep her loose so I can lift her off whenever I need to do that.  She's not going anywhere when sitting on the shelf in my studio.
 
I thought I was going to run into a dilemma with the mounting blocks.  I wanted to make concave curves on the outside parts of the blocks but don't have the router bits for it.  So I used the bend saw as a rasp file to remove most of the wood.  Then I used a round grinding disc to finish it off.  i could only do one of the four ends, time was running out and had to close shop.
 
Now I need to figure how to cement these long pieces of ply wood to the frame.  I don't have enough clamps by using the all-weather Titebond or Elmer's carpenter glue.  I'm thinking of "Liquid Nails."  Will check with the experts at the local hardware store what the working time is.  
On the other hand I have plenty 12 X 12 X 1 inch concrete pavers I can lay on top.  Something to consider.  
 
All this work has to be done on the garage floor, which means that Gwen's car mas to stay outside for one day.
 
Okay, here are a few pics for yuns to see what I'm up to.
 

Here you see the glued up frame with the top and bottom plywood covers.  The two center cross members are for support for the mounting blocks.  They'll be glued to the plywood cover and screwed from the bottom through the cross pieces.  
 

This shows the boxwood mounting blocks.  You can probably see the saw blade marks in the concave curved sections.  It's still rather time consuming to grind the rest to how I want it.  
 

This shows how the display board will eventually look like.  I'll see if I can find some nice finishing moulding for the sides.  I plan to stain it with a "White Oak" stain and finish it with a clear and mat poly urethane.  It should look half way presentable.  
 
Cheers,  

Thanks for the likes and visits. Dave good to see you here, look forward to when you get back to your Conny.
 
Today - didn't get much done. Got the Mizzen Topmast Backstay done, then moved to the Fish Tackle up Forward. I was waiting until I got the Fore Topmast installed prior to rigging this. I used the last 5/16" Double Blocks from Chuck, painted them white and used blackened brass wire to strop them. Then rigged them to the Fish Hook with a small piece of chain. I hooked it to a small rope loop which is looped around the chock on the cathead. This is all rigged on the starboard side only. The rope is a dark brown rope I got from Chuck. All is tightened up and then tied off on the board above the Windlass.

Thanks for all the like buttons guys. I've managed to finish the Topmast Shrouds and the Topmast Fore Stays. All that's left to do to them will be to tie the Ratlines on them. They are a mix of Ratboards and Ratlines. A couple of my deadeyes are off some but I'm going to live with them for now, they're not bad, just not perfect.

She's looking better all the time John.  You just gotta love those blocks. Night and day compared to the kit-supplied ones.

Thanks for the likes and visits. Dave good to see you here, look forward to when you get back to your Conny.
 
Today - didn't get much done. Got the Mizzen Topmast Backstay done, then moved to the Fish Tackle up Forward. I was waiting until I got the Fore Topmast installed prior to rigging this. I used the last 5/16" Double Blocks from Chuck, painted them white and used blackened brass wire to strop them. Then rigged them to the Fish Hook with a small piece of chain. I hooked it to a small rope loop which is looped around the chock on the cathead. This is all rigged on the starboard side only. The rope is a dark brown rope I got from Chuck. All is tightened up and then tied off on the board above the Windlass.

Thanks for the likes and visits. Dave good to see you here, look forward to when you get back to your Conny.
 
Today - didn't get much done. Got the Mizzen Topmast Backstay done, then moved to the Fish Tackle up Forward. I was waiting until I got the Fore Topmast installed prior to rigging this. I used the last 5/16" Double Blocks from Chuck, painted them white and used blackened brass wire to strop them. Then rigged them to the Fish Hook with a small piece of chain. I hooked it to a small rope loop which is looped around the chock on the cathead. This is all rigged on the starboard side only. The rope is a dark brown rope I got from Chuck. All is tightened up and then tied off on the board above the Windlass.

It really overall looks fantastic. Keep up the good work.

a couple of more...the Topmast Stay runs through the Bee on the Bowsprit and ties off through Bullseyes to an eye on the Hull by the Bowsprit.

Thanks for all the like buttons guys. I've managed to finish the Topmast Shrouds and the Topmast Fore Stays. All that's left to do to them will be to tie the Ratlines on them. They are a mix of Ratboards and Ratlines. A couple of my deadeyes are off some but I'm going to live with them for now, they're not bad, just not perfect.

a couple of more...the Topmast Stay runs through the Bee on the Bowsprit and ties off through Bullseyes to an eye on the Hull by the Bowsprit.

Hi George, my plans show Mizzen 4.75 degrees; Main 4.0 degrees; and Fore 3.5 degrees. Having no way to measure this I eyeballed them and compared them to the plans. I think all ships follow pretty close to the same parameters. My main concern was first to the look, then from forward looking aft to make sure all is straight and in alignment without one going one way too far and the others not lining up.

Hi George, my plans show Mizzen 4.75 degrees; Main 4.0 degrees; and Fore 3.5 degrees. Having no way to measure this I eyeballed them and compared them to the plans. I think all ships follow pretty close to the same parameters. My main concern was first to the look, then from forward looking aft to make sure all is straight and in alignment without one going one way too far and the others not lining up.

On my Connie, the plans call for 5 degrees on the Mizzen, 3.5 on the Main, and 3 for the Fore. Don't know if it's by design, or if it's for the modeler's benefit when rigging though.

Hi Dave, good to hear from you. Hope Fran is doing better and all is well in your household. As for the rake, it could be the ship is not totally level when the photo was taken, but it also is almost 5 degrees to aft. The stays correct that to where the Topmast and mast are parallel but still with the 5 degrees. It seems a bit extreme but not really. I've always set mine that way and then let the stays correct it. That also helps keeping everything tight - at least for me.
Thanks for looking in,
John

Hi Dave, good to hear from you. Hope Fran is doing better and all is well in your household. As for the rake, it could be the ship is not totally level when the photo was taken, but it also is almost 5 degrees to aft. The stays correct that to where the Topmast and mast are parallel but still with the 5 degrees. It seems a bit extreme but not really. I've always set mine that way and then let the stays correct it. That also helps keeping everything tight - at least for me.
Thanks for looking in,
John

It looks good John. Maybe it is just the camera angle but is the rake a little steep on the mizzen mast? Is that something the standing rigging corrects later on - I am a long ways from this step but was curious.
 
Dave