DSiemens

Success!
 

 
Still needs a bit of work with the sea and the main mast needs a slight adjustment but she's in.  

Great stuff.  I've seen mystery models a lot on MSW as well as in my local club.  I do enjoy the guessing game they can turn into but in general yeah they arent worth a fortune.  There is some historical context that can be applied to a few of them.  This one for example I found in a thrift store.  I didnt purchase it because its worthless and I can build better.  It is antique though as it comes from a ship in bottle kit from the fifties.  A noticible aspect is the rope around the bottle.  The kit came with a bittle precut that was glued together once the ship was inside.  This was another aspect that makes it even more worthless.  A true ship in bottle goes through the bottle neck.  If the glass is cut a real collector will not give it a second glance. 
 

 

What a cool thread.  Here's one of my regular items.
 
Bamboo Skewers.
 
Bamboo stays very strong at small scale and pulls through a draw plate pretty well.  At my 1:500 - 1:1250 scale it works great for masts and yards.  On a larger scale I think it would do well for oars or harpoons.  
 
Here's a couple of ships with bamboo masts and yards.  I've thrown in a couple other shots to help show scale.  It may be hard to see but that is an American dime next to the Santa Maria.    
 
 

David B I don't drink either.  The trick is having friends that do.  

Funny I run into this thread again.  I completed another QAR at 1:1200.  In bottled.  It was more of test for war gaming scale.  My skill have improved if I don't say so myself.
 
 

What a cool thread.  Here's one of my regular items.
 
Bamboo Skewers.
 
Bamboo stays very strong at small scale and pulls through a draw plate pretty well.  At my 1:500 - 1:1250 scale it works great for masts and yards.  On a larger scale I think it would do well for oars or harpoons.  
 
Here's a couple of ships with bamboo masts and yards.  I've thrown in a couple other shots to help show scale.  It may be hard to see but that is an American dime next to the Santa Maria.    
 
 

Thank you Marc. 
 
I thought of another material.  Paper.  
 
I use paper for the tiny details I can't other wise do but there's another use.  At out ship club some one demonstrated making boats out of paper.  I had done this before on a much smaller scale and I was surprised to see it on a large scale.  
 
Here's the long boat I did for my Mercury build.  even the benches are paper stained with wood stain.
 

 
Here's the process I use.  First carve a wood plug in the shape of your boat.  
 

 
I then plank on the paper.  For the larger scale this isn't needed.  use cigarette paper and paint on big strips with water.  You may need to make some cuts around the curves so the paper doesn't crinkle.  After it's on paint it with glue and add another layer.  They used five or six layers on the bigger models.  Once dried details and paint can be added.  
 

 
I trimmed off the edges and got a very small ship.  
 

 
This could be great for dories and whale boats.  Making each ship doesn't take as much time as carving or planking.  

What a cool thread.  Here's one of my regular items.
 
Bamboo Skewers.
 
Bamboo stays very strong at small scale and pulls through a draw plate pretty well.  At my 1:500 - 1:1250 scale it works great for masts and yards.  On a larger scale I think it would do well for oars or harpoons.  
 
Here's a couple of ships with bamboo masts and yards.  I've thrown in a couple other shots to help show scale.  It may be hard to see but that is an American dime next to the Santa Maria.    
 
 

Kimberly I was excited to find your log as the Lindberg Jolly Roger was my first ship.  I still have it in my boys room where it some how survives the tornado's that are 18 month and 4 years old boys.  I've been considering restoring it since I didn't know as much (or anything at all) about ship modeling then and the rigging and paint are a bit of an embarrassment.  My thoughts are to take off the top masts and redo it with wood and use actual thread lines for the rigging.  We'll see if I ever get to it.  A lot of other projects to finish first.
 
Your log brings back memories of trying to get this thing together.  I forgot how difficult it was.  I remember getting some parts in a "close enough position" because absolutely correct was not feasible.  The bowsprit was by far the hardest part.  I don't blame you at all for wanting a different kit.  Yours is coming along well though your doing great work.  Keep it up you'll be happy you completed it if for no better reason then to proved to this kit who was more stubborn.           

Nicely done Igor. 

I was at a hobby shop for the Rocky Mountain Shipwrights show.  It was a Wednesday night so it was pretty slow.  I noticed they had some of these Metal Earth models so I decided to try it out.  I finished it in the three hours that I was there.  It seems there is some interest in this forum for these ships so I took a lot of pictures to do a build log.  
 
I want to point out that this ship looks an awful lot like the Disney Pirates of the Caribbean Black Pearl.  It is not Disney trade marked.  I wondered about that at first and found the answer on the back of the package.  It read's, "There once was a real ship named the Black Pearl captained by Henry Morgan.  one of the world's most notorious pirates. The Black Pearl which first sailed in 1669 fought many battles, the most famous of which was an invasion in Panama in 1671."  So keep in mind that this is Henry Morgans Black Pearl not Jack Sparrow's.  They look an awful lot alike but they're not.  Wink wink ..nod nod.  So yea it's a knock off but since it's sold in the US so I think it's a legal knock off.  
 

 
 
Here's what came in the package.  Two metal sheets and instructions.  
 
 

 
 
It's a little backwards you start with the masts.  
 

 

 
 
The hardest part about this ship is the tiny metal tabs.  I do a lot of small stuff but these gave me some real trouble.  If you decide to do one have a good pair of strong tweezers.  

 
 
Now you put on the hull.  The instructions are vague on this part.  Use the stand for the ship to figure out how wide the base should be.  Since I didn't do this the bottom of mine is to thin which makes the stand useless.  Also watch the tabs.  Pre bend them to fit especially in the bow.  That part took me way to long because I didn't set up for it.  Also if you can glue the pieces together then bend that tabs that may be easier then just bending.  
 

 
 
 
Getting the hull together was the hardest part.  Watch your tabs and know where they're going before you put the pieces together.  Make sure they are bent in the right direction.  
 

 
Then the back piece and the sails.  The sails were a bit of a pain to get through the rigging.  Have patience they do fit.  
 

 

 
 

 
So their you have it.  I Jerry rigged the stand to work sort of.  I made a little better when I got home.  For $16 it's not a bad little model.  Definitely an attention grabber. I'm sure Jack Sparr...er Captain Morgan would be proud.  

Yeah I brought it to the office so I could deliver it after work.  My work was closer to his place than my house is.
 
So its delivered and he's happy.  Every one at his assisted seemed to enjoy.  One guy offered to buy it.  He'll have a lot of fun showing it off.  He even had a full set up ready for it.  
 
Popeye I agree.  My hand was forced a bit but I recognized from the beginning this wasnt my model.  I dont care how complete it is so long as he's happy.  I have enjoyed working on a bigger model though so I may have to get back on that Cutty.  Or the Jolley Roger....to many projects.
 
 
 
 

Some better pictures at my office.  My work room is too cluttered.
 
 

Its 2 am.   This is as far as I go.
 
Still a lot I would like to do but that's alright.  I did every thing I could with the time allotted and I'm happy with the result.  

Nicely done Igor. 

Nicely done Igor. 

This next part has a lot of options all depending on how detailed you want to go.  If you want to keep it simple leave off the topsails all together.  In higher winds these would have been removed and it looks fine with out them.  Here's an example.
 

If you want to add more detail though the top sails look great.  To put on the yard arms use the cow hitch and tie the yards to the mast.  
 

 

Running rigging will be used to keep the yards straight.  There's a lot of options on this part as well.  The Bermuda sloop is interesting because the running rigging is rigged forward instead of aftward like most bigger ships.  This picture is a great example.
 

For my ship I decided to rig the top two yards on the same lines.  This is somewhat more advanced but it shows the type of things you can do in rigging ships.  
 
First you'll need a few thread blocks.  One just behind the middle thread block on the bowsprit, one on the stay line at about the same height as the cross trees, two on the ends of the middle yard arm.



Here you can see where the running rigging is going to go.  Start it at the ends of the top yard arm, run it through the thread block on the stay line, then through the thread blocks on the middle yard arm, then through the thread block on the bowsprit.  
 
There's a trick you can do on this part.  Its less realistic but reduces the lines coming out of the bottle.  Tie the running lines to the end of the top yard arm, then pull them through the thread block on the stay line, last tie the ends to the middle yard arm and cut them off.  Letting the lines slide through the thread block you can adjust the tack of of the yardarms.  
 
If you want to go more realistic run the lines down to the bowsprit then drill a couple holes through the hull just behind the front bulwark and on either side of where the bowsprit attaches to the deck.  Run the lines through these holes and under the ship.  The advantage to this method is you don't have to be precise in cutting these lines because they will be under the sea.  
 
For the bottom yard tie lines to the end and through the same block on the bowsprit and then back to the holes in the hull. 
 

 
At this point the ship is ready for sails.  
 
 
 

An example of the frame method. 
 

 
This was used on this ship.  This was a old build from a long time ago unfortunately it wrecked going into the bottle and was not rebuilt.  It's an occupational hazzard.  
 

Time to get into yards arms and running rigging.  This is a little tricky since parts of the running rigging works off of other parts but little by little it comes together.  First lets start with the gaff.  When it some to yard arms I prefer to tie them on instead of drilling holes.  This keeps the overall strength of the model while enabling the use of parts that are more to scale.  One of the primary knots I use for this is the cow hitch.  
 

This is particularly useful for square rigged sails.  You can tie a cow hitch on the yard arm and then use the ends to tie the yard arm onto the mast.  I used this same method for the gaff.  Tie a cow hitch on the gaff and use the ends to tie it to the mast.  I find it easier to tie the knot around the base of the mast then slide it up into place and glue the string to the mast.  The gaff should be able to raise up and down and move side to side on the knot. 
 


For the halyard on the gaff tie a thread block on the end end of the gaff.  Then tie a string to the mast just above the cross trees.  Run it through the thread block the tie it to the mast at the spot you started.  Cut off the excess.  If you want it to be slightly more realistic you can run it down to the bulwarks where it would be tied off.  This is a bit over kill so I just cut it off.  The important part here is the length of the gaff halyard.  You want the halyard to be tight with the gaff at the angle it is on the plans.  
 

 
Now we move on to the boom.  Remember the hole we drilled in the mast while putting it together?  This is where its used.  You could use a thread block for this as well but since near the base of the mast, where it is thickest, I determined a hole would be fine.
Tie a line to the end of the boom that will be next to the mast.  That line will go through the hole in the mast and out of the bottle.  The idea is the boom will be able to separate from the ship and allow the sail to roll up.  Since I'm planning paper sails this is important to the sails don't crumple up.  
 


From here I tied a couple thread blocks on the other end of the boom.  As I simplified the rigging I found you only need one.  This is where the rigging on the plans can differ from the rigging on a ship in bottle. With some effort you can copy the rigging in the plans exactly.  This is supposed to be a simple model though so I'm going use a mixture of planned rigging and simplified ship in bottle rigging.  
 
According to the plans there is some blocks on the transom that help control the boom.  I made a small eye bolt for this block and glued it in a hole drilled into the transom.
 

Report post   (IP: 97.118.14.78)       Posted March 3 Now we move on to the boom.  Remember the hole we drilled in the mast while putting it together?  This is where its used.  You could use a thread block for this as well but since near the base of the mast, where it is thickest, I determined a hole would be fine.
Tie a line to the end of the boom that will be next to the mast.  That line will go through the hole in the mast and out of the bottle.  The idea is the boom will be able to separate from the ship and allow the sail to roll up.  Since I'm planning paper sails this is important to the sails don't crumple up.  
 

From here I tied a couple thread blocks on the other end of the boom.  As I simplified the rigging I found you only need one.  This is where the rigging on the plans can differ from the rigging on a ship in bottle. With some effort you can copy the rigging in the plans exactly.  This is supposed to be a simple model though so I'm going use a mixture of planned rigging and simplified ship in bottle rigging.  
According to the plans there is some blocks on the transom that help control the boom.  I made a small eye bolt for this block and glued it in a hole drilled into the transom. 

I did two on either side of the Windows.  You can do one in the middle as well.  I suspect the actual ships would have two so they can quickly adjust the boom while tacking.  I decided to use two for mine but one central eyebolt would work.
 
Here's another place I differ from the plans. It appears on the plan that the line runs from the block at the transom to the block at the end of the boom, back to the transom block, then back to the boom block then it runs to the bulwark.  I initially tried this but I couldn't pull the lines tight very easily.  The added lines add a lot of strength on the real ship at a point that holds a lot of pressure.  This isn't needed on a ship in bottle so I reduced the number of lines running back and forth.  I tied the first line to the thread block on the boom, ran it through the transom block, back to the boom block then to the hole drilled in the bulwark.  With one less line it pulls tight more smoothly.  The line going in the bulwarks then runs out of the bottle.  It will be tightened and glued down after the ship is in the bottle.  If you only have one block in the transom you only have to do this once.  I opted for putting lines on either side.  

One more part that differs from the plans.  Technically there is separate lines used to pull the gaff tight and lift the boom up.  Both these lines can be added but I decided to keep it simple.  The two sets of lines can be consolidated by tying a line from the gaff to the boom.  This also tightens up all of the lines.  You can see how the yards will be set at this point. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

When it comes to trimming lines there is a special tool I use that makes for a really close cut.  Follicle clippers from the grocery store.  They run around $8. 
 

Note how straight the edge is and that it cuts off to the side. 
 

I can place that edge right on the shroud and cut the ratline super close with out cutting the shroud line. To show this look at how close the ratlines are cut at the edges of the shrouds. 
 

Something to note with these clippers.  Treat the like your mothers sewing scissors.  Once you use them for anything but thread the edges get bent and they will not cut thread cleanly. I have an old pair I use for wire and a new pair I use for thread.  When I buy a new pair I mark my thread ones as my wire ones and throw out the oldest pair.  I use these for cutting all of my lines specifically because I can control exactly where I make my cuts.
 
Also for dead eyes I applied a mall amount of paint on the lines.  I let it dry and applied more and slowly built it up.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

For the rest of the bowsprit whittle out a really thin piece of bamboo cut it to size from the plans and then taper the end. 
With a pencil mark where the end of where the two bowsprit pieces overlap.  Then glue them together. 
 

I got some 8/0 fly tying thread and tied a knot around one end of where the bowsprit pieces connect.
 

Then I wrapped that thread around glued it down tied it off glued the knot and cut off the ends.  It will look like this.
 

Then I did the same on the other end.
 

Now its ready for the bobstay.  The bobstay strengthens the bowsprit even at this scale.  I've had ships where I put on the forestay before the bobstay and the whole bowsprit bent upwards and almost broke.  The bobstay keeps the bowsprit straight when the forestays are pulling on it.
 
First drill a hole in the keel. 
 

The plans shows where this stay will connect.  Then tie a knot on the bowsprit and run the line through the keel.
 

Glue the knot down and put a dab of glue on the line your about to pull through the keel then pull it through.  Once that sets tie it off glue the knots and cut off the excess.  
 

Now its time for some forestays. First tie a thread block.  See the video above.  The hole of the block should be wide enough for your thread.  I used wire instead of a needle for this one. 
 
Tie the thread block to the bowsprit.  So that I don't run into forestays as I complete them, I'm starting with the inner most one.
 

Report post   (IP: 97.118.62.248)       Posted December 14, 2018 For the rest of the bowsprit whittle out a really thin piece of bamboo cut it to size from the plans and then taper the end. 
With a pencil mark where the end of where the two bowsprit pieces overlap.  Then glue them together. 

I got some 8/0 fly tying thread and tied a knot around one end of where the bowsprit pieces connect.

Then I wrapped that thread around glued it down tied it off glued the knot and cut off the ends.  It will look like this.
 
Then I did the same on the other end.

Now its ready for the bobstay.  The bobstay strengthens the bowsprit even at this scale.  I've had ships where I put on the forestay before the bobstay and the whole bowsprit bent upwards and almost broke.  The bobstay keeps the bowsprit straight when the forestays are pulling on it.
First drill a hole in the keel. 

The plans shows where this stay will connect.  Then tie a knot on the bowsprit and run the line through the keel.

Glue the knot down and put a dab of glue on the line your about to pull through the keel then pull it through.  Once that sets tie it off glue the knots and cut off the excess.  

Now its time for some forestays. First tie a thread block.  See the video above.  The hole of the block should be wide enough for your thread.  I used wire instead of a needle for this one. 
Tie the thread block to the bowsprit.  So that I don't run into forestays as I complete them, I'm starting with the inner most one.
 
Tie the thread block on with the block facing upwards.  Tie it and glue it as usual.  

Now for a little more added realism I tied a slip knot around the mast just above the lower cheek.  I tightened the knot until it looked right leaving it slightly loose.  I glued the knot down and put a dab of glue where the line connects with the back of the mast.

Cut off the excess and then thread the other end of the line through the thread block.  Note this line should be long as it runs out of the bottle.
 

For some of the next parts I'm going to use what called a thread block.  John Fox III has created an excellent video demonstrating how this works.  
 
 
This thread block is how I get away with thinner, somewhat closer to scale masts and yards.  The smaller the dowels get the harder it is to drill holes and the holes compromise the integrity of the mast and yards.  Tying thread blocks creates places for lines to pass with out compromising the strength of the mast and yards. 

To give a better idea on this style of rigging, the following link is where I first discovered it.  Jim Goodwin shared it a long with a lot of other tricks on the PBS show the Woodwrights Shop.  
 
https://www.pbs.org/video/woodwrights-shop-ship-bottle/
 
Honestly the ship he demonstrates in this show maybe a better beginners model than this Bermuda Sloop.  
 
 

Time to get into the rigging.  First thing I start with is the back stays.  There's a lot of different methods for this.  Use what ever method works best for you.  This method has worked for me.  
Typically I create a channel specifically for the backstays and glue it onto the channel where the stays connect to the ship.  Since I mismeasured a tad my ship is a little to wide for that.  So I drilled my holes through the existing channels.  When drilling these holes be careful not to make them to wide or to close together.  They need to be wide enough for the thread but not much more.  The reason is as the thread is tightened it can break through the channel.  The strength and integrity of the small parts is always something to be careful of in builds this small.   
 

The backstays will be created using a single piece of thread.  Pass the thread through through the channel and up through the gap in the two masts.  Then done to the holes in the channel on the other side.  
 

 
The thread will pass down one hole and up the next.  Then it will run up to the gap in the mast and down to the first channel.  
 

In this way the thread weaves back and for between the two channels and through the mast.  Once you go through the last hole tie a stopping not, put a dab of glue on it and pull it into the channel.  This is where the size of the holes and length between them matters.  You can easily pull the thread out between the two holes if they are to close or the wood isn't strong enough.  This is partially why I like having a separate glued on channel.  If it breaks it can be cut off and remade.  Its not so easy with the longer channel.  It also looks more accurate.
 

I tied two to make it thick enough and you can see I missed once.  No worries that piece will be cut off.  Once the stopper not is in place, pull on the other end of the string to tighten up the lines.  Keep in mind that with the folding method the tension on the backstays will set the rake or angle of the mast.  Tighten up the lines to get the right mast angle.  Then on the loose end I put a little glue on the thread and pull it through the channel.  This helps keep the tension right as I tie it off.  Once the glue sets I tie a knot around the channel, glue it down and cut off the excess. 
 

This is the result.  My thread is more frayed than I like but hopefully a little more wax will cure that.  The forestay thread is temporary for now.  One more set of backstays will go up to the top mast but after that we move on to the fore stays.  

Time to put some cannons in.  Going back to the concept of putting together shapes a cannon consists of a cylinder sitting on a rectangle.  For the cylinder I opened up an old cell phone charger cable and pulled out the black wire.  For the rectangle I found a nice dark veneer and cut strips.  I still had to thin it a bit to fit the cannons in the gun ports. Good to be aware of sizing on this part.
 

 

 
Here it is with all the carriages glued in. 
 

If you can get a hold of or build this tool I highly recomend it.  It really helps keep my length cuts consistent.
 

Here it is with cannons.
 
 

One of the last parts the hull needs is the channels for the rigging.  This is the piece chain plates and deadeyes attach to on real ships.  For this I cut a piece of veneer, drilled four holes and glued it to the side of the hull where the back stays will attach.  This piece will be used for those back stays.  
 

Starting to get into masts and rigging.  More to come. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This next part has a lot of options all depending on how detailed you want to go.  If you want to keep it simple leave off the topsails all together.  In higher winds these would have been removed and it looks fine with out them.  Here's an example.
 

If you want to add more detail though the top sails look great.  To put on the yard arms use the cow hitch and tie the yards to the mast.  
 

 

Running rigging will be used to keep the yards straight.  There's a lot of options on this part as well.  The Bermuda sloop is interesting because the running rigging is rigged forward instead of aftward like most bigger ships.  This picture is a great example.
 

For my ship I decided to rig the top two yards on the same lines.  This is somewhat more advanced but it shows the type of things you can do in rigging ships.  
 
First you'll need a few thread blocks.  One just behind the middle thread block on the bowsprit, one on the stay line at about the same height as the cross trees, two on the ends of the middle yard arm.



Here you can see where the running rigging is going to go.  Start it at the ends of the top yard arm, run it through the thread block on the stay line, then through the thread blocks on the middle yard arm, then through the thread block on the bowsprit.  
 
There's a trick you can do on this part.  Its less realistic but reduces the lines coming out of the bottle.  Tie the running lines to the end of the top yard arm, then pull them through the thread block on the stay line, last tie the ends to the middle yard arm and cut them off.  Letting the lines slide through the thread block you can adjust the tack of of the yardarms.  
 
If you want to go more realistic run the lines down to the bowsprit then drill a couple holes through the hull just behind the front bulwark and on either side of where the bowsprit attaches to the deck.  Run the lines through these holes and under the ship.  The advantage to this method is you don't have to be precise in cutting these lines because they will be under the sea.  
 
For the bottom yard tie lines to the end and through the same block on the bowsprit and then back to the holes in the hull. 
 

 
At this point the ship is ready for sails.