DSiemens

Starboard and stern gunports are rigged.  I ran them to cleats attached to the bulwarks.

Oh yeah.  If your wondering how it's hanging in mid air I ran the fore stay up through the top of the mast instead of through the bow like I usually do.  It goes to show how thin the thread I used is.  
 
Bottling didn't go quiet as well as planned.  The sail came loose and I had to try to get it back together in the bottle. It didn't quiet make it but after messing with it for three hours I figured it was as good as I could get it.  I contemplated taking it out and redoing it but with such a tight deadline I left it as is.  I know what I'll do differently with the next one when ever I get around to it.  
 

 

 

 

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.
 
 

All done. 
 
 

She's in!  Just a little more work to do. 
 

 
 

I've started on a project that I need to get done fast that involves rigging a Constellation.  I'm wonder about how tight the rigging lines should be.  
 
I'll give some background.  I am mainly a ship in bottle builder.  The tension of the lines in ships in bottles is extremely important.  The line tension sets the rake of the mast and can also be used to keep a mast straight side to side.  I use flytying thread that has very little stretch so I know exactly where my masts will be when the lines are pulled tight.  
 
My current project is not a ship in bottle.  Its a larger ship model so I can set the tension where ever I like.  What I'm running into though is the lines for this kit are very stretchy.  I'm not used to that at all.  Also parts of the kit weren't built to the best standards so the masts tend to sit to one side.  I've used the back stays to bring the mast back in place similar to what I've done in ship in bottle building but I want to check if this is a good solution on the long run.  Will an overly taught shroud cause problems later?  Mostly in the effect of when the model gets old will overly taught lines break faster than loose lines?  If tension is a problem what should I be aware of to make sure the lines arent too tight.  
 
 

Wow great advice.  I wish I had seen it sooner.  I'm almost done with the standing rigging at this point.  I can say I didn't pull things to much but I agree the way a model sets over the years can have huge impacts on what happens and ultimately getting the masts straight in the first place is very important.  Fortunately the ship is only moving a few miles away so major humidity change won't be a problem in the forseeable future.  
 
 This model wasn't built by me I'm just doing the rigging so I've done the best with what I have and so far the original builder is happy with it.  Some day I'll do a larger model from the beginning and I'll know what to look for.  The scale of this ship is 1:85 and is over three feet long, so much bigger that I'm used to.  

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.  

Yeah sorry.  The domain name didn't auto renew as it should have.  Its fixed now.  I'm glad you are enjoying the site. 

A little more progress....

 
In regards to the windows the book calls for tin foil painted with transparent blue paint.  I didn't have any transparent blue and paint didn't seem to stick to the aluminum foil so I just used the foil as is.  I had thought I saw the window cross hatch pattern before and found it again in some lace.  I ended up cutting the windowsills out of paper and then glueing them onto the foil with the lace inbetween.  Once the glue dried I cut the window out of the foil, painted the sills and put it on the ship.  

 

 

 

A bit more work done.  I decided to go with paint on deck.  I could have planked it but I figured id follow the book on this one.  I went light so that it still has an aged look.  The lighter deck does make the rest of the ship pop out more.  Got the head boards redone and in place as well as the cat heads.  Interestingly enough the book caled for a touch of silver on the head boards so ibpainted that on.  It does give a little more depth.  Got all the gun port lids replaced.  With the exception of the stern I'm about ready for rigging.  I've been cutting off the old rigging here and there saving the dead eyes and blocks, at least those that don't fall apart.  




 

Thank you for the comments.  I agree bdb accuracy is not the goal here at all.  Ours funny because McCann mentions that in his book.  Instead of building cross trees he has the builder use thread to tie the masts together.  He called it throwing seaman ship to the wind.  He meant it to be simple not accurate. 
 
Actually after reading through the book I'm somewhat surprised there aren't any McCann style builds on this forum.  For some one wanting to learn scratch building its a great start.  
 
I picked up a bit of paint and went to touching up some spots.  I want to keep the model looking old so I used a dry brush technique.  Wetting the brush the painting on a piece of paper until the paint was almost gone and then painting the model.  
 

 

 
I need better lighting but you can see how the colors come out but not by to much. 
 
I then turned my attention to the stern.  I'm not sure what the original artist was going for.
 

 
I decided to change this up all together.  I was given a color photo of a magazine cover for this ship.  
 

 

 
Here you can see the two lions on top per the book and a pegasus.  The book says to get a picture from a cigar box or catholic literature.  I looked at some from the 1930s and got some good ideas.  I like the pegasus though so I looked up 1930 pegasus.  What I found was interesting. 

 
This pegasus looks very similar to the one on the magazine cover.  So I think that's what I'll use.  
I went ahead and painted the stern and added the two lions per the book.  The stern is somewhat different as built but I think I can mix the book plans in just enough to look good.  
 

Theres a lot of phrases in this book like that.  Like belt pins.  Captain McCann made a lot of use of belt pins.  From what I can tell I think they are called straight pins today.  I could be wrong.

I have had an interest for some time in the E. Armitage McCann models and always thought I'd try one someday.  I came across a 1927 version of his Pirate fellucca and Spanish Galleon book on Amazon for $11 and decided to make the purchase.  It was in great condition for a 91 year old book.  It even had the plans in the back sleeve. 
 
A friend of mine if the Rocky Mountain Ship wrights happened to be restoring a McCann Constitution so I thought I'd show it to him.  He recognized it right away as he has a 1926 copy and he asked how interested I was in building a McCann model.  I told him I was very interested.  He then told me he had a Spanish Galleon that needed some restoration amd that if I planned on restoring it he would let me have it.  I jumped at the chance.  I love old ship models.  The older the better.  I spent a bit of money on a 1915 ship in bottle just to have one from the era when ships in bottles became popular.  So owneing an old McCann style model was right up my alley.  
 
Admitably I started work on her right away.  So this is after some clean up but here she is.  
 
Note the receipt.  The ship was sold at one point in 1973 so I know it is at least that old.  To the best of my knowledge it between 50 to 90 years old.  It is incredibly fragile.  The rigging about fell apart looking at it.  All of the rigging needs to be redone.  Its bowsprit was broken and in need of repair.  Surprisingly all cannons were present.  Some of the stern sections were broken off and needed replacing.  I have my work cut out for me.  
 






Good news is I have the 91 year old instruction manual.  Bad news is I don't think theres such a thing as a notions counter anymore.  😜
 
I've been pouring through the book getting an idea of what goes where.  The original builder stayed pretty close to the book but did do his own thing on some parts.  I plan on doing a mix of the two.  Bring some parts closer to the book and leave some parts as the builder had them.  
 
I started with the rigging.  It all has to be removed.  I saved what dead eyes I could but they are equally fragile.  I may need to buy a celluloid knitting needle to teplace them as recomended by McCann. 
 
I then turned my attention to the deck.  McCann states it should be a lighter color.  The original builder painted it dark.  This is where thing got a little funny as the admiral looking over my shoulder said, "The deck isnt right, its to dark." I told her I was thinking that and thought about painting it lighter per the book.  She said, "No, you have taught me to much.  It won't look right unless you plank it."  She is right, theres nothing better than a nicely planked deck but, this is a McCann model.  It was supposed to be simple.  I fear my club and I have raised the admirals expectations in ship models.  I guess thats not all bad.  
 
 I'm still stuck in the middle on this idea but I purchased some wood to plank it with.  (I needed more ship in bottle veneer anyway)  From there I investigated the deck.  With a little sanding I found,the upper decks are wood.  I can sand them down to the wood and call it good.  The main deck however is a some sort of composite and doesn't have a wood grain.  The main deck will need planking.  


I purchased some wood from cards of wood that is paper thin.  If I do plank it the increased height of the deck will be very minimal.  
 
Thats the question though.  Do I paint it per the book or plank it because it would look better?  I would plan on a weathered look on the planking to keep this ship looking old.  There's a lot of charm in an old ship model and I don't want to lose that.

A little more progress....

 
In regards to the windows the book calls for tin foil painted with transparent blue paint.  I didn't have any transparent blue and paint didn't seem to stick to the aluminum foil so I just used the foil as is.  I had thought I saw the window cross hatch pattern before and found it again in some lace.  I ended up cutting the windowsills out of paper and then glueing them onto the foil with the lace inbetween.  Once the glue dried I cut the window out of the foil, painted the sills and put it on the ship.  

 

 

 

A bit more work done.  I decided to go with paint on deck.  I could have planked it but I figured id follow the book on this one.  I went light so that it still has an aged look.  The lighter deck does make the rest of the ship pop out more.  Got the head boards redone and in place as well as the cat heads.  Interestingly enough the book caled for a touch of silver on the head boards so ibpainted that on.  It does give a little more depth.  Got all the gun port lids replaced.  With the exception of the stern I'm about ready for rigging.  I've been cutting off the old rigging here and there saving the dead eyes and blocks, at least those that don't fall apart.  




 

Thank you for the comments.  I agree bdb accuracy is not the goal here at all.  Ours funny because McCann mentions that in his book.  Instead of building cross trees he has the builder use thread to tie the masts together.  He called it throwing seaman ship to the wind.  He meant it to be simple not accurate. 
 
Actually after reading through the book I'm somewhat surprised there aren't any McCann style builds on this forum.  For some one wanting to learn scratch building its a great start.  
 
I picked up a bit of paint and went to touching up some spots.  I want to keep the model looking old so I used a dry brush technique.  Wetting the brush the painting on a piece of paper until the paint was almost gone and then painting the model.  
 

 

 
I need better lighting but you can see how the colors come out but not by to much. 
 
I then turned my attention to the stern.  I'm not sure what the original artist was going for.
 

 
I decided to change this up all together.  I was given a color photo of a magazine cover for this ship.  
 

 

 
Here you can see the two lions on top per the book and a pegasus.  The book says to get a picture from a cigar box or catholic literature.  I looked at some from the 1930s and got some good ideas.  I like the pegasus though so I looked up 1930 pegasus.  What I found was interesting. 

 
This pegasus looks very similar to the one on the magazine cover.  So I think that's what I'll use.  
I went ahead and painted the stern and added the two lions per the book.  The stern is somewhat different as built but I think I can mix the book plans in just enough to look good.  
 

Theres a lot of phrases in this book like that.  Like belt pins.  Captain McCann made a lot of use of belt pins.  From what I can tell I think they are called straight pins today.  I could be wrong.

I have had an interest for some time in the E. Armitage McCann models and always thought I'd try one someday.  I came across a 1927 version of his Pirate fellucca and Spanish Galleon book on Amazon for $11 and decided to make the purchase.  It was in great condition for a 91 year old book.  It even had the plans in the back sleeve. 
 
A friend of mine if the Rocky Mountain Ship wrights happened to be restoring a McCann Constitution so I thought I'd show it to him.  He recognized it right away as he has a 1926 copy and he asked how interested I was in building a McCann model.  I told him I was very interested.  He then told me he had a Spanish Galleon that needed some restoration amd that if I planned on restoring it he would let me have it.  I jumped at the chance.  I love old ship models.  The older the better.  I spent a bit of money on a 1915 ship in bottle just to have one from the era when ships in bottles became popular.  So owneing an old McCann style model was right up my alley.  
 
Admitably I started work on her right away.  So this is after some clean up but here she is.  
 
Note the receipt.  The ship was sold at one point in 1973 so I know it is at least that old.  To the best of my knowledge it between 50 to 90 years old.  It is incredibly fragile.  The rigging about fell apart looking at it.  All of the rigging needs to be redone.  Its bowsprit was broken and in need of repair.  Surprisingly all cannons were present.  Some of the stern sections were broken off and needed replacing.  I have my work cut out for me.  
 






Good news is I have the 91 year old instruction manual.  Bad news is I don't think theres such a thing as a notions counter anymore.  😜
 
I've been pouring through the book getting an idea of what goes where.  The original builder stayed pretty close to the book but did do his own thing on some parts.  I plan on doing a mix of the two.  Bring some parts closer to the book and leave some parts as the builder had them.  
 
I started with the rigging.  It all has to be removed.  I saved what dead eyes I could but they are equally fragile.  I may need to buy a celluloid knitting needle to teplace them as recomended by McCann. 
 
I then turned my attention to the deck.  McCann states it should be a lighter color.  The original builder painted it dark.  This is where thing got a little funny as the admiral looking over my shoulder said, "The deck isnt right, its to dark." I told her I was thinking that and thought about painting it lighter per the book.  She said, "No, you have taught me to much.  It won't look right unless you plank it."  She is right, theres nothing better than a nicely planked deck but, this is a McCann model.  It was supposed to be simple.  I fear my club and I have raised the admirals expectations in ship models.  I guess thats not all bad.  
 
 I'm still stuck in the middle on this idea but I purchased some wood to plank it with.  (I needed more ship in bottle veneer anyway)  From there I investigated the deck.  With a little sanding I found,the upper decks are wood.  I can sand them down to the wood and call it good.  The main deck however is a some sort of composite and doesn't have a wood grain.  The main deck will need planking.  


I purchased some wood from cards of wood that is paper thin.  If I do plank it the increased height of the deck will be very minimal.  
 
Thats the question though.  Do I paint it per the book or plank it because it would look better?  I would plan on a weathered look on the planking to keep this ship looking old.  There's a lot of charm in an old ship model and I don't want to lose that.

I love the hinge.  Great work!

I love it!!!  This is very cool.  Your craftsmanship is incredible.  The lines look great.  Planking will be a nice touch.  Have you thought about getting her into a bottle?  At that size you may even consider a pocket watch similar to what John Fox III has done.  http://www.mosaictelecom.com/~jfox3/forshow.html

A little more progress....

 
In regards to the windows the book calls for tin foil painted with transparent blue paint.  I didn't have any transparent blue and paint didn't seem to stick to the aluminum foil so I just used the foil as is.  I had thought I saw the window cross hatch pattern before and found it again in some lace.  I ended up cutting the windowsills out of paper and then glueing them onto the foil with the lace inbetween.  Once the glue dried I cut the window out of the foil, painted the sills and put it on the ship.  

 

 

 

A bit more work done.  I decided to go with paint on deck.  I could have planked it but I figured id follow the book on this one.  I went light so that it still has an aged look.  The lighter deck does make the rest of the ship pop out more.  Got the head boards redone and in place as well as the cat heads.  Interestingly enough the book caled for a touch of silver on the head boards so ibpainted that on.  It does give a little more depth.  Got all the gun port lids replaced.  With the exception of the stern I'm about ready for rigging.  I've been cutting off the old rigging here and there saving the dead eyes and blocks, at least those that don't fall apart.  




 

A little more progress....

 
In regards to the windows the book calls for tin foil painted with transparent blue paint.  I didn't have any transparent blue and paint didn't seem to stick to the aluminum foil so I just used the foil as is.  I had thought I saw the window cross hatch pattern before and found it again in some lace.  I ended up cutting the windowsills out of paper and then glueing them onto the foil with the lace inbetween.  Once the glue dried I cut the window out of the foil, painted the sills and put it on the ship.  

 

 

 

A little more progress....

 
In regards to the windows the book calls for tin foil painted with transparent blue paint.  I didn't have any transparent blue and paint didn't seem to stick to the aluminum foil so I just used the foil as is.  I had thought I saw the window cross hatch pattern before and found it again in some lace.  I ended up cutting the windowsills out of paper and then glueing them onto the foil with the lace inbetween.  Once the glue dried I cut the window out of the foil, painted the sills and put it on the ship.