Jump to content
MSW Spring Donation Drive

Matt D

NRG Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    612

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Matt D

  1. Matt D
    Peter, you're the best! I will move that block up when I get a few minutes to work on it tonight. It should be easy to cut and pull the wire off. I noticed that the foresail gaff is too long, too. Along with using your photos, I've been using the large photos that came with the kit. They're as close as can be to 1:1. Last night, I was trying to gauge the length of the beckets that hang from the gaffs with floating blocks (I don't know the correct term for that line). To do that, I laid the model on the sheet and could see right away why the gaff is too long: The foremast is raked further back on my model then in the photo. It's installed in the factory hole with the rake set by the false keel cut-out, and I know it's perfectly straight. So this is an error in the kit. But it looks like there's room to shorten the gaff without any problems. I'll post a picture later to show what I mean. I'm not sure I want to talk about this, but I'm thinking about making my own sails for this model. The main rub for me is the giant ugly hems on the factory sails. I was looking at the photos in the kit and they have nice narrow hems like yours. I have the right fabric and I bought a light tan thread to use that will give just a bit of contrast. One thing that has held me back is the line that runs around the outside of each of the factory sails. I wasn't sure I could attach them to the ship correctly without the built-in lines. I see that you've made it work without that line and I can now see how your sails are attached. So I'm inching closer to breaking out the old Singer. It's probably one evening of sewing and I'm afraid I'll regret it if I don't. One more question, Peter: How did you make the loops on the gaff with space to thread the line later? Every time I try, I either get a loop that's too loose to get nicely in place or so tight that I won't be able to attach the line later. Yours look very nice, but It think you used a magic trick to make them.
  2. Matt D
    Thanks, Wallace. Peter’s is definitely my main reference for figuring out the rigging. I’ve found that I can zoom in on his pictures with my iPad to 1:1 to get the block locations correct.
  3. Matt D
    It has been hard to find time for model building with summer activities. But I’ve got all but one line of standing rigging done and I’m starting to get the blocks ready for the running rigging. I have poured over the drawings and found the best instructions are in other build logs. Here are a few pictures.
  4. Matt D
    Peter, I definitely like the older anchor better than the one in the 2018 photo. But I also like the additional contrast that the dark band creates. It’s really neat that you have all of this info on the ship to get the details right. I don’t think you can go wrong either way.
  5. Matt D
    Thanks, Mark. I appreciate you taking the time to check it out. I am starting to work on the standing rigging and will post some pictures over the weekend.
  6. Matt D
    I tried to modify the rudder and ended up with it too short to reach the helm. So I built a new one using the leftover lime from the keel. It is cut to curve around the bottom corner of the transom I’ve also started installing the deck furnishings and preparing the masts. My next step will be to install the anchors and bitts.
  7. Matt D
    I knew I'd find good company there! Thanks for the compliment, Peter. Your Sultana is looking great. I was showing my 11 YO son what you'd done, too. It was good for him to see what can be done if you use your imagination and find the right tools. We got a good laugh out of the picture of the solid hull in the trashcan.
  8. Matt D
    Future builders of this model: this post is for you. I have the same rudder problem that everyone else has had. I also think I just figured out how I could have averted it if I’d noticed before I sanded the keel even with the stern piece. As I see it, the problem is that the stern piece is too small. I would say I built it wrong and the stern piece is too far forward of the transom, but you can see if you go through the other builds that nearly every one of them has the same problem. So I’m going to blame Artesania Latina instead of the fine model builders of Model Ship World. If you look at the drawing blow-up below, you can see the stern piece even with the bottom corner of the transom. Mine is almost 3mm shy of that corner. If I could back up time about a week, I’d have cut a filler piece out of the scrap from the keel and glued it onto the back of the stern piece. That would have evened it up and the rudder would fit just like the pictures on the box. Instead, I’m going to join the Virginia 1819 Modified Rudder Club, where I know I’ll find some good friends.
  9. Matt D
    Thanks, Paul. Once I had an idea of how I wanted to build the stand, it was a lot of fun to put together. That’s a really neat idea. But I’m looking forward to rigging it the way it’s shown on the box, all ready to set out on a voyage.
  10. Matt D
    Thank you very much for your kind words, Mark. It helps a lot to see how others, including you, have handled the challenges of this build. Logging the build has made it much more fun.
  11. Matt D
    I’ve spent some good quality time in the shipyard the past week and a half and wanted to update my log.I added the rubbing strakes after using the bowl trick to get a nice curve in them. With the added width of the rubbing strakes, my model no longer fits in the temporary cradle I had built. Rather than spend time on fixing that, I built the stand I plan to display it on. I really like the launch that Peter built (SardonicMeow), but I wanted something more like a dry dock. This is what I came up with out of wood I had laying around. Of course, the awkward part is going to be when it’s all done and it’s sitting in dry-dock with unfurled sails.
  12. Matt D
    It looks great, Peter! Thanks for sharing it.
  13. Matt D
    I ruined my rubbing strakes. Somewhere along the way, I used two of the rubbing strake applewood pieces where I should have used mahogany. So I didn’t have four matching pieces. I decided to stain them darker so they would all match, but I overdid it on darkness. So I had to cut new 2x3mm strakes out of some larger applewood stock that I found at the hobby store. Here’s a pic of the dark stained original and my four fresh cut replacements.
  14. Matt D
    Peter, I love your transom windows. They look really nice. I especially like The way you built the assembly up.
  15. Matt D
    Happy Easter! Here are some pics of my recent progress on the second layer of planking. I’ve done some sanding on the port side to see how it would smooth out. I’m pretty happy with it and hope I can do as well or a little better on the starboard side.
  16. Matt D
    Hi Danny. I saw that you’ve changed the index for wooden ship kits from pdf to xls. For some reason, the links don’t work for me now. Have you heard this from others? Or am I doing it wrong?
  17. Matt D
    Hi Mark. You have a sharp eye. I have had that happen on almost every strake starting at about the third one going down from the top. The compound curve causes it to want to pucker up just slightly. There's very little stretch in these planks, unlike the first layer. So on each spot where that happened, I used a paint brush to push extra glue under the popped out section and then taped it down good and tight to dry. This photo must have been before I glued that one down, because it's tight and secure now. Thanks for your attention to detail and for pointing it out.
  18. Matt D
    Thank, Wallace and Nikbud. I didn’t come up with that idea on my own - I learned it from your logs (and others).
  19. Matt D
    I’m working on the second layer planking. I’m using PVA brushed on with a dampened paint brush. Then I tape it with blue painters tape until it dries. It’s a slow process, but it’s very forgiving: I can make adjustments if I don’t like how it goes on. I was thinking about CA to make it faster, but I don'twant it to dry fast in the wrong position.
  20. Matt D
    Wow, Peter! Your model looks amazing! I’m following this and really like your work.
  21. Matt D
    I had to travel for work last week and wasn’t able to work on my model for a few days. Before I left, I added the bulwarks. Today, I installed the upper stern piece and added some wood filler to smooth out the hull before planking the second layer. After getting that done, I made wooden bitts to use instead of the metal ones that came in the kit. They came out pretty good after a few tries.
  22. Matt D
    Sardonicmeow, Wallace, nikbud: thank you very much for your answers. I will confidently sand away this evening.
  23. Matt D
    I’m finished with laying the first layer of Hull planking and working carefully on preparing for the next few steps. I still have more sanding to do and then some filling. I’m looking at the bulwarks and the transom/upper stern. The instructions are not very clear on how the upper stern and deck beam mate up. The deck beam piece flares out and is slightly wider than the back of the deck and the upper stern. I think I need to sand it to the same width. It also interferes with the bulwarks, so something has to go. Since unsanding is hard, can any previous Virginia builders tell me what I should do to get a good result?
  24. Matt D
    I’m not quite done with the barrels. I started by making stave joints with a pencil. I tried backing them up by cutting into them with an exacto knife, but I couldn’t really get much effect, so I left them like you see the lines. Then I stained them with Minwax Gunstock stain. I was planning on using golden oak, but really liked the gunstock color when I was at the store. I also found some 6mm wide Tamiya masking tape, which looked really skinny when I bought it, but is actually closer to a mile wide when compared to the masking needed for the barrels. But it cuts nicely with an exacto knife with a straight edge. Masking was tedious because of the shape of the barrel. I used black acrylic paint with a fine brush. After it dried, I pealed the tape only to find that half the bands were too narrow. So I had to tape them up again and paint some more. I still wasn’t happy, so I tried filling in with a sharpie marker and that’s when I learned that I should have skipped the tape and paint and just used a sharpie. I still have a little more touching up, but I have to be in the right place mentally so I don’t mess them up with an errant mark.
  25. Matt D
    Here’s a picture of my work as of this morning. I hope to get some time to work on it some more this evening.

About us

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

SSL Secured

Your security is important for us so this Website is SSL-Secured

NRG Mailing Address

Nautical Research Guild
237 South Lincoln Street
Westmont IL, 60559-1917

Model Ship World ® and the MSW logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,929,264 & No. 6,929,274, registered Dec. 20, 2022)

Helpful Links

About the NRG

If you enjoy building ship models that are historically accurate as well as beautiful, then The Nautical Research Guild (NRG) is just right for you.

The Guild is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to “Advance Ship Modeling Through Research”. We provide support to our members in their efforts to raise the quality of their model ships.

The Nautical Research Guild has published our world-renowned quarterly magazine, The Nautical Research Journal, since 1955. The pages of the Journal are full of articles by accomplished ship modelers who show you how they create those exquisite details on their models, and by maritime historians who show you the correct details to build. The Journal is available in both print and digital editions. Go to the NRG web site (www.thenrg.org) to download a complimentary digital copy of the Journal. The NRG also publishes plan sets, books and compilations of back issues of the Journal and the former Ships in Scale and Model Ship Builder magazines.

Our Emblem ®

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

Nautical Research Guild ® and the NRG logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,999,236 & No. 6,999,237, registered March 14, 2023)

×
×
  • Create New...