capnharv2

Hello, all!
 
FINALLY, after four long, long years, I actually completed a model! After bungling my attempt at Halinski's Brewster B239, a Buffalo in Finnish colors and a very complex model, I set my sights on the more intermediate-level F2A offered by another Polish firm, Kartonowa Kolekcja. Having earlier completed KK's Polikarpov Po-2, I had a good idea of what to expect with this kit. It had a few tricky parts to navigate, but I was able to forge ahead. The kit includes optional parts to build either a simplified version or a more detailed one; I went with a mix of the two. I included the options for a full cockpit build (which is FAR simpler than the Halinski version) and complete engine, but left out the movable control surfaces and a few other minor details. The end result is what some would call a good "ten-foot model", i.e. it looks good from ten feet away, but don't get too much closer. I think I will be going back to a ship project after this. Enjoy the photos!
 

I made some progress this week. I finished the foremast lower shrouds and added the shear pole. Every things was tied and then the knots set with diluted white glue. I was really amazed how the shear pole firmed everything up. This week I will attempt to get the lower main mast and shrouds installed. This whole process is very tedious and I try to work on about one hour sessions and then take some breaks. I am getting pretty good at tying knots with tweezers. 😁
 
 

Once each side was finished I completed the job with a fresh coat of paint.

I got my feet wet over the weekend on the starting of the rigging the lower foremast shrouds. All in all, it went pretty well. My plan is to finish the lower formast shrouds by the weekend. I used my (quik stik) to set my mast. It works well and lets me tweak the mast when necessary. My deadeye spacer is working well. I made all my line with the Byrnes Ropewalk. I chose cotton thread. All my line is tied with actual knots. The knots are then set with diluted white glue. The cotton thread lets the glue soak in. Once everything is set and the way I like it I trim off the whiskers. 

Believe it or not - I've finished this boat already . That only took 4 1/2 days.
 
There are extra hatch covers which can be glued to the deck to make them look more realistic than simple printing :


 
The bridge had some rather flimsy legs, but it all turned out OK with a bit of care :


 
I've used some PE railings left over from one of my previous builds. This comes out a lot better than trying to make them from thread as the kit suggets :

 
The ship's wheel took a lot of careful cutting. It's only 5mm in diameter between the tips of the spokes :

 
I used my hole punch kit to make the various diameters of round pieces of the Capstan :

 
The middle deck Ventilators. There are two smaller ones on the fore deck :


 
The funnel has 3 steam pipes attached, which I cut from paper :

 
The Galley and two Heads were pretty straight-forward, although I cut all the tabs off and edge-glued the various joins :



 
The Bollards are the smallest ones I've made so far that use a rolled paper tube :

 
If I thought the bridge legs were flimsy, they paled in comparison to the Awning Supports. I wicked some CA glue on the edges for strength :

 
The Anchors and Chain. I used 40 link-per-inch :

 
The ship's boat was quite easy to make. It consisted of a mere 4 parts :


 
The tiny Navigation Lights were a bit of a pain to make :

 
And some overview pics of the completed model. It is only 200mm long :

 
The Companionway in this pic is also left-over PE. There is another behind it on the middle deck :



 
And the last piece fitted (as usual) - the German Imperial Flag :

 
I still need to make a base for the model. It will be a simple piece of Card, painted blue.
 
My next model arrived yesterday - just in time . It's a WW2 German tank, a Stug 40. A link to the build log for it will appear in my signature when I get started on it.
 
Danny

The idea with those is that you drill a hole about 2/3 the diameter of the thread first to make them easier to screw in.
 
Danny

Unfortunately I have two difficulties.
The first is that I have "senior" moments. Second I am an idiot. The two together can add to Lunacy 
Thank you to all guys for being patient.
My posts of errors will continue.😱

I rigged as much of the lower foremast off the model as I could. Now when I installed the mast I needed something to keep the pre rigged lines off the model and not get snagged on anything. I picked up a couple of those plexiglass picture frames that you slide the pictures in between the plexiglass. I placed one on each side of the model to hold the lines off. Then I could work on the lines without snagging or getting caught on anything. It worked great as I was installing the swifter.
 
 

I made a little progress today. I have the swifter lines on the foremast roughed in. I rigged as much of the foremast off the ship to make it as easy as I could. When I did this I needed a way to hold the rat nest of lines off the model and not get snagged on anything. I picked up a couple of those plexiglass picture frames that you stick the pictures it. They work great keeping the lines from getting caught on the model. 
 

I added some coils around the anchors...another pic before I begin the shrouds.

Passing line down through the top can be tricky...and keeping lines from tangling and twisting is a priority.



 

A Little bit of work today finishing up belaying the sheets and downhauls.   The buntlines and clews will be kept out of the way with gater clips.
I tend to add rope coils at the spider and fife rails when the lines are belayed.  All this work gets done under the shrouds and can be troublesome....so I did it now.

Spent a bit of time today rigging up the foot ropes and adding more blocks and sheets.
 
Rob

Your work is a joy to behold! I've hung my share of full-size coiled falls on belaying pins in my day and I can confirm that your deciding to hang them as you have is correct.  It's done as pictured on the Joseph Conrad above, although it looks like in that picture a few more turns around the pin than is necessary (or properly shipshape) have been taken. Correctly, the fall is brought down and beneath the rail, behind the bottom of the pin, up and across and behind the top of the pin, back down and hitched over the top of the pin. More than one "figure eight" around the pin only makes for more work casting the line off the pin.

The 1870's picture of the Inuit kids on the deck also shows the coils correctly hung on the pins, although, as is clear from all the cargo and gear on deck, the vessel wasn't sailing and they were probably working on the rigging and not too particular about it at the moment, as things certainly aren't "shipshape." Still, any able seaman would automatically coil the fall into one hand, or on deck if it were too long to hold in one hand, starting at the pin end and leaving a length free from the pin, imparting a half-twist as each coil was measured out at arm's length, so the laid line would not kink, and when the fall was fully coiled, present it to the pin and reach through the center of the coil and grab the length of line between the coil and the pin, giving it a turn, or two, depending upon it's length, pulling the twisted line back through the center of the coil and up in front of the coil and over the top of the pin. (For lighter lines, one can take a longer length between the pin and coil and take a couple of turns around the coil with it to gather the coil together, and then bring it through the coil above the turn and place it over the pin. This will gather the coil of light line tightly and more neatly.) In this fashion, the loop over the top of the pin could be cast free and the coil fall to the deck, the side closest to the pin facing upwards, and the coiled fall will be ready to run free without fouling. Any seaman that failed to do it that way back in the day would likely get the bosun's start across his back! LOL
 
I don't know how many otherwise exquisite models I've seen with the coiled falls simply hung over the pins. It should be easy to imagine the consequence of that in heavy weather with decks awash... the deck would soon be a rat's nest of tangled cordage! Another frequently seen "faux pas" are coils that are the wrong size.  Each coil should be as long as is necessary for that part of the rigging to run as intended. If the line, such as a headsail halyard, runs to the top of a headstay, then the belayed coil when the sail is set should be made up of a length of line equal to the distance to the halyard block. Were it shorter, the bitter end of the halyard would run aloft and out of reach when the sail was struck. Coils on a pin rail if neatly done should all be about the same length, pin to deck, but of different girths, reflecting the amount of line properly needed. That detail is very frequently overlooked, even on otherwise very well-done models. Then there are the all-too-common "white" deadeye lanyards which in practice are always tarred "black," ... misplaced and oversized  trunnels, plank butts on frames, ... and overly long planks... but I digress.
 
I'd probably be a very unpopular model competition judge, but whether or not a model was built by a modeler with a command of full-sized shipbuilding practices and marlinspike seamanship is immediately obvious to the "sailor's eye." My obnoxious pontification isn't intended as a criticism, but rather to point out that you've illustrated here the correct way to do it and to offer the observation to those "landsmen" who otherwise must rely on instructions that come with a kit that learning to "think like a sailor" will avoid such pitfalls.

One thing I can surely say.....I'm not finicky when it comes to certain details. 
 
I worked on the lower topsail yard...adding bands and pad-eyes for blocks.  I'll only install the securing band to the parrel when I'm ready to permanently secure the yard to the lower mast head.
 
I think I'll finish up all the yards for each mast before I step the mast...its so much easier to work on them off model.
 
Rob

Thank you very much.

Fig-140  The completed side panels are here shown being assembled with soft solder to the base plate, after which the frames are added, and soft soldered in place.  This is the midship house which at this period contained the Galley and crews quarters. The Galley was later relocated and a donkey engine and boiler put in it’s place, and is still there to this day.

Did a bit of work today on the GR main mast.  I first finished up the shrouds and ratlines.   Then hit the books for some reverification of the lift gin-blocks and I decided to rearrange them to a more suitable location *under* the mast cap..instead of along the cap.  There needed to be a lift block I bolt mounted there...sooo....
 
I also finished up the addition of the spreader as well.
 
Here are some images of the days work.
 
I'll finish up the lift gin-block mod on the fore and mizzen later this week.
 
The spanker mast has a bit of rigging to be done as well...so I'll tackle that when I do the gin-block mods.
 
I think before I proceed in stepping the masts and rigging the main shrouds....I'll deviate and turn all the spars and get them banded and finish up the iron work on them. 
 
Rob

Thanks for your welcome comments and for your likes, I finished the first phase of frames assembly, now I start to cut and put the chocks. A greeting

Hello again to all, and thank you all for staying with me on this journey of the SS Michelangelo project which ends with this final segment.   My efforts are now focused on the next project, the USS/SS Leviathan, which you can follow by clicking on the new link in my signature, below.
 
As the last segment ended I had made up and installed the three types of lights around the ship.  The final detail was the rigging.  This was fairly simple and consisted of only two types, the stays and the radio antenna. 

The stays were of three different weights, but all were made up in the same way.  The lowest shrouds for the two masts and their forestays were done with Accu-Flex stainless steel beading wire in 0.0095” diameter, while the middle backstays were done in the slightly smaller 0.007” diameter.  Despite these small sizes they are each laid up from 7 strands of stainless steel wire wrapped in a clear plastic coating.  They look like metal because they are metal.  The uppermost backstays and the lifts for the spars are made from silver fly tying line, about 0.005”. 
 
Each line was secured with a scale turnbuckle made from a small piece of brass tubing.  The line was fed through the body of the turnbuckle, then through a small eyebolt twisted up from iron wire, then back through the turnbuckle tube.  After the shaft of the eyebolt is glued in place the wire is pulled taut and the tube slid down to lock it in place.  Then it is simply glued and the excess line clipped off and the turnbuckle painted silver.  For size comparison, the background is a normal paper towel with its embossed pattern.

Here is the finished model with the stays installed.  The radio lines are black so they do not show up here.

Taking a tour of the ship, here is the forward half with the winches, hatches, and cargo cranes of the bow working deck.

The midships area has the main pool, the boats, and those 3-D printed cages for the funnels.

And the stern, with the two smaller pools and the numerous complicated light poles.

Viewed from dead astern I can see just a little wobble in the upper green stripe, but overall I am quite happy with her.

And of course, the obligatory shot from low on the bow.

The final decision was how to display and case her.  I located a nice mahogany case on line and had it shipped from Vietnam.  The shiny aluminum pedestals nicely set off the colors of the model, but the light maple wood base that I first selected just did not go.  It did not match any of the colors, and made the model look too high in the case.

Instead, I refinished the base to match the mahogany case and the results were, I think, a significant improvement.

So now it is ready to motor off to someone else’s collection.  I will be contacting brokers who deal in ship models to see if there is any interest.  Frankly, my wife will not mind if it does not sell.  She thinks it looks perfect on our sideboard.  I have to agree, though I say it who shouldn’t.

Meanwhile, I will be posting my progress on the Leviathan project.  If you enjoyed this journey with me, I invite your participation, comments and suggestions on that one, as always.
 
And as always, be well.
 
Dan

Thanks for the patience on this build, the advice, and the likes.
 
It's been slow going what with personal issues, re-cutting some pieces, etc.   Here's where I am on the this first ship's boat.  The build jig has been built and the keel and the two risers on each side are installed.  The risers still need a bit of tweaking as to some bits and pieces where the planking will run and then glue them into position.  I'm pretty pleased with how it's going just need more time and focus.   After the tweaks, the next step is to cut out the ribs and install them.  I see from the photos, I need to do some more clean up of the char on the keel and the risers.
 

Thanks for following along this voyage everyone.    Things have settled down a bit and I'm getting some shop time.   So on with the build as time permits.. now where was I?   Oh...  the carvings have been set aside (again).  I probably have a mental block for them.      So it's back to the ship's boats.
 
I've basically dumped all the old formers and bits that had worked on as I just wasn't happy with the way they were turning out.   Felt like something was really amiss so I went off on a different tack.  I hope this time will be the magic one.  I've done a test boat (didn't complete it) that showed me the "true" path to enlightenment.  Or something like enlightenment.
 
I reworked a set of plans I bought and turned them into what I needed for the boats.   I also decided to attack the 6" boat first and work down to the 4". Disclaimer:  I sent the plans maker a copy of all the plans for these boats to see if they can use them.  I'm also buying enough kits (3) so the build will essentially be on a one-for-one basis.
 
After reworking the plans, I've cut the first pieces which are the keel, building jig and all the associated pieces out of boxwood.  I found that plywood un-glued itself or the glue went up on smoke and I ended up with charcoal.   There were two pieces of the build jig that I cut from 1/4" basswood and it's been cleaned up as necessary.   I'm currently removing the pieces, cleaning off the char as needed and putting together the keel and building jig.  I hope to cut out the ribs and planking from Swiss pear later this week.   There won't be twarts, rudder, oars, etc. inside this boat as it's the "bottom of the stack" as such and the next boat will fird inside this one.
 
The sharp eyed will detect a few errors in the photo such as a duplicate cutting due to my mispositioning the wood into the laser.   It's a "just in case" spare now.  There's at least one other obvious "I blew it" moment but those two parts have been corrected and recut.
 
There will be more pictures to come.
 
 

Ed,
 
Earlier you said "Only lines 4" and above on my model use made rope."  I was wonder earlier, is this 4" diameter or 4" circumference?
 
I prefer working with diameters, but am aware that circumference was used historically
 
Thanks for the clarification.
 
Harvey

Circumference.  Rope size was always expressed in inches circumference - in rigging tables, drawings, documents, etc. so that is the common usage.  It would also be easier to measure with a length of string or tape in the absence of calipers.  Measuring circumference is impractical at model sizes, so diameter is used to measure of threads and ropes - with conversions to circumference to relate to sizes in tables and other rigging documents and to apply common rules of thumb for relationships between, say for example, rope size and block size.
 
I should clarify my comment about only rope 4" and above being "made".  I should have said that all rope 4" and above is made - that is, spun into rope from threads.  I actually do use made rope in some smaller sizes that fit between common the common thread sizes.
 
Ed

I ordered the same stuff from ME years ago. It didn't look like any of the other boxwood I had, so I chalked it up to experience.
 
It's sitting around someplace. Maybe I'll need some expensive firewood . . .
 
Harvey