Mirabell61

She'll look majestically in that gorgeous case Nils - - pun intended
 
Cheers,

Hi Nils
 
My heart just skipped a beat when I saw the photo of the KWdG sitting atop the glass!  Gulp.  Thank God it's hardened glass.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

I just completed this very same ship - you are going to have a lot of fun with it - Very unique rigging and sail set !!!

Ondras71: I hope I won't disappoint you 
 
Antony: As far as I can see the quality is outstanding. I usually tend to get all the kits with lots of faults but this time I hit jackpot. Will post pics of material details later on.
 
Julie: You're welcome to follow along... 
 
 

A new build so I have something to do while waiting for Vasa parts.
 
I ordered this from Maristella and apart from the excellent service Mr. Pavlovich offers I believe that they offer the best prices in Europe. 
My only regret is that I did not order one of Marisstellas own kits instead. But then again I have a reason saving up money for that in the future.
 
The Xebec is the smallest shipmodel I have had so far. But the rigging is something that I for some reason wanted to try out. And it will be like a practice before I go on with my Pinco Genovese that is more like a semi scratch build from Euromodel Como.
 
Here's the pics:

 
Stuff:
They updated the older kit from 1027 to 1427.

 
 
There are 4 sheets of plans. 3 and 4 are of the updates.

 
 
Instructions in Italian, but there is a paper included with the English translation.

 
Bits and pieces:

 
More:

 
Ships boat:

 
Wood, Looks like good quality.

 
And we're underway!!!

 
 

Hi all, and many thanks for the comments and likes.  This model is turning into an exploration of a number of different solutions to problems which do not come up in a sailing ship model.  I hope my experiments can shorten the learning curve for others, the way that all my reading has shortened mine.
 
Druxey – although I cannot claim any direct relationship with the family shown, I have to confess that during my college years I often bore an embarrassing resemblance to the young man on the right.  Thank god that phase of my life is over.  LOL
 
I hope all my American friends had a good 4th of July, and everyone else just had a great weekend.   The Admiral got away from work for a week and we spent it with the family upstate.  I managed to sneak away to the workshop, and made some good progress.  I will post several segments in the near future.  Here is the first:
 
I was installing the window segments on the promenade deck when I left off.  Here is how they came out after gluing.   Above them you can see the Boat deck cabins after initial shaping and sheathing, with one of the inset doorways.  On top is the rough unsheathed layer for the Upper deck.
 
The seams between the segments were filled and overpainted with gloss white.  The upper and lower edges were sanded so they fair into each other.  At the forward end they butt and fair into the sheathing of the forward face of the Promenade deck.  This is pretty simple.
 
But at the stern the Promenade deck ends with three and a half openings that fair at the lower edge into the bulwark rails leading around the fantail.  Their upper pieces form the bulwark rails of the Upper deck that surround the pool area.
 
From overhead and aft you can see that this upper deck creates a large overhang that cradles the lower pool with access by a pair of angled staircases.  The outer corners of the deck and bulwark rails are rounded and are the continuations of those bulwarks above the windows.
 
An expanded section of the plans shows the structure of this area.  Unfortunately, some details are still unclear.  For example, in the enlarged insert you can see how the stairway comes down to what looks, for all the world, like an enclosed area.  There are no doors indicated, as there are everywhere else.  How is the staircase accessed from the lower deck?  Also, is there a difference indicated by the dotted line versus the dashed line which both seem to indicate the shape of the upper deck?  What is the small triangular area labeled “dep.” with a door into it?
 
The side view in the plans does not help.  There is not much detail, and it raises more questions than it answers.  For instance, the area above the Promenade deck windows is drawn in to indicate a break in the line of the bulwark rail.  Without going into all the photos that were examined, it turns out that this is a narrow setback that houses the boat winches.  But there are no plans that show this feature from the top, so its depth could not be taken off as drawn.  More on this later.
 
In any event, paper patterns were made up based on my best guesses as to the answers to these and other questions, then tested before being used to lay out the styrene piece.
 
This piece was set in place and the upper extension was wrapped around the Upper deck layer.  This creates a semi-enclosed passageway leading to an entry door to the Promenade deck.  I opted to semi-enclose the stairs with an L-shaped wall that is open to the inside of the deck area, as can be seen in the port side wing.  A few windows were laid out along the inner wall of the passageway as seen in some of the photos.  They were done by making up custom water-slide decals on my computer and printing out onto decal film.  The line of windows that can be seen below the Promenade deck were done in this fashion as well.
 
And here is the view from aft with the starboard and center bulwark rail pieces installed.  The port side piece was shaped and installed, then all of the joints and seams were sanded fair and even.   Looking closely you can see that the fantail curve has a dark handrail above the bulwark.  It was my first attempt at this feature and turned out not to be acceptable.  It has since been removed and future segments of the log will go into the various solutions that were tried.  As of this writing I am still not satisfied with the results.
 
Next I turned to the boat winch setback.  It had to be made up of an unsupported bulwark railing that was perfectly straight and attached only at the bottom.  I estimated that it would be about 4 feet wide to give enough room for the machinery.  I cut a strip of wood just over 1/8” wide and clamped it to the top of the Promenade deck.  A strip of styrene 3mm high was cut and clipped to the wood strip.  The styrene was spot glued with cyano from the inside.  When it could support itself the clips were removed and a bead of white glue was painted along the base.  
 
The railing came out just as I hoped.  Here is how she looked.  Unfortunately, the depth was wrong.  With a 4 foot setback, when I placed the Boat deck on top, there was not enough room for the passengers to walk past each other between the railing and the deck house.
 
After agonizing for a bit, I gritted my teeth and removed the railing as carefully as possible.  It wasn’t carefully enough, and some sections of the decking came up with it.  But after sanding away any glue residue, the decking sections were replaced and the bulwark rails relocated to form a 1/16” (2 foot) setback.  Now when the Boat deck house is set in place, the walkway is much better sized for passenger use.
 
As you can see, the Boat deck house is being sheathed and its deck and bulwark railings are being set up.  This is where I will pick it up in the next posting.
 
As always, comments and alternate solutions are very welcome.
 
Be well
 
Dan
 
 

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

Hi Marsalv,
 
your build is a real treat for eyes and soul, surely one of the highlights here at MSW. Congratulations, fantastic handcraft work and love to details, and all in super looking accuracy....  
 
Nils

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

Thank you very much Denis and Patrick,
 
these little wooden corners will fit into the inside groove of the bonets bottom rails. The brass sleeves center on the cylindric portion of the screw members sticking upward on the base plate
 
Nils

 
 

 
 

 
 

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

Thanks very much MD1400cs, and Dan,
 
the case is done, except for the four bottom metal corners, I should have bought 8 instead of 4, ordered 4 more
Every time a case is complete, I `m glad there was no broken glass during process....
On the KWdG there is still some rigging to be done, I`ll forward a set of final Photos, when all is complete..
 
Nils
 

Baseplate with 6 positioning pins and removeable bottom rail of the glas bonnet
 

corner pin
 

mid-length pin, the width of the ships own stand base fits well in between those lugs
 

pins, (screws) clipped off at the rear side
 

frame, glass and metal corners....
 

 
 

have to mount the four bottom metal corners securely, before the bonnet can be taken off in one part
 

 
 
 
 

No paint....please, no paint. Beautiful wood....beautiful joints.

Beautiful wood and craftsmanship.  I'd hate to see all that covered by paint, but that's my opinion.

Inner planking is completed now including sweep ports and holes for fixed blocks. Now I am standing before deciding whether to paint inner planking red or left it in its natural state.

Hi Nils and Dave,
thanks for compliment .
I started the inner planking - waterways, spirketting and quickwork are completed.