modeller_masa

I finished the Artesania Latina Santa Maria 22411N. This is my opinion about the new kit. Pros. - Well known historical sailing ship, and excellent size to build and display - High resolution PDF manual. It definitely helps to understand the AL's "unique" planking method, and the rich pictures don't miss any rigging knots. - A lot of details are added or updated. Cons. - Most of the wood should be painted. It is time-consuming work, and inappropriate coloring may lead to frustration. - Essential ship designs, such as hull or planking, aren't changed at all. Only decoratives are updated. - The AL's "unique" planking method hasn't changed. - The picture manual has no words. This kit is a bit challanging for a new modeller. I saw some people were exhausted after they barely finished the old Santa Maria kit. The new high resolution manual should help with building it, but I doubt the know-how will help when they build the next model ship. The AL's planking method is kind of like making tattered clothes, so it is good to learn traditional planking technique, which is universal and makes much better quality. In my opinion, this kit is good for second-time builders who learned appropriate planking techniques by building some good introductory kits. I won't judge the historical accuracy of the kit because the original ship left no plan. I spent 8 months. If you are an expert modeller, the new kit may take at least 1~2 weeks to complete. (I saw someone built the old kit within 3 days!) The extended time is for painting and varnishing lime wood. I'm sure that the old kit is much easier and faster than the new kit for experts, although it has more difficult manual and lack of details. Thank you for your kind words, starlight. I'm very happy to have completed my first three masts kit. My next project will have a short and dense schedule, so I'll upload it on gallary. I also thank all the people who followed my marathon build log.

This is the second part of the rigging explanation. I had a minor issue when I made a rudder, so I made a new part. This is a small tip to make the rudder part. All right. I think I wrapped up the rest of necessary explanations. Thank you for reading my build log.

Many thanks to Ron and Roger. The Mariners museum sells all the historical Chris-craft racing runabout plans. The Wodenboat Magazine sells over 700 complete boat plans, including the above model. There are a lot of toy blocks to enjoy and research. https://www.marinersmuseum.org/library/#chris https://www.woodenboat.com/boat-plans-kits?ia=579&ssrnd=10855

Hello, The mahogany runabout is my new item in my bucket list. I have a little interest on RC boats because I have no space to keep the devices. Therefore, I want to build a model rather than RC boat. One of the the downsides of the official Chris-craft runabout boat series from Dumas is that their 1/24 scale products are not serious model ships. They seems to be for beginner modellers. The detail issue will be solved if I buy a 3x expensive 1/8 scale RC runabout, but I want to build a 1/16 scale boat, which is no longer than 1 and a half feet. I planned to downscale the 1/8 boats, but the price and rebuilding parts remain a huge burden to me. (source : https://www.classicwoodenboatplans.com/shop/barrelback-custom-19 ) Instead of model boats, I focused on real boat plans. https://www.classicwoodenboatplans.com/shop The "classic wooden boat plans" company sells real mahogany runabout boat plans, and the details are just real world size. However, can I read and understand the real boat plan? I tested one of their plan by downloading a free sample plan, which is the famous Dory Rowboat 13'. ( Source : https://www.classicwoodenboatplans.com/free-sample-plan ) Their free plan appears to be a bit simpler than typical wooden model ship kits, but they also provide a 3D cad file that can be read by Solidworks. As you see, I was able to see and measure each part of the boat. Although it isn't a perfect 3D model, which has some gaps, I decided to build the dory boat as my first scratch-build wooden model ship. After the dory, I'll buy the Barrelback Custom 19' plan. It won't be easy to build from a real world plan, but I would say the real boat plan should be much more realistic and detailed than the Dumas kits. There are some advantages of real world plan over model ship plans. I won't reproduce the 1949 Chris-craft mahogany runabout but build a completely new boat. I'll give my boat a new name. 😎 This is testimony time. Is using real boat plans reliable and recommended way to build modern boat models? I couldn't find a proper mahogany runabout kit, so I changed to building a scrach model. I hope to hear any ideas about a building realistic runabout.

I finished a figure painting. Primer : Zinsser shellac Paints : Tamiya and Testors enamel paints Varnish : Vallejo polyurethane matte Weathering (Tars only) : Vallejo oiled earth I didn't draw faces because my ability would have made them emoticon faces. 🤣 I'll take pictures tomorrow and wrap it up.

I made a stand. Next time, I'll try more complex stand design that includes metal bolts in the hull. The figures are pretty detailed. If we weren't in the age of the 3D printer, the tin figure kit should have had more value. This is a color reference on the box art. I found some more reference pictures from the official site.

I decided to make a new stand. The default stand is unstable. I'll use wood bolts to hold the stands. On the other hand, I'm mass-producing dummy piles of ropes.

I finished an assembly of the Santa Maria 22411N. The assembly means all processes in the AL instruction. There are some minor tasks left, such as varnishing and detailing up using dummy ropes. In addition, I'll paint the 10 sailor figures that are sold sepately. It is the first time I have painted a human figure, so it may take some time. Before I wrap up the entire Santa Maria, I'll add some build logs, like rigging method videos. I figured out that most of the posts I planned to upload were not useful because they are no wonder. Therefore, I'll post only some build logs that I think are the most useful. Also, if you have any questions about my build, please don't hesitate to ask me.

Actually, the heic is one of the failed successors of the JPEG format first adopted by Apple. There are so many tombs of JPEG successor because of compatibility issues. tj456, I recommend you change your cellphone's file save setting to JPEG.

After some flooding and restoration, I finished the mainsail. I didn't harden the mainsail and followed the rigging method in the reference book only. Therefore, the "distended" sails made me embarrassed. In general, I anticipated that the full-sail is a "half-sphere" shape, like the box art of sailing ship kits. I tried to control ropes or change the fan's strength, but I failed to reproduce the half-sphere shaped full-sail. I don't know the reason, so I decided to search for real-world full-sails of Santa Maria replicas. Newton was right. 😎

Finally in stock! Thanks for the information!

I'm not a mechanical engineer but an IT engineer. Learning new techniques can be frustrating, but I enjoy the adventure. Resistance soldering seems to be a new challenging area. Thank you for the information, Roger.

Thanks for the tip, Grandpa Phil. I used the ceramic tiles and metal holders when I soldered brass masts with a gas torch. This tiny spot welder isn't stronger than the gas torch, but it makes shiny sparks like an arc welder makes. 😎 Making a metal model ship is one of my future goals, but I feel it is still far from now...

And, I'm experiencing a number of cons with welding... I imitated railings in the real world. Due to the unpredictable welding process, I need to think about a different method...

Hello, I bought the mini spot welder several months ago. It is the first time I've used an electric welder, so I don't know any specific safety rules. Obviously, I felt the tool was as dangerous as a table saw, so please don't use this electric shock welder before you're trained well. One of my goals was to weld yacht railings, but it seems like not simple. This mini welder is optimized for 18650 battery welding work, which uses nikel sheets, so that I had many difficulties with welding "weak" metals such as brass and tin. I was able to get successful result under only specific conditions. Good results Brass rod - Thicker than 0.80mm. Stainless steel or steel wire - Thicker than 0.30mm Bad results Brass tube - It sparks everywhere. Stainless steel or steel wire thinner than 0.20mm - Too easy to cut, like the brass rod thinner than 0.60mm The melting point of the brass is relatively low, and the thinner steel wire has high resistance, which causes higher temperatures and snapping. If I can make the welder weaker, I may be able to make more precise and smaller brass railings or shrouds for 1/350 scale models.

I made a tutorial video for the rigging part. The video editing took so much time that I'll complete the rest of video after I finish everything. 🤪 I began the main mast rigging. I repeated trial and error to print the exact shroud guide paper. The shroud rigging is called a clove hitch. It is a very simple and fast method.

I finished the spritsail and foremast sail riggings. I discovered that the spritsail is a little loose without the help of a fan. I understood that the AL included the clueless rigging line to the spritsail becase of lifting it. However, I still think that the additional rigging line for the purpose of beauty is non-sense for wooden model ships. I thought about another way to overcome the saggy spritsail issue. First, a hard rigging line isn't good for now because I'm using very thin threads. Secondly, I may insert stainless steel wire into the spritsail when I make it. It's too late, but it seems to be the best way. I'll try this method next time. You can find a bundle of ropes at the end of each rigging line. The bundles are fake and don't connect to the original ropes. It is possible to make the bundles with live ropes, but it takes a lot of time. The fake bundle of ropes saves lots of time. This is a simpler jig for making a fake bundle of ropes. I used wooden junk and wooden toothpicks. The jig requires to push and pull out the toothpicks. This is a more advanced jig to make the angled shape of a bundle of ropes.

The idea seams similar to my plan that replaces the sheet rigging with floral wire. I'll apply shellac to the rigging threads, and stiffened thread may help a little bit. I'll insert stainless steel wire into the leech lines next time. By the way, now I understand why the kit maker included useless or clueless rigging into the spritsail. The purpose of the additional rigging line was only one - to lift spritsail.

Hello, I have a question about a loose spritsail. As you see in the above picture, the spritsail doesn't stay in good shape without the fan. All the other rigging is tight, and only the "sheets" can't be tightened. The fullsailed spritsail is already stiffened by diluted PVA glue. The other sails, such as the foremast sail, have front rigging lines to lift up sails, but only the spritsail doesn't. I don't want to replace the sheets with white floral wire. I remember that some modellers include steel wire inside of the leech lines, but it seems to be a little late to apply. Do you have any idea to lift the spritsail a little bit and tight all the riggings?

Of course, yes. Some varnishes, such as wax for wood, don't allow any bond, but most of them still have good adhesive to additional deck fittings. I would recommend the dewaxed shellac from Zinsser's. Shellac is a nearly all purpose varnish and bond for wood and thread. - Dry within 15 minutes. (Faster than oil and water based varnish) - Safe (Alcohol based) - Convenience (A little bottle of shellac lasts for a few days.) - Easy removable (Ethanol or IPA) - Nice coat (A little yellowish satin surface - not glossy) - Long shelf life (more than 5 years + add some alcohol to thin) - Application - Nearly all place of wooden model ship! Wood conditioner ◎, wood varnish ○, great paint primer (especially metal surface) ◎, good bond for thread and knot ◎

I found that my build log is following Richard Feynman's study method. When he finished to study something, he made a lecture note to confirm his study achievement. https://medium.com/taking-note/learning-from-the-feynman-technique-5373014ad230 1. Identify the subject 2. Teach it to a child - Speaking in plain terms - Brevity 3. Identify your knowledge gaps 4. Organize + simplify + Tell a story ← This is my build logs. Therefore, I'm drawing a very effective learning curve used by a novel prize-winning scientist! 😎 The main stay and foremast shrouds are both overlapped. It is better to remove the "clueless" foremast shrouds. I modified the photo etched chain plate parts like the 2017 Nao replica, but its length caused a minor issue. The opposite side. You can see the nails of the chain plates going up. It is better to make DIY chain plate parts using 0.15mm brass sheet.

I made a shroud for the foremast. The ratline (white threads) should be wave shaped. To make the ratlines wave, I paid attention to the knot. After I finished all the rigging work for the spritsail, I stiffened the sail in full wind form. I simply used a portable fan and diluted PVA glue. (water 1:1) Challenging and exciting project.

This is a minefield. With every step I take, my rationality sensor says the instruction is something wrong. Then, I have to dig into the issue and fix it for several hours. It takes too much time... There are 2x2 standing riggings that support the foremast. Look at the red threads. I doubted it wouldn't let movement of the foremast sail freely, so I decided to move it backward, just like the real 2017 Nao SM. In addition, I found that spritsail doesn't work well explicitly. After several hours, I found the reason. AL faithfully followed the reference book, and they combined both rigging diagrams of Galleon SM and Nao SM. As a result, the functions of some rigging threads are overlapped or useless. This kit is basically Nao SM, but I already found that some parts of other areas are from Galleon SM. And, how did they combine both rigging methods into one sail? Moreover,some blocks share multiple ropes in a hole because of cost-cutting. At least it works on model ships, but it doesn't in reality. I think sailing ships in the 15th century were the most advanced weapon like F-22 raptor in the 21th century, and every part has a reason to be there. If airplane changed or removed some parts like AL did, the airplane will crash before it reaches a destination. As previously stated, Columbus wouldn't have discovered the "India" with this instruction.

The first ropes are from the foremast. (Source : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M871OrwsYLg ) https://www.hnsa.org/manuals-documents/age-of-sail/textbook-of-seamanship/tackles/ I couldn't understand the AL's instruction, so I searched for structure of the tackles. According to the maritime dictionary and the 2017 Nao replica, it must be a gun tackle purchase. I bent copper tubes and made a ring under the blocks. The idea is from someone's build log .

I tested another way to shrink nylon thread. I used a digital temperature controlled soldering iron and set it at 250℃, which is slightly lower than the melting point of typical nylon, 265℃. As a result, I was able to control the shrink speed and area successfully. The nylon's melting point is from 220℃ to 265℃ in general, so please test your nylon thread before applying the soldering iron.