modeller_masa

You can purchase the original plans and the changed plans at the Bristol SS GB site. I ordered digital high-resolution copies and am waiting for a response.

Is this Great Britain? I took the picture at a local museum. I guess that the museum purchased the completed model from a factory like this. https://www.stephensandkenau.com/ship/ss-great-britain/

You made the right choice, VTHokiEE. This advanced kit, like the Vanguard Models or Syren, will give you intellectual pleasure. By the way, I found my critical mistake. 😱 These are small mistakes that can be recovered... I hope the red wall will cover the holes. It was too difficult to attach the lower hull planking. I tried to attach them like the English ships, but the strong curved frame made huge gaps between planks. I couldn't accept them because of a single planking ship. I stuck to a plan paper again, and found my mistake after a few days. The key was the 26th part. It is the widest plank, and it doesn't lean in any direction. Under the 26th plank, I can use a conventional planking method for the English ship's aft side. This ship is symmetrical so that both lower parts of the fore and aft planking have the same structure. However, unlike the English ships, this ship's aft-upper planking is concave. In other words, I had to use a planking method on the aft-lower side of the English ships to the aft-upper section. Therefore, this ship's lower and upper planking use the same planking technique as the aft-lower planking of the English ship. Also, this ship is symmetrical, so I had to use the same technique on all four sections! 🤪 I didn't realize it when I sanded balsa blocks for the upper part of stem and stern. I made them convex, which made my planking hell. It's not too late to fix my critical error, but I'm a lazy guy. 😴 I'll try to cure them, but the upper planking won't be corrected. I hope the other people won't make the same mistake.

I attached NOT ENOUGH balsa blocks to frames in May. Don't follow it. As I said, I recommend FILLING the entire hull with balsa blocks. This is quite a small ship and has many spiky points that can be easily broken. Sand and attach polished balsa blocks. I had difficulties when I sanded narrow areas. In addition, it is good to read plans several times and leave hull fairing marks on frames before attaching the balsa blocks. I need to improve my ability to read a plan before using glue. After days of research on the plan, I confirmed part of the hull fairing lines. Unfortunately, the pictures in the manual book are blurred, and nobody has made this ship before... The upper part of the frame will be cut. The exposed edge will be capped with a brass crown. I missed one line of planking. The lines should be smooth curve, and the blue plank is a single wood plank. I glued small piece of wood later. I'm making a stem-planking using the same method. I accidentally sanded too much balsa block, so I cut it and attached a new balsa block. Yesterday, I dropped my ship. 😱 Some parts were broken, but I was able to fix them easily. 🤕

Nice to see you again. This is my second project this year. I had a motive to build the ancient Greek ship from two games I played; Assassin's creed Origins and Odyssey. They are based on the ancient Egypt and Greek eras. You may be familiar with the Amati or Dusek's Greek trireme, but those kinds of late greek ships aren't in the games. After days of research, I found an unfamiliar wooden ship model company, MarisStella, in Croatia. Unfortunately, I had a communication issue with the company when I tried to make a purchase at the EU store. When I received the kit, it was two months late and the iron was already cold. This is a reason I started it now. If you live in North America, you should buy the company's products at Model Expo or the Art of Age of Sail. Otherwise, you can order directly from the company in Croatia, but you should be patient because the the EU store is based on a mail-order system. The ordering system was a bit embarrassing, but the kit is the best I've ever tried. The laser cut is so accurate that I even don't need to sand anything. The selection of wood species is adequate; walnut strips and thick plywood. Manuals are traditional style and very detailed. Also, the manual introduces the spiling planking technique very shortly. They know how to drill. 😎 This is one of the innovative ways of aligning frames. With the super accurate laser cut frames, the 16th walnut strip made me a perfect equal hull fairing I've never made before. It is much simpler than the twin wood rods in the middle of frames the company used before, and still effective. Very clever! Of course, not everything is perfect. Some parts or materials are difficult to handle. For example, it is almost mandatory to fill the entire hull with balsa wood before hull planking or deck planking in my opinion. The balsa wood in the kit isn't enough and is difficult to cut. In addition, I have to make some accessories like cleats, which are usually offered as metal parts. The manual doesn't say anything about it, and the 1:1 plan suggests making cleats from walnut strips. Moreover, I have to sand 1.50mm walnut strips to make 0.70mm strips to fill some parts of the hull. Why shouldn't I sand it? I just used my 1/32 inch walnut sheets. It's not frustrating, but challenging and fun in my opinion. In general, the missing or self-made parts increase the difficulty level of the kit. The above pictures were taken in May. I'll upload the current process soon.

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 ◎