Danstream

Hi Gregory, This is a snapshot of the plan. According to it, there is not any hole to be done. Regards, Dan.

Hi all, I am building my first wooden model and I would like to ask few questions about how to install the bowsprit on my model, which is a Mayflower from Artesania Latina. The instructions are not helpful in this respect. I have just completed the first planking and I am doing the decks. - Assuming that the angle shown in the A.L. drawings is correct, which method do you use to keep the drill bit at the wanted inclination? - How do you start the drilling? - Does the bowsprit mast hole cut also into the front bulkhead or stays only on the bow deck? - Once the hole is done, do you simply glue the mast in it or you pin it at its base and make the final adjustments by tensioning the cables? Thanks for any advice you might have on any of the above points. Best regards, Dan.

Good progress, impressive construction jig. It looks a quite fine and accurate design, as it can be already seen from the arrangement of the frames and of the decks. My kit is instead disappointing as far as accuracy and design. Looking forward to see more. Best regards, Dan.

Wow, Dan, this looks like a real chore. I hope you will be soon through it. Looking forward to see the final result. Best regards, Dan.

Awesome mosaic work on that platform. Everything looks perfect. Regards, Dan.

Hi all, I just finished to plank the main deck using the wood provided in the kit. This is the final result: I have not included any treenail yet. Probably I will skip them, I do not want to bite more than I can chew. The fore bulkhead: and the aft one with the base of the capstan which I scratch built: I departed from the design suggested in the kit for finishing the bulkheads, trying to get a look more in line with the epoch of the ship. Now, I need to figure out whether I have to apply a protective varnish and which one. Best regards, Dan.

I like your model and the way you are painting it, but I cannot help noticing that weathering excessively the decks of your ship might be detractive to the look of the ship. Crew of His Majesty Navy, like the ones of other navies, made a point of pride keeping the decks always clean and in good order. There were practical reasons at the origin of that. Every day the decks were cleaned and rubbed extensively and as a consequence, they looked clean and quite uniformly bleached by the abrasive action and by the sun. However, this is not a criticism, but just an observation. Best regards, Dan.

Very good! An airbrush is a wonderful tool, but let me tell you a last piece of advice, if I may. It requires some practicing and experimenting before obtaining satisfactorily results. Please note that the cumulative time you will spend using it on your model is very short and surely not enough to learn how to use it at best. Make some free trials before on pieces of cardboard experimenting the effects of varying parameters (mainly thinner/paint mix ratio and pressure) and later on try to simulate the desired effect that you are going to obtain on the model. In this way, you can accumulate a sensible number of training hours before you feel ready to attack your model. You might feel wasting your time doing so, but believe me, you will not. You might enjoy also this learning steps. Good luck and best regards, Dan.

I own a Badger 150 since about 10 years and it has been always a good and reliable airbrush (it is an US brand which is known to provide a good customer support especially in the US) which I extensively have been using for plastic aircraft modelling. It works with a suction cup (a cup hanging below the airbrush). It is a double action type (i.e. you can regulate the quantity of paint and the air flow), which at the beginning you might not really need. Badger provides also a model (I think it called Badger 100, you might want to check on their web site) with a single action which you might consider. For use for naval modeling you might be fine with a medium tip or even a large one, depending on the use. The cup can be replaced with a fairly large glass container that it might be appropriate for airbrushing large areas. Recently I bought an Haarde & Steenbeck airbrush (a German brand) which I like really a lot, but it is more expensive and has a gravity feed (cup on top of the airbrush) good for fine works, however it might be not that good for naval modeling because of the small quantity of paint that it can hold in its cup. To have a good overview about the different types of airbrushes with their pros and cons, I strongly recommend you to look for videos posted on you tube by Paul Budzik, who extensively and very clearly explains all you might want to know about airbrushes (he has many other videos also about other modelling subjects, so you have to select the ones about airbrushes). One thing that I found to be of paramount importance is the availability of good air supply. Unfortunately this is another expensive piece of equipment. I have a compressor which is quite reasonable (bought from Revell about ten years ago) with a fair air tank (the air tank provides a constant air flow). One quality of the compressor is also its noise level that might be important if you live in a flat with a family. The cheapest models are the ones working with a membrane which do not have a tank, but I never tried them. You might think of starting with cans of compressed air, but you will soon realize their inadequacy for the job. In fact, to clean properly the airbrush you need a large quantity of air that the cans cannot provide satisfactorily (unless you buy many of them, but they are not cheap and after you bought a dozen of them you might have spent the same money to buy a small compressor). Other modelers are happy of using large cylinders of compressed CO2 which are cheap, but I cannot comment on them because I never used them. There might be many other aspects that I have omitted, but if you have further questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Best regards, Dan.

Surely an impressive model, Sferoida. Lot of details to look at. Love the brightly colored parts. Best regards, Dan.

Very nice level of details. Dan.

Hi all, having the planking of the hull in a reasonably completed status, I started furnishing the main deck area. I started with the bulkhead of the forecastle. Differently from what supplied with the kit, I scratch built a separate wall made of very thin plywood lined with walnut strips. Having a separate part, allowed me to detail it more comfortably on my workbench. The kit provides mahogany wood for lining the model, but I did not like it for this type of ship. It would be great for a luxurious speedboat, but not for an old cargo ship. Hence, I purchased some walnut strips that I found to be more appropriate. I found strange that the maximum scale height of the door that I could fit within the bulkhead is only 1.30 m (4.3 feet). Hence I made the top of the door slightly arched so to fit the maximum height possible. I made a two-panels door (the A.L. design suggests a door with only one panel) that likely could let more air and light into the forecastle, where the galley was probably located. I sourced the handles from my LHS (Amati parts). The iron strips are made of styrene strips which I have plenty of (I used to build plastic kit models). This is how it looks once painted and assembled: Then, I framed the cut-out of the deck. I painted an additional length black because I wanted to have a longer aperture. I have seen other builds and other period ships that show an opening of the deck larger than that proposed by A.L. design. I think that it is very likely that the Mayflower, being born as a cargo ship, had a large opening for loading goods. Then I framed the opening making the step which the gratings will sit on and, after the deck planking is finished, I will add another finishing frame around it. Then I started planking the main deck with the strips provided in the kit. I like the contrast between the clear deck and the darker walnut. That is all for now, I will be busy for a while detailing also the other decks. Best regards, Dan.

Hi all, worked a bit on finishing off the shape of the stern. I added two dummy lids for two cannons firing from the stern that A.L. did not contemplate, but they are present in the Plymouth replica and in other ships of the time. The dummy lids will help me to define better the cutouts in the planking. After planking, filing and sanding, I obtained this: I am pleased with the shape that finally emerged. There are still some final touches to do, but the basic shaping is done. Perhaps the fillet between the belly of the hull and the vertical fin should have a smaller radius. I am now working on the main deck. Best regards, Dan.

I second all what was said: awesome, outstanding, magnificent. I learnt a lot from this build. Congratulations, Dan.

Spectacular model @MESSIS, not commonly seen and very evocative of stories from dawn of civilization. I have followed it with interest. You made me pick up again these old books. Well done, Dan.

Thanks Dan. Yes, I started the hull first because, being my first build, and being the planking of the hull the most intimidating part, I wanted to be sure I was able to complete it satisfactorily before investing my time with other parts.

Hi all, after a long interval, I am posting some small progress on my build of the Mayflower. Finally, I completed the planking of the first layer. This is a close-up of the bow where I engraved a groove for accepting the keel piece. As said before, I realized that strakes pattern is not quite correct there, but it will suffice as first layer. I am happy that I finished the planking, because I started to get a bit tired of it. I started sanding and filling with a white filler for wood, proceeding progressively by areas. This is the overall view of the hull with the stem and middle areas almost finished. Although I plan to sand the filled areas a bit more, it can be seen that there are several locations, especially in the stem area, that are quite more under the average level of the surface. I wonder whether A.L. has captured correctly the shape of the hull, because I have the impression that the belly in the stem of this type of vessels should have been a bit 'fuller'. Below, I just started to work on the stern area. In the following picture, I am showing the adaptation of the upper strake to the profile of the starboard bulwark. I had to carve the upper edge because when I laid down the first strake, I forgot to consider the shape of the edge of the bulwark. I hope that the work will proceed at a faster pace now that the planking is over. I noticed that another modeler, @TheRedGnome, has started the same model from the same kit here and, striking coincidence, his name starts with 'Dan' as well. This is good, because I hope we can exchange our 'head-ups' to each other. My best wishes go to him, it will be interesting to see the two builds unfolding in parallel. Also @acaron41120 started a Mayflower begin of October, although from a different kit, but about the same scale. This will add some additional interesting comparisons. Best wishes also to him. Best regards, Dan.

Amazing build! Very interesting, captivating, well researched and absolutely unique. I learnt a lot about these Egyptian vessels. On top, your outstanding workmanship made your build a pleasure to follow. Congratulations and now the difficult question is: what's next? Best regards, Dan.

Looks very good @MESSIS. I like the way you tied up the oars better than the way showed in the picture of the real replica, where the thrust of the oars is transmitted to the ship via the ropes. In your way, the oars push directly on the stanchions during the active part of their stroke (but perhaps there might be an issue of deterioration of the area of contact?). Very good job in carving fifty identical oars. Dan.

Dear all, the discussion is very interesting. Just a clarification for Messis: clearly I did not translate the text above, I just downloaded the translation from internet once the episode of Tiresias popped up in my memory. I studied ancient Greek in my Gymnasium school in Italy, but it was 45-50 years ago and I completely lost my skills for translation. However, after the last posts, I went back to my books and indeed, the term used in my text of the Odissea was αθηρολοιγόν. Now my Greek-Italian vocabulary translate it as 'ventilabro', which, as it was indicated also by Louie above, was an old tool used in agriculture to launch the grain in the air and is similar to a shovel. Looking into the pictures of the 'museo della agricoltura', in Italy (agriculture tradition museum) , I found, among others, this suggestive picture: Well, I think that having a oar that shaped is not an unrealistic assumption. Note that in some translations which are more oriented to a wide audience, in English, the object the oar is mistaken with is translated as 'shovel'. Sorry for my long digression, I hope you find it interesting, Best regards, Dan.

As said in the post above, I went on with my build, but I have not very exciting progress to show, just few more planks added to the hull. I glued balsa gussets all along the false keel that will help to better support the garboard. For now, the planking is following the incorrect pattern that was initiated before, but after I studied the material indicated to me by Backer in his posts above, in particular the presentation by Chuck, I tried to spile the last applied strake. I did not spile it in the true way, I just bent and formed the strip within his plane, but the difference was immediately noticeable. The strip so shaped practically fell in place by itself. Clearly, this is the way I will proceed with the second planking in order to obtain strakes that run more parallel to the horizontal plane. That is all for now, best regards, Dan.

I am following your build, being much intrigued by the subject. About the oars, let me post an information that probably is not of much practical help, but it is a direct account from the poet. In his journey in the afterworld, Odysseus seeks out and talks to Tiresias, the great prophet who alone among the dead is allowed to retain his true mind (nous). He advises him how to avoid the various dangers that await him on his way home and how finally to make peace with Poseidon. To achieve this peace, Tiresias instructs Odysseus to plant an oar in a place where ships and the sea are unknown: Then you must go off again, carrying a broad-bladed oar, Until you come to men who know nothing of the sea, Who eat their food unsalted, and have never seen Red-prowed ships or oars that wing them along. And I will tell you a sure sign that you have found them, One you cannot miss. When you meet another traveler Who thinks you are carrying a winnowing fan, Then you must fix your oar in the earth So, the oar must look like a fan, perhaps looking into the word of the original Greek text could be of help to better identify the object.

Thank you so much Backer! I had seen only one of the pdf that you linked. I will read the others with interest. Meanwhile, I went on with the planking following the slope that I penciled in the posted photo, which clearly is the wrong pattern on the bow. I am happy that this is the first planking, so I can correct the pattern with the second one. I have now understood that I should have spiled the planks and I will do that with the second layer. I am going to post more pictures soon, but there will not be anything exciting, just the completion of the wrong first layer. Thank you and best regards, Dan.

Your build is so sharp! It looks great! Are the gratings made of walnut? Regards, Dan.

Hi all, I am a slow builder, so I have only a small update since my last post. I completed the first band of planking that I made of five strakes. It took me long time, about one day per strake, probably because of my inexperience. I know this is just the first planking and it will be covered, but I am using it as a learning class, so I am trying to do it as good as I can. The strakes are made of ramin wood (5 mm x 1 mm) which I am finding rather hard to bend. I tried to preform each strake as much as I could, but at the end there is always some bending and twisting to overcome, so, at the end, the parts are not glued stress-free. This is the way I have arranged the stern area so far: And this is the bow. I presume I will have to introduce some drastic directional change of the planking here in addition to the normal tapering as I sketched with pencil lines. Do you guys think that the outlined arrangement makes sense for this type of bluff bow? I would like starting in parallel the planking of the deck to speed up the construction. However, I have to take a decision here because on main deck there is another inaccuracy of the A.L. design. The opening on the main deck is shorter than it should be, probably to make room for cannons that A.L. arbitrarily included on the deck. I have not elongated that opening before gluing the deck, therefore, if I add another panel, this will be blind, i.e. with no any cavity behind it. Should I leave it as it is or try to make this modification? If I add another panel, perhaps I could cover it with a canvas to hide the fact that there is not a cavity below it. Any suggestion will be appreciated. That is all for now, Best regards, Dan.