Gabek

Third trip to the cottage

Tiny steps…

The next pieces, according to the plans, were the ladders to the forecastle.  These would be the first pieces from the laser cut set to be used.  I am very impressed with this set as it is well labelled and has an index and diagrams of all the sheets to help you search. 
 
After carefully fussing for over an hour with the first tiny ladder, attempting to bend those blasted minuscule treads into place I was not in the mood to bend the second one right away.  Nonetheless, I carefully glued the first into place and as I saw those delicate rails sticking up above the forecastle I knew they would  certainly be crushed as I continued with the rest of the model.  I carefully took it off before the glue dried and stored it in a pill bottle for now.


Big steps…
At this point I had a choice of which of the four ships I wanted to build so I read over one of my reference books on flower-class corvettes that I had brought up to the cottage. I have purchased several books on these ships because I will be building the Revell 1:144 HMCS Snowberry kit in the near future - my first plastic model in 50 years.
 

 
HMCS Wetaskawin was mentioned as having sunk a u-boat early in the Battle of the Atlantic, so I went with that ship for this model and cut out the lower hull and gunwale pieces.  Clay modelling tools were used again to create curves to match the deck shape.  

Over two days I alternately glued hull sections.  First the lower hull, one side at a time.  To thicken the gunwales and provide printed details on the inboard view, the model requires an inner gunwale be glued to align with the outer section.  And then I made the stupid mistake of trimming off some lower hull that was sticking slightly above deck on the port side before gluing down the gunwales. This has left a little gap that I may have to address.🤬Fortunately, there are three more gunwales that I have to try and patch/fix the issue.
 
I should mention that I debated at length about cutting out the scuppers.  I regret my decision not to.  I think the model would have looked better and now that I completed these steps it will be too difficult to do a good job of cutting them out.  
 
And this is how the model sits until next visit:

 
Clear skies and sharp tools!
- Gabe
 

Second trip to the cottage
Dreadful heat and an out-of-province trip to visit my parents kept me away from the Agassiz (oh, and the cottage🤣). Before we left last time I noticed a slight warp in the hull and placed a steel ruler across the model in the hope that time, gravity and incidental steaming in a hot cottage would straighten it out.  Sure enough, it worked! The model now sits perfectly flat.   
 
That was the good news.  The bad news was that this trip was primarily to inspect our cottage after crazy storms passed through the park.  We couldn’t believe our luck that almost no trees or branches fell in our property…we couldn’t say the same for many of our neighbours who had many fallen trees and damage to their cottages.  Power was out for several days and even though the Agassiz’ shipyard is by a large window I discovered that I couldn’t work on the model without some kind of lamp.  Thanks to days of tireless work by Manitoba Hydro 👏🏼 in clearing all the fallen trees and reconnecting power lines, electricity was eventually retored and I got a bit of model building done.
 
GET ON WITH IT!
Before the fore deck gets put on the model a few forward structures needed to be installed. Parts 26, 27, and 28 represent cabins and bulkheads of some kind (I think it would be nice if the directions named the parts).  These were easily cut out, scored, folded and eventually glued in place.  Because the gluing tabs would be hidden I didn’t feel that I needed to be exactly precise when cutting around them which reduced some anxiety.  
 
As usual I used a straight edge to make my cuts as much as possible but I discovered that some of these parts didn’t follow straight lines!  I tipped my hat to the designer as it dawned on me that, even at this scale, small parts followed the camber and curve of the deck.

29, eh? 
(AKA: A sign of things to come…)

Just as I began feeling good about my progress I just stopped and stared at parts 29a and b. For the first time I was faced with SMALL parts…and these aren’t even the smallest!  Cutting, scoring and folding these left me drained of energy and I was glad to walk away to let the glue dry…for at least a day!  
 
I think the lack of gluing tabs made it tough for me.  I cut 29b so it would have at least some small tabs and I glued a pre-folded scrap piece inside of the main part 29 to help affix it to the deck.  

 
Another difficulty was in handling and holding down tiny parts as I was folding and gluing.  I was very thankful for the insect pins I brought along - leftovers from my early university days.  I’ll need to add another indispensable tool from my entomology degree:  very fine tweezers 

 
I looked at upcoming pieces and began adding tabs when cutting out the rest of this set of forecastle parts.  It dawned on me that all these little parts would be underneath the forecastle deck…and I was very glad that the dubious workmanship would be mostly hidden. Hopefully my skill would improve as pieces became more visible!
 

 
A little bit shaping with a burnishing tool allowed me to fit the fore deck to the ship…and several tools were enlisted as weights to keep it in place as the glue sets.


 
And here the model will stay until our next visit…
 

Clear skies and sharp tools!
- Gabe

Thanks Gabe! It is great having the actual ship as a reference, but it can be frustrating because I am modelling her as she was during most of her working life, not as she is displayed today. The staff at the Vancouver Maritim Museum have been wonderful in locating original plan sheets and contemporary photos!
Regards, Bruce

Second trip to the cottage
Dreadful heat and an out-of-province trip to visit my parents kept me away from the Agassiz (oh, and the cottage🤣). Before we left last time I noticed a slight warp in the hull and placed a steel ruler across the model in the hope that time, gravity and incidental steaming in a hot cottage would straighten it out.  Sure enough, it worked! The model now sits perfectly flat.   
 
That was the good news.  The bad news was that this trip was primarily to inspect our cottage after crazy storms passed through the park.  We couldn’t believe our luck that almost no trees or branches fell in our property…we couldn’t say the same for many of our neighbours who had many fallen trees and damage to their cottages.  Power was out for several days and even though the Agassiz’ shipyard is by a large window I discovered that I couldn’t work on the model without some kind of lamp.  Thanks to days of tireless work by Manitoba Hydro 👏🏼 in clearing all the fallen trees and reconnecting power lines, electricity was eventually retored and I got a bit of model building done.
 
GET ON WITH IT!
Before the fore deck gets put on the model a few forward structures needed to be installed. Parts 26, 27, and 28 represent cabins and bulkheads of some kind (I think it would be nice if the directions named the parts).  These were easily cut out, scored, folded and eventually glued in place.  Because the gluing tabs would be hidden I didn’t feel that I needed to be exactly precise when cutting around them which reduced some anxiety.  
 
As usual I used a straight edge to make my cuts as much as possible but I discovered that some of these parts didn’t follow straight lines!  I tipped my hat to the designer as it dawned on me that, even at this scale, small parts followed the camber and curve of the deck.

29, eh? 
(AKA: A sign of things to come…)

Just as I began feeling good about my progress I just stopped and stared at parts 29a and b. For the first time I was faced with SMALL parts…and these aren’t even the smallest!  Cutting, scoring and folding these left me drained of energy and I was glad to walk away to let the glue dry…for at least a day!  
 
I think the lack of gluing tabs made it tough for me.  I cut 29b so it would have at least some small tabs and I glued a pre-folded scrap piece inside of the main part 29 to help affix it to the deck.  

 
Another difficulty was in handling and holding down tiny parts as I was folding and gluing.  I was very thankful for the insect pins I brought along - leftovers from my early university days.  I’ll need to add another indispensable tool from my entomology degree:  very fine tweezers 

 
I looked at upcoming pieces and began adding tabs when cutting out the rest of this set of forecastle parts.  It dawned on me that all these little parts would be underneath the forecastle deck…and I was very glad that the dubious workmanship would be mostly hidden. Hopefully my skill would improve as pieces became more visible!
 

 
A little bit shaping with a burnishing tool allowed me to fit the fore deck to the ship…and several tools were enlisted as weights to keep it in place as the glue sets.


 
And here the model will stay until our next visit…
 

Clear skies and sharp tools!
- Gabe

First trip to the cottage.

Opening the Kit
First off, the instructions are very well laid out and the English translation from the original German is superb.  Everything comes in an A4 (?) booklet.  The printed parts are on several pages of thicker stock stapled in the centre of the booklet. I chose to open the staples and remove these pages for ease of cutting, etc. 
 

In the card model workshops I attended the presenters had said that parts like bulkheads, decks, false keel, etc, might need to be glued to thicker stock which you need to provide yourself.  H.M.V. has provided space on the printed pages to fold over and glue these parts in a double thickness. I highly recommend that you read several steps ahead carefully before proceeding with your build.  Assembly is done in numerical order but while the instructions are very clearly printed the diagrams are rather small and quite full. So, finding the next part number can take a bit of a search.  

The fine lines, the profusion of small parts, and different dashed lines that denote upward folds, downward folds, and glue locations can be a bit overwhelming at first.  It took me several readings and actual assembly of a few parts before I started making sense of what was going on in the diagrams and on the part assemblies.  Even studying ahead I actually missed cutting out two, tiny red hatched slots in bulkhead 8 which made things a bit bothersome later. (You'll see this soon.). 
 
There are labels in the instructions for where laser cut parts are substituted, but I found a few omissions only because I read ahead and double-checked against the list of laser cut parts parts.  I am very impressed with the quality of these parts and the documentation. 
 

Building begins
I brought a very small kit of tools:  Xacto blade knife, straight edge, Aleene's tacky glue, plastic swabs/applicators, insect pins, three sizes of clothes pins, and a couple of clay modelling tools to act as burnishers/shapers for creating curves in parts.

The waterline, centre keel and bulkheads needed to be doubled up and glued.  The plastic swabs worked very well as glue spreaders when laid flat and used like a roller/spreader. I practiced scoring these folds using the back of the 11A xacto blade.

 
I placed the folded parts under a stack of old magazines to help keep them flat.  Parchment paper was used to keep the magazines from sticking to the model. I left this overnight.


The next day was my first test of my cutting skill.  I found that taking two passes worked best.  A first, medium pressure pass acted like a jig for the second, firmer pass to cut through. The lines are about a blade width thickness and are meant to be cut out.  A straight edge was used where appropriate.

The initial assembly of the centre keel and waterline required two bulkheads for squaring.  All edges in contact were glued together and left overnight.

The next day I installed all the remaining bulkheads and left them overnight.  I noticed a slight warp to the model.  I used insect pins to hold it flat on the cutting mat hoping that it would straighten out with more bulkheads added.

After I cut the deck out I discovered that there were two tabs that needed to be inserted into bulkhead 8…and this is where I forgot to cut out the slots. I eventually managed to cut the slots (the second much better than the first).  Now, I did see the cutouts on the deck!  

The deck required a slight camber and, following advice from the workshops, I managed to add the camber using a spoon-shaped, clay modelling spatula.

A very complicated gluing and clamping job followed.  Clamping paper has certainly become an exercise in problem-solving!


 
And this is where the model sits…until our next trip up!  (The blinds were closed before we left!)
Clear skies and sharp tools,
Gabe
 

Beautiful work, Bruce!  Simply masterful.
Clear skies and sharp tools,
Gabe
 

Welcome aboard!  
Yes, this is a great site for advice, ideas, tips, etc.  I can't think of building a model without MSW at hand.
Clear skies and sharp tools,
Gabe

Thanks, Chris! 
Kind regards,
Gabe

Thanks, Andrew!
Much appreciated.
I see you have a Mosquito in your builds…I've got one on the shelf that's itching to be built!  It's either the Mossie or the HMCS Snowberry sitting right beside it that I'll open up soon. 
Clear skies!
- Gabe

Hi there everyone, wherever you are I hope you all had a great Canada Day and 4th of July! 
I have now got the lower hull planking completed
I used my miniature hobby vise and reversed clothespins to push the final strakes up against the completed part of the hull.
Here is the lower hull completed, and with wood filler applied to even out any divots and other rough patches, after sanding.



Most of the wood filler is in the bow area, and that will be covered by a steel shoe that was fitted to help St. Roch push through the Arctic ice. The hull will also be painted which will cover the remaining filler.
 

Welcome aboard!  
Yes, this is a great site for advice, ideas, tips, etc.  I can't think of building a model without MSW at hand.
Clear skies and sharp tools,
Gabe

A mad dash…
 
The last few weeks have been…busy.  We couldn't ignore our cottage so it beckoned us for several days (still did some modelling, but on another ship:  https://modelshipworld.com/topic/34723-hmcs-agassiz-by-gabek-hmv-card-model-1250/) Months ago we booked a trip to visit my parents in British Columbia…always a pleasure.  And on our return a devastating storm hit the park where our cottage is so we had to inspect damage (Nothing, incredibly…just some clean up.  Not so for many up there😢) These all added to my panic in finishing this model.  So, pardon me for a lengthy catch up post…
 
First off, I tightened up the running rigging, re-rove many lines to make a bit more sense, and created coils by soaking line in dilute PVA glue and forming them on sticks.  By this point the AL "plans" were completely ignored.
 


 
While I liked the shape of the sails I didn't like how the foot of the main sail, in particular, rested against the mast and main shrouds.  I first thought of using wire as a tack line to hold the sail off the mast. But right beside me on my bench was my 3D resin printer and the curing station…so I thought I'd try something:  I soaked some lines in clear UV resin, brushed off excess, then hanged them with weighted ends in the curing tank to see if I get a solid tack rope to push the sails where I wanted.  And it sort of worked.  I anticipated that the stiffness in the lines would make knot-tying nearly impossible so I made loops in the ends using a beading needle before soaking, which then cured into a solid ring through which I could tie them to the clews. 


IMG_7455.mov  

Longer pieces sagged, unfortunately.  I thought of a second coat of UV resin but then I was ok with the results.  The wind just dropped a little and the tacks went slack…that's my story. 
 
After gluing on all the coiled ropes I then turned to the remaining objects that needed painting.  By this time I was literally exhausted with this model and all the hours of sitting were killing my back…so I have to admit I was impatient and cranky.  I should have taken more photos.
 
Painting the anchor stock went ok but I refused to just leave the anchors hooked on the gunwales like AL depicts. I quickly checked a few resources and found a rig in AotS Blandford  that looked easy and doable.  At this point an 18th century anchor rigging on this 15th century ship could hardly look out of place! Unfortunately, I somehow misinterpreted the drawing and somehow ended up with this nonsense:

 
I hated the lantern.  It was chunky and not elegant at all.  I added some brass wire and painted the interior "baffles" silver, with an overcoat that was a blend from yellow to orange.  Over brushing brass acrylic on black primer of the housing turned out ok for me.  To simulate glass I used Micro-GLAZE.  Results were…meh. 
 
I showed you Higref and Thonk in an earlier post…these are a couple of heroic characters that have meaning to my son and daughter-in-law.  I created them in HeroForge - an online 3D character builder - and then printed the files to scale on my 3D resin printer.  Painting figures is another hobby so this was enjoyable.  The little splash of colour and scale they bring to the model is very pleasing to me.  I posed them looking outward and forward…on their journey of discovery!

 
I added only one of the kit-supplied flags…
 
…and I was finished!


Started on the case today. 
 
Clear skies and sharp tools!
- Gabe
 
 

Thank you, Eindride!  Your comments are much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Gabe

Welcome aboard!  
Yes, this is a great site for advice, ideas, tips, etc.  I can't think of building a model without MSW at hand.
Clear skies and sharp tools,
Gabe

That looks very nice, congratulations!

Very nice! Congratulations!

A mad dash…
 
The last few weeks have been…busy.  We couldn't ignore our cottage so it beckoned us for several days (still did some modelling, but on another ship:  https://modelshipworld.com/topic/34723-hmcs-agassiz-by-gabek-hmv-card-model-1250/) Months ago we booked a trip to visit my parents in British Columbia…always a pleasure.  And on our return a devastating storm hit the park where our cottage is so we had to inspect damage (Nothing, incredibly…just some clean up.  Not so for many up there😢) These all added to my panic in finishing this model.  So, pardon me for a lengthy catch up post…
 
First off, I tightened up the running rigging, re-rove many lines to make a bit more sense, and created coils by soaking line in dilute PVA glue and forming them on sticks.  By this point the AL "plans" were completely ignored.
 


 
While I liked the shape of the sails I didn't like how the foot of the main sail, in particular, rested against the mast and main shrouds.  I first thought of using wire as a tack line to hold the sail off the mast. But right beside me on my bench was my 3D resin printer and the curing station…so I thought I'd try something:  I soaked some lines in clear UV resin, brushed off excess, then hanged them with weighted ends in the curing tank to see if I get a solid tack rope to push the sails where I wanted.  And it sort of worked.  I anticipated that the stiffness in the lines would make knot-tying nearly impossible so I made loops in the ends using a beading needle before soaking, which then cured into a solid ring through which I could tie them to the clews. 


IMG_7455.mov  

Longer pieces sagged, unfortunately.  I thought of a second coat of UV resin but then I was ok with the results.  The wind just dropped a little and the tacks went slack…that's my story. 
 
After gluing on all the coiled ropes I then turned to the remaining objects that needed painting.  By this time I was literally exhausted with this model and all the hours of sitting were killing my back…so I have to admit I was impatient and cranky.  I should have taken more photos.
 
Painting the anchor stock went ok but I refused to just leave the anchors hooked on the gunwales like AL depicts. I quickly checked a few resources and found a rig in AotS Blandford  that looked easy and doable.  At this point an 18th century anchor rigging on this 15th century ship could hardly look out of place! Unfortunately, I somehow misinterpreted the drawing and somehow ended up with this nonsense:

 
I hated the lantern.  It was chunky and not elegant at all.  I added some brass wire and painted the interior "baffles" silver, with an overcoat that was a blend from yellow to orange.  Over brushing brass acrylic on black primer of the housing turned out ok for me.  To simulate glass I used Micro-GLAZE.  Results were…meh. 
 
I showed you Higref and Thonk in an earlier post…these are a couple of heroic characters that have meaning to my son and daughter-in-law.  I created them in HeroForge - an online 3D character builder - and then printed the files to scale on my 3D resin printer.  Painting figures is another hobby so this was enjoyable.  The little splash of colour and scale they bring to the model is very pleasing to me.  I posed them looking outward and forward…on their journey of discovery!

 
I added only one of the kit-supplied flags…
 
…and I was finished!


Started on the case today. 
 
Clear skies and sharp tools!
- Gabe
 
 

Thank you, Eindride!  Your comments are much appreciated.
Kind regards,
Gabe

Thanks, Bob! 
Seriously, I don't think I would have finished at this time without you egging me on!  Much appreciated.
Off to Rona for a few more things for the case.  
Talk and see you soon!
- Gabe

A mad dash…
 
The last few weeks have been…busy.  We couldn't ignore our cottage so it beckoned us for several days (still did some modelling, but on another ship:  https://modelshipworld.com/topic/34723-hmcs-agassiz-by-gabek-hmv-card-model-1250/) Months ago we booked a trip to visit my parents in British Columbia…always a pleasure.  And on our return a devastating storm hit the park where our cottage is so we had to inspect damage (Nothing, incredibly…just some clean up.  Not so for many up there😢) These all added to my panic in finishing this model.  So, pardon me for a lengthy catch up post…
 
First off, I tightened up the running rigging, re-rove many lines to make a bit more sense, and created coils by soaking line in dilute PVA glue and forming them on sticks.  By this point the AL "plans" were completely ignored.
 


 
While I liked the shape of the sails I didn't like how the foot of the main sail, in particular, rested against the mast and main shrouds.  I first thought of using wire as a tack line to hold the sail off the mast. But right beside me on my bench was my 3D resin printer and the curing station…so I thought I'd try something:  I soaked some lines in clear UV resin, brushed off excess, then hanged them with weighted ends in the curing tank to see if I get a solid tack rope to push the sails where I wanted.  And it sort of worked.  I anticipated that the stiffness in the lines would make knot-tying nearly impossible so I made loops in the ends using a beading needle before soaking, which then cured into a solid ring through which I could tie them to the clews. 


IMG_7455.mov  

Longer pieces sagged, unfortunately.  I thought of a second coat of UV resin but then I was ok with the results.  The wind just dropped a little and the tacks went slack…that's my story. 
 
After gluing on all the coiled ropes I then turned to the remaining objects that needed painting.  By this time I was literally exhausted with this model and all the hours of sitting were killing my back…so I have to admit I was impatient and cranky.  I should have taken more photos.
 
Painting the anchor stock went ok but I refused to just leave the anchors hooked on the gunwales like AL depicts. I quickly checked a few resources and found a rig in AotS Blandford  that looked easy and doable.  At this point an 18th century anchor rigging on this 15th century ship could hardly look out of place! Unfortunately, I somehow misinterpreted the drawing and somehow ended up with this nonsense:

 
I hated the lantern.  It was chunky and not elegant at all.  I added some brass wire and painted the interior "baffles" silver, with an overcoat that was a blend from yellow to orange.  Over brushing brass acrylic on black primer of the housing turned out ok for me.  To simulate glass I used Micro-GLAZE.  Results were…meh. 
 
I showed you Higref and Thonk in an earlier post…these are a couple of heroic characters that have meaning to my son and daughter-in-law.  I created them in HeroForge - an online 3D character builder - and then printed the files to scale on my 3D resin printer.  Painting figures is another hobby so this was enjoyable.  The little splash of colour and scale they bring to the model is very pleasing to me.  I posed them looking outward and forward…on their journey of discovery!

 
I added only one of the kit-supplied flags…
 
…and I was finished!


Started on the case today. 
 
Clear skies and sharp tools!
- Gabe
 
 

It looks fantastic. We'll done. Look forward to seeing it in the case.

In the, "I can't believe I'm doing this" category...
 
Ok...on so many levels I have really put my foot in it this time.  For a few years now I had it in mind to build models for my sons when they graduate from university.  For my oldest, Christopher, I want to give him the Santa Maria.  For my youngest, I intend to build the Matthew.  (His name is William...no, just kidding.  His name is Matthew.)  I also thought I would scratch build them at a standard scale or, at the very least, I would make nice ships in bottles.  I've got a book on the Matthew and found some online plans.  I bought some plans for the S. Maria on eBay - fairly old, Italian plans (funny - I just saw someone post a picture of the boat from this plan for someone who wanted to bash his AL Santa Maria!)  However, about a year ago I spotted a good deal and picked up this kit.  I'm not very knowledgeable about the ships in this period and I'm not terribly interested in them, so I was going to just follow the instructions on this model when the time comes. 
 
Well, I came to a big realization this week:  My son is just a few months away from graduating!
 
[gulp] 
 
Trouble!
 
Where had all the time gone?!  I pulled the box out from my pile (I haven't bothered to list my "on the shelf" models - it would take too long!), took a good look at it and said, "I think I can do this...but I will DEFINITELY NOT BASH THIS KIT!"  
 
[sigh] 
 
So, I decided to start this kit.  
 
I put away my Harvey (haven't started the log on this one, yet...I began building it before I found MSW), stopped the work I was doing on my HMS Titan and opened up the Maria.  I've been looking at the model and the instructions...checked out a couple of logs here...Ok...I can do this...but I will DEFINITELY NOT BASH THIS KIT!"
  [sigh] 
 
What am I doing!?
 
Well, my son is celebrating his 22 birthday today so I thought, "Today's the perfect day to start the Santa Maria"  
 
This is the first laser-cut kit I have encountered and I am impressed with how easy it was to cut away the parts from the sheets.  Nice tight fits for the bulkheads.  I only had to work on two slots to get the bulkheads to fit flush with the top of the false keel.  It took me a very short time to glue up the bulkheads.  All except one were square when I pushed them into their slots on the keel.  
 
 

 
Ok...good start.  
 
Except...I was studying the photos and the plans in this kit some more and I just didn't like the look of the ship.  The forecastle looks odd to me...there doesn't seem to be enough ladders to get up and down the decks...some of the rigging looks wonky.  I kept thinking of the modeler who was looking for authentic boat plans...so...I pulled out those old plans I had bought.
 
[Grrr!]  
 
Big mistake.  
 

 
I like the look of the Santa Maria in the older plans!  I don't know which is more accurate - but accuracy is not bothering me.  Well, not too much.   So,...I...might...bash...this...kit.  
 
[sigh] 
 
But, I have an idea...
 
I'm going to ask the wonderful people here at MSW to help me decide.  I'm going to put some of the changes I'd like to make and you let me know what you think.  [Oh...I think this model will now be a house warming gift for my son  ]
 
[big breath] 
 
Here goes:
 
Biggest decision right now...
 
High, Railed Forecastle - keep it or drop it?  



 
Looking forward to your input.   Several more decisions to come as needed.
 
Kind regards,
Gabe
 

A mad dash…
 
The last few weeks have been…busy.  We couldn't ignore our cottage so it beckoned us for several days (still did some modelling, but on another ship:  https://modelshipworld.com/topic/34723-hmcs-agassiz-by-gabek-hmv-card-model-1250/) Months ago we booked a trip to visit my parents in British Columbia…always a pleasure.  And on our return a devastating storm hit the park where our cottage is so we had to inspect damage (Nothing, incredibly…just some clean up.  Not so for many up there😢) These all added to my panic in finishing this model.  So, pardon me for a lengthy catch up post…
 
First off, I tightened up the running rigging, re-rove many lines to make a bit more sense, and created coils by soaking line in dilute PVA glue and forming them on sticks.  By this point the AL "plans" were completely ignored.
 


 
While I liked the shape of the sails I didn't like how the foot of the main sail, in particular, rested against the mast and main shrouds.  I first thought of using wire as a tack line to hold the sail off the mast. But right beside me on my bench was my 3D resin printer and the curing station…so I thought I'd try something:  I soaked some lines in clear UV resin, brushed off excess, then hanged them with weighted ends in the curing tank to see if I get a solid tack rope to push the sails where I wanted.  And it sort of worked.  I anticipated that the stiffness in the lines would make knot-tying nearly impossible so I made loops in the ends using a beading needle before soaking, which then cured into a solid ring through which I could tie them to the clews. 


IMG_7455.mov  

Longer pieces sagged, unfortunately.  I thought of a second coat of UV resin but then I was ok with the results.  The wind just dropped a little and the tacks went slack…that's my story. 
 
After gluing on all the coiled ropes I then turned to the remaining objects that needed painting.  By this time I was literally exhausted with this model and all the hours of sitting were killing my back…so I have to admit I was impatient and cranky.  I should have taken more photos.
 
Painting the anchor stock went ok but I refused to just leave the anchors hooked on the gunwales like AL depicts. I quickly checked a few resources and found a rig in AotS Blandford  that looked easy and doable.  At this point an 18th century anchor rigging on this 15th century ship could hardly look out of place! Unfortunately, I somehow misinterpreted the drawing and somehow ended up with this nonsense:

 
I hated the lantern.  It was chunky and not elegant at all.  I added some brass wire and painted the interior "baffles" silver, with an overcoat that was a blend from yellow to orange.  Over brushing brass acrylic on black primer of the housing turned out ok for me.  To simulate glass I used Micro-GLAZE.  Results were…meh. 
 
I showed you Higref and Thonk in an earlier post…these are a couple of heroic characters that have meaning to my son and daughter-in-law.  I created them in HeroForge - an online 3D character builder - and then printed the files to scale on my 3D resin printer.  Painting figures is another hobby so this was enjoyable.  The little splash of colour and scale they bring to the model is very pleasing to me.  I posed them looking outward and forward…on their journey of discovery!

 
I added only one of the kit-supplied flags…
 
…and I was finished!


Started on the case today. 
 
Clear skies and sharp tools!
- Gabe
 
 

A mad dash…
 
The last few weeks have been…busy.  We couldn't ignore our cottage so it beckoned us for several days (still did some modelling, but on another ship:  https://modelshipworld.com/topic/34723-hmcs-agassiz-by-gabek-hmv-card-model-1250/) Months ago we booked a trip to visit my parents in British Columbia…always a pleasure.  And on our return a devastating storm hit the park where our cottage is so we had to inspect damage (Nothing, incredibly…just some clean up.  Not so for many up there😢) These all added to my panic in finishing this model.  So, pardon me for a lengthy catch up post…
 
First off, I tightened up the running rigging, re-rove many lines to make a bit more sense, and created coils by soaking line in dilute PVA glue and forming them on sticks.  By this point the AL "plans" were completely ignored.
 


 
While I liked the shape of the sails I didn't like how the foot of the main sail, in particular, rested against the mast and main shrouds.  I first thought of using wire as a tack line to hold the sail off the mast. But right beside me on my bench was my 3D resin printer and the curing station…so I thought I'd try something:  I soaked some lines in clear UV resin, brushed off excess, then hanged them with weighted ends in the curing tank to see if I get a solid tack rope to push the sails where I wanted.  And it sort of worked.  I anticipated that the stiffness in the lines would make knot-tying nearly impossible so I made loops in the ends using a beading needle before soaking, which then cured into a solid ring through which I could tie them to the clews. 


IMG_7455.mov  

Longer pieces sagged, unfortunately.  I thought of a second coat of UV resin but then I was ok with the results.  The wind just dropped a little and the tacks went slack…that's my story. 
 
After gluing on all the coiled ropes I then turned to the remaining objects that needed painting.  By this time I was literally exhausted with this model and all the hours of sitting were killing my back…so I have to admit I was impatient and cranky.  I should have taken more photos.
 
Painting the anchor stock went ok but I refused to just leave the anchors hooked on the gunwales like AL depicts. I quickly checked a few resources and found a rig in AotS Blandford  that looked easy and doable.  At this point an 18th century anchor rigging on this 15th century ship could hardly look out of place! Unfortunately, I somehow misinterpreted the drawing and somehow ended up with this nonsense:

 
I hated the lantern.  It was chunky and not elegant at all.  I added some brass wire and painted the interior "baffles" silver, with an overcoat that was a blend from yellow to orange.  Over brushing brass acrylic on black primer of the housing turned out ok for me.  To simulate glass I used Micro-GLAZE.  Results were…meh. 
 
I showed you Higref and Thonk in an earlier post…these are a couple of heroic characters that have meaning to my son and daughter-in-law.  I created them in HeroForge - an online 3D character builder - and then printed the files to scale on my 3D resin printer.  Painting figures is another hobby so this was enjoyable.  The little splash of colour and scale they bring to the model is very pleasing to me.  I posed them looking outward and forward…on their journey of discovery!

 
I added only one of the kit-supplied flags…
 
…and I was finished!


Started on the case today. 
 
Clear skies and sharp tools!
- Gabe
 
 

Zooming along…
 
I've been forgetting to take photos as I go.  Finally remembered to do so today…I have "roughed in" all the rigging.  I wanted the sails to be full, so I soaked them in thinned PVA and stretched them over some pipes and our exercise ball. Once dry I gave them a coat of flat varnish.  They're holding their shape really well.

LOTS of complaints about AL's plans and rigging design…but I'll sum them up when I'm finished.
 
Clear skies and sharp tools!
- Gabe