GGibson

Ha! Yeah, I'm sure I'm going to forget a necessary eyebolt somewhere that will be critical for rigging and will be a PITA to get to as the deck gets "busier"... <forehead slap>

Ahhh, I'm paying serious attention to your metalwork! I am not good at this. Hey. I love your desktop vise! I assume the base is super heavy in order for it to stay in one spot while tugging while clamping and tugging? Mine is fairly mobile and handy, but my wife would love seeing another front porch delivery dropoff! Where did you get yours? A new tool!

Hi Geoff! Found your Constitution build when you commented on Jon's build log. Need to scroll back and catch on your 12 pages. I am seriously thinking of adding Old Iron Sides to my shipyard. From what I can quickly see, great work! Pulling up a chair as you finish the rigging. 👍🏆

A few more small updates... As mentioned previously, I gave the hull several "seal coats" using the Minwax Wipe-On poly. Nice and shiny! Before sealing the deck and some of the box structures, I needed to finish the skylight. As I did with the other boxes, I used some 1/16" thick basswood sheet stock for the base, the walls and the top. As I've done on the other deck structures, I added some scrap stock to the inside corners for stability. Stained the base and top and painted the walls white. Drilled a 3/32" hole in the port and starboard sides. It was now time to position all of the deck structures completed so far on the deck, get them glued down, and seal everything. Made sure everything set nicely to the contour of the deck, and PVA'd each structure in position. Two coats of Minwax Wipe-On Poly were brushed on here, as it was hard to get into some of the tighter areas. All in all, looked pretty sharp. Now it's time to knock out some of the smaller deck pieces... Fore Boom Sheet Buffer - I had already done the main BSB when putting in the aft main rail, because of the tight space underneath and, at the time, had cleaned up and painted the fore BSB cast metal piece black with the gold ring on top. So, just needed to assemble the laser cut pieces for the little shelf that covers the BSB. Painted the shelf white, drilled holes in the deck close to the great beam, inserted the Boom Sheet Buffer, and glued the shelf above it. Main Boom Crutch - Laser cut piece for the vertical stand. The base was made from a 1/16" x 7/32" piece cut 3/8" long. Drilled partial 1/16" holes for the notches in the bottom of the stand to sit in when assembled. Stained the base and painted the stand white. Glued the base to its location on the deck behind the wheel box and in front of the main rail, but will not place the stand into the base until later, as it would be a prime candidate for getting knocked over by an errant arm swing while doing other things on this busy deck. Bilge Pumps - I flattened the bottom of these castings with my Dremel, drilled a hole in the bottom and inserted a 1/32" brass rod to make it easier to secure to the deck. Dropped in some white distilled vinegar to clean, then primed them and painted black. Drilled holes in deck and used CA glue to fix onto deck. Quarter Bits - Used 1/8" square stock. Although plans mention using wood, I decided to use brass rods and keep them brass colored. Also placed 1/32" brass rods in the bottom to help secure to deck. Galley Stack - Same as the bilge pumps, I cut off the bottom piece of the Britannia casting using the Dremel to make it flat, and drill a hole for a brass rod. Cleaned, primed and painted black. Stern & Bow Chocks - Cleaned, primed, painted black and placed using CA glue. Main Sheet Lead Block Horse - Used brass rod, drilled holes just in front of main boom sheet buffer and behind main boom crutch base. Jumbo Jib Sheet Traveler Horse - Same procedure as the Main sheet horse above. This one sits just ahead of the fore deck mast hole. A few fun little pieces to knock out. Next projects will be to assemble the fife rail and to work on the catheads. From what I have read on others' build logs, the catheads could be a challenge. Always appreciate the drop-in peeks, likes and comments. The advice I have received so far has been awesome and much appreciated. Supposed to be in the 70s in Kansas City for the next week or so, so may try to get outside around the yard before it gets colder heading towards late fall and... ugghhh... winter.

Yes, the work you've done on the sails really do accentuate the deck and the entire ship. Done very well, sir! I've been discussing on my Bluenose log that I'm wrestling with how to finish rigging and attaching sails once I get to that point and am really leaning towards a furled sails presentation. Not sure I can hang the sails as well as many of you have done. Your gift consideration to a colleague is similar to what I have been thinking about. My son gave me this Bluenose kit as a gift some 16-17 years ago, and after attempting a build as a newbie, I got frustrated and it ended up in a closet. Well, after retiring and finding this hobby with a few smaller builds under my belt, I've now been working on that Bluenose. My plan is to give it to my son upon completion, except that he now lives in South Florida and might be difficult getting it to him! If I finish it during our Kansas winter time, though, it may be an excuse for a long drive... You are almost done with your Bluenose! Congratulations!

Ahhhh, and these guys are practically in my backyard! Well, technically across the river in another state... but they're close!

Welcome, Marco! Wow, awesome work on what you have done! I am pretty new to the ship building community, as well, so I can't identify all of them. What is the third from last ship with the white lower hull? Beautiful ships!

Really looking nice with the rigging and sails, hamilton!

Sweet! Awesome picture!

You are ahead of me in your build, so I will be paying attention! 👍☘️

I was the one who asked the question in yesterday's NRG Virtual Workshop, Kurt, and thanks to all for the additional links and suggestions! I've had MicroMark's larger Miter Box for Razor Saw (micromark.com) for a long time, but was intrigued by the "compactness" of the one mentioned yesterday. Appreciate the follow-up, Kurt! And others!

John & Bill - Thanks to both of you for your input! Always appreciate others' viewpoints and experiences! Regarding the furled sails discussion, I am sure you have both seen, as well, the archived MSW thread from back in 2013-2015 about furled sails - Bill, he does mention considering silkspan in his opening thoughts, but used some muslin fabric. However, later in the thread, he says he'd use even thinner material the next time, so perhaps, as you suggest, some silk handkerchief or tissue material. I still like the idea of doing furled sails with something like that. In doing a quick search, I see that Bob Hunt (Lauck Street Shipyard) has a tutorial, as well, on making silkspan sails, and there is at least one MSW thread (this one from April 2021) on silkspan sails. Thanks for that suggested option, Bill! With that said, I also agree with John's comment that placing the ship on a launching way display would not be right with the masts, sails (furled or not), etc. So... I'm thinking of perhaps some type of "ship at the dock" type of diorama? Or, I'll just put it on two pedestals... 🤣🤣🤣 Again, thanks for the discussion and advice, guys!

Yes! Furled sails have been a serious consideration! The pictures you shared of the Bluenose II and the pictures from the Nova Scotia Archives (Nova Scotia Archives - Bluenose: A Canadian Icon) have been really good in showing how the sails look when down and furled. For historical accuracy, I believe I read that much of the Bluenose rigging was done after it was launched and in the water. So, not sure that furled sails or even substantial rigging without sails as it sits on the launching way would be correct, but... <shrug>

Any little thing I can do to help, John! Your Bluenose work has been an inspiration for me to trudge forward!

Got a few more things completed... NAMEPLATES/SCROLLWORK The work on the nameplates and scrollwork took a bit longer than I had originally planned. First, I was going to enlist the help of my 14-year-old granddaughter to assist me with some Photoshop work to take some of the scrollwork I had obtained on the internet, change it to a yellow color, give it a black background, add some text where needed, and print for me. Well, a 14-year-old's life seems to be more hectic than papa's with schoolwork and other activities, so I decided to tackle the work myself. Actually, didn't do too badly, after downloading the 30-day trial of Photoshop and fussing with it a bit. I then stumbled a bit, as I was printing the decals using the clear version of Sunnyscopa Laser Waterslide Decal Paper. That was not working out well, as the yellow print was just not showing well when placed on the black hull. Duh! How about using their white-backed decal paper?!? Worked very well! As recommended by others, I used the Microscale Micro Set & Micro Sol setting solution before and after placing the decals, and that seemed to help the adherence. Added the hawse pipe lips with CA glue around the scroll work. BATTEN Back up to some of the deck fixtures, I worked on completing the batten that sits next to the wheel box. Pretty straightforward assembly. According to the plans, the batten appears to be about 14mm x 9 mm, and not very tall (as it had to be an easy step up for the helmsman). I first made the batten using some 1/64" x 1/16" wood stock, but after assembling, gluing and staining, it looked horrible, so... let's try again. This time I used a thicker stock, 1/32" x 3/32", and it came out better. Used a routine of stacking one long piece, and then two side pieces, then another long piece, then two side pieces, etc, etc, until I got to that 9mm width. Trimmed the pieces sticking out, sanded sides and top to get down to an appropriate length and height, and this attempt looked much better than the first. The picture is prior to staining. Moving on... COMPANIONWAY Had a little more time before finishing another project, so worked on the companionway next. Decided to construct this, similar to how I did the wheelbox, using full 1/16" sheet for all sides, the base and, this time, for the fixed and sliding roof, as well. Used a very thin piece of scrap for the slide rails. And, like the wheelbox, placed some scrap stock pieces in each inner corner for bracing/support. Although the close-up pictures distort the construction a bit, the final product came out pretty well. Not as fine as I've seen others, but this was good. SEALING THE HULL With the nameplates and scrollwork completed, I am now able to seal the hull and bulwarks with Minwax Wipe-On Polyurethane. Gave it one coat, sanded fairly lightly with 800 grit sandpaper, and just gave it a 2nd coat. We'll see how it looks in a few hours after drying, but two coats may be good. I'm holding off on sealing the deck until I finish these "major structures" that sit on the deck and get them fixed on the deck. I will then put a seal on the deck and the structures. Still haven't completely decided on how this Bluenose will be displayed, but have been seriously thinking of using a launching way display with full rigging but no sails. Whatever I am going to do, I probably need to decide soon, as I continue working on all of the deck structures, but before we get to the masts and rigging. As always, appreciate the peek-ins, likes and comments.

Sharp looking, Jon. Anxious to see them on the ship. 👍

Nice rigging, hamilton! Ehhh, so what if it's been since 2016... as the saying goes, "just like riding a bike", you never forget!

Wood strip cutter. Not sure where John got his, but MicroMark (for example) sells them, as well. Wood Strip Cutter, Windsor Propeller Master Airscrew MA4000, produces precision cuts wood strips for model building (micromark.com)

There is a slight noticeable difference in the lids/covers this time, John. Great job! May try to steal this idea.

Awesome deck work, John! Very impressed! Love how you did the barrel storage/sheathing work. Have been debating how to do the barrels, as well, and, as Ferrus pointed out above, you've used that old picture of their "working deck" to display it all very well! I do love those historical (and current day Bluenose II) pictures. Appreciate you sharing! Carry on!

Looks really sharp, Commodore! Nice hull work!

Waiting on an Amazon delivery in order to hopefully finish the Bluenose scrollwork and nameplate project. In the meantime, let's knock out the unidentified object and the hatches, shall we? Two (well, technically three) pretty straight-forward simple builds... For the unidentified object, I used a 7/16" OD dowel. Before cutting it down to size, I first created the lid seam, as it was easier to do this in the mini-miter box with a longer dowel to hang onto. Created the circle with the miter saw, and widened it slightly all around with an xacto knife. Then cut the dowel at about a 4mm height. Placed a small brass rod in the bottom, which made it easier to hold while staining/painting, and I can use it when I mount and glue this on the deck for additional adhesion/support. Stained the lower part with red mahogany stain I am using for all of the deck buildings and painted the lid white. For the hatches, since they are virtually the same, just slightly longer for the one being placed on the fore deck, I did a lot of the cutting, gluing and staining at the same time. My measurements were 24x24mm and 24x36mm. For the outside frame, I used 1/4" x 1/8" wood stock and used a 3/16" x 3/16" wood stock for inner support and something for the 1/16" panel sheet to sit on. On both of the sheets, I made a groove down the center of the panel to simulate the door halves. I stained the frames in the red mahogany again, and stained the hatch covers in a lighter cherry, which is what I will also stain the deck in a bit, as well as the masts. I will glue the covers inside the frame inserts and drill the appropriate holes on the covers and on the frame sides for the ringbolts. I will also sand on the bottoms to match the deck curvature before permanently placing. The attached picture is obviously before these guys were fully completed. Alright, I hope to get the nameplate issues I've been having resolved soon! Thanks again for peeking in, along with the likes, comments, criticisms and recommendations.

Nice work, Tim! It's all looking sharp!

Well, I finally got to the rudder assembly on my Bluenose. I had actually worked on shaping and painting the rudder several weeks ago in some down time, in between one of the projects for which I was probably waiting on more parts delivery! So now, it was time to complete the pintles and gudgeons construction and get the rudder attached to the hull. In reading and studying many of the completed build logs for the Bluenose, such as those done by David Lester, Ed Kutay, Bob Hermann and others, also including current builds, I continue to look back especially to genericDave's Bluenose log and detailed descriptions, both here on MSW, as well as his Suburban Ship Modeler website. I decided to attempt Dave's approach to completing the pintles and gudgeons for the rudder assembly. My first task, then, was to make a building board like he did so that I could determine where to drill holes in the supplied 1/16" brass strips. Using a scrap piece of board, I marked on it where I would drill the holes on the three (3) sets of strips. I decided the pintles would have 3, 4 & 2 pinholes top to bottom, spaced 2.2mm apart, and the gudgeons would all have just 2 pinholes on all three, spaced 2.5mm apart. Determining the thickness of the rudder and the sternpost at each contact point, I then made lines on the building board (and marks on the strips using an Xacto blade for where each of the strips would be bent in order to wrap around the rudder and sternpost/hull. This work gave me the opportunity to purchase a new tool for the shipyard! In order to assist in making these super-small holes just millimeters apart from each other, I purchased a Proxxon Micro Bench Drill Press (Model #TBM115) and a Proxxon Micro Compound X/Y Table (Model #KT70). I glued the outside edges of the strips (parts that would ultimately get cut off) to the board to keep them secure while drilling, using a #66 sized micro bit. Although they weren't "perfect", the holes looked pretty darn good after drilling. It was now time to solder tubes to all of the strips so that a pin could be placed in each of the pintles to create the hinge. My past experiences with soldering did not go well. What to do this time? After some research, I decided to go the resistance soldering route and, once again, time for a shipyard purchase. I got the MicroMark RSU unit. After several practice rounds using scrap brass tubing and strips, I got comfortable enough to solder the 1/16" OD tubing to the pintle and gudgeon strips. Using the Dremel, I then cut the excess tubing and, after a bit of reaming where necessary, confirmed that the pins would still go through the tubes. I decided against using the Brass Black in order to darken the pieces, and instead cleaned them up with some white distilled vinegar and then primed and painted them with the same Liquitex Basics Acrylic Mars Black paint that I used on the hull. I then secured each of the pins in the tubes with a spot of CA glue and cut the pins to their appropriate length to insert properly into their respective gudgeon. Time to get these on the wood! I first attached each of the pintles to the rudder using some J-B Weld ClearWeld Epoxy. I set them in their locations on the rudder, wrapped them in wax paper (so the clamps wouldn't stick on any epoxy seepage) and clamped them for 24 hours. I then drilled small shallow holes in the wood to match the holes in the strips, cut some brass nails with heads to a very short length, dipped them in CA glue, and inserted them to resemble the bolts. With the ship upside down and resting on the foam cradle I have, I then fit the gudgeons onto the sternpost and hull in their appropriate spots, again using the J-B Weld epoxy to secure. Once that dried, I then repeated the brass nail process on the gudgeon holes. All-in-all, things came out pretty well. One of those, from a natural viewing point, it looks good, but as the modeler and inspecting closely, I made a few oopsies. Things to remember on my next ship's rudder installation. Hopefully, I will be able to complete the nameplate and scrollwork in the coming days. I've had several "re-do's" on that process, but may have an acceptable solution done soon. Once that is done, I will do some touch-up work wherever need on the hull and then get it sealed and finished. I've already started on some of the deck buildings in between some of these delays I've experienced on the bottom side, so progress has been slow but fairly steady. Appreciate the peek-ins, comments and criticisms, and advice on anything that may be heading my way on the top side. Thanks...

Duhhh, never thought about looking that date up in naval history! <doh> Thanks, Keith!