Snug Harbor Johnny

It isn't regular Titebond ... but version "II" (2). I've only ever used the 'original' just plain Titebond for years, and older glue does get thicker (for some applications) but has never turned brown. New glue is not expensive, whereas your time spent on a model is priceless. The 'type 2' seems to be also for outdoor applications ... do you plan to leave a model outdoors? If not, stick with the original.

The Eze tissue is a great idea. Perhaps it is possible to introduce some opacity to the dope with pigment powder. Experimentation is in order. Another method might be (after drying and before mounting) to lightly spray some paint (at a distance) to lessen the translucence. One could also lightly mark the seams and reef lines as well.

I've made color photocopies from public sources (scaled to fit a model) - printed on paper, cut out, glued to the model and sealed with clear shellac.

'Looks painful ... toe screws?

Its possible that a rope core on a 4 strand setup needs a twist opposite the the strands laid over it. Its risky to bodge with the topper you have, so try and make a test one to fool around with. 'Don't know if either rope source on MSW offers 4 strand scale rope, but if they do - I'd go for that.

Ahoy, James ! I happen to have the Billings Oseberg and Roar Ede in stash (both 1:25), and thought to examine the Roar Ede closely first (with an eye to building it) as a 'warm up'. Looking at several build, builders had fitting problems with some of the planks building it 'out of the box', and most of the ribs (to be inserted after planking) didn't fit right. The building jig frames have 'tick marks' laser-burned at points where each successive plank (ostensibly) should be aligned to ... but something appeared to go awry in the builds I saw. There are a few cross sections provided in the instructions (but not to the scale of the kit), and they appear to match cross sections available from public sources. BUT ... when copied at a scale that would yield a true 1:25, the building frame corresponding to the center of the boat isn't wide enough. The pre-cut ribs DO match up with the lapstrake in the true 1:25 scale cross sections available, but do NOT line up with the laser marks on many of the build jig frames. Something went off in the design phase, and was never corrected at any point in kit production. Of course, the solution is to make correct width center jig frame, as well as to measure all the pre-cut strakes (and they appear to be correct (again by comparison with publicly available images/drawings) near the points where they should fall on the build jig frames. Then, the proper overlap and positioning is noted on the sides of the build frames by making my own cross sectional drawings of them, which will be used to judge plank position INSTEAD of the provided 'tick marks'. This was an exhausting exercise, but in the end I had corrected the build jig parts so that the planks will fit properly and the ribs will go in later without leaving gaps (or having to remake them). At this point I put everything back in the box to tackle at a later time, because of the various other irons I have in the fire. I'm tempted to order a Nitkin V3 Oseberg and sell the Billings. The Roar Ede I'll keep, having invested some re-design time into it already. Fair sailing ... Johnny

It appears that Nitkin's V3 Oseberg is a 'light year' ahead of V2, the Billings kit (or any other that I've seen).

There was considerable leeway on how a Captain might want his ship rigged. Also, have you see pictures of fully rigged ships? Clippers were a veritable jungle of ropes - every one with a purpose. You might read from multiple sources - and look through MSW logs to see how builders are doing it. Then you can decide how many of all the possible lines you can either include or exclude as seem fitting. How you rout them to belay points can vary as well.

'Could be that #6 & #24 are 'part numbers. Measure the rope diameters that came in your kit with dial vernier calipers - if you don't have verniers, one would be a good investment for your toolbox. See if Expo states the diameters.

Why not make a set using light weight cotton?

Ahoy, the images in your link seem to be the same as the ones I have - realizing that these are a simplified form of 'harbor rig' (no sails).

You've made the most realistic Endurance model I've seen. Superb !

For wooden ships, that would be flush in most cases from what I've seen.

Wow, what a handsome model of this ship! And done in card in a fraction of the time to do something like that in wood (ref: an MSW Olympia build log). Are the 3D parts available as an option? Johnny EDIT: I've looked at the entire build so far and see that Jerry Todd did the actual 3D printing, so maybe be'd market a set for this kit. Snug

You are so right, mate. For every hour actually building, I will spend at least 2 hours THINKING on it and the various ways to proceed ... more so when I'm 'busting' items to make a build better. The process is sort of like picturing myself doing something one way, and imagining all the things that might go awry with that method. Then I'll try and think of other ways (tools to use or improvise, possible jigs, holding methods, gluing methods, alternative design and material choices). The build is a path to travel (with compromises) that is savored, since its only done once (unless parts get ripped out to be redone). I like just thinking about it, then doing it later. There is no 'schedule' (whenever there is, it won't be met), and its not a race ... its an experience. Each build puts more experience, tools and techniques into my 'tool box', so the next project benefits.

'Calypso, I release you from your human bonds.'

I'd go for thin planking inside the bulwarks, then add the the spaced verticals ... Endurance builds with them look lots better.

When building the Khufu Solar Barge from Woody Joe, all the instructions were in Japanese - both their phonetic characters and also Kanji, the traditional Japanese character set. Someone at my Xfinity store helped me download the Google translate app, and so - line by line - I held the phone camera over the text to get 'translations'. Now it was funny that I had to do this several times over some of the lines of Japanese, since the english offered by the translator sometimes didn't make sense and would change in various ways on subsequent attempts. Something like 'Don't go to her house until further down the street', or 'No stick around here until later' would eventually imply not to glue at the indicated points yet, until further in the assembly. I may have commented on this in by build log.

Many builds of this kit go fine until the guns on carriages (as supplied) don't fit through the cutouts in the bulwark with a level barrel ... they tilt downward a little, causing some to sand the wheel bottoms flat to level the gun barrels (with no chance of elevating them). Check out the MSW builds. 'Don't know if this phenomenon was ever tweaked in the kit design, but one builder sanded material off the bottom of the carriages under construction, and deepened the notches for the axle beam accordingly as a fix. The notches in the carriages for the barrel trunnions might be deepened a bit as well (with a corresponding bit sanded off the tops). Thus dry fitting the armaments and tweaking them to fit the designed deck/hull layout before gluing seems wise, instead of pre-building the guns as a side project and presuming they'll fit. The limited number of guns may be all that the ship had originally for Coast Guard service, but I suppose a second set might be procured to match the increased armament at the start of the Civil War.

'Seems likely that the nets were deployed before going into action, as they would be a nuisance at other times. So perhaps an 'a frame' structure would serve, and the nets could be rolled up either side to the top of the 'A' when not needed. It wouldn't be one giant net, but gores (widths) sized to the width of the spaced rafters. This would allow control lines (for the yards) to stay in place, as they would be belayed so that the lines came down next to a rafter. The sides of the netting would be lashed along the rafter - not unlike gasket ties - as the netting was deployed, and the control lines would still function.

You are right! I was thinking of copper ... and have edited my comment, since I tried adding tartaric acid, citric acid and potassium dichromate to the liver of sulfur on brass - with no effect but to CLEAN off natural patina (as should muriatic acid - hydrochloric acid concrete cleaner). Yet cleaning brass appears to be step one with brass blackening products such as Birchwood Casey brass black or Jax Pewter black. Supposedly vinegar and salt are supposed to act on cleaned brass over time, or ammonia might be faster ... but I have not done this myself yet.

I favor shellac in many applications for wood, as shellac has been a proven wood finish for hundreds of years. Varnish can be durable as well, but can be subject to 'crackling' over time if applied too thick. Models (and electronics) should be kept in an environment that a human is comfortable in. Too much heat (as in an attic) can be ruinous. Cold is not as much of a problem, but accumulation of dust should be avoided - and there are a few ways of doing that, either on display or in storage.

'Guess blackening is OK if you WANT the barrels to be black. I prefer natural brass toning, so I don't polish at all and just use the brass as is.

With vinegar or bleach, it has to be very dilute - especially with old material that may be weakened with age. A better alternative is to order a product called "Restoration", meant to undo age yellowing or spotting on fabrics. There are instruction, and I treated old sails as part of a Gorch Fock 1 restoration that can be found on MSW. Easy does it is better than going whole hog of cleaning fabric.