Gregory

I've pointed out more than once that Petterson makes no claims about technical accuracy, and that he is documenting specific models. The objections here, come from discussions where someone asks for rigging references and Petterson gets thrown in with with Lees, and etc.. The distinction is important. I love Petterson's books. Particularly the first one. I go to them all the time. They are very good for showing how 99% of the lines run.. Particularly on the three mast ship..

I don't want to spend too much time bashing the book, but hope to address questions that have been asked.. Frankie may want to add more, but here is my $ .02 on the cutter. ( ...which is a favorite subject of mine for modeling, because of it's simplicity.) Being a relatively simple rig, it is hard to mess up, but one should be careful with kit plans, because they tend to oversimplify, which can be seen when you compare them to more detailed resources. Petersson apparently documented what he found on one model without comparing to other sources. Here are two items I question from the book, and maybe someone else can correct me if I am wrong. I don't understand the purpose of the tackle circled in red. It appears redundant if not totally unnecessary . It could conceivably be used to tension the back stay while setting up the other tackle that is seen, but I can't find this set-up anywhere else. It just jumped out at me when I was doing research for a couple of kits I am looking at. I don't see it in the contemporary model found here: There are several other cutter models in the Gallery, and I don't see that tackle on any of them. ....Or in the plans for Chuck's Cheerful, that can be found here: Chapter 14.. Chuck is not the final word, but I know he researched his Cheerful very thoroughly, and I would feel comfortable rigging any similar cutter with his plans. Here's No. 2: What's up with those fiddle blocks? There are not any lines going through the lower sheave. Regardless, I don't think you will find such blocks as part of a yard lift tackle on any ship. Some may say these are no big deal, but it certainly disqualifies this book as a go-to, much less a final source for accurate information on a similar boat. As I mentioned, these are two problems that jumped out at me as I compared it to other sources. I don't want to spend a lot of my time, analyzing this book for other errors, but I must assume they are there, and will double check anything I find myself looking at for future reference. Of course, someone more knowledgeable than me, might look at what I have posted and inform me about how wrong I am. I will certainly welcome any criticism. Gregory

Frankie might have more to say, but the problems arise from the subjects Petersn chose for his reference. He claims he studied contemporary models and draws them as he found them. Some of his details are just wrong regarding how a particular line leads from here to there, on a real ship. This may ( probably ) be because the model in question was /is in error. There is no reason to doubt that Petersn accurately documented what he observed. I was oblivious to this until Frankie pointed it out, but I would have to dig to find an example, which I might do later. Personally, I like both of his books, but now know not to accept them as being accurate without a lot of double checking.

I don't care too much about the stands, but I would like to hear more about the " vices "..

I really like the weathered look of your deck.. Regards, tapering. There are those who will decry the use of something like an Xacto blade or scalpel, because of a tendency for the blade to follow the grain, making precise cutting, where you want it, difficult. However I have found with patience and careful prep, it can be very effective, particularly for straight lines. Cutting curves become a whole new problem. In the short video below, I show how I marked a strip, and tapered it a few inches, from 10mm to about 8 with an Xacto. You have to make sure the straight edge and strip are held very firmly, and make the cut with several shallow cuts. Taper.mp4 Here is an excellent log of this ship, showing some planking technique. HMS Bounty by Steve

I have used this 1/8 plywood from Amazon. 3 mm 1/8" x 8" x 8" Premium Baltic Birch Plywood P.S. You can shop around on Amazon for various dimensions.. This is more versatile at 12" x 24" .. 3 mm 1/8"x 12"x 24"Premium Baltic Birch Plywood

Don't shy away from good quality plywood for your frame parts. A good example is Chuck's Cheerful project. Click through the log to see the plywood framing.. Of course, you don't want plywood showing on the outside of your model, so the " finish " parts should be woods like boxwood, pear and the Alaskan yellow cedar that is showing up lately. There are many other choices, but those are a few. How precise your cutting is, will depend on the machine itself, and you will have to experiment. The best examples I know of is our own, Chuck Passaro's Syren Ship Model Company He turns out parts in boxwood that are 1/32" thick, and having dimensions in that range, if not smaller, also. Stern Lantern Kit For what it's worth, I have a low power laser engraver that needs several passes to cut through anything thicker than card stock. However, it is great for making precise patterns that I can then cut out with my jig saw, and follow up with detailed finishing.

Very nice.. What type of wood?

I will 2nd mtaylor and GrandpaPhil's suggestion of Historic Ship Models by Wolfram zu Mondfeld

Another good thing to keep in mind, If you happen to purchase a kit from ModelExpo ( which also has an eBay store ), they will replace lost or broken parts, no questions asked...

I like the wood finish on the box art, however, the glue/water mix would certainly seal the wood to some degree and make any further natural finishing difficult. Do the instructions call for painting?

Thanks for taking the time... With all the kits we have going here, and assuming the plans are fairly accurate, comparing the steeve angles might be an interesting exercise.

Perhaps you could share a brief synopsis of his conclusions before we all rush out and buy the book?

Boxwood is always a good choice in any font...

You have mail!

Does anyone reading this thread recall a build of a clipper in Seaways Ships of Scale magazine a few years ago? I think it may have been Young America, and I think the builder was Jim Raines? It was a large model and had some of the interior exposed. ( Just reminiscing .. )

I came across this the other day while strolling through Walmart.. 2050-15 Stylo-Plus I'm posting the Amazon link due to extra pictures. I couldn't resist. It comes with the standard colette that fits most other Dremels. I added the Dremel keyless chuck. It is very light, and doesn't feel much bigger than a large pen when held. It doesn't seem as big as the illustrations at Amazon indicate. ( A model with small hands maybe? ) It has a small 18v power supply with a very lightweight cord.

Hey Grandpa, This is the best way I know of to make cleats from scratch.. Syren Ship Model Company ( There are several sizes. This is one example. ) OK, so not scratch.. But at that price, your time is worth a lot more. As amateur mentioned, using the example from Syren, you could shape some stock to that profile, then slice of a piece and shape it accordingly. Metal? Paint them accordingly and call them metal..😂

Very nice work! I have had this kit on my shelf for a while. Your log has inspired me to seriously consider getting started on it soon.

Cheapest or cheap? What is your budget? Short of fabricating them yourself and depending on scale, I would guess it would be at least $5 per gun, and that might be a tight squeeze.. If you are talking about " dummy " cannon, with just a bit of barrel showing, it could be a lot less.. What scale are you talking about? You could get a 1/96 plastic kit for less than $100, and use the cannon. With some work, they would look pretty good.

There is a replica Amistad The site says: The Dos Amigos.kit from Occre mentioned by ccoyle is a good start. If Googling or other research does not produce any definitive results, there would not be anyone to rightly criticize a named model, claiming to represent the "type" of ship.

You really have to know your kits, and prices... I like to go there and search before buying somewhere else, to make sure I'm not missing something. I recently had an itch for the Model Shipways Fair American. It was out of stock at Model Expo. I managed to get one on eBay for $150 shipped.

I would like to add that a couple of resurrected Mamoli/Dusek kits that I have acquired recently appear to be greatly improved over the old Mamoli kits. What is really great is that Daniel Dusek, the owner( I assume) of the company, is a member here, and responds promptly to inquiries. I hope to start a log soon, and will point out some of the improvements which include laser cut frame parts. I would suspect that examples here on MSW may be in short supply, since the new kits have not been out there very long.

I just received a Mamoli/Dusek Halifax from ModelExpo. I am really impressed with the quality as it sits in the box. Looking forward to seeing how the laser cut parts fist together. What I'm really impressed with compared to the old Mamoli kits, are some laser cut stem and keel pieces. The old kits would have you covering the false keel with veneer, which was OK, but less visually impressive. I also like the laser cut gun carriages, which look like they may finish out very nicely. I'm looking forward to getting to work on this to see how it goes together.

Well no, but an example might be nice..☺️