Gregory

Forward, Back, Cha Cha Cha...
 
That's the kind of dance it's been the past couple days on this project.
 
I made the standing portion of the vangs. Are these pendants? Anyway, made all four of them with 8mm fiddle blocks stropped in their ends. Then, I realized that I didn't rig them with beckets. Had to redo all four... 😖
 
Today, I fixed the issue, cut away the temporary line I had in place of the vangs, and rigged the vangs. All looks good. They're not permanently in place, since I may have to remove the gaff when I rig the sails.
 

During this last step, the stropping of one of the double blocks (the very last one I was working with, of course) gave way, so I had to remove the eyebolt for that block. It didn't want to come out, but finally did. I destroyed the eyebolt in the process, so had to replace it and re-strop the block to it before finishing up... three-four... cha cha cha...
 
Now, I'm all set to get to work on the sails. They're basically cut and ready to finish up. More on that next time.

Log #22: Shaping the Head
Thanks for all your encouragement. I am much more motivated to get stuff done at the moment as progress is now starting to be visible on the model.
 
As alluded to in the previous post the next step was to get the standard in place. According to the contract this should be 7.5 inches wide and so I cut the tow pieces out using my scroll saw and used the disk sander for the outside curves as I was worried that the saw might break them (even so I had to remake one piece due to the saw tearing the end off of it).

Then it was time for small adjustments with files and chisels to get them to fit against each other and on the knee perfectly. Once happy with the dry fit, I glued the two pieces together. I used the white paint/glue mix for this joint as it will be painted black.

Then I clamped and glued the standard in place. I didn't use paint in my glue for this as these joints will be clear from the thickness differential between the standard and the knee.

Next came the process of deciding how to proceed with the thinning of the knee. As I discussed in a previous post, the main question in my mind was how thin to make the leading edge. My starting point for this was the Winchelsea instruction in which the knee of the head is 1/4 in thick and you are directed to thin the leading edge to 1/8 in (half the thickness). I then started to look at a number of contemporary models trying to see if I could see how much they were thinned.
 
Most of what I found was very much in the ballpark of thinning to about half the width, though it is hard to be sure given the pictures are not taken head on. I won't bore you with every example I found (there were many), but I did find a very interesting model which supports my decision to use the scarfs. The model in question is 74 gun third rate made around 1790, but it is notable in that it appears to have been used as a demonstration model and all the joints are done accurately (as opposed to the simplified versions on many model).
 
The model does show thinning to about half the width of the knee (though not as much as is visible on other models), but you can also see scarfed joints for the various pieces of the head. Interestingly they have also depicted the lead sheathing on the leading edge of the bow.

https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/rmgc-object-66519
 
So with those examples in hand I started working on thinning things. I still need to make some adjustments as I have decided to thin the stem down to the width of the knee of the head below the cheeks, but here is the current state of affairs. I am thinking I may round the upper part a little more and there is still some adjustments that need to be made to the upper stem, but overall I am pretty pleased with how it is turning out.
 
There is still time to make adjustments so if it looks off to you please let me know.

I also added the first coat of WOP which has really brough the joints on the keel to life.

Flag work aside, and with all the main detail work done, I finally made some progress on rigging. 







 

Here are a couple of build logs.
 
They are pretty comprehensive showing how the model goes together.
Barbara,
I am curious about several topics you have started with questions regarding various ships and modeling.  You have received several replies but you never reply back with regard to the help you receive.
Have you been able to benefit from the help you have received?

Here are a couple of build logs.
 
They are pretty comprehensive showing how the model goes together.
Barbara,
I am curious about several topics you have started with questions regarding various ships and modeling.  You have received several replies but you never reply back with regard to the help you receive.
Have you been able to benefit from the help you have received?

After two and a half years I have finally finished my Frigate Diana.  It took me awhile to determine how I was going to mount the ship.  This kit does not come with either a cradle for displaying the final model or for use during the build.  I built a crude cradle to use during the build, but I wanted to mount the finished model on a couple of pedestals mounted to a piece of live edge walnut that I already owned.  Unfortunately I didn't plan ahead.  I should have drilled holes into the bulkhead former to accommodate long pins when I could flip it over.  I didn't do that so I had to figure out a way to drill those holes from below with out flipping the model over.  
 
The base is 1 inch thick, and the pedestals are about 1.5 inches high   I installed a 4 inch long 1/8 inch diameter threaded rod from the bottom side of the base though the pedestals leaving about 1.5 inches that are inserted into the bulkhead former.  The bulk head former is slightly less than 1/4 inch thick, leaving very little margin for error.   I did have a problem with one of the holes, luckily it was on the side that is not displayed.  
 

 

 
After being in this house for about 10 months so far, thanks to my wife we have found a way to display my models.  At the bottom of the stairs to our basement we have a niche in the wall my wife wasn't sure what we wanted to do with.  As an early Father's Day present she found a chest of drawers that had been refinished and we decided to use that chest as a way to display my models in the niche.  The Frigate Diana's base is mounted directly to a couple of shelf brackets.  
 
I want to thank everyone that viewed, liked and commented on this build log.  I really appreciated all of you interest.  
 
I have already started my NRG half hull, and will get a build log started and catch anyone who is interested in that project soon.  
 
After that I though I would build the US Brig Syren that is in my inventory, but I think I will go with the USF Essex instead.  Hopefully I get that started in the next 30 - 60 days.
 

The Titebond should be fine..

Next up.....3d printed thimbles...I hate making them so I am trying to print these tiny things.  Should know by next week if they work. Black resin is the goal.  Starting the test with 3 sizes and will adjust from there.
 

These belaying pins are fabulous! The 1/4" ones are perfectly proportioned and fit a #66 hole. Note - most commercially available belaying pins have very fat handles. Chuck has just saved me hours of work. And adding thimbles to his store would be equally amazing as the commercially made brass ones are no longer available (Crafty Sailor).

Log #21: Attaching the Keel
I find there are often points in a build where you face big decisions around what order to do things and in todays post we come to one of those. As you can see below, I completed the knee of the head, but it is missing the standard and not yet thinned or sanded smooth.

There is however a slight problem. Somehow there was some inaccuracy introduced into the joint between the stem and the keel and consequently the curve of the stem is a little too tight. This means that it doesn’t sit tight against the center bulkhead. There was still some flex in the assembly so with a bit of pressure I could get it to sit right, but this would be harder if I had the entire keel assembly in place and sanding couldn’t happen until I had the false keel and standard on.
 
So I decided that I would wait on the sanding till it was on the model. You can see below how I used a dowel and rubber bands to apply the pressure while also using clamps to hold it straight on the bulkhead.

This process was then repeated for the remaining sections of the keel.

For the false keel I used 1/16 x 13/64 strips which I cut into roughly 3 equally sized pieces. I have received a disc sander recently for my birthday and I have found what it is particularly useful for is getting angles right on joints. Using it I sanded the ends of the false keel pieces at a 45 degree angle to allow them to slide over each other if the ship were to hit the ground.

I am still undecided if I will show the staples that were traditionally used to fasten the false keel to the keel. I am mostly worried things will look a bit busy and also getting them to look right at scale and at consistent intervals may be a challenge. We are also to the point where I am very cautious about doing things as corrections at this point would essentially require me to start over.

I have essentially been following chuck’s winchelsea instructions with minor adjustments up to this point and so in line with that I left the stern end of the keel a bit long and have held off on attaching the stern post until the planking is complete.
 
The final thing I did was carefully drill holes through the keel in line with the holes in the center bulkhead. I started very small, slowing increasing the drill bit size and then used a round file to get the final bit of the way. this was important as the screws are only slightly smaller than the width of the keel and there were risks that I would damage it.
 
You can see in the below picture I have the model temporarily secured to the build board with the screws. Next step is to attach the standard and make some final decisions regarding shaping of the knee of the head. She is finally starting to take shape.

Rattlesnake is Getting closer to being completed.

Good evening MSW
 
I won one of Chuck's Battle Station kits at the Joint Clubs Conference so I'm taking a short break from my Armed Virginia Sloop.  I justify taking on a second project with the excuse that this kit will be a great way to practice rigging a cannon, which I have never done.  The kit includes Syren rope and blocks, and at the Conference Chuck gave a presentation on how exactly he likes to seize his rope.  With this knowledge still fresh in my mind I felt I better use it before it was forgotten.  So here I go
 
Here's the kit unwrapped on my bed; there's a lot of parts in the little box.  Directions are downloaded from Syren's website.

 
I read through the directions, unpacked all the parts, and re-read the directions.  The wood is all AYC I think, which I haven't worked with before, my previous experience is with basswood (blah) and holly.  AYC seems to be a good compromise wood; midway between basswood and holly in hardness, very minimal grain pattern, and it looks great under polyurethane.
 
I glued the two base panels together at right angles, creating a 2-ply plywood of sorts.  The thicker piece had warped a little but I left them clamped under a block of wood overnight and it came out flat.  Then I used water-based polyurethane (because thats what I have for my AVS) on both sides of the panel.  I plan to paint the top black somewhere down the road and the urethane provides a good base.
 
Next was gluing in the frames.  Mine fit fine without any sanding and I checked each piece for square as I went.  The slots are deep and the frames didn't require much adjustment and stayed put, and each frame is labeled.  Frame 5 (pictured below) is narrower and will only fit in 1 slot so its harder to screw up placement.

After gluing in the 5 frames I waited an hour then sanded the backside of the frames flat and added the back panel  Once it dried I sanded it flush with the frame edges.

And finally I added the blocking.  The Ultimation Hand Sander I got 2 Conferences ago worked great for removing small amounts of wood without rounding the edges.  I glued the blocking in place and clamped (gently) across the top.

And thats where I am tonight.
 
thanks for reading
 
Cisco

Ran into a snag. The bridle port doors nearest the bow are single piece doors  that SHOULD have a longer hinge strap (photo etched).  But, my kit either didn’t come with them or I lost them. It would not look right with the smaller hinge straps…and I did check but it seems off. 
 
I was going to try to create some out of brass when I thought I could use thin boxwood strips I made to create the shingles for the gallery roofs I made earlier. (Doesn’t hurt to not throw away anything sometimes!)
 
A quick coat of paint and Waa-La!  Easy bypass and they look pretty good. I can trim the strap lengths easily and add on the hinges after I’ve glued them on the ship. 
 




Moving on!!!  
 

There was /is a banner at the Malco site saying only the ownership had changed.  All the employees and infrastructure remain the same.
 
I use their blades with my Proxxon FET and have never had a problem.

I thought some of you would want to
see how I tested the viability and strength of the belaying pins.  I made a crude mock up which you see below.  This allowed me the opportunity to test in actual use various belaying pin iterations over and over again.  I must have tested so Many different resins and resin mixes until I found the correct mix of two that would be strong enough and look good.
 
There is no glue holding the pins in the rack and they are press fit.  There is also no glue on the rope.  This is the way I actually rig my models.  If a pin breaks you can easily remove it and insert another although I never came close to breaking one.  They will flex if you over tighten the line ridiculously.  But normal rigging tension works wonderfully.  
 
These are 1:48 scale belaying pins.  It actually is very encouraging and may also test 3/16” scale pins as these worked so well.
 

 

With all due respect, I would use epoxy for metal/wood or metal/metal joints (if not soldering), rather than CA.

The Titebond should be fine..

There are people out there building this model that complain about the front tower not fitting down solidly due to the structure that the M37 director sits on being too tall.  I got worried about this and figured it is better to discover the problem early when there are more fix options so I test fitted the long wall followed by the forward tower with the pilot house level platform set in place, the one that holds the search light, M37 and M51 directors.  Everything fits in place exactly as it should.  I'm not sure if Trumpeter identified and fixed the problem or if there is some gotcha still lurking out there that I have not run across yet.  I will keep test fitting as I go to make sure this does not become a problem.

The sails......

... and typically they used what was available. So, one would need to specify, where the ship in question was built.
 
Say, in the Netherland, particularly the Zaanstrek, they had easy access to semi-industrial sawn planks due to the large number of wind-driven saw-mills. In other parts of Europe, there may have been planks sawn in water-driven saw-mills, while in many parts of Europe planks had to be sawn by hand, making them expensive.
 
In general, planks could be rather wide, due to the still relative abundance of large trees, which rapidly declined in the following century.

Take a look at some of the build logs for 17th century ships.

Continuation: Fore yard - Lifts / Balancine
I have already reported in detail on the design and attachment of the La Créole's lower yard lifts in a few previous posts.
For their final installation, the only remaining question was how long the lift tackles should be to enable the required maneuvers of these yards.
Despite intensive research, I was unable to find any decisive information on this. Accordingly, I based my work on the description in Jean Boudriot's monograph on La Créole.

For the tackles I had already prepared some time ago, all I had to do was pull the ropes through the swivel hooks and attach the seizings.

The tackles were then attached to the channels using eyebolts. I secured the lanyards, which were routed over redirect blocks, to the inside of the bulwark, as shown in the following photo.

Next comes the attachment of the sheets and tacks for the fore yard, which I still have to make as so-called Grelins (in English, cablet: left-handed). Whether I make them only as left-handed hawsers or actually as a cablet is still open. With a diameter of approximately 0.6 mm for the model, the rope would probably be too stiff as a cablet, which I discovered in my initial tests.
 
But more on that soon...

That certainly looks good.     I agree to keeping it simple when possible.
I personally would not sweat the historical thing unless you find yourself in a situation where a client is going to pay $50,000, only if it is "historically accurate"..😁

The boat is finished.
 

 
I stowed the oars, rudder, anchor and boat hooks as if the boat was ready for lowering from the davits. The ship's port anchor is rigged as if it has just been fished from the water, and the sails are set as if the ship has just gotten underway. So the boat is rigged for "sea and anchor detail" (I don't know if it was called that in the early 1800s).
 

 
The Vanguard cutter is just the right length for hanging under the boat davits.
 

 
Unfortunately, the ratlines did not rig themselves while I was distracted building the boat, so I must now go back to that drudgery - unless I can find something else to work on.

Gregory,  Here is how the practicum shows the crosstrees/trestletrees.  This is a picture of the Fore Mast showing the connection at the top of the Top Mast and the heel of the Topgallant mast.  Both are inside of the crosstrees with the chock in between.  The more I think about it this arrangement seems pretty straightforward.

I never noticed that some ships had 3 crosstrees at the topgallant!  I’m kinda leaning toward doing it like the practicum.  Mainly because it is a simpler design.  But I’m still thinking about it.  I really appreciate your feedback and the references to the historical data.
 
Thanks,
Ed