Gregory

The rigging  is at the heart of the era represented by these ships, i.e., " The Age of Sail ".. 
I admit, rigging can really bog down the joy of the hobby, for me I try to keep more than one project going so that I can switch back and forth from the different stages.
 
Without sails, you get a nice look  with just lifts, halyards and braces.
 
Make it work for you.
 
 

I did order thru Malco, but Malco filled the order thru Martindale. Greg at Malco supplied the 2 names at Martindale for future orders. 

This one took a while to figure out, eventually I got a center post to support the frame rails and glued in place.  Then I was able to sand them down and add the cap. 

In spite of a week's travel for business, I managed to get done a part:
 
*********************

The Main Hatch
 
The main hatch will be shown closed, so I could revert to my usual technique of milling it from a solid piece of acrylic glass. In fact, the piece forms a core and as sharp corners for the recess into which the hatch covers fit is needed, around it strips of 1 mm acrylic glass were cemented. This arrangement was milled to size and shape as shown previously. To make it visually more interesting a quarter-round cove was milled into the outer edge with a 0.5 mm ball-burr. In real life, this would also prevent the wood from splintering, when hit by something during loading.

Milling a quarter-round cove into the coaming of the main-hatch
 
The cover was assumed to be in three parts, each planked with short lengths of plank. The cover is made from a tight-fitting piece of bakelite paper into which the planks were engraved, as was done for the deck-planks. Making hatch and cover in separate pieces allows to paint it with sharp edges. The cover will be simulated to be natural wood.

The main-hatch with the cover inserted
 
Eventually, the hatch will be fitted with clamps for the battens to tie-down the canvas cover. That will be done at a later stage to avoid damage during fitting the part into the deck.
 
To be continued …

I'm not sure why it would matter.. The preventer stay is just a back up, however , Petersson may have got it wrong, or the model of Melampus  may be wrong.
If it matters, I would go with Lees.

I have previously posted about interesting wood that I have found/harvested here in Hawaii.  I am always looking to find new material for making parts.
I was wondering if anyone else does the same in their areas.
Please post info about unusual, strange or down right weird wood you have incorporated into a model.
 
To start things off I will mention two woods I have used.
Citrus x latifolia - 'Tahitian' lime This is the citrus tree not the Lime or Basswood common in models.  Nice hard, tight grained wood with a faint yellow color.
Hibiscus schizopetalus - 'Chandelier' Hibiscus This is a rather unusual ornamental plant that has bright red flowers that hang down and form a kind of lacey ball.  Wasn't expecting this to be usable wood.  However I dried a few pieces and found that the wood was fairly hard.  The wood is light tan in color and carves easily.

New to this group project. Just ordered the plans for this beautiful ship and I plan on scratch building this ship. Looking forward to my first scratch build and also learning how to do a build log. Thanks!

https://syrenshipmodelcompany.com/laser-cut-ship-model-fittings.php#!/9-32-long-Belaying-Pins-7-4-mm-1-64-scale-25-per-package/p/758201032
 
 

Yes the kit did come with the plans, there were 2 sheets, unfortunately I tossed everything awhile back. Even if a piece or two is missing from a sheet I am sure you could make a replacement easy enough.  
 
There is a build log for the cross section here on MSW by Heronguy, but he has not been active since 2023, it does show both sheets of plans.  Also Aeropiccola made a kit of the full ship in the same scale.  Trippwj has a build log going for that, he is still active on the forum.  You probably could build the model using those 2 sources.  Another good source would be mtbediz scratch build of the Essex he use Aeropiccola plans as a starting point and turned it into fantastic looking model, he is very active on the forum. 
 
Really is a easy build.  Looking back at Heronguy log kind of refreshed my memory.  I basically built everything to fit as I worked my way up from the bottom using the plans as a reference of where approxiimately everything went.  Just make sure the decks and gun ports work out so the cannons fit correctly in the ports.  I remade some parts to get everything to fit and align etc. at that time I only had hand tools to work with.  Everything for this model can be very easily made with just a few hand tools.  With these old kits you have to adjust and fit as you go anyhow, as they are not the most accurate kits, but mine did make a good looking model even though not the most historical accurate.  You could also use some references and add to the basic kit, that would really inhance it, plenty of build logs to help with that.
 
Also you can google to see if there are any photos of the plans by Aeropiccola, there should not be any copywright issues as this company has been out of buisness for a long time.  
 
Lots of info available here on MSW, if you decide to give it a try start a build log and ask questions I am sure you will get all the help you need.  
 
Don

Up for auction, one of three known surviving Trafalgar Union Jacks: 
 
https://www.christies.com/en/stories/battle-of-trafalgar-union-jack-flag-from-the-hms-spartiate-c3f23cd0428d4528bef698ca3c1296f9?COSID=43841259&cid=DM532848&bid=502282194
 
Things to note are the coarse weave of flags back then: translucent in light, not opaque. This effect is seen in marine paintings. I originally thought that the paint had become transparent with age - not so!
 
The proportions of the flags at this time were not standardized as today, particularly if sewn aboard.
 
It can be yours, if you have deep pockets and large space to display it in.

@Keith Black
I tried some thin wrapper plastic, and streaked it with some grey paint.  So not clear, but it has the shine of "glass".
 

Thanks GrandpaPhil!
 
Following up, the original builder's widow has seen the photos posted here and is very happy and feels her late husband would be very happy with the final model. And, I think we're figured the final disposition for this model.
 
I got this stuff through an estate sale that was facilitated by someone at Crystal Basin Cellars, a winery near Placerville, CA. They also have a stand and case that was originally purchased by the builder for this model. The plan is to put the model in that case and stand and display it at the winery. There, it will be taken care of and can be viewed and enjoyed by others. Gives me an excuse to go up there and visit the model, and maybe come home with a nice bottle of wine or two!
 
Probably won't happen until after the Summer or possibly after a miniatures show in Santa Clara in October. So, for now, it's in a case to keep it clean and protected.

Great!  The flags are especially well done.  I will be referencing them..

Well that worked out in the end.  A little more cleanup and after finishing I'll back the windows with parchment paper or something similar.

Pictures from the when the America was at the Naval Yard clearly show the large skylight was rectangular panes, not tiny windows as the etched parts have.  In fact the skylight from the America is in the Mariner's Museum in Newport News.  This is the great thing about this build, so much historical data available.  So while the brass guards on the panes might be hard in this scale, I'm at least going to match the 5 pane design, just not sure how yet. 

Adding flagstaffs now, and discovered that one of the decorative fixtures for the flagstaff tops is missing. 🤨
 
So, now, I need to either replicate one, or make something simpler...

It's a bit hard for e to get this exact shape, and I want them all to look the same. I'll see what I can do to replicate this one, but since I want to take this to the IPMS show in Fremont tomorrow, I may end up clipping them down to the ball at the base. That's easy to reproduce.
 
Anybody know how accurate these are for the Mary?
 
In the meantime, I've been adding flags.
 

Something interesting that I've noticed about this Dusek produced Mamoli kit. The flags are just a tad different than the original Mamoli kit. The original kit had a pennant flying from the end of the bowsprit, but with a red pennant with a Union Jack at the base, whereas the Dusek kit has a red pennant with St. George's Cross at the base. I know nothing about what's correct, or where each of the flags should fly, except for what the instructions call for. I'll be following the instructions on this.
 
Below, I've already cut out the flags I printed, and am giving them some shape. I shaped them with various round instruments – a pen, a dowel, a paint brush handle, etc. Then to help them hold their shape, I applied a bit of pressure to the folds by slipping them underneath my cutting mat. The weight of the mat was just enough to hold them in place until the paper "relaxed". The folds turned out surprisingly well and I'm very happy with the results.


Two more to mount. But first, I need to figure out if I can replicate that decoration.

Okay, final pics. Managed to fabricate a decorative piece for the last of the flag staffs. Got the last flag added.
 
This isn't a perfect model, but it was one I wanted to finish for the original builder, the late Richard Fletcher.
 

Learned a few things, RE-LEARNED a few things, and had fun working on the model, and I'm satisfied with it.
 
I still have another, original Mamoli Yacht Mary kit in my stash. I don't know that I need it anymore. There are a lot of ship modeling subjects I want to build. Perhaps I'll tackle it later.
 
Don't know the final disposition of this model. I will take it to a couple ship model club meetings in July and August, and probably display it at a miniatures show in October. Then, we shall see.
 
But, now, it's back to HMS Wolf and others!
 
 

You made me dig out my digital copy of that Ships in Scale volume to confirm it's a great article.   I have my 2nd Mary kit on the shelf and look forward to getting around to it some day.
 
There is a Mary-like model of a ship called Max Emanuel built by  Theodor Klaas.
 
It has some amazing detail that I would strive to incorporate on my next Mary
 
Max Emanuel
 

One of the detail images.

OK, I'm finally happy with the transom shape.  Bulwark strakes on, and I'm pleased with that difficult transition where the bulwark curves, inward around the stern.  I have one of the several temp planks in place following a set of 1923 plans.

Anyway, now that it's 101+ degrees outside, I'm back in the 1/66 workshop..  All transoms, all the time.
 

Yesterday, I had the day off, so I took the opportunity to add the topsail and finish tying off all the running rigging. I ended up having to belay a lot of the lines incorrectly, but you can't tell in most cases. In other cases, I figure that I'll be adding rope coils at a later date to hide some of those details.
 
Flags are yet to go on, but I'm no longer feeling pressed for time to get the model done for the IPMS show this weekend. And, in any case, I should have time to get the flags done by tomorrow.
 
Would like to have braced the topsail around more, but the spreader yard was starting to hit the port shrouds and I din't want to deform them. Also, not sure what others do about this, but that spreader yard has no lines that pull down on it. On most ships, you at least have the sheet lines, which can be rigged to apply some downward pressure. As a result, the spreader yard halliard was too slack. So, I cheated, and if you look really closely, there's a thin black thread pulling the yard down, tied off to the staysail sheet horse. It's hardly noticeable, and it works!

Anyway, flags are next...

Thank you Druxey, Baker.
 
I made some adjustments and I'm MUCH happier with the mainsail.
 
Also, I realized that the lighting in the last photo is what main the staysail halliard look too big. Here's an updated photo. Still have to secure the lines. Then I can add the square topsail and finish up the flags.

Thank you Druxey and Baker for the sentiments on Ken. I've been recently realizing that his loss may also have a profound impact on the activity of the South Bay Model Shipwrights club, of which Ken was Vice President for as long as I can remember. He also wrote up the club newsletter, The Foghorn, and now I find I have nobody in the club that I can really discuss ship model industry news, and historical aspects of ship modeling with. 
 
Anyway, thanks too to you both and Gregory for your comments on this model. Sails are going on now. I've pulled the gaff off the model to add the mainsail. It's back on now, and I'm adjusting and belaying lines.

Not LOVING the sails, but they're okay. Looking at this pic, I think the jib halliard is too thick. Not sure why. It's not difficult to replace that line. 
 
Don't know that I like the set of the mainsail either, but there are a lot of lines affecting the angle of the gaff. I want a slightly steeper angle on the gaff and haven't quite figured out what lines are keeping me from getting it. Might be the throat halliard...
 
Anyway, it'll probably all be fine by the time I'm done. Should be another week. I did a lot of work on it yesterday. Taking the day off from it today and will try to make a big push on Monday.
 

Great start on your re-boot of that model.
 
Let me know if I'm cluttering up your log too much, but you have really got me thinking about going forward with my Mary II..
 
I found this superb link to a model by Lloyd McCaffery.
 
There are a couple of downloadable PDF's of some of the details and also contemporary reference drawings/painting.   Mamoli did a great job of creating the details of this kit.

Any indication if it will include rigging detail?