Dan Vadas

And for my way of tapering masts. However, you need to start with square stock.
 
  Danny

Thank you for dropping in again Remco, Nils and Ben .
 
Lower Masts
 
Sometime soon I'm going to need the Masts for alignment purposes to go ahead with fitting the deadeyes to the channels. Up until now I've "made do" with a couple of "dummy" masts, but now it's time to make the real things .
 
I was lucky to buy one of the last of the Masting Packages for the "Swans" from Hobbymill about a year or so ago. As usual, Jeff's timber and packaging is EXCELLENT - there are TWO pieces supplied for every part needed in case of "oopsies" (I've already made one ).
 
The masts (and just about everything else) starts out as square stock - no dowels in this lot, that would have been counter-productive . Following usual practice for making "round" masts from square stock I marked out two sides with the taper required. I've also tapered the masts below deck as per the original. The pic below shows the marking out for the section between the Partners and the Heel :
 

 
After tapering these two faces with a chisel and sandpaper I marked out the other two and tapered them as well. Then I marked out each face for the edges where the "octagonalling" would finish. I cut the tapered square section into a tapered octagon using a "V" jig and a sharp chisel :
 

 

 
Then I rounded the octagon using a sanding block, and cut the lower tenon into it :
 

 
The Mast Head remains square for now - much more work to be done here later :
 

 
Fore and Main Lower Masts fitted to the ship :
 

 
Note - I had to make two Main Masts (the oopsie mentioned earlier). I'd made the main mast a bit too thin at the partners on the 1st one and wasn't happy with the result. Just as well that Jeff had supplied plenty of timber .
 
  Danny

Hull Planking Continues

 



 



 



 



 



 

Hooked Planks
 
Some Hooked Planks were required in the bow and stern where the hull narrows significantly. This avoids a weak sharp point which cannot be nailed properly :
 
 

 

 

 

Lower Deck Planking
 
The first plank for the lower deck is the King Plank which runs down the centre line. It is 12" wide and 3" thick and sits 1" proud of the rest of the planking. It is chamfered on both sides to match the adjoining planks. "Caulking" is done on one edge and butt join with an Archival Ink pen :
 
 

 

 
 
The remaining planks are nominally 8" wide and 2" thick. Work continues outward :
 
 

 

 
 
The planks narrow toward the bow and stern between the Binding Strakes and Waterways :
 
 

Lower Deck Beam Carling Mortices
 
It's now time to fit the Lower Deck Beams made earlier. First, the mortices need to be cut for the Carlings. To mark them out accurately I used a string line down the centre of the hull and measured outward from it to mark the positions of the mortices :
 
 

 
 
The blade height on the Byrnes saw was set to the depth of the mortices and the fence was set up to cut the left side of the mortice. Then a spacer of the correct thickness was slipped between the end of the timber and the fence to cut the right-hand side :
 
 

 

 
 
The Carlings are 4 1/2" thick whereas the Beams are 6", so instead of chiselling out each one I've cut them all the way through and will fit some "filler pieces" into the bottoms of the cuts to make up the difference. The blanks for these - there are about a hundred of them - were mass-produced on the Byrnes saw to the exact width of the mortice :
 
 

 
 
Once they are glued in and sanded flush the join becomes virtually invisible :
 
 

 

 

Fashion Pieces
 
 
The first pieces of Hull Framing are known as Fashion Pieces. They fit to the ends of the Transoms and attach to the Keel.
 
These were cut from the profiles on the CD in similar fashion to the transoms. I cut them to the FULLEST part of the profiles, ignoring the tapers, the SECOND time around. The first time I attempted to make them to the taper shown on the profiles with poor results - when I fitted later frames they were TOO SMALL and had to be re-done. A hard lesson learned   .
 
I used my smaller Squaring Jig to fit them :
 
 

 

Lower Apron
 
This is one of the hardest pieces to construct in the whole ship. The whole Fore Frame Assembly relies on the accuracy of the frame rebates. There was also considerable work involved in shaping the Boxing Joint to fit the Keel  :
 
 
  

The Rigging is all finished, it only took about 3 hours .




 
The last thing to be fitted is the one I usually try to leave to the end - the Ensign, or whatever the Japanese equivalent is . I just noticed that the railing at the stern is bent, good thing I took this pic or I may have missed it :

 
And here are a couple of pics of the finished ship. I'll be putting more into the Gallery :



 
Total time to build was exactly 3 months, about 6 months less than I was expecting it to take . Next up will be Bismarck, starting tomorrow.
 
  Danny

I was about to start the Rigging when I found that I'd missed fitting a Railing - and it HAD to be in the worst possible place, the aft end of the bridge platform . It took me about half an hour to fit, but it turned out better than some of the easy ones (still unpainted when I took the pic) :
 

 
The Rigging Thread I'm using is a fairly thin Elastic one. I wouldn't use this on a wooden model (unless it was in a small scale one) as it has no definition at all. Initial testing came up with some observations :
 
1. It's extremely strong and flexible. I stretched out a test piece to see how far it would go before breaking - it went to 4x it's relaxed length and still didn't break, so I still don't really know, but that's a lot further than I'll ever have to stretch it. The further you stretch it, the thinner it gets.
 
2. CA glue is the preferred one - I used a simple overhand knot and a tiny dab of CA. It held without a problem even under 2x tension.
 
3. Excess line can be cut easily with a PE Side-cutter or sharp scalpel.
 
4. It's paintable with Acrylic (at the least - that's all I tried) and it won't flake off.
 
5. It's reasonably easy to manipulate and manoeuvre into a knot, even with tweezers.
 
6. As it's stretchy it doesn't sag - the main reason I'm using it.
 
7. All in all I'm quite pleased with it :



 
  Danny

The Rigging is all finished, it only took about 3 hours .




 
The last thing to be fitted is the one I usually try to leave to the end - the Ensign, or whatever the Japanese equivalent is . I just noticed that the railing at the stern is bent, good thing I took this pic or I may have missed it :

 
And here are a couple of pics of the finished ship. I'll be putting more into the Gallery :



 
Total time to build was exactly 3 months, about 6 months less than I was expecting it to take . Next up will be Bismarck, starting tomorrow.
 
  Danny

Thanks Popeye .
 
I've finally finished the Opera House. I must say it wasn't the most enjoyable model I've ever built, and I'm not particularly happy with the way it turned out. Here are the final pics :







 
My next model will be a (Card) Halinski MkIX Spitfire in about 1:50 scale. I'll do a build log for it in this forum.
 
Danny

It's been a while since I last posted to this log. Life got in the way a bit, but I've still managed to do some more work on the "House". These pics are of the staircases and windows on the seaboard side :



 
Next step was to make the smallest of the three buildings. Here are some of the parts needed :

 
Some assembly pics. The instructions are a bit sparse in some areas, a fair bit of guesswork was involved but it all came together in the end :



 
The building fitted to the base. I'll straighten out the wrinkles at a later stage :


 
Danny

The main base is almost finished. I had to add a LOT of extra bracing :


 
I'm fairly happy with the way all the steps turned out :

 
Danny

Several members have added Indexes to "Points of Interest" to their Build Logs. This helps both themselves and others to quickly find the page or post to certain items during the course of construction - e.g. selecting "Capstan" will take you directly to the first post dealing with it's construction.
 
Here's how you do it :
 
The Index is merely a collection of Links. For those of you familiar with the method of creating a Link you can skip this next bit.
 
How to create a Link :
 
Find the Post you want to create a Link to, preferably by opening MSW in a separate Window. RIGHT Click on the Post Number :
 

 
This will bring up a Menu. Click on "Copy Link Location" :
 

 
Click on the "Edit" button in the post you want to create a Link :
 

 
Select the word (or words) that you want to turn into a Link by dragging your mouse across it while holding down the left button or using Shift + Arrow on the keyboard :
 

 
Click on the "Add Link" Button in the menu bar :
 

 
This brings up a small Menu. RIGHT Click in the "URL" bar. Make sure the cursor is inside the bar. Click "Paste" in the menu :
 

 
The Link is now attached to your selected word/s.
 
Example of an Index
 
It's helpful to place the Index in the first post of your Build Log, but if you can't do that for whatever reason you could create a Link to the Index page in the first post of the Log.
 
You can Format the text in the usual way (font, size color etc)
 

That's not set in stone yet David.
 
If and when he does start modelling he'll certainly be signing into MSW, probably with the Username of "Khye something". I bought this Laptop I'm now using for that express purpose - I've loaded all my modelling files, pics etc onto it so he can go back and reference my past work easily. If (when) he starts modelling I'll donate this computer to him as one of my "tools".
 
Danny

And finally (for now) three wagons to go behind the loco :












I have also built a small truck to go on the dock, but no pics of it yet.
 
Basically all that needs doing is about 100 boxes and drums, the barges and a few more vehicles, and fitting all assemblies to the base. This might be grandson Khye's first project.
 
Danny

The locomotive. Not quite as detailed as the Bulgar I built earlier, but after all it IS 1/10 of the size :













TBC ..........
 
Danny
 

The two  Dockyard Cranes :











TBC ..........
 
Danny

The four ship's boats and a deadeye for one of the masts. The "lashing" is 0.3mm black wire :



The mostly completed freighter. One of the cranes will be glued on when a length for the cable can be established :







TBC ..........
 
Danny

One of my grandsons (Khye) who is 21 y.o. has recently bought a house with his fiancee. It has a couple of spare rooms (until rugrats come along  ), one of which he is making into a trophy/exhibition room. They have both taken a great interest in my models, so I am giving them all the ones I have left.
 
He has also indicated that he would like to take up modelling of some type as a hobby, and is going to build a workshop in his huge backyard for that purpose. So I am also going to give him my substantial collection of modelling tools, equipment and workbenches.
 
He's a very smart and responsible lad, so I am hopeful that he will carry on my work, including finishing this kit.
 
Thanks everyone else for the comments and Likes. More pics of the diorama will follow in the next post.
 
Danny

That's not set in stone yet David.
 
If and when he does start modelling he'll certainly be signing into MSW, probably with the Username of "Khye something". I bought this Laptop I'm now using for that express purpose - I've loaded all my modelling files, pics etc onto it so he can go back and reference my past work easily. If (when) he starts modelling I'll donate this computer to him as one of my "tools".
 
Danny

And finally (for now) three wagons to go behind the loco :












I have also built a small truck to go on the dock, but no pics of it yet.
 
Basically all that needs doing is about 100 boxes and drums, the barges and a few more vehicles, and fitting all assemblies to the base. This might be grandson Khye's first project.
 
Danny

The locomotive. Not quite as detailed as the Bulgar I built earlier, but after all it IS 1/10 of the size :













TBC ..........
 
Danny
 

The two  Dockyard Cranes :











TBC ..........
 
Danny