Ferrus Manus

Let me know if you ever find a Kearsarge. Also let me know if you find a 1/96 scale schooner Atlantic. It's an extremely unknown kit (very rare) i assume it never really sold well. I had to do some serious digging in order to find out what it even was. It was produced by a little-known toy company who had a model sub-company. I've only ever seen one on ebay. 

I've found that, generally speaking, when Kirill4 has something to say, you listen. He is THE expert on galleons, and i am glad he was able to help you with this build. He has a vast wealth of knowledge, and i hope to enlist his advice when i eventually build the Golden Hinde.

Clinker is INSANELY hard. Cogs and Norse ships are extremely challenging for this reason and for a general lack of historical documentation.

Earlier (September) I ended up rerigging the mainstays according to the image previously posted by myself, because i had done them according to the box art, but (big surprise) they were inaccurate. At this point, none of us should trust kit instructions to tell us how to rig a ship. I rerigged them in the standard schooner configuration, shown below:

Then, i ended up finishing the standing rigging, ratlines and all. I just simply copied the foremast rigging to the main mast. This was the final result: 

Quite frankly, i am satisfied with this result. Of course the image quality is terrible. The sails are underway, the machine is set up and the templates have been drawn and shipped off to my Grandmother. We did some careful planning, and decided on a normal stitch pattern with a very small roll of extra fabric on the sides of the sails, to prevent fraying. I liked this idea best, because it kind of simulates a bolt rope, and also makes it easier for me to lash the sails to the yards. 

This is all assuming i go the cloth route and not the paper route. I have looked into paper sailmaking for model ships, and if the cloth method does not work, which i am assuming will work, i will make the sails out of (i am assuming) bond paper, as several MSW shipwrights have laid out. 

That is all for this week, as i do not really have a timeline for the sails and these things take careful planning. The first sail will just be a prototype, after all. 

those glued ropes as stay hoops are INGENIOUS 

Compared to the bowsprit, the rest of the ship seems like kind of an afterthought. 🤣 I don't know how someone is able to turn a few sheets of plastic card and a few dowels into a beauty like this. Keep it up! 

It is highly unlikely that the meter (as a unit of length) was standardized across Germany OR the Netherlands in 1674, so you do not have to worry about the length of your ship.

Gotta love the antics of the fabled master of Cigarland. Love your builds, Frank. I'm also subbed to your youtube channel.

I was wrong!! The G. L. Thebaud is rigged like the Bluenose in terms of the forestays. I will have to change it, probably tonight. 

Where have you been!?!? The USS United States is proudly on my shelf, finished, as you have seen. There will not be a forestay at the main mast top, as the G. L. Thebaud did not have one, as far as i know. I am about halfway through putting the blocks on the yards. The plastic quality is surprisingly, VERY good. Easy to work, hardy, and nimble. However, they have zero clue how ships go together, and expect you to put this together in a weekend, with mediocre at best results. I have not gotten to Joann Fabrics yet. I might continue working on the kit tomorrow. I will use my newfound freedom to extend the foot of the mainsail, as the kit supplied sail only reaches about 4/5 of the way to the end of the main boom. 

I got this when i was a little kid. Built it like a little kid. May or may not have been the match to the fire that is my interest in model sailing ships. Honestly, i can't believe you did this. Good memories. 

Heller blocks REALLY suck. I recommend you buy your own wood blocks. Or what i tend to do is get lazy and "Strop" them by tying a rope to the top hole of the block. 

I ended up pausing this project in favor of completing my 1/96 USS United States model. Now that she's proudly on my shelf, i am getting back to the David Lewandowski. I ended up choosing not to spend 75 bucks on sails for a (relatively small) ship. For some reason, HiSmodel prices them unusually high and i couldn't find them on eBay. 

That being said, i am employing the help of my wonderful Grandmother, whose sewing skills FAR exceed my own, to help me with making custom sails for the vessel. 

My plan is to cut out the plastic sails from the sheet and mark the corners, trace the outside lines, and then measure and draw the lines on the sail for reef points and stitch lines in the sail. Then i will have them stitched and after that is complete, i will cut the sails out and likely add some form of bolt ropes, where applicable. 

This will be the fourth installation in this series. I put the main rails on, after fixing their fittings in place. After that, i installed the kit-supplied deadeyes, which could probably use some paint touch-up. 

Then, i got started on the standing rigging. The stays were simple enough to install. I ended up using thin line for the upper forestays and thick line for the rest:

Don't you like my doors?

After i finished the forestays, it was time to install the shrouds. I did this using the two-shrouds-on-the-same-side layout, like most ships of the time: 

I used a variation of this, where a single line, tied at the mast top, makes shrouds 1&2, 3&4, etc... You know what i'm talking about. 

After this was done, it was time for the most fun part of all... ratlines!!!

To make the ratlines, first i ripped a blank piece of paper out of one of my college-ruled notebooks and cut it to size. Then, i used clear tape to affix the paper to the top and bottom of the #1 and #4 shrouds on each side, threading the piece (sticky side facing inward) outboard of the #1 and #4 shrouds, and inboard of the #2 and #3 shrouds. Then, i simply super-glued lengths of thin tan thread to the shrouds, following the pattern of the lines of the paper. 

I am assuming all who read this already know how to do this, as most of you are more experienced than i am. This is my very first attempt at scratch ratlines, and so far, it has been a resounding success. 

I am proud of my work today, and will likely have the standing rigging done by the end of the week. 

I believe the interior was painted tan or off-white. 

On this week's episode of Me Making Mediocre Models:

I installed the remainder of the (extremely simple) headgear tackle, using spare lengths of chain from my complete Cutty Sark kit:

Once again, i apologize for the warzone that is my workspace, as well as the horrendous image quality. This will be a continuing theme throughout this build log. 

Afterwards, i continued working on the deck (now complete)

I ended up having to drill nine holes for eyebolts, all of which are visible in the images. There were also two preexisting circular holes in the deck sections on the port side. Apparently, they were for two blocks on the port side. These were completely useless, mind you. I thought that was stupid, so i covered up the holes with a spare pile of blocks and a rope coil. I put another smaller coil on the starboard side for effect. 

My next task will be to install the masts and standing rigging, as well as the u-shaped mast pinrails once my brass belaying pins arrive. 

Thank you for putting up with my antics for this week. Be back soon!! 

Pick a fishing schooner c. first half of the 1900's. Pick any one. I guarantee at the bottom of both fore and main gaff booms you will see a mysterious block-and-tackle with a hook at the fore end. What is that for??

On Friday and Saturday i got started on the painting and general hull assembly. First, i ended up using soft-grit sandpaper to rough up the smooth hull for better paint adhesion. For the most part, i was happy with the result. However it took several coats to smooth out the paint job, with mixed results. The hull plastic was white, which ended up highlighting inconsistencies in the paint.

(We'll just cover it up with shade, they'll never know) 

As you can see, i started on the bowsprit assembly:

Apologies for the grainy image quality, my phone is 5 years old. The instructions were not clear on how the bowsprit was to be attached to the hull. As the box art shows, the bowsprit extends well into the hull and sits attached to the deck and anchor winch. There was no hole in the front, but instead an indentation. I erroneously thought the bowsprit was to sit in that position in the bow indentation, which took considerable sanding to achieve. I guess this is a fictitious vessel and not a true copy of the G. L. Thebaud, so i will let it slide. Mostly because i do not have the means to un-sand the base of my bowsprit. I drilled the proper holes for the bobstay/collar chains, whose holes were non-existent and whose eyebolts did not come with the kit. I ended up stealing some from my old HMS Victory kit (which i will unceremoniously rob of more rigging elements for this project) and inserting them into the holes. 

The next step of this project will be to finish the bowsprit tackle, drill holes for necessary eyebolts in the deck, and paint the deck as well as hatches, mast housings, and other deck furniture. 

I believe the idea that ships of the period were painted red in their interiors to lessen the psychological impact of battle was simply a Victorian myth. The interior should probably be painted as she is seen in Portsmouth today. 

Hey folks! Me again. Today i am starting my first true build log on this forum. This log will concern a project i am doing for a friend, a modified version of Pyro's American Cup Racer (G. L. Thebaud) from 1958. This project will not be a total bash, not even close. However, i am heavily modifying the rigging and including parts from other kits to facilitate that. I will end up ordering high-quality cloth sails for this ship from HiSmodel in the Czech Republic.

Anyway, wish me luck! obviously, i will be asking many questions. 

That was well after the first voyage of Columbus, during the golden age of piracy. 

In that case, i hope and pray for your recovery. That must be a really hard thing to deal with, losing your sight and being unable to do your favorite activities. Rest up and take care of yourself. The Pinta will always be here wating, and we will always be here for you. Take it easy, brother. 😉

I don't think many people would have survived an amputation in 1492, especially at sea. Amputees would probably not sail aboard a ship, as they would have been considered unfit to sail. 

Still waiting... Harriet Lane bust be a really involved build!

@mnlHonestly, i think that much canvas is simply inefficient. It would be so hard to handle it all at once, it would become less practical that handling less sail more efficiently and thus more skillfully.