allanyed

Welcome aboard Gizmo2K2,  Do you prefer Gizmo, Gizmo2K2 or a regular name?
Looking forward to pictures of your uncle's models.  Not sure the new member forum is the right place to post them, but hopefully a moderator will direct you to the right forum here at MSW.
Allan
 

Hi Bill,
Thank you for sharing your build, it is a joy to follow.  Couple things about copper sheathing, I really hope you don't mind me butting in.
 
 If you feel you must show the fasteners, keep in mind they would be nailed with something like 1/4" nails that had heads about 1/2" diameter spaced about 2 inches apart.  This means there would be dents, not raised bumps  that are only 0.04" diameter at your scale.  Yours look to be about 2 inches in diameter and up against each other.   Also, the plates overlap on both vertical and horizontal edges 1.5 inches rather than sit next to each other so the nails on the edges went through both plates at the overlaps.    The plates on larger ships were 48X15 but for the cutters, I could not find anything so they may be a little different overall size.   Below is a sketch of plating superimposed on your picture.   Also note that the plating was about 0.13" thick at most which at your scale would be essentially foil that is 3/1000" thick so can be bent by hand with a simple straight edge.
For a really nice history paper on cutters go to https://media.defense.gov/2017/Jul/02/2001772348/-1/-1/0/USRCS1789-1849.PDF   Everything from letters from Alexander Hamilton, to crew lists,  to pay for each rate.  Captains on one list were making $50 a month!!
Allan

I have always been about wooden ships but I am excited to see more about this kit so will be checking in on your build log.
Good luck!!
Allan

I have always been about wooden ships but I am excited to see more about this kit so will be checking in on your build log.
Good luck!!
Allan

Welcome aboard Gizmo2K2,  Do you prefer Gizmo, Gizmo2K2 or a regular name?
Looking forward to pictures of your uncle's models.  Not sure the new member forum is the right place to post them, but hopefully a moderator will direct you to the right forum here at MSW.
Allan
 

You are not alone Amalio!
Allan

Welcome aboard Gizmo2K2,  Do you prefer Gizmo, Gizmo2K2 or a regular name?
Looking forward to pictures of your uncle's models.  Not sure the new member forum is the right place to post them, but hopefully a moderator will direct you to the right forum here at MSW.
Allan
 

Thanks for all the tips.  I have been learning so much by combing through the massive amount of information on these forums.  It's like drinking from a firehose!

Mark,
Good for you on the first builds!   I would consider investing in a couple books as well as vetting which model to buy to be sure of the kit accuracy and some "how to" advice.   A quick start is to look at the build logs and see what the various kits offer.  Check little things such as if the kit offers cheap string instead of miniature rope, realistic looking blocks, realistically scaled belaying pins, accurate belaying points, etc.   Once you have narrowed it down, post here and ask for opinions.  
 
For details on actual rigging, Lees' Masting and Rigging English Ships of War is hard to beat.   A lot of folks recommend Petersson's book Rigging Period Ship Models which unfortunately is limited in scope and gives no information on how to actually do anything. Then again, if you happen to be building a fifth rate vessel from about 1785, it will be very useful.  For actual "how-to" practices, Volume IV of The Fully Framed Model series is helpful even though it is centered around Swan class vessels.  Of course there are hundreds of pieces of great information here at MSW on how members do things that are extremely helpful for both what they have done that works and what they have done that does not work so well.  
Allan

You have a LOT of company.    Why bother posting dozens and dozens of "no image online" icons?  If it is to let us know they have them in storage, will they send these if requested individually in low resolution so one can decide which to purchase in high resolution?   I realize museums do not have deep pockets, and RMG is still an unbelievably great source for all of us, even with the changes.   Worse than the changes in the Collections is the fact that what few models they had on display were put in storage.  Maybe they put them back out, it has been a few years now, but if not I wonder what they put in their place.
 
Allan 

You are not alone Amalio!
Allan

You are not alone Amalio!
Allan

I wish I could visit you to see the model in person and chat about ship modeling over some of the fantastic foods I remember having in Seoul and Pusan.   I can never get 낙지볶음  (Nakji Bokkeum)  here that is as good as we had in Korea although there are a few in Manhattan, including Miss Korea BBQ that do a great job.    
 
I look forward to your next posts.
 
Allan

I wish I could visit you to see the model in person and chat about ship modeling over some of the fantastic foods I remember having in Seoul and Pusan.   I can never get 낙지볶음  (Nakji Bokkeum)  here that is as good as we had in Korea although there are a few in Manhattan, including Miss Korea BBQ that do a great job.    
 
I look forward to your next posts.
 
Allan

Sorry about the lazy delays. I had played another game for one hundred hours... 🤪 
 
Hello, Kristyn. Thank you for the praise, and sorry about the long vacancy. 
 

The hobby fair is the biggest model festival in South Korea. I hoped to finish the Santa Maria before. 🤨
 

This is a relatively simple explanation that I can post in a short time. I'll catch all the explanations I passed after I finished the whole model. This is the time to run.
 
I finished by applying wood filler to fill all the gaps and painting gel stain to cover the unmatched colors.
 
 
 
After that, the darker wale bars were painted with lacquer paint and a brush. The next step is guardrails and masts.
 
I hope see you again this week with lots of photos. 😉

Welcome to MSW!!   You now have 41,000 new friends and potential guides on your journey.
Allan

Your build has been fun to follow and I really like the idea of using the laser for aligning the masts!
This has nothing to do with your work, but rather a habitual problem with most kit designers, i.e. the belaying pins.  Your figure in the below photo looks to be right at scale.  How on earth does the kit designer expect a seaman to get his hand around these gigantic pins?  Again, I realize you did not make the pins, it is just frustrating to see this problem so often with most, not all, kits.   A little home work on the kit maker's part would go a long way, or at least let the builder know they have an option to make or buy their own that are to scale.
 
Allan

Welcome to MSW!!   You now have 41,000 new friends and potential guides on your journey.
Allan

I've designed a quick lamp model if anyone is interested. its close to 1:48 but can be scaled in any direction. My thought was to print it clear and paint the metal details on, drill a small hole and inset a micro LED. If anyone prints one id like to see how they turn out, I've yet to purchase a printer.

lamp.stl

I was lucky enough to score my copy some years ago before it was as expensive as it is now.

There were a lot of experimental carriages in the early years of naval carronades. My information was mainly from Caruana Volume II, The Age of the System, 1715-1815. He draws on primary sources.

Here is my model of the barrel.
I am going to create the remainder of the parts via 3D modelling and resin print them.

Forward cabins complete. Functioning door hinges about as small as possible but, as noted by others, still over scale.

juhu
 
I can see where the descriptions you posted could be confusing. I had to tread them a couple of times to understand them (mostly).
 
The gaff topsails had three points where lines were attached. The halliard at the top/peak corner was used to raise the sail. The clew corner was at the end of the gaff, and the sheet line pulled the bottom side (foot) sail out from the mast to the end of the gaff. The tack was the lower corner near the mast, and the tack line pulled the bottom of the sail down.
 
The vessel could have one or two tack lines. With two tack lines one would run down to deck on one side of the gaff and the other tack line would lead down on the opposite side of the gaff. Ideally the tack corner of the sail would be hauled down on the up wind (weather) side of the gaff. The weather side tack line would be pulled tight and the tack line on the Lee (downwind) side would be slackened. In this way the weather tack would take some of the strain on the mast caused by the force of the wind, acting somewhat like a running stay. The lower part of the sail would be blown against the gaff.
 
Then when the vessel changed course to bring the wind in from the other side of the ship (tacking) the tack of the sail would be hauled up and over the gaff, and the other tack line (now upwind) would be pulled tight and the lee side line slackened.
 
However, some vessels rigged only one tack line to one side of the gaff. On some ships the line would be hauled up and over the gaff when the ship changed course, but on other vessels they didn't bother to pull it up and over the gaff when the ship changed course. The instructions suggest that only one tack line be rigged on the model.
 
The instructions say to attach the standing part of the clew line to the bottom mast hoop and the running part lead through fairleads at each corner of the sail. This is described in Howard Chapelle's "The American Fishing Schooner" (W. W. Norton & Co., New York and London,1973) on page 475. This is an excellent reference for American fishing schooners of the late 1800s and 1900s. It shows the clew line fastened to the lowest mast hoop. The line then lead down and thorough a single block at the tack corner of the sail. From there it ran through a single block at the clew corner of the sail, and then up through a single block at the peak corner of the sail. Then it lead down to the deck. The line was strung through rope loops (lizard fairleads) spaced along the edges of the sail so it would not tangle with other parts of the rigging. When the halliard, sheet and tack lines were slackened and the clew line pulled tight it would pull the three corners of the sail to the bottom hoop, causing the sail to collapse into a ball like a "string purse" (a bag with the top drawn together by a draw string). Then a rope (gasket) could be tied around the sail to furl it to the mast head. This apparently was common on the fishing schooners. The instructions say the clew lines lead down to deck on the port side.
 
A less complicated arrangement  was used on earlier schooners. The clew line was fastened to the clew corner of the sail and lead up thorough a block at the head of the sail and back down to the deck - this line hauled the clew of the sail back to the mast for furling the sail. This line was needed only on vessels that had the topsail leech side (closest to the mast) attached to the mast with hoops. These sails were furled to the mast when not set. The sheet was loosened and the clew line pulled the clew corner of the sail in toward the mast. At the same time the halliard was loosened so the clew line also pulled the top of the sail down toward the mast cap. The tack(s) was also loosened, allowing the sail to be gathered into a ball near the lower mast head.
 
For topsails where the leech side was not attached to the mast the clew was not needed. All lines were slackened and the sail was lowered to the deck when it was not flying.
 
I have posted a lot of information about fore-and-aft sails and rigging in this thread:
 
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/25679-topsail-schooner-sail-plans-and-rigging/?do=findComment&comment=750865
 
If this doesn't clear things up post more questions.

Great points across the board Roger.  The only one that MAY be a problem is not taking the removable thwarts as then rowing at those stations would be problematic.   I suppose the odd cask or other jury rig could be made, but an interesting point either way.
 
Allan