Der Alte Rentner

You're off to a great start. Exciting times ahead, indeed!

Gregg, The plans that came with my MS kit call for mahogany, though that probably refers to the finish and not the base wood. Be that as it may, in keeping with my non-traditional color scheme, I used boxwood to fabricate the base, and American Walnut stain for the finish. oh snap! I just realized that I didn't make the bottom part of the base wide enough! Good thing you asked the question. Now I can start thinking about how to effect repairs.. So much for making this in one piece. 😒 I added a couple of photos. The one of the wheel and binnacle supports my choices in color and materials, and the one of the wheel from XKen's build shows one possible solution to the base remodeling problem above, which I subsequently employed.

Still waiting for the wheel kit to show up from Syren, so continuing with deck furniture and fixtures..

It helps to have good tools and shining examples here at the website to gather tips and techniques from. Thanks

While I await delivery of the 2nd Syren wheel kit, I'm diverting to the construction of the binnacles, giving me ample opportunity to make use of the Proxxon mill. Since the accessory I'm using to hold the material only has a three jaw Chuck, I'm making square dowel out of round dowel for both the base and the top of the binnacle. d I decided to make another top, this time trying to simulate the lamp on top of the binnacle. Before I cut the binnacle off of the brass rod, I gouged out a groove and then rounded the top on the lathe. ********************************************************* Is there a tutorial somewhere at this website on how exactly to format photographic content with text? I just can't seem to figure out how to get the results I'm looking for. Also, it would be nice to know why posts like this look different when entered via cell phone vs. a desktop computer. *********************************************************

At the minimum, make sure that you're an eighth of an inch proud of the waterway so that you'll have a ledge for future spar deck planking. I'm sure you won't make the same mistake with the waterway that I did, so you're probably good as things stand. By the way you don't have to redo it. Just glue a bit more material to the after end of the existing pieces.

I was perusing my own build log to refresh my memory of the bow framing to pass along a word of advice when you get to the spar deck framing pieces. I know this is already in your notes: but in case your grey cells are anything like mine, you might want to refer to my post #227. ..and to save you the hassle of looking it up, this should be the link to get you there: Make sure you check those specs for the waterways, and think seriously about filler blocks to facilitate spar deck planking.

It's the 24 mm wheel. The scale is a smidge off. According to Syren, "This size is perfect for most 1:64 scale models", whereas the 31.75mm wheel is, "perfect for most 1:48 scale models". Conny is 1:76, yes? Thanks, and glad to help, anytime..

Sorry about the confusion, Jon, I guess I wasn't clear in the above post (#813). What is pictured is one metal wheel (left) unpainted from the MS kit and the Syren kit wheel (right) stained after assembly. BTW, that Syren wheel took roughly 5 hours to assemble, which included time on the lathe to turn the spokes into something more realistic than the blanks that came in the kit. And talk about fiddly work! The assembly required the patience of Job. These photos come from the assembly instructions for the Syren wheel. Note the unmodified blank on the left vs the turned version on the right. X marks the spot! Because it'll be a week before I get the second wheel from Syren, I will experiment with painting the metal wheels from the MS kit. However, I'm fairly certain that once I get a coat of poly on the Syren wheel, I'll simply invest the additional five hours to have the pair. Maybe I'll get lucky and love the paint job. We'll see. P.S. Jon, you don't need to wait until you have to install them to construct the wheels. Think of it like the ship's boats, an extra curricular activity that can be done at any time. Some choose to start with them before they tackle the Constitution itself.

I'm 100% in agreement with you on that Gregg. Love the technique with the brass wire to guide you through the shaping..

Now, why didn't I purchase two of the wheel kits from Syren? (the old gray cells they ain't what they used to be..) Before I order the second one, I'm going to paint the metal ones that came with the kit and compare again. (Turning the spokes on the lathe) Completed wheel (on right). Unfinished metal wheel from kit on left for comparison.

All guns done.

I, for one, appreciate detailed explanations. You're off to a great start. Keep it up.

Hi Rita, Thanks for checking in, and thanks for the donut and coffee. See you in a few..

Hey Gregg, if you take a close look at the section above, you'll see that I do not have the two sheaves that the plans call for between that large wood cleat towards the bow and the two small cleats at the stern. I took a look at the plans to see what impact not having those would have on me when it comes to rigging, and the answer to that seems to be, who knows? I only bring this up to you because you are just starting out, and it won't be long before you're constructing the bulwarks. You might want to think about dealing with the sheaves at the same time.

I'm finally populating the spar deck with blocks and carronades. Four down.

Eyebrows fabricated. Belaying pin decision made.

I was wondering if I should try to emulate the concave curves on the bottoms of the eyebrows. That's how the parts in the kit are shaped, as is the curtain in the bottom photo you supplied, Jon. However, the top photo suggests that I can leave well enough alone, as that curtain bottom is quite straight. P.S. I was glad to see that the gun deck cannons are protruding well out of the closed lids. I was thinking perhaps they looked odd that way on my build. Now I'm considering producing red plugs with stars in the center. Geez, do I have too much time on my hands? 🤔 Lastly, I didn't include the first photo you provided above, but that one shows the chain plate, deadeye, and channel details quite nicely. These are on the to do list for the coming weeks.

The experiment with the paint was a complete failure. I'm not going to bother with photographs on that.. I revisited the Boxwood curtains (meaning I fabricated another 30 plus blanks, this time 1/16" (1.6mm) thick) and got almost spot on to the dimensions of the Britannia pieces. The bit was perilously close to the vise on the final cut, but production begins after I post this entry. They will be stained to match the planking behind them. Thanks again to Mustafa for sharing his technique.

Gregg, I agree with you about KISS principle. (..and with Jon, about consistency of color.) My problem is, I think my wooden eyebrows are still too thick. I don't know if I can get them down to 1.4 mm in total thickness. So, I'm going to the paint store now to see about getting the exact same brown as the stain, and painting the Britannia parts that color as my final test. It might actually be quicker for me to deal with metal then mess around with 30 wooden curtains on the milling machine. P.S. had I known that my choice of going with a "natural" finish was going to pose this many problems, I might have opted for the black/white theme, like everyone else. Oh well..

Sorry to interrupt your summer hiatus, Mustafa, but, can you tell me roughly the thickness of this curtain? I tried pounding 1 mm wire and ended up with something like 1.25mm. I'm just trying to decide if my "eye brows" are oversized at 2mm. BTW, The Britannia castings provided by Model Shipways are 1.38 mm. Yours Mine

🤔 eyebrows? If so, which ones? Or pass? This one is a definite fail. I used the same stain that's on the planking behind the curtain, but it doesn't take well to the primed metal. I don't like the black underneath the gold rim. Maybe if I switch to the brown paint on the one below? Chocolate brown spray paint. Not half bad actually.. But brass paint looks better. Gold paint. Borrowing a technique from Mustafa, this is Boxwood stained the same as the planking behind the curtain. Unstained.. None of the above. (To be honest, I'm leaning towards this option.) I'll think about it on my ride back home..

Purely in terms of scale, I have to agree.

Not being able to focus on tasks at hand at the shipyard today, I saw this in your list of finished models and popped over to have a look-see. Quite the accomplishment to knock the entire build off in 10 days. Or did you just post after the fact? Beautiful work, either way.