Jump to content
New Banner Ad Sponsor - Epic Engravers - Great plank bending machine (also bends thin metal sheets) and unique engraved coins to label your model displays! ×

SiriusVoyager

Members
  • Posts

    416
  • Joined

  • Last visited

1 Follower

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Jacksonville, FL

Recent Profile Visitors

2,046 profile views
  1. Welcome to MSW!
  2. I learned a valuable lesson today that probably should have been obvious. The sails in the kit were rather cheap and the stitches were coming undone. I decided to use dilute PVA to help stiffen them up a bit and to help hold the stitching together. That was a twofold mistake. For starters, I didn't make the dilute PVA diluted enough, so there were areas with clearly visible flat dried glue. Secondly, when I used this technique on the pram and the smack I had a nice, new and clean cutting mat. While I did wipe down the mat before starting, it wasn't enough. The PVA picked up much of the set in dust and old paint spots that I hadn't been able to fully clean off. The sails looked terrible. I attempted to fix this by painting the sails. It wasn't worth dignifying with a photograph. Lesson learned. Use VERY thin PVA and a pristine surface. I'll likely use parchment paper next time. It will probably be a few days before I have a chance to get some material for the sails.
  3. I decided to replace the brackets for the main and mizzen masts. They look better with smaller, side by side holes. At first I tried to make the main mast bracket from scrap 3x3 square dowel. It was a bit too narrow. I used scrap wood from the lazer cut board that the original brackets came from to ensure a proper width. It took a couple of tries to get the main mast bracket right. The mizzen mast bracket came about about as good as I could like on the first try.
  4. It was about 2.5 mm (about 5 feet at 1:60 scale) above the deck, which is probably a bit high.
  5. That sapele wood used for second layer planking isn't very forgiving if you need to bend it any direction other than across the very thin side. The nice thing about it is that you can small splinters and wedges to fill in any little gaps that you don't like. It usually isn't very noticeable once it is sanded down a bit. Personally, I think your second layer planking looks pretty good.
  6. I started working on the mast and spars, as well as made some rope for the rigging. I am using the kit supplied string for the lashings. I am still learning the ropes, so to speak, and I am not sure how this is going to all work out. Most of it is sitting ok, but it still has some twist to it that I thought I had worked out of it until I tied off the ends. @Rick01 pointed out in his build log that there is only one cleat for a mast brace and a halyard, so I added another cleat to each mast. I would have likely not realized that was an issue until I started running the lines. Here is a picture of the first bit of rope for rigging. I suspect I will need a quite a bit more, but it is a start. Masts and spars after being varnished. I made the extra cleats out of scrap basswood. I painted it with a mix of two parts silver, two parts gray and one part black. The main spar called for shaping the edges of each piece for a clean fit. I sanded them down at a 5 degree angle and it seemed to be ok. Masts in place. The instructions call for a 92 degree angle abaft on the mizzen mast and a 95 degree angle fore. I could sort of use a protractor on the main mast to get it about five degrees forward, but the mizzen mast was too blocked in to really check the angle. I just tried to make sure that it was slightly abaft.
  7. Very nice looking and unique model. The rope work looks great!
  8. The plank for the first canopy arches bent fairly well, but the smaller arches didn't quite bend enough, so I tried again around a smaller measuring glass. The arches are in place and varnished as well as the braces. I didn't realize until posting that I didn't actually get a picture showing the arches on two of the frames. The anchor in place and some decorative rope coils added on the deck. I made the rope today. It is definitely better than the string supplied with the kit. I will be making my own rope for the rigging as well.
  9. This would be my second attempt. It came out ok. It probably should have been wound tighter.
  10. I have used a similar method other issues in the past, but hadn’t tried it specifically on miss-drilled holes. Thanks
  11. The next step in the instructions is to drill small holes for the cleats. I suppose the instructions include them at this point since it is getting to be near time to do the rigging. It would have been much easier to do this before the deck furniture was in place. I should have caught this when I was going through the instructions before I started. There was no way to drill into the canopy framing so I had to carefully remove it. I also had to remove a large barrel to drill in a proper deck location. The instructions call for a 1mm drill, which I found was just a bit too small. The cleats in place. The canopy framing still needs to be reassembled. Bending the canopy frame arches. Soaked in boiling hot water for a few minutes, then clamped around a pot.
  12. @Snug Harbor Johnny Thank you for that explanation. I have looked for linen thread, but haven't had any luck finding any. I'll give it a test with two ropes, one baked and one not to see the difference. The test rope I made when I first tried it didn't seem to unwind, at least not before I tied the ends. I'll have to take a look at what brand of thread that I have. I know it is polyester, but I am sure it isn't guterman.
×
×
  • Create New...