marktiedens

They might mean tanganyika,which is a light colored wood,but messed up the spelling in translation.
 
/Mark

I feel for you Salty - having built the old version of this kit a number of years ago it seems as though they have cheapened it up somewhat.Mine had no laser etched decking or balsa & although the instructions were sketchy the plans & materials were pretty good.It was a pleasure to build & made into a nice looking model right out of the box.The first planking was lime & the second planking was a honey colored "walnut".
 
/Mark

I now added the safety lines to the rudder per Landstom's book. According to Landstrom, the lines were used to "lift the rudder into place and as a means of preventing it from floating away if its fittings suffered damage." Also, "the lines could be used if need be to maneuver the rudder."
 
View from starboard and port.


 
Thanks,
 
Frank

Started working on the false cannon.
 
Painted them with a diluted black to match the deck cannon.
Then I sprayed on a coat of "Dull Cote" for handling.

 
Now installing the false cannon on the starboard side.
Previously, early in the build I milled a slot in the cannon housing and installed the false carriages.
Now, I just add some glue, slide in the cannon and lower onto the carriages.
Here are some pictures of the first side.






 
Now onto the port side.
Next up, I will start working on the anchor installation.
 
Thanks,
Frank
 

Hi,
 
I continued by working on the figurines on both side of the ship.
 
I had to thin down the figurines, especially the large figures near the bow, in order to get them to fit above the gun ports. Then, as usual, I gold leafed them before mounting.

 
Large figurines (tight fit) on starboard and port sides.


 
I had to grind off some of the nails that were in the way for the smaller figurines.
Also, I inserted some wood shims to help support them.
I left some space below the top shim so that rigging line can pass thru this space later on.

 
Test fit of rigging line to make sure there were no obstructions

 
Installed figurines on port and starboard side


 
Added the chains to the rudder at this time. I blackened them before installation

 
Frank
 

Your rigging looks very nice - I know how difficult it is to rig those crowfeet. However,I may be wrong but I think those are the ropes to lift the upper yards.You can always ask Fred or Clayton at the Vasa forum mentioned in Ulises previous post - they are very helpful.
 
/Mark

Build log part 57
 
 
have attached the burton pedants of the main top, which take the jeers blocks tackle of the lower mainyard later when the yards are made. Have to rig all the lines that go to between  tops and lower mast caps first, before the caps and topmast parts are (dry)- fitted
 
I`m showing here some of my ladderway hatch openings, not doing them too narrow, so a  mediun sized Crew member can enter up and  down in upright Position giving attemntion, but without bumping his head.
 
These Swan Class vessels are rather small and the deckbeams therefore quite low, but I did my best to provide Standing height (without hats) on all decks, at least between the deckbeams, based on the contures of the modified Amati plan Frames.
 
Will have to do the ladderway hatch stachions I have forgotten to place, now before I move on, Need to look for a good solution. (I saw some inspirations here at MSW already)
 
 
Nils

And back to the bulwarks.  The instructions call for thinning down the part of the bulkheads that rises above the deck, so their thickness matches the thickness of the false rib crenellations.  I dutifully thinned down, then added the false ribs and the waterways:
 

 

 

 

 
After looking at the result for a while, I didn't like it.  First, the bulkhead extensions looked odd mixed in with the false ribs.  Second, the crenellations on the bulwarks serving as guides for placing the false ribs were not well aligned with the gunports, meaning some ribs were cut in two, or had odd curves in them.  Finally, the inside of the bulwarks was a solid expanse of wood rather than a stack of planks, which just didn't look right to me.
 
I ended up removing the bulwarks and false ribs and planking my own bulwarks.  I removed the bulkhead extensions and fabricated temporary support pieces to hold the planks as they were stacked up.  I used the original bulwark pieces as templates to get the proper staggered height of the bulwarks as they rose up the stern castle, as well as the location of the round gunports and approximate placement of the false ribs.
 
The result looked much better to me.  No more bulkhead extensions messing up the look of the false ribs, and the ribs were spaced correctly such that they weren't located in the middle of a gunport.
 
During this process I decided to use mahogany strip wood for the bulwarks and the rest of the hull, in a slightly narrower width than the kit supplied strip wood for the hull, so the plank width was more in scale with the actual ship.
 
I don't have photos of the bulwark construction process, but here is one of the result.  Note the window cut into the side of the hull.
 

 
 
 

I like the fact that they are plastic - good, crisp detail, and easy to thin down or bend.  The accuracy is probably as good as your going to get without carving the sculptures yourself.
 
Here are a few more photos, these of the deck planking and the hutches for the doors on the after decks.  The deck planking in the kit was scaled correctly; all I did was rub a lead pencil along one side to simulate caulking, and stagger the butts using a pattern that is no doubt incorrect for the baroque era, but which looked OK on the Bellona I did 15 years ago.
 
The hutches marked the first phase of painting things.  I use various kinds of paint, all matte finish acrylic and designed for models, so they have finely ground pigment that flows well in small amounts.  The red and pale yellow were a pretty close match to the 1:10 scale model of the Vasa in the museum in Stockholm.  I wish that model had been there when I visited, but that was back when they were still spraying it constantly and you had to look at the ship while wearing rain gear.
 
The kit had a fun way of emulating the carved moldings around the doors - you take thin copper wire, twist it together, and hammer it flat, then shape it to the exterior.  I planked the doors and added blackened hinges.  In these photos you can also see the scratched bulwarks and false ribs in more detail, as well as the hatches.
 
The hatches provided by the kit were plastic (!?), so I used Amati pre-cut gratings instead, and I think they look much better.  Apparently later versions of the Billing kit have wooden gratings, and my instructions made oblique references to them, but they were nowhere to be found in the kit.
 

 

 

Build log part 56
 
 
 
have been busy doing the lower shrouds for mizzen and main, as well as their stays.
The ratlines will be done later on. In order to get the right Tension to the shrouds is was unfortunately not possible to Keep the shroud deadeyes 100 % in horizontal line.
But I`m very happy that the alignment angles of shrouds and chainplates correspond very well to the measures I had taken with help of a dummy mast and and a string, like shown earier in this log (Kester would say "a sigh of relief" was brought out)
 
The Standing rigging so far is quite tight and the masts are in alignment. Shall move on to the foremast next.
 
I fitted some wedge protectors to the bow rail contact area of the main stay. The wooden "mouses" for the stay slings are made from bamboo rod

I like the G-S glue also except it seems to be a bit "stringy". Very nice cannons by the way.
 
/Mark

Hi Mates,
 
Installed carriages now just need to clean up the ropes. I will leave that for now and move to an other area TBD. Thanks for looking in (:-) 
 
PS: first pic, is self explanatory, but found it easy to position carriage then drill a small hole in deck for installation.
 
MIchael

Build log part 55
 
 
 
 
Here a Little status update.....
 
Those trestletree parts with their Slim dimensions looked extreme fragile to me, so I decided, for strength reasons to do them in Bamboo as well (are blackened anyhow afterwards).
 
After receiving the new rigging book the foremast bits have been equiped with cheekwise double-roller chucks to each post (They take the foremast lines for  jeers, clue, and Sheets.
The mast parts now are ready for attaching the appropriate blocks, shall start with the Standing rigging soon
 
Question to fellow modellers....
 
Lennarth Petersson`s very detailed book " Rigging Period Ship Models" Shows 4 sails over the frigate`s bowsprit and jib-boom
- fore staysail
- fore topmast staysail
- jib (sail)
- flying jib (sail)
Who knows and please would kindly tell me if  all 4 of These sails on a frigate apply for the Swan Class Sloops as well or perhaps less sails...
Many thanks....
 
Nils
 
 
 
 
 

Planking down to the keel is now completed. I have also cut out the second row of gunports. Here she is, all sanded down and ready to go ... while I ponder what to do next.
 

 

 

 
My ambition when I started out was to use no filler. Sad to say, I had to resort to the dreadful stuff. At least I didn't have to use much of it! Yes, I know it will be hidden by the second planking, but it would have given me a lot of satisfaction if I did not have to use any of it.

Gunport lids attached to the ship in open position

 
Finished closed gunport near bow

 
Port side view


 
Finished closed gunport and message port

 

 
Finished stern gunports

 
Now onto the starboard side!
 
Thanks,
Frank
 

Continuing on,
 
I attached the lines and eyelets to the outer side of the gunports.

 
Stern view.

 
Closed gunport and message port

 
Attaching the line and eyelets to the inside of the gunports


 
Adding the lion heads to the inside of the gunports

The quarterdeck has been planked.
Next up is to add the double first layer of planking to the quarterdeck bulwarks.
 
Vince P.

Some progress.
Installed the gun barrels and the rudder blade
Painted some sculptures and placed them in position.
Painted the hull with "Danish OIL"
 
Cheers
Lin Feng

Build log part 54
 
 
Still doing the masting........
 
The Moderators must have changed the pic loadoing System, I ca`nt get my comments to the pics, will have to inform myself how to do... accordingly soon.
 
The lower fore- and mainmast are made frome spruce, the topmasts from  beech
The lower mizzen is beechwood und the upper mizzen is from bamboo.That was necessary to get the required strength into the fragile beams. The upmost mizzen-pole is spruce and can be slipped in and out of the socket of the underneath mast Portion.
 
The upper cheek areas under the top platforms  shall be blackend as well, including the upmost woolding. The platforms have gotten safety netting.
 
The shroud resting batten-Cages are Special and complete soft soldered from the recently made squarebands and 8 pieces of 0,8 mm brass wire. I think those shall be left in brass and not blackend
 
 
Build log part 55 to follow...
 
 
Nils
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The false quarterdeck has been placed. As you can see, that lovely staircase and fancy painted bulkhead are all but covered up now. If you wanted to take shortcuts, you could eliminate the staircase and fancy bulkhead. The kit allows you to add or skip as much detail as you would like. If you do add the details as outlined in the plans though, you have to supply your own materials. I plan to add as much detail as possible.
 
Next up is to plank the quarterdeck.
 
Vince P.

Just a little update to remind you that i'm still beavering away at this little boat. Not much to say except that first planking is almost finished up to the level of the second deck!
 

 

 

Planking continues. The lower deck gunports have been cut out and the dummy gun supports have been installed. The lower deck has been painted black.

Build log part 32
 
 
 
 
 

Walking Planks at the boat stations, and further vents
 

funnel, vents, wheelstand, two compas stands, Skylight and rudderposition indicators, the boat is just for checking available space in length
 

 

nav light Towers (here still without lanterns)
 

Forward vents, radar-bar, fog horn and forecastle raft Containments mounted
 

 
 

cradle device for strapping raft containers
 

 
 

 

navlight containments
 
 
 
 
 
Build log part 33 to follow....
 
Nils

I have painted the inside of the main and forecastle bulwarks a red color. Since I could not find a color that was satisfactory, I mixed some bright red, brown, and black paint until I got the desired results. I am satisfied that this color is pretty close to the darkened and brown tinted color of the actual paint used for ships of the period. Once the framing is added to the ports, the upper railings, and the deck waterways, it will look all neat and pretty.
 
Vince P.

That`s a very busy looking deck you have there - looking good. By the way I went to the Billing Boats USA site to order the Wasa fitting kit.They must have sent the order on to Ages of Sail - they sent me an e-mail saying they couldn`t get it  . Oh well. Billing should remove it from there site if you can`t get it .
 
/Mark