dvm27

The masts for the United States are done. Now I will "dress" them. Which means eye bolts and cleats where needed and slings, blocks for the stays. And of course finish painting them!

We've all been there Johann! At least, hopefully, you can reuse all the fittings you've made. I'll wager these took a lot longer than fabricating the yard.

How many lines were fouled and spars snapped while Ed was signing this delightful "prop"?

Lovely job on those fixed blocks Chuck. Cutting them in-situ would be stressful for most of us!
 
Are the sills of the sweep ports to be left natural or painted red as well?

Love your approach to the swivel hardware.
 
I hope your model ends up in one of the prestigious European competitions. It has Gold Medal written all over it.

Hello,
because today the summer ended we had here the last weeks and it rained again the whole day, I was busy at the yard. 
This is cutter No. 3 and I think now it works. The handles are a little too bulky, but when they are slimmer they would break. The spooks have a Ø of 1,6 mm!


Now are only 17+ spooks left

It looks like an older kit.
 
Model Shipways just released a new version of their Prince de Neufchatel kit.
 
Also, if you have the books Search For Speed Under Sail and The History of American Sailing Ships by Howard I Chapelle, the plans of the Prince de Neufchatel are complete enough to build a model.
 
Those are what I used to build mine.
 
It came out quite nicely and was my first scratch build.

It is time to start rigging the mast.  Some lines are served with an additional layer of line wrapped around them to protect them wherever they would be at risk of damage from rubbing.  On this model, the pendant of tackles, the foremost shroud, the other shrouds above the catharpins and the jeer block strop are served.  Because this is a cross-section, the main and back stays will not be installed but they would also be served.  Standing rigging is protected from water damage with a tar-like compound.  This resulted in a dark brown appearance to the lines.  The running rigging was not protected and so was a natural hemp color.  On this model, the burton pendants and shrouds are standing rigging;  everything else is running rigging
 
Rope sizes are calculated from the diameter of the mast.  The kit contains a table with the dimensions for the various ropes, based on the diameter of the mast.  To measure the diameter of the line, I wrap it around a dowel twenty times, measure the width of the wrapping and divide by twenty.  This is much more accurate than  trying to measure an individual line. The first rope to go over the masthead is the pendant of tackles.  On the topmast, this line is referred to as the burton pendant.  This rope is completely served, and has a thimble on one end.  The other end is spliced to its opposite, resulting in the rope in the diagram below.  Where the red and blue lines meet are splices.  The pendants extend to approximately two feet below the hounds.  They were used with a tackle to raise and lower heavy weights.

To properly rig a model there is no substitute for the appearance of a served line.  I use 6-0 fly tying thread, which can be purchased at a sporting goods store or online.  I start by running thread, from left to right in this case, into the depression between the rope strands (worming), smoothing its surface (the yellow areas seen in the drawing below.  Then I serve the rope from right to left. 

I find it easier to serve short segments of rope, such as this, on the same piece of rope and then cut them apart.  I served the rope, leaving approximately six inches of serving thread for the splices (red circles).

Then I made a diagonal cut, following the lay of the rope ¼” away from the end of the serving.  The unserved line was held against the other line where the splice would go and I wrapped the two lines with the left-over serving thread “splicing” them together.  I continued the wrapping a few more twists to smooth out the transition and tied it off.  A tiny bit of dilute glue held everything together. The pendant was put over the mast head and onto the bolsters.  It was marked on each leg, two feet below the hounds and removed from the mast.  I used blackened 1/16” ID brass tubing for my thimbles.  The mark was placed on the side of the thimble and the pendant was wrapped around it.  For simplicity I used a simple seizing to secure the thimble and put it back on the mast.

 
 
 
 

How many lines were fouled and spars snapped while Ed was signing this delightful "prop"?

How many lines were fouled and spars snapped while Ed was signing this delightful "prop"?

Actually it survived without a scratch.   I was very lucky.   But yes they clearly dont know how to handle a ship model.   I wonder if Ed Harris also autographed an original Jackson Pollock with a sharpie during that film....LOL.  Not that you would be able to tell.
 
 

How many lines were fouled and spars snapped while Ed was signing this delightful "prop"?

Hello,
the first results.  I think, tomorrow I have to make the cutter new. But it is an interesting material and cuts better then wood. 

Many of you are curious about this photo.   Its floating around the forums without an explanation.  I brought my Medway Longboat to the New London show last week where it was photographed..   You may not be able to see it right away but yes I changed this Medway English longboat to be an American boat.   This model was used in the movie that I worked on last year which I talked about a while back.   I changed the flag and the nameplate on the model.  They wanted it to be American and have the Character's Name on the model.  They were going to slowly pan across it for the movie and wanted Ed Harris' character name very visible etc.
 
To my Surprise after spending a bunch time with him trying to teach him how to fake being a ship modeler,   Ed Harris signed the model.  But of course not the base....Black sharpie right across the hull.   No fixing that!!!  So rather than put the model back to its original English origin and remove the nameplates, I decided to just leave it as is.  It will make for a nice conversation piece.   The movie is supposed to come out in July I believe....It was about 10 degrees out the day he signed it.  The workshop was set up in the garage of the set.  I have no idea how they acted as if it wasnt freezing all the time.  I suppose that is why he is considered such a great actor.
 
Starring Ed Harris, Dustan Hoffman, Bill Murray, Gabrielle Union, Jenifer Coolidge, Pete Davidson and a bunch of others you would certainly know.   We shall see how the movie turned out!!!   At least I have a memento for the wonderful experience.
 

I struggled with silver soldering for some time until I found a system that works for me virtually every time. First off, the mini torch I was using did not generate enough heat for silver soldering. I have since had excellent success with the Blazer Torch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017Z8KD3S?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details. More importantly I switched to silver solder paste from Euro Tools. It comes as soft, medium and hard so you can solder adjacent pieces. Otherwise I use the medium https://beaducation.com/products/silver-solder-paste-medium. I also use Battens Flux on the joint prior to soldering but I'm not sure if you need it with the paste. You only need a speck of the solder on the joint and you have to move the torch the second it flashes. At any rate if you're having unsuccessful solder joints more than 10% of the time maybe give this a try. Also, as Druxey has pointed out, it's best to place the joint on a linear plane.

Lovely job on those fixed blocks Chuck. Cutting them in-situ would be stressful for most of us!
 
Are the sills of the sweep ports to be left natural or painted red as well?

Lovely job on those fixed blocks Chuck. Cutting them in-situ would be stressful for most of us!
 
Are the sills of the sweep ports to be left natural or painted red as well?

In a couple of footnotes in this book, Mr. Walker notes that the museum has recently purchased a model of the 120-gun HMS Trafalgar of 1841 for the NA collection.
 
I believe this was the model. Looks like their model of HMS Royal Adelaide:
 
https://www.bonhams.com/auction/23232/lot/61/a-dockyard-presentation-model-of-the-120-gun-ship-of-the-line-hms-trafalgar-circa-1841-75-12-x-25-12-x-57-in-cased/

I've started on the keel. The shape is not complex, so it can be modelled pretty easily. For stability & strength I decided to make it from horizontal strips of timber, dowelled with brass. The timber is a nice straight-grained piece of Huon Pine. The keel is not a difficult shape: it fairs with the hull, but essentially it appears to be even from there down to the bottom of the keel.
 
This is the keel side on. The yellow bands will be done in strips of timber.

 
The strips, in plan:

 
The timber pieces cut to shape, plus the 1/8th brass rod:

 
Stacked & trimmed, & sitting on the hull. It doesn't look quite right, but it will. The hull has more sanding to get it down to the right size, I have left that to assist get the fairing with the keel right.

 

 

 

thanks all
 
 
 
 

Love your approach to the swivel hardware.
 
I hope your model ends up in one of the prestigious European competitions. It has Gold Medal written all over it.

It is interesting to see the difference between the European and US/Canadian situations.  In the States, there are few contests and a few non-competitive shows.  Although some models are built by people who accept commissions, I would not describe them as professional modelers.  Your Pegasus is beautiful and deserves to be appreciated by the modelling community.

Hello all,
 
I recently started this project and will be reporting on my progress in this blog.  Stay tuned. 
 
Jean-Marc

I struggled with silver soldering for some time until I found a system that works for me virtually every time. First off, the mini torch I was using did not generate enough heat for silver soldering. I have since had excellent success with the Blazer Torch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017Z8KD3S?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details. More importantly I switched to silver solder paste from Euro Tools. It comes as soft, medium and hard so you can solder adjacent pieces. Otherwise I use the medium https://beaducation.com/products/silver-solder-paste-medium. I also use Battens Flux on the joint prior to soldering but I'm not sure if you need it with the paste. You only need a speck of the solder on the joint and you have to move the torch the second it flashes. At any rate if you're having unsuccessful solder joints more than 10% of the time maybe give this a try. Also, as Druxey has pointed out, it's best to place the joint on a linear plane.

Love your approach to the swivel hardware.
 
I hope your model ends up in one of the prestigious European competitions. It has Gold Medal written all over it.

Hello,
the wheels. They kept me busy this week, and other things like my garden. But now they are in the raw ready. I think I must not explain the pictures

 
 
 
 and then that  So, go back to start, and try again
 
This time I made the beads before I cut the rim loose. The shipwright is pleased.
In the foreground you see some of the spokes. They are from mammoth ivory. So, if you hear nothing from me the next weeks, I'm busy or I had thrown it all away. I hope not.