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Well, my belt sander came in Friday and I've completed the base, mounted the ship to it, and I have a 3/16" scale Sperm Whale that I sculpted to go alongside the ship along with a fully fitted out whaleboat complete with sails. the whale has been harpooned and lanced and tied alongside. I am now officially finished. The base is a slab of wood cut from the Bowsprit of the real Morgan, obtained from the Dupont Preservation Shipyard, Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT., rough finished and Satin Varnished to protect it.
 
I'M DONE!
 
Anyone interested on the steps to accomplish this can find all the details in my website BUILD LOG - PART VI at the bottom of the log as well as a lot of photographs.
 
THANKS GUYS - IT'S BEEN FUN!!!
 
LINK TO WEBSITE: http://charleswmorganmodel.com

Thank-you everyone for the well wishes! My eye is healing quite nicely.
I've put together a very basic mini tutorial and hope it may be of help to someone.
 
I bought a brass turned cannon, of the correct scale for my ship, to use as a reference model.
I had a piece of round plastic dowel on hand, which I carved and sanded until it was the same size as the reference model.
Next, I cut paper trapezoids and rolled them around the plastic dowel, and sealed with some white glue. The dowel ensured that all my cannons would be the same.
 

 

 

 
Next up, I marked the location for each ring, by comparing to the reference model and cut very thin strips of paper and glued them in place. This can be tricky since the paper tube is narrow at one end and the strip naturally wants to spiral up the tube.
 

 

 

 
The cascabels/miniature mushrooms    , were fashioned from polymer clay, then baked and glued in place. I had tried carving them from a wood dowel, but decided that clay would be a faster option.
 

 

 
At this point the "bore" was added. I dipped a toothpick in white glue and applied a thin film around the inside of the end of the cannon. Once dry I repeated once or twice more as needed.
 

 
This picture is a repeat from my last update, but it gives a good idea of the different stages.
 

 
Finally, a couple of thin layers of flat black acrylic were added and allowed to dry, followed by dry-brushing with yellow-ochre that was tamed down with a little brown.
 

 
This last picture shows the finished paper cannon beside the original brass cannon, which I also painted. 
 

 
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

With my 9 year old son now having three models under his belt (two ships) with my help:
 

 
He asked what was next on the horizon.  I was actually given an Airfix 1:180 HMS Victory model recently and I realized I now had two in stock.  So.....we are going to do dual builds.  The models are packaged differently but contain exactly the same kit components.
 

 
We are laying things out and mapping out our plan.  I am planning to do this one out of the box with no 'improvements.'  His model will be all him.  It will be interesting to get back into painting.  The paint in both boxes is quite old so I will buy new acrylics locally (as close as possible in color).  He is the only kid so far (fifth of six) that has had any interest in models so I am doing whatever I can to fan the flames - how can you do wrong with the Victory?
 

 
Looking forward to spending the time together,
Mark

W..
 
I did experiments with bitumen and i will try to explain what I observed. The main reason to use it is for properties  to make the wood look like older, to give more aging to the wood. This cannot be compare to paint because it does not cover completely. It would be more on the side of dyes. One of the advantage of this powder, is depending of the amount  you add, you will get different results. Asphalt can be mixed with many components depending of the look we want to produce.
 
Beeswax  Slows drying time, soften the color  and more transparent.  Mixing it with the
               bitumen    allows beewax molecules to bind  and make the asphalt more neutral
paraffin: help beewax or could be white wax candle
asphalt:   Was used by the egyptiens for embalming   Oil suluble
 
pine resin:  Gives plastic properties  and can form a varnish if mixed with alcool
natural soap:  probably for the oils in the soap
turpentine:  Fluidity  and solubility of the mix
siccative:   shorter drying time, max 10% of total mix.
 
 
My preference is to mix it with tung oil, that I prefer to other oils. When dry, this oil does not produce a shiny finish which is particuliary visible when you use a flash on the camera. At first, I used only tung oil which gives a look of 50 years in aging the wood. Later I did experiment by adding asphalt.
 
In small quantities, it will act as a dye but  clearer, not as dark as a dye can go. In the mixing, when you exceed his property of absorption by dilution, asphalt  powder will precipitate in the bottom  of the container and if you use this mix, it will produce on the wood a general finish plus different spots which can look like dirt caused by time.
 
I remember the first time I saw the utilisation of bitumen. It was on a 74 gun ship made by A French named Fichant. By using bitumen, he made his model look like 150 years older than it really was.

And to that!
 
We have updated data for Dusek And Caldercraft added to the list.   HUGE thanks to Pops who has been scraping data for me to import into the system.  HUGE help and much appreciated.  
 
I have been working on some tools on the backend to make some things easier.
 
One addition that will be coming shortly is a price range.  Not 100% sure how that will be implemented yet, most likely a range so as not to locked into specific data that may change.  The idea is to help people again look for ideas and is not meant to be a taken as a promise of price..   that will be made clear once that data goes in.
 
Also just about done wrapping up the page for the kit information.  At which point will move some data from the front list and leave it to the detailed information page.
 
All on the way as well as more kit information. 
 
According to the stats folks are still using it and looking at it, so that is fantastic!   And again as always thank you for your patience =)
 
Current list of data and status
 
Aeronaut: Data Entered (incomplete due to source data issues  ) A.J Fisher: KIT Data Complete Amati:Data started Artesania Latina: Data Complete Billings: Data Complete Bluejacket Ship Crafters Inc.: Data Complete Caldercraft:Data Complete Constructo:Data Complete Corel:Data not started Dumas: Data not started Dusek: Data Complete Euromodel: Data not started Krick: Data not started Graupner: Data not started Mamoli:Data started, test entries only Mantua Models UK:Data not started MarisStella.hr: Data not started Midwest Prouducts:Data Complete Modeller's Shipyard: Data not started Model Shipways:Data Complete New Maquettes: Data not started OcCre: Data started, test entries only. Panart: Data not started Robbe: Data not started Sergal: Data not started Soclaine: Data not started Victory Models: Data not started

Thank you gentlemen...
 
I took a break from framing because I wanted to work on the windlass.  Its 3 1/2" long. I have had the design concept in my brain for over a year and I wanted to see if it would work.  I think it came out really well.  The design is much like the lantern.  You build the windlass drum in sections and slide them onto a 1/16" x 1/16" strip.  There are 65 pieces in this windlass.   All laser cut.  Its a perfect match to the plans.  The hardest part (which isnt very hard at all)  is to bevel the edges of each face of the drum.  This is so they fit tightly together.   Once you get the angle down,  it goes quickly and without incident.   You have to bevel the edges without over doing it because you will lose the original shape of each precision cut piece.  The laser char on the edge actually help out a lot.  You need to bevel the edge until the laser char is all gone and resist beveling further.  
 
 I was worried about this ever since I saw the model in the Rogers collection.  Yes, you could shape the windless drum from one piece and carve the sprockets by hand...but that is a real challenge.  I have seen what David Antscherl did for his Comet model and it scared me to death ever since.  Knowing that others will ultimately build this model I needed to put my kit designer hat on.  This windlass is a MAJOR deck fitting and can make or break a model of a cutter if it isnt done well enough.
 
Ultimately,  this windlass will be painted all red but I am not sure yet.  Its usually shown that way on contemporary models.  If I decide to leave it natural boxwood I will paint the ends of the drum so you cant see the construction method.  If its painted carefully to look like wood, it will look like a solid piece.  This is still not glued together.  The individual segments are just slid onto the stick.  I just have to snip the ends of teh stick off and sand them down after the segments are glued together. Silly me, I got so into making it, that I didnt take any construction photos.
 
That means I will have to build another one at some point.  Lucky me. 
 
Now to take my daughter to the movies and sit with her and about 7 other 14 year old noisy girls.  Lucky me again!!!
 

 

 

 

Hello again! Well, maybe I´ll get more updates as I enter the final laps. Here is the hole fix over the cabin and the switch for my cabin´s lighting. I made a step by step on the fixing/lighting as I´m proud to have done it. I know it´s not the greatest of executions or the best mechanism I could´ve used, but those hours spent on science fairs at school weren´t wasted. :D
 

First picture shows the led with a circuit board - I used the led from a garden beacon with a timer, so the battery wouldn´t be consumed when I forgot to turn it off.
 

This is my remade lantern - first version I used tin and painted paper. Replaced the painted paper for silk and better painted the tin frame.
 

Attached the lantern to the circuit board.
 

Cut two 2mm copper stripes from a copper foil and soldered them to the battery box.
 

Cut another 2mm copper stripes and soldered them to the circuit board.
 

Fixed the circuit board on its place (there was a hole for the lantern to be placed in the cabin) and glued the copper stripes parallel - that way the battery box could be placed and turned into the switch.
 

 

After the eletronics were placed, used the same wood for deck planking to close the hole. Part of the stripes were left for the switch.
 

Hole closed, planking aged and battery box/switch placed - ligths on. I thought on replacing all the planks so that trapdoor look wouldn´t be there, but kinda liked the idea. Maybe I´ll fix some holder for it.
 
Next pictures shows the lighting effect.
 

 

 

 
Now, all for the rigging!!!!!

Hi all
 
Sorry to bore you all with the flags ha ha.
 
I have just finished the last of the flags, but they need a bit of improvement .
 
Will try and take better photos when she is all finished :'( ha ha.
 
Denis.

Hi.
its been a while since I last posted a update.. Sorry.
WOW thanks for ALL the likes
 
Here we are starting the painting of the hull.

much easer with Antony holding my hand

 
Painting  first blue done

 

 
Some of the deck fittings. Discarded the metal ones and made wood parts.

 
Side strips were painted then guled into place on the hull. much easer for me.

 
Masts are made and will be fitted next week.

 
Close up of the deck. I planked inside the Bulwarks as there was nothing in the instructions.

 
Thanks for looking in.
Regards Alex.

Druxey,
 
Was that a purely English item?  Do you know if other nations used it?

Thanks, Russ, and Dan.
 
Planking finished.   Still some minor glue clean up to do on the exterior (and a lot on the interior, but that may wait until the frames are in), and some more sanding is needed, especially at the bow.  But maybe the hardest part of the cutter is done (hopefully)? 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
I'm pretty happy with the starboard side, which will be the more visible side in the finished model display.
 
 
Next will be cutting the frame slots into the hull plug.
 
Ron
 
 
 
 

Then my 3/4" tall creation.....After looking up close...my painting is awful. My eyes are going I guess. Best these old eyes and hands can create.
I'm not a very good people carver....never have been.
 
Rob

After yestedays Planking Marathon on Keel 3 ( Scratch  built Build Log) I decided to have a little fun with Keel 2 (The Blue Boat), I made a Door for the bulkhead in the Cabin, Painted the Bulkhead a Flat White, as well as the cockpit seat benches . I made a Grating for the cockpit floor wich will still need to be stained, (and will be able to be lifted out as to gain access to the Bilge)some molding for the Fish wells and a Tiller. On Keel 1 I had to make new Blocks for the Rigging ( I accidently threw them away) Here are the results

starboard side

Building a Plexi-glas display case.
 
Just the facts:
1. Measure carefully ($Free)
2. Order up some cut-to-size Plexiglas ($50 from TAP plastics online)
3. Glue it up (Weld-On 3 with applicator bottle and needle, $15 from amazon.com)
 
Total cost: $65 and you can use the glue again next time.
 
Ordering Plexiglas
 
1. Know the size of the case you want. The base dimensions will be the INSIDE dimensions of the case.
 
-L (length) in the direction of the long axis of your model
-W (width) which is the direction of the beam of your model
-H (height) which is, um, the height you want.
-T (thickness) of the plexiglas you want.
 
The TOP piece will be the size you want the inside dimension of the case, plus the thickness of the Plexiglas.
1 (one) each: L+2T x W+2T
 
The FRONT pieces (the biggest pieces, the ones you will likely view the model through) will be
2 (two) each: L+2T x H
 
The END pieces will be
2 (two) each W x H
 
For example, lets say you decide you want the INSIDE dimensions of your case to be
 
L = 20 inches
W = 6 inches
H = 24 inches
T = 3/32”
 
Therefore you should order
One TOP at 20 3/16” x 6 3/16”
Two FRONTs at 20 3/16” x 24”
Two ENDs at 6 x 24”
 
Next is the actual gluing up of the case.  There isn’t much to be said. Study the diagram carefully. Basically, you want to use just enough of the Weld On to be pulled into the joint by capillary action. Be careful not to drip the solvent onto anywhere but the joint. 
 
Pull some of the protective backing from the plexi sheet where your joint will be, leaving an inch or so. Leaving most of the protective sheeting in place means less chance of scratching and less chance of dripping solvent/glue onto the viewing surfaces.  But if you don’t peel it back a bit from the edge, capillary action will suck the glue up onto the viewing surface between the sheet and the plexi.
 
I used a carpenter’s square and masking tape to hold everything in place while gluing. It doesn’t seem to matter if you apply the WeldOn from the inside corner or the outside of the joint; it gets sucked into the seam really well either way. I think doing it from the outside is less chance of dripping onto the viewing surfaces of the case.
 
Only do one joint at a time. I started with attaching the TOP to one of the FRONTs, but it doesn’t really matter.
 
You may want to sand the edges a bit with regular sandpaper to make the edges really smooth. I did this, though I’m not sure it accomplished anything.
 
The glue dries really fast.  In about 10 minutes, you can do the next joint. The whole box took me about 1 hour to make.
 

 
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Background and other Pointers:
 
Your model ship deserves a case. I looked at my Phantom sitting on the cabinet for over a year, watching it get dusty, before I figured this out. Some quick online research and, holy cow, a custom case is about $400 to start! Wow! That is 4+ times as much as the kit cost.  And it is, you know, $400!  So, this option fails goal #1.
I then looked about a bit more, and came across modelshipcases.com where you can buy an e-book detailing how to make your own gorgeous custom cases. So I bought that and it is a pretty good resource. Unfortunately, you really need a full woodshop or, at least, some basic woodworking tools like a table saw and some space. Maybe someday, or at least if I had a proper shop, but for right now my “shop” is the floor of my tiny NYC apartment and all of my “equipment” has to fit into a file box. So that was a fail on goal and #3, so this option didn’t work either.
So, what is left? Buying one is out even though it would look the best. Making my own from the available plans would be great, but I don’t/can’t make that happen so that is out. I guess I have to make one myself, by my own design.
 
Dimensions: Measure your boat. Several online sites suggest adding an extra 4 inches length-wise and 2 inches or so height-wise. My Phantom is a pretty small model and I think that would result in a way to big case. So I sort of settled on 14 inches long by 3.5 inches wide by 16 inches high. These are INSIDE dimensions (important!).
 
Cutting Plexi-glas.
 
This is where I failed. There are three options.
 
1. Order it cut to size.
This is, by far and away, the best option even for my very cheap disposition. It will come to your door perfectly sized, edges crisp, and for about 20% more than if you bought the material yourself. Just do this. Seriously. If you really are that cheap and choose not to, read on, but be warned.
 
2. Cut it yourself with a scoring tool
This is the first method I tried.  I had previously cut some plexi for another project, and it was easy at the time so why not. But it was long enough ago that I forgot all the fine details. 
 
I purchased the raw material for $30 tax included. The scoring tool I already had but that was about $7 at Home Depot. Ordering the material cut to size (see #1 above) was $41 shipped. Honestly there isn’t much of a difference between about $37 and about $40. There was a huge difference in $40 and $400 to have someone else build one for me though.
 
If you still want to save that $3, you can do so as follows:
 
     Use any convenient straight edge. I put the plexi on the floor right on the carpet of the living room, put a board on top of it as a straight edge, and stood on top of the board to keep it from moving.
SCORE AT LEAST 10 TIMES. I cannot emphasize this enough. If you don’t, when you break off the piece the crack will go in a random direction and mess up the whole thing.
            Then flip the thing over and score a few times on the other side of the plexi.
 
     Another possible (likely) scenario is that you are scoring along, the first 5 or 7 scores feel good and go one right on top of another, then the eighth score takes off away from the straight edge you are using and BAM. Big ol’ nasty scratch across what had hoped would be a useable piece of Plexiglas. Into the scrap bin! But, like me, you try to salvage it, and instead of breaking cleanly along the 7 scores, it fractures across the entire sheet of raw material, and the ENTIRE thing goes into the scrap box.
 
Just order it cut for you.
 
3. Cut it yourself with a table saw.  If you have a table saw (I don’t) this could be a way to go. But you’d probably need a special blade, it might melt instead of cut… I don’t know.  Just order it pre-cut for you. 

I would like to apologize to the members of MSW for my somewhat abrupt behavior over the last day or so.  In addition, I apologize to Chuck for any difficulties this may have caused.  He and I have been in contact, via PM and I hope at some point he sees fit to return to MSW administration.
 
We are, in fact, of the same mind.  This site exists for the purpose of model shipbuilding discussion while, at the same time, leaving room for a certain degree of so-called off topic comments essential to establishing personal relationships.  Others may agree or not depending on their own outlook.  But in my opinion we have long been tolerant of one another in order to have a vibrant, harmonious site.  Somehow, lines were drawn and we became divided.
 
This is not why we came here.
 
I intend to return to 'active duty', welcoming any and all commentary to my logs with the proviso that we keep things somewhat more focused than in the past.  I thank all those who intervened positively during this episode and hope that those who chose to leave will return to MSW.

Hello all together,
 
Thank you very much for you kind wishes. It has been a nice party with friends from Russia, Poland, Germany, Tunis, Spain, US and Switzerland and we have spoken a kind of Esperanto.
 
Enjoy your weekend, Daniel

Im with 42rocker on the free paint stirrers. Another great place for free wood is hit the election campaign tents and tables (state fairs are a great place to find these) and look for those little advertising rulers candidates love to pass out . Offer to hand a bunch out, then run with them.
 
ARGH, tmc the wood pirate.

Hi guys, I'm very glad you like my boat building .
I finished the the rudder and I added a belt of decorations on the boat. The boat is in fact done.
 

I finally got around to trying my hand at these blocks. I took Henry's and Janos idea and tried a jig. I used wire from a wire wheel  - about an inch long but fairly small diameter and strong. I placed 2 of these side by side in a maple miter box turned upside down then a larger wire behind them for the becket. I'll get some pics up of the process used but for now here is a pic of the prototype.
 

I posted this on another thread but wanted to add it to my build log. The prototype block and hook were completed today. This shows a double 2mm block with becket and hook which will be used on the gun tackle. The process is fairly reproducible and has a fair result.

 
Just to give you an idea of the size here the block rope is the same size used to seize the canon breeching (see pics ion previous pages.)

This is my build of the Lady Anne (named after the wife – bonus points).  If you squint real hard and tilt your head you may recognize the hull as the AL Harvey.  Other than that it has been a whole lot of kit bashing.  This model was given to me by someone who had just glued the bulkheads on and decided this just wasn’t the thing for him.  Over time (as a break from the Druid) I have done a little bit here and a little there.  I planked the hull as a standard model hull to demonstrate to someone else it wasn’t that hard, so there are planks that taper to points and no real attempt to mimic real practice.  I had ‘assumed’ it would be built out of the box and continued in that direction.  Then things started to get fuzzy. 
I knew that Harvey was a fictitious ship and things really started to bug me about how realistic it was.  The deck furnishings especially just seemed haphazard and in some cases wrong.  This is where I stepped out of the box and this fast build took a hard right into kit bashing.  Over the years I had made a point of keeping pictures of ideas on real ships and models of things I really liked and I started to look at what I could add / substitute in this build.  I started perusing books about clippers, especially ‘The American-Built Clipper Ship, 1850-1856’ by Crothers to look at deck arrangements used by Clippers (and believe it or not, I did find those outhouses shown on the Harvey.  I don’t like them, but I found them).
 



 
I cleared the decks (literally), made paper cutouts of potential deck furniture, and spent a lot of time pondering the imponderables.  A big decision was to rig her as the Pride of Baltimore II was rigged, a true Baltimore Clipper.  This defined the needed pinrails and deck tie downs required (as well as block counts which were a LOT more than the kit supplied).  I moved the pumps aft to where they could actually do some good.  The forward windlass was replaced with a windlass actually capable of bringing in an anchor.  The capstan was moved to a position where it could actually be used, a below deck access was added and on, and on, and on.  The last addition I added are cavels to allow easier docking.  To retain its original heritage I created a 1:48th scale workman that I named sailor Harvey to verify heights as I proceeded.
 



 
The deck currently has a configuration that I am happy with.  The last original piece is the aft deckhouse and it just seems out of proportion for sailor Harvey to navigate through so that will probably be scrapped and an alternate built in its place.  Oh, I retained the cannons since my son insists that cannons are cool and I couldn’t possibly take them off.  I did, however, modify their locations, retain only six (continental breeched) and will probably have two of those stowed parallel to the bulkhead.
 


 
As time allows I will post past pictures of the process I used to build various pieces and the rationale used for including them (which may just be I liked the look).  I am really trying to focus on the Druid and get’r done, but this ship will be warming up.  As usual, any comments are welcome.
 

 
Mark

In a dumpster at Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, on the banks of the mighty Hudson River, I found a nice bottle. Seldom in life is ambiguity avoided so cleanly. The moment I saw that bottle lying there in the dumpster I knew what it was meant for, I knew what I would put into it, there was no question in my mind. As I retrieved the bottle from within the dumpster I reckoned it already had a pretty salty provenance. No doubt the rum that was in it had been consumed at sea by sailors. I took it home and cleaned it and there it sat with my other bottles, waiting for its destiny.

ccoyle, absolutely fantastic.

ccoyle, absolutely fantastic.