Mike Y

Hello everyone,
some know me from the construction of La Palme. On December 24, 2022, I received two more monographs from Ancre, Le Gross and Le Rochefort, from my wife and my two daughters. There was also another package under the tree containing a few pear boards, this was my son's contribution. My loved ones have known for a long time that I am very interested in both ships and have decided to make me very happy for Christmas. Many are now wondering why do two projects at the same time? Well I want to use Le Rochefort to learn more so as not to mess up La Palme. Yes, I admit it is not easy to close both projects at the same time and requires a high level of concentration and you have to separate the two. Anyway, Le Rochefort started on December 26th, 2022 and I don't want to withhold it from you. A very big inspiration and role model is @No Idea,  who with his wonderful construction is also a little guilty that I build this beautiful harbor yacht. Now some pictures of the construction.
 

 

 

 

 

Dear fellow modellers,
 
We are honoured to join this community and share our joy of creation with you.
First of all, let us introduce ourselves. We are a family company from the Czech Republic engaged in the production and sale of models and accessories, specialising in historical sailing ships.
 
Our main products are accessories for both plastic and wooden ship models. These include: laser-cut wooden decks for plastic models, brass cannons, CNC wooden blocks, photo-etched parts, cloth sails sewn on a CNC machine, double-sided printed cloth flags and much more.
 
We always try to achieve as much authenticity as possible in our products and base them on the most authentic documents, preferably original plans or specialist publications.
 
In addition to individual accessories, we also offer complete sets of accessories, e.g. blocks or photo-etched parts for specific models in a given scale. For blocks, we also provide customized plans for rigging. However, if you do not find a suitable sets or sails in a given scale, we also offer custom production.

Last year we also released our first complete 1:72 scale Statenjacht Utrecht plastic kit, which not only contains plastic parts but many parts such as blocks, sails, and fittings are made of more authentic materials.

In the future we plan to expand our range of products and kits and also create another kit. For example, we have recently expanded our range of wooden walnut blocks to include more types.

You can also take a look at some examples of our products.
PS: The last photo is a Soleil Royal 1:100 model built from a Heller kit by modeler from Vietnam, which we share with his permission and on which he used all our accessories. In the photo you can see mainly flags, sails, blocks, ropes and small part of wooden deck.

Would recommend to look into decent household vaccuums with some "silent" keywords in the name. I have a Bosch ProSilence (this one or similar https://www.bosch-home.com/ne/en/mkt-product/vacuum-cleaners/canister-vacuum-cleaners-bagged/BGLS42230), very quiet on lower speeds (that are more than sufficient), has a HEPA filter and does not take too much space. It even handles power planing well enough, so unless you do a full scale woodworking - it is more than adequate for the hobby needs. I have it for many years and it shows no sign of issues with wood dust.
 
It is so quiet that I run it at night when modelling in a living room while the family is sleeping in adjacent rooms. Just placing the hose close to the object that I'm sanding - a steady flow of air easily gets all the fine airborne particles, while the heavy ones just drop on the table, posing no risk to your lungs. No visible wood dust floats in the air, which makes it reassuring that the finer dust is sucked into the vac.
 
No sound boxes required. And they are not terribly expensive either (around 200 USD I guess). Not sure why everyone assumes you need a shop vac for our hobby, we are not grinding concrete and not sanding wood panels for hours every day. Despite a small-ish size, it takes a very long time to fill the vaccuum bag when woodworking, and the bags are cheap. Zero issues with clogging, leaking or anything. More than enough power when connecting to our tools.

Would recommend to look into decent household vaccuums with some "silent" keywords in the name. I have a Bosch ProSilence (this one or similar https://www.bosch-home.com/ne/en/mkt-product/vacuum-cleaners/canister-vacuum-cleaners-bagged/BGLS42230), very quiet on lower speeds (that are more than sufficient), has a HEPA filter and does not take too much space. It even handles power planing well enough, so unless you do a full scale woodworking - it is more than adequate for the hobby needs. I have it for many years and it shows no sign of issues with wood dust.
 
It is so quiet that I run it at night when modelling in a living room while the family is sleeping in adjacent rooms. Just placing the hose close to the object that I'm sanding - a steady flow of air easily gets all the fine airborne particles, while the heavy ones just drop on the table, posing no risk to your lungs. No visible wood dust floats in the air, which makes it reassuring that the finer dust is sucked into the vac.
 
No sound boxes required. And they are not terribly expensive either (around 200 USD I guess). Not sure why everyone assumes you need a shop vac for our hobby, we are not grinding concrete and not sanding wood panels for hours every day. Despite a small-ish size, it takes a very long time to fill the vaccuum bag when woodworking, and the bags are cheap. Zero issues with clogging, leaking or anything. More than enough power when connecting to our tools.

Would recommend to look into decent household vaccuums with some "silent" keywords in the name. I have a Bosch ProSilence (this one or similar https://www.bosch-home.com/ne/en/mkt-product/vacuum-cleaners/canister-vacuum-cleaners-bagged/BGLS42230), very quiet on lower speeds (that are more than sufficient), has a HEPA filter and does not take too much space. It even handles power planing well enough, so unless you do a full scale woodworking - it is more than adequate for the hobby needs. I have it for many years and it shows no sign of issues with wood dust.
 
It is so quiet that I run it at night when modelling in a living room while the family is sleeping in adjacent rooms. Just placing the hose close to the object that I'm sanding - a steady flow of air easily gets all the fine airborne particles, while the heavy ones just drop on the table, posing no risk to your lungs. No visible wood dust floats in the air, which makes it reassuring that the finer dust is sucked into the vac.
 
No sound boxes required. And they are not terribly expensive either (around 200 USD I guess). Not sure why everyone assumes you need a shop vac for our hobby, we are not grinding concrete and not sanding wood panels for hours every day. Despite a small-ish size, it takes a very long time to fill the vaccuum bag when woodworking, and the bags are cheap. Zero issues with clogging, leaking or anything. More than enough power when connecting to our tools.

Now it was the turn of one of the more complicated parts, which I didn't really want to do - the fashion piece.

Would recommend to look into decent household vaccuums with some "silent" keywords in the name. I have a Bosch ProSilence (this one or similar https://www.bosch-home.com/ne/en/mkt-product/vacuum-cleaners/canister-vacuum-cleaners-bagged/BGLS42230), very quiet on lower speeds (that are more than sufficient), has a HEPA filter and does not take too much space. It even handles power planing well enough, so unless you do a full scale woodworking - it is more than adequate for the hobby needs. I have it for many years and it shows no sign of issues with wood dust.
 
It is so quiet that I run it at night when modelling in a living room while the family is sleeping in adjacent rooms. Just placing the hose close to the object that I'm sanding - a steady flow of air easily gets all the fine airborne particles, while the heavy ones just drop on the table, posing no risk to your lungs. No visible wood dust floats in the air, which makes it reassuring that the finer dust is sucked into the vac.
 
No sound boxes required. And they are not terribly expensive either (around 200 USD I guess). Not sure why everyone assumes you need a shop vac for our hobby, we are not grinding concrete and not sanding wood panels for hours every day. Despite a small-ish size, it takes a very long time to fill the vaccuum bag when woodworking, and the bags are cheap. Zero issues with clogging, leaking or anything. More than enough power when connecting to our tools.

It’s just a pre- announcement of a ‘copy’ being pieced together now by some Chinese hack. 😳
 
I just read it as well (as a guest, I was kicked out long ago). Interesting how some members are complimentary while the staff and admins work hard to disparage Chuck at every turn. This comment by a member “ I emailed Chuck with updates and progress pictures and found him to be very personable, interested and encouraging. A much more personal investment of his time and interest than one might otherwise expect from the head of a commercial venture.“ must have really hurt.
 

Would recommend to look into decent household vaccuums with some "silent" keywords in the name. I have a Bosch ProSilence (this one or similar https://www.bosch-home.com/ne/en/mkt-product/vacuum-cleaners/canister-vacuum-cleaners-bagged/BGLS42230), very quiet on lower speeds (that are more than sufficient), has a HEPA filter and does not take too much space. It even handles power planing well enough, so unless you do a full scale woodworking - it is more than adequate for the hobby needs. I have it for many years and it shows no sign of issues with wood dust.
 
It is so quiet that I run it at night when modelling in a living room while the family is sleeping in adjacent rooms. Just placing the hose close to the object that I'm sanding - a steady flow of air easily gets all the fine airborne particles, while the heavy ones just drop on the table, posing no risk to your lungs. No visible wood dust floats in the air, which makes it reassuring that the finer dust is sucked into the vac.
 
No sound boxes required. And they are not terribly expensive either (around 200 USD I guess). Not sure why everyone assumes you need a shop vac for our hobby, we are not grinding concrete and not sanding wood panels for hours every day. Despite a small-ish size, it takes a very long time to fill the vaccuum bag when woodworking, and the bags are cheap. Zero issues with clogging, leaking or anything. More than enough power when connecting to our tools.

steps.....
 






 

No I wont be selling a wood package.  I just dont have time to mill wood and sell lumber.   I work directly with Joe at MS.  We are old friends that go way back...he mills and supplies me with all of my wood at Syren.   In fact we are hoping to go to a yard to pick up a whole bunch of cedar really soon.  We are currently very low on it.
 
Chuck

That would be so nice but it probably would put the builder at risk of being abused.
 
Anyway....those gratings
 
You will basically get all of the laser cut parts in this chapter.  There are only four hatches with gratings.  They are not very large.   Here are all of the elements needed.  You will get two layers for the jig.   The two layers are glued together to form the jig.
 
You also get a right angle jig which is 3/64" thick.  The thickness is very important.
 
Lets get started.
 

Start with the coamings.   They are laser cut and 1/8" thick.
 
The fore and aft sides are already shaped with the round-up of the deck....or camber as usually described but is an inaccurate term.
 
Use the right angle jig to glue two sides together...dont worry about the laser char just yet.   Then glue the remaining two sides together using the same jig to make a nice right angle.
 

Glue the two right angles together to form the coaming.  Sand the sides clean which are left a bit longer as you can see in order to remove the char and leave a nice bright smooth surface.   Also sand the top sides to clean the char.  You can see the cleaned coaming below.
 
Then you can start working on the grating.  Again just like my other smaller scale grating kits.
 
Insert the laser cut grating strips in the slotted jig.  NO GLUE of course!!!   This is just for alignment.
 
Then start adding the cross battens.  These are glued in position.  They may be too tight as you want a press fit.  So just run the small strips 1/16" x 1/16" through your fingers with some fine sandpaper.  Not much.  Just enough so the battens fit into the slots. see below.  There are seven batten strips and seven laser cut grating strips for three of the hatches.  The fourth is made the same way but is much smaller on the fcastle.
 

When all the strips are glued in position,  remove the grating from the jig.  Snip off the edges as shown below.  Then sand all four edges clean.  Try and not distort the perfect square shape.  In the photo two sides have the ends snipped off.   The smaller hatchway will have fewer battens and more to snip away.  Also sand the top surface clean and smooth.  Once again try and maintain the proper shape with the round-up.  You will know when its all done when the char is cleaned from the laser cut grating strip squares.

The photo below shows the top of the grating and sides all clean and nice and smooth.  It makes a nice grating.  The holes are 1/16" or 2" on the real ship and perfectly in scale.

You should but dont have to sand the bottom side as well.   Here is a look.  The battens are clearly less thick than the grating strips and these are pretty close to actual construction methods.  Or at least the impression of it.
 

And almost done...you will see how nice and tight the grating fits in the coaming.   Dont over sand the edges and you should test the grating in the coaming as you sand the edges.   In fact, the coaming normally has ledges on the port and starboard sides inside the coaming.  These create a ledge that the grating sits on so it doesnt fall through.  You can add those if you like.  But in my case the gratings fit so snug that they were not required.  I simply glued the gratings into the coamings making sure the top of the coaming was flush with the grating.  I sanded it smooth with some 400 grit paper.

The four corners of the coaming are very sharp at this point.  You dont want that.  They should be rounded off.  But they are only rounded off down to the deck level.   That is when you take that same right angle jig and use it.
 
The jig is the same thickness as the planking.   So you can place the coaming into the corner and use a sharp #11 blade to slice away the corner.  Slice it down to the top of the jig only.   You can make a stop cut at the jig level before slicing off the corner.  Then just round off the corner.
 
 
Dont slice off too much.   Just a little bit to round off each corner.
 
To finish it off I drilled three holes with a #76 bit.  I used 20lb black fishing line to simulate the bolts on the top of the coamings.  Three on each side.   They cut flush with the top of the coamings with a sharp blade.
 
All done!!!
 
 
 

I am just about to post an update with those...LOL
 
The gratings for Speedwell are different but the same basic concept.  They are a different scale to reflect the larger size needed.  They will have 1/16" square openings which at 3/8" scale would be a 2" hole.  Just right and exactly the same number of holes as the contemporary model.
 
These will all be included in the chapter along with the jig needed.
 
I will have construction pics really soon.
 
I have been distracted lately with the topic on the SOS where the staff and admin are trashing this project relentlessly....but its a lot fun to watch.   Many of you guys have sent me messages alerting me about it.
 
I have to thank Ben however for being a brave soul to have something nice to say about it knowing he will get the wrath for it.   I must be the worst kit designer in the world if you read some of that stuff over there.  But seriously...dont put yourself out there because if you do say anything positive about Syren or any of my projects on SOS they will lambaste you.  So no worries.   Dont put yourself in that position.  Its not worth it.   Most folks know its all nonsense.  And I am well aware.  But thanks for the positive notes of private support.
 
Anyway...back to building gratings.

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.
 

Now it's time to build magazines and all sorts of decks and beams. For that phase an accurate depth gauge is essential, so I've let my brain overthink yet another tool 
 
The requirements are:
1) Soft plastic or wood to avoid scratching the model
2) Nice looking and pleasure to use, that tool would be in active service for at least a decade.
3) Ideally it should have a thumbwheel or a knob for fine adjustment. 
 
I have a cheap plastic vernier calliper that satisfies the first requirement, but it does not have an knob / thumbwheel.

Could not find any plastic callipers with a knob, unfortunately. The plastic ones are already rare enough, let alone with a wheel adjuster.
 
Then I spotted a Lego set with a container loader ("reach stacker", to be more precise) that has a worm gear and tried to make an abomination out of it. It is surprisingly challenging to build a compact functional tool out of random lego parts, a whole puzzle of its own. Respect to people who do it on a regular basis!

It kind of works, but the play and precision is not good enough for my needs. 
So I gave up on the wheel adjuster requirement and went back to the simple "calliper on a gantry" setup.
It was a nice warmup to recover some skills that I've lost over years of inactivity.
 

This time I even got help from my little helper! She enjoyed cranking the mill  

 
The resulting design has two parts - sliding gantry (no t-tracks, it is stable enough on its own) and a "calliper holder" that slides sideways on the gantry to allow the gantry keep contact with both sides of the baseboard.
The bottom edge of the caliper is trimmed to a flatter profile to avoid hitting the keelson. Both ends of the calliper can be used for a markup to allow for a comfortable pencil positioning.
The setup relies on three clamps to fix everything in position. These plastic clamps are a bit of an eyesore, maybe I will sidetrack again to build a nicer ones  


 
 

Hi Michel,
 
No, your model is quite awesome! You should really start the log and post more. There is always some other log that looks better, that is not an excuse   And we all are masters of finding flaws in our models, so it's never perfect...
 
Have you built yours out of the Lumberyard "timbering package" or entirely from scratch (plans only)? Haven't seen any Lumberyard based build logs, frankly... Would be very interesting to see!
The scrolls under your quarter gallery look laser cut, so that's why I thought about a package  

Found my rhythm and finally produced first parts!
Admittedly got carried away with the shape of these mast posts, they are supposed to be much more boxy-looking and utilitarian. I was inspired by a few other models with very elegant posts For the same aesthetic reasons iron bolts are omitted and edges are aligned with the run of the planking.
I really love the look of curvy pear parts, big fat black dots would spoil it a bit. And after all these parts would be hidden deep in the hold.
It is more labor intense without a disk sander, so shaping and beveling involved a lot of chiseling. Though it is a pleasure with a nice and honed chisel.

The most pleasuring moment was chamfering these edges with some relaxing background music Super happy, the joy is back!
 
Finished with my new go-to finish Osmo Polyx 3062. Contemplating leaving smaller parts unfinished later during the build, but these are right next to the dark shiny pear frames, would be too much of a contrast. 
Before and after the finishing, side by side:

 
In the hull (dry fitted). Quite ashamed with the quality of planking at the bow, who left all these giant gaps? 🫣 Did not look that bad on photos from 2021...
No big deal, it only means I should be more careful next time. Also spotted an obvious misplacement of the top breast hook notch, it was the same guys fault. I was too young back then  


 

Thanks everyone for your support! Ron, can definitely recognise that  
 
Toni, thanks, will try that approach too. Inserting a pattern between the frames is a nice benefit of keeping one side unplanked, but haven't tried taping smaller pieces together.

Mast steps are not complicated, but struggling with pattern transfer. 
Feeling like I miss some obvious tricks? Even thought about making a miniature duplicator tool with toothpicks instead of metal pins
Would appreciate your advice!
 
First I tried to make patterns like on a full scale - by gluing small rectangles on a piece of card. That way works great for real boats, but is very awkward and potentially messy on a small scale.
But I like that tiny plastic vernier gauge! Got a few of those to measure spacing inside the hull without scratching it.

 
Then I just traced a frame pattern on a piece of card and eyeballed the other side. That is less complicated than I thought, but takes a lot of fine tuning (counter light helps too). But feels like an art rather than a reliable and repeatable method.
Though should admit - trimming and cutting card is quite satisfying!
Is that how everyone is doing it or is there is an easy way?   

Practicing the quiet modelling (in preparation for the evening sessions) - tried a coping saw instead of a bandsaw. The dust extraction problem solved itself, vacuum hose fits perfectly between the clamps:

Finally - the rough pear blanks are cut and I hope to shape them into beautiful parts in the upcoming days! 
I really aint much, but a little symbolic step towards the healthy hobby routine

Now it's time to build magazines and all sorts of decks and beams. For that phase an accurate depth gauge is essential, so I've let my brain overthink yet another tool 
 
The requirements are:
1) Soft plastic or wood to avoid scratching the model
2) Nice looking and pleasure to use, that tool would be in active service for at least a decade.
3) Ideally it should have a thumbwheel or a knob for fine adjustment. 
 
I have a cheap plastic vernier calliper that satisfies the first requirement, but it does not have an knob / thumbwheel.

Could not find any plastic callipers with a knob, unfortunately. The plastic ones are already rare enough, let alone with a wheel adjuster.
 
Then I spotted a Lego set with a container loader ("reach stacker", to be more precise) that has a worm gear and tried to make an abomination out of it. It is surprisingly challenging to build a compact functional tool out of random lego parts, a whole puzzle of its own. Respect to people who do it on a regular basis!

It kind of works, but the play and precision is not good enough for my needs. 
So I gave up on the wheel adjuster requirement and went back to the simple "calliper on a gantry" setup.
It was a nice warmup to recover some skills that I've lost over years of inactivity.
 

This time I even got help from my little helper! She enjoyed cranking the mill  

 
The resulting design has two parts - sliding gantry (no t-tracks, it is stable enough on its own) and a "calliper holder" that slides sideways on the gantry to allow the gantry keep contact with both sides of the baseboard.
The bottom edge of the caliper is trimmed to a flatter profile to avoid hitting the keelson. Both ends of the calliper can be used for a markup to allow for a comfortable pencil positioning.
The setup relies on three clamps to fix everything in position. These plastic clamps are a bit of an eyesore, maybe I will sidetrack again to build a nicer ones  


 
 

That would at least be a lot cheaper, but alas, the fabric of my shirts is a lot cruder than Navarra Fine Lawn White. I'm just a simple man....

Dear Jules,
Interpreting written sources is always dangerous. I don't have to remind you of the numerous deaths of people who were victim of different interpretations of religious written sources. The nasty reason is that people tend to select the interpretation that suits them best and completely ignore different signals.  A nice example is the Witsen drawing you show in #159 (V), where the bottom is planked and the bilge is not (yet). The next drawing in line is the one I showed in #155 (X), where the bilge is planked and an angle does show up. That's pure logic: before a shipbuilder starts planking, he flattens the frames to give the plank a solid landing, as you can see here on this picture, taken at the Statenjacht Utrecht shipyard:

 
I did not write Witsen's book, I am only comparing it to wreck finds and experiments with models and replicas and over and over again Witsen proved to be a trustful source. If you don't agree with my conclusions, that is alright with me. You are completely free to choose your own interpretations. Better even: write them down and publish them. Different ideas are often useful.  The only hesitation I have with your perseverance is a suspicion that you don't want to be convinced. I remember a former sort like discussion, in which you came into a forum as a fresh new member, stating that you had proof of 17th century Dutch shipbuilders designing their ships on paper, referring to a painting by Rembrandt. All the evidence of the contrary was denied and the discussion ended in a chaos. I am afraid this is a repetition. 
Again, I don't care if you think differently than I do on some matters. You are free to do so as you are also free to make your beliefs public. I don't feel attacked, but please stop bothering me, more or less demanding to agree with you in matters where we think differently. We are here to enjoy our hobby and some people like to hear opinions about the roots of the full-size industry. I pass through what I think I know (which is in fact very little) and if you have problems with what I say, I deeply apologize. Life is complicated enough without useless discussions.
Again I wish you all the best with your model of de Gouden Leeuw. Maybe you should post your work here. That would give a good basis for discussion. Better than this one, I'm afraid.
Best,
Ab
 

Hi Group,
As I use my Taig Mill exclusively, this is another tool that needs a home.  Works great, however for larger scales - 1/36 and above its a bit small for my needs.  Any offers are appreciated via PM

To allanyed: Material used for this part is boxwood. The part is made using a cnc milling machine, which enables precise milling from both sides. The procedure can be seen in the photos in post 8.
I continue with the construction of the wing transom.
     

When cutting the ledges into individual pieces I first tried passing it through the blade with the notched side down.
That was a mistake as the blade tore the nubs off.
Then I turned it over and all was good.

The battens were cut with the same setup with less concern for what side was up or down.
The assembly was done on the build jig.

When the white PVA glue was dry the sides were sanded square and the top of the battens flush with the top of the ledge nubs.
Here is the result of my very first grating ever.

Presently all the Orlop deck beams are temporarily glued in place to mark all the notch locations for carlings.
They will be removed to cut these notches on the bench as, try as I might, I could not manage to do them on the model.
It is a combination of the depth in the hull, the size of chisels I have and my skill level/confidence at this stage.
Possibly the higher decks might be a bit easier???