bhermann

Dave - I looked back at my MSW2 restart of the log and noticed that the helmsmans grating is included there in a post dated February 19.  I've been mulling over the sails for the last little bit.  I think I will attach the main and fore sails and topsails before stepping the masts, so I am trying to figure out just what I am doing with them before proceeding.  The thought of connecting the mast hoops with the masts in place doesn't strike me as a good place to be.  Hope to be starting up again soon as the weather starts to turn.

Bob

It is good to see you back and to get some reminder shots of your progress. I will be following along with great interest!

Bob

Dave - I like the look of your platform. I think it was my old log that had a description of that piece, using a method from Jim Lad. It was a bit different than this, I'll have to re-post. Nice job of scratching parts, by the way. Good to see you back at it!

Bob

Trinkstein?  My German is not so good - does this translate as "drinking glass"?  A fascinating build, to say the least!

Bob

I am really nervous about cutting the rabbit.  It will be first time for me to do something like this.  I'm thinking I'll pt tape on the blade of my knife to mark the depth. 

 

Hey what could go wrong?

PopJack -

I recall looking at the rabbet for about a month before getting the nerve to actually cut into the wood.  Doing the cut was much easier than all the thinking about it.  Remember - it is wood and can be replaced if necessary (although I'm sure you will do just fine).  I like the idea of tape on the blade to mark the depth of the cut - wish I'd thought of that!

About the Hunt practicum - I did buy it and found it very useful for getting started and for planking the deck and hull.  For steps after that it was much less useful.  It does not add any detail to the basic instructions and shows only simplified ways of doing things.  I believe it interprets the plans poorly when it comes to the color scheme of the upper hull, rails and deck fittings.   If you are comfortable with planking, it probably isn't worth the money to buy it for the later stages.

Take your time now in getting the bones of the ship together.  Getting a solid foundation in place will make the later stages go that much smoother.  I agree about the fit of the laser cut pieces - Bluenose is my first experience with them, and I thought they would just fit without the need for checking!

Enjoy - I will be following along.

Bob

Very nice work, Rod.  She came out really great.  I like the photos from angles we don't normally see - the gulls-eye view in particular.  I am looking forward to your next effort.

When my granddaughter gets a little older I'll have to look into the book series - or I could just get my wife started now

Bob

Casey - you are braver than I am.  I bought this a while ago, but it is still sitting in the box.  Anything you can share from your experience is appreciated. 

Rich - thanks for the tips.  Into the 'favorites' this topic goes!

Bob

Daniel - FWIW, I like the thickness of the shrouds and stays just as they are.  They are visible in the photos even though the background is very dark.  I think you are right that when the rats are added they will show up more. 

Of course if you have the foremast shrouds in place in the above photo, I take it all back and you need to go with something thicker

I love the details you are able to show at such a small scale!

Bob

This is going to be fun.  I will be watching with great interest.   Thanks for thinking "Outside (or inside, in this case) the box" and sharing your ideas with us.

Bob

Rod - I am sorry to hear you had so much trouble with your Flying Fish (my next planned build, BTW).  I will try to be real careful about knocking the ship around and to keep it out of the cats' reach.  I'm curious - did you glue the ship to the cradle or fasten it in any other way?

Hi Blackie and thanks for stopping by.  I don't know how creative I'll be.  I was thinking of using the billet that had the bulkheads to get the general shape of the cradle and running a couple of horizontal dowels between the two cradle pieces.  I need to think about it some more - but there's plenty of time for that.

Dave - it's good to hear from you too.  Still at it, and still moving slowly.

Brad - I agree, this sharing of thoughts and ideas is a big benefits to everyone!

Gerty -  I'm not sure how I missed you.  Thanks for the kind words.

Floyd - it may have been a learning build, but I think it came out very well and deserves a place in the gallery.  Besides it's nice for those just starting out to see that someone managed to get all the way through their first build and do a good job of it too!

I was away for the weekend and managed to get some time on the water, even if it was only a harbor cruise out of Portsmouth, NH.  It felt great to be standing on a pitching deck again!  I have been feverishly rereading everything Mastini had to say about rigging as well, just another excuse to procrastinate (like I really need one).

Bob

Nil - I am doing the 1:64 Model Shipways kit - looking forward to you restarting your Billings build.  So far all trials are going on in my head - when I get to the point where I am actually doing something, I will document in the log.  BTW, I am enjoying your Pegasus build immensely.

Bob

Thank you for sharing your experience and techniques on this, Nils.  Your sails (like the rest of your work) are an excellent addition to your models.  I have been mulling over possible ways of doing sails for Bluenose for a while now and hope to get moving on it soon.  All input in this area is appreciated!

Bob

Brad - another alternative is to build a cradle for the hull instead of mounting on pedestals.  I think that is where I am going with this one, partly because it is a different look, partly because it feels sturdier to me, partly because I waited too long to give any thought to setting up pedestals and the thought of trying to drill holes in the keel at this stage gives me the willies

Bob

Hi Bob

 

I have a question about your deck caulking if you can remember back that far. What did you use for the caulking? Marker or pencil? and one side or both sides of the plank.

 

Brad

Brad

Thanks for the kind words.  I hope the info posted here is useful to others so I it is always good to get some feedback.

For the caulking I used a number2 pencil on one side of each plank.  It has held up well over the years since it has been completed.  Once I glued the deck furniture in place I gave the deck a coat of Minwax Wipe-On Poly, the clear satin finish.  If I had it to do over I'd probably go for scale length planks.  Live and learn!

Floyd - I haven't checked the Gallery - do you have Bluenose posted there?  Your build came out very well and it deserves to be commemorated there - especially since your DDM and MSW1 logs have gone to the ether.

Thanks,

Bob

Floyd - I think the knees are the way to go. It's funny but I was thinking about compass wood while looking at that split following the grain so exactly. Technique for removing the old stuff will depend on what was used to put it together. There are people here who can give guidance on that.

Bob (from the little IPOD reply box)

Floyd

Ouch!  Is this Harveys way of getting even for the lack of attention over the past couple of months?  I guess you know the glue you used on that piece is very strong.

Do you think it was the pull of the planking to straighten out that pulled the piece apart?  Makes me wish I had soaked and pre-bent the planking at the stem!

Good luck with the fix - this will be interesting.

Bob

Welcome, Nils.  This is an interesting project you have started.  I will be following along as you go.

When you are writing a post, do you see a button labeled "More Reply Options" next to the "Post" button?  Clicking that will open the full editor and allow you to move pictures around in the post and get them next to the text.

If you don't see that button, we'll have to wait for someone with more experience than me to come in and explain what is going on .

Bob

Jack - as JP said, I did have to repair a broken part, as it turns out it was the same piece you broke, the fife rail.  I re-entered the information on the repair in my log (post #14).  John from Australia (Jim Lad) gave me the paper trick and it worked fine for me.  As I was painting the piece anyway, the paper fix worked fine for me.  Your replacement part looks fine, I don't see any need for you to change anything.

The mystery deck fixture - we had a lengthy discussion on MSW-1 of what it might be.  The best anyone could come up with was a lazarette used for possibly stowing flags, or boom crutch tackle.  No definitive answer was found.  The plans I have say it was there at times and not at others.  For now I am leaving it off..

Nice save on the fife rail, and I think replacing the walnut parts is a good idea.  I did the mast caps with brass strip, which is what the plans called out for it.

Bob

Chris

All I can say is - WOW!  If I were in the market for a warship, this would be the one!  Thanks for your hard - and excellent - work and for thinking of the modeler as you work through the process!

Bob

Yves - that bowsprit is just another example of your fine work.  I am fascinated by some of the hardware shown here and the general shape of the spar.  Keep up the good work!

Bob

OK Guys & Gals, I have a question...Where do you find the dry transfer letters, or any simple means of adding the name of the ship on the stern and bow sides. I need white and gold letters about 3/16" or even 1/8" thick. I have checked Hobby Lobby and they do not carry them anymore. Help.....(I'm currently looking online, but still striking out, probably becasue I don't remember the proper name for a correct search.)

John -

Instead of dry transfer letters, have you considered creating decals for the name?  I went that route for the nameboards on Bluenose and am pleased with the result.  You can find a short description on the first page of my log - just scroll down to post #10.

I have been quietly enjoying your log - Morgan is one of those ships that holds a special place for me.  I think I was about 13 the first time I visited her, and I get back to Mystic whenever I get the chance.  Keep up the good work - I'll be following along.

Bob

Eddie - those lines look somewhat familiar to me.  I will be following along as you build.  It looks like you are off to a solid start - keep up the good work.

Bob

Interesting discussion to follow along with.  Thanks for sharing your thoughts, folks.

My question, if the one piece rail is flipped over, is it a good fit on the port side?  If so, could you use it as a template to make both sets of rails?

Bob

Richard - this is my first visit to your log and I am impressed with what I see.  The details like the hinges and the lighting are really very well executed.  Congratulations on a job so far well done.  It was timely that I looked in today - I have been considering how to do the sails on Bluenose for a few months now, and you have given me insight into some possibilities.  I was just browsing Amazon for the Steam a seam tape - it's nice to see someone here actually using it.

I will be following along from now on - keep up the good work!

Bob

Hi Rod - sorry for the late acknowledgement but I've been neglecting my log for a while.  Thanks for stopping by and for the kind words.  I have been enjoying your Syren log very much.  If you want to see really small turnbuckles, take a look at DBorgens' Bluenose log - he got them closer to plan size than I managed.

While I haven't been doing any hands-on for a while, I have been thinking (and overthinking) about the sails for a while.  I  know I want to try them and that cloth will be my medium.  I think I do not want to sew them so I am looking at drawing the seam lines and using some sort of double-sided tape or iron-on seam binding for the hems.  When I was looking only at the main sail, the 1/4" hem seemed very doable.  Then I looked at the topsails and saw the hem is about 1/8".  Tonight I looked at the jibs (the first sails I scanned to start making templates for) and I see the hem is actually at little less than 1/16" on the plans.  I am less comfortable with with the idea of making hems in that size.  I may just bite the bullet and go oversized.  In any case, I think I'll start with the main sail and fore sail with the largest hem and see how that goes.  After I am more familiar with materials, I may see that doing the smaller hems isn't that big a deal.  Stay tuned - I am moving slowly, but I am still out here.

Bob