Altduck

This thread has gone a bit dormant but I'm going to revive it with a very neat model I got to see recently. I was actually attending a model railroad convention, which included some personal layout tours. One fellow, in addition to a spectacular layout, had a scratchbuilt model of a real rail ferry that operated across the Missouri River at St. Charles (near St. Louis) in the early days of railroading. He gave me permission to share some photos here. 

This vessel operated until 1872, when a bridge was completed and its services were no longer needed.
 




This is in HO scale (1:87), the same scale as my current build Peerless (see signature). And for reference, here's one view of his layout, depicting Moberly, Missouri in extraordinary and highly accurate detail. This is on the same rail line as the ferry above served, though the layout is set almost 100 years later.
 

He's been writing a detailed article for the local railroad historical society and I told him about the NRG and encouraged him to submit the article to the NRG journal as well. 
 
I thought you all would enjoy this!
 
 
 

At last!  
Planking is done.  The last row was a royal PITA!  but all's well that ends well. 
 
Next steps?  Decide whether or not to paint.  If not, figure out a staining scheme, but experiment mightily first!   To buy time, and not derail construction, I may divert to other aspects of the build - maybe start constructing masts and spars?  Or, as seems very popular amongst others here at MSW, start on the cannons. 
 
But, First things first.  Tonight I celebrate this milestone with a double Manhattan and a fine meal out!  Tomorrow can wait. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

Today is the day my friends, I am going to mark this ship Finished. Lol. What a journey  .


Bow lines are on. @Gabek sent me a message on how these are done. One look at his plans , Neanderthals don't rig. So I came up with this , it will do. Lol. 
 Then I moved on to  seizing the bolt rope on the sails. After that I needed 10 rope coils, whipped them up pretty fast, on my  Isaiah  coil jig.



So I am closing the book calling her done.
 I am going to put all the figures on  and put it in the display case  in the near future.  I will post some final pictures and thoughts of  the build then. 
  Here she is , and I love it. Grinning 😀 😅 .




I have so many to thank, I am pleased  😄.  I wonder if I can enter this for the October  page on the NGR calendar  next year lol. It will be MSW first  Finished log for the Amati Mayflower model.  I am going to have to  to let them know I am finished so they can mark it in the Data base, it will be neat to see the  Finished  marked  beside Knocklouder's  log lol . One more done 3 left to go, I have to pick one,

  but dreaming of   the Duchess of Kensington  by Vanguard Models.lol
 Ok, like I say up to the case she gos 
Thanks for putting up with my typos and humor  lol.
Bob M.

Last couple nights I have been working on the rat lines, probably another couple nights before I complete them.  The rat lines definitely take a while to complete, but they are easier to complete than I what I had imagined. 

Zuko,
 
You and I are in the same situation.  I'm preparing for my first build, and it'll be -- the AL Swift.
 
There is a tremendous amount of information on this site, and in addition, it's linked to the Database of Articles and Downloads.
 
Click this link:
 
http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-modeling-articles-and-downloads.php
 
There are lots of articles in the various categories including Tools and Materials, Planking, Rigging, etc.
 
I'm depending on those, plus the help freely offered by other members if you do a build log, to overcome the mediocre instructions that come with the kits.
 
And when I get started, I'll start a build log.
 
 
 
 

Railings done. I think that the shaving of the bulkhead extensions worked well. Once painted it will be unnoticeable. 
 

 
Next I have sea ladders to add, anchor davits, the spar out the stern, chain plates and some deck stuff. I’m also trying to figure out what to do with the life boats. They are plastic but I don’t know if I’m up to scratching them from wood. 
Anyway, thanks for looking. 
Dave

I don't know how far back bosun's pipes go, but the Byzantines (and IIRC the Ancient Greeks) used flutes to give the time to the oarsmen of their galleys - probably because the high pitched sound could be heard over the deep sounds of the ship, oars etc. And I expect that's the same with bosun's pipes - they're VERY shrill.

 
Steven

Yes! I completed the model a few months back.  It is proudly sitting on the dining room mantle along with a few other David Antscherl designed kits.  Thanks for asking, here are a few pics:
 


Here is my collection in order of construction from left to right…
 

The Keel clamp is a great idea and if you can afford one get it, but shipping and the cost was to high for the First Mate  so  I  put three paint stick together in a jewelry vice  it swivels in all directions. . Works good on small ships 16 inches or less. For my bigger build  I attach  the keel to a 2x16x3/4 piece of wood. When I get to the bottom  I just flip it over into a foam cradle.
Lol she not pretty but it is a third of the price.
Bob M.
 

 

Yes I bought a longer 150mm prop shaft assembly, but cut it down to 125.
Dry fitted the steam plant, it has a 5mm output shaft, the prop shaft is 4mm.
The 2 universals fitted in good and everything rotates smoothly. 
 

But then again, imagine wintering on the coast of Maine.    

This painting is by Adam Willaerts dating from 1607:
 

 
Almost front and centre is a small schooner with what could be considered a proto-Bermuda rig. Note that these are not lateen sails (lack of a vertical mast). 
 
Andy

The Santa Maria is now done!  Pic 1 shows her slightly aft of the port beam.  Pic 2 shows her deck also.  The flags seem to be pretty good, flapping in the wind, but the swallowtails hang unconvincingly - I couldn't figure out anything better.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
To motivate the final mounting, we first show the 3 ships in a line in Pic 3.  Nina and Pinta are at a scale of 1:100 while Santa Maria is at a scale of 1:78.  As a result Santa Maria is 28% too large compared to Nina and Pinta.  To reduce the apparent scale of Santa Maria we move her back about 14" on the shelf and that produces Pic 4 where all three ships appear to be roughly at the same scale.

Surfing thru Youtube I found this and thought it was fascinating and very nicely done, thought I would share.
 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Nr1AgIfajI
 
 
 

For many reasons I have not been able to add to my blog but I did manage to finish the Amerigo this winter. Hope you enjoy the picks.
 

My first jog
 

 
 
4 zones done.  12 to go.
 

 

 
crud, I just noted the lack of symmetry!  Gotta fix that with the next strake..

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hey, I'm getting the hang of this planking thing!  It's time consuming getting everything set up before gluing a plank segment, but done right, the seams are really tight and there's very little trimming required afterwards.  Nuff said..  (well, except for figuring out how the new phone camera works.  I swear these photos looked a log lighter on the phone.  Oh well.)
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

I gather the answer is, as often, yes and no ... camber seems to have been also subject to fashion. It seems to have become gradually flatter over the years, but was always there in wooden ships. For iron- and steel-ships the situation is a bit different and also a question, whether they had wooden decking or metal decking. Wooden decks always had a camber and usually metal gutters or water-ways to take water away from the edges of the wood. Metal decks can be essentially flat.
 
From a constructive point of view, the camber not only serves to shed water (which, btw is only really relevant, when the ship sit upright in the water and doesn't move much), but also to predetermine in which way the beams will deform when under stress. A curved deck-beam will always bulge up, when under compression in the sea, while a straight beam could do it either way and in different ways from bow to stern. Such movement could lead to a leaking deck, as the planking would be stressed much more.
 

Deck Items
 
Added some things to plank around - main gratings, forecastle hatches, capstan base.  I also went ahead and drilled some pilot holes for the masts and poked some toothpick pieces in so I don’t loose them.  
 

The 5 Bitts
 
I just completed the Bitts.  There are five Bitts on the Rattlesnake.  These pieces are provided in the kit as Britannia metal castings. 
1.       Topsail Sheet Bitts – stand in front of the fore mast on the focsl deck
2.       Fore Gallows Bitts – stand behind the galley stack on the gundeck.  It holds the spare yard arms that the long boat sits on
3.       Riding Bitts – stand under the long boat.  This one has a short, thick pair of posts.  It is used to secure the anchor line when the ship is at anchor
4.       After Gallows Bitts – stand before the main mast. It holds the aft end of the long boat
5.       Fore Brace Bitts – stand right behind the bulkhead beam of the quarter deck
 
I don’t like the metal castings for these.  I don’t think it will be difficult to kit-bash these out of stripwood.  The hardest part is finding the right size pieces of wood to use.  The measurements for the cast metal do not match what’s in the plans anyway. I’m not going to get too worried about an exact match.  I made all my measurements from the blueprint plans.  For anyone who is interested, here is the process I used.
 
Topsail Sheet & Fore Brace Bitts:  Both of these are very similar in design and size.  The cross beams are both approximately ¾” wide.   The Topsail bitts posts are shorter @ 7/16” and they are closer together.  The Fore Brace bitts is taller @ ½” and the posts are spread wider apart.  They both require holes in the posts to simulate sheaves.  I used 3/32” square stripwood to make all these parts. 
 
·         Measure and cut the 3 pieces of wood for each
·         I cut the posts 3/32” longer to make a decorative carved top. I got this idea from David Lester’s Rattlesnake build.
·         I carved out the top first using mini-files & then cut the post to length
·         Filed out a notch where the cross piece needs to fit into the posts. I have a file with the right width!

 
·         Drill holes for the sheaves with a pin vise

 
·         Drill a hole in the bottom of each post and CA glue an artistic wire pin to secure them to the deck

 
·         Glue the parts together

 
·         I stained all 5 of the completed bitts at the end using Minwax Golden Oak.  3 coats to deepen the color
 
Fore & After Gallows Bitts: Both of these are the same in design.  The Fore Gallows is narrower than the After.  Also, the fore gallows have cleats on the fore & aft sides of both posts.  The After Gallows has no cleats.  Use 3/32 x 1/8” stripwood for both cross beams.  I selected the wider 1/8” strip to allow for the curved shapes that need to be sanded into the cross beams.  Measure and cut the 3 pieces of wood for each
·         The top cross beams require some curves to be sanded in on both
·         Drill a hole in the top and bottom of all the posts to insert pins that will act as dowels to anchor the cross bars and secure the bitts to the deck
·         Prepare kit supplied Britannia cleats. (Left pair filed and ready; Right pair just out of their bag)

·         Glue the parts together
 
Riding Bitts – This is a shorter but more “massive” bitt for holding the anchors!  Use 1/8 x 1/8” square stripwood.  The cross beam is inset into notches on the posts.  The steps are similar to the topsail bitts, except there is nothing additional required.
 
The 5 Bitts are ready for staining

 
Bitts after staining.  Note the cleats on the Fore Gallows Bitts in the upper left corner.  I think mine are better looking than the metal ones from the kit!  But I’m biased!!

 
I plan to build, rig & install the last 8 cannons before I attach the assembled Bitts to the decks.  I need room to work.  I did glue down the assembled hatches, since these are low and will not be in the way.  In fact, I need to know where they are located when I lay down the coils of rigging ropes for the cannons.  I also attached the pad for the galley stack and the galley stack on top of it.  The plans show this skewed toward the port side.  A hole was drilled first through the pad and then through the deck after the pad was glued down on the deck.  I used thick CA glue to attach the stack. 
 
Here is a pic of the ship at the current time.

 
My next step is to work on the remaining cannons for the gundeck.
 
Thanks for looking in on my progress!  Your comments & questions are always welcome.
 
Thanks,
Ed
 

Hatches: Coamings & Gratings
 
There are five Hatches with Coamings & Gratings on Rattlesnake.  Back when I started planking the decks, I made a decision to glue the hatches on top of the deck, rather than building the deck around the hatches.  I used 3/32”x1/8” stripwood for the large coamings.  1/16” x 3/32” stripwood for coamings #1 & #4.  I sanded an angle on the top outside edge to smooth off the 90-degree edge.  I painted the coamings red.  The gratings in the kit are made of cherry wood.  They will only be treated with wipe-on poly. 
 
Model Expo did not provide enough of the laser cut stripwood for the gratings.  But, per my request t0hey sent me some extra at no charge.  That’s a nice benefit with their models.  Here is a list of the hatches starting at the bow and going aft.  I did not add the one that goes under the Focsl deck.  This space was mostly filled up with the fully rigged cannons.
 
1.       Galley Steam Grating – located between the galley stack and the foremast.  I used the smaller stripwood on this little grate.
2.       2nd Largest Grate – located aft of the Fore Gallows Bitts.  It is nearly an inch long
3.       Largest Grate – located forward of the main mast & aft of the long boat bitts.  It is 1.25” long
4.       Small Scuttle – located in front of the cabin wall.  It has a solid cover
5.       3rd Largest Grate – located in front of the capstan on the quarter deck
 
Here are the steps I used along with some pictures:
Measure, cut & glue the outside frames according to the plans.  I used this jig to make sure they had square corners.  This important for the gratings to lay correctly.  I used lap joints.  I made all 5 at once, while I was on a roll.

 
Measure and cut the inside ledges to hold the gratings.  Use 1/16” square stripwood and made sure it was flush with the bottom of the coamings


Sand down the outside top edge at an angle to smooth off the 90-degree edge

 
Paint the coaming frames red.  Paint the ledges black

 
Cut and glue black cardboard under the gratings so it looks like the dark hold of the ship is underneath (instead of the lighter colored deck)

 
Measure, cut with a #11 knife blade and sand the gratings to just fit the inside width of the coamings.  Start at one end and lay the pieces in position.  Place drops of CA glue around the outside edge to hold everything in place

 
Cut a piece of 1/32” thick stripwood for the solid cover on the scuttle.  Round the edges w/ a sanding stick.  Stained the cover with Golden Oak
 
Seal the assembled pieces with Minwax satin wipe-on poly.
 
Mark the locations on the decks for each hatch.  Glue them to the deck.  I have not glued them down yet.  They are only placed in position in the below picture.  I'm going to wait until I make the Bitts before I start gluing.  In fact, I may install the cannons before gluing the bitts.  I want to have enough space to work on the cannons.  It was challenging working under the focsl deck with those cannons!

The next step is to make the Bitts.
 
Thanks,
Ed
 

One could not watch this series without being captivated by the Richard Rodgers and Robert Bennett musical score. Absolutely wonderful.

Good evening mates, well…I’m finally back to where I was a few days ago! Mizzen mast installed with working lights.
 

Hi Olaf!  If I am understanding your question, the #10 Xacto blade I was referring to that I like is the 2nd one down from the top left in the picture on my post, that fits into a "standard" Xacto knife handle.  The lower right one is similar, but fits in a larger handle, as you can see the notch part (the little rectangle opening on the left side of the blades) is a bit bigger in that one. 
 
EDIT:  Here's a "knife/blade matrix" I found that will help determine what blade goes with what handle...
 
x-acto-matrix.pdf (scene7.com) 

It’s been awhile since I posted my progress (crushed hand and other things going on).
 
 Here is where I’m at so far next deck is on lighted and ready for the next part of the build.
 
 Enjoy the pictures