SkerryAmp

Ya reckon?? I've been keeping all the sawdust from my Vulture since I started - that's a 10 litre bucket, more than 3/4 full .
 

 
  Danny

So I wasn't happy with the first floor I did. Used sheet balsa that was painted with some colored pencil lines.....over time the sheets "peaked" at the joints. So I pulled the interior pieces I had done and the back wall of the cabin and pulled it all out.
I cut correct width planks out of 1/8" balsa sheet and used white cardstock between each plank to mimic the flooring. Got it all glued down and one of the interior walls mocked up.

Here's a couple photos of the boat from Christmas........

A few more pieces done:
 
Mast bottom flange:
 

 
Small porthole window to mold and cast:
 
 
 
And the bell for the mast. Bell made out of rigid foam as the other items above, arm made from styrene:
 

 

 

More progress om the mast......
 
Made the boom from a piece of Poplar wood I had laying around.

Added the pivot point to the end and made up the bands from aluminum sheet and some styrene rod I had.
 
Slowly but surly it's getting there, hoping I have it done for Christmas!

some additional work done to the mast......
 
 
Lamp bracket creating from sheet styrene;
 

 
steel bracket to attach blocking for swing arm. Made from square styrene tubing with the support bracket created from sheet styrene.:
 

 
 
 

 
And the mast top which holds a flag/banner of some sort.  Also, with the reference I've dug up on this, it seems that the four arms off of this have fish tails attached to them?! Bottom bracket made from sheet aluminum which I bent and hammered to fit top of mast..
 
 
 
And here are some images from the DVD I used for reference:
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 

Made some progress on the mast details.........
 
Wooden cross bracing in place and foot pegs made from brass wire and 0-80 nuts, bolts & washers.
 

 

 
 
First metal bracket assembled. made from aluminum sheet and 00-90 nuts and bolts.
 
 

 
 

So it's been a while since I posted, life has been busy for us here and it always seems that there's some new issue round the corner that needs to be attended to.  I've had limited time recently to put into the boat, but I'm determined to get it done for Christmas!
 
I've added the lettering  and the round cover plate to the back of the boat:
 

 
Here's a photo of the original lettering that was auctioned off from the boat, I used this to go by for the lettering.
 

 
Also added the re-enforcing plates, threaded rods and nuts to the locations on the hull. The rivet/bolt heads that are on the plates themselves are actually drops of 2 part epoxy, only way I thought of replicating them in this scale since nothing I found was small enough.
 

 
 
And I cut a master barrel out of a block of Ren-shape on the lathe, still have some re-working here and there and final sanding to do. Will be adding the 2 covers to the top then I'll make a mold off it and cast them in back urethane. Once this is done, I'll paint the appropriate yellow color and distress to match the origninals.
 

 

 

 

After 3 nine hour days or more, the boats are now completed to the stage of only needing to add the tools and accessories the boats carried with them. The structures are completed and painted.
 
New status of The Fleet:

I managed to get the remaining boats to the point of ready for details. Also included are some better photos of the one that is finished.
 
Here's the fleet at this stage:

Added the remaining details to the boat. The first boat is now completed and ready for painting. Completed the painting and ID'd it as Orange. One down and four to go. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. Adding all the little stuff was fun and really made it look like the real ones. I will finish all the boats to this stage before adding the accessories to make them ready to mount to the Morgan later.

The first of the five remaining whaleboats is shown with the following interior details installed. The Cieling Planks were installed first, then the 5 Thwarts (seats), the Stern Sheets (lower decking or Boat Steers Sole) the Bow Sheets (lower decking or Harpooners Sole), the Mast Step, the Center Board Case, the Ribs above the Ceiling Plank, and the Cutty Boards (Aft Top Deck). All of the parts were made from 1/64" x 1/64" strips and also 1/32" thick strips measured and cut from the 1/64" and 1/32" x 3" sheets since these size strips are not supplied in the kit. The Thwarts are 1/32" thick material. This boat will be completly fitted out before completing the remaining 4 boats which will only be duplicating this boat. All five boats will be completed and then the tools, harpoons, tubs, sail and mast, etc. will be added to each completed boat.

Got the 7 whaleboats outside shaped. Started working on the interior shaping. Got the hull shapes for the 2 boats that will be turned upside down and lashed to the Shelter roof finished. Only need to do the exterior details on these 2. I left the bottoms off of the 5 boats to hang from the davits. It is easier for me to shape these like this so I don't gouge the bottom trying to get in the tight spots. Then I glue the bottom on and finish shaping the outsides. I can't believe I'm actually getting to work on them some...fun and games in the old camp ground...

Starting to shape the boats on the belt sander. The first two will not be detailed inside since they will mount to the Shelter Roof upside down. The remaining 5 will be shaped outside first, then carved and sanded on the inside walls. Then detailed to the hilt for fun before hanging on the ship. Got 4 of them rough shaped today.

A couple more

Hi guys, all is well in North Eastern Maine...brrrr, but good. I wanted to illustrate my tool set up for using my Proxxon BS/E small belt sander and Proxxon Micromot Tool Holder to make or shape the whaleboats. This setup allows for keeping the tool stationary while allowing you to hold the part up against the sander to shape it with much more precision than holding the tool against a clampped wood part. I am offering the vise and clamp as a combo on my website if anyone needs one. It also will hold most hand held Proxxon tools which are listed on the page. It's a real handy set up. More to follow as I make progress on the boats.
 
Link: http://www.proxxontoolsdiscount.com/store/p321/39405_Precision_Vise_FMZ_%26__Micromot_Tool_Clamp.html

Managed to get the first boat finished today (6 more to go). It is one that will mount upside down on the Shelter Roof, so not much details other than on the exterior. this one has a blue stripe on the side. Each boat had a unique color so they could be easily identified and monitored from the ship as they were either catching or chasing a whale.

The planking on the foredeck has been completed with the addition of the treenails (drill and fill method) and the finish applied.  The belfrey and it's railing have also been completed.  I left this mostly in natural finish to complement the similar railing on the quarterdeck.  Here are a couple of views:
 

 

 

 
Now it's easy to see the alternating open decking areas fore/aft.
 
Next shall be the fabrication/installation of some head timbers and the catheads.  The cats are quite large and require some 'surgery' to install so I'll be moving slowly ---- only get one shot at this.  Cutting slots in the finished hull is not my forte.
 
 
 
 

Just a quick update this time around.
 
The planking of the foredeck has been completed.  The waterways, margin planks and planking are Swiss Pear supplied by Jeff.  Only the port side has been planked to allow viewing the gundeck below.  I used my usual hooked scarph joints where the planking meets the margins:
 

 

 
Next up will be to treenail this deck (drill and fill) and apply the finish before we proceed with additional foredeck details.

Life has slowed down enough to put in some time in the workshop.
 
Continuing on the foredeck, we've installed the belfry and the cap for the deck beam that supports the stanchions for another railing.  
 

 
Next will be fitting the waterways and margin planks for the deck itself.  I've decided to reverse the partial deck plan used in the stern so that the port side will be left open forward.  This will allow a partial  internal view from either side of the ship.

Things have been a bit slow in the yard as the chief shipwright, deciding to use as #11 blade as a chisel, added his DNA to the build.  No major damage but a painful reminder that it's impossible to do the fiddly bits with bandaged fingers.
 
However, we did manage to get a start on the foredeck.  Here, we've added some coamings, companionways, and a second fife rail.  Note the chimney for the stove below.  I love that stove, now 80% invisible.  But we know it's down there !
 
 

I wasn't going to post this photo of the QD main rail but it keeps 'calling' me.
 
Note the simulated sheaves in the lower stanchions.  The lower rail is doubled to produce a nice beaded effect whereas the upper is a single so as not to make it too massive.  I left it in natural finish (rather than the suggested black) as I'm going with black for all the belaying pins and, against the swiss pear deck, we see a nice contrast.
 

 
Onward to the long forgotten bow!

Has taken about 6 weeks to enjoy our vacation and then address some domestic and minor health issues.  But I've finally gotten the shipyard up and running once again.
 
Decided to finish up the guns on the QD.  There are only four 4 pounders due to the layout of the open decking.  Once again, the brass cannon were supplied by Chuck's Syren company and they're a perfect fit for the kit-supplied carraiges.  No need to detail the construction process again.
 

 

 
I need to finish up one railing on the QD before I move to the bow planking.  Will be operating on a reduced 'summer schedule' for a time......but it feels great to be back 'home'.
 
Here's hoping the summer has been going well for all those here up North. It's been fun following everyone's progress.
 
 
 
 

Sal and Wayne, I am very satisfied with the way the windlass came out as well.  Pictures of the finished product are below.  As for the anchor cable questions, I did check the model expo site and the model they took pictures of have a "cable" installed.  
 

 
It looks like they placed the anchor cable out through the hawse pipe and over the cap rail onto the deck.  It also appears that they used three ropes instead of a cable but I imagine that this is due to the lack of a model expo supplied cable laid rope.  This has raised one more question for me, if the hawse pipe leads onto the deck, then would they have to have stored the entire anchor cable on deck?
 
Update:
 
First, here are couple pictures of the windlass in its final steps of fabrication.  I decided to wrap the windlass handles with rope.
 

 
This picture also shows the navigation lights painted, I still think the painting on these is quite rough but I am just going with it.
 

 
A couple pictures of the windlass installed.
 

 

 
Next, I made the davit as described in Chuck's practicum.  Just used a few drops of glue to make the ball at the end, it did take a few coats of the CA to get the desired size of this feature.  
 

 
A picture of the davit installed.
 

 
I then installed the ventilator, ventilator cage, fore fife rail, and the fore companionway.  Pictures of the completed fore deck with fixtures installed.
 

 

 
I drilled the holes in the deck for the navigation lights and installed them.  The brackets for the navigation lights were made from extra copper tape.
 

 
The bulwark step at the bow of the ship was carved out a little too much when I made the cut out for the bowsprit earlier in the build, I wanted to repair this. Here is a picture of what I am referring to.
 

 
I sanded down a small piece of kit supplied basswood and fitted it into place, it just needs to be trimmed to size and painted black to match the stem.  
 

 
Last picture of this update is a top view of where my build stands, with everything installed except the anchor since I am still trying to figure out exactly how I want to display it.
 

 
The rigging portion of this build is going to be put on hold for a little while since I just ordered some new toys(read: tools) and want to fabricate the bowsprit and masts on my shiny new lathe and mill when they gets here.  Can't wait to get some time using these tools, I am very excited!
 
I look forward to your comments/input,

Sal and Tom, welcome back to my log!  I hope I can continue to contribute to the ever growing knowledge base here on MSW.  Your builds of the Syren and Constitution are both coming along very nicely, very ambitious builds and impressive work so far.  I look forward to moving into plank on bulkhead and advanced kits in the future, hopefully I can do them justice!
 
Mini update:
 
I have been working on a bunch of the final deck fixtures that need to be completed before moving on to the rigging portion of this build.  
 
First came the ventilator, I cleaned it up with a needle file and then added some vertical grooves in the top cap, though it was difficult to keep it in place while making the cuts so they are not perfect.  No biggie.  
 

 
I also forgot that I have an airbrush for painting so this one was hand painted but I will be switching back to airbrushing, whenever possible, for other items moving forward.
 

 
Next, I began working on the anchor.  I decided to drill small holes between the main anchor and the bar that runs it's length (not sure what this part is called).  Similar to cutting the scuppers in the bulwarks, I just drilled some holes and then cut out the remaining material with my exacto knife.  I like the effect of this, it separates the different pieces.  Just needs to be painted now.
 

 
Last thing for this update, the windlass.  I decided to scratch build this item out of some spare boxwood so that it would match the deck and other deck fixtures.  I had to glue some strips together to get the desired thickness for the square stock.
 
I cut the two uprights to length and then gave them 7 degrees of angle on the bottoms so that they would stand vertical despite the angle in the deck.  I took this from the plans as it looked like they were vertical in them.
 

 
Next, I glued the horizontal timbers into place, making sure to match the 7 degree angle on the bottom so that they would be parallel with the deck and hopefully better accept the bowsprit.  
 

 

 
Then I just sanded them flat and filed the horizontal timbers so that they were smaller squares and matched the plans/cast windlass that came with the kit.
 

 
Finally, I fabricated the winch bits out of some more scrap boxwood and cut a piece of brass wire to length.  
 
 
 

 
Here is one last picture of where the windlass stands right now, just needs a coat of black paint on the winch bits and then I will use some copper tape to fasten the winch to the windlass.
 

 
 
Before logging off, I have a question regarding the anchor and how to display it.  I have some cable laid rope in 1.2mm (black) and 1.5mm (tan) and was wondering:
 
1)  Should the anchor cable be tan like running rigging or black like the standing rigging?  It seems like the tar would have made it more durable but harder to work with so I am not sure.
 
2)  If I want to display it with the cable attached, how should this be routed?  I figure it would come out of the hawse pipe hole but then should it come over the cap rail onto the deck where the anchor is stored?  Also, should the extra cable just be coiled and placed inboard near the hawse pipe hole, this would certainly help cover some of the imperfections in the forward decking up near the bow.
 
3)  I know some ships had a few feet of chain connecting the anchor to the anchor cable, would this be accurate on the Phantom, I have so much trouble finding information on these ships that I can't find anything related to this detail of this type of ship.
 
As always, I hope you enjoyed the progress update and I definitely appreciate any input you guys may have about the anchor questions raised above.
 
 
Until next time,