SkerryAmp

Okay Folks,   back for some more fun and excitement in the land of mayflower construction!
 
Tonight, the goal was to continue deck items in order to be ready for rigging adventures this weekend/next week,  so tonight was knights and pumps.    In reviewing this all I can see I forgot something - but if nobody notices I will just sneak it in there and none will be the wiser =).
 
Anyway,  to make up the pumps here is the route I took for those who may be intersted.
 
First, I am really not adept and handling and working with the small parts and pieces yet, so trying to cut the cylynders and wall them up was really giving me pain.  So, I tried a different approach.   It took a dowel and cut it down some , about 5 inches or so I then took some narrow strips and cut them to about 3 inches and wrapped the dowel in them.   This is what would be the cylynder blank.   The idea is to cut the section I need for the cylynder and if something happesn I have more material already done up to try again.   This time around I didn't need it however.
 
Anywho =)
 
The Blank was then taped up to allow for drying.
 

 

 
Once that was dried I had some gaps between the planked wall so using some hobby light i filled it all in, this would smooth out the transitions as well as stain a hair darker than the wood and look like caulking/sealing material (i hoped).
 

 
Cleaned up the blank,  removing filler material from the faces of the planks and cleaning up any errant glue that may be on there.  I just used a small cotton pad and some alchohol and wiped it all down.  Works like a champ!
 

 
Then I went ahead and measured the lenght of the cylinders I needed for the pumps.   I taped them up at the cut marks in order to hold the unit together when the saw hit it and didn't vibrate loose or splinter.  There are three cut marks,  the first is to trim the end flush, the second two are the breakpoints for the cylinders.
 

 
Using my handy dandy Microlux cut off saw I cut them cylinders nice and neat!
 

 

 
Going by CHucks instructions I grabbed the proper wood in accordance with the booklet and cut, shaped and carved the handles and drilled holes into the cylinders.
 

 
I took some Tamiya masking tape (yellow),  sharpied it black and trimmed it to size to use as the bands on the pumps.  Assembled them all up and whalla - finally I have some pumps!!
 

 
I got them installed on the deck and all is good with the world!!  (also got a knight on there as well)
 

 
 
My HUGE apologies for any grevious spelling or grammar mistakes throughout this,  it is a little late - been at this most of the evening and wanted to get this update in before i retired for the evening.
 
Am very much on a mission here so I am sensing some late nights in my future =)
 
 
Thanks all for stopping in!

Too funny Rich, my wife makes jewelry herself and more than one occasion I have leaned over and said..Hmm, those are interesting - can I try those a sec?   Now of course she has learned - yes but am I getting them back or should i just order another one? heheeh
 
 Get a lot of great tools and ideas from all over =)

Caught up again, great save on the paint job really came out nice (that Tamiya tape is a great great thing!!).
 
Love watching this come together, the colors are superb and make it such an interesting ship!
 
Nice work!

Thanks Dave,  there is a reason we are doing it together - get in shape, and if she is doing I kind of HAVE to in order to defend myself
Thanks for the good word.... after catching up on all the great builds I am going to be seeing what I can do tonight to organize things to get at them a bit better and get some stuff done!
 
 
 
 
Thanks Augie,  I can say during the pats game my leg did not hurt at all - at least didn't notice it with the stress and chest pains through the whole game  ...what a game.   
 
 
Thank you much!  Will be seeing what I can do tonight to get working again with minimal movement 
 
I saw that in your log - the britannia ones are "interesting", after seeing your mad scratch-building skills I am sure your home made nests will be MUCH better!
 
 
Thanks Denis,  she isn't so much learning to kick, but to kick harder and more efficiently ...  that makes it much much worse!!
 
I am going to make a concentrated effort to get another update very soon once I rearrange the work area a little bit 
 
 
Aye aye!  That is the plan Pat - looking at all the great work being done and then staring at my builds sitting there near pining for the fjords I have to figure out something soon or I think I will go nuts!!
 
 
Thank you DC, much appreciated and much agreed - this thing can't get better fast enough

Looking great Sjors!!   Really coming along nicely!!!

Thanks Dave,  there is a reason we are doing it together - get in shape, and if she is doing I kind of HAVE to in order to defend myself
Thanks for the good word.... after catching up on all the great builds I am going to be seeing what I can do tonight to organize things to get at them a bit better and get some stuff done!
 
 
 
 
Thanks Augie,  I can say during the pats game my leg did not hurt at all - at least didn't notice it with the stress and chest pains through the whole game  ...what a game.   
 
 
Thank you much!  Will be seeing what I can do tonight to get working again with minimal movement 
 
I saw that in your log - the britannia ones are "interesting", after seeing your mad scratch-building skills I am sure your home made nests will be MUCH better!
 
 
Thanks Denis,  she isn't so much learning to kick, but to kick harder and more efficiently ...  that makes it much much worse!!
 
I am going to make a concentrated effort to get another update very soon once I rearrange the work area a little bit 
 
 
Aye aye!  That is the plan Pat - looking at all the great work being done and then staring at my builds sitting there near pining for the fjords I have to figure out something soon or I think I will go nuts!!
 
 
Thank you DC, much appreciated and much agreed - this thing can't get better fast enough

Thanks Dave,  there is a reason we are doing it together - get in shape, and if she is doing I kind of HAVE to in order to defend myself
Thanks for the good word.... after catching up on all the great builds I am going to be seeing what I can do tonight to organize things to get at them a bit better and get some stuff done!
 
 
 
 
Thanks Augie,  I can say during the pats game my leg did not hurt at all - at least didn't notice it with the stress and chest pains through the whole game  ...what a game.   
 
 
Thank you much!  Will be seeing what I can do tonight to get working again with minimal movement 
 
I saw that in your log - the britannia ones are "interesting", after seeing your mad scratch-building skills I am sure your home made nests will be MUCH better!
 
 
Thanks Denis,  she isn't so much learning to kick, but to kick harder and more efficiently ...  that makes it much much worse!!
 
I am going to make a concentrated effort to get another update very soon once I rearrange the work area a little bit 
 
 
Aye aye!  That is the plan Pat - looking at all the great work being done and then staring at my builds sitting there near pining for the fjords I have to figure out something soon or I think I will go nuts!!
 
 
Thank you DC, much appreciated and much agreed - this thing can't get better fast enough

Once I had finished the decking for the night and set it aside to let the stain set in and dry, I made good on my promise to start on the Blue Shadow "Kara June".
 
Started with the false keel and bulkheads.   I was pleasantly surprised .  The bulkheads fit in quite nicely, not much modification was needed and they set in place without much issue at all.   I used my high tech lego system to square them up and we were off to a great start!
 

 

 

 

 
The kit came with what they called stern fillers so I glued them in place.   Once everything is dry and solid I will fair the bulkheads and fillers at once.  I think it will be easier to get a consistent contour that way.
 

 
Additionally, they had bow fillers (how convenient).  Although I wouldn't call them "fillers" as much as extensions, but they will do the trick.
 

 
With all that in place, glued up and looking good I figured I would end the night by getting the falkse decks in place.  That way after I get more done on the Mayflower and Willie I can take some time to fair theh bulkheads, shape the fillers and get this vessel ready for the planks!
 

 

 
So far this one isn't to bad to do.  Everything has a nice fit and the instructions (the plans anyway) are easy to follow.  We shall see if it holds throughout, I will stay optimistic!!
 
Until later....
 
As always, enjoy!!!
 
-Adam

Good Evening folks.
 
This one has a bit of a backstory to explain why this kit and why a 3rd build log.
 
This kit was purchased by my wife back while I was building the Phantom.  She thought it was cool that I was taking up this hobby and decided to surprise me with a kit she thought looked "really cool".  It was on sale from Model Expo and sitting on my desk when I woke up one morning, wrapped like a christmas present (in summer).
 
It has sat on the shelf, not out of neglect, but other builds were in progress so it was queued.  She asked me a little bit ago when I was going to get to it, so I told her I would start it up as soon as I got the decking done on the Mayflower.  So here it is.
 
It is not a real ship, it is a fictional vessel put out by Mamoli under the guise of a real one. It even has a history and everything.   However, despite being a fictional ship it still seems to be an interesting looking one.   Since it is already a fictional one I decided to build it but recommision and name it after my wife.  So, while the box says Blue Shadow,  it will be the Kara June when finished.
 
I have read many comments from all over regarding the quality of the Mamoli kits and have even read a few questions regarding this particular one. So let's get to it and see where this one goes!
 
First:  The customary Unboxing.
 
The box itself is actually not to shabby,  glossy packaging with the ship well presented.
 

 
The documentation is interesting to me.  The written part is in some places a little rough to understand but they get the gist across.  The "plans" are more like giant pictoral  step by steps which at first glance at least seem to make it easier to follow via the plans than the written documentation.
 

 
It does come packaged with some decent variations of wood, well bundled and organized.   This will be interesting as I am mainly used to basswood so will have to learn to distinguish between the several varieties included.
 

 
Oddly, in contrast it also comes with an assortment of various odd lengths and sizes of a variety of woods.  This will get even more interesting I think.
 

 
The plywood parts are pretty familiar looking.  They are of good quality, nice and solid and well marked so that is good.
 

 
A random bag of parts, with one that looked like it is either scrap wood or a part that didn't quite make it. Hmmmmm.
 

 
Rigging!  Nothing much to say here.
 

 
Here are what I consider the "standard" parts.  Some grating, cannons, deadeyes and blocks etc.
 

 
And here, lastly are the parts which, well.   Okay - I don't like these.   I have looked at them on the ship and in the box and I just don't care for them.  They seem out of place to me.   So,  I will (deep breath) most likely be remaking them from scratch to make them fit in place a bit better. 
 

 
 
So overall this doesn't look too too bad.  
 
I hope
 
-Adam

So.  It would appear not only did Murphy move out - but a good luck leprechaun moved in.   The wife and I have been having a bizarre streak of luck lately and tonight was no exception.
 
As I just mentioned yesterday - the Blue Shadow was on hold along with the Mayflower due to a material shortage.  Mainly - lack of planking material   Mistakes chewed up what I had for the Mayflower and horrible wood needs replacing for the Blue Shadow.
 
With three projects on the table, 2 stalled and one drying primer and filler; the urge to build something was strong (maybe the weeks of being away whow knows) but the temptation was great to crack open the harriet lane.  I know - crazy right?... well - this is how close it came... 
 
From the closet TO the corner of the desk...
 

 
 
Now, some time ago I had invested in some Pear, Boxwood and Holly from the Lumberyard.  I keep my extra wood stock in the closet behind me and when I was looking for planking I went to use the boxwood I had gotten.  Could not find it.  I know I used some on the willie, but didn't think I had used that much but convinced myself I didn't have as much as I had thought.
 
So, imagine my surprise when I went to the hobby bench, dropped my xacto, leaned over to get it and saw....
 

 
Yuppers, that is right - that would be the boxwood planking I had picked up and talked myself out of even existing: Sitting right there, to my right on the bottom shelf of my work bench
 
I can't use it for the mayflower, but I can use it for the Blue Shadow...
 
So - the USRC Harriet Lane will once again head back to the closet and await it's turn.   The mayflower shall wait for her new shipment of lumber,  the Willie will dry and sit as I continue to contemplate how to do some of the upcomming work, and the Blue Shadow shall hit the bench for a little bit.
 
So.  WIth that,  the first planks were laid (just the initial ones along the deckline).    I know I have only finished one ship and only truly planked one (the mayflower)  but planking - the technique and the idea behind it sort of escapes me.  Some of you guys are masterful at it so I am trying to figure it out so I can show more of my planking and hide less of it under filler and paint       I picked up some books on the matter to help me out....
 

 
All three have great information (to me at least) especially trying to solve the mysteries of some aspects of ship building.    I read the mats here on the site, took into account russ's suggestion (where has he been btw..hmmm) and I have perused some of the members methods as well as read through these books. Ultimately I had to pick and decided for the Blue Shadow I would go with the method talked about in Ship Modeling Simplified.
 
We shall see hwo it goes.
 
So - the planking... is off and running!

 

 

 
 
What a day!!
 
 
Until later all
 
ENJOY!!!!
 

So.  It would appear not only did Murphy move out - but a good luck leprechaun moved in.   The wife and I have been having a bizarre streak of luck lately and tonight was no exception.
 
As I just mentioned yesterday - the Blue Shadow was on hold along with the Mayflower due to a material shortage.  Mainly - lack of planking material   Mistakes chewed up what I had for the Mayflower and horrible wood needs replacing for the Blue Shadow.
 
With three projects on the table, 2 stalled and one drying primer and filler; the urge to build something was strong (maybe the weeks of being away whow knows) but the temptation was great to crack open the harriet lane.  I know - crazy right?... well - this is how close it came... 
 
From the closet TO the corner of the desk...
 

 
 
Now, some time ago I had invested in some Pear, Boxwood and Holly from the Lumberyard.  I keep my extra wood stock in the closet behind me and when I was looking for planking I went to use the boxwood I had gotten.  Could not find it.  I know I used some on the willie, but didn't think I had used that much but convinced myself I didn't have as much as I had thought.
 
So, imagine my surprise when I went to the hobby bench, dropped my xacto, leaned over to get it and saw....
 

 
Yuppers, that is right - that would be the boxwood planking I had picked up and talked myself out of even existing: Sitting right there, to my right on the bottom shelf of my work bench
 
I can't use it for the mayflower, but I can use it for the Blue Shadow...
 
So - the USRC Harriet Lane will once again head back to the closet and await it's turn.   The mayflower shall wait for her new shipment of lumber,  the Willie will dry and sit as I continue to contemplate how to do some of the upcomming work, and the Blue Shadow shall hit the bench for a little bit.
 
So.  WIth that,  the first planks were laid (just the initial ones along the deckline).    I know I have only finished one ship and only truly planked one (the mayflower)  but planking - the technique and the idea behind it sort of escapes me.  Some of you guys are masterful at it so I am trying to figure it out so I can show more of my planking and hide less of it under filler and paint       I picked up some books on the matter to help me out....
 

 
All three have great information (to me at least) especially trying to solve the mysteries of some aspects of ship building.    I read the mats here on the site, took into account russ's suggestion (where has he been btw..hmmm) and I have perused some of the members methods as well as read through these books. Ultimately I had to pick and decided for the Blue Shadow I would go with the method talked about in Ship Modeling Simplified.
 
We shall see hwo it goes.
 
So - the planking... is off and running!

 

 

 
 
What a day!!
 
 
Until later all
 
ENJOY!!!!
 

Greetings happy ship modelers!!
 
Tonight's installment of the Blue Shadow / "Kara June" is more of a question for you seasoned hullp plankers than it is an update.
 
The update portion is simply that I have sanded the fill and shaped everything so the basic shape of the hull works and is ready for planking.  
 
Then, I decided to get ready for planking.  I did a first planking on the Mayflower and got it to work but with a WHOLE lot of cheating   I figured I would try different approach which I have seen many use and see if that helps this "click" a little more.
 
So I referred to the Basic Hull Planking PDF here on MSW (Basic Hull Planking for Beginners).  Makes a lot of sense on paper and filled me with hope and promise.
 
I got up to the laying of the temp battens and looked at it and thought - that looks NOTHING like anything I have seen (at least to me).  There is certain shapes and patterns you see with all of these builds and mine just doesn't look right.   So, here are pics of the ship as she stands with the temp battens attached.   Which gives an idea of how the planks will lay.
 
Does this look right to you experienced or "in the know" plankers?  If so, great!     If not - help?!?!? 
 

 

 

 
 
 
Thanks for stopping in and for any advice !! 
 
Enjoy! And Happy Modeling!
 
 
-Adam
 

Too funny Rich, my wife makes jewelry herself and more than one occasion I have leaned over and said..Hmm, those are interesting - can I try those a sec?   Now of course she has learned - yes but am I getting them back or should i just order another one? heheeh
 
 Get a lot of great tools and ideas from all over =)

Thanks Dave,  there is a reason we are doing it together - get in shape, and if she is doing I kind of HAVE to in order to defend myself
Thanks for the good word.... after catching up on all the great builds I am going to be seeing what I can do tonight to organize things to get at them a bit better and get some stuff done!
 
 
 
 
Thanks Augie,  I can say during the pats game my leg did not hurt at all - at least didn't notice it with the stress and chest pains through the whole game  ...what a game.   
 
 
Thank you much!  Will be seeing what I can do tonight to get working again with minimal movement 
 
I saw that in your log - the britannia ones are "interesting", after seeing your mad scratch-building skills I am sure your home made nests will be MUCH better!
 
 
Thanks Denis,  she isn't so much learning to kick, but to kick harder and more efficiently ...  that makes it much much worse!!
 
I am going to make a concentrated effort to get another update very soon once I rearrange the work area a little bit 
 
 
Aye aye!  That is the plan Pat - looking at all the great work being done and then staring at my builds sitting there near pining for the fjords I have to figure out something soon or I think I will go nuts!!
 
 
Thank you DC, much appreciated and much agreed - this thing can't get better fast enough

Wow, I mean.. just Wow.
 
TWO of em..... TWO of em and mine is sitting there staring at me waiting for me to get back at it.
 
We Dave, your work continues to be fantastic and just so clean!!!
 
I think I am going to have to have the admiral help me move some stuff within arms reach and get back at it!!  Inspiring and amazing Dave!

Wowzers, great job on the capstan and pumps.  My pumps are okay, but I am thankful my capstan is partially hidden beneath the deck, it allowed me to turn it so only the good side showed  .   The one you made though I would proudly display!!  NICE job!!

Another good weekend at the bench!
 
My goal was to get in a spot to start the masts and rigging this coming week and I am just about there.   I did get into a bit of a groove again,  between football and building, time just moved along and I didn't get pics along the way as much as I wanted.
 
I do have to get better at that,  am trying to at least.
 
This weekends updates are all around rounding out the ship.
 
First the channels were painted, installed and knees added.  These, once in, really made the nearing of the end real to me - very exciting.  Odd how just a small thing can do that, but very cool!
 

 
 
Using some pear in order to continue the scheme of using peaer for accents and trim work I created the frame for the beakhead grating and some replacement grating I had to order from MS to finish up the kit.
 

 
And then very simply glued that in to place, added the walkway planks and pin rail with belaying pins and wallah!  The interior of the beakhead is complete!!
 

 
Then finished up the trim on the outside of the beakhead!  Again just went with the kit scheme to keep it simple.   ON the fence about the beakhead yellow decorations, may just leave them off - still undecided.
 

 
And here we have her, the mayflower - 99% ready to begin the masts and rigging.   I still have some minor bits and pieces to finish up before then, a couple of pin rails to add now that I have the extra belaying pins as well as replacing the railing on the poop deck (it snapped off ).   Once I get those all in place I am going to give it a once over with a nice semi gloss spray.   All I have is testors lacquer, which typically is not good to use over acrylics.  I think I need to go find some acrylic based tomorrow in anticipation!
 
Anyway, once it is sprayed with a couple of coats to even out the colors and sheen,  I will be on to the masts and rigging!!!  (even the ratlines ... )
 

 
 
So here she sits currently - ready for her touchups, dotting of the I's crossing of the T's and a nice shiny coat!
 

 

 
 
Until later... enjoy!

Looking great Sjors!!   Really coming along nicely!!!

Too funny Rich, my wife makes jewelry herself and more than one occasion I have leaned over and said..Hmm, those are interesting - can I try those a sec?   Now of course she has learned - yes but am I getting them back or should i just order another one? heheeh
 
 Get a lot of great tools and ideas from all over =)

Tim, Bob and Popeye,
Thanks for looking in and for the good words.  I haven't worked on the boat for about a week as I've helping my son refinish some furniture.  That project took a couple of days but turned out great.  My last post was about installing the dredge rollers and although they turned out great I had a problem with the blackened finish.  When I first blackened the parts and installed them the blackening looked great, a nice flat even finish but in about two days they turned rusty with splotches of black.  Looked kinda good actually, like they were really weathered but not in keeping with the rest of the boat.  I had to hand paint them after they were installed but they look good, so I'm happy.  I also have a tale of two sails to tell.  I made a previous post about my first try at sail making which I was quite proud of. Since then I decided to use the tan colored cloth so I remade the sails. The basic sails turned out good, nice seams, and hems. The next step was to put the bolt rope on.  I didn't think I could sew them on so I used glue.  On the jib sail I used ca glue to attach the bolt rope. It worked but stained the sail cloth and made the sail very stiff.  On the main sail I used elmers white glue to attach the bolt rope. That worked well and the sail was less stiff.
 

 
I then proceeded to put eyelets in the jib and this is what happened. The ca made the sail very brittle so I won't be doing that again. 
 

 
So back to the beginning. Since I have to remake the jib sail, I decided I will sew the bolt rope on and I also decided to take the time to install eyelets, and thimbles at all the sail lacing points.  That means I will have to remake the main sail as well, as the elmers glue made the bolt rope to hard to pass a needle through. That will be a VERY time consuming job but I think it will be very realistic and add a lot to the model.  The eyelets I am using are 1/16 dia. x 3/32 shank .  I tested whether I could do this well and these pics show the result.  The stitching on the piece of bolt rope will be much better than shown as this was just a test to see how difficult it would be.  
 

 
To maintain my sanity, I think the best plan is to work on these sails a bit at a time while also working on other aspects of the boat. 
 
Thanks for looking in.
 
 
 
 
 

As always Dan, your work sets the bar way too high for the rest of us (or, at least me) to reach.
On a much much smaller scale, Im also at the rigging proces right now, and am having trouble getting the length of the Shrouds to be equal. You wrote that you used a wire spacer - could you possibly post a picture of it? I have also made a spacer, but much to my surprise and annoyance, they still didnt come out the same length.
 
Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Regards Shaun

Mizzen Topmast Stay
 
First thing to make for the stay was the mouse. I turned it on my lathe the same as the previous ones for the lower stays :
 

 
The stay fits around the mizzen topmast in a similar fashion to the lower stay :
 

 
A lead block is served and stropped to the main mast head :
 

 
The lower end of the stay has a block seized to it. Another block is attached to an eyebolt adjacent to the foot of the mast via a pendant. A lanyard joins the two blocks :
 

 

 
  Danny

Mizzen Topmast Shrouds
 
There are three pairs of shrouds on the mizzen topmast and one backstay which is the 2nd "leg" of the aftmost pair of shrouds. These are fitted around the mast top in similar fashion to the lower shrouds :
 

 

 
The backstay is fitted to a small stool aft of the mizzen channel :
 

 
  Danny

Thank you again George, Caroline and Nils. There wasn't any need to tumble the cleats Nils, they turned out very good after I rounded the edges a bit with a file. Here's a pic of them fitted to the foremast shrouds :
 

 
I see that I've bent one of the rail stanchions a bit - I'll straigten them all when the model is complete as they get a bit of a knock every now and then.
 
  Danny

Thanks very much John, Aldo and Richard. Good to see you back on the site Aldo .
 
Shroud Cleats
 
There are about two dozen Shroud Cleats needed as far as I can tell, so I've made them as a bit of a break from tying ratlines.
 
Instead of making them one at a time I've used the method learned from others to mass produce them. First I cut 26 pieces (a couple of spares) from 2.8 x 1.32mm stock at 7mm lengths. These were then glued together with PVA and allowed to dry. A bit of disc sanding got them evened up after this pic was taken :
 

 
Next I cut a slot in each long end, and a shallower one for the centre lashing on the table saw :
 

 
Then I clamped the whole section in my vise and did some final shaping with a needle file :
 

 
Finally the section was dropped into a jar of Isopropyl Alcohol to dissolve the PVA. A little bit of rounding up will be done, and I'll stain the cleats a darker brown so they don't "jump" at you :
 

 
  Danny