SkerryAmp

Here is a look at the bulwarks stanchions on the starboard side. At the bow they are more closely spaced because I want to attach cleats to those stanchions. One cleat will be attached to two stanchions.
 
Questions and comments welcomed.
 
Russ
 
 
 

Here is the deadeye jig. I made mine out of a piece of thin plywood and a strip of boxwood. I drew a stick of boxwood down to 3/32" diameter and then stuck it in the large hole in the front of the jig and drilled through the holes in the back of the jig to get the holes in the face of the deadeye.
 
Questions and comments welcomed.
 
Russ
 
 
 

While the glue is drying on some bulwarks stanchions, I decided to test out my deadeye jig. Here is the prototype for this model.
 
Questions and comments welcomed.
 
Russ
 

Here is a little more progress. I have fitted the bulwark stanchions across the transom. These are commonly spaced more closely than along the sides.
 
Questions and comments welcomed.
 
Russ

Finally some more progress. I am installing the margin plank on deck. This needs careful handling and I am glad to say I have not made a complete hash of it so far. The first thing is to remove the bulkhead extensions above deck. The bulwarks have already been planked and so they are largely unsupported during the margin plank installation. There are some frightening moments during the fitting of the margin plank. The good news is that the joints are fairly tight. The bad news is you can hardly see my scarph joints.
 
Questions and comments welcomed.
 
Russ
 
 
 
 
 

Here are a couple of photos from the old log that I forgot to post.
 
This is the trim along the stem. This will blend into the rub rail that will eventually be placed along the outboard edges along the hull, just below the deck line.
 
These are made in boxwood.
 
Questions and comments welcomed.
 
Russ

Here is a little more "old" progress. The hawse pipe lips for this model need to be very delicate indeed. I decided to see what I could accomplish with making them out of boxwood. The first one is not too bad, I think.
 
Russ

Dick:
Thanks for the kind words. However, I just have the pics and I am reposting. I did not save the entire build log, just the photos. The good news is maybe I can find a spot of time to make some progress on this model.
 
Russ

From me also welcome back Adam !
 
It should be about time     
Mayflower looks great !
 
 

Lots of everything right now!  And yes, I recall 'encouraging' you on the cabin floor.  Turnabout is fair play.

Monday, May 12, 2014   The work proceeds quite slowly. After I've finished installing the ropes to close the gunport lids on both sides now I started to apply the half-barrel guns. . activity much less boring than the previous one. Tomorrow I plan to complete also the right side. 
 
For the installation I built a simple tool that helped me to accurately position the drill to make the hole in the right position into the gumport background. In this hole it's then possible to insert the half-barrel of a gun. . . With this tool it was a mere matter of making holes with the drill of the appropriate diameter. 
The bonding of the half barrels was done using the two-component epoxy glue. 
 
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When I'll have finished installing the guns on the other side I will start the next activity that I think harder and more tedious: the two ropes above the gunport lid needed for its opening. See you soon, Jack. 
 
PS: I've taken these photos with my smartphone: they are significantly better than I did a while ago with the same equipment.  Maybe, after so many scribbles, I start to learn.
 

Sunday, May 11, 2014  
Not a very productive week. Apart the short time dedicated to the model, most of the work done on it was to work around the gunport lids to fix the ropes used to close them. Nothing significantly for taking a photo. In the interval between these boring activities I have finished the fourth lauch, the "green" one, and I fixed it to its support together with the "blue" launch. 
 
The two pictures here below show the two boats on its basement . . .
 
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. . . while the remaining two images show the boats on board of the vessel. They are only positioned, not fixed, because I do not think it is the right time to definitely bond them in place. I'm thinking about a fixing method that uses pins instead of glue so it can be removed if necessary for access to the details installed on the deck . . . 
 
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I hope next time I'll be able to show something more interesting. Sincerely, Jack.Aubrey.
 

Thursday, May 1, 2014  
This afternoon was quite fruitful, at least considering my way of working, notoriously rather slow. 
As a diversion about working around the gunports lids, I focused on the preparation of the support structures for the boats. 
In the following picture the structure coloured in red was already partially ready, I limited myself to prepare cradles with the shape of the boats hull, fix them and stain in mahogany. Finally some eye bolts to band the boats to the structure with ropes. 
The other two in the image, left natural wood, are the ones that will be placed on the basement of the display case and that will support the two larger boats.
 
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Below the boats as they will when installed. They are almost all finished, there are only a few details (oars, rudder, etc.) to add on the "green" boat.
 
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Finally I tried the final fixing of a boat, just to see the final effect. It is one of the two launches which will be fixed on the basement.
 
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That's all for today, tomorrow I should have the afternoon available, maybe I'll continue . . Regards, Jack.Aubrey
 

Continuation. .   
Now even the starboard side has been "decorated" with the gunports. Here, unlike the left side, the hinges are already present on the ports, or rather the bits of burnished copper that simulate them. I think the aesthetic is much better. Obviously I will have to mount the same details on other gunports on the left side. 
 
Now all gunports are positioned and well bonded. The next step in equipping the ropes to close them. To do this, I'll have to tie a rope on the internal ringbolt, drill the hull inside the port window in proper position, place the head of the rope through the hole and secure it with a some glue. This for sixty times. .  
 
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To break the monotony at the same time I'm preparing the structure supporting the boats that you can see (only positioned) in the next photo. The work is still in progress. .
 
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Cheers, Jack.Aubrey
 

Saturday, April 26, 2014  
I've finished to setup the gunports. Today I've mounted them to the hull with the usual method (bi-component epoxy glue and cyano-acrylate). 
I've also definitely installed the masts on the decks. 
 
Here are the four aft gunports below the galleries . .
 
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. . and here are the two (not four as I mistakenly wrote earlier) gunports at the bow . .
 
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I'll continue soon . .
 

Tuesday, April 22, 2014  
The day is dedicated to building a hundred rings with pin, to simulate the ring bolts on the gun ports, in order to have material enough for the remaining pieces. The photo below shows the procedure I used to build these "ring bolts": 0.25 brass wire with the ends bent and clamped in a tweezers. At this point everything is screwed around a drill bit and run enough revolutions to achieve the right piece . . simple but VERY repetitive, every 10 pieces I was surfing on the internet to change and relax.
 
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Then I browned the whole so that they were ready for final assembly.
 
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
 
At the last moment I discovered in my personal, old, unused pieces reserve some copper elements that may serve very well to simulate the hinges and I decided to use them. The decision resulted in looking at the gun ports already attached to the hull, where the top is very well visible and therefore this kind of element should improve realism. 
 
I then browned them too and I began to prepare them for installation by cutting them into pieces of appropriate length. 
 
In the first image we see the wooden gun ports ready to start work, pre-drilled to accommodate a group of ring bolts and also the ring bolts burnished.
 
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Below we see the gun ports "finished", that is, ready to be bonded on the hull and then go to the following processes: ropes to open the ports, for their closing and the half-barrel of the gun. 
 
I forgot: after the operation a thin coat of matt transparent paint to even out the color and hide the spots of glue.
 
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That's all for today, but tomorrow I'll continue with the same activities of today. I hope to finish all the gun ports according to picture 03. 
Regards, Jack.  

Today, Easter Sunday, resting relaxed.  
I just checked when I went to pick up my mother-in-law to bring her to my house that the bonding of the gun ports, made  with the epoxy came well: I have not tried the breaking point it seem to be, for my feeling, pretty high. So I'm fully satisfied with my choice.
 
Cheers, Jack.
 
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Saturday, April 19, 2014 - slowly but . .  
As I said in the title, slowly. . . but regularly, I resumed working on the Soleil Royal. This week I finished the installation of the chain plates and the deadeyes, left missing on one side of the hull. This time, thanks to the experience gained from the work of the previous week, I went slightly faster.
 
I then changed type of activity: although it probably will not be the most appropriate activity in a logical sequence, I began to work to install the gun ports and the guns (or the half pipe skeletons of the gun) themselves. Twenty-six gun ports on each side plus four aft and four in the bow.
 
I already prepared long time ago the wooden part of these ports. Now I have prepared brass rings starting from wire 0.25 rolled around a drill bit of 0.5. For every door will need three, two to lift it and one to withdraw, so 60 x 3 = 180.
 
To make the story short, after having prepared enough material for one side, I set the rings on the gunports, and then I tried gluing the ports in their position. I  used for this task the two components epoxy glue and a drop of cyan in gel format. The gel is useful to keep the ports in position for the 12/24 hour necessary to the epoxy for hardening.
 
I think this is the strongest bonding possible, as confirmed by the prototype that I prepared and shown long time ago.
 
Here are some pictures . . but the work still to be done is a lot. I took photos with the smartphone, so they are not very sharp, but still give the idea in their own way .
 
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thanks John    there are still a few minor blemishes......I'll just do some touch ups when I repaint the raised detail.  I don't want to give the panel another coat of lacquer.  thanks for the good word  
 
 
I made up a jig for the 5 mm thin stock I have.  I counted that I have 13 strips on hand of this same hue thin stock.  I started with a piece of wood the same size as the table on the scroll saw.
 

 
here is the strip stock that I'm going to cut
 

 
cutting two guide bars,  they were cemented to the wood panel.  I cut a center line in the wood panel to act as a guide for the blade.  
 

 
 
the piece of wood you see in the center,  I was going to use as a pressure pad for the strip stock.  at the moment of truth however,  it didn't work right........I ended up pressing my middle finger behind the blade,  and my index finger 1/8 {good guesstimate} before the blade.
 

 
*disclaimer* - no fingers were harmed during this operation
 
I ran them through very slowly.........when enough of the other end was sticking out,  I changed to pulling rather than pushing.   I ended up with this........
 

 
I'll use what I have left on the center area...........when I clear all the deck obstacles,  and I run out,  I'll switch to the newly cut stock to finish it up..........I'll work 'em in somehow  
 
 
 
 

thanks for  the kind words gentlemen.......I solved the mystery!  I should have thought of this before!
 

 
today I decanted the rest of the first can,  and half of the second can.   all I had to do,  was pick up the decanting bottle.......it was very cold to the touch.  the propellant in the mix is the culprit.  with airbrush and rattle can,  the paint is sprayed through a tiny orifice.  airbrushes work with 15 - to 25 PSI......rattle can,  in my guestimate,  sprays at a much higher pressure.  the higher pressure going through the orifice,  drops the temperature,  and causes moisture {condensation} to develop.  it didn't occur with the poop deck simply because there wasn't much deck surface...short blasts.   I will let these three bottles breathe a bit before I seal them up,  to let the rest of the propellant leach out.
 
thanks Dave, Augie and Mark........there will be no more problems now.   the spar deck has four coats,  and the poop deck has three.   with the fourth coat,  there is still a bit of white still present....I may just leave it,  and touch up the brown paint work.   although.....I have thought about laying down a coat of semi gloss,  to give the decks a little shine.........this flat lacquer has absolutely no shine at all......it's pretty dead.  thanks for the good word  
 
thanks Mobbsie.........you have lost track    I have eight in the cue.......the Boulogne is among them.
     now that the warmer weather is here,  I can do some sanding in the garage.......the Boulogne Etaples and two of the Holiday Harbor boats need to have the hulls done.   once I set up a jig to hold them,  I can begin.   I'm making another jig at the moment........I'll let you know how it goes.  I have a build log for each one......the Boulogne is probably buried again.........perhaps a bit later      thanks for the good word!  actually,  I still just poking around with this build.......I see so many that are doing the Connie..........I can't wait to try out some of the many cool ideas that are going on.
 
thanks Patrick.....I'm a lot happier,  now that I know what the problem is......I never had this problem with air brushing.   it's another reason why I hate rattle cans.  thanks for the good word!
 
gee.......thanks Frank!  for that......maybe I can quit my day job  all I'd really need to do is work up some deck templates.   the plus side is that I'd be doing something I love to do    I could go even further.......how about a TV show  "Pimp my Deck"      I'm just kidding.......that's a really cool thought.....I really appreciate it  thank you Frank  
 
not to worry Dave.........I can't leave my day job just yet.......I need what bennies I get    

Jeez Popeye, another one on the go, to my reckoning that makes 8, that's gotta be some kind of a record aint it, unless you haven't started the Boulogne yet in which case it's 7. I wonder where you find the time to go to work        
 
I hope it all works for you this time mate, deck looks great.
 
Be Good
 
mobbsie

Finally a "real" update:  I've been working on the bowsprit this week (not too bad once the drawings are attached)...  got most of it tapered and the hex parts shaped, but I'll probably have to redo the piece....  
 
Last night around 9 pm I made the stupid mistake of getting a venti coffee from Starbucks, and was up until 2:30 am sanding and tapering by hand...  After four hours of sanding and shaping (all the while getting covered in sawdust), I realized that it wasn't coming out straight enough (although dimensions were ok), and it was a little tricky seeing my centerline (the drawings had some verrrrry slight curve to them when I glued them on), and the tapers weren't quite even/square enough...
 
So, tonight I'm going to mark centerlines first, then taper sides/bottom, THEN make some more copies and affix the drawings...
 
Oh well- practice makes perfect I suppose...  just no late-night coffee this time (and I have to get up at 6)...  

Augie, this is looking awesome!!   The windows really came out nice and the overall look of the ship is really coming together!  I picked up some window maker myself - but I have been away from the bench so long I can't remember why I picked it up!!!  hahahaha... oh my.
 
 
Wonderful work!!

Whew,  all these logs to get caught up on!!
 
I LOVE The merging of worlds!  The plastic ship with the wooden deck is awesome! and looks great!
 
Your creativity man,  love it and always look forward to what will come from the popeye shop next!! never disappoints!

I have broken free!!! 
 
At least for tonight, so will be trying to make the most of it
 
First order of business......  give some love to the Mayflower.  She has been patient over there on the workbench, although I could feel the judging, condemning glares from time to time.
 
So - gave 'er a littel bit of attention.
 
I went ahead and just added the white trim pieces along the railings and sides.  Not a great deal of progress, but considering the last update was from March -   it is something!!
 
The trim was painted using artists acrylics, which I am starting to get an affinity for.  It covers nicely and with a little bit of leveling agent added seems to go on nice and smooth!   They were glued into place, trimmed, sanded just a little to give them a bit of a worn look and then sit waiting for the next step. Which is the other pieces of molding as well as the green stripes and detail work. 
 

 

 

 
 
Ahhhh.  SO GOOD to work with the wood and paint and get something done!!!
 
Am now going to head on in and watch a little TV with the Admiral as she goes to bed much earlier than I do and then I will be back and catch up on the nearly 400 updates (according to that little notifier up there in the corner)
 
Thank you all for being patient!   I will be making the most of my new found time until it gets snatched away again!!!
 
 
Enjoy and happy modeling!!!