Elia

Beautiful, meticulous, and tiny work there Patrick.  So impressive.
 
Cheers,
 
Elia

Hi everyone
 
Many thanks, as always to everyone who posted comments and Likes, i.e. Igor, Lawrence, Dennis, Matija, Mike, David, Cap'n'Bob, John and Row, etc!  They're all greatly appreciated.
 
Well, Rainbow's interior inches closer to completion.  Tonight I finished the navigation station which is occupied by the navigator when racing.  I've tried to show the navigation station in the photos below, but it's so small that'd you'd have to take my word for it! Trust me, it's there...it consists of a navigator's bench, a slanted work desk and some sundry shelving on the bulkhead wall above the slanted desk.
 
On the stern deck, Rainbow has a large hatch, which eventually will be glued in the upright position to show the interior of the stern.  at the moment, it's just temporarily shown in the upright position.
 
I hope you enjoy the photos, so far.
 
All the best!
 
Patrick 

Hi David and everyone
 
Well, as mentioned in my previous post, I've taken the advice of David (and heavily influenced by Dennis' earlier comment about the deck) and decided to add more deck planking.  The problem has always been a compromise between how much deck to leave exposed in order to facilitate viewing, as opposed to how much should be planked for aesthetic reasons.  Common sense prevailed and I've decided to plank the bow and stern decks, whilst leaving the remaining deck exposed wherever practical.
 
Please see the photos below.
 
Hope you enjoy them.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Hi everyone
 
Thanks for all your comments and support, so far. Whilst it may look like nothing much has happened over the past few days, I've managed to make the skylight which sits over the main saloon as well as work on other bits and pieces. I'll post better photos later on, but I've attached three below just to give you an idea of where things are at. There's still lots more work to go, though, especially to the skylight, etc.
 
Please see photos below.
 
Cheers
 
Patrick

Hi Dennis 
Many thanks. Yep, I've done some planking on the deck, but my intention is to do the absolute minimum, thereby leaving as much viewing area as possible. So much so, that planking will only be put on if it is needed for the skylight and other deck items such as the binnacle, etc.
 
Incidentally, I did the same with my other model of Ingomar (see photo below) and it worked really well on that model, so I'll probably do the same here.
 
All the best
 
Patrick

Hi everyone
 
Many thanks for all of your likes and comments and especially to Nils, Mike, Dennis, Captain Bob, Michael and Igor.  Whilst the gauntlet has been put down I'm still not sure how i can even do a 3 mm square sea map...but you never know.  If I do, I will be sure to post it, that's for sure!
 
I have, however done some more work on the cabin, most importantly the external cockpit seating area, complete with white cushions.  At some point, I'll still, however, need to get back to finishing off the ship's interior.  Once that's done, then I can get back to finishing the painting of the hull and then glueing the deck to the hull.
 
Still loads of work to do, as you can see.
 
I hope you enjoy the photos.
 
Cheers and all the best
 
Patrick

Don't tempt me. You know I may just try....

Hi everyone.
 
Many thanks for your Likes and comments.
 
Igor and Dennis - I decided to leave the coaming off the floor of the cabin because it would be hard to see it anyway, but thanks for your feedback and suggestions.
 
I've done a bit more work on the cabin and here're the results of it temporarily (and crookedly) sitting in the hull.
 
Hope you enjoy them!
 
All the best
 
Patrick

Hi everyone
 
Many thanks to everyone for their Likes and comments, especially Lawrence, Dennis, Piet, Matija and Igor.
 
I've decided to show the following photos of the cabin removed from the hull in order to show you the complex nature of its design.  Please bear in mind that this is part guess work on my part because I don't have detailed plans of the interior.  All I have to go by are some photos of the real ship's cabin as well as the blurry low resolution accommodation plan shown on page 1 of this log.  Who knows, I may be wide off the mark in many areas, but it's the best I could come up with.
 
Please note also, that the blue 'squares' that you can see on the white settees are in fact scatter cushions, randomly laying about in order to give a semblance of life to the model (oh well, use your imagination here).  The whole cabin still requires a fair bit more work, including the ballustrading for the staircase, so please forgive the messiness and roughness.
 
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the photos!
 
All the best
 
Patrick

Hi everyone.  Thanks for your Likes, especially Igor (for the cups), Tuffarts, Lawrence, Mick (Yamsterman), and Mike Gerber for their comments!

A bit of a milestone happened tonight. I've managed to build the main cabin's superstructure. I've cut a temporary roof to fit over the cabin in order to give a better impression of what the final product will look like.

Overall, the cabin may look deceptively simple, but in actual fact it was the most complex part of the whole ship. Why? The reason is that because the ship's interior has been built, the cabin floor and companionway staircase must fit just exactly right. Getting the height of the cabin floor wrong would mean that the internal doorways from the midship cabins through to the aft owner's stateroom would be too low for a person to fit through. So, quite a bit of brain power and planning had to go into it to get it just right. The cabin also has its own settees and table in it as well, so getting that right was a challenge as well.

Oh well, there may still be heaps of work to go, but at least it's been fun so far.

Hope you enjoy the photos.

All the best

Patrick

I should have emphasized the word acrylic because acrylic gouache is not as common as the gum arabic, water-color variety.  I have been using it for so long that I often forget that.
 
Jack, gouache and gesso are two completely different animals.  As druxey points out above, gouache is an opague water thinned product, traditionally very much like watercolor but very opaque.  Acrylic gouache, much less well known, uses an acrylic emulsion as its binder making it water resistant when dry and more durable.  Like the traditional type it is also thinned with water.
 
Ed

druxey,
 
My rationale may not be completely sound on this, but it worked, so here it is:  I wanted to build up the final finish with very thin coats of undercoat and finish to avoid brush marks etc. that would be left due to all the corners in the bulwarks that would be hard to brush out.  I used water based sanding sealer (hard acrylic emulsion) for most of the bare wood to be painted, but the bulwarks could not be sanded effectively and the sealer seems to require it.  Same for the white pigmented shellac I also tried.  I have used acrylic gouache for painting miniatures since it was introduced in the early 70's and have found it to be adaptable to dilution,  hard and durable. The titanium white has also been very opaque, and of course the gouache is dead flat - so top coats adhere very well.  I built up the bulwark surfaces gradually with thin coats until completely opaque - 3 coats?  The final finish - 2 coats? - was somewhat thinned Golden fluid acrylic titanium white.  This left a consistent finish and the desired gloss.
 
I am sure there are alternatives to this.  I tend to use finishing materials I am familiar with and that may be the primary rationale..
 
The painted areas under the forecastle got less attention since the will be mostly hidden - so the photos of these areas in the last post are not very representive.  I will post a picture or two of the more exposed areas in the next part.
 
I seriously considered airbrushing these sections but was afraid of getting overspray into unwanted and hard to access areas.
 
Ed

Mark, I am using acrylics for the painting.  The inside of the bulwarks were difficult because of all the nooks crannies and roughness in places hard to sand.  I used a few thin coats of diluted designers gouache first to even out the white.  This is very flat.  I followed this with fluid artists' acrylics - titanium white for the finish coats.  This is glossier.  A lot of brushing.  Also used the fluid acrylics on the hull.  I added the blue waterway after the bulwark painting to avoid have to cut in the edges between the two - and the deck - same approach for the outside rails..
 
Ed

The winter has been especially harsh in our neck of the woods but as much as I look forward to Spring this year, I kind of regret better weather coming as it  might be the Siren call to get you out of the house and away from the Y.A. build.  Such actions will surely disappoint those of us following your build.
 
Allan

Ed, You have this down to a fine art. You move so efficiently and with exquisite craftsmanship. Wonderful to watch.
 
Mark

At the speed you are working Ed, I am wondering whether the ship aught to be named the lightning instead of the Young America.... just kidding with a big smile.
Beautiful workmanship all round.
 
Michael

Once again, I'm smiling at the photos of your work. Beautiful.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 112 – Main Deck/Forecastle Framing
 
The first picture shows the main deck aft of the main hatch after completion of the central planking and treenailing.
. 

 
Topsail sheet bits are now installed for each mast.  The metal plates over the pump suction pipes will be blackened.  The next picture shows decking completed at the bow.
 

 
The port side in this area will be left unplanked – as shown.  The starboard side was planked so the anchor chain can be shown on this side.  The chain pipes have not been installed, but will come up through the two square cutouts forward of the sheet bits.  The two carrick bits are installed and will support the winch later.
 
At this stage the forecastle could be framed.  The next picture shows the beginning with the setting of the breast beam.
 

 
The beam is supported at the center on the carrick bits and with a bolt into the central Samson post.  In the next picture the setting of the forecastle beams is underway.
 

 
The top of the forecastle decking needs to be flush at the side with the top of the outer planking – and, of course, it must be fair.  Fairness is being checked as each beam is set using the strip of planking as shown.
 
As the forecastle beams were set other structures were added.  In the next picture the mooring bits are being glued in.
 

 
The cathead and capstan carlings have been installed.  The forward beams are still loose, pending fitting of the bowsprit partners.
 
In the next picture those have been installed along with the lodging knees and half hooks astride the dummy bowsprit.
 

 
Except for carlings astride the bowsprit, the forecastle framing is essentially complete.  Copper wire, epoxied bolts have been installed to reinforce the structure.
 
The last picture is a view from directly aft along the deck.
 

 
This shows the copper bolts through the breast beam.  It also shows the upward sheer and the fairness of the forecastle deck.
 
Ed

Michael,
 
Incredibale, I couldn't believe my eyes at the size of those sparkplugs. Don't know whether Judy will be glad when she sees that cut Corian board ...
 
Take care driving, and best wishes to Judy

Terrific, Michael. Working spark plugs! Who else would have thought of it? Sorry to read of your wife's health issues. I hope things will continue to improve for her. I'm sure it's a stressful time for you. Best wishes.

Thanks for all the likes, Thanks Jack, Judy sounded great on the phone this evening, I am looking forward to seeing her tomorrow.
 
Here is the short clip of the spark test I suppose I could have waited till dark then the spark would have been more visible, when it is set up with the electronic timing the spark will be triggered by the magnet in the flywheel.
 
Michael

I was able to get a little break from driving today and was able to stay home. I had a couple of hours in the shop and worked on the spark plugs a little more.
 
A few more bodies were turned up out of brass. the small diameter stub represents the plug body and will be filed to a hex section the larger diameter of the rest will represent the circular plate that is on top of the head covering the oval plate as in this picture
 

 

 

 

 
Next I cut a strip 1/8th by 1/8th off the side of a scrap of Corian that I used as a cutting board in the kitchen using the tablesaw.
 

 

 
Some time ago I made a special 4 jaw collet from a bolt in order to make square headed bolts out of 1/8th square stock
This came in handy for turning down the Corian to .078" diameter after drilling a .028" hole about 3/8" deep
 

 
I turned short sections 1/16 long down to the finish diameter and progressed toward the chuck, this helped to support the work. once the full length was turned I slipped the steel core rod into the Corian and then pressed the brass over the Corian, using the tailstock chuck to ensure a good alignment.
 

 
and a shot with the finger for scale
 

 
The electrode was tested with a piezoelectric crystal to see how the spark would work and it worked fine I will need to add a steel in for the ground so that the spark jumps from steel to steel and not steel to brass.
 

 
I will do some more experiments on the fabrication next week if I get time.
 
It was a good stress reliever today to focus on the model and take my mind of other things.
 
Michael
 
 
 
 

Here they are. Main tool - thined tootpick
 

 
Grrr ... too late I see ...little far from bow edge ... I have to live with this mistake. Now there is no way to clean letters without big mess under on sheating ... acrylic stuff ... great danger to leave white splodge which would be worst solution

I also like it, Dave. I have to!

First attempt with idea to paint numbers




Grrrr ... my thinest brush seems like gigant broom when I put it close ... each number is over 2mm high ... and I just WANT this numbers

Must discover some hot water

Must discover