Pygothian

Be warned - this ship building lark is VERY addictive

 

I ended up using myus.com and got my kits from Model expo sent to them (about a day) and then sent via DHL and arrived to me in a very remote part of NT in 3 days for cheaper than direct from Model expo.

 

Is it a Syren you are getting?

 

And hope you have a great day for your wedding.

Hi Meredith,

Yes I ordered the Syren from model expo. Next time I might try as you suggest, as I am not very patient when it comes to ordering things online !

Cheers

Hi Meredith, I'll eagerly wait forward to your deck planking.

I'm waiting for my ship to arrive from the US. They said it will take between 2 and 4 weeks!

Sounds like a long time considering it's via a courier and I paid over $130 aus

I've ordered heavier items from the UK via UPS that arrived in 3 days and cost 40 pounds

I'm now on annual leave for 3 weeks, getting married in a week, so with luck it arrives soon !

You should write a step by step log on your tree nailing technique, as I think it is one of the best examples I've seen and would love to copy you !

Cheers Meredith.

Rowan

I had the same set before my 2 year old put them in the dogs water bowl.

I've just ordered another set. Excellent for all sorts of things.

I previously used mine to get the camber length and shock distance on my RC car kits.

Think they will be perfect for measuring planks

Thanks for the tips Chuck. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my ship!

Thanks Grant,

I will check them out.

I'm seriously thinking of tree nailing my Syren after seeing your log!

It's the little attention to detail that makes the difference and I appreciate the how much work goes into it, even though many others who look at the finished model would have no idea

Cheers

Rowan

Chuck,

I just ordered my Syren from model expo a few days ago, would it be safe to say the new ones would of filtered through by now?

If not, does your site offer a better replacement?

I saw you have all sorts of goodies, but as I have not yet received the ship, I'm not sure what items, if any you'd would recommend upgrading

Thanks for your input!

Cheers

Rowan

Thank you all for the tips.

I think I will do lots of practice on some spare wood in very thin costs using acrylic paints as seems to be suggested.

I just hope I can do the model justice!

Thanks again, you guys and girls are awesome

Cheers

Rowan

What design did you use for making your rope. One of the rope walk manuals from here, Or have you made your own?

The drill idea is a great one!

Wow!

You must be very proud of all the amazing work you've done on this beautiful ship.

I just about had a panic attack when I saw the sheer size of the original pictures and the size of the box!

Keep up the great work, and I eagerly await to follow your progress!

Cheers

Rowan

Maso,

I have used Birchwood Casey Brass Black (does the same job as Blacken It) without problem, obtained from one of the local gun shops.

 

Regards,

Grant.

My best mate is into semi professional trap / skeet shooting and has about 5 shotguns. I'm sure he will know where a gun shop is in Perth

Cheers

Rowan

I'll look forward to a build log, as I love the look of this ship

Cheers

Rowan

I am speechless. Your work is absolutely amazing!

The attention to detail is phenomenal.

I will be watching in awe as this build progresses and could only dream of learning a few basics from you.

Hi all,

I've looked through I think all of the Syren logs, and everyone has painted the model. I love the look, but I know when it comes to painting I am useless ( experience from plastic models and RC car shells)

I'm terrible at masking, and it hate the brush streaks I seem to leave.

Everyone seems to get such clean edges and an immaculate finish.

I was wondering what people tend to do...do they paint with brush or spray gun for the smooth finish ?

Does anyone have an example of the Syren not painted, so I can see what it might look like, as this is what I am thinking doing?

Thanks

Rowan

I've been reading the instructions downloaded from model expo, and that confused me also. I would of thought you would have to glue and make sure everything is square before fairing, as I thought the process of fairing would move the bulkheads if they are not fixed.

Thanks

Rowan

Beautiful work!

There are a lot of great tips I'm going to find handy for when I start my build.

I was actually tossing up on getting the Norfolk or Mermaid from model shipyard. After seeing your log, now I wish I did!

Ohh well, I know what my second build will be

Cheers

Rowan

as you are a fellow Australian, then I strongly suggest you look at the modellers shipyard kits from N.S.W . Their small colonial schooner is an excellent choice for a beginner and it comes with a step by step instructional dvd.

 

Hi Brian,

I was going to get the starter kit from modellers shipyard - either the Mermaid or Norfolk as I liked the idea of the DVD of the build, plus the 5 DVDs on the basics.

I then discovered the armed virginia sloop, many logs plus the Practicum which looked like a great starting kit, and now I have the opportunity to get the Syren for $199 with 130 page manual, I've got many PDF files on basics, plus everyone here, and some amazing logs, so I've decided to go with the Syren.

I'll keep you updated and start a log once it arrives, and after I get married in a few weeks!

Cheers

Think I will go with the Syren, I just hope I don't bight off more than I can chew, however the build logs here, the 130 page manual and having Chuck here makes it worth the risk it won't get put in the closet collecting dust.

Cheers!

Hi guys,

I've been doing a lot do research and from the helpful advice from everyone here I narrowed it down to the Armed Virginia Sloop by Model Shipways.

Today however I've discovered the MS Syren is discounted $100 and now less than the AVS.

I see a lot of logs on the Syren, and she is a beautiful ship. Would it be worth the risk going for a bigger better ship as it is cheaper than the initial choice as the AVS isn't on sale.

I'm confused.

Cheers

Hi all,I am working steadily on the build but the updates to the log are a little behind so I will try to catch up here. Also, have family visiting from California, with small children, so will probably not have much time.The following is my build for the lower deck. I glued a few pieces together to test finishes. I used MinWax Golden Oak. I was having difficulty gluing the small planks side to side, so I used a piece of freezer paper as a base and glued some planking to it, then, after both gluing and staining, peeled the paper away. Pretty easy.syren first batch00028.jpgNext I made the lower deck full size. I found it easier to use the freezer paper as a glue and peel base rather than gluing each plank individually. I used a soft pencil for the caulking. Anything else I tried, watercolor markers, stain markers, etc., all allowed the color to spread through the wood so pencil worked best for me.lower deck.jpgNext it was time for gun and sweep sills/lintels etc.I found it really hard to cut and sand right angles. I was cutting a little large to enable fitting, but then my sanding ruined the angle. I tried two similar jigs.For cutting:cuttng jig.jpgand for sanding:sanding jig.jpgThe piece to be cut was placed along the corner where the two jig pieces meet, then cut or sanded against the edge. These worked ok, but since I used the same wood as the kit, the jigs eventually were distorted. (I should not have been surprised at that outcome!!) And since I still was lousy at cutting right angles could not just cut away to reshape edge. (Catch 22??)About this time my plastic hobby miter box arrived and that took care of the right angle cutting. Sanding was still a problem. Even with the right angle jig, the hand held sanding block was still not giving me a good right angle. So I took out the my new Dremel tool stand to see what I could cobble together.third batch stern00001.jpgthird batch stern00003.jpgYou can see the that the Dremel holder is set up side ways. This allows me to use the handle to move the sanding head forward (laterally). I am using the dremel quick release sanding head because it is smooth all the way across with no screw head protruding. I also tried the Proxxon sanding head, which I like better, but it is smaller so more difficult to use. A ruined plastic Miter box is used to hold the wood piece. After squaring everything up, all I do is put the piece against the side of the miter, move the piece a small bit so it clears the end of the plastic miter box and then use the handle on the dremel stand to move the sanding head in towards it. It is producing a nicely squared sanding that I can keep going back to until the part fits. What's nice is that this sands to a square head even if the part is not cut squarely. (I'm so proud of me!!)Also, you will notice the hose end from my shop vacuum clamped near the sander. It really works, and since I work in our sunroom, keeps everyone happy.Below is the completion of the sills.building stern frame .jpgThe bad news is that I am not really happy with the result. It is not as "faired" as I would want it to be. Part the problem is skill. Part was the need repair/replace many of the bulwarks (thin pieces at top of frames) because they were burned badly enough that the centery ply would crumble. My repair job was not... well, not great. So, the gun and sweep ports are difficult to fair. Also, the top of the lintel is not as straight horizontally across the ship as it should be, not sure how this will impact that top rail. I have tried to smooth and even out as much as I can without thinning the wood too much.After much thought, I decided not to redo the work because that would mean reworking from the beginning with the bulkhead former. Instead, I will push ahead with the planking and see how it turns out before making that decision. I also checked the other laser cut parts and, now that I know what to look for, ordered replacements for those that look bad.Next I painted the gun and sweep ports. I obtained an airbrush for another project and decided to use it when painting the kit. Lots of new experiences here.gunportpainted.jpgAnd that brings it up to date for now.I would appreciate getting your input, not just to the build itself, but whether this log is ok or if I am being too wordy!Richard

Genius. I think I will rig up my Dremel and mitre box when I need to get a nice square edge, and use the missus dyson so I don't make a mess!

Box arrived today

DSCN0245.JPG

 

as you can see the boxes (2 on top of eachother) are quit damaged as was mentioned by the seller.

DSCN0246.JPG

 

at first glance none of the pieces inside are damaged . mostly due to the fact that there is plenty of space in the boxes and everything actualy fits in one box

 

as usual i started with markign and counting the parts

 

OcCre does not make this easy as there are 2 seperate numberings going from 1 to over 200 with some parts coverd in both numberings

 

after a first count of premade wood and metal parts i have 1 part missing and 2 others lacking the needed quantity

i wil let the store wher i bought it know and that i will email them a detailed describtion of the missing parts this weekend

 

the instructions consists of a booklet with colour pictures covering the hul and deck furniture assembly (first numbering)

the book wiht the text going with these pictures is in spanish so i wil need to see if an english translation is available (if not with online translators and a bit of understanding of the language i have i should get a decent translation myself)

 

finaly there are 23 A3 plans stapled together covering masts and rigging (the second numbering)

 

both instructions seem to be an improvement from the AL instructions i have seen so far but the double numbering is a bit stupid

Wow...good to know to check.. I am amazed how they could miss so many parts. Will definitely check off my items when they arrive. You can't trust anyone to do the right thing these days. In my job if someone gets a count wrong the patient dies.

I've got a lot of build documentation that can be sent to you as well. This site has been a great resource.

 

Ken

I'd really appreciate that Ken. I've never been on a forum with so many friendly people and brilliant resources.

Thanks again

Rowan,

Check out this site/practicum, I didn't use the bob hunt.

 

http://www.modelboatyard.com/avs_articles.html

 

Ken

Wow, thank you!

They look fantastic. I'm going to order my 1st ship now. I'm confident with all these resources. Just need to find the time with 2 toddlers!

Thanks for your help Ken

Rowan

Hi Pygothian

I can definitely recommend the AVS as a first kit. It has all the parts of a more demanding build but in less abundance. It also builds into a great looking model. It is very well supplemented by Bob Hunt's practicum (his best in my opinion) but, if you don't want that, you'll also get good advice here from its many builders - including me. If you commit, start a log and ask questions. I don't know about the Mermaid at all so can't compare. Have a look at Ryland's AVS, Barehook's, Jim L's and others - she is a sweaty. She sits on my sideboard in our dining room and I still take pleasure in admiring her lines.

 

Cheers

Alistair

Thanks for the tip. I've checked out the 1st chapter of the Bob Hunt Practicum, plus yours and the other recommended AVS logs, and I'm thinking the wealth of knowledge will definitely get me through.

Unfortunately the Practicum is quite expensive, but I think i need all the help I can get for my 1st build.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

Cheers

Rowan