mitchel

Hello everyone
 
Well Christmas has come and gone and as promised I am starting a build log. One thing to notice straight off is that I have named the ship Enterprise with an 'S' rather than 'Z' which is the spelling on the kit. Not a big deal but something I want to do.
Now as stated in the title this is a card model. I have never done anything like this before so with the help of all you good people here I hope I can do her justice.
 
Here are 2 photos of the kit.
 

 

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 187 – Chafing Battens
 
Chafing battens were used to limit damage to sails and rigging that were subject to rubbing against ironwork or other rough parts of masts or spars.  The largest and most prominent of these are the large forward battens on the lower masts.  These protected the lower sails. 
 
I am not sure how these battens were fitted over the mast bands in practice, but I assume they would be slotted, caulked, and sealed to prevent moisture causing rot on the mast.  So, fitting these neatly over the mast bands becomes a chore.
 
First, the battens must be fit over the mast.  I started by milling a concave gutter in the batten stock as shown in the first picture.
 

 
The purpose of this was to establish a straight groove as a starting point for the handwork necessary to fit the piece to the tapered mast.  This fitting was done with the curved rifflers in the next picture – with frequent checks against the mast itself, in this case the unbanded, new main mast in the picture.
 

 
After fitting to the mast, the batten was ripped off of the stock shown above.  Once the bands were placed on the mast, clearance slots were filed at the band locations.
 

 
These slots provide clearance at the edges but not in the center of the batten.  The slots are shallow.  The bands are only .010" thick.  The spaces between the slots were hollowed out with a small gouge to help the batten lie flat on the mast.
 

 
Since these inside hollows will not be visible, no attempt was made to square them to fit the bands.
 
The batten was then glued to the mast.  The shellac coating was filed away under the joint so the glue would adhere.  The batten was then nailed/bolted along its length with monofilament bolts held with CA.
 
The batten was then rounded on its forward face to the correct thickness.
 
The next picture shows the forward batten and the smaller side battens glued and bolted to the foremast. 
 

 
The side battens extend over the area where both the mainstay and the main topmast stay pass beside the mast.  This was checked by running lines from the main top, hence the red correction notation on the drawing.  The next picture shows these with the foremast temporarily in position.
 

 
The last picture shows the forward batten on the new main mast – alongside the replaced earlier mast.
 

 
Ed

Super execution...Ed.  I too, always wondered how the relief was created under the batten.   Your approach seams as likely as any other.
Mast construction surely differed among the builders...cuz many McKay ships were not fashioned with them and others were.  Not sure that was the builder of the masts call or that of McKay's.
 
Your work is masterful.
 
Rob(I still have a lot of deck work to do before I get there)

I live near Haydock and I forgot about this show. Such a pity. I know you posted the date earlier in the year here.
Do you know of any pictures that were taken?

Hi,
thanks for the very nice comments,
and to all other for the LIKES!
 
Now the time has come.
The cutters are finalized.
To this end, a few pictures.

 

 

 

 

I remember many years ago attempting a metal rail around a ships stern. Lots of kinks!
Gorgeous job, Beautifully done. Hats off to you sir.

I remember many years ago attempting a metal rail around a ships stern. Lots of kinks!
Gorgeous job, Beautifully done. Hats off to you sir.

I remember many years ago attempting a metal rail around a ships stern. Lots of kinks!
Gorgeous job, Beautifully done. Hats off to you sir.

I remember many years ago attempting a metal rail around a ships stern. Lots of kinks!
Gorgeous job, Beautifully done. Hats off to you sir.

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 144 – Monkey Rail 2
 
Happy Valentines Day, everyone.
 
After making and polishing the rail stanchions holes were measured out and drilled in the center of the main rail and in most cases down into the toptimbers below.  The stanchions were then inserted into the holes for a depth check.  A single rail section for each side was then curved to match the poop profile.  The stanchions were then removed from their holes and threaded on to the rail in order.  The next picture shows the next step – epoxy gluing the stanchions into their holes.
 

 
The end of the rail was first inserted into the inverted U bracket at the stern.  All of the stanchions were then inserted into their holes, then lifted for gluing starting at the stern.  The clamps in the above picture are lightly pressing the stanchions down where needed until the epoxy sets.  The next picture shows the last stanchion on the starboard side being glued. 
 

 
The rail was crimped in the aft stanchion then touched with a drop of CA glue.  The others are free to move along the rail at this stage.  The forward end of the rail was bent to the athwartship direction at the foremost stanchion as shown in the next picture.
 

 
The stanchions along the breast beam were then glued into place with the rails inserted.  In the picture above, the glue has dried and a section of stair rail is being fitted into the lower ball on one of the stanchions at the top of the stair.  The next picture shows the stanchions loosely in place on the port side.
 

 
In this picture the port rail has been curved to shape and is ready for installation.  The last two pictures show the completed monkey rail.
 

 

 
This last picture was taken before final straightening of the stanchions on the near side.  Once everything was adjusted the top balls were crimped with pliers to hold them in place.  The rail is, of course, quite exposed and susceptible to damage by careless leaning or bumping.  I am trying to sensitize myself to this new problem.  The days of turning the model over and shaking it to remove debris are over.
 
 
Ed

The merged photo showing the crew on both sides of the deck is absolutely stunning. For me it is the best photo. It is not hard to imagine the devastation that shrapnel could make in such a confined space. Bravo Dafi. Beautifully done.

The merged photo showing the crew on both sides of the deck is absolutely stunning. For me it is the best photo. It is not hard to imagine the devastation that shrapnel could make in such a confined space. Bravo Dafi. Beautifully done.

The merged photo showing the crew on both sides of the deck is absolutely stunning. For me it is the best photo. It is not hard to imagine the devastation that shrapnel could make in such a confined space. Bravo Dafi. Beautifully done.

The merged photo showing the crew on both sides of the deck is absolutely stunning. For me it is the best photo. It is not hard to imagine the devastation that shrapnel could make in such a confined space. Bravo Dafi. Beautifully done.

Dafi, thanks for this truly inspirational build. Love what you are doing with the figures..each telling a story.
 
You are MSG's own Olivier Bello ..............http://www.arsenal-modelist.com/index.php?page=shipimg&ship=boullongne∂=cℑ=c1

Dafi, thanks for this truly inspirational build. Love what you are doing with the figures..each telling a story.
 
You are MSG's own Olivier Bello ..............http://www.arsenal-modelist.com/index.php?page=shipimg&ship=boullongne∂=cℑ=c1

Square nuts??
One thing is for sure...I now know I am in the land of perfection...absolutely speechless.

Here is a look of the inside of the instructions book. The book is a mixture of building instructions and the actual cardboard for the build. I am also crossing out the letters/numbers of the pieces I have used as I go along so that I don't miss anything. If the letter isn't crossed out then I assume that I haven't used it.
 

 

Here are a few more photos. I am only dry fitting before I use any glue. You can see the numbering of the bulkheads here..
 

 
I turned the model upside down to help make a snug fit of horizontal formers and damaged the upper tips of the fo'csle..
 

 
The bulkhead formers make a snug fit but I need to re-inforce the hull I think. Any suggestions? I am thinking of glueing vertical strips either side of the bulkeads and giving the whole structure a 'wash' with watered down glue.
 
And finally, a photo of the whole ship so far..
 

ED....Just went through your Victory log....having built her twice, very interested in seeing your build. I shall now burn both of my models and start over.... NOT.

Here is a look of the inside of the instructions book. The book is a mixture of building instructions and the actual cardboard for the build. I am also crossing out the letters/numbers of the pieces I have used as I go along so that I don't miss anything. If the letter isn't crossed out then I assume that I haven't used it.
 

 

Hello everyone
 
Well Christmas has come and gone and as promised I am starting a build log. One thing to notice straight off is that I have named the ship Enterprise with an 'S' rather than 'Z' which is the spelling on the kit. Not a big deal but something I want to do.
Now as stated in the title this is a card model. I have never done anything like this before so with the help of all you good people here I hope I can do her justice.
 
Here are 2 photos of the kit.
 

 

So cool!!

Young America - extreme clipper 1853
Part 49 – Hull cleanup, Port side ceiling
 
Before moving to the interior of the port side, I wanted to remove the protruding bilge ceiling bolts on the starboard side of the hull.  There will be many more of these to be added but the installed wires are a hazard.  The first picture shows the epoxied through-bolts being clipped off.
 

 
The remaining bolt stubs and epoxy were then filed off as shown below.  A fine cut file works best for this because it doesn’t “grab” on the wire.
 

 
The next picture shows the lower hull sanded after removal of the bolt heads.
 

 
The next picture is a close up showing how the iron strapping will appear between the frames.  Most of the strapping on the inside will be covered with planking.
 

 
The copper wire bolts are bright in this picture and will be blackened later, just before applying finish to the hull.
 
The next picture shows the start of work on the port side with the installation of the first strip of bilge ceiling near midship.
 

 
This first strip is installed just below the heads of the first futtocks.  This sets the line of the bilge ceiling that the other strakes will follow.  There are four more thick strakes below this.  Above it, thick members extend up to the lower deck clamp as on the starboard side.  It may seem odd to install this before the strapping, but I did it for two reasons.  First, I wanted a very secure joint with the frames, especially on this side where a number of frames will be removed above this joint and below the middle deck clamp – to provide view ports into the hull.  Secondly, the pins shown in this picture were used to correct any irregular spacing between the frames.  This had to be done before strapping.  After gluing and before removing the clamps, most of these pins were replaced by copper bolts.
 
The next picture shows the first section of lower deck clamp being installed.
 

 
In this picture and the one that follows, the frames marked “X” will be cut out between the lower futtock heads and the middle deck clamp to provide the view ports.
 
The next picture shows the strapping covering all but the forward view port area.  There will be three of these view ports, one at each mast.
 

 
Sections of the deck clamps have also been added.  The lower deck clamp is not glued or bolted to the “X” frames, but the frames are securely bolted to the clamps above.  Note from the “X’s” that there are three groups of three frames to be cut out. This will be done much later when the structure has been well reinforced by additional members.
 
The last picture shows the strake of bilge ceiling extended forward along the lower futtock heads to intersect with the lower deck clamp.
 

 
All of these members are being epoxy bolted through the frames as they are installed to provide the primary strength to the joints with the frames.  Glue alone is not enough, especially where there is strapping.
 
 
Ed

Thank you all for your kind words. They are really appreciated!
 
Here are some more progress pictures with the framing of the middle deck aft part.
 
Regards,
Alexandru