catopower

For the best quality model rope, yes, go with those suggestions. For a general source of parts, I personally recommend one of our site sponsors, Ages of Sail. However, being that I do some work for them, I'm somewhat biased. They mostly carry Amati and Billing Boats parts, but also some Caldercraft parts as well.

Those cardboard crosstrees turned out to be SUPER delicate, so I ended up having to reinforce them. Since the detail is so small, and will be mostly hidden by the topmast shrouds and t'gallant shrouds, I was able to just apply some 2-part epoxy to the undersides. Painted over, the results are hardly visible. In fact, I can't even get a good pic of the details of the small black-painted parts. I considered gluing some short pieces of thin, stiff wire to the undersides of the crosstrees, but it didn't seem necessary in the end. Meanwhile, I went ahead and added the jib boom to the bowsprit and added the belaying pins to the pin rails. However, I have yet to glue all the deck furniture into place yet. I want to make sure I have enough room to add the gun tackle, though I'm still not sure if I will do that. I also started adding the eyebolts to the mast caps and bowsprit cap. The kit provides thin copper wire for this purpose, but it's really soft stuff. I was trying to replace it with some black wire I bought recently, but it turns out to be copper wire with a black coating, so still pretty soft. Finally, I settled on using some annealed steel wire. It's a little shiny, but at this scale, they're barely visible anyway. I need to start adding a bunch of blocks onto the model, particular on the underside of the mast tops. This means I need to make a call on the which blocks I'm using. I was really trying to use the cardboard blocks included in the kit, but I'm just not great at assembling the multi-sheave blocks and had some problems with that. The cardboard blocks are very detailed and I think they look more like the actual blocks needed for the model than anything else commercially available and in the right sizes. But, I've decided I need to use wooden blocks at this point. It's hard to find ones in all the sizes necessary. Fortunately, I have a large collection of old blocks from Lloyd Warner, who used to be heavily involved in the NRG here. I have my own supply, and I recently inherited a friend's supply as well, so I'm pretty well set with that. Still have to decide on the rigging of the gun tackles though... I definitely don't put them on my 1/96 scale (1/8" = 1') models, but I though as a rule of thumb, that I'd add the gun tackles at 1/72 scale and larger. However, these are very small cannons, only 3 or 4 pdrs. So, I'm thinking I may have to skip them on this model. Anyway, I can still work on some masting details before I'm forced to make the final call on the gun tackles. I think I'd really like to add all the bowsprit rigging and those blocks under the mast tops next.

Working on card (paper) models can feel like really slow going at times. Possibly, it's just because the hull construction is so quick in comparison. So, I'm posting a little bit of progress I'm making, and it doesn't seem like much. But, it's progress nonetheless, and I just wanted to show that I've been giving this model some attention. There are three sub-projects I'm currently working on with this model. First, there are the masts and spars; second, there's the rigging of the cannons; third, there is the rigging of the ship's wheel. The spars are the easiest, I suppose. Below is the progress already made on the mast tops and the snow mast, or what the kit calls the trysail mast. The topmasts required the most work, as both ends are card assemblies, connected by a dowel. The snow mast is the simplest. It's just a dowel with holes drilled in it for the fids, or that's what I assume they are called. Below is another view of the same pieces, with the fore topmast test fit into place. It's actually not very clear how the snow mast is to attach to the mainmast. At the top end, it seats into the crosstrees and that's fine. But the bottom end doesn't have a hole in the deck to fit through on the model. I contacted Shipyard and they said is just sits on the deck. Doesn't seem very secure, so I went ahead and drilled a hole in the bottom of the snow mast and fit a short piece of brass rod in it. I've since removed the brass rod and trimmed the length of the snow mast so that is will sit on the deck, and simply glued it to the back edge of the mast coaming. However, I think I'll go back and put that piece of rod back in, just to make the assembly more secure. Finally, I finished the assembly of the topmast crosstrees. These are kind of delicate, so I made sure to treat them with thin CA, which stiffens up the parts pretty well. They're still a bit delicate, but not nearly as much as they were, untreated. You can see I have the ship's wheel out on the work bench too. I need to rig this and the tiller, but that requires running thin line through 8 teeny blocks, and then some... I think I'm moving forward with using the kit blocks, which have to be assembled. You can see some of the smallest ones at the bottom of the photo above. Assembly isn't a problem now, it's how to rig them that's an issue. 1/72-scale isn't the worst scale to work on (I practically swore-off 1/96 scale early on), but the level of detail and scale accuracy of these Shipyard kits (and I think Seahorse is the same way), results in dealing with very tiny parts. In the old days, I learned to "fake it" and to take various short cuts, understanding that this is a model, and that the "art" of model making is much an art of illusion, of making things look correct, even they really aren't. This is something I used to do better and I think I've forgotten that. It's something I need to remember on a model of this size and detail... At any rate, I'll try to keep at it a while on this model. It's nice to be making some progress on it again. One of the guys in the local ship model club has put me to shame, recently completing his model of Shipyard's 1/72-scale armed pinnace Papegojan, while my HMS Wolf is still in dry dock...

Thanks Druxey, Chris. It's been nice getting some things done and "out the door" as it were. Fortunately, I'm finding fewer potential projects distracting me, so I don't really feel like starting anything new. Unfortunately, I have more than enough projects to juggle between, even after eliminating a few... Clare

For those who are wondering, I haven't given up on this. I needed to finish a model and diorama for a small museum in Monterey, CA, a 1/24-scale, scratch built Monterey salmon fishing boat, 1916. With that done, I also wanted to wrap up another model project that's been hanging over my head for some time, my 1/64-scale Woody Joe kit of a Charles royal yacht, 1674. Well, I just finished that up this past weekend as well, and I feel I really need to get more finished up. My Japanese coastal trade ship, called a Kitamaebune, is another Woody Joe model kit in 1/72 scale. Pretty much, it just needs sails and it's done. So, chances are good that I'll focus on that next. There are also a couple other projects that I'd like to make at least some progress on, including HMS Wolf. So, expect to see some activity again here, soon – I've not given up on anything...

Yes, except by average onlooker. I notice it every time I look at an OcCre kit. I think your idea of what constitutes a "complete" model is not universal. The sheathing is a sacrificial covering. Also, I know many people who don't like the look of the metal on a model, and would rather have natural wood that has the general color of copper plating instead.

Thank you Tomek!

Chris, can you tell what blocks or belaying pins are required to complete the model?

Interesting. At 1:50-scale, that makes it a direct rival of the Kolderstok Speeljaght wood kit... 🤔 Will be interesting to see how this compares. 1:50 is a big scale for paper ship model kits.

Marcel, Welcome! I've built a few Shipyard paper models, mostly the laser-cut kits. Temporarily on pause are Shipyards HMS Wolf laser-cut kit, and the Seahorse Armed Virginia Sloop kit. Hoping to get back to those very soon! LOL! Hey Chris, I don't think that may be a universally understood reference! 😁

Beautiful work Greg! I'm just catching up on this project now. Sorry to hear about your missing wreath and the thing about Ages of Sail and the cost of shipping. I do some work for them and apparently, they got tired of people ordering one or two parts and being told that the item that was mailed out in an envelope never arrived. So, they only use tracked shipping methods now. Sucks when you only want a 60 cent part, I know. I'll point out your comment to the staff, so they realize it's actually a problem. Anyway, very inspirational model!

Wonderful job on your Yakatabune model! I'm sorry I didn't see your question on my build log and didn't find this build log until just now, but I'm glad you put it up! I read what you wrote about how some of the construction tabs are visible on this model. I didn't worry about them on mine. You have to look closely to see them. But, were I to do it again, I'm sure I would basically just do what you did in covering them. Really glad to see another Woody Joe kit build and I'm very glad to see your comments about it. Nice job on the copper trim, it all looks perfect!

Sorry, I didn't see this until today. The figures don't actually say 2001, but they are clearly the lunar astronauts from the film. You can find them here: https://www.shapeways.com/product/MWUZ2B6Y9/sf-lunar-set-1-48-1-55-1-72?optionId=314218691&li=ostatus Hope that helps!

Yes, unfortunately, while the photo I posted at the very beginning is of a contemporary model, the rigging was a modern addition, so not much help there.

Phil, Tony, my hats off to you both. That's exactly what I needed, thank you! Tony, I checked out your making and use of the head stick on your Sherbourne model. Wow, what a treat to see the work you did on that model. Outstanding!

Hi David, welcome to MSW! Others have given some good advice here. I'll just add that I would at least start considering how you want to mount the model. If you wait too long, it will become difficult to drill holes into the bottom of the ship safely, if that's something your stand will require. I usually use mounting pins or screws and try to plan where they will go ahead of time. If your model has a solid hull, then screws or pins are no problem. If it is plank-on-bulkhead, you may want to reinforce the interior structure by gluing in some solid wood blocks, so screws or pins will have something to support them.

I don't know where some people are coming up with ridiculous ideas of the value of kit built ship models. If they're well done, then they have value. The idea that they're worth so little is total BS. It all depends on the modeler and their skill, and attention to detail, and scale. If that's not the case, then many of us shouldn't even be here, myself included...

I noticed that your first post shows Shipyard's HMS Wolf kit. Are you working on that one? I've been working on it too, though I took a bit of a break to finish up some other stuff. I got as far as making the masts and starting on the other spars. Would love to see what you're doing on the Wolf!

Nice work on the color conversion. My only concern would be with opacity/transparency of the paints. As you discovered the Shipyard kits include a brand of paints called Renesans, a Polish brand. They can be found online, but you usually have to order from Europe, and it can be difficult to find a seller that can/will ship internationally. The Renesans acrylics have a slightly transparent quality to them, so you can see printed or laser-etched (burned) details through the paint. I like to use these paints for the Shipyard printed paper kits for this reason. Also, I've found that with lots of grinding and stirring, that I've been able to revive most of the dried Shipyard paint jars. But, it is a lot easier to just get new Renesans paints if you can find them.

Lovely work. Wspaniały.

wefalck, I agree that the "pockets" idea seems odd for the time. The museum model I'm looking at certain shows the whole mini-spar, uncovered by sail cloth. Checking with Ab sounds like a good plan. Dr PR, I found the image you're referring to. I think that's just tiny gaffs, but they do very similar to these mini-spars on this jib and staysail. Kind of makes sense the it might be rigged similarly. druxey, you cost me a lot of money trying to keep up with your writing, but always well worth it. These titles in particular sound like something I'll be very interested in. I just wish I were better at the carving that's required to scratch build these kinds of ships. Not sorry I asked at all – Now I know what to start setting aside my money for! All, I just get my Internet fully restored today and I've had power back on now for 2 days. Such a relief, but I guess I need to get back to work now! Clare

Allan, sorry, I should have made it clear that the photo was of a contemporary model. By the way, I don't think the rigging was removed, just the flags. Druxey, thanks for identifying the model and providing the link! How did you recognize and find it from the photo I uploaded??? Robert, druxey, wefalck, that's interesting about the unusual Dutch block. It's different from what I'm seeing on this model, but it does seem to serve the same purpose. The reason for my query is that I'm building Woody Joe's Charles royal yacht kit, which is apparently roughly based on this unidentified contemporary model that druxey provided the link to. The person who did the development work for this kit, the late Mr. Kazunobu Shirai, wrote a book about building the model. He wrapped the spar in the head edge of the sail. That's clearly not what I'm seeing on the museum model. I managed to translate a bit of the book's text where he mentions that this was a Dutch practice, as everyone here has pointed out. Dr. PR, I'm thinking the club is, as you say, is probably laced to the head of the sail. I looked for mention in Landström's book, but couldn't find anything. Do you have a page number? These are from Mr. Shirai's book... Clare

Thanks friends for chiming in on this subject. I must apologize for not being more responsive, but I lost power in my house on Saturday morning when neighbor's yard people trimmed a tree and downed a power line, causing a power surge that knocked out service to several houses and burned up a lighting fixture in my house (Fire Department had located it). Just got power restored today, though possibly temporarily. I actually have no Internet still, except from some limited wifi I can piggy back onto (like right now). Again, power's back, at least for the time being, and more importantly, light, HEAT, cooking appliances, refrigerator, and did I mention HEAT??? I'll try to follow up on your comments about this strange little spar soon! Thanks again! Clare

Can anyone tell me what the little spar is called that appears at the head of the jib and staysail on this English yacht? Also, does anyone know how it's attached to the sail and to the halliard? I can makes some guesses, but I'm hoping someone has something definitive. I've looked in various rigging references, but haven't been able to find any info. Thanks in advance! Clare

I completed the lower masts and the bowsprit, adding the mast hoops and the wooldings. In order to get the width of the wooldings consistent, I measured them out on the plans and then cut some adhesive backed vinyl as a guide. I cut the vinyl on my Silhouette Cameo 3 machine. It allows me to make consistent strips of precise widths without error. After I mounted the hoops, I painted them and then painted the space between them black. Just in case I don't do a good job with the wooldings, it won't be noticeable. I wrapped the wooldings with some black rigging line. To be honest, I don't even know what line I used. It was just laying around my work spaces in a bit of a tangle and was the right size, so I used it. There are a LOT of parts going into each of the lower masts. It was a bit of a challenge building them up, but it felt quite rewarding. Here's the ship with the masts and bowsprit test fit... I'm in the process of making all the yards (and gaff) now, but that's a lot more straight forward and easier than the masts. I do have to figure out what to do about the t'gallant masts still. The poles at the tops get might thin. Perhaps I'll use some brass rod. Meanwhile, I'm starting to give some thought as to what her sailing configuration will be. The kit includes a full set of sails. I will have some of the sails set, might try furling the main courses to pull them up out of the way. I'll do a bit of research before I have to start dealing with them. Next step is to finish rigging the cannons and adding the remaining cleats...