Katsumoto

Hi Kostas! You're working on a great model and doing a wonderful job on this Corel kit. Keep up the great work and don't mind the color difference between the planks it will pass in time due UV light. regards, Peter

Nice result on the stern decorations Sjors. Love the details of the CC kit! Keep it up! 👍

Hello friends, Time to show some progress on my Xebec. I made some carvings, build the second steps / stairs, prepwork on the masts and finished my first anchor (3 more to go) I hope you like it, and thanks for the likes, support, comments and cheers from you guys! 😃 regards, Pete

Congrats on the 10 years anniversary and to miles and miles more of ropemaking and selling thousands of thousands of blocks! 😉

Very nice work on your Winnie! The running of your planking looks excellent, great work on this proces Frank! 👍

This looks like a very nice bashing of a good kit. Great work on de the deckplanks and I'm looking forward towards the next building steps. e.g. OcCre did made some alternations on their kits and upgraded some parts from stained plywood to solid "walnut". I think this is a good thing!

Nice project and good luck. I see you are on a great start already! ☺️

Thanks Bob, It will be a milestone when she is done....already two years working on her.....

Hi guys, Today I placed the boat on deck. Slowly I'm running into the rigging part of the build. I have some small items to make like the stairs on port side, oars and some woodcarving. After that, I'm going to fabricate the masts and start with rigging... regards, Pete

Construction of the rudder. A small update on the lifeboat. I've constructed the rudder from walnut and made the hinges from very thin brass sheetmetal and blackened them. The shape of the helm is similar as on the big ship. I like these small details where you can see that there is a relationship between one another. Still some work to do on her until she is finished and can be placed on deck of the big ship, but the list is getting shorter: - anchor and cable - small carving on the stern - construction of the stand - oars regards, Pete

Thank you Baker, love your comment. Thanks Bob. I'll do my best to keep it acceptable for the critical eyes on this forum. ☺️

Hi Guys, I wish everybody the best for 2023 and may all your dreams come true! Some progress on the small boat. Made some Oarlocks and did some carving... Sometimes it goes wrong.... Designing the carvings, which will be placed on both sides of the boat.... It's very tiny..... Next steps will be the construction of the rudder.... regards, Pete

2nd layer hullplanking The last days I did my prepwork for the second layer of the hullplanks. I used the same simple method I use on the big ship. The better the preperations, the better the outcome can be. Although, so goes the theory.... I did my calculations and decided to go for 3mm thin veneer walnut strips to respect the scale of the boat. After the caculations I devided the hull into sections so to say. In total 3 equal sections + the garboard stroke. By deviding the hull into sections, it possible to keep control and to keep an good overview. I see each section as a subgoal. When using thick planks, I say start with the garboard stroke because it needs to fit into the rabbet of the keel. In my situation using veneer, it was possible to place the garboard stroke as last. I use simple white glue on the veneer. Some say it can deform the veneer, but I haven't had any issues so far. I also use CA glue as a liquid nail on nasty places like the bow area. With a drop of CA the wood is fixed within seconds to the hull, so you have no time to think or correct. When it sticks it holds and that is it.... So I work one section at a time until I reach the garboard stroke... After a thin layer of Danish Oil.... The next things I have to fabricate are Rudder and hinges Oars and oarlocks / rowlocks and cable support blocks to place the ship on deck. Some work to do yet until I can call this miniproject finished.... 😅 Pete

Continuation of the small boat The holliday season gives me so time off and so I can also do some work on the ship. While we are celebrating Christmas, my friends in the USA are fighting for their lives. I sincerely hope you guys are allright and live to tell the tale. It's some storm that's getting the USA on it's knees if I may believe the reports. Some updates on the small boat. It's a lot of figuring out to build it. I have no drawings and only a few pictures to scratchbuild it. I'll take you along the way what I have done within these two days.... Next on the planning is the planking of the second layer on the hull.... until then, stay safe and to be continued.... regards. Peter

well, no one can blame you for not taking your time on this model. 😅 Love your work Chris, it's neat and tidy. I have this kit on the shelve, but not the upgrade kit. Must order that one as well if I have understood you correctly for wooden gun carriages and the small boat.

Hello guys! This weekend I continue my work on the small boat. It's sometimes all try and error really. Exploring if I have any "scratch-skills"... 😁 Soms denk je iets gemaakt te hebben dat werkt, moet je het toch weer afbreken en opnieuw opbouwen. Dus ook aan de voorkant van de boot... Also worked on the mast and yard. regards, Pete

Philemon, I think Ab Hoving deserves much credit and respect. It is easy "behind the keyboard" to take a man down or attack his reputation and I think it is really shamefull reading through your posts how you seem to "dislike" Ab and show him no respect. It doesn't matter to me if you agree or dissagree with his research, just show the proper respect and be professional. He is a very kind and helpfull man with a lot of knowledge on 17th Dutch shipbuilding. I'm not even going there to debate his knowledge nor his many books written on the subject. To answer your initial question, and this is more to the one who are interested on the subject. The Dutch didn't make drawings in the 17th century because they had no real need for it! The knowledge was passed down from master to apprentice who worked for years to learn the trade and there were strict rules within the guild. Talk to the master shipwright Willem Vos who build the Batavia replica. He did it the "old school" way and he did it the right way without cutting corners. He researched all the known books and he "listned" to his old collegues in those books. He stated that The Dutch shipwrights of that day used "known proportions" to build a ship. So if you know the length, you know the width, the heigth, the size of the gunports etc etc. Everything was build by these " golden rules". He said, you really need to dig in and think in the way they did then in these old days. The answers were in these books if you understand them. If you know the standards, rules and point of views. It took him a lot of years to understand and learn these rules so to say. If you look at the old "public tenders" of the day, those measurements were always stated so the master shipwright knew how the ship should be build. The shell first method called in Dutch "vlakbouw methode" or "schaalbouw methode" was an art and a real craftmanship that sadly has been lost because ships of the late 18th century were build differently, so new knowledge was more necessary above the old. Not all the Dutch shipyards used this method those days, some put some of the mayor frames up first. However, the same calculations, proportions and measurements were used. These were the golden rules everyone followed. There is a known example where these "golden rules" were not followed and the result is known as the Vasa story, we all heard of! Even Willem Vos stated that some of the Vasa's constructions for example the gratings are done different than the Dutch did it those days. That's because the local craftmanship used different methods even when the master shipwright was a Dutch person. So to me it's okay to debate and argue the Dutch building style, how they did it and so on, but respect the ones who did their research and have a solid track record. Don't make it personal, keep it professional please! regards, Peter

The boat - part 1 Hi guys, today an update from the warf. I start working on the boat which is placed on deck of the ship. It's a big one, almost 18cm in length and more like a shallop than a boat. However, OcCre did do a nice design for this small boat but I'm going to make a lot of changes, correct errors and give my own twist on the matter. Some changes I'm going to create are: - Change overall design and dimensions - Change false keel into walnut keel - Change rudderdesign and stern design - Change all the frames, ribs - Change floorboards - Double plank outside - Add decorative carvings to port and larboard - Add anchor and rope - Add mast - Some other small things.... So this is what OcCre had in mind, not too bad at all! The kit provides with a lasercut plywood bulkhead and false keel and a small jig to work on. It does the job nicely but as you can see, something is weirdly wrong at the stern where the rudder is placed. The rudder should be placed there, but this will sink the boat in a real situation, so I will change this. I use a scrap part of the plywood to add the piece I need. I cut it larger than needed for allignment and gives me a bigger glue surface. With some sanding I correct the final shape after the glue has dried. Time to remove some of the height of the keel. This is needed so I can place the walnut version later. First layer of planks added to the bulkheads. The walnut keel constructed and placed on top of the false keel. Removing the bulkheads and replaced it with walnut ones.... Didn't like the design of the bulheads. The walnut parts is an better upgrade but the bottom in the boad is flat and I didn't liked it at all. So I decided to rip it all out and made new frames out of stacked veneer strips (laminated). I changed the design a bit and added a strip to both sides. The top is blackened with ink. I made a small storage hatch Next part will show the second layer of planking of the outside of the hull. Preperations are being made. Regards, Peter

One finished Oar...

Mike: At the stern, the upper bulwark should look like this:

"The oars" Well, firstly I have to apologize that you guys and gals have had to wait a long time for a new update. Second, I had to figure out to make the oars in a way that I can repeatedly get the same result without using "fancy" tools. I had to make 18 identical oars and didn't want to use the ones from the kit. Didn't like the metal parts. I had some walnut lying around, so I used that instead. I use my Proxxon multitool on a stand for some drilling and basic milling actions. This is not exactly the setup you want for your milling job; however, I use the tools I have to get the job done. In this case I milled only three slots to create the oar handles. I used the fence behind the vice as a guide and moved the vice from sideways, so the bit passed through the wood. The max. depth can be determined on the left side of the press. I used a couple of passes to get to the correct depth and so I didn't take too much wood off at a time. For each milled slot I needed to correct the distance of the fence so the milling bit would get into the right position. This very small machine is allowed on the dining table. I tried to get a permanent mill and lathe combination installed on the table, but it got rejected by the admiral unfortunately.... 😕 So, the oars are not finished yet.... part 2 will follow soon. regards, Peter

Hi Mike, To me it doesn't matter if you are asking a thing in the beginning or end of the build. Questions need to be answered. 😁 So, answer 1) Yes, a bit lower than deck level. Use a guncarriage to get the correct height. Just take a carrigae + cannon and put it together and place it on deck. It should be in the middle of a gunport. This will help to get the right height of the pre-fab bulwarks. answer 2) I used normal PVA (white woodglue) and some brass nails to hold the bulwarks in place. answer 3) I do not like to place wet wood on the model. It will shrink and leave gaps. Always dry wood on the model. Pre curve / bend the plywood with an bending iron or something with heat like a soldering iron. Hope these answers will help you a bit on your way. 😉 regards, Peter

It's good news kits like Santa Ana makes a comeback into the stores. Hopefully this will also happen with their HMS Victory kit and the HMS Surprise kit. It is a matter of opinion if it's a re-lease or revision. To me it doesn't matter that much. However some small changes has been made and also bigger things has changed if you look closely. The previous version of Santa Ana was a hardwood / single hull planked vessel, mostly walnut was used for planking, knees, decktimbers etc. They replaced the walnut for limewood or basswood and added some ramin veneer strips or coralwood veneer strips. (reddish, mohagony-color kind of wood) Also most parts are now lasercut-plywood instead of lasercut walnut and ofcourse the price remains more or less the same as the previous kit. So, less quality wood, paying extra for paint or stains or replacement wood to me this is a pitty...but they call it a "limited edition" In the end, you can still build the ship of course so that's most important I guess...but personally I don't like the cheaper and inferior choice of woods in their "new generation" kits.

Chuck, all I can say that this is not only a masterpiece from a master shipbuilder, but also a true work of art. You guide others and make these kind of ships possible to build for other model shipbuilders. Just great leadership is all I can say. I'm sure you raised the bar with this one! Deep respect!

Hi Max, Great you're working on your F.W. zu Pferde again. The updates looks great. It is a challenge to build without a good manual with step by step pictures. The model is expensive and not much people build this beauty. I wish you luck with the progress and I keep following for sure! Peter