Aussie048

For the zip seizing of the breeching rope I've used an every-day's sewing line.from the local store.
I have 'nt trimmed yet the excessive line from the seizing 

A couple of shots showing the consecutive steps for the "rigging" of the 9 lbs cannons.
I need to do the final trimming....

Chequing up the relative heights and aft space of the deck to accomodate the most aft pair of carronades.
My plan is to totally thread and accomplish the rigging of the posterior/aft pair of carronades to be able later on to fix the ladders at the right place/distance...

Zip seizings in progress...
I'm turning the line around a drill of 1,5 mm diameter according to the correct theoritical ratio...
I've purcased the line from the local stores.
The ideal would be to use a line of 0,25mm but I prefer much better this type for the mo

Hello friends.
Thanks to all for his kinds comments.
 
Cannon barrel and gun carriage in the scale of 1:24,
built in between for demonstration purpose.
 
Karl

Good to see the model itself last night Rod; and I agree with Keith, that is an excellent effort for a first build - very clean and smooth finish to her.  I think she will build into a very nice model mate.
 
cheers
 
Pat

I am new to ship building so I am learning a great deal as I go a long. Thanks to all the members here and Mort Stoll who has taken an interest in assisting me when I get stuck.
 
I ran across a great video done by Jay (Modeler12) building on a thread by Bender (click here for the thread)  on how they seize lines. It is great. However, they are a bit more talented than I am in handling the delicate lines. I was struggling to get the seizing to be consistent. I found the end I was wrapping around would move and create chaos in my seizing operation. 
 
I decided to try my hand at tool making and came up with a seizing tool that builds on what Jay does and helps me create the consistent seizing I was looking for. Perhaps it might help some of you. Perhaps it has already been done and I have recreated the wheel. 
 
Anyway, here is what I did. For the photos below I used a red thread for the line to be seized and a tan thread for the seizing/whipping line.
 
1) Cut the end off a needle and glue it into a small dowel.
2) Cut a notch in the handle below the open U in the needle.
 
  3) Put the rope to be seized through the end of the needle, around the notch, back up through the needle and back to the notch. This creates the loop.
 


 
4) Take the seizing line and put it through the needle and down around the notch,
 
5) Hold the dowel around the notch to keep the threads secure
 
6) Wrap the seizing around the needle

 
7) Insert the end of the line through the seizing loop and tighten the knot,
 

 
8) Slide the completed knot off the needle

 
9) Insert the block in the loop

 
10) Place the block in the hemostats holding the loop around the block
11) Slide the seizing up to the block
12) Cinch the seized line on the spar.
 
 
 
The link to Jay's excellent video of the whole operation is here. http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/4657-a-video-about-attaching-blocks-to-spars-and-masts/?hl=%2Battaching+%2Bblocks
 
Bill
 

Feb 3-18
Running rigging and the end game
The basic sheets and halyards went fairly well, and I like adding the blocks to the rigging - but how to deal with the falls was driving me bananas! There really should have been more fife rails. After long searches I spotted some very old photos of pilot schooners. It dawned on me that this was a working boat, with seasoned professionals manning her, much like tugboats today. There would have been a practical, no-nonsense approach to sailing her so I decided to coil the falls where they lay. Flemish flaking was good for the navy and yachts, but not for this hard working little ship.
 
 
 
I had a small problem, though. I had run out of the line from the kit. The closest I could find was slightly smaller diameter, but I think this worked out in my favour. I began making coils of line for the cleats using a little jig made of bent wire pushed through card stock. The thinner thread made it look like lots of rope was belayed, but it wasn't bulky. I followed a trick I learned here of using watered down glue to help shape the line and make it lay flatter. I tapered the end of a dowel to wrap glue-soaked line for the coils on deck. Once wrapped, I gently nudged the coils off the dowel with a dental pick. While wet I could still shape them a bit. I trimmed the tag ends of these coils and glued one turn of the original fall to the top of these coil mounds to make them look the right sized line. The finished product was adhered to the deck with a few drops of cyano. I figured that the fore gaff downhaul would not have much line, being hoisted up to its maximum height, so I decided to just layout a figure eight fake for this line. I'm not entirely sure that this would have been done in 1805, but I learned about this technique on a Canadian Coast Guard page so I thought I would add this to the Swift as an homage to them.
 

 
I had assembled the anchors, filed the mould lines and spray painted them black about a month ago. Of course, I had to research anchors. So, now I added puddening to the anchor rings and did a real hash of the seizing. Actually, the cyano glue made a hash of them, causing the thread to go translucent and ugly. I ended up painting the seizings with an off-white model paint. I had toyed with the idea of building wooden stocks and even gluing veneer to the white metal, but decided to paint them to look like wood. Another hobby of mine, painting miniatures (Warhammer, in particular), has given me some skill in painting wood grain on pewter or plastic. I base-coated the stocks with a dark brown, then streaked on a fair amount of a tan, then gave the whole thing a wash in brown ink. They looked ok.
 
I was all set to tie anchor bends to the anchors but I did one more check on my booms and, once again, I was tying anchor clinches. My first attempt took almost two hours and looked hideously bulky and the cyano had wrecked the look of the seizings. I cut off the brutish hitch and tried another time with a much thinner thread. It was ok, but I was so tired of dealing with these clinches that I resurrected an idea that I had when I was making the base for the model. I ended up drilling a hole in the top of the oak base the same diameter as the anchor cable and ran the cable into it to look as if the Swift was at anchor. Considering that she had no sails it only made sense. My 1 mm bit would not reach all the way through the base, so I used some steel wire to push the cable in, giving it a bit of cyano to keep it in the hole.
 
The Swift gently tugging on her anchor
 

 
I glue-soaked and coiled the extra anchor cable around a tapered felt pen cap to fashion coiled mounds like for the running rigging. I tied the free ends of the cables to the knight-head and glued the coils down to the deck.
 

 
A few weeks ago I posted a question to MSW about rigging flags and got great advice. http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/5145-correct-hitch-and-advice-on-rigging-a-flag-needed/ A long time ago (probably 12 years ago) I bought a union jack to put on my model (sorry to my American neighbours). It had adhesive backed material that you just folded down to make a two-sided flag. I curled the flag around a few different diameters of dowels to make it appear to ripple. A short length of string with an eye spliced into it was attached to the 'seam' end. Even using this very slender thread the collapsible eye needle worked its magic and an eye splice was done in seconds. I cut and sanded down some thin birch dowel to make a small toggle to attach above the flag. The kit instructed to run the flag halyards to giant deck cleats. I quickly made a smaller cleat out of http://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/5145-correct-hitch-and-advice-on-rigging-a-flag-needed/ walnut and attached it to the mainmast. It was fairly simple to thread the toggle through the eye-splice above the flag, and tie on a sheet bend in the eye-splice under the flag.
 

 
I hoisted the flag, tied the flag halyards to the cleat on the mast and added a drop of cyano to keep it there. I started squaring away the model: matt varnish was painted on blocks, threads and other debris were cleaned off the model, a few stray smears of glue were dealt with...
 
...the Swift was done.
 
I'll follow up with a reflection soon.

December 30 - January 1
Standing Rigging
 
I was excited. I broke out the thread from the kit and, with 3 days to the 27th anniversary, was positive that a few feet of string and a couple of knots were not going to be a problem. And I'm quite sure that the veteran modellers here might be chuckling at me right now. This being my first model I had no idea what I was getting into. The instructions of course, were no help whatsoever.
 
The standing rigging seemed to be straight forward. I had read enough to understand seizing and, thinking about how to wrap thread around another piece of thread, another hobby of mine came to mind: fly tying. The small tools made for tying bits of feather, fur and other materials onto a hook seemed to be just perfect for this job. I first made some jigs out of some stiff steel wire to hold dead eyes in the fly vice for seizing the shrouds and to make consistent eye-splices. These worked quite well, in my opinion, and I managed to quickly prepare most of the standing rigging.
 

Tying an eye, not a fly.
 

I used black lacquer from my fly tying supplies to glue the seizing
 


Pull the wire out and the eye is free.
 
Not thinking ahead enough I had to scramble to colour the lines black. Most stores were closed. I ended up dipping them in a ziplock bag with a few mLs of black acrylic airbrush paint I had on hand. To spread the paint on the thread and to remove the excess I fashioned a little squeegee from a clothes pin with some foam glued in the jaws. I hung the lines to dry with spring clamps on the ends to keep them stretched.
 
I have always been amazed at pictures and drawings of the maintop on ships and how well thought-out the arrangement of the shrouds and stays were. When it came time to install the rigging on the Swift I tried to keep in mind which arrangement would make sense for mutual support.
 

The foretop on the Swift. (Ignore the wire jig for now)
 
Installing the shrouds and stays went fairly smoothly. I was not happy with having the forestay attached to a ring on the jib boom with just an eye splice, so I made a thimble with some thin brass shim. I was rather pleased with the result.
 

 
I think I made a small mistake on the shrouds, though. I was researching every step of the way and most of the literature showed that the tail end of the shrouds should face forward when seized to the upper deadeye. When I ran the halyards for the first few deadeyes I made sure that I did this, but it just didn't look right. I did a bit more snooping and found a picture showing the tail ends facing aft. So, I switched all the work around. After I finished tying all the halyards I happened upon another book (don't remember which one) that outright said the tail ends should face forward. Well, I just wasn't going to change them again. I was running out of time if I wanted to be finished New Year's Day. Next model I'll make sure they're done right.

December 28-30, 2013
 
I was now pushing myself to try and finish the model for New Year's Day so things were happening fast and furious. With the masts stepped and sail hoops made I next went on to install the gaffs. As I threaded the parrels into the jaws the string was a bit too snug to fit and it actually tore through the wood, ruining the hole. Drat. I glued a small wedge of mahogany over the hole and later sanded it back to shape. Drilled the hole again and used a thinner thread for the parrels. This time the hole held..
 
While the glue was drying on this patch job I prepared the lower dead eyes by wrapping the chains from the kit around them. I must admit I was nervous about getting a tight fit and a nice, 90 degree bend on the wire. I concentrated on pushing the brass hard against the dead eye as I worked it around 360 degrees. To make the bend "crisp" I used a pair of hobby pliers without teeth and, holding the wire at the right location, bent it by hand over the side of the jaws of the tool. I was actually surprised and pleased at how smoothly this went.
 

 
I followed Mastini's method to mark the location and set the angle for the chains by taping the shrouds in place first. I then used a sanding cord to make notches in the channels for the chains. Holes were drilled in the flattened part of the chains, I shaped them to the curve of the ship and I drilled holes in the hull for the pins. When, as I was about to attach the eighth and last chain...
 
...the flattened tab snapped off.
 
Great. At first I thought of soldering the pieces back together but didn't think it would be a good joint. I ended up using some brass shim stock that I bent like the blade of a shovel around its handle. To avoid possibly overheating the brass and discolouring it I used epoxy to attach the new tab. Once the epoxy set I filed it down, shaped the tab and installed the last chain.
 

The broken tab and its replacement
 
 

Right after the epoxy set.
 

Cleaned up with a file
 
 

Installed.

Continuing with the Foremast Yard Braces.
The Fore topgallant yard brace originates at the main topmast stay collar, runs through the block on a pendant from the yard, returns to the block on the topmast stay collar, then through  a block at the aft of the foretop and belays to a cleat at the belfry.
 

 
The brace runs from the block on the collar to a block on the aft of the foretop and then to the belfry.
 

 
Next on to the mainmast yard braces, with great care to avoid dismasting the ship.
Cheers, Gil

FOREMAST YARD BRACES; in separate posts.
 

 
Fore coarse yard brace. Begins from the main stay collar, to the yard pulley, returns to a block on the main stay collar and then down to the fore brace bitts.
 

 
Fore coarse yard brace block
 

 
Fore topsail yard brace, runs from the main stay collar, through a block from a pendant off the yard, returns to the block on the mainstay collar, then down the main stay and through a block to a block on the first skid beam, belaying to pins on the second skid beam.  (As mentioned earlier, different sources show the presence or absence of pendants for the brace blocks).
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

DRIVER BOOM
 
Driver boom and gaff after sanding to shape.
 

 
Boom tapered, saddle fitted and sanded.
 

 
"Iron bands" applied. (Styrene strips)
 

 
Parral around mizzen mast.
 

 
Sheet tackle rigged.
 

 
Foot ropes, lifts and guys (vangs) attached at end of boom.
 

Mainsail Rigging
 
I've followed Arne Kverneland's scheme in rigging this junk.
 
http://www.junkrigassociation.org/Resources/Documents/Arne%20Kverneland%27s%20files/Junk%20Rig%20for%20Beginners.pdf
 
I rigged in the following order:
Batten parrels Halyard hoist Sheetlets and euphroe Tack line and tack parrel Yard hauling parrel Lazy jacks An extra clew line to create tension on the rigging  
The stay on the mizzen mast is a temporary feature.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Today's project was the quarter deck barricade.  21 separate pieces to this.  With the exception of the 1 x 3mm base piece and the top cap rail, I built the three sections off the ship and then installed them.  Pleased with the result.  As suggested in the manual, installing the hammock cranes at this point is inadvisable due to the potential for damage.  And if there's anything that can be knocked down or broken, I'm just the guy to do it!
 
Patrick

Belfry and forecastle breast beam assembly completed today.  Needs paint touch up but overall I'm pleased with it.  You might notice that the bitts by the mainmast have fallen over...I knocked them over so many times while planking the quarterdeck I figured I'd just leave them loose until I'm not doing things that are likely to make me knock them over again!
 
Patrick

John, thanks for stopping by and for your compliment. Of course we'd all like to see you start yours sooner, but this is definitely a hobby that can't be rushed. I have finished with flags. I got the famous "DONT GIVE UP THE SHIP" flag and the Pennsylvania state flag hung from their masts. I included a picture of all three flags hung and I like the effect the foil gives to them. This leaves me with the ship's boats and some touch up painting here and there and I'm finished with her.

Some updates!
 
Finished planking my deck. Took hours and hours searching for immages or some hint on if a junk would have treenails or not. After hundreds of pictures and a lot of reading, could not find anything on the subject - but, the planks have to be nailed to the bulkheads, so, I made them holes.
 

 

 
On a different aproach, decided to stain the deck to look a little worn. After seeing some models depicting more close to reality junks, it took a good look!! =D
 

 

 
Then, I got full on hull. Days waiting for the drying, then, when finished, I put one hand of an opaque varnish. Since the shine bothers me a little, waiting for it to weakens a bit before laying hands on my junk again.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Now I´m planning how to fix the deck, since there must be a hole in it to the bulkead compartment. I´ll change some other things on deck, too, since the AL junk seems too "clean" on deck. Well, that´s all, folks!

Some more pics for you.
 
After that movie about the construction of a traditional junk, gave some thought about how should look my compartment - so, after some testing, got a chinese red for the paint, over a hand of yellow. The result as follows
 

 
After that I fixed the deck. Well, I fixed and took it out after the glue dryied cause on a closer look, it was assymmetric. Seems the weight made it slide over the glue on the fore.
 

 

 
Then I got to my cabin. Since the AL ship is not so big as those described by medieval travelers, got just one cabin. Compartments should be load only if the ship was a merchant one - and part of them were used by the crew for sleeping most of the time. As I intend to have an explorer ship, or a pirate one, no need to have cabins for this or that person besides the one in charge.
 

 

 

 

 

 
As u can see, my doors shall be completely different from the kit. After some measurements I saw that scale wasn´t right, since people would have to be 1.2m hight to avoid knocking their heads on the ceiling. Doors were too small too - so, I augmented all of it to be something more close to reality - now my doors stand about 1.8m and about 2.2 for the ceiling.
 
Got my first accident on cutting wood, today. No big time, but got two nails on my left forefinger, as the scalpel cut it´s way through...

Finaly can say that something is definitely done.


Finished waterways and corrected mess under aft deck

Progress Report - I have planked the outer bulwarks and framed the quarterdeck.  Also, I have added the cap rails and cut the holes for the quarter badges.  I will use the two remaining window frames in these.  As you can see from the pictures, I have done some painting too, but don't consider it to be "final".  At a later time I will masking tape and neatly paint the junction between the ochre topsides and the black strake.
 
<<Gary>>

I visited the USS Constitution a few years ago.  As you can see, the bulwarks were painted green and the gun carriages were red.
Hope this helps.

OK - now I am working on the quarterdeck framing and companion way.  Wq3296, could you provide us with a photo of the companion way that you constructed for your Fair American?  You gave the dimensions but I can't quite picture it.  I am very familiar with a sliding hatch over a door as on the pilot boat "Katy" and also a "doghouse" style as seen on "Cutty Sark". (pictures below).  Also, you suggest green as a suitable color for the bulwarks inboard.  What shade of green?  And would the gun carriages still be red?  Thanks <<Gary>>

Alright, photos as promised.
 
The stern anchor pocket is little more than a light baffle on the model. Given the confines of the area, and the limits of actual visibility, not much more is needed. The pillar in the middle is to correct a downwards bow in the deck at that point, and will remain in place.
 
As I said earlier, all the hull sections are now in place, as well as now the last remaining deck section. There is a considerable ammount of filling and sanding needed in order to clean everything up. Having the hull finished means I can also get to work installing some of the deck fittings, bollards and fairleads and the like. Since they will all start out being painted the same colour as the deck, I'm not worried about work arounds at this time.
 
Anyway, one more overview shot, from the stern this time.
 
Yes... she's big.... 4' 8" long...
 
 
Andy

It's starting to take shape! There is a slight warp in one of the middle bulkheads that I couldn't straighten out. I'm not sure if it will be an issue or not? All the rest of them are square so I think it will be ok. My next step is checking the fairness. However, I was wondering if I should install the transom first? Or am i thinking to hard?