md1400cs

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

Superb work, Pete!

So, this weekend was the Historic Shipmodelers expo in The Netherlands and two of my ships Santa Maria and Cazador were there.
I wanted to make the central railing on the quarter deck. I did not use the one from the kit and I made my own.
With help of a jig, see pictures below I made a new one and placed the swivel guns on top.
 

 

 

For the rigging of the cannons, I use a simple but effective jig so I can rig the cannons off the ship. This makes life much easier because I can turn the jig with the cannon in all directions. Also it prevents damage on the ship doing it this way.
So to me the jig has a simple but effective purpose. I can clamp the carriage to the jig so the cannon stays on it's place. I can use both hands, And to be sure, I sometimes during the rigging progress I wish I had 3 or 4. 😁

Now, this jig is simple like I said, It's functional and pretty easy to make. I used some scrap plywood that came with the kit and made a single gunport situation. It's not important how the jig looks, how fancy it is but only that the distance between the carriage and the hooks and bolts on the jig are the same as on the ship. I made the jig a bit smarter by drawing some lines on the bottom. The first line is the line were the back wheels needs to stop so I can cut the length of the breach rope. The second line is the place where the rear tackle positions. I used my drill to make a small hole for the bolt and ring.

There are many ways to make a jig and I'm sure there are much better ones than I made for my cannons, but in the end it's the result or outcome that matters.... 
After finishing rigging a cannon on the jig, I simply remove the jig and place the cannon already fully rigged on the ship. I can do 1 sometimes 2 per evening depends on the cooperativity of all the materials....☺️
 

 

 

 
 

Amelio,
 
Its impossible to add any more superlatives in any language about this build such art. Well as young people say (in the US) when something is so awesome, "this is sick" 
 
Regards,

Amelio,
 
Maybe in my next life my skills will come close to your work - prob not - haha - Amazing work indeed.
Such a pleasure to follow.

Amalio,
 
Just catching up - Incredible work!!

Amalio,
 
Superb work indeed. For many of us (I believe) that your inner mold would be our finished outer hulls that we would also be proud of (;-) 
 
I will follow with much interest.

Hello,
It's been a while since my last post.
I took a month off for vacation. When I returned, I turned the water to the house back on. Unknown to me that night, the water valve in the master bath shower started leaking down the wall into the basement over my work bench. So lucky that the model was 2 feet away from the dripping and not harmed in any way!
 
Finished forming the 60 plus oars and proceeded to paint them.
 

 

 
Made the battens and stained and glued to oars.
 

 
I am now working on attaching the lashings to the oars. First 3 done.
 

 
After finishing the lashings, work will begin on the handles for the oars.
 
Also finished up the base for the ship model.
Painted the 2 main stanchions the ships blue. 
Turned and painted 4 smaller posts and threaded and polished (4) 1/8 inch rods to the correct height.
 

 

 
Model mounted onto base.
 

 

 
Found another piece of cherry wood and have begun to cut the wood for the overall case.
Once done with the case base, the model base above will be fastened to the case.
Then the oars and remaining flags will be installed.
 
Thanks for the previous likes and for stopping by,
Frank
 

Lighting and stern update.
The images don't show the great subtle flickering lighting effect. I will need to post a video. I suppose that I will also need to add the video
to my youtube channel then copy/paste the link here?? (will need to create a new channel my current one is only aviation related)
All 50 LED lights, battery packs and remote were purchased from Evans Design..
 
As always thanks for your likes, dropping by and comments
 
 

After what has been a very busy time with many competing interests, I’ve been trying to restore some momentum for the project.
 
I’ve been working steadily, albeit at a snail’s pace, on the bow and stern.  This pile of crooked pick-up sticks will eventually become my cambered head grating:

Each slat section is hand-fit and placed by eye.  It will not be possible to neatly align these next three tiers of fore and aft slats with the splayed set immediately aft.  This is an imperfect compromise that I can live with. In the end, after the grating surface has been sanded smooth and re-painted flat black, these small discrepancies will hardly matter.  It looks like it is going to work out just fine:

There’s a significant amount of paint re-touching that has to happen - which I have not been in the mood for - but the upper balcony rail is in-place now; again, imperfect in multiple ways, but I am happy with it:


When I really have the focus and determination to, I will re-visit the paint.
 
What has excited me, lately, is that I have finally reached the stage that the entire ornamental program has been inching towards for years - the coronation of the stern!
 
These past couple of days, I’ve been making up and fitting the two primary layers that make up the tafferal:

It will take a combination of subtraction and addition, but I am feeling pretty confident that the stock sculptures for Europe and Asia can be re-worked to fit my new cornice shape:

Unlike the stock kit, which has an interior backing plate that extends above the reverse-cyma curves of the tafferal, I will make it so that the tafferal shape is continuous to the poop deck.
 
I took some care to scribe-in plank lines for the tafferal backing boards:

I am happy that I increased the camber of the middle and upper window tiers because it lends an appropriate sense of lift for the big carving.  The extremities of the clouds will be slightly modified so that they sit lower against the frame.
 
The national coat of arms now fits within the dome:

While these arms are centered on the central window pilaster, they won’t be perfectly centered within that dome shape.  I checked the dimensions of the tafferal framing, and that dome shape is perfectly centered.  This discrepancy has likely to do with cumulative error stemming from some aspect of the layout for my lowest or maybe the middle window tier.
 
At this stage, there’s no fixing it, and like all of these discrepancies they will kind of fade to the peripheries of consciousness when the completed stern is considered in its entirety.  For the most part, the important details look more right than they do wrong.  Most especially, I think I have nailed the correct shape for the big carving panel and the shape of the cornice:

There is very much work and layering of detail to come, but I am pleased with where it is all going.
 
Thank you all for your interest!
 

Lighting and stern update.
The images don't show the great subtle flickering lighting effect. I will need to post a video. I suppose that I will also need to add the video
to my youtube channel then copy/paste the link here?? (will need to create a new channel my current one is only aviation related)
All 50 LED lights, battery packs and remote were purchased from Evans Design..
 
As always thanks for your likes, dropping by and comments
 
 

Hi Mates,
 
LEDs update
Lots of hours installing, so far, 29 LEDs some with flickering as well as some static (all warm white)
 
Eighteen others have been added to needed locations (balcony walkways, and for lanterns) but all need to be secured and positioned into their proper places. It’s also important to aim the LEDs for best visual effect.
 
PS: Evan Designs ROCKS!!
 
Still to do….
•install upper rear quarters ceiling into place (that’s next)
•attach its wiring looms for the seven lights,
•clean up the wiring jungle to make room for both AAA battery packs
•connect remote sensors to all lights and battery packs,
•attach two battery packs, to their permanent locations.
•make “candle looking” cylinders for the five stern lanterns,
•seal any light leaks to the outside,
•re-attach poop deck,
•cut two very small openings in rear facing stern upper panel for the remote sensors,
•make a magnetic connector to that rear panel as well (for easy access to batteries)
 
Thanks for dropping by, likes and comments all much appreciated.
 

Lighting and stern update.
The images don't show the great subtle flickering lighting effect. I will need to post a video. I suppose that I will also need to add the video
to my youtube channel then copy/paste the link here?? (will need to create a new channel my current one is only aviation related)
All 50 LED lights, battery packs and remote were purchased from Evans Design..
 
As always thanks for your likes, dropping by and comments
 
 

Lighting and stern update.
The images don't show the great subtle flickering lighting effect. I will need to post a video. I suppose that I will also need to add the video
to my youtube channel then copy/paste the link here?? (will need to create a new channel my current one is only aviation related)
All 50 LED lights, battery packs and remote were purchased from Evans Design..
 
As always thanks for your likes, dropping by and comments
 
 

Lighting and stern update.
The images don't show the great subtle flickering lighting effect. I will need to post a video. I suppose that I will also need to add the video
to my youtube channel then copy/paste the link here?? (will need to create a new channel my current one is only aviation related)
All 50 LED lights, battery packs and remote were purchased from Evans Design..
 
As always thanks for your likes, dropping by and comments
 
 

Lighting and stern update.
The images don't show the great subtle flickering lighting effect. I will need to post a video. I suppose that I will also need to add the video
to my youtube channel then copy/paste the link here?? (will need to create a new channel my current one is only aviation related)
All 50 LED lights, battery packs and remote were purchased from Evans Design..
 
As always thanks for your likes, dropping by and comments
 
 

Lighting and stern update.
The images don't show the great subtle flickering lighting effect. I will need to post a video. I suppose that I will also need to add the video
to my youtube channel then copy/paste the link here?? (will need to create a new channel my current one is only aviation related)
All 50 LED lights, battery packs and remote were purchased from Evans Design..
 
As always thanks for your likes, dropping by and comments
 
 

Lighting and stern update.
The images don't show the great subtle flickering lighting effect. I will need to post a video. I suppose that I will also need to add the video
to my youtube channel then copy/paste the link here?? (will need to create a new channel my current one is only aviation related)
All 50 LED lights, battery packs and remote were purchased from Evans Design..
 
As always thanks for your likes, dropping by and comments
 
 

Yes you are indeed right the bronze bits are super nice. Some parts are soooo tiny that gold plating would be nearly impossible IMO. And given the cost for some 500+ bits would be, for me, above my pay scale.
That said I did, in fact, have the bow ornament (king and horse) gold plated - not cheap.. came out very beautiful - The vintage bronze bits needed almost no "Dremeling" I'm very satisfied with how they look. I did use a brass brush (with a Dremel) to polish them then sprayed all of them with a clear lacquer metal protector to preclude earlier dulling. 
 
Regards,

You are fortunate to have those nice bronze castings ... a reason for someone with enough of a nest-egg to find and buy the Classic kit PLUS the new version with improvements in drawings/ templates, etc.  Then they can have the best of both worlds, besides having plenty of material should anything go wrong along the way.
 
  Nice as the bronze castings are, they can be improved by working with tiny Dremel bits and miniature files to accentuate fine detail and make them 'super cleaned-up'.  I could see spending the better part of a year just going over all the castings this way.  THEN after buffing, one could have them professionally GOLD plated !  For that process there are several cleaning/chemical treating steps, then the substrate is nickel plated for longevity and to sequester the gold to be plated on the surface.  The final step is to electroplate with gold, which will burnish to an unmatched brilliance that will STAY brilliant for a very long time ... like the golden mask of King Tut !!  Yeah, it would cost to have all that done, but I think it would be worth it.

Planking the lower hull, progress.
I'm kind of slow in planking, the idea is to do an update on this about every 2 weeks.
 
made an extra batch of planks.

Planking

transom

16th century planking is something like ordered chaos (my idea). that's why there are pencil lines and notes all over the hull


and sometimes things go wrong 

a pencil line is drawn

a simple but effective solution 

problem solved, the next plank will fit

Current status ( ps, the wale is not as bent and bad looking as in the picture)
And building this way gives a nice space under the model to organize all the tools

Thanks for following

Hi all,
 
Seems as if log had been "standing still".
That said the 40 LEDs have been installed - now just need to button things up. Next post will be when all is back together.
I will try to add a video that will show the really nice gentle flickering of the lights including the five lanterns. 
 
So appreciate your continued interest in this log.
 
Regards,
 

Larry,
I don't have any suggestions regarding hull gun port openings. The vintage manual requires you to cut out, from the 1/1 scale plan sheet of the opening 
images - then past those to the hull working from there - very weak - indeed. The templates are a huge improvement in the current kit. If you could locate a build log for the old kit - that may be helpful. I don't know of one......
 
That said the "jewel in the crown" of the kit that you have are the 600+ solid bronze decorative bits. I have SO vented in this log about how poor the current product quality for these bits are by comparison.
 
Regarding McKay - that book will be super useful if you intend on adding full sails and "correct" standing rigging. The Mantua instructions are known to be mostly wrong. It is also a great source of general information, with the exclusion of the square tucked stern. Amazon has in both formats.
 
https://www.amazon.com/Sovereign-Seas-1637-Reconstruction-Powerful-ebook/dp/B088ZT37VJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=98E8GMBE3F2V&keywords=john+mcKay+sovereign+of+the+seas&qid=1683048087&sprefix=john+mckay+sovereign+of+the+seas%2Caps%2C137&sr=8-1
 
This site might also be helpful (use Google translate)  https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=183&t=46754
Scroll down for gun openings.
 
Regards,

Hi Mates,
 
LEDs update
Lots of hours installing, so far, 29 LEDs some with flickering as well as some static (all warm white)
 
Eighteen others have been added to needed locations (balcony walkways, and for lanterns) but all need to be secured and positioned into their proper places. It’s also important to aim the LEDs for best visual effect.
 
PS: Evan Designs ROCKS!!
 
Still to do….
•install upper rear quarters ceiling into place (that’s next)
•attach its wiring looms for the seven lights,
•clean up the wiring jungle to make room for both AAA battery packs
•connect remote sensors to all lights and battery packs,
•attach two battery packs, to their permanent locations.
•make “candle looking” cylinders for the five stern lanterns,
•seal any light leaks to the outside,
•re-attach poop deck,
•cut two very small openings in rear facing stern upper panel for the remote sensors,
•make a magnetic connector to that rear panel as well (for easy access to batteries)
 
Thanks for dropping by, likes and comments all much appreciated.