Auvergne

Thanks Tom and John   I have made another step and put interior floor in, will do a few more hours tonight after work..
 
Regards Oliver

Perfect Auvegne.  I am going to Michaels tomorrow anyway.  I am looking for some yarn for a friend.  I will look for the pens.  I wrote down the info you gave me on them.  Thanks for your kind words about my model, but really it is not that good up close.
 
Spencer, I did paint the deck.  I painted it in browns.  Plus, a few things in red.  I did not paint the side rails.  This ship has been more of a learning and experimenting ship for me.  It really was not a well made kit, and the instructions are very confusing. 
 
I am so excited.  I just got my new Revell Santa Maria in the mail today.  I am going to really work hard on it.  I am going to finish up this one ship first.  I really just need to finish the sails on it.
 
Ulises thanks for the link to your posts about weathering.   

You will do just fine Kimberley...you have so many resources here on MSW and so many good people helping you. Be strong on the patience thing...I am learning the same thing. I see the professionals here on MSW and you know they take their time. And with the results any of us may hope for. I am following your build and you look set to go. Good Luck on you Santa maria build and we are all with you.
John

Hi Ollie...Love the Rum barrels!! You are doing a great job and I will be following your beautiful build. Best luck to you. You know what you are doing for sure. Thanks for sharing your photos.
 
John

Thanks so much Jeff and ZyXuz.  I appreciate it...  I only use basic tools and a keen eye.
 
I am well into scratch building the barrels for under floor.. It s been 3 hours at least over 2 evenings..
 
I cut strips at angles and made them all in one tube.. because the lengths are wedges, when i sand the curve at ends of barrel it gives the appearance of planks narrowing and in fact they do, just not as they really woud, but working at this size you cant build like you would a fulll size item, so one has to improvise a little.
 
I used "sika" super glue. it is good quality, then i filled tube with an expanding glue that helped hold the small bits together.. These are not going to be seen from alll angles so i thought better not get too carried away,, i tend to do that..
 
The bands i'm not 100% sure on yet, i made prototypes out of hammered soldering wire but think i need a thinner guage,, the effect is great.. and very nice to bend around two angles
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

well done on the ladder

Well after work today i scratch built a stairway from some cypress of some discription it has a nice fine grain.. They are built at 75degrees and seem about right, number of treads are matched with that in the picture.. about 6.
 
Next i will be scratch building some barrels to go in hull and trim out interior before planking, regards Ollie

Thanks so much Jeff, appreciate your comments... I assumed a steep angle would be the case and yes a rectangular opening, that makes sence..  You have helped me already..   Much thanks.  Ollie
 
I look forward to any more replies that anyone has.. I am very appreciative..
 
I have made sure mast fits as the deck hole was way out with groove below originally..  and  well its looking like a ship for a moment.

Hi Ollie,
 
This looks like it will be a very interesting build, I like what you are going to do with the interior.
 
On A small Cutter such as Mermaid, I think that most companionway openings were rectagular as they were easy to cut and could be supported more easily by the adjacent frames. The access ladder would probably be set at an acute angle of say 70 -75 degees.
 
Hope this helps and I will follow your build with interest

Thanks Brian, these are glues i have already, any one of them work great but i will get some "titebond"

Now i have started my modifications...
 
I am painting and coppering one side of the hull and other side being left timber finish with a cut away of hull to show planking and some of interior. (including stairs or ladder and rum kegs in bottom of hull)  It as all still very strong..
 
here lies my first ponderings...  I have some pictures to work with but the detail is very grainy. I can make some of it out... sail cupboards on left anothe rcupboard on right perhaps..
 
What im wondering in particular is would the main gangway have stairs or a vertical ladder coming straight down into below?  I am thinking stairs as it would be very hard to bring large items or take injured or sick crew up a ladder
 
Also wondering how much platform and what sort of opening would lead to steps / ladder.   A round hole through deck or rectangle?
 
Any help or ideas would be very much appreciated.. Thanks Ollie

Hi guys, im off to flying start and starting to understand how it goes together..  I have done the fairing and removed deadwood, i'm happy with how it is going. I am using a few different glues that are very strong and set fairly fast... I saved a lot of time with fairing by making two tools - 40 grit paper on a piece of quadrant so it can curve sidewards as needed and 40 grit on a piece of stiff plastic that can bend longways.. They are great... I dont mind that the edges are a bit coarse as this will help glue adhere..
 
 
 

Hi everyone. Before rushing into buying my kit i first wanted to setup a really good work space, so i built/renovated one..  Kit arrived yesterday - 17 Oct 2013
 
And did some scratch building of smalll items to get back into fine timber work... I made a shipping crate out of some old timber that has been sitting for many years from dads instrument building years.. (western red cedar) I believe.
 
I found these series of 8 collectors plates and 5000 were made, based of paintings done by an Australian Maratime artist, Dennis Adams (1914 - 2001) He studied at the Royal Acadamy in London. I got one for a good price on ebay and made a local timber "Silky Oak" (from a old house renovation) into a plate stand.. It is good inspiration for the build and will look great with it finished..
 
I have fitted and tweaked some parts but no glue yet. I am not familiar with the all the terminology as its not only my first build of this calibre and i dont know that much about sailing...   I love to learn and am very handy, though i am glad i have you guys to help me out.. i can see many moments of perplexed pondering... Hrs count so far - 1.5 Hrs.
 
Regards Ollie

Sorry about the length...    Anyway, at this point, I'm planking the gundeck. 
 
Mark

Here's the pics to date:
 

Thanks for the tips and links.  I did get the parts all washed up.  I did get a side cutter today.  Andy, I really like the links you sent me for the stand and cutters.
 
I was still wondering.  Do I paint all the pieces first?
 
Ian thanks for the glue tips.  I think it is the way I am supposed to use the Tamiya glue also.  I am still going to play with that glue some more on scrap parts and play with the paint before I start the actual ship.
 
Just taking my time like you guys keep telling me to do.  Plan and think about things before moving forward. 

Kimberley,
 
I am not familiar with Tamiya thin glue so my comments may be duplication and I may be stating the obvious.....
 
For most of the gluing of plastic components I use liquid (solvent) glues applied with a small paint brush. The two parts being fixed need to fit together well. The technique is to hold the two parts together (no glue on them), load the brush with the solvent then touch the joint with the tip of the brush. The solvent is then drawn in to the joint by capillary action. For long joints you reload the brush and touch at various points along the joint. You hold the joint together for a few moments then set it aside to harden - the parts my need support by elastic bands clamps etc if they are large.
 
It is so easy and quick which is why I like it ('cos I am lazy).
 
I also use the brush with the smallest amount of solvent on it to pick up small plastic surface components which I position with (say) a scalpel blade, then add a bit more solvent to fix the part. An example is simulated rivets - I do this by cutting 0.5mm cubes of plastic then attaching them as just described.
 
Take care not to touch the brush on the fingers holding the parts in place else the solvent will be drawn between finger and part by the same capillary action which will result in a nasty fingerprint cut in to the plastic surface. 
 
As the guys say - good ventilation is vital. In my teens I was a very happy modeler until I discovered I was getting high on the solvent. These days I am a much better ventilated but grumpier modeler.    
 
I would recommend some brands of glue but I don't know what is available in the US.
 
For attaching etched brass components I use liquid super glues where the joints are good. If the joint is poor and needs some filling I use 2 part epoxy.
 
Hope this helps.

have fun with your new adventure......you can purchase wire cutters just about anywhere.  yes, you can never be too careful with some of the glues out there.     look forward in seeing your progress.

Wash and paint the pieces first. It may seem tedious, but it's worth it. As for a working cradle, I use one of these: http://www.bowser-trains.com/foamcradle.html
 
Andy

I got the parts washed tonight.  I bought all the acrylic paints I need today.  Plus, I bought a pin vise.  I also got some floss threaders today for the rigging string.  My mother's idea. 
 
I am practicing the paint on a junk boat I have.  I am also trying out the Tamiya thin glue.  I realized I really need to have some ventilation with it.  I will set up a fan.  I only have my xacto knife right now to cut off the pieces.  I need to also get one of those bigger cutter things I have seen you guys use to cut the thick pieces on the tree.  What are those called?
 
I have tweezers, scissors, files, paint brushes, needles, clothes pins, model master glue, elmer's glue, crochet hooks, exacto knife, Tamiya thin glue, pin vise, floss threaders, paints.  Can you guys think of anything else I might really need?  I do need to get a good ruler.  I am not so hot when it comes to geometry, so the math part is going to be hard for me.  I have problems with measurements.
 
Do you just work on your boats on the stand it comes with?  Oh, and do I glue the stand onto the bottom of my hull?
 
Now should I paint all the pieces first?
 
Oh yes, I will definitely do a wooden ship one of these days.

Here she is.  My new Santa Maria.  This will be my third ship, but I plan on doing all the painting on this ship.  Plus, doing the rigging correctly, and hopefully not end up with any extra parts at the end.    I am really going to take my time doing her.  I would greatly appreciate anyone's advice or help as I am working on her.  I am sure I will have a lot of questions.  Thankfully, I do have photoshop and can mark or write words on pictures that I post that might help show what I am trying to talk about.  Please cross your fingers for me.
 

 

Hi guys and gals. I wanted to show my progress on this Bireme Greek Warship the past few days.
 
First, I had to do some painting on the topside merely to show a progressive schedule I hold myself accountable for. I need to see a progressive advancement to feel as if I am actually accomplishing something. Not sure why, but that’s how I work.
 
Secondly, I have caught some mistakes; i.e. using too much glue (so instead of the glue applicator I now use a paintbrush), slow but it looks better; I don’t know how I did this but my calculations for the bow was like way off. Don’t know what I was thinking…
 
So for the bow I have had to cut away some planking and replace @ the CL of the bulkhead, where now I do not have 1 continuous piece of planking all the way through the hull from stem to stern in some areas as shown in the pictures.
 
I am learning though. Actually, I have discovered with a mixture of water & wood filler at very thin doses works well on the inside of the hull as a filling agent to cover minor and small defects. Not sure if that is actually legal or not but I did not want this baby to go to the scrap pile just yet.
 
I then sand the hull down with 400# sand paper (again, hope that’s OK), then with a #0000 steel wool to give it a flat shine and reduce any grit caused by the wood filling agent I created.
 
Once complete with the hull’s bow I will do minor aesthetics throughout the hull and then…tackle the beast, the stern, or prow…wish me luck…
 
BTW, the instructions on this thing are quite minimal…a good kit for the most part, but one must know some woodworking skills as well as a small bit of Marine Engineering, but truly, nothing major. I just like to sound as if I know what I am talking about…(DOH?!).
 
See ya’ll next time! Have a great night! I am learning folks.
 
John E (Auvergne).

The time had come to blacken the stove. I used Birchwood Casey Brass Black. I had a tiny jam jar (the sort you get at breakfast in decent hotels) which was big enough to slip the stove in. I topped up the jar with sufficient neat Brass Black to cover the stove and let it have a bath for 60 seconds with the occasional gentle agitate. Then I washed it in running water.
 
The following day I gave it a gentle burnish.
 
Now those of you (like me) who follow EdT's work will know that he is not a fan of brass blackened with selenious solution because raised detail and edges if rubbed create bright spots where the blackening rubs off. 
 
See, for example, page 22 entry no 318 of tlavine's HMS Atalanta log <link>. Ed describes his preferred use of copper which "....can then be blackened with no effect on surrounding wood using liver of sulfur solution. LOS does not work on brass."
 
Anyone who has worked on a model of locomotives know that there tend to be large areas of the undercarriage which are painted black. On models large areas of black tend to camouflage detail. The usual antidote is to dry brush the edges of the detail with a small amount of grey paint which if done carefully will represent the light glinting on the edges and points of the detail of the full sized item.
 
Now in this case, rather than drybrush the detail, I decided to change the vice identified by EdT in to a virtue - I deliberately polished the edges of the detail. So hopefully when the stove is in the gloom of the Unicorn gun deck its detail will gently glimmer.
 
Anywhere that I overdid the polishing I used a small brush to apply a drop of neat Brass Black to the exposed metal for 30 to 60 seconds then washed it off to reblacken that part (avoiding covering already blackened parts).
 
Inside the hearth there were visible joints where I was not able to clean the solder off completely so this rather showed up after blackening. The solder I covered with Humbrol No33 matt black paint which blends in with the blackening well.
 
At this point I added the spit drive made from 0.1mm wire. I got this wire by stripping the insulation off some instrument wire which produces several strands. 5 amp fuse wire is another source. I am afraid I cheated here - I used superglue to fix it. 
 
I made the riding bits that enclose the stove from 5mm square walnut and fixed these to the stove base. I debated whether these should be more elaborately carved but the ones on contemporary models seemed to be plain.
 

 

 
The base will need a bit of fettling to make it sit properly on the camber of the deck - so the stove will be fixed after that is done. Until then I will have to put the stove somewhere safe because next I will attack the waist.
 
The last photo is the stove sat on the Unicorn deck immediately above its final location.
 
        

I fear so - probably a ship's worth!
 
 

The Destruction Begins...!
 
Well I started on the modification of the waist area.
 
The first phase was to check the location of the non scale beams under the fore and quarter decks. It looks OK. There is one close to where the stove flue will emerge but it is out of the way. Under the quarter deck the extra cut out will not go back as far as the first of its beams. It may become visible so will perhaps require some trimming.
 
So it was time to start pulling previously fitted parts. Out came the two sets of steps, the deck pillars and the coving(?). Fortunately they didn't tear up the planking on the gun deck but have left some glue marks to clean up. 
 
This left me with a pile of redundant bits.....
 

 
With the front steps gone I tried the stove for a fit under the fore deck. It won't quite go under. I will be sanding the underside of the fore deck so that the edge of the plywood exposed is thinned right down. If all else fails I have some leeway on the stove legs which I could reduce in length by up to 1.5mm without impacting its appearance. 
 

 
I also tried the riding bitts in place. They sit quite nicely so won't need much dressing.
 
The photos shew the glue spots that need to be removed. It is also very dusty down there - it is 30 years since I last visited this location! You can also see the dust that has collected on the fore deck whilst I made the stove - I suppose it did take me a long time to make.
 

 
With the rear riding bitts in place I am trying to decide whether it is worth making and fitting the foremost riding bitts. It would be quite a fiddle to get them in to place a bit like putting a ship in an opaque bottle. With the waist area widened I will review this and seek your opinion.
 
Next up is a fair ammount of cutting and sanding which will probably take me several days. If you don't hear from me for more than a fortnight then it has probably all gone wrong and I will have decided to take up flower arranging instead.