knightyo
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Everything posted by knightyo
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Hi Mark, I can sure identify with that! I'm one state to the right of you, and thought it would be fun to work on my figurehead in the shade on the porch... It was NOT fun being out there. I think it's right at 100 at the moment. Alan -
Ok, I believe I've found the offending bulkhead template. I'd remembered there'd been a question regarding one of the POB Bulkhead templates before the server crash, but for the life of me couldn't remember the issue. In the photos, you can see that the insides of bulkhead template 24 rest flush with the inside of the hull. However bulkhead template 27 is FAR too wide. I'd initially thought I'd just forgotten to resize down to 1:64 scale, so reprinted the template. Unfortunately, that is the "correct" size. If I were to widen the hull in back to accommodate the width of this template, I'd end up with a strange hull indeed. In theory, since I have a smooth run along the hull all the way back to the transom (I still actually need to sand the area behind the last bulkhead MORE, I think the template is incorrect. I'm extremely open to others' thoughts on this one. This is also the beauty of working on two ships at once. When a snag is hit with one ship, you can move to the other build whilst resolving the issue with the first! Alan
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I thought I should show the steps I'm taking in order to mark out deck clamps, etc... Especially if I'm doing anything wrong.. I've cut the templates to fit the insides of the hull, resting on top of each bulkhead. I've also sanded the insides of the hull in order to match the contours of the templates. I'm now transferring the template markings onto the insides of the bulkheads accordingly. I plan on running a plank along the deck clamp line from stem to stern to serve as a support for the deck beams. I'll also be planking the inside of the hull up to the deck clamps to add strength. The hull is extremely fragile right now. I believe I'll also need to lay down planking on top of the bulkheads in a few areas, which will be visible from a hatch or two.
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Hi Paul, I'm also looking forward to seeing your build log. Cdogg hit the nail on the head with his post. Once you post a log (with photos), people will start offering help when you ask specific questions. Alan
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US Brig Syren by knightyo
knightyo replied to knightyo's topic in - Build logs for subjects built 1801 - 1850
Mini-update.... Below are photos of my roughing out the figurehead. The pattern I'm using is from an old Heller kit (I think the kit was actually Sirene?).. At any rate, my version is slowly starting to look like a human female. A few days ago it looked like some type of ghoul. I'm very hopeful to have a passable figurehead in time. I'd say she's about 1/4 way complete. This is the first time I've ever carved a human form, so it's really been a challenge. What has been even MORE of a challenge however, is the pewter piece you can see above the heads of the figureheads. This is one of the pieces in which support the cannonades. There will need to be 32 of them... The amount of time I've spent trying to turn out 32 identical pieces is astonishing. The piece above was created by a silicon mold and pewter. It still needs to be shaped... Along with the other 31 pieces.. I'm just happy I have a mold now which is providing adequate pieces. Creating enough vent holds for the pewter to flow through the mold without actually compromising the mold was a bit tricky.
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Welcome aboard! I agree with you, but unfortunately for me, my spouse's tolerance for my hobby is inversely proportional to the size of my models. Thanks Christian!
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US Brig Syren by knightyo
knightyo replied to knightyo's topic in - Build logs for subjects built 1801 - 1850
I'm also thinking about doing this on the inside with the rivets. You guys DO have me reconsidering the whole nail thing tho.... I'll make you a deal and stop the nail folly for now, and work on the quarter galleries and figurehead, while I think about what I've done.
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US Brig Syren by knightyo
knightyo replied to knightyo's topic in - Build logs for subjects built 1801 - 1850
Here's the link to Alex's build which I'm trying to emulate a bit. Below is a pic of his Cumberland, and next to it the Constitution. I "think" the last pic is Alex's Cumberland as well. At any rate, these are the looks I'm trying to achieve.
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US Brig Syren by knightyo
knightyo replied to knightyo's topic in - Build logs for subjects built 1801 - 1850
What are your guys' thoughts regarding the stern decoration? I think I ended up carving an item which was smaller than the pattern. I must have made mistakes, and "hid" them by carving off the offending parts. Should this carving be "thicker" overall? I think this could be pried off and replaced without risking too much of a catastrophe....
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US Brig Syren by knightyo
knightyo replied to knightyo's topic in - Build logs for subjects built 1801 - 1850
It's begun! Remember how I said that these nails would be blackened? Even though the oxidizer I have is "designed" for pewter, I was going to give it a try. However, the admiral instructed me to read the MSDS sheets on the oxidizer. After reading said sheets, I decided it might be best to experiment with alternative blackening schemes. The first "recipe" was to use Palmolive dish soap. After about a week and a half, instead of blackened nails, I just ended up with extremely clean and bright nails. Not to be deterred, I followed the second recipe. This entailed boiling two eggs and crushing them up in a Ziploc bag along with the items to be blackened. This DID work a bit. I now have a set of nails with various "shades" of color. I was originally hoping for a consistent dark black across the board, but I'll admit that I do look the likes of these. They also look like they've been painted along with the hull. As you can tell, I'm trying to talk myself into being satisfied with these. I suppose they will also "tarnish" over time. Below is the start of the installation process, which is extremely satisfying. By taking close up photos like this, it's also helpful to identify areas which need to be filled! I'm also not happy with the uneven gap at the bottom of the gunport. We'll see what can be done about that.
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I'd highly recommend the Syren. The instruction provided literally walks you through every process, step by step. Also, if you get stuck at any point, there are a lot of logs to view, and people within the forum to help; especially the creator the the model, Chuck. Instead of a possibly frustrating experience, you'd most likely have a very good experience.
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US Brig Syren by knightyo
knightyo replied to knightyo's topic in - Build logs for subjects built 1801 - 1850
Thanks Thomas! It's going to be very satisfying to finish and install those quarter badges. My pipette's arrived yesterday, so I'll be playing with the chemical blackening agent this weekend. Items to be blackened are guns, nails and "gun holder thingies". Alan -
Beautiful craftsmanship!
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It's looking really good Doug. Also, if you have a major error on your sills/lintels, you can file them flush with the hull, and insert thin pieces of wood to fit, which can be indistinguishable from the other method. I know I did that on a number of mine, and it's possible I did that to all of them! Alan
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US Brig Syren by knightyo
knightyo replied to knightyo's topic in - Build logs for subjects built 1801 - 1850
There are now officially 4 nails in the Syren. Just test fitting halfway, here. And of course the camera didn't focus on the nails, and I hadn't noticed until uploading....I also intend to blacken these. I DO have a pewter oxidizer in the garage, but am not quite sure if that will work on brass. I'm researching this a bit. I also discovered that my pin vice is nowhere to be found. I used my fingers to enlarge the existing holes with a larger bit. That didn't feel wonderful, so hopefully I can find the pin-vice soon. If not, I'll head to the hobby store. I also discovered by taking this pic that the gunlid "straps" need to be sanded down a LOT, or replaced with metal. They definitely need help. Of course these will eventually need nails as well! Perhaps it would be neat to leave the nails shiny brass against the black of the straps. Although it would be strange to have a mixture of nail colors, I guess.
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US Brig Syren by knightyo
knightyo replied to knightyo's topic in - Build logs for subjects built 1801 - 1850
For some reason, my post above wouldn't allow me to post the pic..
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US Brig Syren by knightyo
knightyo replied to knightyo's topic in - Build logs for subjects built 1801 - 1850
In theory, there are 400 miniature brass nails in this container. The heads of the nails are just a bit larger than the shafts. I used a steel ruler to "cut" and shape the heads of the nails, as it has a 90 degree angle, and each "side" would get a 45 degree bevel. I'd like the heads to have been a little larger than the shaft, but this is do-oable. The issue encountered which caused consternation is that the pliers I used to cut the nails from the wire as they were complete also pressed the metal at each cut point, creating a flat end which was usually also wider than the shaft. Sooo... I had to file down the ends of every single nail down to the shaft width or less, so they'd insert into the hull. At least it was very easy to do so. The entire process was actually extremely easy; it just took time, and couldn't be done in one sitting. I just worked on them in numerous mini-sessions throughout the week. Why bother creating all of these, when they can be purchased, you ask? I do have a number of nails about the same size, and they just don't look as "realistic". I also wanted to try out a new technique to see if I could pull it off. -
This model is going to be gorgeous when sanded.
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US Brig Syren by knightyo
knightyo replied to knightyo's topic in - Build logs for subjects built 1801 - 1850
Thanks guys. I woke up this morning and had a nice hot cup of coffee while perusing MSW. I then constructed about 180 little nails. That was really a fun way to start out the day. I think I have around another 220 nails to go. -
Stern before sanding.
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Photo of the inside before sanding. There's a part of me that really enjoys having horrendous "innards" to my models, which are then covered up with planking. You can see how much sanding needs to be done on the inside for a smooth surface. I'm also cutting out the center pieces of the templates, and setting them on the tops of the bulkheads. By doing so, it's really easy to see which inside aspects of each bulkhead need to be sanded.
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Front view after initial sanding. I went "all in" with my basswood filler pieces. I cut and glued basswood throughout the entire model, to ensure I'd have a nice and smooth surface for the planks to lay upon. After more sanding, this should be a pretty nice surface.
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This looks ghastly, but all of this will be covered with exterior wood later anyway. Here, I'm going for accuracy and strength. The stern "risers" have random pieces of basswood glued between them for strength. The counter section also shows basswood pieces which have been inserted between the pieces from the actual templates, which have been sanded to shape.
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Assembling the stern pieces with basswood
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The difficult part about these particular bulkheads, is that if you cut them out to match the inside thicknesses of the templates, the tops of the bulkheads are very thin, and prone to breakage. This is alleviated by gluing scrap material to the ends of the bulkheads. In this case, basswood.
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