knightyo

I agree that depressions should be filled, but that it would be far better to fill with wood than filler. For my Triton, I filled the spaces between the bulkheads with basswood, but would use balsa wood if I had it to do over again. Balsa is so much easier to sand/shape. Alan

I'd love to see the log of that!!

This is very true. What I use works for me based upon my physical characteristics and preferences, but might not work as well for others, or even the majority. Alan

I have Reed's books as well and have always been very tempted to build the exact ship he did in the exact manner. I know I'll never get around to doing it however, at the slow rate of speed of my other projects. One thing I'd point out to anyone considering a small scale is that once you are used to working under magnification, it's not really any more difficult to build at a small scale than it is large, especially once you get used to "bracing" your hands/work. I've grown very attached to a pretty low-quality, inexpensive magnifier I use to work on my Nina. I tried the optivisors, but to me, they were almost more of an irritation than a help. It's much easier to work under a "desk lamp-arm style" magnifier. The only drawback to working in a small scale is your audience. If you build a ship that is a couple of feet long, your viewers will probably be far more impressed than they'd be by a tiny ship, which may have taken you just as much time to build. They may also be more likely to label you as weird. However, since we are really supposed to be enjoying this hobby for ourselves alone, neither factor should matter. Alan

The trennails are about done in the bow area. I'm now leaning towards shellacking the model after it's been cleaned up. The inboard parts of the bow are about complete now as well. Now it's time to start trennailing the decks, knees, etc.

Ok, still plugging away on this one. The below parts have been burnished a bit to see what the final look might approximate. They are still a bit thick however, so will be thinned out a bit, and the recessed areas near the tops will also be thinned down more. Then they'll receive trennails along with the adjacent knees. I'm still building up the back quarterdeck area, so not really affixing anything to the deck yet which could be knocked away. Binnacle! I've been building up the binnacle, which I'll be able to install after the masts have been installed, and the quarterdeck complete. Below is the drawer, and a little knob which was almost impossible for me to make. They are resting on my drawplate next to the smallest hole. I couldn't see what I was doing with these pieces unless working on them under magnification, but I'm happy with them now that they are done. Below is the main body of the binnacle with the drawer hanging out. If my printer will do it, I'm going to print a scroll with my name and build date, and will then place in the binnacle drawer which I'll leave slightly ajar. The "pegs" sticking out of the sides will be clipped off and sanded down; they are just trennails which have just been glued in and are drying. There will actually be 4 more attached lower on the legs. Once that's done, I'm going to be cutting a circle in the top of the binnacle for a light to hang down into it, which will illuminate a very small compass, providing my printer can print it small enough. Since the backside of this binnacle will be resting against a mast, I'm thinking of installing a very small led up through the deck and between the binnacle/mast, and into the back of the binnacle, which can then provide light. Hard to explain, but I'll post pics.

I think you might have hit the nail on the head with that summary (I couldn't resist). I'll bet that's exactly what we are seeing on the replica Pinta as well.

Thank you Allan, that was exceptionally helpful, and explains why there were only bolts shown on the bottom parts of the standards on tlevine's work. I might do two bolts on the bottoms of the standards, and trennels on the tops. Below is what I'm approximating, (working replica of Pinta), but it's hard to tell how they were constructed there. I don't see any bolt protrusions, but for this working replica, they might not have been trying to replicate the original to that degree. Or, they were, and trennals are just the way to go all around. Decisions.. Alan

This might be a fairly obscure question, but regarding a photo from tlevine's Swallow log below... Are "fasteners" to be inserted ONLY on the bottom portion (see arrows) of the standards? I'm close to attaching similar components on my 1492 caravel (bottom photo), and am not sure of how I should reflect the fasteners; for that matter, I'm not sure if they should be trennails, or raised nails. Any guidance on this would really be appreciated. I do know that the standards are currently too thick, so will be adjusting that, but I'm really wondering about the fasteners. Initially, I was thinking that I'd apply fasteners to the upper sections as well, but now I'm assuming that tlevine's fastener's are correct, and that I'd I'd install two of them, both on the bottom section of the standards, but wanted to pick the collective brain of MSW on this one. - Alan

My palms became sweaty while reading this thread. I never would have made it in the navy. Ironic, as building models ships is my passion. lol Alan

This is gorgeous work. Alan

Wow! That water turned out great! Alan

Ok, so working at my usual pace, but incremental progress is better than none, I suppose. The entirety of the hull inside and out is now planked with pear. It's dusty in this photo, but compressed air and brushes should remedy that before any finishes are applied. I'm considering applying tung oil and/or shellac, and will be experimenting quite a bit with both. The replica Pinta had a unique looking capstan which caught my eye, and which I wished to replicate on the Nina. Who is to say that the original Nina didn't have this type capstan as well? Below is a start, but will need to be "skinnier" to match the replica; especially the center "X" sections. Not pictured are a few more brass parts I've cobbled together which will need to be blackened. Time to start working on these little guys. Making these at this scale is quite a challenge, and I'm having to make these under magnification. It's still a satisfying exercise, however.

Thank you both! I will start performing some fairly vigorous experimentation with both shellac & renaissance wax. Ironically, scraping is indeed how I started out finishing the rails; however, I was clumsy and ended up with numbers of fine "cut" lines that I ended up sanding out with a very high grit wet/dry paper. What I'm left with is burnished large surfaces and unburnished small pieces, recessed pieces, etc. Alan

As I've been toiling over my small Nina project, I've ended up basically burnishing the wood in numerous sections. The rails for instance, are swiss pear, and in a "burnished" state really have a nice look. Are there any recommendations regarding what to apply over burnished wood? My Google searches have made it pretty clear that standard finishes are out as the pores of the wood are effectively sealed when the wood is burnished, which makes sense. Has anyone experimented with applying any type of finish over burnished wood? Alan

It would also be fun to see something completely different in style, like an ornate Xebec or a ship of an earlier period with all of the carvings, moldings, etc. Alan

I'll bet I'm not alone in my modeling process. If I build something and the joints look magnificent, I'll leave it as natural wood. If what I've built needs filler or is sub-par, it gets painted in order to hide my sins. 😊 Alan

If it were me, I wouldn't give them away. I might pin them up in my hobby area as "art" or find some other use. If giving them away, the person who they were given to would be less likely to purchase the plans from someone who should receive legitimate payment for their work, etc. Alan

RGL, you should know that you are responsible for about 5 of my model purchases. Oh they'll never be finished, but this thread inspired me to buy them. lol Alan

Superb work! Alan

Hi Dave, This is a very good topic. Just about everything I do is scratch, and my tools over the years have primarily consisted of fingers/sandpaper/x-acto blade, coupled with occasional usage of a mini-saw and files here and there. I will say that I purchased a mini-lathe in order to turn cannons however, as that's incredibly fun. But you seriously don't need to spend a lot of money in this hobby. You can, and you can save a lot of time by purchasing dedicated tooling, but it's not strictly necessary. The most satisfaction I get from this hobby is by retreating into my cave and slowly shaping objects with sandpaper while lost in my own thoughts; it's definitely the process, not the destination that brings me happiness. When I'm working with machinery, it feels more like work and isn't as enjoyable. Alan

I'm not even building the model as I have about 300 others in the works, but when that figure/table/accoutrements goes on sale, I'd love to buy a copy. I'm envisioning a little cabin scene diorama under glass that I can place under my monitor while I work. Alan

Hi Kurt, I'm late to the party on this one but was wondering if the link to your recording is going to be placed with the other workshop links on the NRG site, or if it is a different section. I might be looking in the wrong place, but definitely want to watch your presentation! Alan

This looks like a fun model! When the hull planking was attached, was it glued in addition to having the pins? If so, I'd strongly recommend removing the pins before starting the second layer of planking. Once the pins are removed, filler is applied to the hull (including any damage incurred during pin removal), and the hull sanded smooth, you should have a very good surface in which to apply the second layer of planking. Alan

Thanks Gregory. I actually really did go straight online to order a copy. I appreciate your offer, however! The nice thing about not having any definitive plans for these ships is that it sure gives me leeway to model what I like, and not have to worry about being proven wrong on anything. My model is a real hodge-podge of what I liked most about the Nina and Pinta replicas. Alan