tarbrush

Installation of the hull panels...
 
 
 
 

oh this should be great fun!  looking forward to it.

oh this should be great fun!  looking forward to it.

oh this should be great fun!  looking forward to it.

oh this should be great fun!  looking forward to it.

oh this should be great fun!  looking forward to it.

Sounds like an interesting experiment Kurt, be sure to post some pictures of how it works out for you.

Sounds like an interesting experiment Kurt, be sure to post some pictures of how it works out for you.

Sounds like an interesting experiment Kurt, be sure to post some pictures of how it works out for you.

Sounds like an interesting experiment Kurt, be sure to post some pictures of how it works out for you.

Sounds like an interesting experiment Kurt, be sure to post some pictures of how it works out for you.

Cuttysark wrecked 34 inch
Photos of Cuttysark captains quaters

Great work  and the colors look fantastic.
 
OC.

Thanks Michael - pre-made sails are provided in the kit,so it will have sails.
 

 
Mark

Hi everyone - a little more progress.  After finishing up the chainplates,I got to work on the hammock cranes. The kit did not provide them as ready made pieces,so I had to make them from the brass wire provided. They were made by bending with some round & needle nose pliers. Then a hole was drilled in the center for the mounting pins - that was fun trying to drill a hole in a .8mm wire! They were then painted flat black & mounted according to the plans. Finally,some Syren rope was added. They are pretty fragile,so I hope I don`t knock them askew while rigging. Finally, the mounts for the falconets were glued in place - they were provided as photo-etched pieces which I had to bend into shape.The falconets won`t be added until later - the rigging tends to snag them & knock them loose.
 

 

 

 

 
Mark

To those who have been following this story of Leon, I apologise for the long absence of any posts.  The reason is that I've only done a little on her (more bottom planking and some bulwark planking - pictures attached) as I've been spending my time on research.  It is not complete yet but we are closing in so I thought folks might be interested in some of the results. 
 
Lloyd's never classed Leon so they have no information on her except for a few sightings in their Register.  Lloyd's has kept their surveys back to 1757 and they are now being digitized which may be completed in January 2019.  Leon rather was classed by Det Norske Veritas, the Norwegian classification society.  Unfortunately, DNV has not saved its surveys.  That's all the bad news. 
 
The good news starts with the Laurvik (now Larvik) Museum - this is the city where Leon was built.  We learn that Leon's designer/builder is no longer 'unknown' -  It is Colin Archer, a well known and well respected Norwegian designer/builder.  I should say here that a number of people have helped the unraveling of Leon's story and I will credit these folks in the future when I write-up the research effort.  For now, just some of the results,  miscellaneous information that has emerged - Her shrouds were rope and her stays were wire,  Her hanging knees were iron and her lodging knees were wood.  Original lines plans have been located and there are noticeable differences from Underhill's plans.  I'm currently developing  a comparison exhibit to show these differences.  The original lines plans are a little difficult to read.  They are given in a book by Tor Borsch Sanns, Colin Archer's Ships, however, this book has not been translated into English. 
 
The last item is that in the Norwegian Maritime Museum an 1880 DNV survey of Leon has been found.  Some folks are now trying to translate it from the Old Norwegian that it is written in to English but the task is difficult.  The survey is basically a long list of printed nautical terminology with handwritten measurements and notes.  Translating the nautical terminology is challenging.
 
So that's where we stand and I certainly hope that translating the survey is fruitful as that will supply us with a wealth of construction details,

I've found research, even while frustrating at times, is half the fun.  You're doing some impressive work on researching and building.  

Hi Doug,
Leon is looking great!  I am impressed with all the research you've been doing, and look forward to hearing what you come up with, and seeing the differences in the lines drawings.  Leon was my first scratch built model years ago, I have always been meaning to build another one this time at  1:48 as you are doing.  You are doing really good work!

Hi Scott,
The kit I did this painting on was the Zevzda kit of Black Pearl.  the plastic molding for the grain of the planks is quite restrained and the deck seams are recessed not raised.  This might make a big difference, I have an old Revell kit somewhere in my stash that I will dig out and experiment on this weekend to make sure this will work for you.  I didn't remove the molded grain.  I just primed it with Vallejo Desert Tan primer.  I will give you links for the materials I used from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/primer-Surface-Desert-Tan-oz/dp/B07D3YWP8C/ref=sr_1_5?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1538053906&sr=1-5&keywords=Vallejo+desert+tan+primer
 
Then I used Dahler & Rowney Artists Acrylic Ink for painting with. https://www.amazon.com/Daler-Rowney-Acrylic-Artists-Cool-160029053/dp/B00522XJ8Q/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1538054038&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=artists+acrylic+ink&psc=1&smid=A3G2RBEZBLAJ53
 
I used a palette of Cool Grey, Raw Sienna, Red Earth, Burnt Umber, and Sepia
 
you will need a small palette for mixing the colors https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3O44PB/ref=sxts_kp_lp_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=8778bc68-27e7-403f-8460-de48b6e788fb&pd_rd_wg=JFagP&pf_rd_r=E2QX55ZFNXWJFXS5XE17&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-top-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B01N3O44PB&pd_rd_w=Yox8u&pf_rd_i=plastic+palette&pd_rd_r=b6d4a919-d9bc-45b7-b9b9-7ec76ed1db53&ie=UTF8&qid=1538054264&sr=2
 
The inks are nice to work with in that they each have an eyedropper so you can measure how much of each color you are putting in the palette.
you will mix the colors in your palette to get a range of color.  for instance, in the first holder you might put 10 drops of Cool Grey in the next holder mix the cool grey say 7 drops with 3 drops of raw sienna.  (It's been a few years since I did this, I don't remember the ratios I used but that's the idea.)  go around the pallet making a range of color. 
 
With a small brush paint each plank individually and vary the color just slightly.  
 
with the inks you can get whatever tone you want, from a weathered grey to more of a wood brown,  It's helpful to have a photo of a real deck to refer to.
I don't have a picture of when I started painting the deck but have included one of the hull which has been primed and I am beginning to paint the first of the planks.
 
I will dig out one of my old Revell kits and experiment with those decks to see how it works with a coarser molded grain and raised seam lines.  it may well be very different but I think there are things you could do to adjust for it.  
 
Painting the deck in this way is labor intensive but it's not difficult and kind of fun.
 
hope this helps you!

Hi Scott,
I am attaching a  picture of the plastic Black Pearl kit that I did.  If it is the look that you are after I will be happy to tell you how I did it.  I wouldn't say that it's quick, it probably took about at least two or three days full days to paint that deck.  

Hi Scott,
The kit I did this painting on was the Zevzda kit of Black Pearl.  the plastic molding for the grain of the planks is quite restrained and the deck seams are recessed not raised.  This might make a big difference, I have an old Revell kit somewhere in my stash that I will dig out and experiment on this weekend to make sure this will work for you.  I didn't remove the molded grain.  I just primed it with Vallejo Desert Tan primer.  I will give you links for the materials I used from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/primer-Surface-Desert-Tan-oz/dp/B07D3YWP8C/ref=sr_1_5?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1538053906&sr=1-5&keywords=Vallejo+desert+tan+primer
 
Then I used Dahler & Rowney Artists Acrylic Ink for painting with. https://www.amazon.com/Daler-Rowney-Acrylic-Artists-Cool-160029053/dp/B00522XJ8Q/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1538054038&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=artists+acrylic+ink&psc=1&smid=A3G2RBEZBLAJ53
 
I used a palette of Cool Grey, Raw Sienna, Red Earth, Burnt Umber, and Sepia
 
you will need a small palette for mixing the colors https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3O44PB/ref=sxts_kp_lp_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=8778bc68-27e7-403f-8460-de48b6e788fb&pd_rd_wg=JFagP&pf_rd_r=E2QX55ZFNXWJFXS5XE17&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-top-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B01N3O44PB&pd_rd_w=Yox8u&pf_rd_i=plastic+palette&pd_rd_r=b6d4a919-d9bc-45b7-b9b9-7ec76ed1db53&ie=UTF8&qid=1538054264&sr=2
 
The inks are nice to work with in that they each have an eyedropper so you can measure how much of each color you are putting in the palette.
you will mix the colors in your palette to get a range of color.  for instance, in the first holder you might put 10 drops of Cool Grey in the next holder mix the cool grey say 7 drops with 3 drops of raw sienna.  (It's been a few years since I did this, I don't remember the ratios I used but that's the idea.)  go around the pallet making a range of color. 
 
With a small brush paint each plank individually and vary the color just slightly.  
 
with the inks you can get whatever tone you want, from a weathered grey to more of a wood brown,  It's helpful to have a photo of a real deck to refer to.
I don't have a picture of when I started painting the deck but have included one of the hull which has been primed and I am beginning to paint the first of the planks.
 
I will dig out one of my old Revell kits and experiment with those decks to see how it works with a coarser molded grain and raised seam lines.  it may well be very different but I think there are things you could do to adjust for it.  
 
Painting the deck in this way is labor intensive but it's not difficult and kind of fun.
 
hope this helps you!

Apologies to those, who have seen this picture before. Below is an example that shows a 'resin' model painted to resemble wood and being 'weathered' as described above. The prototype would have been given a coat of wood tar all over during its work-days, hence the the brownish appearance. The lower picture shows the model after applying the primary 'wood' colour.
 

 

Hi Scott,
I am attaching a  picture of the plastic Black Pearl kit that I did.  If it is the look that you are after I will be happy to tell you how I did it.  I wouldn't say that it's quick, it probably took about at least two or three days full days to paint that deck.  

Hi Scott,
I am attaching a  picture of the plastic Black Pearl kit that I did.  If it is the look that you are after I will be happy to tell you how I did it.  I wouldn't say that it's quick, it probably took about at least two or three days full days to paint that deck.  

Hello again to all, and thank you all for staying with me on this journey of the SS Michelangelo project which ends with this final segment.   My efforts are now focused on the next project, the USS/SS Leviathan, which you can follow by clicking on the new link in my signature, below.
 
As the last segment ended I had made up and installed the three types of lights around the ship.  The final detail was the rigging.  This was fairly simple and consisted of only two types, the stays and the radio antenna. 

The stays were of three different weights, but all were made up in the same way.  The lowest shrouds for the two masts and their forestays were done with Accu-Flex stainless steel beading wire in 0.0095” diameter, while the middle backstays were done in the slightly smaller 0.007” diameter.  Despite these small sizes they are each laid up from 7 strands of stainless steel wire wrapped in a clear plastic coating.  They look like metal because they are metal.  The uppermost backstays and the lifts for the spars are made from silver fly tying line, about 0.005”. 
 
Each line was secured with a scale turnbuckle made from a small piece of brass tubing.  The line was fed through the body of the turnbuckle, then through a small eyebolt twisted up from iron wire, then back through the turnbuckle tube.  After the shaft of the eyebolt is glued in place the wire is pulled taut and the tube slid down to lock it in place.  Then it is simply glued and the excess line clipped off and the turnbuckle painted silver.  For size comparison, the background is a normal paper towel with its embossed pattern.

Here is the finished model with the stays installed.  The radio lines are black so they do not show up here.

Taking a tour of the ship, here is the forward half with the winches, hatches, and cargo cranes of the bow working deck.

The midships area has the main pool, the boats, and those 3-D printed cages for the funnels.

And the stern, with the two smaller pools and the numerous complicated light poles.

Viewed from dead astern I can see just a little wobble in the upper green stripe, but overall I am quite happy with her.

And of course, the obligatory shot from low on the bow.

The final decision was how to display and case her.  I located a nice mahogany case on line and had it shipped from Vietnam.  The shiny aluminum pedestals nicely set off the colors of the model, but the light maple wood base that I first selected just did not go.  It did not match any of the colors, and made the model look too high in the case.

Instead, I refinished the base to match the mahogany case and the results were, I think, a significant improvement.

So now it is ready to motor off to someone else’s collection.  I will be contacting brokers who deal in ship models to see if there is any interest.  Frankly, my wife will not mind if it does not sell.  She thinks it looks perfect on our sideboard.  I have to agree, though I say it who shouldn’t.

Meanwhile, I will be posting my progress on the Leviathan project.  If you enjoyed this journey with me, I invite your participation, comments and suggestions on that one, as always.
 
And as always, be well.
 
Dan