husky1943

Howdy Ya'll,
 
This is my Revell Mayflower that I have been building on for a while.  I had this very same kit when I was very young, and I never finished it.  In fact, I built it up just enough to fill it with pennies, float it out in our lake and then sink it with gun fire from my pellet gun (true story).  Anyway, I promised myself to build it again and actually finish it.  Sorry that it isn't really a build from the beginning, but here it is.  Just started doing the rigging.  This one is going to be a straight build OOB.

Howdy Yall,
 
an update on my modest effort at the Mayflower.  Got the ratlines (didn't know they were pronounced "rat-lins.")  Although they are better than the hard plastic, I really didn't care for them.  Plus the fact that my fingers get really huge up in them tight spaces!!

Howdy Ya'll,
 
This is my Revell Mayflower that I have been building on for a while.  I had this very same kit when I was very young, and I never finished it.  In fact, I built it up just enough to fill it with pennies, float it out in our lake and then sink it with gun fire from my pellet gun (true story).  Anyway, I promised myself to build it again and actually finish it.  Sorry that it isn't really a build from the beginning, but here it is.  Just started doing the rigging.  This one is going to be a straight build OOB.

Howdy Ya'll,
 
So, I have all the sails up on her, and I am starting the rigging.  It would be nice to have either a bigger model or smaller hands, but since I have neither, patience is what I need.  So, I finished the forward rigging, and I am not happy with it at all. The line that I used is too thick and the lines - EVERY STINKING LINE - came up slack.  I hate it, but there is nothing that I can do.  So, I soldier on finishing up the rest of the rigging.  The nice thing is that at a good distance, it looks nice.  Oh well, lesson learned.  Yup, for the next model, all masts and yards are either being made out of wood somehow or I'm reinforcing them to the point that they won't bend with the rigging.  Happy Sunday everyone!  
 
Ciao for now
Rob

The sails....  Ah, they did not "weather" the years well.  Anyhoo, some of them have some cracks in them.  I just put clear tape on them, and figured that they were patched canvas.  Then I colored them.  The instructions suggested that I use a green wash.  Green wash?  I didn't really get that, so I used shades of tan to give them some subtle color.  Then I painted some areas a little darker to show patched canvas.  Thoughts? 
 
However, my intention is to install as many blocks as possible ahead of time so that I will save me from having to reach too deep inside the rigging. Plus, I read on here somewhere (hat tip to the person that wrote it) that I should rig from bottom to top and from inside to out.  So, I am looking at the plans and trying to figure out how I am going to accomplish the rigging. 
 
As a closing thought - I have realized that keeping the rigging uniformly taught is a real REAL pain at times.  I think on my next build (which will be an improvement on this one hopefully) I will try and use dowels for the masts.  Again, I saw how a person even showed the difference by hanging weights on a plastic mast and a dowel, and the difference was amazing.  But, I must finish this one first. 
 
Finally, seriously thanks to everyone who posts on this site.  I have learned so much from so many.  I am really glad to be back doing something that I really loved doing.  This hobby makes me happy

Now, I'm up to installing the blocks and the sails.  However, I want to install as many blocks as I can BEFORE I install any sails.  I am afraid that once the sails are in place, then I am going to have a problem seeing and reaching everything.  We'll see.  While this is just an introduction, I am learning, and I can tell you several things.
 
1)  Cleaning blocks and other very tiny parts is a chore.  Especially when they are steeped in flash!  Good grief, was there no "QA" in 1966? 
2) Thank God for Superglue.
3) I am going to have to create some tools for "reaching" inside the boat to get this rigging done! And,
4) Perfection is NOT something that I am going to be able to achieve.  While plenty of others on this site have the talent to achieve it, I am not one of them.  Makes me appreciate their skill all that much more. 
5)  I retired from the Navy, but am not really versed in square-rigged ship anatomy.  Never too old to learn! 
 
It's good to have helpers, even if all they do is nap while I do stuff.  They keep me company, though!

Howdy Yall,
 
an update on my modest effort at the Mayflower.  Got the ratlines (didn't know they were pronounced "rat-lins.")  Although they are better than the hard plastic, I really didn't care for them.  Plus the fact that my fingers get really huge up in them tight spaces!!

Started the rigging on this bad boy, and it took me well over two hours just to get this done.  Working on something this delicate makes me feel like I have pillows for hands!
 
This model, because of its age (I guess) actually has soft plastic ratlines, instead of the clunky hard plastic ones.  They don't really look all that great, but once I got the knack of installing them, they are going a bit faster. 
 
If you notice in one of the pictures, the bulkhead is warped slightly (the handrail on the top deck).  I was painting, and I learned a long time ago to speed up drying times by using my wife's hair dryer.  Well, plastic melts from heat (Yes, I felt really stupid, but not stupid enough to try and melt it back to being straight).
 
And yup, this model is nearly as old as I am!

Howdy Ya'll,
 
This is my Revell Mayflower that I have been building on for a while.  I had this very same kit when I was very young, and I never finished it.  In fact, I built it up just enough to fill it with pennies, float it out in our lake and then sink it with gun fire from my pellet gun (true story).  Anyway, I promised myself to build it again and actually finish it.  Sorry that it isn't really a build from the beginning, but here it is.  Just started doing the rigging.  This one is going to be a straight build OOB.

Hey SomethingIsFishy!  Well, have you posted anything on the builder's log yet?  I am building the same thing, and I wanted to compare notes!  So far, I am using the plastic masts, and if I had to do it all over again, I would have replaced them with wood.  The biggest problem I have is trying to makes the lines nice and tight and straight without pulling the mast all over the place and keeping all the other lines tight.  Annoying at times.  Good luck with it and get some photos up on the site.
 
Ciao for now
Rob

Good Morning everyone,
 
I was looking at Snoepert's interpretation of the Sovereign of the Seas, and it got me to thinking....isn't displacement a wonderful thing.  I mean, in looking at such gorgeous ships as the Sovereign of the Seas, Le Soleil Royale or the Vasa, it's hard to believe that these top-heavy girls could even float, much less glide over open ocean.  Reminds me of when I was on a carrier.  I think that she weighed like 90,000 tons or something like that, and yet she could handle anything (even the edges of Hurricanes!)  Amazing.  However, these older boats must have been very impressive to see pull into port with all the gilding and ornamentation.  Better still, you talented people that render real works of art that show in miniature how beautiful these vessels truly were.  Beats the heck out of virtual reality!!
 
I guess Ya'll's talent left me awestruck for a moment. 
 
Ciao for now
Rob

Hey SomethingIsFishy!  Well, have you posted anything on the builder's log yet?  I am building the same thing, and I wanted to compare notes!  So far, I am using the plastic masts, and if I had to do it all over again, I would have replaced them with wood.  The biggest problem I have is trying to makes the lines nice and tight and straight without pulling the mast all over the place and keeping all the other lines tight.  Annoying at times.  Good luck with it and get some photos up on the site.
 
Ciao for now
Rob

Good Morning everyone,
 
I was looking at Snoepert's interpretation of the Sovereign of the Seas, and it got me to thinking....isn't displacement a wonderful thing.  I mean, in looking at such gorgeous ships as the Sovereign of the Seas, Le Soleil Royale or the Vasa, it's hard to believe that these top-heavy girls could even float, much less glide over open ocean.  Reminds me of when I was on a carrier.  I think that she weighed like 90,000 tons or something like that, and yet she could handle anything (even the edges of Hurricanes!)  Amazing.  However, these older boats must have been very impressive to see pull into port with all the gilding and ornamentation.  Better still, you talented people that render real works of art that show in miniature how beautiful these vessels truly were.  Beats the heck out of virtual reality!!
 
I guess Ya'll's talent left me awestruck for a moment. 
 
Ciao for now
Rob

Hey SomethingIsFishy!  Well, have you posted anything on the builder's log yet?  I am building the same thing, and I wanted to compare notes!  So far, I am using the plastic masts, and if I had to do it all over again, I would have replaced them with wood.  The biggest problem I have is trying to makes the lines nice and tight and straight without pulling the mast all over the place and keeping all the other lines tight.  Annoying at times.  Good luck with it and get some photos up on the site.
 
Ciao for now
Rob

Good Morning everyone,
 
I was looking at Snoepert's interpretation of the Sovereign of the Seas, and it got me to thinking....isn't displacement a wonderful thing.  I mean, in looking at such gorgeous ships as the Sovereign of the Seas, Le Soleil Royale or the Vasa, it's hard to believe that these top-heavy girls could even float, much less glide over open ocean.  Reminds me of when I was on a carrier.  I think that she weighed like 90,000 tons or something like that, and yet she could handle anything (even the edges of Hurricanes!)  Amazing.  However, these older boats must have been very impressive to see pull into port with all the gilding and ornamentation.  Better still, you talented people that render real works of art that show in miniature how beautiful these vessels truly were.  Beats the heck out of virtual reality!!
 
I guess Ya'll's talent left me awestruck for a moment. 
 
Ciao for now
Rob

More progress on my journey

It has become the golden era of decoration
This vessel must have been the eight wonder of the world

I have started to work further on this project and now I have the complete set of parts there will be nothing stopping me

Further work has been done to the mid deck. I have painted the wales and forecastle walls .

Hi ,
This is my first attempt to show my progress on the forum. Excuse me if it is a little grey.
First off I am delighted with the kit supplied by De Agostini in magazine form although it is a bit annoying that we must wait for the monthly delivery.
I have built thee RED BARON in the same manner and it came out pretty good.
The SOS is the first undertaking of this scale and I have built two previous wooden kits: One from Holand and it was a BOTTER boat and the other is the PORT JACKSON supplied by Modellers Shipyard.
I would like at this stage to sincerely thank Fifthace and Tomick at this stage for the advice on many aspects of the build, I have certainly become the wiser after reading their notes and photo's
I am posting the photos of the work I have carried out so far on the SOS for any comments or suggestions.
 
Till the next post,
Snoepert

The gaff topsail is set and it draws. I made two little changes to the kits instructions.
 
The tack was led from the sheave on the outer part of the gaff directly to the block on deck. I couldn't make any sense of that block which the kit fastens on a long line from the inner end of the gaff leading the tack towards the deck. According to the KISS principle I left it off.
Another block was added because I didn't want to lead the sheet directly onto its belaying pin. By leading it through a block on deck I could half the pull on the pin and had an arrangement similar to the sheet and the tack.
 
After setting the sail I made a sailor go to the topmast to illustrate the difficulties one would have working on a topsail lashed to the topmast (don't ask me how the poor sailor got there and back). Now I think more than ever that the topsail set flying, as the kit does, would have been the sensible solution for a racing machine.
 

lower corner with sheet attached
 

top halliard (the slim hook is a leftover Caldercraft part)
 

mast foot with additional block for the sheet
 

the sail is set and the simplified leading of the tack clearly visible
 

this working station looks scary even under calm harbour conditions

The fifth one, from Ancre.fr,  and I forgot, I have a  sixth book , containing  almost 550 pages about the construction with photos.
 
I did not think that there would be comments on this first post. So, thank you. Occasionnally I like to consolidate the experience  of the last years.
 
Some peoples saw the construction of the V3.0_74_ 1/24 in the MSW1.0 forum.
For those who did not see the other models, there are :
 
V1.0_ 74_1/192, to give you an idea about the diameter of the figurehead, it is about ¼ of the diameter of a small finger.
 
V2.0_ 74_ 1/48, this model is represented at port during winter. (Here in Quebec, this year it  will probably the year with the most snow the way it is looking today)
 
V3.0_74_ 1/24, this model is made from many kinds of domestic and exotics woods.
 
V4.0_74_ 1/24, Depending of the content of the fifth book, a choice will be made to see which 74 will be represented. The only kind of exotic wood I still like to buy is a orange amaranth which smell vanilla when we sand it. But it is to use for ship modeling. For this build, 100% cherry wood will be use. I beleive that cherry wood is a suitable wood for our activity. In the last build I done, a 64 guns, cherry wood was also use. Among the comments, only 1 people, from France, did not like the choice of cherry. Some are very strict about customs. Somebody wrote in another forum that the only scale you can use 1/48 and that the only woods you can use is pear wood and boxwood. To stay polite, I will say that I think in life we need to see broader horizon.
 
In the structure there is no problem, it is only in the outside planking that, careful  choice must be use to select the grain. If this rule is well applied, then I would say that cherry wood is perfectly suited to use for model ship construction.
 
What did I learn working at different scales; the bigger the scale the easier the work, and the reason is pretty simple : it is easier to work a piece of wood if we can hold it with all the hand fingers instead of only 2.
 
What is the best tool I tried?  It is not for any reson if the jewelers work at  a higher height, closer to their eyes, it is to see better the small parts. Height adjustable table is probably one of the best tool. To have the part at the good height makes the work easier  and also the work can be done  with less effortsthus inducing less fatigue.
 
 It enters in the category of the when ‘’you try it, you keep it.’’ Mike found probably the best source to buy an adjtable height table : IKEA. To make it simple, you can buy 3 kinds : 2-3 height position, handle height adjusting and electric adjusting table.
 
In the small category, my  prefered 2 tools I like to use are the scalpel with #11 blade. This tool is a great mystery in itself. Even if it is the best small knife available, most people on this forum prefer to use  the commercialised hobby knife : Exacto. I guess to understand you need  to compare side to side the performance, then  you can see that an exacto blade is far from being as sharp as a scalpel blade.
 
The other one is the proportional divider. This tool comes back occasionally on the forum. The last time I saw comments about this tool, I observed that  there is still a lot of education to do about this tool. I am far from being sure that everybody understands the real uses  of this tool. But the nice thing about this forum :  is that forum is a great educational tool.
 

Thanks Fright!  Again, I really appreciate the tip AND I do agree that I am standing on the shoulders of giants around here.  I have learned a lot.  Indeed, I went onto the Hobby Lobby website, and they had a pack of 70 eyepins for $1.50!!!  I think they were already black, too.  And thanks for the illustration.  I actually use a sharpie!   
 
Ciao for now
Rob

Here's a pic of my eye pins that I purchased. I spray them flat black and have to touch up sometimes - the pro's use a blackening agent. You can find the 'eye' in a several mm sizes. The length runs about 1"-2". Just snip where you need to and SAVE the pins! They can come in handy. I used them to fabricate my baffle on the stove's smoke funnel. Also, check out the book, "Anatomy of the Ship: The 44-Gun Frigate USS Constitution" by Karl Heinz Marquardt.  It's not a 100% accurate, but darn close with some excellent clear diagrams that one can follow.
 
 

Thanks Rob - no genius but good listener! LOL After reading a lot of tips and suggestions by other modelers on sites like this, it will help things along with modeling. I've come a long way because of some great advice by some very talented people.