garym

Good evening everyone
 
The kit is ordered, the Deluxe PE kits is not available in the UK at present, should be another couple of weeks
The Victory is safe and secure for a while, and will be finished
The Workroom has had a bit of a make over as well, i put a window in at the weekend, at last i have some natural light in there and a different carpet as the one i had, it was impossible to find anything when dropped onto it, 
 
research 
 
http://www.ipmsstockholm.se/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2250&start=30
http://www.kbismarck.com/models/
 
http://3dhistory.de/wordpress/3d-models/dkm-bismarck/bismarck-high-res
 
http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=144178
http://www.bismarck-class.dk/shipmodels/shipmodels_menu.html
https://www.facebook.com/BismaarckModell148Scale/photos_stream
http://www.bismarck-class.dk/shipmodels/shipmodels_menu.html

Hi Nigel, here's a few pics of my old Norske Love, she's been uncased for many years, and has to have a periodic dusting, but I'm still very fond of the old girl as she marks my first foray into wooden kit building
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Hope you find them of use
 
 
B.E.

I have been using my electric plank bender for over 20 years and would be lost without it.  I did buy a solid state soldering iron control unit to be able to adjust the temperature.  Over time i have accumulated a number of forms I use to control the shape and I have also managed to burn myself a number of times.  
 
Not only do I use it for bending, it is quite useful as an aid for setting the PVA glue quicker. For example, when planking, I will use soak the plank and use the bender and forms to approximate the shape I want.  I then coat the back of the plank with PVA as well as place some drops of CA on the frames or bulkheads where the plank will reside. Using the CA eliminates needing clamps or nails to hold it in place.  Once the plank is in place I then run the bender over it to heat up the plank and speed up the drying of the PVA and getting a good seam with the plank already in place.  Using that method there is no wait time between applying planks and if done carefully, it helps to eliminate a lot of the bulges and dips that seem to occur between planks.

Water finally comes, and it seems everything is backing in normal.

I made some calculation : there will be about 3500-4000 individual plates 4x10 mm. Over 30 "rivets" on each ... more than 100.000 rivets ... game of large numbers ...

Aproxsimately 2 min per plate to draw, cut, rivet, place and glue, in best conditions

8.000 minutes = 130 working hours, approximately two working hours per day = 60-70 working days = more than 3 months (I do not work every day)

What I calculate wrong? This is impossible

Forecastle deck is fixed....  (after 3? months...)  I will not do nibbing here, I installed covering margin planks.  I think I found a happy medium at where the forcastle deck rests ....
 
Anyhow, I'm done with this step;  just need the iron frames on the inside of this area...
 
~Bob

Hello everybody,
 
now, after my two weeks sailing trip, I will show you the result of my work just before my holidays.
 
 
The foremast is assembled now. Some small details are still missing, but beside of this ...
First a small collection of the bigger parts, the mast consists of ...
 

 
 
And so it looks like, assembled together ...
 
 

 
 
here a feaw pictures from the lower mast with the extra platform for signal lamps ...
 

 

 

 
 
At the saling there are a few interesting parts:
through the bottom of the topgallant mast there is a diagonal incision through which there leads a steel cable which is fixed at the mast cap on both sides. By veering this cable, the topgallant mast can be let down. You can see this on the real ship in the following links.
 
http://www.congedativespucci.it/galleria/camp2008/112.html
http://www.congedativespucci.it/galleria/camp2008/126.html
http://www.congedativespucci.it/galleria/camp2008/127.html
 

 

 
 
In addition to the previous pictures, I had to correct the saling a bit, because the saling consists of a rounded part in front of it, where a opening is inside, up to the mast. Through this opening a big wooden block is pressed in order to fix the topgallant mast in position. Also to the right and left of the mast the wooden blocks fix the mast.
 

 
 
At top of the mast there is fixed a flagstaff, a bit to the side. Through the cap of the flagstaff are going 2x2 holes through which halyards for the flags run through. 
 

 
 
Now a few pictures from the upper mast. Within the topgallant mast there is also a pulley for the halyard of the topgallant yard. Directely below the saling there is another pulley for the halyard of the upper top sail yard. The halyard of the royal yard is lead through a block (which has alreade to be build) on the side of the top of the mast.
 

 

 
 
Now I can continue with the other masts.
 
Bye, Joachim

Hi Everyone,
 
I have moved on from the almost-disaster and have completed the anchors, all the ratlines and the remaining rigging of the foremast. I have primarily been working on the main-mast off the ship, doing all but the lower shrouds and ratlines and adding all the required blocks. Today I started tapering the spars.
 

 

 

 

Gary, I always try to find a way to complicate my life

Hi All
 
I am still sorting this cobwebb out called rigging rope ,
 
But getting the hang of it ( I think ).
 
Denis.

Hi All
 
99% of the main mast to foremast finished, just some on the outside of the main yard that will be done at a later date.
 
Just started the shroud lines.
 
Denis.

Dip the end of the thread in some cyano glue then cut the thread at an angle. Acts like a needle,will pull through easily.
 
Dave

MY VASA IS FINISHED!!! 
 
I myself can't believe it but it's TRUE! It's finally done!!! 
 
The feeling of proud and accomplishment one gets when finishing a 1200+ hour project is exhilarating.
 
Photo heavy thread. Sorry!

I have been busy for the last several weeks primarily assembling and installing most of the deck fittings. I ran into a problem with the bell tower. I had the wood components but I could not locate the brass columns and the bell. I have tried to be very careful with all of the kit components, but although I searched diligently, I could not find them. I had 4 surplus brass columns from a previous build, and although not exactly the same I used them and they worked pretty well. I have ordered a bell from Cornwall Model Boats, and will install it as soon as it arrives.
 
While searching for the bell tower parts I came across a carved lifeboat hull that also came from a previous build, and since it seemed to be about the right size, I decided to use it. I made the rest of the parts from scratch but couldn't make oars that looked right. Along with the bell, I ordered some from Cornwall. I also installed the rudder with a lot less problem than I thought I would have.
 
The ship is so heavy now that I finally put it permanently in its cradle. The kit's cradle is somewhat ugly, but I dressed it up with a brass nameplate holder I had. I used Photoshop to create an appropriate label and glued it on.
 
Next, it is on to assembling and installing the 50 chain plates required. Assembling the components requires soldering, and soldering is not my strong point. Not only is there soldering, but itsy-bitsy somewhat neat joints are required. I have gathered solder, flux and a decent soldering iron  and will give it a try tomorrow.
 
On the theory that a picture is worth a 1000 words, here are four:
 

 

 

 

Hi everyone,
 
I have been working for the last couple of weeks on completing the gun port covers, attaching them to the hull, and inserting the cannons into the previously installed support blocks. Very tedious, but I finally have finished.
 
It all went pretty well, but I wish I had used slightly smaller line for the ropes used to raise the covers. When I started it looked right, but I couldn't get the line to look taut, as it should with the weight of the cover pulling against it.
 
Oh well! Hopefully there is so much bling on the ship that no one will notice except in really close-up pictures. Also, I really should have dusted before taking the pictures.
 

 

The mizen mast rigging in complete along with the flag, poop deck flag, and any remaining running rigging not previously completed. I have tied my last clove hitch on this baby.    
The only thing left is to fish the anchors and maybe add some crew members (not decided yet). I have to research what the color scheme was for clothing.
 
Vince P.

Since I am rigging her as authentic as possible, the mizen topmast and topgallant forestays will be some of the most complex rigging of the whole ship. There are 4 stays and each has 4 sections. The trick is to get all of the blocks even and the whole thing as tight as possible. Assembling the stays on the mast would be very hard, so I decided to build them on a jig first. It was not too difficult this way, and they are coming out pretty uniform.
 
Vince P.

Hi Andy,
Looking very nice. I too had to modify many of the ornamental pieces because they did not fit. In some cases it was necessary to rearrange the metal striping in order to make the spaces larger because they were so far off. I also found that the diagrams provided that tell you where each piece goes were incorrect in several places and had the wrong pieces in places. I referred to other museum models to get the correct locations. Watch out for the stern pieces as the instructions are way off. The metal strips are not correct and the pieces will not even come close to fitting. Again, I used other models on line to get the proper design for the metal strips, and then the pieces did fit perfectly.
 
Vince P.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I have started on the brass fittings and so far things are going quite well. As usual, the directions provided by the instruction manual are not correct, and many of the fittings do not fit in the space provided, but a little grinding takes care of that problem.
 
I came across a portion of an article in Ships in Scale Magazine written by William Mowll that so precisely echoes my thoughts about model ship building that I thought I would share it here:
 
"To my mind, models are like three dimensional pictures, and all artists strive above all else, to make their pictures or portraits tell a single story. There has to be a binding factor if the all important message of the picture is not to be lost in a confusion of detail. We have all seen models which have often been professionally made and are more or less perfect in their presentation, but have no soul or bite to them. So what is it that gives a model that precious gem-like quality which manages somehow to take one's breath away?
 
I think it has to do with unity; The scene which the model creates must, in spite of all its detail, send a single clear message to the viewer. This means finding a medium which will encompass all the single parts which go to make up the whole model. If there is a detail which stands out from all the others - however beautiful or however long it took you to make - don't allow it to confuse the over arching message."

Hi Vince
On behalf of all the model builders out there that are building or thinking of building  the Mantua SOS.
I  would like to thank you for all the photos and diagrams  that you have posted on your log.
Just a fantastic build and a craftsman model maker at its best .
 
Denis.

The belay diagram in the kit plans is incorrect and incomplete if you are going to full rig her and add sails. I am drawing diagrams for each mast and yard. Attached is the first. It is for the foremast lower yard and sail. I mislabeled the drawing. It should say Foremast Lower Yard and not Topsail Yard.
 
Vince P.

Cheers
 
I did in fact weigh the Victory when at Amati. We placed bets on its weight. I was convinced it weighed around 20kg, and so were some others.
 
It actually weighed 8kg! I was very surprised. Vanguard did feel a lot lighter, though, so that must be perhaps 5-6kg.
 
As for complexity, Victory is much more complex than Vanguard, but that doesn't translate as difficult. I guess if you have no plans/instructions for Vanguard, there's a good chance you could still build it, being a fairly conventional kit. For Victory, you will need to follow the instructions and drawings, as there are many parts that look similar, but are not. Revenge is quite easy to build, the easiest of the three, I think - but when I say 'easy', I really mean less time to build - there is nothing too difficult about any of them - not like the old days when you had to shape a lot of the parts yourself.
 
I did ask about Cutty Sark - this will be a kit at some point, that's all I know.

I love the Van De Velde drawings - one of my favourite and most treasured of books is Frank Fox's Great Ships - The Battle fleet of Charles II. I used this for reference for a few Prince changes, like the small protruding stern gallery that's not shown on the original model - but I trust the De Velde sketches, I regard them as almost as good as actual photographs for reference.
 
I am seeing Amati soon, so I'll see what's going on regarding future projects...

Can i carry your bags?

OK, finished!
 
Well, almost - still needs a figurehead and carronades, but apart from that, it is done - now I have months of PC based work to look forward to.
 
Sorry about the quality of the pics (and background) - we can now renovate the room with nice oak flooring and putting some colour on the walls (and changing those awful curtains..), now that I have just vacated the space.
 
Will be taking it at the end of October - have to admit that it doesn't seem that big now, after having it around for so long - almost become part of the furniture.
 








 
Need to find a nice sturdy base to attach it to..

Chris,
 
I would recommend including a set of flags with the kit, but not sails. I have always included flags (and pennants) with my models. I think they are a nice "finishing touch." For those who would want to make sails, a plan set included with the kit would be nice. If the interest is high, Amati can always make a full suit of actual cut sails available as an option.
 
Assuming you drive the completed Vic to Italy this Fall, I understand your job is basically done. I get that you can't accurately guess on how long it will take to put this model into production - however.... can you (please) tell us how long it took Amati to get the Vanguard (or the Pegasus) into kit boxes?
 
Ron