Vivian Galad

Hey all! Did some progress today and I´ll bring some pictures on.
 
   First of all, worked on my anchors, and don´t know why found them cute. Some time sanding, some time polishing, then painted them black, as all my metallic fittings. The wooden part was made from two 3x3mm pieces tied together - all again, sanded, varnished and closed with the ropes, waxed to get dark.
 

 
  Had the water pump to do the same, so, I did. Sanded, polished and painted it black. Fixed it to the appointed place on plans and it looks that way:
 

 
  Mizzen alone don´t have the power over mizzen sail, so, there it is, a tail to hold the sail.
 

 
  The rudder got its driving bar and got some seccurity ropes (so I think it is). Bar made from a 4x4mm wooden strip, sculpted to fit in. Ropes got trough brass fittings attached to the hull and rudder.
 

 

 
  Finished my anchors and windlass with ropes and all. Satisfied with the results.
 

 

 
  Did that oops fixing to my cannons and learned a bit about making holes without thinking about the use for them...
 

 
  Now my caravel got that look
 

 
   Tomorrow I hope will work on sails, to let them ready for the final effort. I´ll varnish the hull once more, with a marine varnish, after filling the small gaps that are still there, too. Seems she´s getting ready to explore the Atlantic.

Well, well. Seems I started it all wrong, but I´m trying to right the wrongs. Here are my modelling to the present day.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Sorry for my lack of description, I´ll try to write it from now on.

Well, well. Some little progress in the last few days. As I said, was working on my sails and here I bring my first one finished.
 
Two 4mmX24mm sticks brought together with glue and lines. Got them waxed so to look as weathered ropes.

 
In detail

 
Mizzen sail on the beginning

 
Detailing the wood to what I wanted it to look - lots of sanding and two layers of wax.

 
And my first sail ready.

Well, well. Some little progress in the last few days. As I said, was working on my sails and here I bring my first one finished.
 
Two 4mmX24mm sticks brought together with glue and lines. Got them waxed so to look as weathered ropes.

 
In detail

 
Mizzen sail on the beginning

 
Detailing the wood to what I wanted it to look - lots of sanding and two layers of wax.

 
And my first sail ready.

Well, well. Some little progress in the last few days. As I said, was working on my sails and here I bring my first one finished.
 
Two 4mmX24mm sticks brought together with glue and lines. Got them waxed so to look as weathered ropes.

 
In detail

 
Mizzen sail on the beginning

 
Detailing the wood to what I wanted it to look - lots of sanding and two layers of wax.

 
And my first sail ready.

Well, well. Some little progress in the last few days. As I said, was working on my sails and here I bring my first one finished.
 
Two 4mmX24mm sticks brought together with glue and lines. Got them waxed so to look as weathered ropes.

 
In detail

 
Mizzen sail on the beginning

 
Detailing the wood to what I wanted it to look - lots of sanding and two layers of wax.

 
And my first sail ready.

Hi Vivian, your lateen yard and sail look great! 
 
Duff

Well, well. Some little progress in the last few days. As I said, was working on my sails and here I bring my first one finished.
 
Two 4mmX24mm sticks brought together with glue and lines. Got them waxed so to look as weathered ropes.

 
In detail

 
Mizzen sail on the beginning

 
Detailing the wood to what I wanted it to look - lots of sanding and two layers of wax.

 
And my first sail ready.

Well, well. Some little progress in the last few days. As I said, was working on my sails and here I bring my first one finished.
 
Two 4mmX24mm sticks brought together with glue and lines. Got them waxed so to look as weathered ropes.

 
In detail

 
Mizzen sail on the beginning

 
Detailing the wood to what I wanted it to look - lots of sanding and two layers of wax.

 
And my first sail ready.

Well, well. Some little progress in the last few days. As I said, was working on my sails and here I bring my first one finished.
 
Two 4mmX24mm sticks brought together with glue and lines. Got them waxed so to look as weathered ropes.

 
In detail

 
Mizzen sail on the beginning

 
Detailing the wood to what I wanted it to look - lots of sanding and two layers of wax.

 
And my first sail ready.

Hi Matti-
I have an iPhone app called Camera + that does a nice job enhancing low light pictures. I hope you don't mind me altering your low light museum pics to help show the details. One thing is for sure - you are doing an amazing job with the details!
 

Well the Holidays are over and I made some modest but significant progress on Bounty.  I finished staining all the ribs and glued them into the false keel.  Despite my diligence in making sure they were perpendicular and spaced according to the plans, when the process was over I was only 90% satisfied with my work.  The first issue I had was the spacing between ribs.  I had to place temporary spacers (made of matchsticks) between a couple of them to achieve the desired space.  When I took the spacers out the flexibility of the ribs went back to being off by a mm or two.  I decided not to sweat this as I figure the notches on each level of decking will be spaced properly and these ribs will flex enough to slide into them.  The more troubling issue (and I still cannot understand what caused it) was that one of the beams, cut to perfect length, would not sit level between its two ribs.  As can be seen in two of the pics, I solved this with a small piece of wood glued to the top of the knee.  I am wondering, and seeking advice, on possible causes.  I know the laser cut notches in the rib and the false keel are pretty well cut and result in a squared up mating; no play side to side which would have thrown the two knees out of level.  I did take a swipe with 320 sandpaper over most surfaces and edges of all these ribs, but nothing close to removing that much material.  So my conclusion (without being arrogant for a newcomer to the hobby) is that sometimes S happens at the factory and this may be one of them.  I fully expect that along the way there will be times when imperfections in the kit and mistakes I make will need to be remedied.  The other question I have re this fault, is did I choose the best way to fix it?  I couldn't think of any other, so I'm interested to hear if others have had to do something similar.
 
So now with the forward 7 ribs, stiffeners and beams in place I am ready to plank the lower deck and put it in place.  I've done a dry run with the unplanked deck halves and the fit is nice.  The deck sits atop all the beams flat and the only gap there is is from the flexibility of the plywood.  This will either come true when the planking is glued to it or I will apply some small weight to it from atop which puts it flat onto the beam.  I'm coming to expect that these thin pieces of ply will always have some flex or warp to them.
 
Questions I have before I dive into the planking and placing of this lower deck:
1.  Is it best to plank from the center line out since this is the straight edge?
2.  The instructions recommend contact glue to affix the planks to the underlying deck pieces.  Is there agreement from all that this is the best?
3.  Should each plank be coated, then placed on the deck separately or can they all be coated then set aside as each is laid in place?  I forget exactly how contact glue works (I'll experiment before doing it) but I think the two contact surfaces are allowed to dry before being placed together.  They are easily handled when dry but once contact is made with the other surface its all she wrote.  They stick fast.  Is that how it basically works?
4.  Last question -- what type of glue should be used to secure the deck to the beams, and if white glue, should the entire beam be coated?
 
Thanks for any advice, answers and critique of what I've done.  This is quite fun.
 
 

Magic!!! =D

Doing a little bit of work and watching the NFL Playoffs. I'm a pretty crazy 49ers fan, so I'll be setting the SM aside when that came comes on...

 



 

Like anything else with the Santa Maria there seems to be a variety of speculation regarding pinrails, cleats and the like.  I've had to scan the rigging over and over to try and figure out where these fixtures would have been.  

 

I've also been trying to speculate whether or not the belaying pins are more traditional looking (as they are with more modern ships) or whether they may have been more primitive in nature like some of the cleats appear to be. 

 

So, like the rest of the model I've looked at many of the builds and references that are our there and then pressed on with what I think works best while maintaining a credible level of accuracy.

 

   

 

 

   

 

I used a 4mm x 4mm piece of walnut and bevelled the top edges. I've stayed away from much ornamentation on this build because I truly believe the Santa Maria had very little. However, I wanted to include a little bit of craftsmanship that I think every vessel would have likely had. So, I used one of my mini pin-files (which sounds redundant) to notch out the top of the posts.

 

 

   

 

I  used a 1mm thick 5mm wide piece of walnut and sanded it at a curve for the rail portion of the piece. I then notched out both the posts and rail to give them a nice tight fit. After staining the entire thing in "Kona" colored stain (to match the weathering I've done on the rest of the ship) I put them all together with the belaying pins.

 

 



 

Although it's not clearly seen here, I mounted the entire piece in the same method that I've done railings and stanchions - which is to drill and mount pins in the bottom of the posts, drill corresponding holes in the deck, then mount the piece with a touch of CVA glue.  It's always a challenge come rigging time to get these pieces to hold well once the running rigging is attached and pulled tight. 

I can't bring myself to paint... Dark stain, sure. Paint... Not so much.
 
-Bug

Moon, fun and satisfaction ^^. Last two days I got on my sails, but no rigging yet. Got like 6 hour just to let the wood the way I want, with some studied imperfections here and there.
 
Ulises, I´m really thankful for your support. Ppl say god is in the details and I like to be some time on the same piece till it is what it deserved to be. Hope in the next ones I can overcome the mistakes I did and learn more, but this caravel will always be my first baby. Besos!

Hey all! Did some progress today and I´ll bring some pictures on.
 
   First of all, worked on my anchors, and don´t know why found them cute. Some time sanding, some time polishing, then painted them black, as all my metallic fittings. The wooden part was made from two 3x3mm pieces tied together - all again, sanded, varnished and closed with the ropes, waxed to get dark.
 

 
  Had the water pump to do the same, so, I did. Sanded, polished and painted it black. Fixed it to the appointed place on plans and it looks that way:
 

 
  Mizzen alone don´t have the power over mizzen sail, so, there it is, a tail to hold the sail.
 

 
  The rudder got its driving bar and got some seccurity ropes (so I think it is). Bar made from a 4x4mm wooden strip, sculpted to fit in. Ropes got trough brass fittings attached to the hull and rudder.
 

 

 
  Finished my anchors and windlass with ropes and all. Satisfied with the results.
 

 

 
  Did that oops fixing to my cannons and learned a bit about making holes without thinking about the use for them...
 

 
  Now my caravel got that look
 

 
   Tomorrow I hope will work on sails, to let them ready for the final effort. I´ll varnish the hull once more, with a marine varnish, after filling the small gaps that are still there, too. Seems she´s getting ready to explore the Atlantic.

Jerome, I´m taking as many pictures as I can. Your cousins are right. Although São Paulo is a mixed city, with people from all around the world, it´s a big international city, with malls and skyscrapers everywhere. Lived 11 years at Cuiabá. Mato Grosso, near the Pantanal (our everglades, lol) and all I can say is that all ppl who lives in São Paulo should live a time out of the city to feel really brazilian.

Hey, Buck, ty! The instructions said to paint the hull almost black. I couldn´t do it to the wood, instead, thought the wax would bring stains but keep the wood visible. If I had painted her black, think I would never look at her with the same admiration.

Well, well. Seems I started it all wrong, but I´m trying to right the wrongs. Here are my modelling to the present day.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Sorry for my lack of description, I´ll try to write it from now on.

Hi Druxey and Woodrat, 
 
Thanks for asking precisely the question I was about to put myself! These ships are indeed truly confusing and without having at least one real example under our nose all this discussion may remain just pure speculation. However, it is very interesting that your model makes us put such good questions and trying find the correct answer. As one friend here on the MSW puts it so nicely, it's not only the model itself, it's mainly the knowledge we gain when building it! 

Another thought. Perhaps the ship in drydock is in the process of being planked and the strakes between the main wales are not yet in place. The square blocks could be the underlying frames. :mellow: Dick

 
The rudder is made of several pieces with wooden battens and metal straps reinforcing. Note the curve of the tiller.

Jeff, I´m in hope my deadeys will be here tomorrow. In the meantime, I´ll work on sails, final varnish for the hull and some minor fixing. Since I modified the kit, I think it´s right to show some comparison to what it was to be by the book and what I wanted her to be. There are not so many things, but to me, they gave the soul she deserved.

Hey all! Did some progress today and I´ll bring some pictures on.
 
   First of all, worked on my anchors, and don´t know why found them cute. Some time sanding, some time polishing, then painted them black, as all my metallic fittings. The wooden part was made from two 3x3mm pieces tied together - all again, sanded, varnished and closed with the ropes, waxed to get dark.
 

 
  Had the water pump to do the same, so, I did. Sanded, polished and painted it black. Fixed it to the appointed place on plans and it looks that way:
 

 
  Mizzen alone don´t have the power over mizzen sail, so, there it is, a tail to hold the sail.
 

 
  The rudder got its driving bar and got some seccurity ropes (so I think it is). Bar made from a 4x4mm wooden strip, sculpted to fit in. Ropes got trough brass fittings attached to the hull and rudder.
 

 

 
  Finished my anchors and windlass with ropes and all. Satisfied with the results.
 

 

 
  Did that oops fixing to my cannons and learned a bit about making holes without thinking about the use for them...
 

 
  Now my caravel got that look
 

 
   Tomorrow I hope will work on sails, to let them ready for the final effort. I´ll varnish the hull once more, with a marine varnish, after filling the small gaps that are still there, too. Seems she´s getting ready to explore the Atlantic.

Finished the brass decorations on the starboard side and the stern.