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KenW

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Everything posted by KenW

  1. KenW
    Thanks Jeff, Dave and Chuck, as well as the 'likes'. Jim: Thanks as well - The instructions say it isn't necessary as the holes are only for a small piece of filiment. The size of my holes (a #78 drill) made for a tight fit. I don't think I could get the filiment all the way through and I didn't want a bigger hole. Cheers.
  2. KenW
    I’m taking part in the group build of Chuck Passaro’s kit of the HMS Medway Longboat. The kit looks to be well made in a way that most experienced modelers will be able to successfully build the model. The directions provided by Chuck are explicit and easy to understand. I’ve started the kit and have completed the keel. I followed Chuck’s instructions and everything went according to plan. I followed the ‘more advanced’ instructions for making the keel. One thing I did that was sort of unusual was the way I determined where to place the bolts at the bow and stern. I made a photocopy of the two areas of the keel with the bolts. I cut out the two places on the photocopy where the bolts were so the cutout fit the thicker keel part. I drilled the holes (using a #78 drill) on the port side since the plans show the port side of the boat. Then I just turned the small photocopy over and used the small holes in the paper to drill the starboard side. I hope I’m being clear in my descriptions. I don’t think my rabbits were 1/32 inches because the 4 thinner pieces were a little thicker that 3/32 inches. But the difference is so small I don't think it will be a problem. The kit is really well designed and I think it will turn into a great build.
  3. KenW
    Hey Jim! Hope to see you at our meeting next week. You are inspiring me to start a build log even though I won’t have much to offer compared to you. Keep up the great work. Cheers.
  4. KenW
    The guns have been mounted on the boat. They look good; the only problem was attaching those hooks on the breaching line onto the little eye bolts. I also glued some deck furniture to the boat. I don't think these pieces will interfere with the task of rigging. I cheated and used diluted glue to keep the lines where I wanted them.
  5. KenW
    Thanks Mike. I’ll look into those Wolfcraft clamps. I enjoy watching your outstanding work. Cheers.
  6. KenW
    Thanks EJ. I’m watching you latest build with interest as well. Your work is excellent. Cheers
  7. KenW
    Mike. I'm always impressed with the quality of your work. What type of clamps do you use and how do you set them up? Too many clamps will leave indentations in the wood. Thanks.
  8. KenW
    Great to see another of your builds of huge ships. You will be making lots of gun ports and carriages, etc. And, I love to watch your carving skills. Very inspirational. Cheers.
  9. KenW
    Great build Bob. It’s really coming along nicely. Cheers.
  10. KenW
    The gun carriages were already assembled and stained. Today I blackened the gun themselves. I used the process described by Dave (DocBlake) in his blog. The first step is to soak the barrels in Acetone for 15 minutes. Then soak for another 15 minutes in Muriatic Acid. Finally, soak each barrel for about 1 minute in JAX Black for Brass, Bronze and Copper Darkener. The result is a very metal looking gun barrel. The photo doesn’t due the color of the guns justice. It’s much blacker in tone and all the details can easily be seen.
  11. KenW
    Thanks. Russ and Jim as well as the ’likes’. I find that carving isn’t so bad if you slow down, divide the piece into smaller parts and keep at it (slowly). Cheers.
  12. KenW
    Hey Dave - My intention is to rigg her including furled sails. We’ll see.
  13. KenW
    The carvings are installed on the hull; as well as the aft cap rail. I also made a tiller. I like the way the boat is shaping up and I think the quarter badges look good. I’m almost ready for the boat to be launched. I need the swivel gun posts and I have to blacken the guns and mount them. The gun carriages are already put together.
  14. KenW
    Thanks Dave. I’m not really that good. As long as you stay about 3-6 feet away it’s OK. Cheers.
  15. KenW
    I carved and assembled the Quarter Badges. If anybody is interested, I used the same technique as I used to carve the stern transom decorations. First, study the plan’s carvings and divide it into several components. Then make a copy of, in this case, the quarter badges from the plans and print several copies. Next make cut outs each component. Glue these small cut outs to the wood you want to carve, and then glue that to a large piece of wood. Carve the component and when you are satisfied, place the piece of wood into Isopropyl Alcohol (91%). After about an hour or so, carefully use your Xacto knife to remove the carving from the piece of wood. Let the carving dry overnight. For my quarter badge I’m making my window on a 1/32 sheet of walnut and glueing the carvings once the window frame is finished. The walnut is a good contrast to the box wood. Once all the pieces are finished and glued, I trimmed the excess walnut and produced a quarter badge. Now, I just have to stain, urethane, and mount the carvings on the boat.
  16. KenW
    Bob: Is there a site to find out what plans are available from the Smithsonian? Sounds like a great resource.
  17. KenW
    Excellent workmanship. Very impressive. If you think that the barrel has too much scheen, try Weathering Power. On a scrap piece, of course. Great gun.
  18. KenW
    Thanks Dave. I'm not sure how much carvings merchant ships had in 1775 either. And, I doubt they would've added some just because they were going into the privateer business. But, like you say, I like the way it looks.
  19. KenW
    I added the various carvings on the stem. I have two cheek knees and a head rail. I left off the middle rail because I felt it made the area look too crowded. The fancy carvings are similar to the kits, but I borrowed the design used by Clair Hess on his model. I like the result. My next task is to explore the possibility of making the quarter badge windows.
  20. KenW
    Thanks Dave. Thanks to the 'likes' as well.
  21. KenW
    Finally, I finished the transom. I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to use the dye-cast metal transom supplied in the AL kit as it was now out of scale. I had to set about making my own. I ran into a problem, however, because I made the windows just a little bit too big. One of the carvings wouldn’t fit. So I left it off and made a variation of the smaller carving to fill in the space. I’m satisfied with the result. A view of the other side with the knees added. The carvings on the stem will be next.
  22. KenW
    Your work looks greag. What is a - "flex shaft with the small pen-sized head" on a Dremel? I saw Mike make belaying pins, I'm never able to get a proper round boxwood strip unless the original piece is square. Cheers.
  23. KenW
    I corrected my error on my earlier entry. The red ensign was used by all civil and military ships not under the command of the Admiral-of-the-Blue or the Admiral-of-the-White.
  24. KenW
    Richmond is correct. That Red Ensign doesn't have the 'red X' for Ireland. You want this one.
  25. KenW
    I made more deck ‘furniture’. First is the bilge pumps. I used the pump kit from Syren’s Cheerful. I made the pumps shorter because I felt the resultant pump looked better on this boat. I added the other stairs for personnel coming aboard over the side. Also, I made the bits, including the main bit with the ship’s bell. The bell is the only item from the original kit that I’ve used. Neither the pumps nor the bits are glued on yet; so they may look akilter. I like the way the bow looks with its ‘side burns’. The transom will be next.

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