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KenW

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Everything posted by KenW

  1. KenW
    January 23, 2021 A few months ago, I said I’d look into the color scheme that I’m using versus what the actual sloop “really” looked like. That turns out to be not an easy chore. Here’s what I’ve found out: The earliest reference I’ve found was an article in , “Sea History”, Fall, 1978. The article was titled, “The Ships of John Paul Jones” by William Gilkerson. It refers to a “Brittish intelligence report describing rebel warships in 1775”. At that time the boat was known as the Katy and was , “A sloop, all black, low and long …”. The boat was taken into the Continental Navy around the first of January, 1776, and renamed the Providence. In May command was given to John Paul Jones. After his first cruise he had the boat “heaved down” which meant it was hauled over on her side to expose her bottom. The hull was scraped clean below the water line, repainted, caulked, tarred and painted. This was done to both sides. The Holman painting that I included in my first post was painted in 1777. His painting clearly shows the boat with tan sides around the gun ports. However, Holman never actually saw the sloop. He did talk to sailors (officers? Men?) but no one knows what information he received. So I guessed that at the same time Jones had the hull scrapped, he had the sides around the gun ports scraped and painted tan so it would look more like a navy ship. I’m not going to paint the dark blue and red stripes as seen in my second posting, since I want to have as much of the hull painted black as possible. No way to know what the boat really looked like, of course, but since I’m the captain, I get to decide for the model.
  2. KenW
    Thanks Mike. Your model really looks great!
  3. KenW
    Hey Mike: You're really doing a great job. I just have a question: For the "The planks that go around the mast partners and coamings", is the angle 45 degrees? Thanks.
  4. KenW
    I’m working on the quarter deck and the stern. They are dependent on each other so I’m doing them concurrently. The quarter deck has another hatch and stairway; both were made. The stairs were made from 1/32 thick strips. The quarter deck is made from two layers of 1/16 sheets. The stern windows are 1/32 and the stern is two layers of 1/32 sheets. The stairs are in there.
  5. KenW
    This is my favorite holiday. Starting tomorrow the days begin getting longer again. Can summer be far away? I rigged the rest of the guns. I also added channels and more belaying pin racks. The belaying pins I made are not glued in place yet. I’m going to remove them so they don’t get hurt. I also made a rudder and tiller for the ship’s boat and added oarlocks. I’m now ready to start on the quarter deck.
  6. KenW
    EJ: Great work! This boat is huge! But you just hang in there and "Do It". Keep at it. Cheers.
  7. KenW
    Next up is to finally rig the guns. I just need to add the out-haul lines. I’m using 3/32 Syren blocks and .008 Syren line. I also made the coils from the out-haul line. Coiling them was pretty easy: just twist them the way you would to coil a garden hose. I use diluted white glue to hold the coil onto the deck. I’m only rigging one or two guns per day since I think that’s enough. So far I completed the port side guns. So, during my spare time I made the rudder. I used the Syren kit for the pintles and gudgeons (rudder hinges). The shaft is extra long and will be shortened once the quarter deck is made. These photos were taken with my iPhone - not the best quality.
  8. KenW
    Good job Bill! Keep going and be safe. Cheers
  9. KenW
    Thanks Lou.
  10. KenW
    I decided to take time off from the main hull and work on a small boat which will hang off the stern. One of the officers in my club did a Tech Session at one of our meetings on making small boats using a method he called Lifts. I’ve heard it called “bread-n-butter”. I use a plan for a 16 foot long boat from the ‘Anatomy of the Ship’ series - the HMS Diana. The lifts correspond (in this case) to the three horizontal lines in chart # 1 and #2. The curved lines in #3 are the same lines. So I carved out three sections using the lines in chart #3. My three lifts are below the plans. I used basswood and I made the boat in two halves because the keel-stern-stem piece will be cut seperately. The lifts are sanded to get the shape of the boat using chart #1. Then the center of the two upper lifts is cut out leaving about 1/8-3/16 thick pieces. The bottom piece is left solid since it will be covered with the floorboards. Next the inside of the top lifts were smoothed out. Then the three lifts of each half were glued together and more sanding was done. I didn’t use any power tools. Power tools scare me. Once the bulwarks are about 1/16th or less, the centerpiece and the two halves can be glued together. More sanding is done to make the boat “look right”. I then added pieces of 1/32 x 1/32 basswood to look like ribs. I also added 1/32/ x /1/8 for the risings which will hold the thwarts and 1/32 x 3/16 floorboards. My lifts didn’t fit together very well. The outside joins weren’t smooth so I used gello and painted the outside of the hull white. The thwarts and aft seats were added and gratings, as well as the breasthook and knees. I also cut out a ‘cap rail’ and painted it black. I still have to add a rudder, I think, and oar locks. It’s hard for me to imagine that this is a 15+ foot boat. I used a measuring tape on my shipyard floor, and this little boat was actually pretty big.
  11. KenW
    Unbelievable! Not only is your model one of the best I've seen, but the base is also outstanding. Great work!
  12. KenW
    Sounds to me like you have to get your son(s) involved. My boys are extremely strong and work really fast. Nothing like youth.
  13. KenW
    The guns and their carriages have been mounted along with their breach lines. The aft two guns will not have a problem with the partition to the officer’s quarters since it will be removed and stowed below the water line whenever the boat “clears for action”. I made the other holder for the cannon balls along the aft hatch using the same technique as on the forward hatch.
  14. KenW
    Thanks Bob. And thanks to "capt. Hook" and to all the 'likes'.
  15. KenW
    I finished the guns and their carriages. The barrels were blackened using the same method as I used on my Independence. Soak the barrels in acetone, then muriatic acid (15 minutes each) and then place them in JAX Blackener for 1-2 minutes. I was going to leave the quoin handles natural because I was happy with the way they came out (nice and small). But they looked very white and, really, they would have been painted the same color as the carriages, so I relented. I hope to mount and rig them in the next few days.
  16. KenW
    Thanks Roger. Thanks to Chuck and all the 'likes'. Cheers.
  17. KenW
    Thanks Mark and Lou. As far as my tools, I built the Providence using a jeweler's saw. The only power tool I have is a Dremel. I determined the size of a boat, which 'hangs' from the stern, by the width of the stern. A boat of 100 mm is about right. I'd have to get a cafmodel 130 mm kit and see what I can do to shorten it. But I like the idea, and I'll order one now. The Master Korabel boats are currently out of stock. I've requested a notification when they become available. Thanks for the info and ideas. Cheers.
  18. KenW
    Just discovered your blog. Great workmanship. And, good instructions/tutorial. I'll follow your blog and look forward to seeing the real thing when our club can finally meet again. Cheers.
  19. KenW
    Thanks Lou. There are no real plans of the Providence. Both the plans for the replica built for the 200th anniversary, and the model made for the 150th anniversary were built according to "a typical Rhode Island sloop". So holes and/or wooden mounts are certainly possible. I'm currently having trouble making a small boat to hang off the stern. The boat must not too much larger that the width of the stern. I'm looking at kits from Model Expo and bending basswood planks to the 'U' shape required for the ribs is, so far, impossible. I may just have the mounting blocks installed but say that the boat is ashore. I'll have to look at my various books and articles, but the mention that the boat was scraped about the time it was admitted into the Continental Navy was made twice. I'll get back to you. Any help you can offer is welcome.
  20. KenW
    I created more ‘deck furniture’ on the main deck. I had previously made a windlass using a mini kit that Chuck Passaro created for his Cheerful model. I had to make some alterations since the windlass was too big for the Providence’s deck. So I cut off the larger of the pieces (the one that had three holes) and did the same on a similar piece from a second kit. Then I filed a bit to make sure everything looked like it belonged. Next, I made a small smoke stack. And lastly, I made the mast fiferail, which included somewhat fancy aft posts. And, I also made the necessary belaying pins.
  21. KenW
    I added some boards to the outside of the hull. The Providence was originally called the Katy. In the early 1700s, it was converted into a boat able to run the smuggled goods and protect itself. It was described as “a sloop, all black boat low and long...with crane irons on the quarters for oars.” I don’t yet know what ‘crane irons’ are, but I’ll find out. In late 1775 , the Katy was renamed to the Providence and taken into the Continental Navy. At that time the sides were “scraped”. This is the boat in the Holman painting at the beginning of this blog. The replica of the Providence that was built in 1976 for the 200th anniversary celebrations had its upper hull painted blue and red. I decided that this is probably not how the boat appeared in 1777; so I painted the new boards black. Also, there is a model in the Rhode Island Historical Society that was designed and built in 1926, the 150th anniversary of American independence. Notice where the anchor cables go below the main deck. Guys at the club tell me that this method was not seen before 1850. So no one has an accurate model of the Providence. However, due to my inexperience, I will be careful with any changes I make. The model at the RIHS is below.
  22. KenW
    My modeling has been slow lately due to our return to Brooklyn. I’ve constructed the piece to hold the cannon balls. The cannon balls themselves are actually silicone ball bearings. They even came in black. I found them on Amazon; they are called uxcell 1/16 Inch Ceramic Bearing Balls, Si3N4 Silicon Nitride Ball G5 Precision 100pcs. (A four lb. ball was 3 inches.) I glued them onto the holding piece with CA glue and added some Doc O’Brien’s Weathering Power Grimy Black (available from Micro-Mark.) Then I added another coat of black paint just to the holding piece to add a little contrast.
  23. KenW
    Thanks Gary. So many people have said things about your model that I totally agree with, that I don't have anything original. So - your work is fantastic, etc. Cheers.
  24. KenW
    Hey Gary - Love your ability. When you use these dry transfers, do you cut out each letter in order to place it properly? Your transfers look so perfect. Cheers.
  25. KenW
    I think the anchors look really great! Can you get that shrink wrap electrical insulation at any hardware store? Your model is outstanding. Cheers.

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