cardensb

I just scrolled through your log, I have the MS kit sitting in my pile of kits bought when they had a great sale about 10 years ago. I think this will be my next build based on your log. Echoing many others, love the amount of photos that are quality and clear. Also love the drawing on the plans for clarity. I really appreciate you identifying all the small eyelets and chock points needing mounted to the hull before starting to rig and find it difficult to get a pin vise in later. Any major lessons learned to pass along that did not get documented but as you reflect back to the early steps of the build? Some specific questions: 1. Frames and filler blocks: Any regrets for not using filler blocks entirely between all of the framing? (I had a keel take a bend during a break in planking years ago) 2. Additional purchases: Have you compiled a list of "must buy" additional parts or do I need to scroll back through? I would rather shop all at once if possible. I see you id'ed shortages of many smaller items that add up in shipping charges. 3a. Gun tackle: Do you like how the brass hooks turned out in the armament tackle assemblies for the time it was worth or should I stick with bending wire? 3b. Or should I skip the hooks completely and just attach the lines to the rings with a little glue like many of MS kit's have us do? (I like the hooks ideally but once done, not sure if it looks to busy or out of scale?) Or should I skip the gun tackle completely to reduce "deck clutter" 4. Copper plating: your photos of the real ship appears to have copper plating below the waterline, any recommendations to do it or not do it? I have done it on some and not others so it's not the repetition that makes me think otherwise. 5. What's next for you? You are into the rigging now, have you thought what is your next build? I like the Niagara for the different cannonades than I have done before but I really enjoy building frames so my follow-on will like be a one where each frame is cut from about four pieces of cherry locally harvested. I recently purchases the Washington Galley plans. I find myself thinking ahead as I finish up a Hannah build based on plans and a wood only kit from The Lumberyard that has been a work in progress for about 7 years. I wonder if I need to try a completely different style of ship to expand my skills like a viking longboat or an Egyptian ship from a two-thousand years ago.

In my box of leftover parts, I have a set of chainplate assemblies that a 3/16" dead eye from Model Expo fits into but the plate is a hard wire material. I am trying to find a way to insert the dead eye without damaging one side when squeezing it into the plate. Seeking suggestions. I have 16 of these assemblies that consist of a small "plate" with a ring at the bottom; a single section of wire chain link that is unsoldered to allow connecting the bottom plate to the ring on the plate and finally a soft metal plate with three holes that attach to the hull and to the chain link. They might be from the MS model 1:64 Prince de Neufchatel. My model looks like I may have figured it out once, years ago. Anyways, I am trying to press the wooded deadeye into the hard metal wire ring using a vise now and am damaging about every 3rd deadeye.

My list is not as thorough but here is how I have tackled it for the few I have fully rigged. 1. Install all eyebolts into the hull before installing guns or anything that may get in the way. Sometimes I attach a block and run a started line through it to tie it out of the way. Te starting threads allow me to just glue the actual line to the end and carefully pull it through later, only need a few inches (less is better to keep from getting confused) 2. As a general rule, I install all rigging from the center of the ship towards the edges and start at the front and work my way back. this means I am not trying to reach through standing rigging later to try and attach something or I have through through how I am going to reach a center line located block later (starter thread used) 3. Generally work bottom up. so I rig all the lower mast assemblies before moving up a layer. 4. On the bow spirit, I generally rig the entire assembly of wood sections together before installing it and make sure all blocks are in place for running rigging. 5. I have not actually used any sort of pre-rigging jig assemble holding thing yet so when I do my stays for example, I rig a left and then a right side while on the ship. I use a few sections of bent wire fitted to both dead eyes so my cord length is consistent. I do serve the cords prior to installing at the top of each mast assembly using a 3rd hand tool to hold the loop in one end while I whip/serve the middle where needed. Yes, so my ratlines are done on the ship. I just took an index card and drew a few lines spaced at the distance between "rungs" and clipped it below my work. I tied a few at a time and took a break. I tired to keep a little slack in them but was not always consistent. A jig will probably make it more consistent but I hate seeing all that thread wasted when tying off to a square frame. 6. I pre-rig all blocks to spars and if a block may be in a tough spot, I run a starter thread through it too. 7. All of my standing rigging is tied off at a pin or wherever it should then cut short. Later I coil a bunch of cord around a pair of finishing nails as a holder and leave a long enough tail to neatly wrap around the pin like it should appear. Hope that helps. I have an old build log on here where I posted lots of photos as I rigged the Prince de Neufchatel.

I hate having a ship model with no one on board so I am looking at wargaming miniature figures. Does anyone have any experience with them? I am looking at Old Glory brand 25mm figures trying to determine if they fit a 1:48 or 1:64 scale ship. I "war game" in 28mm scale and the brand (Warlord Games plastics), I use are too tall for either scale. Perry's Miniatures 28mm in plastic also seem a little too tall and do not have many poses that would work beyond altering an infantry based box set. (I have an American Infantry regiment set). Old Glory brand has sets with titles like "men climbing rigging", "pirate deck crew gunners", "AWI (American War of Independence) Naval Crew" (spelled Navel though) and "Swivel guns with crew". I don't have much experience with metal based figures. Before I spend $20 to $40 plus shipping, I was hoping someone else had tried these already and could provide feedback.

Appreciate the tip, I found the book on Amazon and ordered it. Pretty good progress over the weekend. I finished the inner bulwarks (bloodwood is a pain to work with, I had forgot how fragile it is even after a good steaming). I installed apple wood rail caps (opportunity to remember how to use and maintain by scroll saw). Cleaned up the gun ports so they are all the same size. cleaned up the exposed framing below the few rows of planking I had installed years ago. Began planking the quarterdeck above the cap line. Started shopping for pre-cut grating for the 5 hatches and 10 swivel guns. Now if I can just find where my wife hid my digital calipers so i can get some accurate measurements.

Our honeymoon was 11 years ago...

I don't know if my photos will remain available after this month, they were uploaded to photobucket and now the bucket wants to charge a fee for use. If you are looking for a photo described, message me and I will see where it is in a cloud or hard drive.

Mike - amazing build. I just picked back up where I stopped in 2016 on the Harold Hahn version and am referencing your log for some details I cannot figure out. I know build logs can be tedious so thanks for the extra effort.

I'm returning from about a seven year break and just picked up the box of Harold Hahn's "Hannah" based on his plans sold through The Lumberyard with a wood material kit for plank on frame. Apparently I stopped while planking the inner bulwarks but also had not planked the stern. I cannot find any pictures or diagrams of how the stern should look. Did your kit include anything? I think I have all my blueprints displayed again but no stern view.... I started to make a punch list to re-orient myself to the model. -Plank transom and stern -Figure out how to get the keel to fit past the inner planks. then fabricate rudder attaching strips/hinges (I cannot remember the term) -Steam and finish inner bulwark planking then clean up gun ports. -Clean up glue residue below planking where I am going to leave lower framing exposed. -Sort and ID remaining strip wood from the box - it appears that I have some that does not go with my build... pine planking??? -Figure out the deck furniture builds before planking deck to know what will be exposed or not. How many cannons to build if partially decked?

Retired Army guy here so I did quite a few moves across the USA. I custom built moving crates for each ship from scrap lumber and found plywood. I built each case so I had 4-6 inches space around the outer edges of each model. I built cradles for the hulls that screwed to the base and then drilled 1/2 inch holes along a line that was just beyond the hull. Two moves, I laced paracord carefully through the model, passing through lines and making sure no line was up against anything that would break using the 1/2 holes in a plywood base as my attaching point. Two moves I used zip ties as a different method that did not need me pulling 20 feet of cord over a railing. The sides of the cases were often just heavy cardboard staple gunned to the framing. I left the top open so handlers could see what moving but most moves, I packed them in my own box trailer with cushions from patio furniture as additional padding. One year I dumped a bunch of packing peanuts inside but did not seem to make a difference. My last move was more along the line of the rolled towels in the back seat of my pick up with pillows around them and did not bother with the crates. Worked fine for about a one hour drive on I-95. For ships without tall masts and rigging like admiralty models or works in progress, I really just wrapped with the small bubble bubble wrap and made sure to mark this side up with tape in case I had anything on the deck that may come lose and get lost. Those got laid into a large box with pillows and other random items from the basement.

Well, It has been almost two years since I updated the journal. My PdN has been completed for almost a year and a half and I completed LSS's Fair American during this time. Now that I am in the middle of leave and my household goods have shipped to my next assignment, I find myself with lots of time to provide an update. In July 2012, I moved on to the main mast installation and rigging. The main is much simplier than the fore, none of those mysterious lines to figure out and I had worked out my techniques for ratlines, serving, etc... I did however, run out of rigging lines and had to order more. I installed the stays and shrouds in pairs and added the horizontal planks to the shrouds. I decided to exceed the model kit in a few places such as the hearts being added. (It appears I have forgotten how to have my images orient properly' they look fine on photobucket...) The ratlines went fast due to my index card that was marked for spacing. although I did have some sliding since I was not gluing each knot as I progressed. The upper ratlines got tight as expected but were not too bad. Here is an in progress photo taken on the 17th. This week ended with a decision to sew sails and add them causing some changes such as having to remove the rings from the masts and fashion new ones as well as more research into how a sail is actually fashioned, attached and manipulated. As I reveiw my excel spreadsheet daily journal, I loved my comment "I love ratlines" and also noticed this was the week after our honeymoon (finally) in New Orleans.

Rob Welcome to the AVS ranks! I really enjoyed this kit and learned a lot from my mistakes. Here are a few things I learned. 1. Install spacers on the bulkheads and their extensions. 2. Make sure the plywood sits level and slopes as required. I did not and after installing my decking and planking the bulwarks, my cannons did not sit well. 3. Spend the time studying plans looking for eyebolts that will be needed later and at least pre-drill the holes. Install if possible. Trying to fit a pin drill in later may be difficult. 4. Pre-rig the cannons as much as possible before gluing in place. 5. When installing the rigging, I found it easier to work from the center of the ship outward once you get the shrouds in place. Enjoy! I became addicted after the AVS.

Bill Another option is 3D printing. A gentlemen on Shapeways.com has a set of cannons for the Hannah. I contacted him offline and asked him if it were possible to change the scale and quantity. He is going to adjust to my needs and re-post. You could have them printed with a black material so clean-up would not require touch up.

Philo426 - this sounds like a disaster for one of those women! I have tried the microwave method with planks in paper towels and also in bowls of water. My only problem is when trying to do a longer plank than will fit. I have found tall, skinny vases filled with hot water from a tea pot of coffee maker work great. Once soaked I clamp the plank into a wooden mold that came with a starter model ship tool kit. I gave up on the plank bender that came with the kit. I ended up just scorching the plank each time.