jablackwell

A little time today spent on the build. Taking it slow and carefully.... Placed the simulated lower deck in place today. The edges of the planks are rubbed with a pencil graphite at a 45 degree angle. This tends to slightly reshape the long edge of the plank and show some darker edging nicely. Once glued in place, the planking was stained with Golden Oak. Funny thing, though, my golden oak looks less golden and a bit darker than others'... I wonder if my stain is old or something. M'eh. ;-) 
 
~john
 
 

Making headway on the filler blocks now. Peter's advice was perfect: Make them slightly larger than needed then sand down to size for a perfect fit. The slight bowing of the bulkhead former is coming out. I am gluing the blocks in one pair at a time from stern to bow. There's no reason to the direction.... I just decided to start that way ;-) 
 
~john

The adventure DOES start!  Had some time to figure out that an empty vodka bottle makes a fine way to soak rabbet strips for a keel  ;-)  It is now curved around the keel and waiting to dry before I glue it in place. After that, onto the rabbet itself.  In the meantime, I am starting to hunt around for filler block material. I was thinking balsa, but not quite decided. Any commentary or advice on this? Perhaps something stronger would be appropriate? 
 
~john
 

Bowsprit, Jibboom & Flying Jibboom all assembled and glued into place. Figurehead glued on. Could not get a good close-up shot of it like I wanted.
 
This is the part of the build where I have to be extra careful because I always bump, snag and break things that stick out. I actually delayed this step until now for this very reason.
 
Jesse

Nicely done Patrick. Just a suggestion: prayer is good, but pins are better. Many of us have learned the hard way that pins are your best friend at points of stress. 
 
Bob

Note to newbies like me...ship plans are useful for visual guides. I copy and cut out various portions of the deck i am working on to ensure my ruler/divider is not lying to me.  I find that the more you progress, the easier it is to get some type of assymetry in the look/shape. I have quite a few areas on my model where this has occurred. The plans help my visual brain recover from the gaps in the measurements. 
 
As Gunny Highway would say..."Adapt!!! Overcome!!!" 

After considering my next steps, decided to suck it up and make the cat heads. Overall was a good attempt. Nothing quite as terrifying as cutting off chunks of your ship.   Was extremely careful not to overtrim the gaps in the cap rail to fit the catheads. 
 
Will paint tomorrow. Moving on....to bed. 

Patrick, I am totally enjoying your build. You're doing an excellent job of it. All the scratch building of the deck furniture and such makes this shine.... considerably better than the provided Britannia-metal pieces that are provided... and that I used when I made my rendition of the Sultana. So.... rock on!  I look forward to seeing the results as your progress.
~john
 

Now that the site is back up. I can see I have a lot to catchup on. (Thank you to all the admins)
 
By the way while on the subject of thanks. I have so many people on this site to thank, I don't know where to begin. I am sure I would not be modeling today if it were not for the wonderful people here and in my local club. So let me focus on the assistance and support I have received for this build and also bring you up to date on my progress. I am sorry I will not be able to mention the names of all the people who contributed to the great Ideas I have incorporated in my build. But let me try.
 
First, all of us in the Syren Club have been discussing the terrible condition of the Carronades supplied with the kit. There have been several suggestions on alternatives. Some very compelling. I have decided to go a slightly different direction. Let me list the alternative I am aware of and why I decided not to go that way.
 
Caldercraft supplied - These are the best available. But I did not like the idea of spending $80 and then having to make significant alterations.
Blue Jacket supplied - Not a good as Caldercraft & cheaper, but still better than MS. But still the same reasons apply.
Mold out of pewter - Very interesting. But I have no experience and I would still need to make the mold. Also there is the color to deal with.
Make with wood - Again I would need to tools or skills to carve or a lathe. But this is my mostly likely 2nd choice.
 
So I have decided with the help of my good friend Per to 3D print the prototype using Sketch-Up. I have recently found a workshop which will give me access to 3 printers, 2 CNC machines, & 2 Laser cutters for a very low price. I am excited to give it a try. And I will likely create a prototype with the printer. and from that create a mold. Stay tuned. by the way you will see further detail on this subject in the CAD forum.
 
So the next area of help is in the Copper plating. Like most of us at this stage I have been working to build my stamps and jig. Jim Rogers has kindly offered to loan me his jig and stamps. And he will even help me get started. So in a couple weeks I will be taking the ferry to see Jim!
 
So while waiting on coppering with Jim I was thinking about what else to work on in the mean time. I decided to set up my blackening lab again because of suggestions I found here. I purchased from Amazon a small bottle of Brass Black for $8.50. The instructions on the bottle say to clean first with Alcohol, rinse with water, then blacken for 1 min. then rinse again with water. I would add to this make sure everything is completely dry between steps. In the pictures below you will see my Chemistry lab.
 
For the sharp eyed who look at the pictures you will notice that my bottle of Alcohol is dated 1962! And it came from a Civil Defense shelter. That is another story for the future. 
 
I also have a question for anyone familiar with this process. How do I dispose of the leftovers? This is a strong chemical and I don't want to just pour it down the drain.
 
I have had lots of fun blackening stuff for the Syren. I have found that I need about 1 min 20 seconds. But it works very well. Another great Idea from MSW.
 
Another comment I found in a build log was the observation that the copper tape is very thin and so you need a very smooth surface before you place the plates. I am not going to post a picture. But I have been filling and sanding several coats until it is so nice. 
 
Another suggestion I found was to use an X-Y table to drill the holes for the eye in the wooden parts of the Carronade sled. So I have first sanded off the laser char and painted these parts. Soon I will be drilling and inserting eye bolts. By the way this was the reason I decided to do my blackening. I needed blackened eye bolts. My ultimate goal was to get a carronade ready for the 3D printed prototype. Since i am not installing the waterway. I also need to know if I need to modify the height of the wheels at the back. I will post a picture of this as soon as I have it setup. 
 
Lastly I read a suggestion on how to paint and install the lettering for the stern. You will see a picture below as I have begun this process. Let me give you the steps here. First cut the lettering from the photo etched plate leaving the letters attached to the bottom. Then paint (I chose to use white). The attach to a scrap of wood that will fit between the stern molding using double sided tape. now cut the letters away from the sprue. They should now be face down on double sided tape attached to the scrap of wood. And they will be properly lined up with the correct spacing. Now apply a small amount of CA to each letter and press them into place on the stern. That is it! I can't wait to finish this step.
 
And finally if you are not bored yet. Here are the pictures. I was having some trouble with the macro on my camera so the lettering may be a bit blurred
 
 
 

Floyd have you thought about using a CNC machine to cut the Quarter Badges out of wood?  Copy them, clean them up and cut them out of some nice Maple, Teak or Sapele. Now that would be a big improvement over what is supplied in the kit. Every time I blacken something it just comes off during handling. Look forward to seeing you.

It is close now! The map has been glued to the picture frame. The propeller isn't finished, it needs more sanding and then varnishing. I also need to strengthen the pro-shaft to avoid it "drooping". I might leave the engine cowl off to show off the engine. I have also ordered a replica Pour le Merite model to add to the base.
 
There is also the last metal cowling to add to the right of the MG:s. 
 
Hopefully it will be 100% finished next week. I started building 3rd of december last year so it has taken slightly more than a year to build. But it has been a very leisurely pace. I could have built it much faster but it is hobby 

This is going to be slow going for me.... I am now working on the gunport sills. This morning, I ran a batten to locate the sills, made the mark along each bulkhead and started to figure out the sill shapes. I plan on cutting each one to shape, a little larger than needed, then sand down from there. For strength I am using PVA glue for best bond and strength, especially since these parts are on the fragile thin pieces of the bulwarks. This will then take time to dry, etc.  Here's the foremost sill in place and aligned as best I can.  
~john
 
 

This is going to be slow going for me.... I am now working on the gunport sills. This morning, I ran a batten to locate the sills, made the mark along each bulkhead and started to figure out the sill shapes. I plan on cutting each one to shape, a little larger than needed, then sand down from there. For strength I am using PVA glue for best bond and strength, especially since these parts are on the fragile thin pieces of the bulwarks. This will then take time to dry, etc.  Here's the foremost sill in place and aligned as best I can.  
~john
 
 

This is going to be slow going for me.... I am now working on the gunport sills. This morning, I ran a batten to locate the sills, made the mark along each bulkhead and started to figure out the sill shapes. I plan on cutting each one to shape, a little larger than needed, then sand down from there. For strength I am using PVA glue for best bond and strength, especially since these parts are on the fragile thin pieces of the bulwarks. This will then take time to dry, etc.  Here's the foremost sill in place and aligned as best I can.  
~john
 
 

Thank you for the heads-up on the waterway height and carronades.... I will check that out before I make deck/waterway installations. Your planking coloration is wonderful by the way. Nice! 
~j
 

Jesse,
I can only hope that my build will look anywhere as nice as yours has turned out.  I like your netting just fine.... 
:-) 
~john

With some free time on my hands (It's 7F outside (-14C or 259K) and no flying for me!), I got back to the Syren. Moving now into the third chapter and looking at creating the gun and sweep ports when I noticed that my sanding had been, how shall I say this<?>, a little too zealous?! I removed a slew of the laser cut measure lines for this.... so out with the calipers and plans... I had to re-mark them all. Sometimes I feel like I have a toad for a brain. Ready now to move ahead. 
~john
 
 

Jesse,
I can only hope that my build will look anywhere as nice as yours has turned out.  I like your netting just fine.... 
:-) 
~john

With some free time on my hands (It's 7F outside (-14C or 259K) and no flying for me!), I got back to the Syren. Moving now into the third chapter and looking at creating the gun and sweep ports when I noticed that my sanding had been, how shall I say this<?>, a little too zealous?! I removed a slew of the laser cut measure lines for this.... so out with the calipers and plans... I had to re-mark them all. Sometimes I feel like I have a toad for a brain. Ready now to move ahead. 
~john
 
 

Jesse,
I can only hope that my build will look anywhere as nice as yours has turned out.  I like your netting just fine.... 
:-) 
~john

Jesse,
I can only hope that my build will look anywhere as nice as yours has turned out.  I like your netting just fine.... 
:-) 
~john

Jesse,
I can only hope that my build will look anywhere as nice as yours has turned out.  I like your netting just fine.... 
:-) 
~john

Well I can't believe it has been this long since I posted an update. Below you will find a picture of my finished Deck. I must say I like the combo of Danish Oil and Holly. The color came out just perfect. And the Danish oil did a good job hiding the difference in color from the margin planks and the holly.
 
Now time to confess some of the reason I have been slow at posting. I am not at all pleased with my skills at planking the deck. I had decided to skip the nibbing to make things easier and now I can see it would have been better off if I had done the nibbing. anyway here is to hoping most of these mistakes will be covered up with deck furniture. And it is on to Treenailing. Then Coppering! I hope I don't screw that up.
 
One last comment and I hope this helps someone else. If you read the directions carefully you will find that you are supposed to have a triangular piece that is 1/16" as a water way. and they you will have a 1/16" thick bracket that has the pin to mount the carronades. Therefore you should have 1/8" gap from the deck to the gun port sills. I have 1/16" not 1/8". So the waterway will have to go. I suggest you check this before it is too late.
 
 

There are a pair of 4-Barrel 20mm Guns on the next deck, so I've made them both. There were none of these in the PE cards, but they were supplied as laser-cut. It was a full day's work to make them. Here are the parts for both guns, and the very sparse instructions :


 
About half of one gun completed :

 
And both of them finished and ready for paint. I used four of the spare handwheels from one of the PE sets to replace the plain round ones in the laser-cut :


 
  Danny

With some free time on my hands (It's 7F outside (-14C or 259K) and no flying for me!), I got back to the Syren. Moving now into the third chapter and looking at creating the gun and sweep ports when I noticed that my sanding had been, how shall I say this<?>, a little too zealous?! I removed a slew of the laser cut measure lines for this.... so out with the calipers and plans... I had to re-mark them all. Sometimes I feel like I have a toad for a brain. Ready now to move ahead. 
~john