jablackwell

Top and bottom wing now have tensioners. The trailing wing edge has been added. Ailerons have been separated from the wings (using a small XActo saw... very nerve wracking). Now to hinge the ailerons and then move onto the fuselage. 
 
~john
 
 

David: nice to have you on board!  
Ron: thank you for the review. I am happy that the MA kit is wood: I am enjoying that a lot. The wing ribs are about as accurate as laser cutting can make them without them getting too fragile. Seeing real Sopwith's in the shop, all their components are more fragile... they were pretty light weight with thin components. 
 
This week finished the wings' wooden components and am about to add their compression bars and tensioning wires. I am ...just... almost concerned about cutting free the ailerons. We'll see how that goes!
 
~john
 
 
 

Top and bottom wing now have tensioners. The trailing wing edge has been added. Ailerons have been separated from the wings (using a small XActo saw... very nerve wracking). Now to hinge the ailerons and then move onto the fuselage. 
 
~john
 
 

Top and bottom wing now have tensioners. The trailing wing edge has been added. Ailerons have been separated from the wings (using a small XActo saw... very nerve wracking). Now to hinge the ailerons and then move onto the fuselage. 
 
~john
 
 

Cutting free ailerons ,would be nice to have a hand operated laser burner so one could cut without pressure on the material. Probably also be a dandy way to set ones shop on fire.
Nice work BTW.

Top and bottom wing now have tensioners. The trailing wing edge has been added. Ailerons have been separated from the wings (using a small XActo saw... very nerve wracking). Now to hinge the ailerons and then move onto the fuselage. 
 
~john
 
 

Top and bottom wing now have tensioners. The trailing wing edge has been added. Ailerons have been separated from the wings (using a small XActo saw... very nerve wracking). Now to hinge the ailerons and then move onto the fuselage. 
 
~john
 
 

Top and bottom wing now have tensioners. The trailing wing edge has been added. Ailerons have been separated from the wings (using a small XActo saw... very nerve wracking). Now to hinge the ailerons and then move onto the fuselage. 
 
~john
 
 

David: nice to have you on board!  
Ron: thank you for the review. I am happy that the MA kit is wood: I am enjoying that a lot. The wing ribs are about as accurate as laser cutting can make them without them getting too fragile. Seeing real Sopwith's in the shop, all their components are more fragile... they were pretty light weight with thin components. 
 
This week finished the wings' wooden components and am about to add their compression bars and tensioning wires. I am ...just... almost concerned about cutting free the ailerons. We'll see how that goes!
 
~john
 
 
 

Only 2 steps left.  Top of the sweep ports and then the sides.  I cut some 1/8" spacers and a 1/8"x1/8" rectangular block for the sides.
 

 
Once again the templates are attached to allow the sweep port sides to be located.  An alternative might have been to cut a strip of wood that was the gun port spacing (left side of one to the right side of the next), then mark the middle and sided of the sweep port.  This little roller then could be used to mark the hull for placement of the sweep port sides. I started doing this later in the process.

 
There was another pair bulkhead extensions to remove.
 

 
as well as a couple of extensions that had to be trimmed out since the sweep ports overlapped with them.

Got some more building done today. The middle wing is attached and the wing struts between the middle and lower wing is done and one is attached.
 
The wing struts I made after the wings were attached as the distance  between the two wings can vary. No use cutting them to size according to instructions and finding them too short (too long doesn't matter as the can be made shorter) and unusable. Better to do everything when the wings are in place and the distance between the two are known.
 
As soon as the other wing strut is attached I will attach the landing gear sub assembly. I have left the rotary engine off for the moment as it is very heavy, being all white metal. Easier to work with the model the lighter it is. 

I had to make another short diversion from the instructions as while I was reviewing some other build logs it dawned on me that Id forgotten to plank that lower deck section mentioned in Chapter 2.
 
I stained the wood strips Golden Oak and had a deck.  I think the main deck won't be as easy.
 

Doug,
I am aiming to get to it as soon as I can finish the <ahem - not a ship> model of a Sopwith Camel. I am well into the wings... but then the empennage and fuselage must follow. I would day some time in September I will be into the Syren.  As you note in your post, there are a lot of really good logs for the Syren here on MSW: some finished and others in progress. The Syren will be my first POB build, so I am taking as many notes as possible from the masters out here. ;-)   I see you also had issues with the provided plywood. Interesting. I'll have to check my parts and see if I have been given the same dreaded material.  Looking forward to your progress. Have fun with your build! 
~john
 

Mind if I pull up a chair a watch? 
Looking forward to following along with your build of the Syren. It is on my list. 
~john

Doug,
I am aiming to get to it as soon as I can finish the <ahem - not a ship> model of a Sopwith Camel. I am well into the wings... but then the empennage and fuselage must follow. I would day some time in September I will be into the Syren.  As you note in your post, there are a lot of really good logs for the Syren here on MSW: some finished and others in progress. The Syren will be my first POB build, so I am taking as many notes as possible from the masters out here. ;-)   I see you also had issues with the provided plywood. Interesting. I'll have to check my parts and see if I have been given the same dreaded material.  Looking forward to your progress. Have fun with your build! 
~john
 

Once again the guidance provided by the fairing marks etched on the bulkheads made the fairing process pretty straightforward.  I used an x-acto blade to pare down the bow bulkhead close to the fairing guides then sanded to create the smooth transition between bulkheads. 

 
Top I forgot to install the kit supplied bow filler.  Not too late though.

A batten bent with a curve at the end was used to check the fairing.

 
 
Although I was being careful (you see I do learn from one build to the next) I did manage to break one bulkhead extension when my sleeve caught it.  It gave me trouble several times after that as I tried to fix it more permanently.  Each fix was a little less satisfactory as more of the joint was damaged.  Solution of course was to pin it as well as glueing.

I cut the filler blocks out of some scrap 1”x2” pine.  Then I drift all the bulkheads and filler block (the masking tape helped hold the filler blocks in place.


 
Once I was satisfied I started gluing the bulkheads and filler blocks onto the BF



 
 
Once all the fillers were in the hull was quite a bit heavier but very sturdy

Thanks John.  Happy flight with your Sopwith Camel build.  I'll watch for you Syren build this fall.
 

Delighted John!  Welcome aboard.  I'm certainly enjoying the start of the build!  I think there are good reasons that this is a popular build.  When do expect to you might get to your build?
 
 

Like several other who have recently started on their Syren builds, I found the plywood in the kit was not satisfactory.  Like many others I contacted Model Expo and the issue was dealt with promptly and to my satisfaction.  
 
I was not going to start on this build until I had an earlier one completed but when the issues with the plywood arose for 3 or 4 other build this spring I decided I should at least look at the bulkhead former and bulkheads to see if the kit I received had problem wood as well.  Once It was open and on my desk I just sort of kinda you know STARTED.   There I’ve clearly placed myself in the “Can’t help myself once the box is open” members of MSW.  I will never have a large stash of future builds but I may have a lot of models on the go.
 
Here's the original
 
and the replacement which is solid basswood - not plywood.  As I have solid basswood for the bulkheads and BF of the Prince de Neufchatel I was quite pleased with the replacement sheets

The Syren is the 1st kit that I chose rather than kits that chose me (by being for sale relatively inexpensively  when I decided to try model ship building).  This is almost true - I did select my starter kit but it was intended as a get my feet wet sort of project.
 
There were a few reasons that the Syren was my choice.  First and foremost were the recommendations here on MSW.  Mr. Passaro’s elegant design and extensive documentation were a very strong draw.  I like the idea of having clear detailed instructions as I learn the craft of model building.  
 
Secondly there are lots of terrific build logs for this ship.  They serve well as an additional resource to help with interpretations, alternatives, and the inevitable problems that will arise.  The craftsmanship shown in many of these logs is both daunting and motivating for a rookie builder like me.  The community here on MSW is so supportive that the motivation aspect outweighs the trepidation at not being up to standard. 
 
Finally,  I like appearance of the ship and will look forward to enjoying it both during the build and once it is completed.

So far so good.  I haven't snapped off anything yet, even though I hit them good a few times. I believe soaking the stern frames in a glue/water solution did strengthen them. 

I mentioned the pre-fairing of the bulkheads, when I applied the batten it fell into place so naturally.

Many things have kept me from my building. Fighting my illness then my father-in-laws passed away. We got invited to the coast for a few days and jumped at the chance. I really wanted to visit the Maritime Museum while there but others weren't as interested as I was and it didn't happen. A little disappointed. We got back and we had a major problem with the air conditioning for the 4th time this year. Hopefully everything will get somewhat back to normal now. 
 
I have been squeezing in a few min. here and there over a while on the build waiting for things to allow me to start posting again. Trying to remember to take pictures but half the time forgetting to for part of the steps. Jumping around a bit from the order of the instructions.
 
Constructing the longboat. Glued the pre-cut lifts together per instructions (forgot to take pics of some of the steps. Shaping these boats just right has always been a problem for me. i made templates for the shape changes from the instruction sheets. to guide me. Sanding it down to the proper thinness didn't work out well. I took off too much material in the front and didn't get the shape right in the rudder area. Didn't want to start all over so I built up and puttied areas too thin, did some other re-shaping and patch up work. This didn't look very well and even though the lower areas would be painted on the outside it wouldn't have that planked look so I re-planked it inside and out to hide all the flaws. Using scrap pieces I used darker strips where it will be hidden by the white paint later.
 
Jesse

Given the problems others have experienced with the Stern Pieces, I decided to try strengthening them. After sanding all the char and some of the pink finish off, I am now soaking the pieces in a solution of 50/50 Titebond and water. I'll soak 6 hours, then dry at least 12 hours.