von stetina

Hi, I'm back after overcoming a variety of adversities, and am glad to see how nicely your build is coming along. At about the point you are at now the air in my shop was turning blue with a wide range of nasty 4 letter words. Don't know if I'll be remembered after all this time. Your model is looking beautiful! I'm long ago finished with LIGHTNING. I hope to put it in the gallery. Still needs a case though. I'm started on RED JACKET. Bruce Von Stetina

Thank you everyone, I wish my photography was better. When finished I'll hang a neutral gray something behind it and do a better job of it. My last bit of rigging that I'm putting in is a real problem to do. Apparently the heart problem made me stupid too as I completely skipped the harbor stow of sheets connected to the above clew lines as described in the Underhill book. Home from the hospital I got into the model room to look at my work and immediately saw what I'd done. I looked at the several feet of fine chain left aside for doing the lower sheets and about freaked. Reaching in in there around the main mast was tough. Things aren't as nice as I'd like. I'd also left out most of the staysail rigging. I spent a lot of time repairing damage done getting into the already there rigging. I inadvertently cut braces with my safety razor blade on a stick tool, etc. etc. I'm super anxious to start a new model. I might even re-do Lightning. I'm looking at either Red Jacket, or the 4 mast barque Parma too. Bruce

Hi Ed, First class work as usual. It's fun catching up on your build after being away from things. I found the standing rigging work on my Lightning model very enjoyable. I swore my whole way through the running rigging. I'm about finished and glad of it. The air in my modeling room will be blue for years. The tiny .008 line needed for some things was a horror show. Though this was my first ship model..... Can't wait for the next model. Bruce

Hi all, I've been gone getting my ticker re-plumbed. Had a bad ekg, then a heart catheterization for a stent, found out a stent wouldn't work. I had a triple bypass at the Gainesville/Shands V.A. Hospital within 4 days. Had a bleed, they stopped that. I went home for 3 weeks and passed out. Ambulance to Tallahassee this time as they could only get me back to the V.A. hospital by chopper for $40.000. I spent 5 more days with them trying to figure out where my blood went. Anyways, the V.A. was terrific [Tallahassee too] and I'm all patched up and am shortly to finish Lightning. Below are some pictures of me adding rigging that I forgot to put on earlier. It is a terrible job getting in behind what was there. Also Lightning has that recessed deck with the flying bridges making it very hard to get to the belaying pins.

Hi Ed, Looking great Ed. Looking at your build takes me back many years to this same stage in my Lightning model. Before I closed up the hull I powdered the inside with insecticide. I felt it to be important, especially here in Florida where we grow them big and many as well as tiny and terrible. Later when I went to step the masts I found some powder partially filling the mast step for the mizzen. I made mini vacuum by taping a soda stray on the end of my shop vac and hosed the step out. Bruce

After looking at the model for all this time I found that the wooden stock anchors noted on my plan set looked out of place on such a progressive vessel. The big splash of brown drew the eye too much up on the this area. I made an artist's call and put more modern looking anchors in place. I find it much more pleasing to the eye. My research showed the type as correct for this period also. I feel that as long as this was historically feasible it would be OK. All for now. I'll be back soon. Bruce

These are the tools in use. Not many. 3 tweezers have done most of the work. There is a paint brush handle with a needle in it. This is for undoing knot goof ups. For cutting off loose ends you can see the bamboo stick with a broken off safety razor half. Very sharp. Bruce

Hi Druxey, Thank you. These pics show the ratlines in place. Up from the rail a bit are the fairleads. They are made by cutting tiny brass tube pieces that have had a groove turned into them so that they can be tied on. They must be check for the fit of the lines that travel through them first. They are so tiny that a dab of glue on them stuck them in place, after drying they were tied on. On the topmast and topgallant shrouds the shrouds get too close together and the ratlines are carried over onto the backstays. I found this fact in the Underhill book about masting and rigging. You can see that not all of the ratlines go across all of the shrouds, but only the 5th is carried over all of them. On the top and topgallant masts you can see the practice of using bullseyes instead of deadeyes. The plans show this as well as many old photos. It was probably easier to take up the slack under way? If you look at earlier photos of the lower mast tops you can see the extra bracing McKay used for extra strength between the top and cap on the lower mast doubling. Also you can see his practice of using a 3rd topmast backstay carried before the last shroud. [it sure makes the ratlines there a problem.] I'm sure it helped down on the Australia run in the storms. Also the 11 1/2 inch shrouds, stays, and backstays up to the topgallant level would give a lot of extra strength for hard driving. The extremely long sharp hollow entrance was probably for storm performance also. I think she had the sharpest entrance of all the clippers. It's no wonder his ships held so many records for speed and 400 plus miles per 24 hours. The immigrants must of had quite a ride. 3rd class down below must have been quite an experience. I wonder if they had access to the ship surgeon too. Did they get to hear the band or get the ship newspaper Lightning Times? The very long list of captain's rules sure applied. Bruce

Hi guys, It's good to be back. I've finished the work that I need to bring in the bucks, now it's fun time. I'm doing the ratlines now. I'll never forget how to do a clove hitch, there are well over 1000 of them. As I began I found that my tweezers were opening too far at times and stretching the ratlines above and below. By limiting them with tape I solved this. I forget the dia. right now, but I think the thread is about .015. As I had finished this side I could finally put on the davits and hang the boats. The griping straps are of paper strengthened with acrylic gesso. I found that very few tools have been needed. I'll show the later. I've been up all night so i'll get back to you this evening. It's so good to be back, I've missed you all. I see Dan wrote. Hi buddy. Bruce

Hi Ed, It sure is looking terrific! I'm finally almost done with Lightning's ratlines. Over 1000 clove hitches, I'll never forget that knot if I live 500 years! Them I'm ready to start installing the yards. It will be quite a moment to finally open my drawer full of yards and start in on them. I'll be posting my progress pics soon. I'll be showing the tools I've found the most used. Not many at all. Once again, your model is wonderful. Bruce

She sure is looking great! I can't wait to get back to working on my Lightning build. Bruce

looking great! So nice to see clipper builds. Your moving along well. Wait until you hit that rigging...YIKES! Bruce

Looking awesome Ed! The stern looks great, I had the same things happen with Lightning's stern planking. The moldings were especially challenging. I'll bet you can wait to carve that stern eagle and decorations on there. She had some of the prettiest hull decoration of any clipper. I think YA and Red Jacket were the best decorated. Although it's awefull hard to beat lady Lightning with her lightning bolt.... Bruce

Hi Ed, I've noticed the changes in photos. In MacGregor's Book there are some good photos. YA is there changed to the closer mast doublings done by putting a sort of dogleg to clear the shrouds, and iron mast caps. I don't remember if she had been switched to bullseyes for upper shrouds or not. I have 3 different plans of 3 different ships done by Crothers and the differences are interesting. I found it at only one small RR business They are the only place I found it in 10 foot bulk packs, everyone sells it by the foot. I'll look up their name and post it later or e mail it you. I found that for Lifghtning I needed more than 9 feet. Enlarge the case...it really brings home the size of these ships doesn't it. I read somewhere that one could build two 74 gun ships with the timber it took to build some of the big clippers. Shop foreman shown below. winking.

As soon as the ratlines are done I will mount the davits and boats. Braces go over this area so I think it's time to put them on. Another thing to catch a finger on... I have no pictures yet but I'm doing the ratlines. I quickly learned to use tape wrapped around the tweezers to limit the amount they open. They would damage the work when they opened. For doing work shaping blocks I modified a set of tweezers. A lot of blocks are tiny at this scale. Some smaller than a grain of rice. I'll try to remember to take a picture of them. All the photos for a bit. I've a brass Fairfield coal drag conveyor and a stock pen to build to bring some money in. It kills me to have to take time off from the Lightning. I'll keep an eye though to reply to anyone. Bruce