US Brig Niagara by xken - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1/64

[xken]

George, yes I hope you do enjoy it. Let me know your thoughts on it and keep in mind it is a primer to useing brass in model making.

[GLakie]

Hope so Ken!  So far, the only soldering experience I have is with sweating copper water lines.   A few helpful tips and pointers would be a blessing. 

[xken]

The rope order arrived and I rigged up the two long guns to get a feel for doing and learning from them before doing all the carronades. For the benefit of others the breech line is Light Brown .035"(.88mm) and the tackle line is Light Brown .012" (.30mm). The whipping is sewing thread.

 

Here are a sequence of the rigging in the fixture I made which works very well. The big challenge was whipping the breech ropes and the tackle blocks. I used the sewing thread I found to do the rolling hitches rather than the traditional wrapping and it looked more to scale than the .008" from Syren. 

 

In checking over the plans I realized that more eye bolts are needed in the waterway for the gun rigging

Here are the two long guns permanently installed. The excess tackle line will be addressed later once the carronades are completed. I am trapping the tackle line at the bottom of the block as I wrap the black 28 gauge wire with the hook incorporated at the top of the block.

Here are pictures of the long guns in place.

 

Now onto the carronades and set up a mini production line. These will take a while to complete. Thanks again for the suggestion on using the Syren rope; much better than the kit supplied line for the guns.

  

[GLakie]

Ken, you're doing a job on this like you've done a dozen or so before. Are you sure this is your first ship? There's some really great detail in those tiny cannon. 

[xken]

Here is the first carronade rigged build using the same fixture as the long gun. I added a U.S. penny for scale.

Here it is rigged in place on the deck.

A side by side with the long gun.

 

Now to continue on with the rest of the carronades.

 

[GLakie]

Looks great Ken! I especially like those seizings.  In the process of going over your book. I've made it up to the small parts fab section.  I noticed there's no discussion about using a heat-sink yet, and was wondering if you've used them for any of your work? 

[xken]

George, the closest I have come is using yellow ochre to prevent solder flow; but it also works to a limited degree as a heat sink. Sometimes parts will be clamped together for soldering and clamps also function as heat sinks. But in general I have not set out to use a heat sink or heat sink putty.

[GLakie]

Gotcha! I asked because there was a discussion about it here a while back, and I wondered if you had used them before. Do you think a ceramic tile would be good enough to use as a base for soldering small parts? 

[xken]

George, yes as long as it is a high fired glaze, not a Terra Cotta one. Micro Mark offers a soldering surface that you can even pin into.

[Jack12477]

Hi Ken, I have your book also - no prior soldering experience unless you count soldering a couple wires to an N-scale model RR track - been reading it over. Had same question as George about heat sinks.

 

Love your cannons and carronades - really nice results.

[xken]

George, here is a link you should save for tools , etc. but this is the soldering boards that I use rather than a tile.

 

Jack the need for heat sinks is based upon the proximity of other joints to be protected and so far I have really not had a need for them. When I think there might be an issue I may use a lower temperature solder like 50/50.

 

The site below you may wish to explore for tools as well.  

 

http://www.ottofrei.com/Solderite-Soldering-Board-Hard-Compound.html

[Jack12477]

Ken, thanks for the link - will look into it. Also the explanation on heat sinks.

[GLakie]

Thanks much for the link Ken! 

[xken]

All the carronades have their tackle and in haul lines rigged and ready for attachment once I sort out where they are to be attached. I am guessing that the in haul lines are attached to the deck rings and then coiled to keep them in place and loosened for lateral adjustment. The tackle lines I am still trying to figure out where they are attached and then coiled. There are no details on the plans showing attachment details. Checking on the internet I have found several variations so now to see which would be best.

 

Here are a couple of pictures and I must say that patience is really required.

 

 

 

[GLakie]

She looks good with all her "teeth" in place Ken. Something like securing lines is more or less a "Captain's" choice. However, I do think the inner-most tackle would need to be secured for re-coil purposes. The rest were probably just coiled up and laid on the deck, or over the carriage someplace.

[xken]

George,

Thanks, but more dental work is needed on the "teeth". After spending some time checking around I realized that two more lines per carronade still need to be added. Lines from the bulwark lower rings to the gun tackle eyebolts on the rear side of the carronade as shown below. Now that I better understand the mechanics of the carronade now and my education on ship building continues. However, the scale of the tackle blocks is out of scale with the plans indicating that 1/8" blocks are to be used. Had a scale assembly drawing been drawn this would have shown itself. I will continue using what was supplied in the kit.

Now to add the rest of the tackle lines.

 

 

[xken]

Slowly working through the additional rigging of the carronades and securing the in haul lines on the starboard side. I modified the bent needle nose pliers and straight tweezers by filing down to slightly blunt points; this enabled working in and around the existing lines in place.

 

Now onto the port side, and thinking of how to make the coiled lines.

In one build it looks like the builder made a fixture using magnets holding the removable side in place which I think is really clever.

 

 

[xken]

I finally finished all the tackle lines and then moved on to the coiling of the ropes. Each tackle line was seized at the eyebolts very carefully adding just a touch of CA to hold the rigging tight. Then each line was aligned below the eyebolts. Originally the plan was to then cut the rope excess off at this point and then add a separate coil. On pondering the situation with a bit of libation I figured what the heck give it a test try coiling them in place. 

 

First I soaked the rope with water using a Q-tip to add the water. While waiting for the rope to thoroughly soak I cut a piece of wood strip with an angle on the end that was also soaked in water. I also filed the end of spring loaded tweezers to a sharper point  to reduce the size of the center hole of the coil. 

Here is the soaked rope.

 

I then griped the rope end with the tweezers and slowly turned the tweezers while using the wood follower to keep the coil flat towards the seized eyebolt sliding across the wet deck. The follower was then positioned to very carefully release the tweezers without pulling the center out.

 

Here are the wet rope coils in place being allowed to dry. 

 

Here they are completely dried overnight and the test looks successful. I now for the rest I will add starch to the water to work as a binder to hopefully hold the coils together and maintain the natural color of the rope. CA will darken the rope considerably. If someone else has a suggestion for a binder please share with me.

 

Now to move onto a deck load of carronades. A lesson learned is that the next time I do this I will make sure I have ample excess tackle line. I may have some too short and will add a separate coil as needed. Coiling them in place maintains a consistent natural look.

Looking forward to any advice other may have since this is my first attempt at doing this.

 

 

 

 

 

[GuntherMT]

Here they are completely dried overnight and the test looks successful. I now for the rest I will add starch to the water to work as a binder to hopefully hold the coils together and maintain the natural color of the rope. CA will darken the rope considerably. If someone else has a suggestion for a binder please share with me.

 

 

I also coiled mine in place on the deck, but instead of using water, I used a 50/50 water/white glue (Elmers school glue!) mix.  Once it dried, it's also glued and stiffened.  It does slightly darken the rope, but it's very minimal, and I used a paint brush to 'paint' the same mixture on the rest of the tackle to keep it from loosening over time, so there is no variation in the line color visible.

 

After completing the coils, I just dabbed the extra glue/water mix with a soft cloth and tweezers, and you can't see any sign of the mixture on the deck, it doesn't discolor it at all, or show any sort of 'lines' like CA would (the deck was coated with Minwax Wipe on Poly first).

[xken]

Brian, thanks for the tip; I have used that water/white glue mix with some planes I have built and will give it a try. Back in the day when I was in the Marine Corps Drill Team we used starch on our utility covers (hats) to form cover with crisp lines and maintain shape. Here is a picture from back in the day.

Edited July 23, 2015 by xken

[kurtvd19]

Ken:

Like Brian suggested, dilute white glue will do the job perfectly.  I would use a small piece of something between the rope and deck until the line is coiled, slip the coil onto the deck in the final location and the dilute white glue will do a good job of attaching the coil to the deck.  I usually do the coils off the model and add then as you had planned with some dilute white glue used to hold them to the deck and to hold the line from the gun in contact with the coil. 

I use a small turntable to make the coils.  I use some double face tape, or double over some blue painters tape, and stick the end of the line down securely and while turning the turntable I stick the line down into a coil and when the coil is the right size I apply the dilute white glue and set it aside to dry.  Another piece of tape and some more line and I can turn out coil after coil like an assembly line setting each coil aside to dry.

Your job looks great so it's working for you.

Kurt

[xken]

Kurt, thanks for the tips; great idea in using a piece under the coil forming this will help keep the deck clean. Any chance you could post a picture of the turntable or a link to it? I like the assembly line concept; being new to this I am still learning and sorting out processes to make things work.

[Jack12477]

Ken, if you add a drop or two of liquid dish detergent (e.g. Dawn) to the diluted white glue - it acts as a "wetting agent", i.e. breaks down the surface tension of the water and makes it soak in better. I used to use it for laying down ballast on my model RR.

[xken]

Jack, thanks I will give it a try; I think there is something in the rope itself that may be added as part of the rope making process that causes the absorption to take a little longer. Maybe Chuck could share what is in the rope.

[Jack12477]

Ken, when I did my Model RR ballast I used a 4 parts water to 1 part glue plus 2 drops of detergent. Not sure if that would work for the rope versus your 50-50 mixture. It left the Model RR ballast firm but slightly elastic. Also not sure if 4-1 ratio will allow the rope to stick to the deck; it should hold the rope coils together without overly stiffening them, but not sure about the deck holding ability.

[xken]

Jack, it is working with the 50/50 and 1 drop of dish detergent which makes it smell better and it has broken down the capillary action. The ones I have done are in fact sticking to the deck fine. One point of advice for those who may follow is to be careful adding CA to the end of the tackle line. I am trimming off the end to just where it ends on the rope; which becomes the center of the coil. Also allow extra line when rigging there are a couple that I wish I had a little more length.

[Jack12477]

Ken, glad the dish detergent helped.

[kurtvd19]

Here are two photos of the turntable set up I use to make rope coils.  The turntable is by Tamiya for the spray booth - where I use it a lot.  I have several pieces of the glass so I can use one for each rope coil as they dry.  The blue painters tape is doubled over and the end of the line is stuck down and the turntable is rotated while pushing down onto the line to make the coil.  Once the coil is made to size I apply dilute white glue and set aside till dry.  It lifts off the tape easily and can then be glued down in place.  The turntable is about 6" in diameter - just FYI.

Kurt

[Dan Vadas]

I made my own Turntable from an old Record Player. I stripped out the excess parts and added a flat top made from MDF to cover the various holes in the disc. Cost - $0.00 as the record player no longer worked anyway .

 

 Danny 

[xken]

Finally finished all the carronade tackle lines and then tried wrapping the tackle in place on the deck with mixed results due to some lines being too short. Next time I will make sure that I have longer lines. I then dropped back to past experiences and wrapped the coiled ropes on a plastic polyethylene food container lid. I then found it very easy to do both left and right coils on the lid with the lines taped to the edge. Once completely set they are very easily removed. They can also be unwrapped to adjust the size.

Here is a picture showing them setting on the lid and I can pick and choose the ones I am not satisfied with to replace on the deck.

Here is a close-up  of one.

Here is a couple on the deck.

 

I am moving on to the bowsprit and start rigging it and then the anchors. I think it might be wise to get all the deck related items completed before rigging the masts.

I started the bowsprit by adding the gammon rope. At first they kept slipping forward as I tightened the rope so I added a stop block and completed the rope wrap and glued just the bottom side. Once the glue set I removed the stop block.

Now to add the yard and rigging which should keep me busy for a while.