Pride of Baltimore II by jcoby - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64

[jcoby]

Added the various cleats and the ringtail boom to the main boom.

 

I still need to add eye bolts, two more bands, cleats, foot ropes, and the 0.008" wire pins to the boom before it is complete.

 

 

Forming those metal bands was a pain. I made a sort of figure 8 and soft soldered it together. Of course the boom grew in size after I painted it so I had to stretch the eyes out in order to get them installed and even then I scraped a bunch of paint up.

 

I was going to serve the eyes for foot ropes as well but the line that is included with the kit is awful. It is stiff plastic line and it is full of kinks from being wound around the bobbin. I doubt it will hang in any sort of realistic way.

 

The metal cleats included in the kit are far too big to attach to the boom so I will probably have to either buy some smaller ones or make some out of wood.

[Timothy Wood]

Hi jcoby,

 

It's been a whild since I've checked your log and I must say that you are doing a fantastic job!  Keep up the fine work!!!!    

 

Cheers,

Tim

[Sailor1234567890]

I spent a lovely afternoon sailing Baltimore Harbor in PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II. We had all fore and aft sails set but not the squares. I was hoping for them as well but that didn't happen. Still, she's a wonderful ship to steer. You can feel her power up as you bear off and she really starts to run. We had about 10-15 knot winds that day so it was beautiful sailing.

[jcoby]

Spent a little more time on the main boom. I installed the eyelets. I also decided that the drops from the eyelets were close enough to the 0.008" wire that was needed. It's a little out of scale at 0.015" (about 1" actual size) but they look fine and match the eyelets that are completely out of scale.

 

 

The metal cleats supplied with the kit are far too big to use on the boom. So I started making some out of wood that will be more to scale. They are still far too big but not obnoxiously so.

 

 

I also lashed the ringtail boom to the main boom but I later realized that all running rigging should be brown instead of black so I will be redoing it.

[jcoby]

I spent a lovely afternoon sailing Baltimore Harbor in PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II. We had all fore and aft sails set but not the squares. I was hoping for them as well but that didn't happen. Still, she's a wonderful ship to steer. You can feel her power up as you bear off and she really starts to run. We had about 10-15 knot winds that day so it was beautiful sailing.

 

Neat. With over 9000 sqft of sail I bet she moves on. It's hard to even find pictures of her under full sail. They seem to rarely set the studding sails. I can imagine it's a ton of work to set all of those sails though.

 

Here is the original Pride with all sails set.

 

 

And Pride II

 

 

I'm actually a little conflicted as to whether I want to display her with the studding booms set or not. I feel like they may be a little fragile.

[jcoby]

I've decided to start working from the bow aft when detailing the deck. No real reason other than I would like a break from making little boxes.

 

The cap rail was about 1/8" too long and far too pointy. I thought I could live with it but there is a piece that goes on top of it to guide some lines and it was going to be very difficult to make so it had to be reshaped.

 

 

I decided to scarf in a little triangular piece instead of just reshaping the cap rail and adding in a little piece of filler. I have no clue how this section is done on the real ship. I cannot find pictures and it is not detailed on the plans. It's a fairly busy area so I don't think it will draw your eye too much even if it's incorrect.

 

 

I also drilled the hawse pipes and started to paint the anchor winch. A couple pieces need to be set into the deck to act as supports for the winch and I'm not totally sure how I want to approach that. I should have set those during the decking process.

[jcoby]

I contacted Model Expo for replacements for the 1/8" and 5/16" dowels that came severely bowed. Replacements arrived within a few days. The 1/8" dowel is straight enough but the 5/16" has and S-curve in it with about 1/8" bow on each way. The original 5/16" dowel had about 3/8" bow right in the middle.

 

The 5/16" dowel is for the fore mast and it's about 15" long. I've been trying to find ways to straighten this dowel out but so far it's winning. I don't have anywhere locally to buy spruce dowel. Only poplar and oak.

 

 

The anchor windlass is smaller than what the plans show. I am trying to decide if I want to adjust the pads to fit the windlass or just let the windlass sit on them a little funny.

 

 

Alternatively I could attempt building a windlass from scratch. It's pretty intricate though and the mill and lathe that I have are way too big for doing such small work. Once it's all completed I don't think it will be worth the effort.

[Sailor1234567890]

That focs'l looks awesome. 

[jcoby]

Finished up the after cabin tonight except for the ship's bell. I will install the bell just before rigging so I don't have to worry about knocking it off or bending it.

 

It's kind of hard to see but the skylight is cut out and I installed a piece of blackened wood covered in packing tape to simulate the glass. I was originally going to use a window from an envelope and let you see into the skylight a bit but that didn't look very good as I made the skylights too close to the frame and there wasn't enough glue area to attach the clear plastic

 

All that's left for the after cabin is to coat it in wipe on poly and glue it to the deck. It's pretty exciting to see parts being attached to the deck after so much work!

 

[Javlin]

All is looking very Nice there JCoby.I have my plans out this evening and looking them over after finished here fortunatly I will have some assistence with mine from a member here on the board.I will be watching Sir.

[jcoby]

Spent a couple hours last night working on the engine controls.

 

There is a 3/32" discrepancy between the width shown on the details and the deck plan and the width of the coaming drawn on the frame plan. Since the coamings were installed before the decking there is absolutely no way to widen the coaming at this point so I simply made the part look correct instead of making it to match the plans.

 

I'm guessing that the frame drawing was measured from the inside of the part instead of the outside. It's exactly 3/32" smaller which is two of the 3/64" strips that the various deck boxes are made from.

 

I also messed up a little bit and attached the tops before staining. I got some stain on the side of the box so I went ahead and stained the whole thing to avoid having a dark spot bleed through. I will sand and then prime and paint the sides of the box in the cream color today. Going forward I will simply stain the underside of the tops before installing them like I had before.

 

[Sailor1234567890]

Looking good.

[jcoby]

Painted the engine room box sides. Picture shows the difference in size between the frame plan and the detail plan. The detail plan is shown.

 

Fore-aft they both match. It's only port-stbd that they differ. In the end I don't think it will be noticeable. 

 

Still need to attach the mounts for the pump handles and the handles themselves.

 

Edited January 10, 2014 by jcoby

[jcoby]

And a picture of all of the deck furniture aft of the main mast set into place. I still need to install the various cleats and eyelets on the rails and stanchions before I install them permanently.

 

[Sailor1234567890]

I sailed her a few years ago and was surprised at how high the steering gear box was. The big helm felt awesome as we bore off and she powered up. No squares set but all fore and aft sails were set. We stayed in Baltimore Harbor but the wind was a nice 10-15 knots. Made for an awesome afternoon on the water. She's looking VERY sharp there. Nice and crisp details. Thanks for showing us.

[jcoby]

I sailed her a few years ago and was surprised at how high the steering gear box was. The big helm felt awesome as we bore off and she powered up. No squares set but all fore and aft sails were set. We stayed in Baltimore Harbor but the wind was a nice 10-15 knots. Made for an awesome afternoon on the water. She's looking VERY sharp there. Nice and crisp details. Thanks for showing us.

 

Neat. I have family in Baltimore and they say that the Pride is away more than not.

 

I just measured the plans and the wheel is 56" in diameter and sits 30.5" off the deck. That does seem quite big!

[jcoby]

Tonight I spent a couple hours working on the fore mast.

 

I started by spending 20 minutes straightening the replacement dowel that MS sent. It was bent in a S-curve that was at least 1/16" in each direction.

 

I used a set of pliers to burnish the high side while bending the dowel past straight. I ended up with a section that was within 1/32" of true. Close enough. I will be able to pull any remaining curvature out when I add the standing rigging.

 

After that I added the octagon shape at the base and cut it to the 13-1/2° angle called out in the plans. In the picture the fore mast looks quite a bit more vertical but it's only 2° less than the main mast. The lens on my iPhone makes it look much more than it is. It's not perfectly positioned for the picture either. I will use the standing rigging to set the masts in the proper location when it comes to that point.

 

 

It's time to clean up the workspace I think!

Edited February 26, 2014 by jcoby

[capnharv2]

Looks really good! And the work space doesn't look that crowded-compared to mine.

 

As an interesting aside, I was going thru some old boxes this weekend, and found a brochure from the Pride of Baltimore 1 (from 1983) whe she visited Seattle. If I ever get my workroom cleaned up, I know I have plans for POB 1-if I can find them. I'd love to make a Pride 1 and Pride 2(I have the Pride 2 kit) and put them rafted together in a diorama. I hope I live long enough to do that.

 

Thanks again,

 

Harvey

[jcoby]

I spent some more time getting the fore mast done. It's complete except for the cleats that go on the octagonal section at the base and completing the trestle tree at the top.

 

I took a picture of her with all of the masts and booms but it's too blurry to post. It's going to be a tall model when it's done. I don't really know where I'm going to put it.

 

I also made up some gauges that are the proper 13.5° and 15.5° to set the masts. I'll post pictures of them and how I made them later.

 

I then moved on to the pin rail and fire extinguisher and bilge pumps. The fire extinguisher are made of bronze. I don't have any paint that simulates old bronze and the gold that is included in the kit doesn't look anything like bronze.

 

So I decided to switch to plastic model paint (Model Masters and Testors). I put on a coat of gold and then dry brushed on a coat of a dark oxide. The results are a serviceable bronze look. I don't feel like the castings are very good. They seem more like blobs that sort of look like bilge pumps.

 

 

I then attached the pumps and fire extinguisher to the deck. It feels good to finally install parts onto the deck permanently! The engine controls box and pin rail are not installed (the engine controls are backwards anyways).

 

 

Next up: deck eye bolts, deck cleats, and finishing up the details on the inside of the wale. After that I should be able to start installing the deck furniture.

 

It feels like I'm finally making some sort of progress again.

[jcoby]

Looks really good! And the work space doesn't look that crowded-compared to mine.

 

As an interesting aside, I was going thru some old boxes this weekend, and found a brochure from the Pride of Baltimore 1 (from 1983) whe she visited Seattle. If I ever get my workroom cleaned up, I know I have plans for POB 1-if I can find them. I'd love to make a Pride 1 and Pride 2(I have the Pride 2 kit) and put them rafted together in a diorama. I hope I live long enough to do that.

 

Thanks again,

 

Harvey

 

Interesting idea. I have no clue what the difference is between the two Prides other than a couple decades between their construction. I think they modernized Pride II a bit but I don't know if the general design itself was changed.

[jcoby]

I spent some time on the various eyelets tonight. I installed the 14 deck eyebolts and two that go on the stern knees. You can also see in the picture that the pump and fire hydrant are more bronze than the other pictures show.

 

 

I then started on the eyelets and rings that hold the cannon in place. I found some 0.011" brass wire from another kit. I wound it around a #70 drill bit but that turned out to be far too small for me to work with.

 

So i switched to a #61 and that seemed to be OK. I wound tight coils and then split them off with some small side cutters. I then flattened them in a set of smooth jaw pliers. I made 22 of them even though 20 were needed. Turns out that they go shooting off very easily and I needed all 22 of them!

 

 

After that I held the eyelet in a set of small hemostats and used tweezers to bend the eyelet. I inserted the ring and then flattened it back out. The result is passable at this scale I think. It doesn't match the plans exactly (they're about 30% too big) but there is no way I could work with a 0.025" I.D.

 

It took me as long to figure out how to make the first four as the remaining 16.

 

 

Next step is to blacken them and glue them in. I may make a jig and rig up the cannon to them before gluing.

Edited March 14, 2014 by jcoby

[jcoby]

One out of scale and squished cannon that doesn't fit into the opening quite right mostly done. The castings in this kit are far from precise or well done. Lots of flashing and everything has shrunk or there is some mold shift.

 

 

Three more to go. I have the carriages glued up for the other three. All that's left is to install the trucks, paint, and add a set of eyelets and rings. I'll probably have to massage everything a bit to get it down to size so it fits in the gun port without touching.

 

I don't think I could do one of those models that have dozens of guns onboard!

 

[russ]

Your model is coming along nicely. The eyebolts and rings came out well. Good work.

 

Russ

[jcoby]

I installed most of the cannon eyelets today. There are four (two on each side) that get installed on the fore side of the stanchions. I'm not sure how I'm going to drill for them. I may just drill a little crooked and push them into proper position. The basswood is pretty forgiving in that regard.

 

 

I also put a coat of primer on the trucks for the cannon. These things are tiny but still seem too large to my eye but I am not changing them. They seem to fit in the gun ports with a bit of sanding on the wheels to make everything flat.

 

Edited March 26, 2014 by jcoby

[capnharv2]

"Interesting idea. I have no clue what the difference is between the two Prides other than a couple decades between their construction. I think they modernized Pride II a bit but I don't know if the general design itself was changed."

 

I don't remember that many details, but Pride 2 is bigger than Pride 1 and meets more CG regs (such as water tight bulkheads). I believe Pride 1 was more "authentic" and inherently more dangerous.

 

Baltimore Clippers were not necessarily designed for offshore use, yet Pride of Baltimore 1 went to Europe and the West Coast several times. I read that, when she sailed in a good blow, her topside planking would open up, and she would leak very badly.

 

Your model is looking good!

 

Thanks,

 

Harvey

Edited March 26, 2014 by capnharv2

[jcoby]

Progress has slowed down again now that the weather has turned nice. Plus I managed to get the flu followed by conjunctivitis. Having a kid is a great way to get sick.

 

Apparently I used the wrong stock when I made the engine access hatch. It ended up being 1/32" too small in both directions. Instead of making it completely from scratch I just glued on some 1/32" stock to bring it to size and then transferred the hatch covers to a new top. After a coat of paint it's unnoticeable.

 

I also added the stowed pump arms to the engine access hatch. Those are the smallest pieces I've had to make so far. The arms themselves are 1/64" in diameter (~0.015") and are about 3/32" apart. I also had to make two sets because the plan callout for the arms was scaled about 30% bigger than it should be. It worked out for the better because I stained the first set the wrong color.

 

To break up the monotony of working on the deck details I've been concentrating on getting all of the rail details done. I have all of the cannon eyelets and rings installed and have finished all four of the cleats where the mooring lines go through. Various cleats go on next followed by some strips in the cannon openings and the ladders.

 

[russ]

Nice work. I like the colors I see.

 

Russ

[Mirabell61]

main mast mocked up and installed. it's amazing these ships even work with that much sail area.

IMG_0181.JPG

 

top rail installed. sides of the rail need the stain touched up where I adjusted the fit. the rail at the transom will have to wait until I get the transom trim installed.

IMG_0183.JPG

 

nice looking ship Jcoby,

 

beautifull lines, hull and deck also look great

is that angle the 2nd mast ist Standing correct so ?

 

Nils

[jcoby]

nice looking ship Jcoby,

 

beautifull lines, hull and deck also look great

is that angle the 2nd mast ist Standing correct so ?

 

Nils

 

The angle of the mast is close to correct in that picture (within a degree or two). The mast is set at 15.5°. It looks more extreme because the ship is not level.

 

I made a couple of jigs to set the masts once I get to rigging:

 

[jcoby]

Nice work. I like the colors I see.

 

Russ

 

Thanks for the compliment. I feel like I should probably have started with something a little more simple!

 

Funny you say that because they seem too vibrant and a little garish to me. The mahogany stain in particular is not correct (too purple). The mahogany stain on the rail where I've sanded and handled it the most looks the most realistic to me. The red coamings should be darker. My attempts to mute the red just made it turn various other colors. I will probably age the deck furniture to make things look a bit more realistic. 

 

It's surprisingly hard to find decent pictures of the Pride II (especially since it's still a working ship that gives tours and rides). The best ones on Flickr are almost always taken in HDR which makes them look awful. Or they don't take pictures of the bits I want to get details of. I guess most people don't find the little nooks and crannies interesting!

Edited April 21, 2014 by jcoby