US Brig Niagara by mikiek - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64 - First wooden ship build

[mikiek]

Thank you Don. I'm waiting too.

 

However I think I am going to do as much as a can - structures, etc. - before I permanently install it.

[mikiek]

Question for you guys - I see that a lot of you spread a layer of filler on the deck and then sand it off. I'm questioning the need to do that. There are very few irregularities (high/low spots) and I believe sanding will take care of what there is.

 

Is there some other reason for the filler?

[Elijah]

I don't have the answer to your question, but great job on your deck! Keep up the good work !

[riverboat]

Very nice work on the decking Mike......the ships boat came out real nice too..have fun!!!

 

Frank

[mikiek]

Thank you Frank and Elijah! Always nice to get a pat on the back from fellow compatriots.

 

Well the deck is taking a little more work than planned. Besides the notches in the keel right behind each bulkhead I am also having to notch the outer portion of the bulkheads to make way for the deck outer frame. I should have seen that one. The Dremel is making short work of it though.

 

I also did a bottom frame where each structure is located. That way when I cut holes to mount the structures the coamings have something to sit on. I think this was a good idea however some of those frames are running over the keel and/or bulkhead tops - more notches.

 

I worked on color this afternoon.I wasn't crazy about my first attempt with the Golden Oak stain - too dark. On some faux decking I tried just matte lacquer and just Tamiya Clear paint. The clear was getting closer to what I want but not yet there.  Then I found some Minwax Pre-Stain. I put down a coat of that and then later a light wipe of the Golden Oak. This is looking much better. Actually the pre-stain looked pretty good by itself. Still experimenting.  I have forgone any pix as colors never look the same in a posted pic viewed on a computer.

 

I"m also beginning to look at the plans for all the structures. I believe that's where I'm headed next.

[Elijah]

Sounds great!

[mikiek]

OK - first real foul up. I was hoping to make some progress on the masts. They're shaped, the tops are built and I'm about ready to paint. I wanted to temporarily "assemble" the main sticks - main, top, top gallant - so I dropped the the top mast into the slot on the main top. No problem there, until I started trying to figure out what else holds the top mast to the main? Of course, the cap which was still in the laser cut sheet. After punching the main caps out I started trying to figure out how it was going to fit onto the top mast. It won't.

 

After reading another build log it seems like that is one of those parts that must be installed early on because you can't do it later. Frankly, I don't see how it would fit anyway. Given the mast taper, it looks like it would end up about 3" from the head and nowhere near the foot of the top mast. Bummer!  One log mentioned splitting the cap longwise, fitting it around the mast and gluing back together.

 

Another cool option is shown in Harold Underhill's POF Models V2. Page 23 shows a gorgeous piece of metalwork. Obviously a serious detour from the laser cut piece of wood. It would seriously test a complete newbie's patience and ability. Then there is the question if the piece is anywhere close to what was actually done during that period. And a follow up, Do I care?

 

For me, parts like that add tremendous interest to a build.  Of course that means I would need to follow suit for the other masts for the sake of consistency. Another month added to the project plan!

 

Let me know what you guys think....

[jbshan]

For the masts, a copy of Darcy Lever, 'The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor' is indispensable.  Model Expo usually carries it in a Dover edition, c. $20.

[mikiek]

jbshan - You know I bought that book with about 7 others. They all arrived about a month ago and I have not even opened that one yet. I will do so this evening.

[leclaire]

Mike,

 

Regarding your question of why some folks apply a filler to the deck and then sand it off - it seems to me that I remember reading somewhere that in doing this the residue remaining between the planks after sanding is meant to simulate caulking. I am planking the deck of my own Niagara at the moment and considered this approach. But I am quite content with the look I get with just a light sanding of the decking. I would think, however, that in order to be effective the filler used would have to be a different color than the deck material. Not sure how this might affect the deck in terms of discoloring.

 

Bob 

[mikiek]

Bob - Thanks for looking in. I agree with your concern and also that a deck can look fine with just sanding. I used a MarksAlot on plank edges for my "caulking" so filling for that purpose isn't required in my case. 

 

I also have to wonder whether filler does exactly what its name says and fills the grain in the deck planking. IMO If you're not careful with filler you can end up with your wood surface looking more like plastic after it's painted. Personally I kind of like all the imperfections.

[mikiek]

jbshan - "The Young Sea Officer's Sheet Anchor'"  is fantastic!! When all the books arrived I should have opened that one first. I've never seen better illustrations! A must have for everyone.

 

It does show mast caps just like what is supplied in the kit. The author describes it as a large block made of elm. Actually, I'm glad to see that. I was beginning to think the caps in the kit were just a cheap way out for the manufacturer.

 

Also, I was having second thoughts about making the part described in Underhill's book. It was not just a connector for the two masts. It also had an extension in front to hold a yard - which is different than how the same yard is held in the kit plans. The piece also had some eyebolts for rigging - again, different than the kit. So while I still think it is a beautiful piece of metalwork, using it would open up a can of worms when it comes time for rigging.

[jbshan]

Underhill's too late, as you have discovered, while Lever is right in the time frame.  Pay particular attention to Lever's descriptions on raising the masts.  If you can make yours to be able to do that, you'll be 90% there.

[mikiek]

I've put the other books aside for a while and will focus on the Lever book. It's kind of a hard read. Some of the English needs to be "translated".

[jbshan]

I've put the other books aside for a while and will focus on the Lever book. It's kind of a hard read. Some of the English needs to be "translated".

You will find you sometimes need to go back and forth from the text to the plates also, and many of the plates have several things shown.  Take your time, make sure you understand everything before moving on.  It's invaluable, just for a basic understanding.  Be aware also that Lever sometimes shows several solutions to the same problem.  That's where you'll want to go back to the plans, which are some of the best, to eliminate alternative setups.

[mikiek]

Well, I've been working on the masts for a while. Got many questions answered in that forum thanks to all the good folks here. One big lesson learned - CHECK THE PLANS - then double check. I got burned several times by pieces that need to go on the stick before too much shaping happens - because later is too late!

 

As much as I would like to see a fully assembled mast, I have been reluctant to do that yet. Same reason as mentioned above. I have not included any pix - I imagine most everyone has seen masts before.

 

Taking a break there, I am moving back to the hull. I finished gouging out notches for the frame under the deck. The keel and bulkheads are a mess now but the deck does drop in nicely. I think I made the situation worse by adding framing for all the structures. All that required  notches just like the frame cross pieces.

 

I've begun to work the port side gun/oar ports and bulwark. First thing up was to get a square strip on top of the timberheads. They were fairly unlevel so I needed to add several shims on top. I was also reacquainted with the fragileness of the timberheads. I managed to break 2 before I got the top strip glued down. Hopefully, that will protect them a little.

 

Adding the gunwale strakes was an eye opener. I have been dealing with boxwood (replacement) strips for the decking. Now it's back to basswood, at least for a while. I couldn't figure out why the strips were feathering so much when I sanded them. After using the boxwood for a while, the finished basswood strip is just downright ugly. When I get to the real hull planking I will go back to boxwood, but since the starboard bulwark is basswood I wanted to be consistent.

 

Overall, I think the move I took to do the masts was a good break. Now it's actually nice to have the hull back in my hands again!

[mikiek]

Thank goodness for this log!  I got to sizing up the the port framing and didn't remember much of what I had done on the starboard. Memory just ain't what it used to be.  I'll have to get the routine down again. It will be interesting to see how I do it this time - with a little more modeling under my belt.

 

Was checking the leftover paint from the starboard bulwark. I had mixed a green for the inner bulwark and a yellow for the outer. What I didn't use I put in some of those 1oz paint jars. Looking at them tonight, both of the tops somehow loosened up. The paint is ruined. I'm willing to concede that I could have left one of them loose but not both! Not sure what happened. I'm going to make a post in the paint forum about long term storage but I'd like to hear from anyone here about that if you have a good method.

[Elijah]

I don't know much about paint storage, but you could probably find something about it in one of the topics. Also, pictures always help people see and understand what you are doing, and can only go to help you. Plus, I'm sure we would all love to see your masts !

[mikiek]

A good thought Elijah - thanks for staying around.

[Canute]

Mike, clean off any paint on the threads for the top. Put a circle of plastic bag material over the mouth of the bottle. Screw the top on and invert the bottle. Use the paint to seal out any air. I've stored Floquil paints for years by doing that.

[mikiek]

Sounds like a winner Ken. I've always stored house paint upside down. The problem with those little paint jars is the paint seems to destroy the seals - cardboard or Styrofoam. Using the plastic as a seal would eliminate that.

[mikiek]

I've had very good luck with the Tamiya paints I buy. Their jars seem to work well. Paint in opened jars is always in good shape. Those jars have just a plastic top.  I came across a place that sells those, so I ordered some. I'm hoping this will help!

[mikiek]

Now on to the log.  I'm getting ready to do the port bulwark - ports, planking, etc.  I forgot how much prep work there is. First the leveling the timberheads. Then adding the top strip from bow to stern. Some of the timberheads were a little wimpy looking so I glued strips to quite a few of them. Of course then you have to sand them to size. Then I applied some putty in the gaps around the waterway. I believe that's all ready to go.

 

I've had a lot of small parts lying around for some time - mostly mast related. I'm tired of seeing them so I decided to get all that put together before moving to the bulwarks. So the masts, tops, etc. are assembled and painted now.

 

The plans call for the tops and sections of the masts to be black so I mixed up something I now call "Evil Black". It's a combination of Tamiya flat back and something they call Rubber Black. It is the blackest color I've ever seen. There is no sheen to it at all - like it just absorbs the light. Of course the pix don't do it justice.

 

I switched out all the mast dowels for Costello Boxwood. All the masts were made from square strips as was the decking. I did a few samples of stain and finish on a fake deck and I wasn't overly happy with the Golden Oak stain I was using. But I'm also sick of fooling around with it, so the parts of the masts that should be stained got a light rub of Golden Oak. And I still don't like it. It just makes the boxwood look dirty. Not sure what I will do when it comes time to color the deck. Speaking of the deck, there's a few pix with it dropped in the hull. Not glued in yet, but it looks pretty nice.

 

The masts called for two items of metal work - the hardest parts I've made yet. One was a ring to go around the fore mast with an eye hole on it. The other is the step for the spanker mast - 1/16" strip that called for some pins to go through it to hold it together. Thank goodness for the drill press!  If I had been paying attention, I could have soldered the parts early on and just slid them down the masts. I had to assemble them on them and epoxy them instead. Lesson learned.

 

Speaking of metalwork, I am still going crazy with the rivet punch. I've put them on brass strips and used them in places to look like reinforcing. There's a few on the mast tops. I've kind of given up blackening those parts as any spot with CA glue doesn't blacken. However I am pretty happy with the look of the Tamiya Dark Iron paint. See what you think.

 

After all that I gave myself a treat. I'm not ready to do a permanent assembly on the masts yet, but they do all fit together and stand in the hull so I fitted them together and dropped them in place - not perfectly aligned. Wow!  Very nice seeing that! Quite a feeling of accomplishment. Niagara is really tall!

 

Enjoy the pix....

[donrobinson]

Looking pretty sharp Mike

[Elijah]

I like the look of your masts! Very nice "Evil Black" as well .

[texxn5]

Hello Mike, I just found your log. Very nice job. I'm thinking this might be my next build since I've finished my Charles W Morgan. Interesting build order. What part of Texas? I'm on lake Conroe. I visited the Niagara back in July and tried to thoroughly photograph her since I plan to build her. I have a section devoted to those photographs on my website. Let me know if you need anything specific. I have been aboard her twice. Inf the museum there are some nice models, one is 1/2" scale. I'm enjoying reading your log and will follow along on your log.

John

 

link to Niagara on my website: http://www.charleswmorganmodel.com/us-brig-niagra.html

[mikiek]

Don, Elija and John - thank you for your kind words. As I mentioned, it is really nice to begin to see some of the fruits of all my labor. This build began on 10/1/15 so I am 4 months in now. I knew there would be some ups and downs. Yesterday was a real high!

 

John - we are practically neighbors. I am just off 1097 near the big bridge. Your site is quite helpful. Most of this build has gone on based on pix and build logs. I use the plans mostly just to make sure I didn't forget something. I've tagged your site for future reference.

[texxn5]

Mike, we live in Shadow Bay off of Long Street and 1097. we're real close.

John

[mikiek]

My first mate and I just about completed the port side bulwark port framing yesterday. The process was fairly uneventful - although it was like doing it for the first time. Man, my memory has not been helpful during this build. I started out this framing using wood glue and couldn't figure out why it was taking so long. Then remembered that on the starboard side I did a lot of the gluing with the runny CA.  The problem is earlier last week I ruined this CA trying to get the top off. Had to take some pliers to it and that ended up ripping off the nozzle as well as the top. I suppose CA (all flavors) is something you should have a backup for. Interestingly, I found a site that sells replacement BSI caps and the screw on nozzles so I ordered a few along with more CA.

 

Speaking of glue, 2 of the brass strips that I glued to wood using the medium CA started to come off. I've re-glued them but I am wondering if there is a better choice for metal to wood. Please let me know if you have a better method.

 

Reviewing the mast plans, I discovered one more metal piece that was overlooked. It's a square bracket that goes right at the top of the main, apparently to hold the halyard for a spanker sail. Got that cranked out but I keep running into a problem with these metal mast parts. If I make a loop or square or whatever that is supposed to wrap around a mast, I am scared to solder it together. Several of these pieces could not be slid down the mast so I had to connect them after they were on the mast. I suspect soldering would put a nice char mark on the wood. Having to use epoxy instead, but that makes it difficult (at least for me) to work with small pieces. For instance, the square I made yesterday has an eyehole on it. Even applying the epoxy with a pin, I managed to cover the eyehole.  Plus epoxy is not really pliable afterwards.  Again, I'd be interested to know how you guys do this.

[jbshan]

If you can get to the plugged hole with a drill, drill the epoxy out of the hole.

I would have used printer paper wrapped around the mast a few times with an eyebolt in the appropriate place.  I dampen the paper with glue before wrapping and it softens enough to follow the shape as I do the wrap.  Glues itself, too.  You can paint after or use black paper.

I know some people swear by it despite many cautions, but I would not let CA anywhere near a model.

 

Metal to wood, use epoxy.  If you can, heat it (you said above you were getting a torch soon, yes?) so it can form without spring back. 

 

The bands on these anchors are paper.  It stretches enough when damp to go around the non-parallel sides of the stock.

 

Edited February 1, 2016 by jbshan