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

[mikiek]

Thank you Joel. I have a punch & die set that makes these pieces that look like the head of a carriage bolt. I've used them on some other parts. The smallest of those is actually so small it's not really of much use - your dot of glue would be larger than the bolt head.

 

re: the catheads - I've been dying to put the anchors back on and lash them to the side. But I know they would get beat up down the road.

 

I do have a question about the anchor cable. The plans don't really show where they run to once on deck. I'm looking at the Eagle practicum and they run the cable all the way to the main hatch and into some holes in the grating. I was thinking about dropping them into the first grating at the bow. But now I'm seeing that the bow area below deck would have been the crew area (the seamen at least) so I don't know that a cable running thru there would have been practical. And of course the cable I do have on the anchors is about 2" too short to reach the main hatch.

[jbshan]

There wasn't a focs'l or compartment for crew quarters as such.  There was a 'saloon' midships but I suspect most of the crew either slept on top of the stores in the hold or on deck.  Just stick the cables down a convenient hatch after they have been belayed at the bitts.

[mikiek]

Thank you for reminding me about the bits!

[mikiek]

When I was young I used to be very interested in WWII and the fight in the Pacific. Carriers and the planes they carried was a hot topic and I read all I could about it. I remember a general description of the fighter planes as "a huge engine and just enough of a plane to get it and some ordinances off the ground". Don't know how true that was but it always stuck with me.

 

Arming Niagara is giving me the same sort of reaction. No real crew quarter, no real stowage area, no galley, no room. Just enough of a ship to load a lot of guns on. That's all the main deck is going to be - guns.

 

The main deck is half way armed now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The figurine is 1:64 so it matches the build scale. It's interesting to get a feel for the size of things.

 

[jbshan]

Indeed, these were merely platforms for bringing the guns into range of the enemy, and the carronades were 32 pdrs so the amount of iron flying around was impressive.  When you get the other side armed, it really is going to look like a vessel meant to go in harm's way.

[mikiek]

I have said this before - I realize as a percentage, casualties were usually not overly high (although Lawrence was an exception). But I believe the injury and maiming caused during these battles - especially with carronades - may have been some of the most brutal in history.

[donrobinson]

That row of guns does look impressive, looking forward to seeing the second row

[mikiek]

Thank you Don. It may be a while. I used up my stash of parts & pieces for the port battery. It is now back to the grindstone to make enough for starboard.

[mikiek]

Question regarding the gun outhaul tackles. I've read that these were not usually installed during normal operation. Makes perfect sense - a real safety hazard.  In theory they would be needed only before loading the first round and there was usually no rush in getting that load ready. There have also been some suggestions that there may not have been individual tackles for each gun.  Possibly they were shared by neighboring gun crews.

 

So my question is if the tackle is not hooked up where would it be? Stowed below? Draped over the gun? Elsewhere?

[jbshan]

Might have been stowed on hooks on the bulwarks, excess fall frapped, but basically I dunno.

[mikiek]

Might have been stowed on hooks on the bulwarks, excess fall frapped, but basically I dunno.

 

Did I stump the band?

 

I was mostly just thinking out loud as I don't plan on having them (other than the eyebolt in the deck). For a build it probably doesn't make much sense to have extra tackles hanging around.

[jbshan]

I suspect it's one of those things either everybody knew about so they didn't write it down, or it was left up to the Captain and Gunner or Bos'n.  There may be somewhere in the literature a reference.

[scott larkins]

Looking good, truly an inspiration for us ship builders still behind you.  Where did you find the figure?  I'd love to get some.

[mikiek]

Scott - castyouranchor.com had the figures. I've seen a lot of places that have them but this was the only one I found that claimed to be 1:64. I don't have plans to mount them permanently, but I do like them for photos. It really helps to give me some perspective. For instance, I never really realized the bulwarks were so tall - they come up to around your chin.

[Elijah]

I didn't realize your ship has so many guns ! It must be tedious to make them!

[jbshan]

I didn't realize your ship has so many guns ! It must be tedious to make them!

There are only 20, it's just that they are all out in the open and they do tend to take up most of the deck space.

[mikiek]

Elijah - the rigging of the guns has taken an incredible amount of time. Very slow going for me.

 

Joel is right, there are only 20, but since they are  completely exposed on the deck vs. just a barrel sticking out of a gun port, they require a higher level of detail.

 

As has been stated here, Niagara was just a platform for a lot of guns. Built for sailing Lake Erie only, so land was never far away. Neither was the enemy. So large areas for supplies and crew were not needed. You could sail the entire lake in a few days.

 

But you are right, there are a lot of guns per square footage of the deck. I'm still finding it a rather somber experience arming the build. I can't imagine the experience of being on deck with all the guns going off - and a lot of hostile incoming material.

[6ohiocav]

Mike,

 

Looking great.  Keep up the "stropping"

 

From experience, when you are done, your deck will look real awesome and you will feel a great sense of accomplishment... only to be thrust into another tedious task, but I am sure you know that. As long as it is still fun, it is all good.

 

Your work and advice keep inspiring me to move ahead,  I thank you for that. 

[mikiek]

Thank you Darrell - a few of the extracurricular distractions may be about to settle down so I'm hoping for some 'quality' time to finish up these guns. I've found it very frustrating when I just get 30 minutes here or there. The assembly line slows to a crawl.

 

Had a cool experience this weekend - the gentleman that inspired me to try shipbuilding lives in the same senior facility as my dad. When he moved there he donated several builds to the facility for display. Seeing those is what gave me the itch. I took the Niagara hull with me last weekend to show my dad and was also able to show it to this other guy. He seemed impressed. I told him I would carry the torch for a while and also showed him some pics of my 10 year old daughter working on her kit. The next gen.

[mikiek]

It's been way too long since some meaningful progress. But tonite there is some to pass on. Before that, I was asked about the frapping (love it or hate it) so I will show a few pix on how that was done. So much of this was figured out on that mock up gun port. Quite the extreme in one sense but helpful in others.

 

Regarding gun tackles the plans call for 1/8" blocks and .016 line.  Sadly, 0.16 is not to be had - a shame since that would have made this process a lot simpler. So I start out with a 1/8 double and a 1/8 single block, reaved with .012 (yes that's right) line. 3 mm PE hooks are stropped to the blocks. I'm going to figure everyone can get to that point. One note - even though the hooks are stropped I ended up putting a spot of CA at the base to keep the hook from flopping around while trying to hook them to rings.

 

 

I struggled with the hooks, sometimes it was terribly difficult to get them hooked to the rings as the opening is not very wide. I ended up spreading the opening with some pointed tapered end tweezers by jamming the end into the opening. The further in it goes the wider the tweezers get and the more the hook spreads,

 

 

Next the loose tackle is hooked in place.

 

 

I need to get the tackle to the proper final size, so the line is pulled tight and then glued. Not to worry, none of this shows up after the frap.

 

 

Once the glue dries, the tackle is unhooked (not the easiest thing to do) and then placed on my serving machine.

 

 

The loose end is trimmed off.

 

 

Now comes the trick. The .012 line looked awful when wound between the tackles. It was just too thin and I couldn't really make out the windings. So the actual frap is done with .018 rope. It is done using the same concept as zip seizing - the frap and what is being frapped are 2 different pieces of rope. So a piece of .018 is tied with a half hitch to the DOUBLE BLOCK side of the tackle and hit with a spot of CA. Then you just start serving, stopping every 3-4 winds to adjust.

 

 

All finished.

 

 

Remove the tackle and trim the end near the double block.

 

 

Rehook the tackle to the gun. I would leave a bit of weight on the rope after that to stretch and shape the tackle. Glue the loose end of the rope to the deck. Of course the brass will need some paint. I've been using Tamiya Dark Iron rather than blackening. I suspect all the blackening would have come off during this process. I'm also hoping the paint will act like glue to help hold the hooks in place over time

 

 

Here's where I am at now.

 

 

 

My new light finally arrived. What a difference it makes having light coming in from both sides (not shown here). The shadows are virtually gone. The LED fixture stays amazingly cool even right next to my head.

 

 

Well, 18 more tackles to go - although I haven't given the long guns any attention yet. Maybe a few more for them.

 

G'night all....

[scott larkins]

That rope work is coming out really nice.

[mikiek]

Thank you Scott. It does however seem to be my weak point - working with the ropes. It has been several months since I began work on those guns. Too many thumbs

[Elijah]

Nice technique Mike! How do you keep the paint on the brass parts? I used the model expo black paint, and had a little trouble with it peeling off.

[6ohiocav]

Mike ,

 

That is a great looking light. I bet it is a lot easier to see your intricate rope work. 

 

All looks very fine.

[mikiek]

Thank you everyone!

 

Elijah - if you can prime first it will help. Then at least 2 coats of paint.  Make VERY sure each coat is dry before going to the next. Potentially a day or two.  A lacquer finish will help against chips. Use matte if you don't want it to shine.

 

Darrell - the additional light makes a big difference. It has also made me painfully aware that I still need readers

[Elijah]

Would metal primer work, or just normal primer?

[mikiek]

I use Valejo primer for acrylic. Other are probably OK. There are a few rules as far as what can and can't be used with acrylic.

[Julie Mo]

Mike,

 

You have some really cool tools... and a lot of patience. 

 

Very nice work!

[mikiek]

Thank you Julie. Patience does run thin sometimes.

[donrobinson]

Hey Mike, those rows of armament are going to look so impressive, great work. Not the most enjoyable part of a build but you are doing a real fine job. I think I said it before here on your log and I'll say it again, that frapping looks awesome. Defiantly worth the headaches you maybe going through, sweet sweet .