Marie Jeanne by Jack12477 - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - 1:50 scale

[Jack12477]

Thanks for the info Mobbsie.  Very interesting !

[Jack12477]

Mobbsie, Ofencer29350,  my dilemma at the moment is there is only one set of very well crafted kit supplied sails for the model. There are, of course, templates in the plans from which one can make a set of sails. However, I am not that good a sailmaker and finding the right material for the sails may be an issue.  So if I mess up the coloring of the kit sails I've just ruined a good build.  Hence, my hesitations. 

 

However, the suggestion of colored sails does pique my modeling interest, so the door is not closed yet. I just have to figure out my alternatives in case I mess up.

[Jack12477]

Small update:

 

I found some sail cloth remnants left over from a build I did with a friend. There is a large enough single piece from which I can cut the mizzen spanker sail and one of the top sails, but I don't think the piece is large enough to get a mizzen and main sail from it. In addition to the large remnant I found some 1 inch and 2 inch wide scraps of sail which I had saved to use as hammocks or whatever. So with the cloth in hand I started experimenting with the dyeing process.

 

Following my son's (the artist) suggestion I took some of those small cups you get with store bought yogurt filled them 3/4 full of water and took Michaels store brand acrylic paint, added about a dozen drops of each color to two separate cups, mixed it until I had a very dilute paint mixture. Then I placed a short strip of cloth into each cup and let it soak for probably 3 hours, removed it and let it dry.  The blue is not too bad but the red came out way to light. For the red color I used a Red Burgandy but I'm not pleased with the results. More experimenting is required.

 

Here's some photos of my setup and the results (I should add the photo of the cloth was taken next to a large window with sunlight as the light source).

 

Edited February 10, 2016 by Jack12477

[Canute]

Jack, the blue looks good - a new sail maybe. The red needs more intensity, but it does look like an overly faded ancient red sail. Try some crimson, maybe?

[Jack12477]

Ken, I'm finding a long soak time helps deepen the color. I will definitely be making a duplicate sail for the dyeing process and leave the kit supplied sails as a pristine backup.  Right now I'm using small scrap pieces of the same cloth to get the dyeing process down.  I'm experimenting with a different color combo other than the blue and red. From pictures I found of actual boats it seems they color the mizzen and foresail (one immediately aft of the jib) and not the mainsail.

[Jack12477]

Small progress update:

 

Installed main and mizzen mast. rigged the deadeyes and main mast forestay. Installed the boat rack amidships. Started bending the sails to the upper spars.

 

Still experimenting with the color dye technique - not getting consistent results - some hues cause a build-up of pigment on the surface of the cloth while others actually dye the cloth. Have to consult with my paint expert (son) when he comes over. Still researching how I want to color the sails.

 

Progress photos:

 

Mizzen Gaff topsail

 

 

Main Mast Gaff topsail

 

 

Overall Model

 

 

[captgino]

She is looking great! Very sexy lines.

[GLakie]

Nice job with the sails and tying them to the spars.  Love the over-all shot too!  

[Canute]

Good looking barky, Jack. And nice work bending the sails on.

[mobbsie]

Morning Jack,

 

Have you tried fabric dyes, When I made the sails on my Thames Barges and Bawley I bought Calico cloth and packet of Terracotta  dye.

 

Pre-wash the fabric to wash out any wax or starch and mix the fabric dye in an old bucket with some salt. When you are sure there are no contaminates in the cloth place it into the bucket and stir.

 

When you are happy with the colour remove from the bucket and rinse in cold water, hang to dry.

 

When you making the sails iron (press) the cloth and mark with a pencil the outline of the sail, allowing a little extra for the hem. When that's complete dilute some PVA and brush it onto the pencil lines ( be generous ). The PVA stiffens the cloth and aids cutting and reduces the edges from fraying.

 

Sorry if I've gone on a bit but it may help.

 

Good job on bending sails to the spars.

 

Be Good

 

mobbsie

[Jack12477]

Thanks, Mobbsie, always welcome suggestions.  I have not tried the fabric dyes yet. That's the next experiment

 

Thanks for the compliments on the sail bending all and the LIKEs

[Jack12477]

Another small update:

 

Main mast sail bend to the main mast gaff.  I'm using crochet hooks to pull the thread thru the bolt ropes. I slip the hook between the sewn on bolt rope and the sail cloth, catch the thread on the back side of the gaff and pull it thru. I've tried other methods, example, curved sewing needle, fine pointed tweezers, but the crochet hook works best.

 

[And no, these are not the Admiral's. They are mine. She does a lot of crocheting herself and helped me navigate the sizing charts to pick the right sizes]  I'm using a US # 5 (1.9 mm) and US #7 (1.65 mm) hook. I also have some larger size hooks.

 

See photos below:

 

[mtaylor]

NIce work on bending the sails, Jack.  The crochet hooks look to be an excellent idea.

[dgbot]

I agree with the rest Jack.  Have you tried Rit which can be found at Walmart, Walgreens, etc and Dylon which can be found at Blick's Artist Supply.  Just follow the instructions and away you go.

David B

[Jack12477]

David, yes, RIT dye is my next experiment. Planned on doing some shopping later today to see if I can find RIT dye in the colors I'm thinking of.

[Jack12477]

Nothing to update: I'm just posting a link to a question I asked in Masting and Rigging forum so that I don't lose the link and the information.  Question was "How are the bolt rope loops attached to the spar"

[popeye the sailor]

hey Jack.........lot done since I last looked in      you've come along quite nicely.   dying sails is a good idea......but there is a problem with some dyes....they do tend to break down sail cloth over a period of time.   I have been wanting to try this,  but perhaps cloth that has already been colored might be a better solution.   I,  at one time,  went out in search for the perfect sail cloth.   the lady I spoke with at our local Hobby Lobby was great.......she showed me god knows how many types of cloth......until we found one that met my requirements.   I did see a few skeins of cloth that were red and blue,  as you are trying to do.......and they seemed thin enough to pass muster.   that is the key here.......thinner cloth works best,  since most supplied sails are somewhat out of scale anyway.   hand sewing is good......but I chose to be lazy and use the admiral's sewing machine.....darn near drove her crazy giving me a crash course.

     making your own sail isn't hard.......just a learning curve.   just throwing it out there...there's a lot of info on the subject.

[Jack12477]

Thanks Popeye - I did hand sew a bunch of sails for the Bluenose II I did for a friend so yes I have gotten over the learning curve.  I am looking for already dyed cloth thin enough for sails, this is my preferred choice  - dyeing is my back-up plan - I also want to leave the kit supplied sails untouched in case I need them as replacements later - I may try my hand at machine sewing. 

 

Haven't got a Hobby Lobby close by - have to see where the nearest one is and maybe do a road trip.

 

Thanks for looking in.

[popeye the sailor]

gee.......I made a set of sails for the Bluenose.......just gotta finish them.   they're for a future project that I have stashed in my closet.......I will be making more sails for it........a lot more      I was under the impression that you hadn't made sails before.........my bad.........glad to hear the latter  

[Jack12477]

Small Update:

 

Added the Mainsail and Main Gaff topsail to model, spend several hours trying to determine where the Gaff topsail tack and sheet attached to the belay points - the rigging plans were very vague. Finally got it figured out and attached. Attached the boat rack and boat to deck. Rigged the anchor and chain and attached to capstan and into hole for chain locker.

 

[GLakie]

Nice work with the rigging Jack! Can't wait to see what you've decided about colors!   

[cog]

Rather nice, mate ... just kidding ... marvelous build, and very nice details ... so far I've enjoyed it tremendously

 

Cheers

[pete48]

Very Nice, Jack, She's looking sharp, well done 

 

Best Regards,

Pete

[Nirvana]

Jack, that sewing of sails are real good,

when I built my Marie-Jeanne I screwed up the sail material so badly, I left her "naked"..... on the other hand I was 13 years old at time being(which is almost hmmph 40 years ago,  and MSW wasn't even born at the time.

Now I have my own sewing machine, The Admiral doesn't know how to sew.

Leaving curtains and other things to me.

 

Your Marie-Jeanne is beautiful, much better than mine.

[Jack12477]

The sails were pre-sewn and included in the kit. I did not have to sew them myself. But thanks for the compliment anyway, Per.

[_SalD_]

Looks awesome Jack, nicely done.

[popeye the sailor]

very nicely done Jack.........gonna look totally dapper with a full set of sails      well done on the rigging as well!   brass rings as mast hoops......did they come in the kit?   Billing usually supplies those plastic ones.  super job!  

[Jack12477]

Popeye, Carl, Per, Sal, Pete, George,  thanks for the compliment and all the LIKES.

 

Popeye, yes the brass rings came with the kit. Unfortunately, tho, they were a tad small in diameter for the mast so I can't get them to close tightly - almost couldn't get the bolt ropes between them and the mast, even tho the mast is the exact diameter specified on the plans.

[Jack12477]

Final Update:

While building the model, I decided to conduct a little research into the area from which these boats sailed and found that this area comprises the original six Celtic Nations (Note:The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common identity and culture and are identified with a traditional territory. It is not synonymous with "sovereign state".). The six Celtic Nations are  Brittany (Breizh), Cornwall (Kernow), Wales (Cymru), Scotland (Alba), Ireland (Éire), and the Isle of Man (Mannin). Both Brittany and Ireland border onto the Celtic Sea.  

Since I am of Celtic ancestry, Ireland, I decided to take a little modeler's license and make the model an Ireland based fishing vessel. Looking deeper into the geography I located two major fishing ports in Ireland; Killybegs is the largest and Dunmore East (Irish: An Dún Mór Thoir) is the second largest.  Killybegs is located near Donegal Bay on the northwest side of the island and borders more on the Atlantic Ocean; so I decided to eliminate it as a possible port for my boat.  Dunmore East borders the Muir Cheilteach (Celtic Sea), has the second highest figure for fish landings after Killybegs, and is the world record holder for the largest tuna caught on a rod. For these reasons I decided to make Dunmore East the home harbour for my mythical boat.

New decals had to be created for the bow and stern. I decided to list Dunmore East in both English and Irish Gaelic on the stern.  A small Irish flag was fabricated from the toothpick flags one finds on St Patrick's Day cakes and cupcakes and my family Coat of Arms was added to the Jib to identify the vessel's ownership.

I want to thank Denis (Popeye the Sailor) for helping me locate the Decal Making software, decal paper, and Decal bonder chemical, and for giving me hints on how to use it.

I spent a lot of time learning how to create my own decals; after a lot of experimenting with some scrap sail cloth material I was finally able to get a process for applying decals directly to the sail. After applying the Coat of Arms decal to the Jib I completed the rigging of the sails, and proceeded to install and rigging the large outrigger fishing poles. Interpreting the rigging drawing was a bit of a challege but I finally figured it out.

For those wondering, I used the MicroScale brand of decal products, SET, SOL, Glossy, and Flat, to apply the decals; these are the same products I used to use to apply decals on my plastic models.

Below are the photos of the finished model, Marie Jeanne. To get the best lighting I decided to take the model outdoors and photograph her in full sunlight. A slight breeze helped add some volume to the sails and extend the flag.

 

 

I want to thank everyone who has been following my build, posting comments, or LIKEs - it's been a fun build.  Now  I need to decide on my next build. Will update my signature with a link to the next build log.

 

[GLakie]

Being of Celtic background myself, I admire and respect the tribute to your heritage Jack.  She looks great!