Glad Tidings by hamilton - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Pinky Schooner

[hamilton]

Hi there:

 

I was not keeping a build log on this boat to this point, and have no photos of the construction of it!! So one might well ask - why bother now?!?! I guess I feel inspired by the new MSW and would like also to help re-populate the forum, even if it is a laggard's log I'm keeping....

 

I was benefitting greatly from the excellent build log of this same kit by Dan on the old MSW - sorry Dan, I don't remember your last name!! His work was truly top-notch and I took a lot of inspiration from his build. I certainly followed several of his suggestions and valued his insight into the trickier aspects of the kit. Sad that it's now inaccessible, but....

 

I have been having a lot of fun with this kit. It's in 1:25 scale which means there is a lot of detail to be added. The cabin construction was particularly enjoyable - I wish there were more working vessel kits out there in this scale (as a dining-room modeller, I can't really indulge in scratch building!). I've altered the painting scheme somewhat based on the tastes of some friends for whom this model is a gift (in celebration of their first child).

 

Anyway, at this point I am almost ready to dive into the masting and rigging. I still have to permanently install the rudder and add some of the rigging elements (chainplates, bobstay plates). But tomorrow I'm off to Mexico for a week. So in the meantime - I'll post the 5 pictures I have of the build so far - two of the kit and three of its current state!

 

I'll be back at the bench (well, really it's my dining room table) week after next, and then I promise to be a good contributor....Until then - any and all feedback, tips, suggestions and constructive criticism is welcome!

 

hamilton

[hamilton]

 

Hello all

 

Here are a few more photos - the Glad Tidings so far. Bye for now

 

hamilton

[aliluke]

Hi Hamilton

Look time no hear. Your Pinky looks really great. I'm sorely tempted by this kit and also followed Dan's log so hope it returns too. It is a great subject and makes a fine model.

 

Cheers

Alistair

[hamilton]

Hi Alistair:

 

Good to see you here! Thanks for the compliment. The Glad Tidings is actually a very fine kit. It has been a lot of fun to build and the kit contents are of very high quality I'd say - much higher than I remember from the AVS!

 

I'm still waiting to see your Pegasus log start up here....what's keeping you?

hamilton

[hamilton]

Hello:

 

We spent the last week in Mexico, so not a huge amount of progress on the Glad Tidings - though lots of progress on laying around, eating tacos, and getting sunburned...I look in the mirror and understand why the Canadian flag is white and red!

 

Anyway, since coming back, I've installed the rudder and tiller, fabricated the bowsprit and foremast and started making chainplates and other "iron" fittings. The photos show the rudder in process, the bowsprit and a detail of the stern featuring the tiller...

 

I have to say my brass working skills a pretty rudimentary...the chainplates have turned good (photos another time), but I could not wrap my head around how to make the bowsprit irons using the kit supplied brass strip and without using solder and I thought that gluing some small pieces of brass strip to act as the belaying points would not be secure....so I took a page out of Chuck Passaro's book and used black pinstripe tape (3/64" wide). Once wrapped around the bowsprit shoulders, I punctured the tape with an awl and then drilled a little deeper to insert a few eyebolts. 

 

I also went one step further and served the eyebolts with black sewing thread. I thought that this would achieve a better look than the thin eyebolts. I'm not displeased with the results, but if anyone can think of a better method I'm open to suggestions!!

 

Next steps: outfit the foremast; shape & outfit the main mast, add bobstay stem plates chainplates & deadeyes, install the bowsprit and add the gammoning iron

 

Until next time,

hamilton

Edited February 28, 2013 by hamilton

[augie]

Very nice and precise work.  I really like the serving on the eyebolts.

 

And oh ....... welcome home!!!!!

[hamilton]

Thanks for the compliment, Augie. At first I thought that serving these little parts would be a pain, but it ended up being a pretty quick job and immediately improved the look of the eyebolts. The photo doesn't show this, but I touched up the eyes with a very thin coat of black paint to get rid of the flecks of brass showing through here and there...

 

Anyway, I'm taking the night off modelling to read up through the forum...also I'm facing a bit of a re-do of one of the trickier features on the Pinky - the mast coats. Dan B, in his excellent build log on the old forum, posted his technique for making these in response to a request of mine, but alas it's now gone, and he doesn't seem to have rejoined the forum (or maybe he has under a different handle...). Anyway, I have to try to figure out some way of doing it, but tonight is not the night.....Dan B if you're out there, please enlighten me once again on the mast hoops! Even a rough approximation would be great...

 

And if anyone else has ideas, let me describe what they're supposed to be like - a short (roughly 1/4") conical shape, attached at the mast and deck with an iron hoop. The mast coats flare out from the mast by about 1/8" all around. Can you picture it? Sorry I don't have a photo from the plans - I'll try to post one tomorrow if anyone has any ideas....Thanks in advance!

hamilton

[jml1083]

Hi Hamilton,

 

Your Glad Tidings is coming along very well. I remember your work was always very detailed and you work FAST!

 

Glad to see you posting here. I'll be following your build.

[hamilton]

Well I've made two attempts now at the mast coats and the second, while a bit out of scale, seems to have turned out ok...here's the story.

 

I had read on Dan B's Glad Tidings log on the old MSW about how he had constructed the mast coats. He provided a very detailed and helpful description of the process - I had planned on consulting it during the construction of these little features....alas!

 

Anyway, my first attempt (pictured below) was the result of me trying to construct from memory what Dan had done...you can see how that turned out! Sheesh!! I'm almost too embarrassed to share this...

 

 

Anyway, I thought I'd just live with this, but this idea came to be too deeply dissatisfying, so I decided to have another go, this time following the kit instructions and carving them from wood....

 

I found some 1/4" and 3/8" thick basswood and drilled some 3/8" holes in it. I quickly decided that the 1/4" was the better choice for scale...

 

 

I then sawed the 1/4" strip into small squares and trimmed them into circles...

 

 

I then bevelled the ring with a small sanding block as steeply as a dared...

 

 

Much better - though as I said probably not in scale....I suppose I could have spent a bit more time getting it down to a more reasonable size, but I had to run out for pizza! And then I guess I was just so happy that they didn't look like my first attempt that I put it out of my mind.

 

Anyway, here's a couple of shots of the build to this point - now I have to add fittings to the main mast and prep both masts for the standing rigging....

 

 

Bye for now!

hamilton

[augie]

Nice work on the mast coat.  She's really shaping up!

[Dandyfunk]

Hamilton:

I am glad you are enjoying the Glad Tidings build, I certainly did.  Regarding the mast coats, I used the kit provided brass strip for the mast band. cut a ring from some brass sheet for the deck band and used some loose woven thin cloth from a shipping bag I had.  I then used a socket from a socket wrench set with the necessary OD to accommodate the ID of the deck band, placed a drill bit of size to approximate the mast OD in the socket.  This gave me a step down in diameters as a pattern for the mast coat.  I also allowed clearance on the mast and deck bands to allow for the cloth used.  I wrapped the cloth around the drill bit and socket then slid the deck band over cloth and onto the socket then slid the mast band over the cloth and drill bit.  It required some fiddling to get a reasonable fit then I glued the cloth to the deck and mast bands while still installed on the socket and drill bit.  As I said in my build log, at first I wasn't satisfied wiith the result but then installed the mast coats on the masts and deck and said this worked out a lot better than I thought.  I will also say that I was glad to see that my build log was of benefit to others,  it made doing the log worth the effort.

[gerty]

Very nice work - looks great !

[hamilton]

Thanks all for the comments - and thanks especially to you Dan - your build was an inspiration...maybe you should add some photos to the gallery here so we can revisit your Glad Tidings. I've decided against sails for this one....though as I recall your sails were superb. I've made sails for the last several models I've built and while 2 of them (the Mamoli Gretel and the MS 1:100 Bluenose) worked out alright, I thought that my relatively low level skills tarnished a couple of otherwise decent builds - the San Francisco and the Toulonnaise....They don't look BAD, they just don't look GREAT. Yours DID look great! 

 

Anyway, since this one is for friends, I didn't want to overstep my limitations....

 

Since I'm not adding sails, this will mean a slightly simplified rig. I'll be omitting the jib club as well as its attendant sheet, and I'll be rigging the jib club topping lift as an anchor tackle (hooked to an anchor slung through the sheave on the bowsprit). 

 

At this point I've started the standing rigging, after having made the chainplates, bowsprit plates, and gammoning iron. Photos later.

 

I've also decided to use these aeronaut metal blocks with brass sheaves for MOST (though not all) of the rigging. I will use the kit supplied walnut blocks for the throat halliards (1/4"), boom sheets (3/16") and mainsail clew outhaul tackle (1/8"). The peaks, topping lifts, anchor tackle, and jib halliard will use the metal blocks. This might be too much of a wild contrast, but I like the look of the blocks - again, photos later.

 

I also sourced some replacements for the Brittania anchor pulleys and main boom topping lift pulley, which MS suggests making out of bras strip. Also from Aeronaut, these are roughly the same size as the Brittania parts (for the bowsprit pulleys) and slightly larger than model scale for the topping lift pulley...I guess I'm kind of going nuts with this and creating a kind of Frankenstein's scale monster here....I'm trying not to punish myself too much for it, and I promise that I'll try to be more of a purist on my next build! No improvisation, I swear!

 

I'll make a proper update in a bit once I pull my photos off my phone. 

hamilton

[Old Sea Dog]

nice work.

[hamilton]

Thanks Dave!

 

Here's another update. Recent steps include

 

1. Completion of iron work for rigging - chainplates, bobstay plates, gammoning iron - pretty straightforward. I drilled a lot of holes in brass strip using a drill - not really designed for micro-drilling, but a steady hand (and a number of broken bits) did the trick. I used blacken-it on these parts, and I have to say I'm quite disappointed with how rapidly the blackened parts either fade (which doesn't look too bad) or corrode (which looks really bad)...I've ended up touching most of the blackened bits with paint in the end anyway....

 

2. Standing rigging - One pair of shrouds on the main and two on the foremast - very straightforward.

 

3. Bowsprit rigging - I had a devilish time with the outer bobstay - the chain was very finicky and difficult to get to fit tight. Until I discovered that the Aeronaut turnbuckles I'm using actually work! A little bit of tensioning on the turnbuckles and the chain pulled taut. Nice!! The footropes and grommets were treated with diluted weldbond prior to installation and then weighted with alligator clips to get the right hang. This worked very well on the grommets but the footropes look a little bend where the clips were attached.....

 

Anyway, I've just got the anchors, the fore and mainsail boom and gaff & the running rigging left to complete and she will be done! 

hamilton

 

[hamilton]

Well I'm nearly finished the Glad Tidings, though the photos below do not represent the progress to date. I've fabricated the fore and main boom and completed the running rigging on the main boom as well as completing the anchors and anchor rigging (which you can see in the photos below). I still have to complete the running rigging on the fore boom, and make & rig the fore and main gaffs - which will take a few days. I'm pulled away from the workbench for the next few days so the build will likely be completed middle of next week.

 

All in all this has been a very enjoyable kit to put together. I love the large scale on this beautiful little working boat and as I think I said before, I wish there were more kits of this type available. This is one kit I would actually consider building again, though if I did I would modify the bulkheads under the cabins and include some interior detailing and leave the hatches off/skylight open and possible rig it with sails....anyway, it's one of those kits that I see on sale on ME every once in a while so who knows....maybe in a decade or so I'll return to it again....

 

Anyway, next time will be my last post on this log I think....here are some photos in the meanwhile

hamilton

 

 

Edited March 16, 2013 by hamilton

[aliluke]

Wonderful work Hamilton. Having seen your other builds elsewhere, I hope you don't mind me saying that your skills have increased remarkably. Your build continues to tempt me towards this model - as did Dan's build of the same - but the shipping costs to NZ still exceed the purchase price! I can never justify that, my bad luck to live so far away.

 

A great model and very well rendered by your hand. I really like your enhancements too. Congratulations! A beauty.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[hamilton]

Thanks for the compliments, Alistair! And good to see you back on MSW. I'm guessing you were on a bit of a summer vacation down there? Nothing but the wind and rain up here....

 

Yes, I'm actually very proud of this one. I took my time a bit more than with some of the previous builds and I think it shows. In the "old days" (two years ago) I probably would have tried to rush through this in a couple of months - doubling my time was definitely a good idea and on the next build (Corel's Greyhound) I will take considerably longer, considering that the plans and illustrated instructions are dismal! It's a fully rigged frigate, but Corel did not even include a belaying plan! Lots of work to do just to get ready....

 

Anyway. Here's one last shot of the finished Glad Tidings before I move on....thanks all for following and for the feedback!

hamilton

[hamilton]

It's been nearly 12 years since I finished the Glad Tidings, but as it says in my signature, it's been in need of a refit for quite a while. I gifted it to two close friends of ours on the occasion of the birth of their first child, and since we visit with them quite often, I've had the opportunity to watch as time, cats, dust and kids' play have taken their collective toll....we went over there for dinner the other night and I sat looking at her throughout the meal and finally resolved to make off with it then and there, and bring it back to the workshop for some much needed cleaning and repair....

 

After a bit of study, it was clear that the damage was not quite as severe as I had thought - here's an inventory of the parts that needed repair or replacement:

 

-- forestay

-- all shrouds & lanyards

-- main boom peak halliard

-- fore boom peak and throat halliards

-- port side bowsprit shroud

-- jib downhaul

-- the cutwater plate (which had peeled off)

 

I cut away these elements and then spent quite a bit of time with a soft fan brush dusting off the model - this in and of itself was very satisfying and it was nice to see that underneath the dust the wood was still in very good condition. In the end, it was a matter of a couple of afternoons at the bench to fix these, and now it's good as new again! These photos may be a but redundant, but......And now I have to fgind time to get back to Echo and Bellona....!

hamilton

 

 

[Paul Le Wol]

Really nice refit hamilton, I think the owners will be very pleased.