Schooner Polotsk 1777 by Mike Y and his daughter - Master Korabel - 1:72

[Mike Y]

Mumin, thanks for the note! It is really valuable!  

[Mike Y]

The build was finally resumed, we had a number of modelling sessions during the last few weeks. Horray!

This time the job is simple - glue pre-cut veneer pieces to their places, fine fit and making sure they are properly clamped.

Daria likes it a lot! And whines that with this tempo it will take too long to finish the model - we need to glue more than one part per day!

 

Learning how to work with a scalpel with various angles. I know the holding is not correct here, but that will be corrected later:

 

Using masking tape to "clamp" the veneer where regular clamps could not be used. Works like a charm on this scale:

 

Transom all clamped: 

 

Result is ok, including the ebony parts:

 

Then onto the bulwarks. They are double-layered for whatever reason, but alignment is easy and done by a small pins that fit into tiny holes cut in all layers. Such a simple and elegant idea!

 

Found out the hard way that these clamps are not good enough - they clamp only in the middle, while veneer warps due to moisture.

So we experimented with other ways of clamping:

 

And ended up with this monster, but it seems to work:

 

She really enjoys it now - the difficulty level is just perfect, and learning some new techniques every time. I am touching the model less and less, she is doing more fine fitting herself (and said fitting is always required, a millimeter here and there).

 

 

 

Edited October 20, 2017 by Mike Y

[cog]

Thought you wouldn't be able to get clean clothes whilst you had all those laundry pegs in use Daria. Interesting concept the pins to align the bulwark. I'm glad your father finally gave you some propper clamps for your toolbox Your progress is looking good. You should keep in mind that the faster you build, the easier it is to make a mistake. Keep it up

 

Cheers

[gjdale]

Nice to see you back at the work bench Daria. Your progress looks great. Tell Dad to be careful with that scalpel now, we don’t want him hurting himself!

Edited October 21, 2017 by gjdale

[Mike Y]

Thanks, she is happy to read it!

Today we took part in another build (or a maintenance of an already built "model"). It is Helga Holm, the Viking ship replica, built in 1983, 22m long, weighs 4 tons.

It is in a decent shape, but definitely requires some repair. For now the goal was to raise a tarp cover to protect it from elements in the winter.

Daria participated a lot, and she looks forward to sail it in the summer!

 

 

 

 

Ready to be covered:

 

Edited October 21, 2017 by Mike Y

[Cathead]

Daria,

Mrs. Cathead (who is a scientist) thinks it's fantastic that you're interested and engaged in such things, as do I! I've been sharing all your updates and photos with her. There isn't much in the nautical way out here in the central US, so I quite envy you the chance to work on such a Viking ship (especially as someone of Norwegian descent).

[cog]

Interesting method to make and raise a tarp. Will certainly be fun to work on, no fiddly bits to loose. I see you are quite strong and know your way wiuth a drill, that will certainly come in handy!!! Eric isn't the only one whom envies you ... so do I

[Mike Y]

Eric, I understand what you mean! Stockholm has quite a number of old wooden ships, but getting into the right group of enthusiasts is not easy.

 

Daria is now a master of clamps!  It is one of her favourite parts of the build process. She struggles with parallel machinist-style clamps, but quickly installs more traditional clamps. Which is really valuable when the glue dries and the strip is long.

From now on, she is also the one taking photos, so you can see the model from her angle.

 

The build is in a pretty repetitive phase - gluing thin veneer. It is double layered in many places, so the visual progress is very slow. And we only have enough clamps for one piece at a time.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2017 by Mike Y

[cog]

Looking good Daria. Very impressive array of clamps. Love the bow in your hair

[Mike Y]

The progress is very slow - we are making lots of Christmas gifts, this year more or less nothing is bought in stores (apart from materials and components for the gifts).

But there is some quality increase - Daria insisted that I let her use Dremel (sanding drum mode), and proved that she is capable of controlling it with a steady hand. I was so proud! It was a fairing of an inside curve, not a very easy thing to do, requires accuracy. She did it perfectly, I am a happy dad

Dremel Micro is very balanced, so even a child can control it without a lot of efforts. 

 

The end result looks pretty ok:

[cog]

Very well done Daria. If you continue like this you will out do your father in modeling skills. Hope you all have a lot of fun making X-mas present!!!

[gjdale]

Well done Daria! I can see that Dad will have to start locking up his tools very soon!!!!

[cog]

Don't spoil the fun Brian!!!

[lmagna]

Who knows

 

Possibly we are being allowed to witness the birth of another Doris, and she will have room in her life for both, (and still get better than Dad ) Looking forward to more of your work Daria, bows and fingernail polish just add to the enjoyment.

 

Lou

[Mike Y]

Heh, thanks for the comments, she is blushing as usual

So far the nail polish does not prevent her from building, so hope these two aspects will co-exist later in her life. You never know until you try!

 

Toady we worked on some really fiddly bits - "waterways" made of super thin veneer. The kit have some truly impressive laser cut details (even scarf joints are represented, and the deck planking is quite realistic), but the details are sooo thin.. 

 

There was some "sanding to fit" and removing the laser cut tabs. None of the parts got broken!

 

Fixing the scarf joint with a masking tape, cutting off unnecessary tape with xacto blade:

 

Fiddly bits prepared for glue-up:

 

Gluing together - extra pair of hands if very helpful, we can apply twice the amount of glue before it starts to dry! 

 

Waterways in place. Next is the deck that should be sanded to fit between those:

[cog]

Very impressive. Those scarf joints are very well executed ... can't wait to see the deck planked Daria

 

Thanks for translating Mike

[ChrisLBren]

Daria's talented. It's funny my daughter has taken more of an interest in my hobby more than my son. I'm looking forward to seeing her progress! 

[Nirvana]

Wow, Daria and scarfing, nice done!

 

[Mumin]

On 10.12.2017 at 5:14 PM, Mike Y said:

Waterways in place. Next is the deck that should be sanded to fit between those:

Aaaand....they are upside-down (check my October comments and numbering of the Left and Right parts). Those longitudinal groves are for forming only and should not be visible. Not a big deal however, on Russian forum some people do it on purpose   (they like the effect)

[Mike Y]

Thanks for the comments!

The scarf joints were already laser cut in the kit, so we just managed to not break them

 

Mumin, ha, that is a nice catch! Hard to imagine how these could be used for forming, considering the curved shape. Anyway, they look interesting enough comparing to the other side, which is just plain and have no "notches". 

Edited December 13, 2017 by Mike Y

[gjdale]

Nicely done again Daria. Can’t wait to see the deck planked.

[lmagna]

Mike

 

It looks to me that the markings on the sub-deck could come in useful for keeping the planks straight when Daria does the deck...... ?

 

Lou

 

 

[Mike Y]

Lou, the deck is pre-cut, with individual planks cut off, but the entire deck is still tied together by few connecting tabs.

Out of the box it also have a pretty consistent gaps between the planks that should look nice. 

The planks are actually separated, these lines are cut all the way through the wood (very thin wood though):

Kit designer made a really nice thing - you can disassemble the deck and glue each plank individually, or you can just treat it as one big part, gluing the entire deck in one go.

We will try to do exactly that, the end result will be better and the satisfaction would be higher. Daria will need to show a lot of patience to fine fit the deck so it sits without any gaps, and this patience would be rewarded by a beautiful deck in one go. Otherwise it will take at least a few months, and the result would not be as good (spacing, alignment, glue squeezing out, etc).

[cog]

That deck planking looks really beautiful. What I've seen so far in modeling skills the deck will not pose a problem. As long as you concentrate on doing it and take your time to do it right, Daria, you will succeed marvelously. When it goes wrong you can always blame your dad

[lmagna]

Mike

 

You would think I would take my model of the Brigantine Phoenix out and look at how Korabel does their kits. That is one of the reasons I am following Daria's build, so she can show me the right way to build a kit from this company before I try it myself.

 

Thanks for the information.

 

Lou

[Mike Y]

Carl, Grant, Lou, Brian, thanks for the comments!  They are all passed to the Builder In Charge, and stimulate her to learn English faster, to be able to use The Internets and communicate with other people. She will have enough opportunities to see the rude and shady sides of the internet, but it is good to show the bright and kind communities as well!

 

Lou, please do not use this log as a reference though, I am doing some shortcuts where needed, not following the instructions precisely (just looking into the pictures). So, as you see, some mistakes were already made. Phoenix is the same kind of construction, as I understand - so it is a really good kit, hope you will like it!

Edited December 17, 2017 by Mike Y

[lmagna]

Hi Mike

I may not be doing the search right, but there seems like there is really very little available about the Master Korabel kits on MSW except Daria's build and to be honest If my build ends up looking as good as her's is at this point I will be very happy. She is doing work that is as good or better than many people much older than her can do.

 

Lou 

[Mike Y]

Yes, Master Korabel kits are basically unknown outside of ex-USSR countries. They are not really trying to market it internationally, there is even no english website, nobody knows about these kits.

At the same time, I think they are perfect for beginners. For that price, you can only buy some Artesania Latina kits, and the quality difference is dramatic. This one is a pleasure to build, while AL was a constant struggle (I had AL San Francisco 2). Like trying to bend thick walnut planks vs just gluing in thin pre-cut and pre-shaped veneers. Day and night!

With AL, I am not sure that creators of the kit were even trying to build it according to the instructions. Here it is clear that the designer spent enough time to make sure that parts really fit together.

 

And don't even get me started on quality of wood (pear and ebony in $100 kit!) and fittings. They are really good, brass and photo etch instead of cheap castings.

 

Also, it seems to be really authentic design, not a copycat of some other kit in the market. 

Edited December 18, 2017 by Mike Y

[Tim Curtis]

I agree 100%.

I recently purchased the Master Korabel Phoenix plus kit.

Amazing quality.

Great value.

Perfect for someone without brilliant woodworking skills, without lots of free time, but who loves model making on a table in his study.

Tim

 

 

Edited January 11, 2018 by Tim Curtis

[greenstone]

Good day!
Here is a link to the website of the manufacturer.
There is a link to the user manual in English

 

http://master-korabel.ru/manuals/MK0302_PACKAGE_eng_img.pdf

 

 

I watch with interest your assembly kit
At what stage is your model of ship now?

Edited February 2, 2018 by greenstone