Santa Maria by mrcc - FINISHED - Mamoli MV42 - 1:50

[popeye the sailor]

I had no doubt you'd figure out your situation....you've become quite adept in dealing with these sort of problems.  I look forward in seeing how you overcame it  

[mrcc]

Thanks Popeye for the kind words...

 

Here is how it looks... from a distance mind you , it looks good.

[mrcc]

Here's the close-up... it is offset ever so slightly to the left but not noticeable on the picture. Also I should have placed the top portion of the rudder a little closer as the pintle was not pushed in far enough onto the keel prior to the CA setting. The most obvious issue though is I sanded back too much into the keel board and into the plywood... Any suggestions in how to fix?

 

Laminate a piece of 0.5 mm walnut strip and then sand back I guess...

[mrcc]

Another minor issue once found attaching the stern decoration is that the opening was too big too completely cover with the metal badge so I added some inside trim (would be hidden anyways)  and once painted with a brass color (different from the white, blue, and red coloration scheme that Mamoli indicated), I glued it down with CA.

[Derek C]

Looking real good just read through your build log , and like the fact you work through the problems with ease. Shes going to be a good looking ship 

[mrcc]

Thanks Slideways... do not know if I would say with ease.

 

Cheers!

[popeye the sailor]

looks great Julian!  

[mrcc]

More time to post some progress...

 

I am very happy how the smaller boats, the pinnace's came out. A few add on modifications compared to how Mamoli set them out to be built...

[mrcc]

The windlass... the belfry parts...

[mrcc]

And more details on the deck...

the hatch, stove, and pinnace cradles glued down onto the deck.

[popeye the sailor]

very nice work Julian.....well done!  

[mtbediz]

Good work Julian. Is stove given in the kit or you made it yourself?

 

Mustafa

[mrcc]

Thanks Popeye, Mustafa for your fine compliments... much appreciated.

 

The stove was the kit supplied stove, unaltered and unpainted. I was debating whether to accent some of the features of the stove with paint.

[mrcc]

More details to report...

 

Lots of fun adding some of the ornamentation to the ship. I believe the casting are a brass based metal, a soft, easy to bend material. I painted them with a primer and then added the acrylic paint colors according to my own instinct. The recommended color scheme by Mamoli is certainly not to my liking. I must admit that the castings are very well done and in my opinion are looking great on the ship.

Edited October 19, 2017 by mrcc

[mrcc]

And here are some images of the decks with the railings installed, just recently varnished with Humbrol matt varnish.

The lighting is perhaps not the best with these images...

[jbford]

Beautiful work so far.  I have a Mamoli Mayflower waiting in the closet and they are similar enough that your work will provide some ideas for my future build.

[mrcc]

Thanks JB... The Mamoli kits build out very nicely in my opinion.

 

Overall I am very happy with the kit... The instruction material is weak, also the setting of bulkheads and decking can be a real challenge at the beginning of the build to get right, given my older kit and non laser cut bulkheads... but once past these issues, the kit can really shine, especially with regards to the supplied strip wood and supplied castings.

[popeye the sailor]

awesome progress Jilian........she looks super!     very well done indeed!   

[mrcc]

Thanks again Popeye for checking in...

 

On this update, I have to report that I spent hours getting the cap railings to fit properly. I would have to additionally say that I am now an expert at steam bending.

 

The cap rails are beautiful beechwood strips and once soaked and steamed, and once bent on the flat iron, they contorted and twisted lengthwise. So with the main/middle deck and having the cap rails bent at each end with steam bending, I found them to be a real challenge to place them properly. The foredeck and half deck were relatively easy. The pictures below have the Humbrol varnish applied and look very good in my opinion.

 

 

[S.Coleman]

What a beautiful build.  Looks brilliant. The ornamentation sure has come up good. With Mamoli you usually have to scrape and file away lot of burrs from the the metal ornaments.

[popeye the sailor]

cap rails look great Julian     looks good with a mild sheen to the finish........something I've often toyed with.   I use semi gloss quite a bit,  and by the time it soaks into the wood and dries,  it flattens out quite a bit.   a shiny finish might look nice,  but a flatter finish seems to add more realism to the model.  very nice bit of progress there!      you've got the ship's boats dry fitted..........if you cemented them in place,  you would have lashed them down.   next thing on the 'to do' list?

[Seventynet]

Just catching up - beautiful work Julian. I love the finish.

 

Regards, Ian

[mrcc]

Hi Scott, thanks for the kind compliments... I also peek in quietly to your Mamoli build log.

Actually I found the castings to be very good in my kit.

 

Thanks Ian, trying to keep up to your level of finish on the Brazzera. I will likely do 3 coats of finish and see how it looks. Do you think a 4th coat will add extra depth to the finish?

 

Thanks Popeye, the finish is satin (Wipe-on Poly). The ship's boat are loose for now as I turn the S. Maria over and upside down to do my finish coats for the time being.

[mrcc]

And here are images of my hull with 3 coats of satin wipe-on poly. The images/photos are taken with the fresh, most recent coat of finish, and appear much more glossy than what they really are...

[mrcc]

And I used a contour gauge to mark out and notch the chain plates, also further notching out the spaces to allow the deadeyes to fit more easily, further adding a mahogany strip on the outside, prior to affixing the plates on the hull.

[mrcc]

As more evident on these images...

[popeye the sailor]

really nice job on the finish.......sometimes it is too bad though,  that it had to dull down a bit as it cures fully.   but the dulling gives the model more realistic  

 

wonderful job!  chain plates look really good too. 

[Seventynet]

This is a beautiful piece of work Julian. The finish looks superb. 

 

Regards, Ian

[mrcc]

Thanks Ian/Popeye for the kind regards...

 

I was Ian, going to put a Danish or Tung oil finish on until I saw your Brazzera finish... and that easily convinced me to do the wipe-on poly.

 

Now I am contemplating what to do next with the masts and tapering of them. I feel a bit intimidated with the prospects as I will likely taper them with just a hand mini planer and sandpaper. Would love to invest in a proxxon mini lathe...

[popeye the sailor]

don't fell bad........I don't have one either.   Christmas is coming