US Brig Syren by scasey88 - Model Shipways - 1:64 scale

[scasey88]

Keel attached

 

[scasey88]

Half of the bulkheads attached, some were slightly too loose in the slot, so I used a strip of card stock glued to the slots to snug them up, I still had to sand on some that got too tight.

[scasey88]

Bulkheads are done, ready to start on filler blocks.

[scasey88]

I cut the filler blocks  on my chop saw, and got them glued up. The bulkhead former had a  slight warp, so I clamped it into my build board until it was straight hopefully it will stay that way after i take it off the board. I will let the filler blocks dry overnight and take it out tomorrow.

[scasey88]

I have got a little more progress this week, I added the small lower deck and stained it, not sure if I like the color, seems a little dark, and I need to tone down the caulking lines in between just a bit, but I am not going to worry about it too much since it will hardly be seen.

[scasey88]

I have also been fairing the hull, trying to take my time here because I did not fair the hull on my longboat properly, then I added the the bow fillers and have been sanding the top of the bulkhead to eve out the filler blocks for a smooth deck surface.

[scasey88]

I am ready to start work on the gun ports next, it will be a relief to get some support between the bulkheads,  even though I have been very careful and have not broken any of them yet, The mitre box that I have is a pos, so I went and got a new one today, so I can start cutting out the sills and lintels.

 

 

 

 

i

[scasey88]

Temporary batten in place, looks like I got a pretty good run after adjusting it a couple of times, the little nails split two of the bulkheads just a bit, simple fix with a drop of pva glue.

[scasey88]

Dry fitting of the sills, I have not got the nerve to glue them just yet, I spent most of Sunday adjusting and readjusting, and then looking at other build logs trying to see if I got everything right, I guess my main concern is getting the height of the gun ports correct in relation to the deck planking, I think when I get home tonight I am going to have to just go for it and glue them up, I think everything is looking pretty good, so far this is one of the most nerve racking parts so far

[scasey88]

I also wanted to thank everyone for the Likes, I do appreciate it.

[Jim Rogers]

You are doing a great job.

 

[fnkershner]

Shawn - Like you this was a difficult step for me. I did it and then removed the sills and did it over again. Model Shipways may ban me as a customer. So far every kit that I have purchased has required a significant amount of replacement parts.

 

I did this step a bit differently on my 2nd try. I took the colored template that came with the plans and I clamped it to the inside of the bulkheads. This gave me a perfect idea of where the sills had to be in relation to the deck and guns. I did use a batten but mostly to ensure a smooth flow.

 

Also I have found I don't like nails. They always seem to do more damage than help. I use clamps or tape but never nails.

 

When it comes time to install the Wale. You will see that you use the location of the batten for this too. Since I didn't have the batten or mark its location. I had to use the plans again.

[scasey88]

Ok Thanks Floyd, I made an extra copy of the template today just in case, so I am going to go home and clamp it to the bulkhead and hopefully glue the sills in tonight. I guess I am just trying to get everything as perfect as my skills will allow. I appreciate it.

[scasey88]

Oh btw Floyd, I still have not found a supplier outside of the U.K. for those Caldercraft carronades, I will keep trying to come up with something though.

[fnkershner]

Thanks for remembering the Cannons. I have not had any luck either. I completely understand. And as I said I screwed up and had to start over.

 

[scasey88]

Ok, I still wasn't quite satisfied with my sills yet, so I took floyd's suggestion of using the template, finally I was satisfied with a nice smooth run, so I glued up the sills and then I noticed the tops to some of the sills were not as flat as they should be, so last night I took them apart again and glued them again, good, I am satisfied now, they are in their final resting position, will get a pic tonight probably, but here is a pic with the template, not bad but I think they look even better now.

[fnkershner]

It looks pretty good to me! 

 

One more suggestion - As many other builders have suggested I created a block that was the size of the Cannon port. But I did it slightly differently. I made sure my block was long enough to reach across the deck. This way I not only made sure the cannon ports lined up to each other from Starboard to Port. But I also made sure the sills were flat in relation to the deck. On my first try I had some that were at a bit of an angle. This also helped with alignment of the Lintels.

 

Since you have the binder clamps to you know how to modify them to be planking clamps? They are the cheapest clamps you can find and I think they are the best for planking.

[MD11pilot]

Glad to see that there are still folks building the Syren. I’ve been on such a long break that I feared I might be the only one left.

I shared your fear of this kit being too advanced for a beginner, but with the excellent instructions and the very detailed build logs on this site, you'll do fine. Have fun!  Looking great so far. 

Eric

[fnkershner]

Eric - Where is your log? There is always room for one more in the Syren Club.

[scasey88]

1 hour ago, fnkershner said:

It looks pretty good to me! 

 

One more suggestion - As many other builders have suggested I created a block that was the size of the Cannon port. But I did it slightly differently. I made sure my block was long enough to reach across the deck. This way I not only made sure the cannon ports lined up to each other from Starboard to Port. But I also made sure the sills were flat in relation to the deck. On my first try I had some that were at a bit of an angle. This also helped with alignment of the Lintels.

 

Since you have the binder clamps to you know how to modify them to be planking clamps? They are the cheapest clamps you can find and I think they are the best for planking.

Thank you, and yes I do know how to modify those binder clips, I bought a ton of them at Office Depot and left some unmodified, Good idea about the block spanning the deck, I did not think of it that way, I did make a little 15/32" jig to square up the lintels with the sills , I like your idea though and if I would have done both side of sills at the same time, a block spanning the deck would have made it easy to use a spirit level to get the sills flat, I tried using the level but it was not working, it was too hard to balance it on the sills. Darn you! I hope I don't tear those sills off again! I think they are flat enough though, but I will see about making a block and using it to line up the gun ports though. I felt really good about my sills last night, as long as gremlins did not come in and move them overnight while they were setting up. Thanks again Floyd

[scasey88]

41 minutes ago, MD11pilot said:

Glad to see that there are still folks building the Syren. I’ve been on such a long break that I feared I might be the only one left.

I shared your fear of this kit being too advanced for a beginner, but with the excellent instructions and the very detailed build logs on this site, you'll do fine. Have fun!  Looking great so far. 

Eric

Thank you Eric, totally agree with you, and yes I am having fun with the Syren, that is why people are still building it, its such a great kit, and with that and the awesome people on MSW for support, it gives beginners like us a fighting chance to build a great model, Honestly I have never enjoyed building a model as much as this one, Thanks to Chuck. 

[scasey88]

last night I got the sills done on the port side, and did some sanding nothing too major to report, so I think I will post up some more pics when I get the lintels done and everything sanded flush.

[scasey88]

Lintels are in, a little more sanding to do and they will be done, got a lot of the material off with the dremel, and then the emery boards

[scasey88]

15/32" block to keep lintels square with the sills, then I used the block as a stop to start cutting  the gunport sides.

[scasey88]

A new toy, I mean tool came in as well. Now I should be ready for the fine detail and rigging work.

Edited October 2, 2017 by scasey88
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[scasey88]

I have also been thinking ahead in the build and planking will be coming up soon, so I ordered some boxwood strips for above the wales, and some Alaskan yellow cedar, if I like it I will use it on the deck planking, still not sure what to do about the carronades, they are not good, and they are lacking detail, and don't match the plans, and look more like cannons, not sure which ones to order and they are kind of pricey so I am still pondering this. I will start thinking about new rope and rigging from Chuck.

[scasey88]

Finally finished framing the gunports and sweep ports, took a lot longer than expected, just a little final sanding left, broke the frames several times where the bulkheads were .cut and had to rebuild.

[scasey88]

Started framing the transom, feels good to move on from the gunport framing.

[scasey88]

My order of wood came in from Wood Project Source finally, very nice stuff, and even though it took a while to get here they were very generous with the quantity's of wood.

I really like the Alaskan yellow cedar and will use it for my deck planking.

[scasey88]

Well the framing of the transom was very straightforward and much easier than I had anticipated, I did not break anything, and I am pleased with the way it turned out, not much to report here which is a good thing, so I will move on to sanding and shaping etc. Now I must decide on whether or not to plank the counter and transom at this point like I have seen done in some builds, I am leaning towards doing it this way to give that area the extra strength, Anyone have any thoughts on this? pros or cons?

Edited October 18, 2017 by scasey88
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