US Brig Syren by Peter Bloemendaal - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:64

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Well, here she goes, I'm joining the Syren club with another build log.

I started this weekend and we'll see how far I get. It's my first attempt to build an advanced kit so there will be plenty of questions. Hopefully in time I maybe able to help others as well.

There is not much more to say about this kit so here are the first photo's.

 

 

[Heronguy]

And quite a large club it is!  Wonderful to see another build starting.  Good luck and bon voyage!

[scasey88]

Hello Peter, welcome to the Syren Club, It looks like you are off to a great start, your build is looking real good so far, I will follow along.

[fnkershner]

And now my chance to chime in Welcome! I look forward to you catching up with me and offering me ideas. 

 

Just a curiosity - Why do people feel it is necessary to have a flush sub deck? Also (LOL) why do everyone's bulkhead blocks look so nice and clean?

[Dutchman]

I'm going to join as well. May I ask if you're Dutch, by any chance? I am and your name looks awfully dutch to me 

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Thanks Dough & Shawn,

 

Hi Floyd, not sure about catching up, I still work full time and promised to occasionally sit down with the admiral & not talk about boats so I can only put around 15 hours a week into the build. And I intend to take my time, whenever I get confident and rush things, inevitably breaks happen. So it looks like I'll be lagging behind and initially looking for ideas rather than giving them.

My blocks only looked nice & clean because they just float there, I hadn't glued them in yet...lol

 

Hi Dutchman,

My wife snapped me up while on holiday in Holland from Perth, Australia in the eighties. I migrated to Perth in '88. I only naturalized to become an Aussie around 8 years ago, so I hung in there as long as I could, but I'm not Dutch anymore.

(Bloemendaal is a town on the dutch coast, you don't happen to live there, do you??)

 

[HIPEXEC]

Good luck and happy building

[Nirvana]

Peter,

Well, since I am also building the Syren, I like to welcome you.

Your build looks very clean and good.

[JohnReid]

Good luck  Cheers ! John.

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Thanks Rich, Per & John,

Cheers,

Peter

[fnkershner]

Peter - Like you I also work full time (typing this from my desk - Shh don't tell the boss). And I too have an admiral that I must obey. So my modeling work goes in spurts. Good luck and have fun!

[Dutchman]

Hi Peter, so that explains it! Actually I live about 20 kilometers from Bloemendaal. So not in, but quite near. Have fun building the Syren, I'll be following your progres with great interest (the kit is on my shelf)

[Tigersteve]

Good start. 

Steve

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Just an update with a few photo's.

I am close to finishing Chapter 2. Still need to varnish the lower deck and some sanding to bevel the bulkheads a bit more.

I got a bit of a scare when one of the back bulkhead extensions broke off when it got caught on my shirt while sanding the blocks down. It's glued back on but without any extra support because all 4 sides need to be accessible for future work. It's going to be fun managing that...

[scasey88]

looking great Peter, you are going to pass me up in no time, I have been lucky so far and have not broken a bulkhead, I came close, just like you did I caught them on my shirt a couple of times but not enough to break them

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Some progress on Chapter 3. The "plank bender" turned out OK.

A great stage of the build if you like sanding....

[MD11pilot]

Howdy Peter!  Welcome to the Syren club. Even though you're just a few steps into the project, it's easy to see that you do high quality work. I'm looking forward to watching another beautiful Syren take shape. 

I like that plank bender. Seems easier than the pin boards. 

[MD11pilot]

Just curious. When did you buy the kit?  We've seen some kits recently with poor quality plywood. The plywood in your kit looks good. 

[fnkershner]

Peter - Great work! Keep bending and PS yes there is more sanding. 

[Dutchman]

Even more curious than MD11pilot, I went to check my kit (which a relative brought me last christmas while visiting) and it has the reddish plywood in it. I understand that it is the poor quality kind? Should I ask the company to send me the better kind, like Peter's? Advise anyone?

[Nirvana]

Peter,

My original material from ME was good quality, but badly warped so it wasn't useful.

Then I got a two new set from ME, both good but I opted to go with the latter white wood. (See my log)

But I also have the "red plywood" set. 

Contemplating of putting the other set together just for the heck of it...... could be fun doing another "Syren"......

In my case I provided pictures to Marc at ME, proving my case regarding the warped keel.

You should try to contact ME in this matter.

Edited October 1, 2017 by Nirvana

[Dutchman]

I think this reply was (also) meant for me. I will try and contact ME. Thanks for the advise!

[Nirvana]

Dutchman, sorry for leaving you out. And yes, it was intended for you too...

[svein erik]

Hi

and welcome to the syrens club

i also got the bad plywood so I contacted M.E and got a replacements frame 

I think its Because of saving product cost  that M.E  at newer time provide the kit with bad plywood 

its not a good ting to do with a grait kit designed by Chuck 

 

Svein erik

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Thanks All,

I bought the kit about 2 months ago from an online company in Australia. I'm not sure how long they had it in stock. I had been reading about the "red" plywood, so I was happy when the kit arrived with the proper stuff. From what I have read it's definitely worth replacing.

I had some minor warping but the jig and the blocks took care of that. When I checked the content of the kit, I had a double set of Carronades and the Carronade trucks were missing. Just sent an email to ME and they sent me the missing bits straight away.

So I have had very little to complain about.

 

[fnkershner]

Peter - it has been my experience that the Carronades provided are the wrong size. You might check yours. My kit is several years old.

[Peter Bloemendaal]

When you say wrong, do you mean that the supplied carronades are different from what the instructions say they are, or do you mean that the carronades don't match what should be on the ship based on it's history and/or scale?

[fnkershner]

Mine did not fit the proper space on the model. It's been a while, but as I remember they were too short and not tall enough.

[Peter Bloemendaal]

Hi Floyd, I did a quick check on the Carronades and I think I'm OK. I included a photo so if this triggers your mind and I'm wrong, let me know.

 

When lining up the gun port lintels I realized I must have had a brain faze fitting the gun port sills. 1/4' is a smaller number than 3/16, right...., apparently not, so I glued in both rows orientated vertically instead of horizontally.

After a few choice words and a frantic search further down the manual to see where it could cause me trouble I think I might have gotten away with it.

(In the end I might even feel smart, because I got away with a lot less sanding than what I would otherwise had to do.....lol).

Lesson learned: Concentrate & tripple check those silly imperial numbers when you are used to metric.

 

[fnkershner]

Peter - I did the same thing which led to my removing and replacing. I think the key is did you make this mistake for both the sills & lintels. If so you will have issues with the Lintels. the Bulwarks will be too tall. And possibly you may not have enough material to sand the correct curve at the bow.