Brig Niagara by ronkamin - Model Shipways - 1/64

[ronkamin]

Well I took a couple of weeks off from the build. Putting together the train and gun tackles was getting a little monotonous. I finally complete one side and it looks pretty good. The holidays are over and I have renewed interest in the build. Below is a pic of how far I got.

 

To overcome the monotony of block assembly I started spending some time modifying the anchors. I made wooden stocks and blackened brass straps.

Now back to making the blocks for the starboard side of the ship.

 

 

 

Ron

[mikiek]

Hey Ron - i think the anchor (the metal part) is supposed to be 90 degrees offset from the wood part? Sort of like give the anchors a quarter turn.

[ronkamin]

Thanks, I was not sure when I looked at the plans. Easy to fix since I did not glue it yet.

 

Ron

[ronkamin]

After MikieK pointed out that I assembled the anchor incorrectly I corrected my mistake, looks a lot better when assembled correctly.

I spent a couple days assembling the blocks for the train and gun tackles, I may need to make a few more.

Guns are mounted on the starboard side ready to add the tackle Now back to making the blocks for the starboard side of the ship.

 

Ron

[ronkamin]

Well after a few weeks of vacation on am back to working on the model. The blocks have taken longer than expected, I am still not complete, I still need to make more for the Train tackles. I believe I will install them once I get the deck furniture installed. That way I can insure they are placed in the proper positions.

 

I now need to trim all the line to the proper length and create the coils to put onto the deck. I plan on creating casual style, loose coil versus the formal style shown on some models. Making this coils is a little more challenging then thought. I am soaking the line in 50% white PVA then creating the coil, waiting for it to dry then they should be ready to install.

 

 

 

Ron

[mikiek]

Nice Ron! If you have difficulty with that type of coil, I have seen some builds (and real life) where the rope was just neatly piled. IMO the formal coils look a bit too contrived. They also take up a heck of a lot of deck space. If rope is laying on a deck for any length of time it's gonna move around.

You're about to hit a big milestone with finishing the guns.....

Edited March 29, 2019 by mikiek

[ronkamin]

I started installing the main rails. Everything went well until I was ready to install the rear rail, there was a gap. The side rails were not long enough. I needed to make up some filler pieces, no big deal it worked out well. Here is shot of the ship with rails and the chock rail installed. One point, I installed the chock rails then made the cutouts for the catheads.

 

I then installed the stern boat davits. The cleats on the plans looked really small and I don’t believe my skills are that good so I went out and bought a bunch of 5 mm cleats.

Ready to install the catheads and give the rail a couple coats of paint.

 

 

Ron

 

[mikiek]

Hey Ron - looks like you worked thru the rail problem OK. I kinda remember the same thing happening.

[ronkamin]

Catheads have been installed and the rails have received a couple coats of paint.

 

Started working on the rudder, drilled out the hole through to the deck. And sanded the udder into shape. Next project was making the hinges for the rudder. I used 1/64 by 1/16” flat brass for the pintles and gudgeons, and used a 3/64’ brass rod for the pin. Tried using standard solder to attach the pint to the pintle, but when I tried to form it the solder connection broke. So I soldered the connection using silver solder. This held much better.

Here is the almost finished product, needs a little more trim work. A little clean up and ready for blackening..

 

Ron

Edited April 27, 2019 by ronkamin

[texxn5]

Hello Ron, I'm just now getting caught up with your log.  It's good to see another Niagara being built.  Looks really good.  Thanks for the acknowledgement about my build log.  I hope I will be able to finish my Niagara.  I have been ill over the last year and recently diagnosed as insulin dependent diabetic.  I've lost most of the feeling and dexterity in my hands and fingers which makes it very difficult to even think about ship modeling.  They still don't have my blood sugar regulated - not sure how long it will take, but it's getting old.  So, needless to say I am enjoying your build log and will try to continue following you.   

Take care, and keep up the good work,

John Fleming

[ronkamin]

John

 

Sorry to here about your diabetes. I have a mild case of arthritis so I have good  days when I can spend hours working on the ship, then there are others, well you know.  The Niagara will be here in town for the 4th, and I am planning on spending a lot of time checking her out as well as taking a lot of pictures. I am now trying to figure out how to finish the rudder, the plans do not give any details.  Looking at some build logs I have seen it done natural wood, as well as black, I am leaning toward making it green like the hull.

 

Ron Kaminski

[mikiek]

Hey Ron - rudder colors are usually just an extension of the hull colors. Speaking of that, yours came out quite well. A good water line and that green/blue is not too garish. Thats kinda what steered me away from the green.

 

Catheads look good. I found when I finished those with the anchors and tackle (the triple blocks) it really changed the complexion of the bow. Check out the anchor puddin and give that a try if you're up for it. It's not in the guide, but is a common thing to do on anchors of that size. It was one of those little details that only you will notice, but it does add a nice touch.

[mikiek]

One other anchor related item that all ships with big anchors had - anchor lining. An extra layer of wood on the external hull on the area behind where the anchor is tied off. The lining is just additional protection to keep an anchor from tearing thru the bulwarks. Post 449 in my log shows a simple one.

[ronkamin]

Mike

 

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out.

 

Ron

[ronkamin]

Mike

 

I want to confirm, here is a shot of the Niagara in Erie Pa. Are you talking about the extra piece just under the Cathead. On your model it looks like you have a extra material just forward of the most forward gun port. one other question, whats an anchor puddin, I have done searches in all my books and have not found that term.

 

Thanks

 

Ron

[ronkamin]

Added the brackets and braces to the catheads.

Worked on the rudder. Originally had it painted it to match the hull, but realized adding the Pintles and Gudgeons hid the boot topping, so I eliminated it. After spending hours trying to install the Brass Pintles and Gudgeons, I gave up and made them from heavy paper and pins.  I am happy with the way it turned out

 

This is what it looks like after installation.

Installed the Tiller.

 

I am now working in assembling the Bilge Pump. Slow going but getting there.

 

The Tall Ships are coming to town this Fourth of July. The Niagara and Pride of Baltimore will be there, as well as six other ships. I volunteered to work at the event and hope to get some time to board the ships. I will post any pictures I can get.

 

Ron

[ronkamin]

I spent the weekend volunteering at the Tall Ships Event here at the Buffalo waterfront. I finally got a chance to board a couple of ships on Sunday. Here are a few shots I took of the Niagara and the Pride of Baltimore. 

 

 

 

Ron

[GrandpaPhil]

Awesome!

[ronkamin]

Bilge pump has been completed.

 

Fife rail has been started with one coat of stain. I will put a couple of coats of finish before I paint the Knees black. At the same time, I am cleaning up the belaying pins that have been supplied with the kit. Giving them a couple of wood colored paint to look more realistic.

 

 

During paint drying time I have started laying out the cuts for the Bowsprit. This will take some time to complete the layout and shaping.

 

Ron

 

[Srodbro]

Ron:

Fife rail looks good. 

Before mounting, you might want to consider reinforcing the joinery ... those rails take a lot of stress during rigging, and are a pain to repair at that point of the build.  Pics below show how I inserted brass wire at the joints, and also when I mounted the assembly onto the deck. 

Just a thought. 

[ronkamin]

Srodbro:

 

I was concerned while building the Fife Rail that it might be a little flimsy. I was thinking of adding some bracing to the joints but was afraid it would detract from the original design. I like your idea of using brass wire to strengthen the joints. I have several gauges available to use. 

 

Ron

[JerseyCity Frankie]

I’m building Niagara too and I’ve already broken the Main fife rail and had to reglue it. I’m not even aware how I broke it. It’s kinda small for drilling and dowling so I avoided that for the horizontal parts but now I’m regretting my decision. The glued surfaces are so small where they butt together.

[ronkamin]

I went and strengthened the forward Fife rail. I used .29 mm wire. Took a little patience to be sure I got the holes drilled properly. It’s a little hard to see in the pic but I put a wire in each of the joints.

 

I also have been working on the Bowsprit, It has been laid out and material removed to match the drawing. Now to start adding the cleats, foot treads and chocks.

 

Ron

[ronkamin]

Bowsprit has been completed and is ready for installation. Bowsprit cap and Dolphin Striker have been formed and installed.

 

I tried a rough fit and found out I needed to remove some material from the Bulwark to get it to fit properly.

 

I still need to add the staples holding the Dolphin striker. I plan on using some 26 gauge wire.

 

I decided to add the Niagara name plates at this time. When I built the Baltimore I waited to the end and it was a real pain installing the name. Not going to make that mistake again.

I will need to clean them up a bit, but am happy with the outcome so far.

 

 

Ron

 

 

 

[ronkamin]

I have been pretty lax with my work on the ship, weather has been pretty good so I have been spending my time outside.  But it has started to turn a little cooler so back to the project.

I built and mounted capstan bars.

 

The Bowsprit bits and Bow Pin rail were also mounted. The ships bell has been assembled but not yet mounted.

 

I have spent a lot of time trying to decide what to do with the breech line and gun tackle. The formal way would be to have a neat flat coil on the deck. When I visited the Niagara this Summer they just piled the extra rope on the deck next to the cannons. I decided to do a semi-formal design, a loose coil on the deck. Mounting the coils after the cannons are installed takes a bit of time getting everything in place without gluing all the lines together. I finished the port side and will be working on the starboard shortly.

 

Ron

 

Edited October 12, 2019 by ronkamin

[ronkamin]

Now that the tackle lines were installed I started working on the tiller tackle.

I then started installing the quarter boat davits. These were painted before installation, it seemed easier that trying to mask so as not to overlap the paint.

As I was going I started installing some of the deck furniture. I built the companionway open with stairs going down below deck. I thought it would be more visible, but as the picture shows it is not as dramatic as would have liked.

Sea steps were installed and painted. Trying to glue these steps to a painted surface does not yield bonding as well as I would have liked. It seems that the slightest bump and they pop off. I tried scraping the paint before glueing but this only helps slightly. I am using Titebond II, if anyone have suggestions I would appreciate it.

I started assembly of the deadeyes and chainplates. I am using brass wire and soldering them. Here is a shot of me using pins as a tool to ensure each one is the same size. I hope blackening works well on these. I understand blackening may not work well on the solder. In that case a touchup of paint may be needed.

 

The channels are cut and painted. I will be adding the deadeyes shortly and then add the out section of the channel. Pics will be in my next post.

 

Ron

 

[ronkamin]

Here is a pic of the channels that have been installed. The outer section will be installed once I get the chain plates installed.

I have not spent any more time on the deadeyes and chain plates. I was waiting to get my pickling pot and Sparex  to clean up the brass prior to blackening. I have been working on the deck furniture. Been installing them and found the Galley grating was built to the wrong size and needed to be rebuilt. See pic below, grate on left was too small and was rebuilt to the proper size on the right. One of the many oops that have been made so far.

Deck is starting to look like it should.

Installed the mooring cleats and started cutting and drilling the Pin rails. I made one change, I added additional gluing surface to the bottom of the Pin rails. When building the Baltimore, I found this was problematic once I started doing the rigging, they came loose when any pressure was applied, such as tightening the rigging.

They need to be cleaned up and painted prior to installation.

 

 

Ron

[ronkamin]

I was ready to install the Galley stack when I noticed it was deformed. Rather than being a niece round pipe it was oval. I thought I might be able to sand it to make it look better but realized that I would need to remove more material and it would look out of proportion. I decided to make a new stack out of 1/8” brass tubing and some brass strapping. Shown below is the process I went though. One point was that I needed to use two different solders with different melting temps to attach the strapping. I used I higher temp solder where the strapped crosses at the top, and used a lower temp to attach it to the tube. I found that attaching the strapping to the tube melted the crossed section if I used the same temp solder.

The base flange was just a piece of wire wrapped and soldered to the tube. A little fine sanding finished the job.

A couple coats of primer and a finished coat of black paint completed the job.

Now for my big error, during installation of the stack I inadvertently broke off the two port side Quarter Boat Davits. I tried gluing them back on but they did not look right. I tried making new ones using the pieces the laser cut pieces were removed from, but they did not come out to my satisfaction.

I contacted Model Shipways, and they were kind enough to send me a new laser cut piece, thanks.

 

I am now in the process of remove the broken pieces and reinstalling the new parts. I will need to be a little more careful in the future.

 

Ron

[ronkamin]

I removed the damaged Quarter Davits and replaced them with new ones. I need to be a little more careful when working on the ship, I don’t need to be replacing parts that have already been installed.

 

The Belaying pins have been installed on the Pin Rails. I went and updated the belaying pins to wooden ones. The supplied cast pins that came with the kit just did not look good.

 

Started assembly of the chain plates. Made these from 24-gauge copper wire, formed and soldered. I will start installing the forward larger ones first and then install the outer portion of the channels.

The lower mount for the chain plates looks like it was made from a small gauge wire.

 I tried bending the different gauge wire I had and could not make the loops small enough. I decided to make these parts form a 1/64’ x 1/16” copper bar.  I found that annealing it first it was easier to cut and drill the holes. This is what my first attempt looks like.

These need to be cleaned up and blackened before installation.

 

Ron

[mikiek]

Something I learned on Niagara and it's true for all builds - the bigger it gets the easier it is to break something off.

 

You might try putting 2 finishing nails in a board and wrapping your wire around those. Use some long nose pliers to keep a tight hold on the wire. Then pull tight as you wrap it. Copper wire is malleable and can be shaped so after you make the loop try some light hammering to flatten out the wire a little bit.