Charles W Morgan by texxn5 - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:64

[Sjors]

I can believe that John.

I think it looks great when the belaying pins are black and the bulwarks yellow….

I wait for the end result.

 

[augie]

Sounds like a great color contrast. That is one TON of belaying pins. Tells me a lot about the rigging

[texxn5]

Thanks Sjors, I like that combination also.  I might be at the paint point in a day or two.

[texxn5]

Thanks Augie, yes lots of pins. I'm not going to rig it with sails but it appears to be rigged the same as a Man of War. Plus it has the cranes and ties for tying up a big whale along the starboard side, and the 7 whale boats with I think 5 sets of davits. Gonna get real busy real quick!

[texxn5]

I finished building the 2 ladders for the anchor deck, made up 4 sheaves for the pinrails, and after much testing, decided to use a Minwax Light Maple stain/varnish satin finish for the deck.  I broke down and decided to try it.  Here is the first coat which will be steel wooled and recoated probably 3 times or until I am satisfied with the finish.  The woods are different texture and color but it is natural, and at least it isn't green anymore.  Here is a series of photos with more to follow as I am happy with it.

[texxn5]

more as I progress

[texxn5]

It's really not dark.  I'll take some pictures in the daylight later.

[texxn5]

This is a picture of the 2 ladders for the anchor deck

[popeye the sailor]

are you really sure you want to take her with you......?   I'm getting scared for you my friend.........you will be rigging in your RV

 

         looking very good!    luv what your doing.......stain and paint?

[texxn5]

Hi Popeye, glad you like it. Thanks. Yes, I will not be doing any rigging on the road. I will be making many deck houses, whaleboats, masts and yards, etc., but will not be attaching anything like that with the exception of the hatches and deck houses to the ship. I'll be ready to assemble the masts once I get back here in Jan or Feb. As for the paint, the bulwarks are yellow ochre and the outside hull is black, white and of course I will do the coppering on the road. Lots to do before rigging time.

[popeye the sailor]

I hope so 

[augie]

Light maple is different.  Looks nice.

[texxn5]

Thanks Augie, I liked the results. I tried the natural and it didn't have much color at all, so the maple gave me a good patina. I'm still working on it. The stain is acrylic, and has a satin varnish with it. I want it to look like teak. I can't believe I'm at this stage already. Tomorrow I'll prime and paint the bulwarks yellow ochre. As for the deck I'm steel wooling it between coats. The second coat is drying and tomorrow I'll finish it before moving on to the paint. Then it's off to deck houses hopefully. I'll probably go ahead and paint the black part of the hull above the copper line. Glad you like the color of the deck.

[texxn5]

Here is the second coat. Actually in person, I like how it turned out. I think I will leave it at this stage, the photos . The deck houses and structures will cover a lot of it, and I like the contrast and patina I have at this point. The yellow ochre will really complement it in my opinion. I welcome coments from the "peanut gallery" .....Sjors...Grant...lol...Augie.....

[texxn5]

The flash on the camera actually makes it brighter, but it has the appearance of a worn deck in natural light.  The variations in the actual wood color seem to get real pronounced in the pictures which was why I considered bleaching the deck prior to staining, however, on my samples it didn't show that way.  Uniformity would be perfect, but like in the real world, nothing's perfect.

[mtaylor]

John,

 

Great looking deck.  Are the belaying pins glued in?  I'm thinking the difficulty of painting them if they are.

 

I don't envy you taking her on the road, though I did much of Wasa in a motorhome.  

[texxn5]

OK, I have a question for anyone who can help.....I need either to make or find 2 three dimensional 5 pointed stars for the stern.  They need to be about 3/16" diameter.  The stern has 2 on the port and starboard sides.  I'll try to take a picture from the plans.  I'm not sure I can make them to look real or uniform.  These items actually should be Brittania with the kit but they are not.  The instructions say to paint them, but I'm not even sure I could do that.  In the pictures of the plan the stars are shown on either side of the eagle.  The eagle is cast Brittania and the stars are up for grabs.  Anyone have any ideas?????

[texxn5]

Hi Mark, no the pins are just friction fit. I'm trying to figure out how to finish them properly. I don't have anything to blacken them, so I'm thinking of spray painting them then just touching them up after I glue them in or hopefully I can still just squeeze them into the tight little holes.

[mtaylor]

Stars... try a Military Surplus shop... the stars used on medals and ribbons..  Have you done any Googling?

[dgbot]

Looking good but be careful using steel wool.  It can leave small particles on your deck and my cause some rust spots to form.

David B

[gjdale]

The peanuts are agreed - Deck looks great John.

 

Re your stars, if they are missing from the kit, why not contact Model Expo and ask for some replacements?

[popeye the sailor]

you could try craft stores.........even the  'after'  fourth of July clearance items.    confetti?

[augie]

As they are labeled as white, how about cutting them from a flag decal?  I realize you wouldn't have 3 dimensions.....but if all else fails......

[trippwj]

Wow, John - Looking fantastic!  I'm with the peanuts here - I like the deck color.

 

Has the new R/V arrived yet?  I have this somewhat scary image of you driving down the road carving whale bone into davits...reminds me of the bus driver who shall not be named....

[augie]

Great vision, Wayne.  But I'm thinking something more along the line of a scrimshaw steering wheel !

[texxn5]

Thanks Mark, that is exactly the right size, and I found some on ebay which I bought today.  That was an excellent idea to check military ribbons. Thank you very much, that will look wonderful.

[texxn5]

dgbot, thanks for the advice. I just lightly brushed it with the steel wool to knock down any bumps in the wood grain. I hadn't thought about rust.

[texxn5]

Thanks Grant, glad the gallery likes it.

[texxn5]

By the way Grant, MS doesn't make the stars, which I think they should since they are very focal on the stern

[texxn5]

Thanks Popeye and Augie, I found the military stars thanks to Mark.