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

[texxn5]

and a bowshot of the anchors

[rowand]

Hi John, I'm constantly amazed at the level of detail and high quality work that I see on MSW forums and your model just reinforces those points. Lovely work, Mate. You'd have to be happy with the way it's progressing.

 

Have a great day,

 

Cheers,

 

Rowan D.

[texxn5]

Hi Rowan, welcome aboard.  Thanks for the cudos.  Yes, I am very happy with where I am and how she's turning out.  If someone would have handed me this ship a year ago and said this is what you'll have in a year I would have thought that they were out of their minds.  I have surprised myself with this one, and it has been a ball to build it.  A bunch of your Mates from Down Unda are on this forum....enjoy .... they are incredible craftsmen.....

[Piet]

Hi John, LOVE that bow shot!!!!!  

 

Cheers,

[gjdale]

Little by little we creep inexorably closer. Not long now John until string is in the air.

 

Great job my friend.

[texxn5]

Thanks for all the likes.  Yes, Piet it is looking like a bow.  Some more chains and then string will be floating in the air in the near future.....

[j21896]

Outstanding John!  And I envy your ability to make such rapid progress.

 

Robert

[popeye2sea]

John,

You should think about coming up to Boston again in July.  The Morgan will be sailing in.  I'm on the coordinating committee so I'll keep you posted.

[texxn5]

Whoa....now that's a proposition....hmmm, ok keep me posted....do you have dates?

[popeye2sea]

Mid July,  sometime around the 20th.  I'll know more after the meeting coming up in February.

[texxn5]

Thanks for all the likes guys, much appreciated.  Lawrence, glad you're enjoying it, I know I certainly am.  Should be rigging in the not too distant future...

[texxn5]

I have a question for anyone that can help.  My kit only came with a very small (2') length of .20" black wire for use on the chainplates.  I am almost out, and haven't even finished with the portside foremast.  I have brass wire though.  The question is if I make and install the chainplates in brass, can I go back and "paint" them with Micro-Mark's "Blacken It" and not damage the wood deadeyes and will the metal take the finish?  I have some Blacken-It on order but it won't be here until next Friday...I have no experience with blackening metal...I'd like to be working on them while I wait.....or should I wait and apply the metal finish to the wire prior to using for chainplates.....thanks for any advice......

[augie]

John - I've never tried to blacken brass with Blacken-it by 'painting in place'.  It takes some time to soak in the bath.  Also, you want to get it nice and degreased first (I usually soak in acetone) before it sees the Blacken it.  I'd either wait or, alternatively, get hold of some black annealed wire over at a place like Ace hardware.  Comes in a variety of gauges usually in about a 30 foot coil.

[Landlubber Mike]

Hi John,

 

I agree with Augie - you can't really paint in place.  What I've done though is use a cotton swab to keep constant contact on brass that was already fitted to the model.  I've had mixed results with that, so right now, for minor touch-ups, I just add a little black paint.

 

Good luck!

[gjdale]

Hi John,

 

I'd agree with the others re blackening brass in situ. Apart from pre-cleaning/degreasing, you will also need to be able to thoroughly rinse the parts afterwards to halt the chemical process. If you were to use copper wire instead, you could blacken in place using Liver of Sulfur, which is much easier to clean up afterwards and won't affect any surrounding wood. Not sure if copper wire would be strong enough for your purpose though. Paint might be your best option here.

[Beef Wellington]

John - something else to consider, wire that I used on my chainplates already had a 'black' coating, not quite sure what the name of it is.  I picked it up at a local craft store (Michaels) and it worked a treat and was easy to paint afterwards.

[mtaylor]

John,

Send an email to ME and see if they can send you some.

[texxn5]

Hi Augie, thanks for the input.  I just tracked my pkg from MicroMark, and it'll be here Tuesday, so I'll just wait and try it before I put it on the ship.  I have some black wire but it is a little large and I'm afraid it won't match what I've already used....don't know I'll play with it and see....

[texxn5]

Thanks Mike, I'll keep that in mind....

[texxn5]

Hi Grant, I've been unable to find this Liver of Sulphur.  It appears that many of the people here have used it and it was satisfactory.   Thanks for the input Mate...

[texxn5]

Thanks Jason, I have some aftermarket wire, but it has a gloss to it and is slightly larger than what came from ME, trying to see if it'll match up....

[texxn5]

Hi Mark, thanks for the input.  I've been emailing back and forth to Tom at ME since Dec 20 on a couple of problems I've had with the kit.  Primarily the anchors, and the mast coats.  The plans are not real clear about when the mast coats should be installed, and I installed mine before I put down the main deck, which was wrong.  I also wanted to buy some more buckets for details on deck.  I have had a difficult time explaining what I needed even though I had part numbers...evidently old numbers so we've been back and forth trying to figure them out.  Once I figured out that they had new part numbers the price for this went over $30....for 3  1/8" laser cut circles.  So I declined this part but after some discussion they were sent to me ignoring the original request for the anchors and buckets.  Upon several more emails I then discovered the problem with the wire which is when I found out that he mailed me the circles free of charge.  I haven't heard anything else from him so I don't know the status of the wire.  Every email seems to take 2-5 days to get a response so I don't think this route is a good option.  It seems that my request seems to inconvenience someone at MS to have to respond to, and they don't seem to read the previous emails to understand what Im trying to communicate to them.  My last communication sometime last week I was told after all this time that all Morgan parts are out of stock, so I don't know what is going to happen.  So overall, I can't say I'm very happy about the Customer Service at ME/MS.  I'm willing to pay for the parts, but I don't want to have to pay shipping 3-4 times for a $3 cost.....anyways, I have to kind of forget about MS because I'm am wasting time writing and waiting.....I'll improvise with something else....I'm telling this story so that anyone who has to deal with them will know my experience so far.....be sure to plan for the time it might take to accomplish what you need and don't get yourself in a bind like I did.  So, needless to say...I'm not a happy camper...

[j21896]

Hi John,

 

For future reference, if you decide to go with copper for anything, here is a link to purchase liver of sulphur from Amazon:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Liver-Sulfur-Gel--4oz-SOL-610-04/dp/B0058ECZ56/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1375359424&sr=8-5&keywords=liver+of+sulfur+gel

 

It works great highly diluted with water.

 

Cheers,

Robert

[texxn5]

Thanks Robert, I'll check it out.

[texxn5]

Well, so far today I ran one of two Bobstays to the Bowsprit.  It included making a copper bracket and soldering a ring to it and attaching to the stem, making up the chain and attaching to a deadeye, then attaching a deadeye to the bowsprit and rigging the lanyard for the deadeyes.......so I guess with that said I'm officially working on the rigging.....hopefully, more to follow later today.

[texxn5]

a couple more bow shots.

[Piet]

Nice metal work bro.  Sorry to hear about your problem with MS but being a smart cooky you'll work your way out of it.

Pics look great!

 

Cheers, 

[popeye the sailor]

sorry to hear about your problems....that's where I've found my wire......at Hobby Lobby and Micheal's.  hope you can find the parts you need.   your off to a great start with the rigging........I wouldn't be much help to you with the chain plates.......I just painted mine flat black,  even the dead eyes.  Morgan's looking real good! 

[lb0190]

John, the bowsprit and chain work looks good! On my tugboat I used (may be more accurate to say I tried to use) blacken- it on the chains. It never did turn black and after repeated attempts it looked corroded, which was probably more realistic...

[md1400cs]

John,

 

Nice update. Your ship is really looking excellent. 

 

Michael