Fair American by Erik Nyren - FINISHED - LSS - POF (kit discontinued)

[Erik Nyren]

The beak taking its form

 

[Erik Nyren]

Having completed the beak I went on to work on the final details of the galleries and stern. The stern is planked on both sides with some walnut and care must be taken in cutting out the windows so that the window-frames will fit in a even manner, I did not succeed completely in this department which can be seen in
pictures to come. 

 

Edited February 16, 2013 by Erik Nyren

[Erik Nyren]

Assembly of the channels and deadeyes was done slightly different than what was said in the manual. I decided to paint the parts prior to assembly and then touch up the paintwork after the channels and deadeyes were in place. This was done to minimize the risk of messing up the wood with black paint

[Erik Nyren]

The kit if bought today comes with a resin cast of the ornaments surrounding the stern windows although mine No170 did not. I figured I could have a go at carving my own using some scrap cherry wood from a billet and my rotary dremel. I used the plans which has a nice drawing of the carving and traced this on a peace of paper (the kind used to keep cookies from sticking to the plate in the Owen) Making two copies ensuring to have the carvings correct for it’s side I then
traced the drawing to the wood and started chipping away with my dremel.

 

[Erik Nyren]

We have seen all kinds of bases for model ships before so I thought I’d do something original.

I wanted to create a visualisation of the ships frames being carved directly from a tree. I used a few billet scrap peaces some wire for strength and some plastacine clay and paint to create a tree-stub. I hope the pictures speak for them self

[Erik Nyren]

My Fair American finished and mounted on a display-board built from some mahogany I had in my closet. One detail is still missing and that is the personal nameplate that is provided free of charge from Lauck Street Shipyards upon completion of the model.

This project was started in October of 2007 and finished by May 2008.

 

Thanks for Viewing

 

Erik

 

[figuerres]

very nice!  carving the side window ornaments - wow!  the MS kit I was not even sure what they were supposed to really be... must give that part some thought on my kit build....

[Ryland Craze]

Very nice build.  Thanks for posting this.  I have kit #19 of this series and hope to build it some day.  When I do, I will definitely use your build log as a reference.

[Erik Nyren]

Thanks

Figurres: Those are suppose to be two dolphins enclosing the windows. My first 3D carving. I suggest you try it on your MS version. Nothing to lose and it's not to tricky.

Ryland: This kit is a great introduction to POF models you will learn a lot.

[figuerres]

Thanks

Figurres: Those are suppose to be two dolphins enclosing the windows. My first 3D carving. I suggest you try it on your MS version. Nothing to lose and it's not to tricky.

Ryland: This kit is a great introduction to POF models you will learn a lot.

 

 

from the info you posted I see a left and right dolphin and a bird on the top and on the bottom with the wings in different poses.

 

the top one looks kind of like a hawk hovering before it dives.

the bottom looks kind of like a dove rising.

 

at least that is what I see in the first photo where you lay out the design.

 

just not sure I can get that good at carving that small .....  will have to see I know there is a book on how to do the small carvings I may check out.

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Erik,

 

why have you discontinued your build? The model looks really nice and it's a shame that you did.

 

Will you also upload your log about your build of HMS Kingfisher?

[figuerres]

Erik,

 

why have you discontinued your build? The model looks really nice and it's a shame that you did.

 

Will you also upload your log about your build of HMS Kingfisher?

 

I am not 100% sure but I think what Erik means in the tittle is that the kit he built is not sold any longer,  he has been re-posting his build log due to the server crash and this build is now complete, the LSS kit is  what you see, the hull framing and such for the navy to see how the vessel might be built if they want an actual ship built.  

[popeye the sailor]

interesting build.   looks like a kit though that would look really cool finished out.   nice craftmanship 

[Erik Nyren]

I am not 100% sure but I think what Erik means in the tittle is that the kit he built is not sold any longer,  he has been re-posting his build log due to the server crash and this build is now complete, the LSS kit is  what you see, the hull framing and such for the navy to see how the vessel might be built if they want an actual ship built.  

 

Yes this is exactly what I meant, sorry for the confusion. The ship is finished and built as intended in the Lauck Street Shipyard kit. 

Unfortunally the economy resess in the US (and the rest of the western world) a few years ago hit Lauck Street Shipyards hard and they had to discontinue their line of most execellent kits.

A lot can, and has been said about LSS but Mr Hunt did produce a range of fantastic kits at a very reasonable cost, Fair American beeing one of them.

 

Regards

Erik

[Erik Nyren]

Erik,

 

why have you discontinued your build? The model looks really nice and it's a shame that you did.

 

Will you also upload your log about your build of HMS Kingfisher?

 

Hello

 

My Kingfisher building log will be back, I have not yet gotten around to it.

I guess I will start tonight, have to order some pizza first

I plan to upload a compressed log of my Corel Victory aswell.

 

Regards

Erik

[42rocker]

You did a great job on that build. I would be proud of it as I'm sure that you are. Good Job.

 

Later 42rocker

[AnobiumPunctatum]

Thanks for the carification, Erik. I am happy to see your Kingfisher log tomorrow

[cardensb]

I am working on the same model.  I agree with most of your comments on materials, documentations, directions and support.  I was disappointed when Mr. Hunt cut me off from his forum for lack of active participation.  I guess not everyone has as much time to devote to this hobby to remain active.  I also want to highlight your comment about the fragile parts.  I had many knees, ship wheel parts and who knows what else just break into multiple pieces during removing them from the blanks.  I ended up using my scroll saw to cut out the gun port frames and probably should have done the same on all those thin walnut and cherry parts.

After looking at your pictures I immediately noted that you had a much tighter fit of your frames to the keel and then realized I never installed the two outer pieces with the cut outs.

I also agree with the directions being confusing when referencing up, down and port starboard when the model is upside down in the jig. 

When cutting my jig away, I spaced it out over a few days and thinned out the frames throughout the assembly.  This allowed me to not lose my mind while sanding the interior.  Next time I do a POF, I will not make the frames so thick.  It really seemed like I was reducing 50% of the frames at some times and the bow was just not fun.  I tried several different dremel attachments, sanding blocks, my drill press with a drum sander but nothing made it easy or even beyond mindless hand sanding.

I also traced the stern transom pattern onto the plywood and cut it out with a blade and scissors.

I also agree with the transom frames, they took a lot of effort to fit.  I think making my own pattern would have been easier.  I probably should have pinned them in place since clamping was tough too.

How did you get such an even sanding line on the interior?  As I mentioned before, I just did not do a good job and satisfied myself knowing the planking would conceal my inaccuracy.

I really enjoyed building the deck but I am not sure about my templates placement.  I had built the recommended MS cannon kit and had to do some serious adjustments to get it to sit in the gun port without any decking installed.  I ended up cutting away about 1/8” of the deck clamp pieces and some serious fairing of the deck to maintain the camber and some sort of evenness from piece to piece.

I am presently installing the deck planks and regret covering up so much effort spent in getting tight fits between knees, carlings, ledges, and the beams.

I am going to attempt to replace some of the walnut with ebony, I like the dark contrast.  I prefer the artistic angle instead of paint too so my bulwarks will be planked with bloodwood.

 

For anyone still looking for this kit, LSS was bought by Royal Shipyard of Plymouth and they will still provide support for replacement parts needed for an early kit.  Mine is #135 from December 2006 and they offered to laser cut me some replacement parts.

http://www.royalshipyard.com/Products/FairAmerican.aspx

[Erik Nyren]

Hello

 

Mr Hunt´s problems with his forum is a story of it´s own, I got cut of aswell and recieved a rather sharp mail after having made a comment deemed inappropriate. Turned out I used an english expression out of context which he read as an insult. I answered and appologised along with explaining that English is not my native language which sometimes can result in missunderstandings. Appologie was accepted but I was never let back on the forum.

Still Mr Hunt made fantastic kits and it´s a shame that he was not able to continue the kit-part of his business regardless of bad customer relations.

As I understand it he suffers from PTSD after his Vietnam experiences, no excuse but explains a lot.

 

Now on to the kit in question

I guess the point of having the frames made thick is to make sure you have ample wood to create the correct shape of the hull especially in the bow area. It´s easier to remove wood than to add it although it´s an everlasting task to fair the hull. I used the dremel drum sander attachment (not sure what it´s called) for the rough sanding and then finished of with sandpaper by hand, no trick to it really only hard labour   one small area at a time and lots of breaks. On my Kingfisher I think there are 88 frames in total, it´s a lot bigger and sanding out the interiour is a pain staking task and utterly booring but it has to be done. A good trick is to mix it up with preparing other parts or working on another model to break the repetitative tasks. I work on treenailing my Kingfisher parrallell to a CC Victory kit in order to have variation to the hobby.

Unfortunally my Fair American is no longer with me (I gave it to a friend as it fitted nicely in his home) so I can only look at my pictures for reference.

 

Do you have a build log of your FA, It would be great to see some pictures of your ebony and bloodwood replacements when you get to that point.

By all means ebony is a beautiful wood but very hard and thus brittle, you have to cut it very thin in order to bend it, let´s say no thicker than 0.5mm. Theres also a health aspect as the ebony dust from what I´ve read on MSW is toxic so make sure you have ample ventilation.

 

Best of luck on the build

Erik

[cardensb]

Hello

I am am closing in on the last chapter and thought I would offer up some more comments and answer your questions.

#1 I did not start a log on this build, his site had several already before the data loss and I figured I would just add to them like now.  I have some general notes which show I am currently at 145 hours of work and on the chapter for finishing the quarterdeck, installing the rudder.

 

#2 The ebony and bloodwood were not too difficult to work with overall.  I did have some some issues with shaping the inner bulwarks planks and had a few random chips in the bloodwood.  Luckily, I found the chips and was able to glue them back on.  Eventually, I will psot some photos.

 

#3  I really wish I would have installed the cabin lower deck beams before the main deck's beams.  Turns out I removed too much from the inside and the beams sat about 1/8 inch lower when using the ladder assemblies as a reference.  Next build, I will know better.  Today, as I was layering up planks for a partial cabin floor I thought "why did you not just install a shelf along the frames like you did fore the main deck and shim the gaps?"  I could have covered the shims with a plank on each side...

 

#4 I decided to make the gungeons and pintles functional.  I cut the brass tubes in half and used pins inside them as the hinge pin.  I superglued the brass strips around the hinges' barrels and into the notch in the rudder which I made a little deeper than in the plans to compensate for the additional material.  The brass supplied had been indented at bend points which during attachment proved to be weak points that broke so all the effort was for a little less since I ended up gluing more than I wanted so the rudder does not move now.  I did install pins through the gungeons on the rudder as I have on previous builds.Since the brass is so fragile, I decided not to try it on the sternpost though.

 

I am currently rigging the rudder assembly and added a rudder chain assembly tonight.