Medway Longboat 1742 by Ryland Craze - FINISHED - Syren Ship Model Company - 1:24 Scale

[glbarlow]

Well done, your attention to detail is impressive. 

[Ryland Craze]

Thanks Chuck and Glen for your comments.  I also appreciate the "Likes".  This is a really nice kit and I am enjoying the build.

 

1 hour ago, fnkershner said:

Ryland - I want to thank you for your log. Your log has the detail that I need for my model. I have been using it extensively for my build. Can you tell me where you found the thumb plane? I have not yet purchased the rigging kit. but I plan to once Chuck has them in stock.

My miniature block plane is a Kunz 101 that I purchased from a Woodcraft store about 15 years ago.  Stanley, Lie Nielsen and even Ebay have these miniature planes for sale.  I am finding that I am using this plane more than I ever thought I would.

 

I have been reading the build logs of other Medway Longboat builders and I find that each one has tips and techniques in it that I will use on my build.  There is a wealth of information out there and I appreciate the efforts of Chuck, Rusty, Bob G, Bob W and others who have posted very detailed build logs. Their build logs are an inspiration for those of us that are building this kit.

 

 

[shipman]

On 1/13/2020 at 4:17 AM, Ryland Craze said:

Thanks everyone for your comments and also for the "Likes".  They keep me motivated to keep moving forward on this build.

 

I completed the thwarts earlier this week and today I completed the cockpit seats.  These took me some time to do as I would sand and file the notches, fit the piece, sand and file the notches some more and fit the piece again.  I did this many times for each piece and found it a slow process, but very rewarding.  I am very happy with the results and received a lot of positive comments for my fellow club members at the Hampton Roads Ship Model Society meeting this past Saturday.  Here is a picture of my work since my last post:

 

Here is a picture of the Longboat with the thwarts and cockpit seats dry fitted:

 

I had jumped ahead of the instructions as I wanted to construct the interior details before I painted the model.  I feel this worked out very well for me as I was handling the model quite a bit fitting the interior details.  I am sure that I would have a lot of paint touch up to do if I had painted the cap rails before I did the interior details.  I cannot wait to get some color on this model as it really looks dull with no paint on it.

As usual, my views are a little off-beat. The pre-painted model on page 4(?) to me looks superb. All these red's and blue's are far too bright at this scale. If you must use colour, it would make a welcome change to try a different selection.

Can't fault your craftsmanship; an exceptional build.

[Ryland Craze]

2 hours ago, shipman said:

As usual, my views are a little off-beat. The pre-painted model on page 4(?) to me looks superb. All these red's and blue's are far too bright at this scale. If you must use colour, it would make a welcome change to try a different selection.

Can't fault your craftsmanship; an exceptional build.

Thanks shipman for your comments.  I am glad you like the colors I chose.  I actually painted the cap rails with another red (you can see remnants of the paint in the second picture of your quote) but it was too bright for my liking, so I sanded it off.  The Grumbacher Cadmium Red color was a better choice to me as I felt it closely matched the colors on the contemporary models in the NMM that the kit was modeled after.  The freizes provided in the kit were drawn by Chuck Passaro and were based on the NMM models.  I have attached the pictures of the two models that Chuck Passaro modeled this kit after:

 

 

 

And here is a picture of my model from page 4 of my build log :

[Chuck]

Its an exact replica......beautiful to see side by side.   And straight out of the box....no bashing needed.  

[shipman]

I was lucky to see both originals when they were part of the NMM display back in the 80's, they were a delight to behold. These kits capture them to perfection. They leave me breathless.

[glbarlow]

These particular models deserve some bright colors. I like your red, I think it’s a great choice and is a perfect look for this model. Gotta go big with RED!

Edited October 29, 2020 by glbarlow

[BobG]

I just got caught up on your log, Ryland. She's going to be a beauty when you're done. Enjoy the rigging...it was my favorite part of the build even though it was the first time I ever rigged anything.

[fnkershner]

Ryland - My Medway mast kit just arrived. I will restrain myself from jumping ahead. But it does bring up the question of a finger plane. Where did you find yours?

[Ryland Craze]

I purchased my Kunz miniature plane from Woodcraft many years ago.  I did a Google search and came up with this: https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/kunzpalmplanewithouthandle.aspx

 

There are other miniature planes that are much nicer, such as the Lie-Nielsen, but my Kunz does the job.  It is based on the old Stanley 101 block plane.

 

I am glad to see your progress on your Longboat.  I hope to start rigging mine today.

[Ryland Craze]

I have made some progress on my Longboat and I shared this with the members of the Ship Model Society of New Jersey during last nights Zoom meeting.  The mast has been finished by adding the simulated  iron bands and eyebolts.  I made the two upper iron bands using 1/16" wide chart tape and then formed the eyebolts using 22 gauge wire.  I then weathered the iron bands and eyebolts with Tamyia rust weathering powder to give it some contrast.

 

 

For the lower iron band, I used some black masking tape cut into a 3/32" wide strip and then made an eyebolt using 18 gauge wire.  The hook in the boom was also made using 18 gauge wire.

 

 

I also added the knees and belaying pins.  The knees were painted off the model and then glued to the thwarts.  I used some 1/16" wide chart tape to help align them onto the thwart before gluing.  The belaying pins were turned using my dremel and some small files.

 

The horse was made using the supplied 20 gauge wire.  It was blackened and then a 1/4" block was seized to the horse before attaching the horse to the stern.

 

 

My next step is to fit the pedestals that came with the engraved base from Syren Ship Model Company to the hull.  I feel it would be difficult to handle the hull while trying to install the pedestals with the mast and rigging installed. 

[BobG]

Wonderful work, Ryland. It brings back fond memories of my build too. Your model is going to be exceptional!

Edited October 28, 2020 by BobG

[MEDDO]

Looking real nice Ryland I like the weathering

[glbarlow]

Nice job making all those small parts, it’s looking really nice. Sharp attention to detail. 

Edited October 29, 2020 by glbarlow

[Ryland Craze]

Thanks Bob, Michael and Glenn for the comments and also the "Likes".  This model is starting to come to life and I am looking forward to the rigging portion of the build.

[Ryland Craze]

I have started rigging my Medway Longboat and it has definitely changed the appearance of the model.  Most lines are temporarily installed and will be permanently glued when all lines have been installed and re-tensioned.  I also made up the pedestals from the display base kit and fitted them to the hull prior to the mast being installed.  I would recommend this being done earlier in the build, possibly after the planking is completed. I was afraid I would break the thole pins on the cap rail as I had the hull upside down while fitting the pedestals.  Here is the progress to date:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making the thimbles was a lot of fun.  I had many failures before I finally got the hang of it. Here are a couple of blocks with the thimbles made and blackened and some extras for later use.

 

The mast bands were made using matte black chart tape.

 

Next up is to work on the shrouds.  I plan to serve these using my Syren Serv-o-Matic ship model rope serving machine. 

 

Thanks for checking out my build log.

[Chuck]

Nicely done Ryland.   You are in the home stretch!!!

[captain_hook]

Very nice! I like the blocks with attached thimbles, they look very authentic.

[glbarlow]

I’m thinking they should replace the box photos with yours...

[MEDDO]

That looks really good Ryland.  Even though I know the lines are temporarily installed they do look very nice. I like the way they don’t sag or have weird bends in them.

[gjdale]

Very nicely done Ryland.

[Ryland Craze]

14 hours ago, Chuck said:

Nicely done Ryland.   You are in the home stretch!!!

Thanks Chuck.  I am looking forward to finishing this model.

 

14 hours ago, captain_hook said:

Very nice! I like the blocks with attached thimbles, they look very authentic.

Thanks captain.  I enjoyed following your AVS build.  I hope to finish my AVS someday.

 

11 hours ago, glbarlow said:

I’m thinking they should replace the box photos with yours...

That is quite a nice comment.  I am just trying to replicate Chuck's fine model.

 

10 hours ago, MEDDO said:

That looks really good Ryland.  Even though I know the lines are temporarily installed they do look very nice. I like the way they don’t sag or have weird bends in them.

Michael, early in the build I removed the rigging line from the packages they came in and wrapped it around some cardboard tubes.  This has helped to straighten out the line.

7 hours ago, gjdale said:

Very nicely done Ryland.

Thanks Grant.  I am glad you have restarted your Medway Longboat.  With your attention to detail, it will be a highly crafted model.  I look forward to following your build.

[BobG]

Beautiful work, Ryland.

 

I had a heck of a time trying to make the thimbles the way Chuck does. I ended up filing off the top half of some small brass tubing so it was then opened up into a U shape. Then I cut the tubing into small sections and rolled them so they made small, circular thimbles. Your thimbles and blocks look great. 

[Ryland Craze]

Not much has happened since my last post but thought I would give an update on my progress.  I have started to work on the shrouds and the first thing that I did was to make the deadeyes.  The Syren deadeyes are made up of three layers that are glued together.   I made a simple jig to hold the layers as I glued them up.

 

 

Once glued up, I separated them from the frame that was holding them.  I sanded off the laser burn on the edges being careful not to change the shape of the deadeye.  I then placed them in my Model Expo block tumbler to soften and round their edges.

 

 

Here is a picture with the deadeyes stropped with 24 gauge wire and the hooks added.

 

 

The next step was to make the straps that hold the deadeyes and nail them to the wales.  I pre-bent the straps around the molding before I installed them.  I then tried blackening them, but failed miserably.  So I wound up priming them and painting them with matte black paint.  Then I installed them per the instructions.

 

 

The next step was to use my Syren Serv-o-Matic serving machine to serve my shrouds and backstays where they are seized around the mast.  This was my first time using the machine and it worked great.  I had no problems and I am pleased with the results.

 

 

Next up is the installation of the shrouds and the backstays.

[glbarlow]

I haven’t tried my servomatic yet, glad to hear you had no problems. 

[Chuck]

Everything is looking really good Ryland.   Almost there!!!!

[BobG]

3 hours ago, glbarlow said:

I haven’t tried my servomatic yet, glad to hear you had no problems. 

It's easy and fun to use, Glenn. I really enjoyed using it to serve the lines.

[Ryland Craze]

3 hours ago, glbarlow said:

I haven’t tried my servomatic yet, glad to hear you had no problems. 

 

Here is a video showing its use:

 

Like Bob said, it was real easy to use and very therapeutic. 

[Freebird]

Awesome build Ryland! Will be referring to your build log when I start my build!

 

Rick

[Ryland Craze]

Hard to believe it has been over a month since I last posted an update.  December was a good month for me as I got a lot of work done on my Longboat and was hoping that I would finish it by the end of the year.  I wound up with a bad cold a few days before the end of the year and for some reason I have not done any work on my Longboat since then, even though I feel fine now.  I guess it stopped my momentum.  This is where my progress stopped, having completed the shrouds, forestay and backstays. Here is a photo of the forestay and the shrouds:

 

 

Here is a photo of the backstays along with the straps with the hooked blocks:

 

And here is a photo of the shrouds, forestay and backstays where they meet at the top of the mast showing the lines served:

 

I am getting close to finishing my Longboat, needing to install the bowsprit, construct the oars and add some more rigging and rope coils.