USF Confederacy by ChrisLBren - FINISHED - 3/16 Scale

[Alex M]

Hi Chris, glad to see you back, and your Confederacy is amazing!

mine just turned 6 mos and are sleeping thru the night - I never thought this day would come....

:D   no wonder, our is 21 years now, but also sleep not every night through... :D

Edited July 12, 2013 by Alex M

[Trussben]

Hi Chris, what size of ships wheels did you buy from Cornwall models boats? They have 2 sizes available. And your right about expensive!

 

Ben

[ChrisLBren]

Appreciate the kind words !  Ben i used the 24mm wheel from Caldercraft - it looks great and worth every penny.  I should be installing mine again later this week.  I think the number is C87152

[ChrisLBren]

Hey Group,

 

At last all deck furniture is finished with the re installation of the ships wheel (i lowered its supports 1/16) and the binnacles.  All thats left on this one is the headrails, dummy masts, channels/deadeyes, gunport lids/fenders and anchors.  I need to decide if i want to proceed to the head rails or revisit the WVH - it is painting and sanding season outside here in Chicago (if it cools down just a bit).  On the other hand Ive got some renewed momentum on the Confed.  Have a great weekend,

Chris

[Trussben]

Looks superb Chris. Keep going!

 

Ben

[tlevine]

Way too hot and humid today.  And it's supposed to rain later.  How's that for a few excuses to stay with the ship?

[Rustyj]

Wonderful Chris! Keep it going your almost there.

 

Plus I'm greedy and love seeing your work on her.  

[Ferit]

Such a smooth, such a clean build!... Such a brilliance!...

[mtaylor]

Looks great, Chris.  You're almost done.....

[Landlubber Mike]

Amazing work Chris!  Just out of curiosity, what are you doing for the red color?  Is it a specialty wood?  Paint?  Dye?  Stain?

[ChrisLBren]

Thanks everyone - Toni - your Atalanta is a beaut !  I'm really enjoying following your log. Always great hearing from you Rusty, Ben, Ferit,  and Mark.  As far as the wood Mike - its Swiss Pear - sanded to 600 and finished with 100 percent pure Tung Oil.  

 

I spent yesterday cutting out rails with my scroll saw - now Im sanding them to final dimensions with my Dremel.  And just placed final order to Jeff for a the last sheets of wood I'll need to finish this one up.  

[jaerschen]

Very nice work Chris. You are doing a great job

[Landlubber Mike]

As far as the wood Mike - its Swiss Pear - sanded to 600 and finished with 100 percent pure Tung Oil.  

 

Hey Chris, thanks for the response.  For the deck elements, the pear almost looks more red than the planking on the hull which is why I thought there was something different.  Looks absolutely gorgeous

[ChrisLBren]

Thanks Mike - actually the deck elements were finished with two coats of Watcos Danish Oil - which doesn't involve as much buffing as the Tung Oil which goes on thick.  I used Watcos for most of the smaller assemblies (cannon carriages, binnacles, pin racks, deck beams, etc).  Not sure if that made a difference or its just the lighting of the iPhone camera.

[Landlubber Mike]

Sorry to keep asking you questions, but what kind of paint and color did you use to paint the ship's wheel?  It looks fantastic, and well coordinated with the boxwood in your build  

[ChrisLBren]

Hi Mike,

 

Basically the formula for painting to resemble boxwood is a 50/50 mix of Raw Sienna and Yellow Ochre as a base coat.  You then go in with light washes of Raw Sienna mixed with a touch of white for your low lights and Yellow Ochre mixed with a touch of white for your highlights.  Use several washes to give the piece dimension.  Then apply Minwax Golden Oak - allow to get tacky for about 30 minutes then brush off.  Repeat if necessary - stole this one from Chuck.

Chris

[ChrisLBren]

OK Group,

 

An update at last - starting the headrails.  Up first is the lower cheek.  After careful sanding to get it to fit - the next issue was devising a way to get straight groves along the faces of the cheeks.  The solution is simple - create a handle - which I did with a couple scraps of wood - and a brass nail elevated exactly 1/64.  Then all you need to do is run the piece along the nail several times to create a groove - which was then enlarged with a series of larger nails used by hand similar to an awl.  

 

Ive also attached a bow shot - alignment here is so critical - and by my eye the right side is a little lower than the left.  Not much can be done here to correct other than possible adjust the height of the hawse hole boards if need be to compensate for the upper cheek.  We will see how it looks once i remove the black strake above the cheek in order to install the hawse hole boards - hopefully this weekend if the twins allow.

 

 

[mtaylor]

Chris,

Lovely work on the cheeks and a great tip on the groove.  As for the apparent height difference... I'm seeing the ship canted to the right which is giving that appearance.  Though once I enlarge it, it might be that the cheek on the right is a tad thinner than one on the left?   Not really noticeable unless you're looking for it.

[ChrisLBren]

Hey Mark,

Thanks - the cheeks are identical - what you are seeing is the line of the left wale where it hits the stem is about 1/64 higher than the right.  So once the cheek is mounted the rear of it is slightly elevated making it look slightly thicker.  Once i add the hawse holes and the forward parts of the cheek you probably wont be able to tell the difference (at least im hoping)

Chris

[ChrisLBren]

Well couldn't resist - i removed the cheek and filed down the lip of the wale on the left side - I think it looks much better at least to me....

 

Onward!

[Trussben]

Looks great Chris.

 

Ben

[Kevin]

That looks brilliat

[Ferit]

Welcome to the Marvellous Show of ChrisLBren!...  

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks for the painting tip Chris - it worked out incredibly well.

 

Nice updates too - I don't know how you have the time with the twins to work in your shipyard.  I haven't been so lucky

[ChrisLBren]

Hey Group

 

An update !  Working on the cheeks - have to say this is my favorite part of the build so far.  This is where the careful work i did almost four years ago on the stem is paying off - everything for the most part is lining up.  You can see I did rework the trailboards vs using the ones Chuck generously supplied - mine needed to be about 1/16 wider at the hawse holes for it to fit and align everything properly.  Some tweaking will still be necessary - my advice for people building the kit is to know going in - this area is probably more of a scratch building exercise than simply using the kit components.  Most will need to adjust/re work  parts  to compensate for the creep that is unavoidable in your build.  I also highly recommend using hardwoods for the cheeks.  

 

Next up will be to finish the cheeks by inscribing the moldings, dyeing the tailboards/stem/adding the carvings, painting the figurehead and installing everything to the model.

 

Lastly picked up a couple Ancre Monographs and am currently studying them for my next builds. I'm pumped !  I should be busy for the rest of my life with these - I intend to build both in 1/48.  

 

Chris

[Rustyj]

Hi Chris, Very nice work on those rails. It is a fun area especially when you did such

good work setting it up. It's important to remember that work very early in a build can

have a major impact later on. I should know!  

 

Well done.  

 

[archjofo]

Hi Chris,

I am enthusiastic about your outstanding performance.

[mtaylor]

Chris,

Sweet work on the cheeks and trailboards.  

 

Been shopping at Ancre', I see.   Impressive.  Only two builds for the rest of your life?????  I have faith that you'll get more than two done.

[ChrisLBren]

Thanks guys - Mark - rest of my life - yes - Le Gros Ventre will be full frame for sure - and Im toying with the idea of building the 3 Decker as L'Orient - Napoleon's Flagship at the Battle of the Nile full frame - enormous....

[druxey]

Very nice going, Chris. It's very gratifying when the work one did years ago pays off. Speaking of years, when my only daughter was young, no modeling happened for ten years after she was a few months old. So, your expectation of two more models after this may be realistic, especially if one is a monster 110-gun ship....