Philadelphia by BobCardone - Model Shipways - Scale 1:24 - Kit build with modifications

[BobCardone]

Thanks, BobG! Testor's metalizer paints are awesome...

I got the gunwales installed and started work on deck paraphernalia. I had a real problem with the 12 pounder cannonball racks though. They are VERY delicate so of course I ended up breaking both of them...😬 After some fiddly repair they are installed but I'm still not really happy with them. Even though they are prototype, they just don't look substantial enough to hold all those cannonballs. I may end up scratchbuilding some improved ones.

 

Progress shots:

 

 

Edited February 25, 2020 by BobCardone
added pic after cleanup

[leclaire]

Thanks Bob and Kurt for the link and the suggestions. Once again, MSW shows its value.

[BobCardone]

Hi all,

   I got a lot of detail stuff done, not real obvious but necessary. I decided to tone down the nailing with an eraser and generally even out the overall "patina". I rebuilt the 12 pounder cannonball racks, adding storage underneath for bar shot, chain shot and other stuff. I finished the storage cabinets in the stern, using doll house hinges (not functional). Added a bunch more bolts and nuts, and installed all the inside hardware. Next is to mount and rig the cannons, then start on the mast and other deck stuff. 

 

[BobG]

Absolutely gorgeous, Bob! Your attention to detail is wonderful and your skill with color and stains is exceptional. I love the weathered yet still clean look of your finishes on the boat.

 

Bob

[BobCardone]

Thanks, Bob!

My first experiences as a kid were with model railroading. You know how the model RR guys love to depict everything weathered and beat up. I guess it stuck... 

   Well I finally completed the hull... yay! I did a few more passes with the pigments, pencils and erasers and then applied about five thin coats of Krylon matte clear. I made some 12 pound cannonballs from a string of 4mm beads from Goodwill (great place to find cool stuff) by unstringing them then filling one hole with Testors putty. A coat of primer, some touchup and then a coat of Metalizer burnt iron. I also have some 3mm beads to use for the 9 pounders. I'm waiting on some Syren blocks and then I'll rig and permanently mount the gun carriages.

 

   I'm really undecided about the mortar. I finally made a carriage I'm satisfied with and would really like to include it. The stern seems so empty... I'd have to make some mods to the awning battens and other stuff but it's doable. I'm getting close to having to make a final decision before I go much further... any yeas or nays?

BTW, Slim"s not DOA (although technically he IS dead...) and he'll be back!

   Here's some progress shots outside in sunny St. Pete FL:

 

Edited March 11, 2020 by BobCardone
add in progress cannonballs

[BobG]

Exceptional!

[yvesvidal]

Breathtaking....!!! This is the real thing, it is not a  model.

 

Yves

[jct]

love your weathering techniques

[BobCardone]

Thank you, gentlemen!

   This forum is indispensable for tips, tricks, how-tos and discussion. I'm learning so much by searching and just browsing...

BobC 

[dzerbato]

You're doing a fantastic job! Did you end up using the kit supplied rail caps or making your own? 

[BobCardone]

Thanks dzerbato!   It's really cool having two concurrent builds and being able to swap ideas.

   I used the kit supplied rail caps. I was dreading the fit, but they dropped right in place where they are supposed to be. I installed mine much earlier than the instructions suggest so I could blend them with the hull. Watch out on the bow and stern curved sections... the wood grain runs across the boards and will split if not careful. My Syren blocks arrive today, as well as my Model Shipways block tumbler and 50mm metal anchors. I'm looking forward to finally mounting the ordinance. The mast and spars are done, as well as a lot of deck ornaments.

   I'm debating having one 9 pounder run out in battery and possibly the other one in recoil position with the associated cleaning and loading paraphernalia surrounding it. 

Slim finally wandered home! He's looking pretty thin, gonna have to fatten him up. Plenty more work to do...

[BobG]

6 hours ago, BobCardone said:

My Syren blocks arrive today, as well as my Model Shipways block tumbler and 50mm metal anchors.

Be sure to modify your block tumbler the way that Chuck shows on in his instructions about how to assembly and finish his Syren deadeyes. The MS block tumbler worked great for me with his modifications.

 

https://www.syrenshipmodelcompany.com/resources/Assembling your Syren Ship Model Company Deadeyes.pdf

[Landlubber Mike]

This is absolutely amazing.  If you’re a novice, I wonder what that makes me 😳

[BobCardone]

3 hours ago, BobG said:

Be sure to modify your block tumbler the way that Chuck shows on in his instructions about how to assembly and finish his Syren deadeyes. The MS block tumbler worked great for me with his modifications.

Thanks for the link, I'm going to start them tonight. It's nice having well designed hardware to begin with instead of having to "polish a turd".

 

2 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

This is absolutely amazing.  If you’re a novice, I wonder what that makes me 😳

Thanks Mike, I've been building models for 60 years (mostly styrene and railroad) but I still have a LOT to learn about model shipbuilding. It's a whole different class of modelling, with a bunch of new nomenclature and techniques to learn. I really liked the ebony planking on your Charles W. Morgan! Your builds are great and your build logs really well done.

[BobCardone]

 

   I've completed the 10mm blocks from Syren and am ready to rig and mount the carriages. The Syren blocks are exquisite, and are easy and quick to build if you follow the instructions. I used the modified Block Buster as dzerbato did and stained them hull color then attached the metal bits. I then ran a drill bit through the line holes to make sure the line I selected (some stuff from the parts bin, origin unknown) would easily pass. I still have to touch up the metal parts with Metalizer and make the hooks but I'll do that while the carriages are mounted and rigged. I'm going to remove the cannons from the carriages and then mount the carriages to the deck using small screws. Then I'll rig them, then leave the barrels off and out of the way while I build out the deck stuff.

 

My first attempt at rigging...

   After reading a ton of info on the forum, I realize I'm out of my "comfort zone". None of the projects I've ever done until now required any real work with rigging. The first wooden ship model I ever did never made it to the rigging stage... it's an ugly but funny story from about 12 years ago...

The kit was a Missippi river boat (don't remember the name or manufacturer) about 24" hull length with a colorful box about 24" long. I had completed the hull and decks and was digging the build progress when my house was broken into... They stole the box with all the masts, hardware, metalwork, wood stock etc. along with some other stuff.

But they left the hull and superstructure! The box was sitting right next to the ship, with a big color picture of the completed vessel on the top! Even the responding officers were amused...

Oh well, that ship has sailed.

   Now comes the unknown zone of rigging. 

Of course, Slim's gotta get his shot in...

Edited March 28, 2020 by BobCardone
grammatical

[BobG]

Looks fantastic!

[BobCardone]

Hey all,

   Whew! Cannons are permanently mounted and gun and breeching tackles installed. I still have to dress the breeching rope to simulate sag from gravity. Some problems popped up because of "unforeseen consequences". To fit the larger cannons I had to widen the carriages, and so the block and breech rings had to be moved to compensate. I also wanted to open up some space to show off those sweet Syren blocks, so I moved the single block of the gun tackle back about 1/4" back on all the carriages. I used the kit supplied breeching rope and weathered it by dipping it in Tamiya dark gray panel line accent color. After dipping, I wiped it down thoroughly to remove the color from the outer twists of the rope, leaving the lower areas darker. I think this makes a good representation of weathered rope. I also added two belaying pins to each cradle to add (in the future) hanging rope coils for the side tackle falls. Next will be fabbing up some touch hole aprons and (possibly) some tampions for the cannons.

   Next up is the deck furniture, fireplace, mortar (yes, I'm going to use it) and a whole bunch of boxes, crates, barrels and buckets. 

Slim got roped in to helping...

[BobG]

The detail is jaw dropping! I want to pick your brain about your wonderful weathering techniques...

[BobCardone]

Any questions, fire away, Bob... I'd be glad to help. I hope you're doing OK in California, at least you have lots of time to play guitar now. It looks like in Florida we will probably have "shelter in place" by next week, so I'll have lots of time to work on the boat and play guitar myself.

[yvesvidal]

11 hours ago, BobCardone said:

Bob, this is so realistic, it almost hurts the eyes. Actually, it is beyond realistic... It allows you in one glance to encompass what human vision could not grab at once.

 

Yves

Edited March 21, 2020 by yvesvidal

[BobG]

14 hours ago, BobCardone said:

Any questions, fire away, Bob... I'd be glad to help. I hope you're doing OK in California, at least you have lots of time to play guitar now. It looks like in Florida we will probably have "shelter in place" by next week, so I'll have lots of time to work on the boat and play guitar myself.

Thanks, Bob. We're doing ok although it is kind of depressing to go out for a walk and see everything closed, streets practically deserted and people avoiding each other like they had the plague. I know it is absolutely necessary and I'm grateful that we have such an intelligent and empathic governor who is acting quickly and aggressively to do what he can to slow the spread of this terrible virus. We're all in this together as a global community since the virus knows no borders.

 

Ok...you said, "Fire away," so here goes. I have a couple of models in my stash that I would like to get that aged, burnished look like you have on the darker wood in your model. What kind of wood is that on the cap rails and on the cannon carriages? Can you explain the techniques you used to achieve that wonderful looking finish on them?

 

I have more questions but I'll start with these first. Thanks so much again.

[BobCardone]

16 minutes ago, BobG said:

What kind of wood is that on the cap rails and on the cannon carriages? Can you explain the techniques you used to achieve that wonderful looking finish on them?

Hey Bob,

   All the wood is kit supplied (basswood) except the deck planking which came from Midwest (basswood also). Basswood is nice to work with but it takes stains poorly with lots of mottling. I assembled all the pieces first before staining, sanding with #400 grit then beveling ALL edges before assembling. The beveling really makes the individual planks stand out, and allows a pencil to be used for tar simulation much easier.

   I tried a bunch of ways to stain the basswood without any mottling, and found a quick pass with Minwax pre-stain sealer really helps, especially on the end grain. After sealing, another quick pass with #800 grit to get the fuzz off. Next I did two quick passes with Minwax honey stain, and after it dried another sanding pass with #1200 grit to really smooth it out without removing any stain. Then I started with the weathering. To disguise the mottling that remained I used a brown oil pastel pencil and for the edges a soft black graphite pencil, then blended all the pencil work together by rubbing with my thumb. I heartily recommend getting a set of oil pastel pencils, they have a ton of uses.

   After the hull was completely built and weathered I applied about 4 light coats of Krylon matte finish (go light otherwise you'll get the dreaded "white blotches"). Next I went over the entire hull with a very fine scotchbrite pad to add a bit of "satin" finish overall. The Krylon removes the "shininess" from the pencil work and ties the whole finish together nicely. I did have to go over all my nailing again to get the "shiny nail head" look back... what a pain... 

   Present times are truly surreal, it's both interesting and scary to see the changes throughout society. I consider myself fortunate that I'm retired and have about 20 years of kits on the shelf to build, plus about a dozen guitars to noodle on and customize. 

 

Cheers, and LMK any other questions, I'll be glad to share any techniques I've used.

[BobG]

Thanks so much, Bob, for taking the time to share all of that great information. 👍

[BobCardone]

Thanks Bob, as I continue the build I'll try and detail the procedures as I figure them out...

   I forgot to describe in the previous post how and when I did the nailing. I first did the whole hull with pencil and an ink pen to make depressions before I stained everything. BAD MOVE! The stain swelled the nail depressions back out and blurred the pencil marks... Egad! So I had to go over the whole boat again. Next time I'll do the nailing after using any finish that would swell the depressions for the nails. Lesson learned...

   I finished this addition today... muskets!

BrickArms Brown Caplock Muskets meant for Brick Minifigures from ebay. They measure 2" long, which would make them 4' long in real life. They are molded in brown plastic with some pretty good detail. The line also includes swords, axes, knives and other cool stuff that are about 1:24 scale. Reading about how the British hired local Indians to snipe at the Americans, I figured they would like to return the favor. I've got 8 muskets, so I decided to make a rack that holds four and distribute the rest around the boat.

   I washed the muskets with soap and water (they were pretty oily) cleaned up the mold lines and then shot them with matte clear. Drilled out the barrels and added brass and gunmetal detail paint. Still have some touch-up on sloppy paint and more detailing, but I think they'll make a nice addition. I still need to figure out where they will go... with all the stuff I plan to scatter around the deck space is rapidly becoming a premium.

   By the time I'm done, the boat is going to be SERIOUSLY over-gunned. All three carriage guns are about 15% larger than the kit ones, and I'm adding the mortar as well as two more swivel guns (total of four) and eight muskets. Only thing missing is the kitchen sink! I know that in the real world all this ordinance probably would have pounded poor Philly into splinters when fired. As I mentioned in the beginning of this build, this is not a faithful reproduction of the actual boat but an imagining of what could have been possible. I know lots of things I'm doing go against common nautical sense, but most of the models I've built have been slightly exaggerated... I find the look more "real".

Slim's got him some shootin' irons now...

[mtaylor]

I'm glad I found this log.   Fascinating and absolutely wonderful detailing.

[Chuck Seiler]

Bob,

 

    Fantastic job!  I am not a big fan of weathering the Philly since the original was built and sunk in a fraction of the time it took me to build mine.  That having been said, your weathering is great.  Nice touch with the mortar and muskets.  Looking forward to your cookstove.

[MEDDO]

Impressive weathering.  I am very much liking this build.

[Wahka_est]

Detail of your build is amazing!

What stain dit you use to het that light grey look?

Brown stain is mahagony? Do you apply it with brush or with piece of cloth?

[BobCardone]

31 minutes ago, Wahka_est said:

What stain dit you use to het that light grey look?

Brown stain is mahagony? Do you apply it with brush or with piece of cloth?

Thanks!

   The deck was not sealed, but the hull was sealed with Minwax pre-stain sealer. The deck and ceiling finishes are Minwax classic gray penetrating stain (one pass), and the hull and deck fixtures are Minwax honey penetrating stain (two passes). Weathering and blending were done with oil pastels and different hardnesses of graphite pencils. The final finish is about 4-5 coats of Krylon matte clear, both deck and hull. The deck was left matte, and the hull was polished out with a fine Scotchbrite pad to achieve a "satin" look.

[ccoyle]

Just catching up on this log -- all I can say is 😲!