Charles W. Morgan by John Ruy - FINISHED - Marine Model Company - 5/32”=1’ (1/76 scale) - Vintage Solid Hull Kit

[Voyageur]

Looking good, John!

[John Ruy]

Thank you it’s become a daily obsession to get this right, one step at a time. Thanks for the encouragement. 

[Sea Hoss]

Hey John, nice work so far! Just lost a bidding "war" on ebay last night on the MS CWM. still went for a good deal ($ 145.00 and $15 dollar shipping). New in box, oh well, I'll keep looking for something to have a nice large and detailed build after the little guy I'm on now.

[John Ruy]

3 hours ago, Sea Hoss said:

Hey John, nice work so far! Just lost a bidding "war" on ebay last night on the MS CWM. still went for a good deal ($ 145.00 and $15 dollar shipping). New in box, oh well, I'll keep looking for something to have a nice large and detailed build after the little guy I'm on now.

Thanks for your comments, this is a very satisfying model build. I picked this for my first wood build, because of its complexity. The challenges make the work very satisfying. Good Luck in your search for the MS kit. 

[John Ruy]

Now for the building of the Aft House. 

Laying down the base plates. 

laying out my first set of walls complete with wood trim. 

erecting the walls...

very challenging to get all of these corners straight.  

 

[John Ruy]

second set of walls assembled 

And set up...

Now for the roofing

Ready for painting

Aft House completed...

I think it is time take a break from the CWM and go work on my Viking Ship build. Later... 😎

Edited January 26, 2021 by John Ruy

[Voyageur]

You are doing a great job on this. Looks fantastic so far!

[John Ruy]

I’m back! Finished the Viking Longship and I can get back to the Morgan.  Back to the micro carpentry, first task is to build the crew’s head. Issue being it’s not on my vintage plans. Thanks to Ron (ragove) for getting me a scan of his MS plans. After scale adjustments, I had a template. 
 

After some additional filler, trimming and sanding. I now have the crew’s head installed. Never thought building an out house to scale would feel like such an accomplishment. 😎

I am now moving on to the bitts/pin rails around the masts. The kit has metal parts for this, however the Mizzenmast bitts required repair. More micro carpentry...

later...

Edited January 26, 2021 by John Ruy

[John Ruy]

I have been working on Mrs. Tinkham’s cabin. She was the wife of Captain Tinkham in 1875. When I visited the CWM at the Mystic Maritime Museum I toured the ship and captured this photo of a sign in her cabin. Very interesting story. 

Because I had no drawings for this unique deck furnishings I turned to the following site. This has been an invaluable resource. 
 

https://www.charleswmorganmodel.com

 

I captured this photo from the site and wanted to give credit where credit is due. 

Using this and the following photo from the build log at this site, I was able to create templates by copying by 50%. 

Using the templates I created the cabin. 

I have got to give another shout out to,

https://www.charleswmorganmodel.com

An excellent build log for reference. 👍

[Voyageur]

Very nicely done! 

[John Ruy]

Deck furnishings completed... 
Next up, Gallis Frames and Roof coverings.  😎

later...

Edited January 26, 2021 by John Ruy

[John Ruy]

Constitution of the Gallis Frames was not with out mistakes. Measure three times cut once applies to micro carpentry, as well. I carefully cut out all of the frames using my first one as a template. Perfect, except that first one was the shortest. Each frame gets a bit longer as the ship gets wider toward the bow. 😬

Had to get creative, given I had used up my 1/8 x 1/8 beams. So I cut them in half and laminated 1/16 sheet material to each side so I could stretch them. 😎 

Completed the racks for the oar storage as well. 👍

Touch up painting all around, another step closer to completion. 

more later...

Edited January 26, 2021 by John Ruy

[John Ruy]

Added Bitts and Buckets...

next up Davits and Anchors...

[John Ruy]

Anchors painted...

Drilling out Catheads...

Threading the chain...

Weighing Anchor, Anchors stowed...

Next up Davits and Back Spars...

 

[John Ruy]

Lashing down the Anchor Chains on the Windlass. 

Moving on to the Davits...

[Voyageur]

Those chains look really good. Is that what they look like in the kit or did you treat them?

[John Ruy]

7 hours ago, Voyageur said:

Those chains look really good. Is that what they look like in the kit or did you treat them?

The chains are not the chain provided in the the kit. I buy chain at Michaels Craft Stores. The large chain was actually black and I treated it with Flat Rust Enamel (Testors). The small ones are copper treated with a white vinegar and salt solution followed by ammonia vapors to create the patina. 😎 

[John Ruy]

Just realized it’s been 10 days since I have updated this build log. A lot has happened the past 10 days. On my bench that is, not in life we are still in Corona Lock Down here in Maine the Emergency has been extended into June by our Governor Virus cases still on the rise. 
 

I did score on an eBay buy, MS New Bedford Whaleboat 1/16. Excited 😆 snagged it for 59.00 + shipping. NIB It’ll be a great companion build for my CWM. 
 

Speaking of the CWM, I modified the metal DavitS from the kit by adding wood blocks to the ends. 

this will make the rigging go much easier

 

I also got in my order of belaying pins from MS eBay sales. 
 

I then went to work on the Gallis roofing. 

Edging the scribed deck lumber came out pretty good

 

I completed the roof mounted whale boats  with tie down mounting lumber. 

added shears to the Whale boats. More micro carpentry. 

Here is where we are so far...

next up Back Spars...

later... Happy building. 🍻 

 

 

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by John Ruy

[John Ruy]

Back spars and Davits completed. 

Tying down the spare Whaleboats. 
 

Ready or not Mast and Spar construction shall begin. A new adventure...

 

 

[Moab]

Great ship.... great build..... the photos really help a great deal...Moab

[mtbediz]

Beautiful ship, good job.

 

[John Ruy]

Cleaned up and reorganized the bench. Ready to start Mast and Spars. This looks a whole lot different than the Revell Construction Plastic masts. 

Thank you all for your likes and comments. Keep up the encouragement I will need it in the coming months. 

[John Ruy]

Started working on the Morgan’s masts today. My MS New Bedford Whaleboat has started consuming my time. Thought I would take a break from that And get back to the CWM. 

Slow and steady as she goes... Had to start over on the three lower masts. Must remember to measure three times and cut once. 😎

tomorrow is another day...

[John Ruy]

Foremast assembly complete. 

😎

[John Ruy]

Foremast complete with bits, painted and stained. This kit comes with tapered topmasts and yards. Lots of additional sanding to final shape and size.

On to the Main and Mizzenmast. 

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by John Ruy

[John Ruy]

186 hours into the Charles W Morgan and the Masts are complete. I have spent the last 20 hours on the building of these three Masts. Marine Model Company’s metal details were an enormous help, although they did require considerable filing shaping and drilling. 
 

Lower mast material supplied was raw dowel needing sanding to proper taper. Topmast we’re pre-tapered, however still requiring a lot of sanding. 

Using four grades of sand paper facilitated a more refined smooth surface. Lots of calibration with parts to achieve a proper fit. 

Metal Fair Leeds were provided, however none of the holes were clear for rigging. Lots of slow hand drilling required. 

It’s all about detail when it is time for running rigging. 👍

Main Mast Fair Leeds and pin rail. 

Fore Mast Fair Leeds and Pin Rail. 

Mizzen Mast Fair Leeds with Fife Rail below. This will be a lot of fun to rig, Looking forward to that. 😆

Whale watching hoops also provide in this kit. 

On to standing rigging starting at the bow. I will also start building yards arms. 
 

More later... Happy Modeling and Stay Safe out there, these are crazy times. America will get through this and be stronger than ever before. ✌️

Edited January 26, 2021 by John Ruy

[Kurt Johnson]

Hi John,

 

Really nice work. It’s wonderful to see what quality a model can be made with the older less sophisticated kits. Photoetch and laser cut are nice, but a little time and craftsmenship can produce equally and often better results. I think the the satisfaction would be much greater in the building. She’s gonna be a beaut! 
 

My daughter and her family until recently lived in your neck of the woods. They were in Cumberland, Me. Until her husband had to relocate for his job. Nice country and great people up there.

 

Kurt

[toms10]

Hi John,

I just ran into this log and am very impressed.  I am thinking of my next build as I am a few months... maybe away from finishing my current build.  I live about an hour away from Mystic and was thinking the Morgan should be my next build since it is in my back yard.  I would be doing it from scratch so I will need to procure a set of plans, most likely from the Mystic museum but they see to be overly expensive.  I will follow along and use this log as a guide as it is well done.  Keep up the nice work.

Tom

[John Ruy]

2 hours ago, toms10 said:

I would be doing it from scratch so I will need to procure a set of plans, most likely from the Mystic museum but they see to be overly expensive. 

Thanks Tom for your affirmation It is very encouraging as I hone my craftsmanship on this Vintage Kit. The plans I have in this kit are copies of the 1939 plans used to restore the CWM. I too think she is a beauty. 
 

Stay in touch and I would be glad to share the plans with you once I have completed her. They are very yellowed and a bit tattered, but would only gather dust for eternity. I would love to see you get some use out of them. That is if you can wait a while, not sure how long it will be to completion although she has been coming along quite steadily as I have nowhere to go right now. Cheers 🍻 

[toms10]

Hi John,

I would appreciate the plans when your done.  I am definitely in no hurry.  I am only on the just getting into the rigging on my Leopard.  I have the masts completed but still need to make the spars.  The standing rigging is only about 1/3 complete.  I am going to add sails so I am sure that will take a bit.  You will finish before me I am sure.  Speed is not in the formula for me.  Keep up the good work.  I am definitely going to pull up a chair and follow.  Your log is excellent.

Tom