US Brig Syren by WalrusGuy - FINISHED - Model Shipways - Scale 1:64 - Second wooden ship build

[WalrusGuy]

Binnacle is finally completed!! Funny how I was almost going to mention how fun this part of the build is, up until I started working on the bell. That was a total nightmare!!! I bent so many wires to get the right shape, and when I did get the right one, I found out that the bell was too large to fit (not enough clearance from the wood...). Then had to start all over. But that's not where it ended, the hardest part was gluing the two wires. I somehow managed to do it by using some scrap wood to balance one while holding the other. And... gluing the bell onto the wires was also troublesome... but again, I somehow managed to get it done.

 

Also, I intended to paint the bell gold, but when I applied primer, it looked too blotchy, and without primer, the paint was just sliding off. So I decided to file the bell to be shiny, and I am happy with the look (would be happier if it was golden in color but this will do 😅)

 

Anyways... enough rambling, here are some pics:

 

Edited November 7, 2020 by WalrusGuy
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[NovaStorm]

Well it sure looks good, filing the bell was a great idea I will have to remember that. 

Edited October 30, 2020 by NovaStorm

[Gahm]

Your binnacle turned out really nice! Another great detail added to a beautiful model.

 

Thomas

[Overworked724]

Outstanding!  Yep....filing the bell was a nice idea. That piece really shines!

[Keithbrad80]

Shinning the bell was a good idea it looks really great! 
 

Bradley

[WalrusGuy]

Thanks all for the encouraging words and the likes. Motivates me a lot!! Also wanted to mention, whenever I look at the ship I can't believe my eyes on how far I've reached. Without this forum I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to reach this far. Really is a great community. Seeing other builds is also really motivating and inspiring. So thanks again to all those who have been following my build and leaving likes and comments. Means a lot!!! 

Edited October 30, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[WalrusGuy]

Binnacle has been glued in position. Here are some pics:

 

Edited November 7, 2020 by WalrusGuy
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[NovaStorm]

Fantastic you gotta be proud of the way that has turned out. The three pieces together just rock 

[Retired guy]

The small details bring out the model Wally great job 👍

[WalrusGuy]

3 hours ago, NovaStorm said:

Fantastic you gotta be proud of the way that has turned out. The three pieces together just rock 

 

2 hours ago, Retired guy said:

The small details bring out the model Wally great job 👍

Thanks guys!! 😄

[Overworked724]

Wally, what wood did you use for the binnacle?

[WalrusGuy]

35 minutes ago, Overworked724 said:

Wally, what wood did you use for the binnacle?

Hey Pat, it's all basswood. I ended up scratching the top, back and drawers since the laser cut ones kept cracking when drilling the holes

Edited November 1, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[WalrusGuy]

Finished prepping up all parts of the long guns and carriages. 

 

First the guns were filed to remove some of the weird metal lines. Here's the back one filed to be nice and shiny 😁

The laser cut pieces have this issue where one side everything seems to be bigger than the other, I had to put filler in one of the holes of the carriage brackets and ran a wire through it before it sets so both sides have the same hole diameter. 

Next, all the other laser cut pieces were filed and sanded. The issue of one side being bigger carried on for all the pieces, so when looking at them straight on they looked angled. So they were sanded to be level. 

 

Next, all the pieces were painted:

 

Guns were drilled and eye bolts were inserted into them. The entire assembly was then painted black after applying primer: 

Eyebolts also inserted into the carriages brackets (from this image the size issue is slightly evident, the left ones show the good sized hole and the right ones have the larger holes which were somewhat fixed with the filler):

Lastly, a drop of CA glue was put on a wire and inserted into a hole in the quoin. They will be painted once they dry up

After painting the quoin handles, the guns carriages can finally be assembled! 

Edited November 7, 2020 by WalrusGuy
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[WalrusGuy]

Long guns have been assembled! 

Edited November 7, 2020 by WalrusGuy
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[Keithbrad80]

Nice work, those look great!

 

Bradley 

[WalrusGuy]

10 hours ago, Keithbrad80 said:

Nice work, those look great!

 

Bradley 

 

Thanks Bradley!! 

[WalrusGuy]

Long guns have been glued and rigged. I put a touch of CA glue where the breech lines touch the back of the guns to make them appear less floaty and to look heavier 

 

 

I also installed the eye bolts and split rings on the deck 

Edited November 7, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[abelson]

On 11/5/2020 at 12:02 AM, WalrusGuy said:

Long guns have been assembled! 

Nice work on the long cannons - they look great. I had the same problem with the laser cut pieces.

[WalrusGuy]

Thanks Steven! I think the issue is the basswood which creates the uneven edges when being laser cut. For example, the wheel mini kit from Syren Model Ship Company had almost no issues with that since it was boxwood. Speaking of the wheel, I finished assembling it! 

 

It was a really fun mini kit 😁. Here are some pics of the progress: 

Finally I applied tung oil to the assembly: 

 

This was my first time working with boxwood and I got to say, it's amazing. No chips in wood at this scale, no rough edges. It's perfect for modeling. Wish kit manufacturers had an upgrade kit available with this stuff... 

Edited November 8, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[WalrusGuy]

Finished assembling the support posts and wheel. Had to glue everything up to make it easy to assemble 

 

Edited November 9, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[WalrusGuy]

The assembly has been glued to the deck. Before doing so, I realized the eyebolts used to rig the wheel to tiller were in the wrong positions, so had to remove them, put filler in existing holes and paint it red again. I should've double checked the plans before installing them... 

 

Anyways, some pics!! 

 

Edited November 9, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[niwotwill]

Been awhile since I checked up on your progress, boy a lot has happened. Its looking really good. I like you method of making the breech lines droop as they would been so heavy. Great Job

Just a note about laser cut parts. The kit parts were cut from one side so the result is the hot side will be burnt more than the cool side meaning the line sides are angled. Your Passaro parts don't exhibit this because Chuck tunes the laser better and cuts from both sides is what I've been told.

Stay well and stay safe

Will

[captain_hook]

Very beautiful. The boxwood parts are a nice addition to the deck. 

[Gahm]

The steering wheel clearly is a highlight of your deck furniture. It looks great! Well done!

 

Thomas

[WalrusGuy]

13 hours ago, niwotwill said:

Been awhile since I checked up on your progress, boy a lot has happened. Its looking really good. I like you method of making the breech lines droop as they would been so heavy. Great Job

Just a note about laser cut parts. The kit parts were cut from one side so the result is the hot side will be burnt more than the cool side meaning the line sides are angled. Your Passaro parts don't exhibit this because Chuck tunes the laser better and cuts from both sides is what I've been told.

Stay well and stay safe

Will

 

9 hours ago, captain_hook said:

Very beautiful. The boxwood parts are a nice addition to the deck. 

 

7 hours ago, Gahm said:

The steering wheel clearly is a highlight of your deck furniture. It looks great! Well done!

 

Thomas

Thank you Will, Captain_Hook and Thomas for the nice comments 😀

 

Will, that makes a lot of sense, wish Model Shipways did that with their laser cut parts...

[WalrusGuy]

Finished working on the tiller. Found it fun carving and sanding it 😁 

 

I put it in my drill (poor man's lathe 😂) and sanded the front side of it to be round and smooth. Here are some progress pics 

Here it is dry fitted. Before sticking it I need to fix one of the belayed ropes at the stern where I bumped the cleat clumsily and the rope got untied 😅. Hoping there's enough room to fix it.... 

Edited November 11, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[niwotwill]

Tiller looks fantastic. I'm still admiring the wheel though as Thomas said star of the deck so far. It might be pushed from stardom when you rig the steering lines to the tiller. 

 

Will  

[Justin P.]

That's beautiful.   The photography is great too!   I love the details and seeing it all come together.

[WalrusGuy]

Many thanks Will and Justin!! 

 

Finished rigging the wheel and tiller. I opted to go the harder route with a single rope tying the entire thing together. Ending the line on the block was a bit of a challenge and it does not look as good as the other side where I started the line. But I think it'll do 😁

 

Also, while rigging, had to secure the rudder so that it does not swing. To do this I just put some wooden blocks on either side of the rudder. Then just before I ending the line, I put CA glue on each of the blocks to keep tension in the rope.

 

Here are a bunch of pics: 

And some more 😁 

K I think that's more than enough pics! Got carried away with a bit of excitement having finished this tricky part 😅 

 

Next on the list is working on the pump then ladders.. 

Edited November 11, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[abelson]

6 hours ago, WalrusGuy said:

Many thanks Will and Justin!! 

 

Finished rigging the wheel and tiller. I opted to go the harder route with a single rope tying the entire thing together. Ending the line on the block was a bit of a challenge and it does not look as good as the other side where I started the line. But I think it'll do 😁

 

Also, while rigging, had to secure the rudder so that it does not swing. To do this I just put some wooden blocks on either side of the rudder. Then just before I ending the line, I put CA glue on each of the blocks to keep tension in the rope.

 

Here are a bunch of pics: 

And some more 😁 

K I think that's more than enough pics! Got carried away with a bit of excitement having finished this tricky part 😅 

 

Next on the list is working on the pump then ladders.. 

Very detailed work and photos. Looks professional.