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

[WalrusGuy]

5 hours ago, abelson said:

Very detailed work and photos. Looks professional.

Thanks for the encouranging words Steven! 

[Gahm]

Your stern arrangement with all the details in place looks very nice! And you make very good picture as well 🙂!

 

Thomas

[NovaStorm]

Looking real good  you are moving righty along at a good clip!

[Overworked724]

Really nice work!  Very crisp, Walrus!!

[WalrusGuy]

Thanks guys!!!! 😁 

 

Started working on the pump. I'm planning to also include the handles. Here are some progress pics: 

 

For handles I used toothpicks which were sanded down to almost nothing 😄 

Used applewood strips (leftover wood from previous kit) for the brackets holding the handles 

I used the 1/16"x1/16" strip for the extension. A hole was drilled before shaping it to prevent splits in the wood

Here's everything dryfitted 

I was not able to drill a hole in the brass strip so I attached the wire with CA instead

For the tiny spout I used end of a toothpick with the pointy bit cut out and dented a hole on the end with a compass to simulate that its hollow

Next will be painting and applying tung oil then assembling the lot 

Edited November 13, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[WalrusGuy]

Pump is done!! I decided to have the crossbar at an angle instead of horizontal since I like that look better 😁

The pin in the crossbar fitted snuggly so I decided not to glue it in place. The pump rods are also not glued in the drums since it all fits well.

Edited November 13, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[Gahm]

That is a nice looking pump! And in my opinion it looks even more impressive with the handles mounted 😉.

 

Thomas

[Justin P.]

Wow!   Thats so cool.  Great job.   The finish and detail is very good.   How do you find doing this fiddly work? Any tips that have been working for you?   Ive done some, but am a little anxious about it.   

[WalrusGuy]

4 hours ago, Gahm said:

That is a nice looking pump! And in my opinion it looks even more impressive with the handles mounted 😉.

 

Thomas

 

1 hour ago, Justin P. said:

Wow!   Thats so cool.  Great job.   The finish and detail is very good.   How do you find doing this fiddly work? Any tips that have been working for you?   Ive done some, but am a little anxious about it.   

Thanks so much for the compliments Thomas and Justin

 

Thomas, I took inspiration from your pump to include the handles. I really like how it looks!!

 

Justin, I think it is just a matter of practice. When I began the deck details I had to redo so some items to be satisfied with it. Number of trial runs decreased as I progressed through the details since I think I got used to it. The spouts for the pump were still so small and hard a hard time cutting them out, so had to cut a few before selecting the best of the bunch. Holes for the handles also took a couple of trials because of how bad basswood is for small tasks 😅. Overall I am finding the deck details the most fun and satisfying chapter so far!! Mostly because the deck is starting to look alive 😁

[WalrusGuy]

Pump has been installed on the deck!

 

 

[Overworked724]

Awesome!!!  

[Matt D]

Those pumps look terrific, WalrusGuy!  Your build is beautiful.

[WalrusGuy]

8 hours ago, Overworked724 said:

Awesome!!!  

 

6 hours ago, Matt D said:

Those pumps look terrific, WalrusGuy!  Your build is beautiful.

Thank you Patrick and Matt! And thanks for all the likes!

 

[DanielD]

Great work!

[WalrusGuy]

Thanks Daniel!

 

I finished making the ladders

 

 

Next I want to work on making the guide near the hawse holes. I kept delaying this step (mostly due to nervousness of cutting the waterway) but I think it needs to be done before carrying out with the rest of the deck furniture. Here's a pic of why I want to do this step. Even after trying to clean the holes they still don't look very good. Hoping the guide gives a cleaner look.

Edited November 14, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[WalrusGuy]

I completed making the guide for the hawse holes. It wasn't too bad but cutting the waterway was scary 😬.. Felt like I was performing open heart surgery. 

 

For the guide, the wood was positioned in the cut out section, then I drew the angle needed for the guide, and filed with a rounded needle file. Also softened the edges a bit 

 

To cut it out I put a notch on where the guide should be with a sharp #11 blade then peel out the wood each grain at a time. Again, very scary!! 

Edited November 15, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[WalrusGuy]

Started working on the main fife rail. The laser cut part was very weak and it didnt take long for me to split one of the layers. Fortunately I was able to glue it to the other layer so it's like nothing ever happened 😉

 

Also made the holes wider a bit so the belaying pins can fit snuggly in them 

Also finished making the thicker deck sections for below the mast. Making holes in these were a bit tricky. My first attempt resulted in the wood splitting, even though I increased the drill bit size gradually. The method that I found to work was very time consuming, but it worked.... Instead of drilling in a clockwise direction, I manually drilled the holes counter-clockwise. This way the drill did not penetrate the wood, but instead made it thinner for it to be filed with a round needle file. This was done by gradually increasing the drill bit and filing at each interval. 

 

Also noticed, the forward one on the plans appeared bigger than the one aft of the ship, so I followed suit. I think the one at the back is smaller to allow for the main fife rail to have enough space. 

 

One last thing, I noticed I cut out the hammock cranes wrong 😬 back when I blackened the brass parts... I had to leave the extension bits on so they remain secure on the ship's cap rail. So I've e-mailed modelexpo for replacement parts... Maybe this was a blessing in disguise as this time I'll try to thin them down a bit. Good thing I read this chapter ahead of time! 

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[NovaStorm]

That is looking first rate Wally  

[abelson]

On 11/13/2020 at 1:22 PM, WalrusGuy said:

Pump has been installed on the deck!

 

 

Nice detail on the pumps - looks great. I like the effect.

[abelson]

7 hours ago, WalrusGuy said:

Started working on the main fife rail. The laser cut part was very weak and it didnt take long for me to split one of the layers. Fortunately I was able to glue it to the other layer so it's like nothing ever happened 😉

 

Also made the holes wider a bit so the belaying pins can fit snuggly in them 

Also finished making the thicker deck sections for below the mast. Making holes in these were a bit tricky. My first attempt resulted in the wood splitting, even though I increased the drill bit size gradually. The method that I found to work was very time consuming, but it worked.... Instead of drilling in a clockwise direction, I manually drilled the holes counter-clockwise. This way the drill did not penetrate the wood, but instead made it thinner for it to be filed with a round needle file. This was done by gradually increasing the drill bit and filing at each interval. 

 

Also noticed, the forward one on the plans appeared bigger than the one aft of the ship, so I followed suit. I think the one at the back is smaller to allow for the main fife rail to have enough space. 

 

One last thing, I noticed I cut out the hammock cranes wrong 😬 back when I blackened the brass parts... I had to leave the extension bits on so they remain secure on the ship's cap rail. So I've e-mailed modelexpo for replacement parts... Maybe this was a blessing in disguise as this time I'll try to thin them down a bit. Good thing I read this chapter ahead of time! 

 

Nice job on the tenons around the mast. Great idea on drilling counter clockwise - wish I had thought of that.

[WalrusGuy]

9 hours ago, NovaStorm said:

That is looking first rate Wally  

 

2 hours ago, abelson said:

Nice detail on the pumps - looks great. I like the effect.

 

2 hours ago, abelson said:

Nice job on the tenons around the mast. Great idea on drilling counter clockwise - wish I had thought of that.

Many thanks for the great comments Robin and Steven! 

[WalrusGuy]

Started working on the stanchions for the main fife rail. I think the ones made so far are passable 😅

 

First I marked locations based on the plan of where the curves should end. The bit at the top was roughly sanded at first to make it thinner so it easier to have a thinner finish at that location 

Then started shaping with a triangular needle file

Comparison with plan:

Ones made so far:

Still wondering on how the top of these stanchions will be secured to the main fife rail. I am considering drilling a hole partway in the main fife rail where 0.5mm of the stanchions can be inserted in for a more secure fit, but a bit nervous on the wood splitting...

[NovaStorm]

Those are looking really good. You would be brave to drill into the main rail partway. I glued my stanchions onto the main rail then drilled and wire pinned through the main rail down into the stanchion. Yours are thinner than mine by the look so I may be giving bad advice. 

[WalrusGuy]

1 hour ago, NovaStorm said:

Those are looking really good. You would be brave to drill into the main rail partway. I glued my stanchions onto the main rail then drilled and wire pinned through the main rail down into the stanchion. Yours are thinner than mine by the look so I may be giving bad advice. 

Thanks for the comment Robin! I was also thinking of drilling a wire but I am 100% sure the wood would split given its basswood and all... I'll see if I can think of another way of going about this.  

[niwotwill]

Your progress amazes me and the quality of the results is amazing.

 

Will  

[WalrusGuy]

Thank you for the compliments Will. 

 

For the stanchions I think I'll try this method. I sanded a small notch on the top which will be inserted into a tiny hole on the rail. Hoping this would make it secure enough..... 

 

Edited November 17, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[WalrusGuy]

Stachions have been glued to the rail. Drilling the holes on the deck will be tricky... 

Edited November 17, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[WalrusGuy]

Holes in the deck were drilled 😬...

Fortunately it went smoother than expected. I placed the rail with glued legs on the desired position and marked the spots on the deck where the wire touched. After triple checking the locations (and checking once more for good measure) I began drilling them. Found that one of the legs was shorter than the other 5 so made a new one to fit.

After gluing the main fife rail in position, belaying pins were inserted. The 6 pins on the rail closest to the bow were too snug and I had to lightly tap them to place with the back of a needle file. Then I figured it would be better to increase hole width with a wider drillbit, so the rest of the pins are not as snug, but still a very good fit, and easier to put in position.

Just hope the rail won't detach from the legs or the deck as I progress with the build....

 

I think this is the trickiest part of this chapter, so I hope everything else goes smoothly from here!!

[Overworked724]

Looks fantastic!  PVA glue or CA to lock the rail in place?

[WalrusGuy]

30 minutes ago, Overworked724 said:

Looks fantastic!  PVA glue or CA to lock the rail in place?

Thanks Patrick!!

 

Been using this guy for all fittings to allow for some time to position it right before it sets. Description says it dries harder than PVA and twice the strength, but dunno if true 😄

For the pins in the legs I used CA since I did not care much for the time it takes to set.. Also been using CA for metal to metal contacts, but for most other stuff, I've been using the above one