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

[WalrusGuy]

I finished the longboat! Overall it was a tough and challenging project, and now the jollyboat feels even more daunting than it did before! I will start working on that once I lash the longboat on the gallow bitts, and after finishing making the sweeps. I also plan on making the chocks for the boat to rest on. 

And here it is balancing on the gallow bitts. While I was working on the boat, I was also making hammocks. I plan to stain them with tea (as Chuck advised me) as these look too white. Before I used tissue paper inside the cloth but they seemed too bulky. I found that wetting the cloth with some water then rolling them carefully works better. After they are rolled and folded, I stitched them up with some white thread.. 

 

Edited December 22, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[NovaStorm]

One of the nicest I've seen if not the ! Just a fantastic job and it looks perfect sitting in place.

 

 

4 minutes ago, WalrusGuy said:

And here it is balancing on the gallow bitts.

 

[KurtH]

Immaculate work!

[Gahm]

Your longboat is a wonderful addition to a beautiful model!

 

Thomas

[WalrusGuy]

16 hours ago, NovaStorm said:

One of the nicest I've seen if not the ! Just a fantastic job and it looks perfect sitting in place.

 

 

 

 

9 hours ago, KHauptfuehrer said:

Immaculate work!

 

2 hours ago, Gahm said:

Your longboat is a wonderful addition to a beautiful model!

 

Thomas

Thanks so much for the kind words and the likes! It's really appreciated! 😄

[abelson]

Excellent, finely detailed, product. BTY, the deck looks authentic - great job on that too.

[NovaStorm]

Oh and Merry Christmas Walrus and a very happy New Year to you  

[WalrusGuy]

2 hours ago, abelson said:

Excellent, finely detailed, product. BTY, the deck looks authentic - great job on that too.

Many thanks Steven!! 

 

16 minutes ago, NovaStorm said:

Oh and Merry Christmas Walrus and a very happy New Year to you  

Thanks Robin! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too! 😊 

[niwotwill]

Love the look of the longboat on the gallows bits and as Gahm said it really make the scene. Wonderful work. Can't wait to follow along to see what other amazing feats you have to show. 

 

Happy Holidays

Stay well and stay safe

Will  

[WalrusGuy]

1 hour ago, niwotwill said:

Love the look of the longboat on the gallows bits and as Gahm said it really make the scene. Wonderful work. Can't wait to follow along to see what other amazing feats you have to show. 

 

Happy Holidays

Stay well and stay safe

Will  

Thank you Will! Wishing you Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

[Overworked724]

Seriously...that is some sexy sh*t. 😎

 

Very well done!!!

[WalrusGuy]

5 hours ago, Overworked724 said:

Seriously...that is some sexy sh*t. 😎

 

Very well done!!!

Thanks Pat!! 😆

[WalrusGuy]

I shaped the sweeps and bundled then as shown: 

I finished making and staining all the hammocks. I soaked them in some tea and found it was way too dark (almost looked like wood). So I then diluted some bleach in lots of water and poured it over the hammocks which were on a sieve. The color after came out really nice, and blends with the wood and the longboat's white paint. Also doesn't stand out as much as before. 

Here's how the entire ship looks like currently (very close to getting the hull completed):

The oars and rudder have are stuck with just a couple drops of glue. The boat still needs to be lashed. I also did not make the chocks as I found them a bit tricky to shape, and would ultimately be mostly hidden behind the sweeps.

Edited December 25, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[BobG]

If Billy Chrystal saw this build he would say, "You look marvelous!"

[niwotwill]

If you were playing poker you'd have a full house A's high. My what a beautiful deck you've made again I say I can't wait to see you next feats.

Happy New Year

Stay well and stay safe

Will 

[WalrusGuy]

Thank you for the awesome comments Bob and Will!! 

 

I lashed down the longboat. This was again a very tricky process..... I used @abelson's method to bend the eye bolts to for the hooks. Very cool trick!

Where I think I didn't do as good was serving rope at the hook. I threaded the hook with the thread and used CA glue to hold it in position. Then using aligator clips to secure the hook, I tied a thinner thread around it. The other side was done after I hooked one of the rings and used CA there so it doesn't slip out. The other side was very tricky since I had 3 strands of rope. So I used a simple knot to secure all three ropes using the thinner thread then manually served it using CA inbetween.

Then I cut off the excess and the ended up with what looks like a loop of a single thread... No idea if my description makes sense, but it might be of some use to someone. 

The side where I served the rope off model: 

Side where I served the rope in the cramped up space. Looks worse but I think I can live with it 😅

All is left is the rudder pendants and the jollyboat, then onto rigging! 

 

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!! 

Edited December 26, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[abelson]

Serving of the ropes looks good - it's always a difficult task.

[WalrusGuy]

Thank you Steven! Maybe I'm just being too self-critical 😅

 

I finished assembling the Master Korabel's jolly boat to see how the pieces fit together. The planking was really tough, and I ended up with many gaps between them. I also struggled with getting the inner planks to be symmetric because I messed up aligning the upper most plank. These mistakes could be because the boat is so small... 

The scratch version of the 1:64 scale boat now seems even more daunting than before, but I'll give it my best shot! Hoping I don't make the same mistakes as this initial attempt.. 

Edited December 29, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[Justin P.]

11 hours ago, WalrusGuy said:

The scratch version of the 1:64 scale boat now seems even more daunting than before

Im very interested in how you guys are rescaling to build the scratch version.   Im not suprised by the difficulty either, its seems the smaller the boat the harder it is!   I remember thinking that when I tried the MS Longboat some time ago (a project I never completed).   Looking forward to seeing your scratchbuild efforts on this piece of the project.   Good Luck!

[WalrusGuy]

Thanks Justin. I may just scrap the idea of a jollyboat entirely if I feel like I'm struggling too much or don't have good enough results.... 😬 

 

Anyways, I think I'm heading in the right direction so far. Today I started making the jig for planking. I used 3/32" basswood for this and cut everything with a jewelers saw for precision. The photo below shows everything just dry fitted.. Also I should note, I am following what @Gahm did for his jollyboat by photocopying the MK kit's sheets with x1.25 scaling. For the backbone for the boat I may need to reduce the thickness a bit.. 

P.S. I am thinking of cutting out the pieces jotting out in the center piece (right most part from above) so that it is easier to fit in. This won't affect anything except for the jig being a bit less secure.. 

 

Next steps would be to glue the assembly, attach the side curved pieces of the jig, then start on the planking 

Edited December 30, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[hamilton]

Beautiful work all around!

hamilton

[NovaStorm]

Looking very promising with the jig layout you've made for the Jolly boat Wally. Did I increase the scale correctly when I put the pieces in the scanner and increased the size by 25% to bring it in line with 1/64? Still seems quite small in relation to the ship...

[WalrusGuy]

12 hours ago, hamilton said:

Beautiful work all around!

hamilton

Thank you Hamilton! 

 

7 hours ago, NovaStorm said:

Looking very promising with the jig layout you've made for the Jolly boat Wally. Did I increase the scale correctly when I put the pieces in the scanner and increased the size by 25% to bring it in line with 1/64? Still seems quite small in relation to the ship...

Thanks Robin! I guess once I finish planking I'll know for sure if it is worth continuing or letting it go 😅. Here is a pic of the scaling (comparing with the Master Korabel jig) if it helps with yours. I measured the length of the backbone as well 

Edited December 30, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[NovaStorm]

2 hours ago, WalrusGuy said:

Here is a pic of the scaling (comparing with the Master Korabel jig) if it helps with yours.

Yes thanks for the conformation! Mine came out exactly that size. They are amazing little boats when complete. Mind you the job you did on the long boat is so fantastic if you do the Jolly it will just be icing on the cake   

 

[WalrusGuy]

Many thanks Robin! Your words motivates me to not give up too soon!! 

 

I finished building the jig. I'll let the pics do the talking: 

I'll now attempt on fixing the ribs after covering the jig with some plastic wrap.. I'll be using basswood for the ribs, so I hope it goes smoothly and not too many swear words than necessary..... 

Edited December 30, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[NovaStorm]

It looks good to me and I got a feeling when you set your mind to do something it is going to work out usually better than you expected. I like the one piece keel section you have done too. That is going to make things easier to work through. 

Good job please continue  

[WalrusGuy]

I glued in the ribs, wasn't as bad as I thought.. I hope the same can be said for the planking 😅. 

Also I forgot to mention, I'm so glad I bought the Dremel workstation as recommended by @NovaStorm. Made drilling holes on the jig a breeze. And no need to worry about them being uneven! 

Edited December 31, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[WalrusGuy]

I started planking. It's not too bad (so far at least).. First I cut the jig portion of the template from my photocopy, and marked the locations where this first plank should go.

 

Then I stuck the first plank copy on 1/32" basswood and cut it out with a jewelers saw (photo below shows 2nd plank, forgot to take a photo of the first). Had to make sure this plank is symmetrical since all other planks will follow suit. 

 

I found that cutting each plank prior to installing works well since there is no chance of any mixup 

I can attest that this attempt is going much better than the one I had with the MK kit. With the kit, I messed up the first initial plank, also some ribs were not 100% perpendicular.

Edited December 31, 2020 by WalrusGuy

[Justin P.]

Looks like a good start! Cant wait to see the final result!

[WalrusGuy]

Many thanks for the words of encouragement, Justin! 

 

I finished planking today. I couldn't believe I actually completed this step once I removed the boat from the jig. Found it really cool how each of the planks hold their shapes and the entire structure didn't collapse. Especially since it was all scratch made (my first time trying something like this). I thought I'd give up mid planking 😅 

 

The gaps in the planking will be fixed with wood glue and sawdust mixture as advised by @Gahm. I am probably going to paint the outside white to match with the longboat, so the glue+sawdust would also help stop the paint seeping inside the boat. 

Also before I forget, happy new year to everyone!! 😁

 

Edited January 1, 2021 by WalrusGuy