ALFRED by schooner - BlueJacket Shipcrafters - scale 1/8" (1:96) - Continental Navy Frigate

[schooner]

I just used some black rigging thread from my stash (Amati maybe?) with a standard whipping rig.

 

[schooner]

Fighting Tops

 

The tops are all scratch. The instructions recommend making the bases from sheet brass but I find working with plywood to be easier so I traced their shapes and transferred them to 1/32” ply and cut them out:

 

 

 

The planking is per the plans, cut a little long and then sanded back to match the base. Given the thiness of the bases I used CA to glue the planking, avoiding wood glue since it's moisture might cause swelling and warping. 

 

 

I used the tip of an awl to drag along the plank seams so that hopefully they will be noticeable after painting. The rims have been added. Next will be the battens and deadeyes.

 

Edited January 3, 2022 by schooner

[schooner]

Fighting Tops (cont)

 

I’ve spent quite a bit of time on these and more to go - I never really paid much attention to them when looking at period ship models and did not realize how many parts it takes to make them up.

Anyway, the battens have been added (why they put these trip hazards/ankle-twisters on the top surface is beyond me), the slots for the deadeyes have been cut and the crosstrees added:

 

 

Still to go are the holes for adding the blocks that hang under them, the mountings for the swivel guns, the band that will cover the outboard face and hold the deadeyes in place and the rear railings.

Edited January 12, 2022 by schooner

[whitejamest]

Very nicely done. I always assumed that the battens were there to give the sailors something to dig their heels in against as the ship was rolling around on a rough sea - since the motion would be even greater up there in the tops. But I have no idea if that is really the case....

[schooner]

I had not thought of that,  I suspect you are right!

[schooner]

OK, I've been procrastinating long enough and need to get going on this build again.

I've finished up the fighting tops.

 

I decided to paint the top of the tops gray, as is done on the Constitution kit, I think it looks better and it makes sense from a practicality viewpoint since it makes all those trip hazards more visible than if everything was black on black:

 

 

All the blocks have been added, more on the bottom than on the top. The kit provides britannia metal blocks but for small ones I find wood is easier to work with. Brittania looks better than wood since they are already properly shaped but I find it easier to strop with thread than with wire so this build will probably have a mix of wood and britannia blocks.

 

 

The railings have been added. The netting is just tacked glued along the upper edge since it will have to be moved to accommodate some of the rigging like the stays:

 

Note from later in the build: I ended up taking off the railings when I started the rigging - having them there just made things harder than they needed to be. I'll put them back on near the end of the build.

 

Finally I ordered some swivel guns from the BlueJacket catalog. They are just dry-fitted here which is why they are a little crooked. I'll permanently mount them once all the rigging is done.

 

Edited February 20 by schooner

[whitejamest]

Looking very sharp, and it's good to see her underway again. 

[Bill Morrison]

On 6/17/2020 at 8:47 AM, schooner said:

 

I'm going to be building a model of the Continental Navy Frigate ALFRED using Bluejacket's solid hull kit.

 

The ALFRED was one of the first ships commissioned into the Continental Navy in 1775. Converted from a new merchant ship she was John Paul Jones' first ship.

 

I picked this kit because I've never done a 3-masted ship model before, and as much as I would love to build a clipper ship I simply don't have room for it, or to be more precise, as far as my wife is concerned there is not enough room in our house for both me and a large cased sailing ship model. Bluejacket's ALFRED meets my needs perfectly because the completed model is only about 18 inches long and 13 inches high but is fully detailed and it will fit on one of my bookcase shelves.

 

I need to point out that this kit is NOT a good choice for a first build. BlueJacket uses a 1-9 scale to rate the complexity of their kits and this one gets a solid "9". Before choosing this kit you should have experience working with a solid hull kit and also with sailing ship rigging - this one has as much as a clipper ship kit but on a hull that is only about 1/3 as long so the rigging it will be an adventure. If you think you might like this one I encourage to call BlueJacket and talk to them - they are very helpful and can assist you in your decision.

 

My next post will show the kit's contents.

 

Wow!  You are doing beautifully! 

 

I strongly recommend that you get a book from Model Shipways called The Neophyte Ship Modelers Jackstay.  It is an easy-to-follow general guide to solid hull ship modeling and is very inexpensive. Also, Model Shipways once produced several model kits of American clipper ship kits that are in a small scale. They can be found on sites like eBay.

 

Keep up the great work!

Edited November 3, 2022 by Bill Morrison

[schooner]

Thanks Bill!

[schooner]

Deadeyes and Chainplates

 

The deadeye/chainplate rigs consist of 3 or 4 parts (small deadeyes get 3). The kit provides Britannia metal deadeyes that come pre-stropped (thank goodness), the next part below them is the Mid-link, which are all the same size so it is easy to mass produce them by wrapping 24 gage wire 9 or 10 time around a dowel and then cutting them free and using pliers to bend them into more of an oval shape. The next part is the Toe Links, that took me the most time to make since for the large deadeyes they have to be custom fabricated out of wire so that the bottom of the last piece (the chainplate) can reach to or near the blackstrake which is the first strake above the wales. I was getting ready to fabricate the bottom pieces (the chainplates) I when was rooting around the bottom of the box and found the remnant of the PE fret and lo and behold there they were (the parts list does not break down the PE fret parts and when I inventoried the kit 2 years ago I had no idea what they were).

 

Here are the 4 parts, along with 2 pins from the BlueJacket catalog (F0040) that just fit inside the chainplate holes. I cut all but the top 1/4” off each pin so I would not have to drill as deep.

 

 

The orientation of the assemblies was determined by running a line from the mast top, across each deadeye and a pencil mark made on the hull just above the wales:

 

 

The wire was fabricated by bending around pins and then shaping using pliers:

 

 

Here’s the finished assemblies mounted on the model:

 

[MrBlueJacket]

great job, Tim!

[schooner]

Back to the Shipyard

 

So, after a six month diversion into the world of radio control while building the SEGUIN, followed by an extended road trip out to the West Coast, it’s finally time to get going again with the ALFRED.

 

Before starting on the masting and rigging I wanted to do 2 things.

 

First up was fixing the upper head rails.  My first attempt left them pretty straight without any of the “swoop” normally seen on the headrails of period ships (swoop being my term for vertical curvature):

 

 

So I removed them (the lower headrails had to be left alone since they conform to the outer edge of the PE grating) and replaced them with the same mix of Brittania metal from BlueJacket faced with plastic channel pieces  from Stripstyrene; I’m much happier with the re-do:

 

 

 

The other thing I wanted to do was to mount the model on its pedestals and display board because it would be a real nightmare trying to do it with all the masts and rigging in place. Since the masting and rigging should not require placing any serious pressure on the hull I think now is the time to do it:

 

 

 

Now I can put the hull on the shelf and work on the upper masts.

[whitejamest]

Nice to see it underway again, it's looking great. 

[schooner]

Topmasts and Top Gallant Masts

 

I’ve been fabricating the upper masts per the plans. The kit provides mast caps for the lower masts but not the upper ones so I ordered some small ones from BlueJacket.

 

I had some trouble getting the crosstrees right until I figured out that is was best to assemble them on the masts to ensure a proper fit around the different sections of the masts.

 

The Fore and main Top and Top Gallant masts are done (just dry fitted to the lower masts) and the Mizzen is ready for assembly. I’ve fitted brass pins in the masts where the yards will go:

 

 

Next up will be the yards.

[schooner]

Yardarms

 

The yards have all been fabricated per the plans with cleats, chocks and studding sail irons attached. Now it’s time to paint them and add the foot ropes and blocks.

 

[schooner]

More yard work (the other kind)

 

The yards have been painted and the blocks and eyes for the slings, jeers, lifts and braces have been added. This has been slow work for me because it is pretty boring and repetitive.

Next up will be adding the foot ropes.

 

[bigcreekdad]

Awesome craftsmanship!

[Bill Morrison]

This is the BEST model of the Alfred that I have ever seen!  OUTSTANDING work so far! Please keep posting.

 

Bill

[schooner]

Thanks for the kind words and the likes. I've been plugging away on the foot ropes and will then double check to make sure I have mounted all the blocks on the masts that I can at this point and then it will be time to actually start rigging (finally!).

[schooner]

Foot ropes and Burton Pendants

 

I’d originally planned (hoped) to use some very small eyebolts I have on hand for the foot rope stirrups (the vertical lines that hold up the inner portions of the foot ropes). Unfortunately at this scale the upper yards are too thin to withstand drilling with even a #74 bit so I had to go with thread. After some trial and error I finally settled on making the stirrups by starting with an overhand knot tied around a needle to form an eye and spot glued to hold it. The stirrup was then led down the aft side of the yard and tied off to the eye would be 2-3 scale feet below the bottom of the yard. The foot rope was then tied off and one end, threaded thru the stirrups and secured at the other end. Once fabricated the stirrups were weighted with some small clothespins and everything was brushed with diluted white glue to stiffen them.

 

 

 

Next up was what has got to be the easiest part of the whole rigging process - the Burton Pendants which were anchoring points for blocks when handling heavy loads on deck. Two bullseyes were seized at opposite ends of a piece of line, they are then looped over the crosstrees of the tops and upper shrouds. The Fore and Main masts get 4 lower ones and 2 upper, the Mizzen just gets 2 lower ones. The pendants will all get the white glue treatment  to keep them hanging vertical.

 

 

 

 

Next up will be adding the lower shrouds to the masts.

[schooner]

Rigging intentions and starting the lower shrouds

 

As I get ready to start the rigging I thought it might be a good time to explain my plan for going about it, always subject to change since my plans/intentions/assumptions are blissfully free of relevant experience, this being my first real rigging job.

 

Resources

 

• The kit’s instructions contain a general discussion of how to go about the rigging but they assume a level of experience/knowledge that I don’t have. The rigging diagram is one sheet of plans that shows all the standing and some of the running rigging - it is a real spaghetti pile that I find hard to pick out individual lines from but it is useful for figuring out shroud lengths and deadeye spacing. The instructions do contain good info with regard to line sizes and the belaying diagram is fine.

 

• I will be using a mix of kit-supplied Brittania metal blocks and wood ones from SYREN Ship Model Co. For rigging line I will be using a lot from SYREN with the sizes being the closest match available to the kit’s.

 

• I’ll be using Lennarth Peterson’s Rigging Period Ship Models as my primary reference for what to rig. The book is based on the late 18th century Royal Navy Frigate HMS Melampus. It has almost NO text but is made up of a clear diagram for each rigging line. It has the advantage that they are arranged in a sequence that makes sense for rigging a model with minimal interference between new and previously-rigged lines. The book does not contain any information about line or block sizes nor are the diagrams to any consistent scale so dimensions are not useful. It does have diagrams of all sails and their rigging for those who want to go that far and it does have belaying diagrams although I will be using the kit instructions since ALFRED had a lot fewer belaying pins than MELAMPUS. The differences between ALFRED and MELAMPUS are mainly ones of subtraction; ALFRED did not have a spanker boom, martingales, boomkins, flying jib, spirit sail topsail yard or royal yards.

 

 

General plan of attack

 

This is going to be a challenging rigging job because of space constraints. To start with ALFRED was a small ship and at 1:96 (1/8”) scale there is little room to work on belaying rigging, for example there is less than one inch separating the aftermost deadeye on the main chains from the forward most on the mizzen chains. Because of this I plan on including all of the standing rigging but only those running rigging lines that are associated with controlling and securing the yards (i.e halyards/slings/jeers, lifts, and braces). I will also attempt to rig each mast as much as possible, including the upper shrouds and the yards, before stepping them so that I can secure the running rigging lines that are tied off around the mast bases and many of the stays before securing the shrouds.

 

Starting the lower shrouds

 

After dry fitting each mast in place I used a piece of line to determine the shroud length for each mast, leaving what I hope is enough extra to allow for seizing around the deadeyes. I held off attaching the topmasts so that I could make up the shrouds off the mast and then slip them over the masthead before the mast caps are installed. The shroud loops are secured with an unglued seizing that can be cinched up to the mast head and then brushed with diluted white glue.

 

 

 

All 16 shrouds were easy to make up in this manner and were added to the masts, alternating each pair, starboard to port and forward to aft. They are all labeled with a small piece of tape holding the pairs together.

 

 

[chuckthedragon]

On 3/8/2021 at 8:38 AM, schooner said:

Main Deck planking completed

 

The planking for the main deck is completed - I’ll wait until after it’s done on the quarterdeck before I clean all the saw dust out of the gun deck.

 

 

 

 

Next up will be installing the short vertical bulkhead that divides the main deck from the quarterdeck.

Nice job on the nibbing!!!

[dvm27]

Doing as much rigging off the model as possible is a great way to proceed Tim.

[schooner]

Topmast Shrouds

 

The shroud pairs and individual ones (odd number) were made up same as the lower ones:

 

 

A simple jig like that found on countless other build logs was made up with 2 pieces of wire to fit into the upper and lower deadeyes to keep their spacing per the plans and the same to each of their neighbor’s:

 

 

 

 

Once the shrouds were in place it was just a matter of reeving the lanyards thru the deadeyes and securing them:

 

 

 

Next on the to -do list is rigging the Futtock Shrouds, the Catharpans (hopefully) and the ratlines.

[schooner]

Upper Ratlines

 

I prepared for adding the upper ratlines by adding the Futtock Staves below the crosstrees and then the carpathans:

 

 

The process of adding the ratlines was slow, mainly due to a case of “two steps forward, one step back” as I figured out how to tie them and then had to remove them to try something else.

 

Although I use clove hitches on my “real” boat all the time they are made using rope (obviously) and usually tied around a horizontal bar. Trying to tie them with thread around another vertical thread kept confusing me. I finally found a great little video on Bruma’s build of the Revell plastic kit of the CUTTY SARK. His video is helpful because the thread is large, he works slowly and best of all, he uses tweezers for everything so his fingers are not blocking the view. It is on post # 366 of the attached:

 

 

 

After watching it several times I finally got it in my head how to do it.

 

My first attempt at tying clove hitches did not go well - I managed to get them crooked and many of the knots loosened up to the point that loops were clearly visible. Fortunately I had secured them with diluted white glue so they were easy to remove after brushing the knots with water.

 

My second attempt went much better after I figured out how to cinch them tightly. Then the problem was that the knots were simply oversize at this scale. I tried some super fine thread I have but it was to too hard to see it and to manipulate it with tweezers so I decided to remove all the ratlines I had added to that point and to try gluing them to the shrouds.

 

I’m satisfied with this result:

 

 

 

 

 

Next up will be adding the backstays and the fore stays to the masts.

[schooner]

Almost all of the standing rigging has been added to the masts to include:

• upper shrouds & ratlines
• lower shrouds
• backstays
• forestays and their mouses (mice?)

 

I’ll hold off adding the topgallant stays until later in the build because it would be very easy to snag one an break off a delicate topgallant mast

 

The brass rods that are sitting near the top of the topgallant mast are just placeholders - they keep me from accidentally covering up the topgallant yard sheaves.

 

 

Needing to take break from all the thread and tweezers I worked on a few minor items such as adding the stern lantern and ensign staff

 

 

Fabricating the anchors

 

 

Painting the gunport lids

 

 

Next up will adding the yards to the foremast

[schooner]

Anchor Windlass

 

The instructions recommend leaving the anchor windless off until the rigging is completed but I thought that might be tough to do with having to wrap the anchor cables around it so I checked the belaying points for all the belaying pins and tackles in that area and decided it would be best to do it now.

 

I fabricated a few windless bars for the storage racks and then put the windlass and cables in place:

 

 

 

Fore top gallant yard

 

The halyard for the yard is just a line with an eye that turns it into a barrel hitch:

 

 

Here the halyard is in place and the parallel beads are strung:

 

 

 

The yard has been pinned to the mast, the parallels secured and the halyard has been run thru a “sheave” hole near the top of the mast and seized to a double block above a single block previously placed on the fighting top. The two blocks are reaved into a tackle, the bitter end will be belayed to one of the pintails on the main deck:

 

 

The last things to add are the yard lifts and a flag:

 

Edited May 4 by schooner

[schooner]

Fore Topsail Yard

 

The yard was pinned to the mast and the parrel beads added just like the topgallant yard.

 

Instead of a simple halyard, as on the topgallant, there are two lines - the Halyard and the Tye, the are identical, just mirror images of each other on opposite sides of the mast. One of them is shown in the photo by the pink lines as it comes down from the crosstrees, passes thru a double block, back up thru a single block hanging from the cross trees and then down to just below and aft of the top where it terminates in a double block that will form the upper part of a tackle that will go on down to the outer edge of the main deck.

 

The other item are the lifts, one per side, one of them is shown by the blue lines on the photo. They come down from the crosstrees, thru a single block at the yard end, up thru a single block     near the cross trees, down thru the lubber hole and down to a pinrail on the deck.

 

These lines look pretty sloppy because they are slack, they will look better when put under tension.  

 

Edited May 11 by schooner

[schooner]

Fore Yard

 

There is a lot of rigging to do in a small space in order to attach the fore yard (and the lower yards on all the masts).

 

There are 4 sets of rigging that do different things:

 

JEERS - 2 pairs of 3&4 sheeve blocks used to hoist the yard into position

 

SLING - 2 bulls eyes lashed together to support the weight of the yard when it is in position

 

TRUSSES - 2 heavy lines that loop around the yard and that are then passed thru thimbles (on their partner) behind the mast. They hold the yard to the mast and prevent it from pulling away under pressure of the fore sail

 

NAVE LINE - I don’t understand how this one works - it is a small line that has 2 thimbles that go around the truss lines and it seems to be a way to either tension the trusses or to counter act the downward pull of the tackles that tighten the trusses

 

Here is the yard with the sling, jeers, and truss lines pre-rigged on it:

 

 

Here is the Nave line that sits behind the mast, just under the to:

 

 

With the Fore Yard in place I’ve reached the limit of what I can reasonably rig to the mast prior to stepping it.

 

 

There are about 40 shrouds, stays and running rigging lines that will have to be secured to belaying pins, tackles and deadeyes once the mast is mounted.

 

I’ll be repeating all this for the other 2 masts and will post again when they are done.

[schooner]

Finishing up the pre-rigging

 

 

I’ve finally reached the point where all of the rigging that I feel I can attach to the masts is in place:

 

 

The foremast is the first one that I’ve stepped.

The general sequence that I hope to follow is to attach the fore stays, then most of the rigging around the bowsprit and jib boom and then to belay the running rigging that goes around the base of the mast.

 

 

 

 

 

Hopefully I remember what all those lines are for.