Cazador Jabeque / Xebec by Katsumoto - FINISHED -OcCre - 1:60

[Katsumoto]

1 hour ago, BobG said:

Beautiful work on all the rigging, Pete!

 

Hi Bob, I think you are one of the most devoted followers of my log always leaving a message. Thank you for that! 👍

[Dlowder]

Just catching up with this build. I'm very impressed.

David

[Katsumoto]

1 hour ago, Dlowder said:

Just catching up with this build. I'm very impressed.

David

Hi David, nice of you to visit my log and leave a comment. Thanks for that! I'll keep following your HMS Victory Cross section build. It's pretty good stuff. ☺️

 

[Danstream]

Following your comments to my build, I took the opportunity to follow your link to this build of yours. That's simply amazing, your carvings are exquisite miniatures. I will take my time to go through your posts, but for sure I will shamelessly try copying your techniques. You already resolved some of my troubles I had in continuing the second planking of my build.

kind regards,

Dan

[Katsumoto]

21 minutes ago, Danstream said:

Following your comments to my build, I took the opportunity to follow your link to this build of yours. That's simply amazing, your carvings are exquisite miniatures. I will take my time to go through your posts, but for sure I will shamelessly try copying your techniques. You already resolved some of my troubles I had in continuing the second planking of my build.

kind regards,

Dan

Hi Dan, Thanks for visiting my log. I hope that some of the techniques I show will help you and others on their way. That’s the contribution of a forum. 

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by Katsumoto

[Katsumoto]

Rigging Main Mast (part 2)

Hello everybody

A small but major update on my Xebec this weekend. I've finished the standing rigging of the main mast. Even if the rigging is "simple" from design, it's still tricky to make. The standing rigging of a Xebec works a bit like running rigging with the blocks and all. In the previous update I've shown the bottom part of the rigging, these were the horizontal pins connected to the bulwarks. Next are the upper part of the rigging that are connected to the top of the mast.

I had to make the parts first, one set of each side of the ship.
 

With two bindings the parts are held in place. Now I have an upper and a bottem part that's fixed to the ship. The ropes with pulleys and blocks in between are next.
 

 

 

I had some time left, so I made two waterbarrels and placed them on deck. I think I secure these with some rope later on. What do you think?
 

The rigging part of a ship is still not my thing yet, but it grows on me. The rigging of this ship isn't that complicated compared to square rigged ships, however, to make it look authentic is still a hard thing to do.
Well, that's it for this update. Until the next one. Thanks for following my log it's really appreciated. 
 

[Katsumoto]

Just secured the barrels with some rope. Even on a rough sea, they are not going anywhere.

 

[Katsumoto]

Standing rigging main mast part 3

I've fixed the ends of the rope and tied them neatly behind the beam on the bulwarks. That means that the standing rigging of the main mast is completed.
 

 

In meantime I've finished the second set of 9 oars and placed them neatly on deck. So, I explained earlier that it's also possible to hang the oars on the sides (outside) of the bulwarks. This would cover up the carvings and will affect the swivel guns from operating. This is how the kitmaker designed this Xebec version and I honored that decision.
 

And an overview on deck where partly both sides of the standing rigging visible is.
 

The next update will be the standing rigging of the Mizzenmast. This is far less complex compared to the main mast.
I hope you guys are still following and like the updates so far. 
 

[Paul Le Wol]

Peter, in every square millimeter of your Xebec there is something to marvel at. Outstanding!

[Katsumoto]

22 minutes ago, Paul Le Wol said:

Peter, in every square millimeter of your Xebec there is something to marvel at. Outstanding!

Wow thanks Paul. I’m a bit overwhelmed of your nice words. 😊

Thanks again!

[Knocklouder]

I have to agree with Paul, Outstanding for sure. Ever time I look at your log I am amazed by how you can make it look so good.

[Katsumoto]

18 hours ago, Knocklouder said:

I have to agree with Paul, Outstanding for sure. Ever time I look at your log I am amazed by how you can make it look so good.

Thank you! I think it's the rope I use. It makes all the difference. ☺️

[Katsumoto]

Rigging of the Mizzen...

Hello everybody,

It's time to move on to the rigging of the Mizzen mast. First a drawing.
 

Again serving 6 ropes for the pins, done by the Syren Serving machine. 
 

Then the upper blocks connected to the mast.
 

In between the ropes with blocks and tied it all together.
 

Well, the standing rigging is done. All three masts are secured. It's a nice journey to experience this type of rigging so far.  Ah well, time to move on to the running rigging, yards and sails. It will be a tough journey because I've never made sails from scratch what I am intend to do for this ship. 

Please leave a comment if you like. Until next time!

[Baker]

it is always nice to follow the progress of this impressive model.

Great work 👍

[Katsumoto]

21 minutes ago, Baker said:

it is always nice to follow the progress of this impressive model.

Great work 👍

Hi Patrick,

Thank you for the nice words and following my log. You build your models from scratch and lumber your own wood, now that's what I call impressive. 😀😉

 

 

Edited May 9, 2023 by Katsumoto

[Katsumoto]

Construction of the yards.

Hi guys,

This weekend I started to construct the yards. 3 to be exact. Each yard consist out of two parts tapered to the end. When bound together a strong but flexible yard is the result so it won't break in the wind. This is what I want to simulate, so I want to give the wood a light curve. I drew the curve on a piece of plywood and use some brass nails along the lines to hold the two parts of the yard in place. Water and steam is used to set the curve into the memory of the wood. I used the Admirals iron when she doesn't noticed it. 
I let the wood "set" overnight. The next morning I used Ink to blacken the yards and placed some temporary bindings to hold the two part together.

 

 

 

The bindings are placed with equal distance of each other. I cut the temporary bindings when reached. They are no longer needed only to hold the parts together during the placement of the final bindings.
 

 

 

When all yards are ready....
 

 

 

[md1400cs]

Peter,

 

Just found your log - Beyond impressive - Learning a lot here 🙂

 

Cheers,

[Katsumoto]

20 hours ago, md1400cs said:

Peter,

 

Just found your log - Beyond impressive - Learning a lot here 🙂

 

Cheers,

Hi Michael,

 

Thank you so much for your kind words. I hope my log helps you out. Your SOTS build is very impressive and I really love the work you put into it and the changes you made.

 

See you later!

 

[Katsumoto]

Making the sails

Hello friends,
It's been a while. I had to figure out some things of the running rigging and making the sails. The last one almost got me on my knees. The swear jar has been filled multiple times, but I've come to an acceptable result so far. Working on the boltrope at the moment. But first let me show you the process....
 

 

 

 

The seam is made separately and has been folded a couple of time so it can be placed around the edge of the cloth. The seam is then visible on both sides of the cloth. It's a bit time consuming, but in the end hopefully worth it.
 

 

 

I decided to age the sails with Bitumen. I had to dilute the bitumen with "odorless" Turpentine and it gave a "pleasant" smell....
Mixed it in a glass jar and let the cloth dry in the open air.
 

 

 

 

The bolt rope is attached with needle and threat. It's done entirely by hand and the needle is going through the bolt rope and not around. This gives it a little more authentic look.
 

 

Well, this is where I'm at the moment. Just somewhere halfway with the main sail. I forgot the serve the rope for extra strength in the corner where a loop is made in the rope. I corrected this afterwards...
 

 

Well, that's it so far...
Until next time with hopefully fully finished sails.

 

[BobG]

Amazing work on those beautiful sails, Pete!

[Baker]

Very beautiful made sails

[Katsumoto]

Making the sails - part 2

Hello guys,

Thanks for all your support, I much appreciate you guys being here and supporting me during this build. 

Well, continuing with the sails. I didn't like the beige color of the boltrope, so I stained / tarred these with bitumen. 
Also I like to show you how I reinforced the loop at the corner of the sails. These are handserved to get the desired result. I also used bitumen to darken the rope to get an even color on the served ropes compared to the bolt rope.
 

 

 

 

So the next thing to do is to add the reef lines. Never did that before... Also I used the the bitumen on the reef lines to create contrast.
 

 

And after a lot of knots and lines, the first sail is finished...One down, two more to go!
 

Thanks for following and see you soon,
 

[Katsumoto]

Upper & Lower Foremast Ramshead block

Hi Guys,

 

First of all I would like to take the opportunity to give a big thanks to some of my fellow modelers and followers of my log. Especially @ccoyle @Knocklouder @Baker @CiscoH @BenD @Cathead @BobG @goetzi73 @Barbossa @VTHokiEE @Paul Le Wol 
If I forget some folks, I'm sorry, I want to thank you too! If you're new here, grab a chair and welcome! 

 

Back to the shipyard....
I have started on the blocks that hoist the yards of the Foremast. These blocks are large and the load is distributed over quite a few discs. I believe these blocks are called Ramshead blocks. For this ship there is an upper block and lower block per mast. I can use the standard plywood things from the kit, but I didn't think they really fit with the overall appearance of the ship.....so I'll have to scratch them. To make them on this scale.... that's a challenge...... I tried to make them out of a solid piece of walnut and tried to mill the slots. That didn't worked out at all. I know, it's probably my skill and tools that's the problem....
In the end I came up with a sandwich construction that is also called lamination in wood construction. you glue a number of layers together as is also done with plywood, however, now completely made of walnut.

It starts with a drawing to scale.... I have to work with 0.5mm thin veneer and 0.8mm for the discs.
The discs are 6mm and 4.5mm in diameter.
 

Upper block
the 0.5mm veneer I had in my stash, the 0,8mm I didn't. So I had to use my tablesaw to cut these.....
In the end I used a slicer to cut all my lengths needed for the parts....
 

All the parts waiting on assembling
 

second stage where some of the parts are placed and glued....
 

Then all the lengths glued together to form a whole....
 

After this I shaped the block in it's final dimensions and shape.....
 

 

Lower block
The proces to make the lower block is exactly the same as the upper. So I left all the steps in between behind and show you the end result....
 

Both self made blocks besides the plywood parts provided within the kit....
 

To compare the size of the blocks with my index finger....
 

And that's done for the Ramshead blocks of the Foremast. It was nice to work with wood again after all that sewing work....

Thanks for following me and see you soon,
 

[BobG]

Wow...great work scratch building those blocks, Peter!

[Katsumoto]

A small update in between. I've used boiled potato starch (thanks to Ohla Batchvarov @shipphotographer.com) on the foresail and let it dry overnight. She has an excellent video on how to do this placed on Youtube. Just check it out! Thanks Ohla for sharing!
Now the sail has it's final shape like the wind blows into it. I like this method better than diluted white glue. White glue makes the cloth very hard and with boiled potato starch it becomes a feels bit like leather but holds its shape.
 

 

 

 

And because it was my birthday yesterday, the admiral surprised me with a complete paint rack of Vallejo which I will need for a future project. It's a skill a still need to master....I asked for a milling machine, however the admiral has her limits of what's allowed on the dining table.... 🙄

 

[Mirabell61]

Wunderbar !

great work Peter, I also like the sewing of your sails, welldone, a very fine model

 

Nils

[Katsumoto]

28 minutes ago, Mirabell61 said:

Wunderbar !

great work Peter, I also like the sewing of your sails, welldone, a very fine model

 

Nils

Vielen dank Nils! Nice of you to visit my log! 🙂

[Cathead]

Happy birthday and great work on the blocks. I enjoy seeing how folks improve on kits. I wonder, on the potato sails, whether there's any long-term concerns about biological effects, like attraction to insects or mold/fungus? The visual effect is lovely.

[BobG]

The sails look fantastic, Peter! However, I have the same question as Eric just asked as well regarding the longevity of the potato starch method used on the sails. 

[Katsumoto]

5 hours ago, Cathead said:

Happy birthday and great work on the blocks. I enjoy seeing how folks improve on kits. I wonder, on the potato sails, whether there's any long-term concerns about biological effects, like attraction to insects or mold/fungus? The visual effect is lovely.

 

1 hour ago, BobG said:

The sails look fantastic, Peter! However, I have the same question as Eric just asked as well regarding the longevity of the potato starch method used on the sails. 

To be honest guys, I don’t really know however the product is being used in cosmetics and house cleaning products so I assume that it will last without issues. It’s something to find out.