US Brig Syren by Desalgu - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:64

[desalgu]

I finally added the flags, so am officially done.  I made several american flags trying to get one look "right", and they all came out about the same even though I thought I was doing it a little different.  I ended up selecting one that is a little smaller than the one in the kit. 

 

Just took a snapshot for now, and will take some "good" photos in a few days.  Appreciate all the encouraging comments.  There is a lot of detail on this model.  No comparison to the first model ship I built a long time ago.  On this one, I was learning as I went along.  About the time I thought i was starting to get the hang of planking, cannons, rigging, or whatever, I was done.  And then I'd start over learning something new.

 

And now onto the display case.  I got the report by Wes Marden and it has a lot of good ideas that I'll use.  I like the way he does the base better than the case for my first model ship.  I'll keep this log open so you can see what I end up with.

 

[WalrusGuy]

Congrats Desalgu!! She's gorgeous! The flags look realistic as well 🙂

[desalgu]

I designed a display case and used ideas from report by Wes Marden available online.  It's worth the cost if you've never made one.  It gives you some good ideas.  I didn't follow everything, but I liked the idea of the frame with plexiglass fitting into the base, so you can lift it in and out.  I used Solidworks because I have an old version, but you could draw it up with any CAD software.

 

I wanted lights in the case, so found some remote controlled, battery powered, LED lights that will work.  Strip lights that I found didn't put out enough light.  These lights are designed for underneath shelves or inside closets.  I experimented and decided to put 4 of them across the top of the display case frame.  Reviews said batteries don't last long, but I'll probably only use lights when a few of my friends come to visit.

 

I made the base first.  I used cherry because I've always like the look and I plan to put the case on a table made of cherry.  Only problem is my nose doesn't like the dust, so I wore mask and eye shield when sanding and sawing and that has helped.  I opted not to get one of the "fancy" dust protectors.

 

The base required two pieces of cherry laminated together.  I used 3/4" thick wood, which is really about 0.82" thick.  After cutting to size (36" x 15" if I remember right), I added some crown molding around the sides.  This extends above the thickness of the base over 1/2".  The top frame with plexiglass will sit inside the molding.

 

If you look close in photo, you can see some small holes in the base.  I put the Syren model on the base and got it positioned where I wanted it, centered, and with clearance on tip of bowsprit and stern boom.  Then drilled holes in the base plate of model and base of display case, so I can easily get boat positioned in the future.  I don't plan to screw these together.  Planning to use dowels in the holes to maintain the position.  The display case will just sit on a table, so it's not going anywhere.

[desalgu]

The remaining work is to build the frame to hold plexiglass and sit inside the base.  The photos show the bottom part of the frame that sits inside the base molding.   I used the base and molding as a jig to size and glue the frame parts.  I used some card stock shims between the frame parts and the molding to get a little spacing, so the frame will lift off the base easily. 

 

Grooves in the bottom part of the frame are for the plexiglass.  I plan to use an art store to cut the plexi for me, and they gave me a couple of scrap pieces I used to size the grooves.  I made the grooves a little larger so the fit isn't tight.  Wood swells when humid, so I wanted some tolerance.  The plexiglass should slide into the grooves easily.

 

Gussets were added to the corners.  I strengthened the joints by drilling holes and glueing part of a nail in each one.  I didn't trust the glue joint to hold when hammering a nail, but I think I got the same effect by drilling slightly oversized hole and sliding nail in with glue.  Wood filler was put over the hole to hide the nail.  The holes were drilled from the inside, thru the gusset first, and then into the frame.  But I didn't drill them all the way thru, so the holes/wood filler will only show on the inside of the gusset, not on the outside of the frame. 

 

The first photo shows the bottom part of the frame sitting inside the base molding like it will be when assembled.  The next photo shows detail of one of the corners, but it's been lifted out, so you can see the frame pieces.  The last photo shows the bottom part of the frame lifted off the base.

 

[desalgu]

The top part of the frame will sit on 4 uprights (or stanchions!).  I've cut these pieces and you can see them in the background of the previous photos.

 

The top part will have grooves in the bottom to accept the plexiglass sides.  The plexiglass will slide in grooves in the uprights and rest in grooves on the bottom part of the frame in the base.  The top part of the frame will enclose the plexiglass pieces with the grooves.  

 

The top part of the frame is slightly larger than the bottom.  This gives a little overhang of the uprights and I think looks better than a flush fit.  Overhang is small.  In my case about 3/32", or just enough to show.  The grooves for plexiglass were cut to the same dimensions as the bottom part of the frame.  They were aligned with small pieces of wood in the grooves keeping grooves in both parts identical, so the grooves form a rectangle that's square with the world.  

 

 

[desalgu]

Plexiglass also needs to go on top of the frame, so the top part of the frame has a rabbit cut in it for plexiglass to sit in.  Since I wanted lights, my design will have a center wood piece on top that will sit in the rabbit, and two open areas on either side that will have plexiglass.   This is a little hard to describe, but hopefully as I get further along, it will become clear what I'm doing.

 

Photos show the rabbit cut on the top of the top frame.  This is same part shown above flipped over.  

[desalgu]

Here's photo of the LED lights I decided to use and the remote that turns them on and off.  The lights are dimmable, so I opted for 4 of them across the top of the case.  I wanted plenty of light since I can always dim if it's too much.  I bought "warm" lights.  With LEDs you have to be careful.  Many have a blue/white look that I don't care for.

 

The lights will drop into a piece of wood extending across the center of the top of the frame.  It will have 4 holes in it that the lights will drop into.  I'll mount the base of the lights to thin pieces of wood cut to be a slightly larger diameter than the lights.  The wood will keep the lights from falling thru the holes.  They won't be glued in, but will rest on the center piece of wood.  They have batteries that will need to be replaced, or they might have other problems, so you need easy access.  They will lift out for maintenance and then drop back in the frame.

 

The 2nd photo shows the center piece with holes for the lights.  I haven't quite finished it yet.  I cut the holes with my small hobby jigsaw, and it wasn't quite large enough to do a good job.  So I've had to do a lot of filing to smooth out the holes and get them so the lights just drop thru.  

 

With the center piece there will be two pieces of plexiglass on top, one on either side of the center.  So the center piece needs rabbits for plexiglass that match those of the top frame.  You can see how the center piece will sit in the rabbit of the top frame, and then extend the rabbit down both sides of the piece.  This will be easier to understand when it's all put together.

[desalgu]

Here's all the parts for the display case stained.  

[desalgu]

I've got the uprights mounted to the display case frame, and holes drilled for the top frame to attach to the uprights.  Before I work on fitting plexiglass in the frame, I decided to go ahead and add more coats of lacquer, so the finish will be done other than perhaps a little touchup.  

 

First photo shows how I aligned and clamped together everything to drill holes in the top frame and uprights to hold top frame on.  Small pieces of plexi were placed in the grooves to make sure grooves line up.  I used the same approach when drilling holes for the bottom frame and uprights.  I'm using 2" deck screws to hold top and bottom frames onto uprights.  I also used epoxy on bottom frame/upright joints.  I was little disappointed joints weren't cleaner, so must have had something not quite square when I made cuts with saw.

 

Second photo shows the frame assembled, although screws for top frame haven't been tightened.  All of a sudden it gets big.  Of course it has to be pretty good sized to cover the Syren.  I used clear gloss lacquer for all but the last coat or two, and then I'll use satin.  I'm about to put the satin coat on the frame now.  It's a slow process, because I spray each side separately and let it cure overnight.  I only spray the flat surfaces to avoid drips, and then turn the frame each day to get the next surface sprayed.

 

 

 

[desalgu]

I have display case ready for plexiglass, but the store I'm going to have do it needs to order and then cut to fit, so that's on hold.

 

I finally got around to taking some "final" photos of Syren.  I tried using focus stacking and it seemed to work pretty good.  But in the process my computer got extremely slow and I'm still trying to figure out what's going on.  I've got my computer running fairly well again except for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, so I'm suspecting that somehow that software was what messed things up.

 

First photo is of overall boat.  The other photos of the deck are the focus stacked ones.

 

[desalgu]

Here's couple more photos from today that were focus stacked with Helicon software.  Much, much easier and faster than Photoshop.  I will use it from now on when I want to use focus stacking, which isn't all that often.  But it's very nice when you need it, like to show details on a completed model.

[Gahm]

Congratulations on finishing a great model! I can't wait to see your Syren in her display case 🙂

 

Thomas

[WalrusGuy]

Those are some great shots!! The rigging and deck details really stand out with the professional pics! Looking forward to seeing her in the display case 😄

[abelson]

Excellent work and photos.

[Chuck]

A beautiful Syren.  Well done.

[rlb]

Outstanding, David!

Ron

[JpR62]

Superb model. You have succeeded in building a magnificent version of this brig.

Thank you for sharing.

[desalgu]

I really appreciate all the kind comments.  This is a very nice kit with lots and lots of detail.  

 

I'm waiting on an art store to find time to fit plexiglass into my display case.  They were swamped thru this weekend with father's day stuff.  Hopefully I can take it by next week and get that project finished.  I'm eager to get it into the case and see how the lighting looks.  I'm so close to being done!

[desalgu]

Thought I'd post an update on the display case.  The woman at the art store that was going to do plexiglass for me had a medical problem (she will recover with time), so they decided they didn't want to do project.  This turned out a blessing in disguise.  I bought the plexiglass from them and used table saw to cut using my cardboard patterns.  The table on my saw isn't very large, so I had to make trays to hold plexiglass for cutting (first photo).  I'm familiar with this method, but hadn't made trays this large before.

 

This turned out to be so easy, there was no reason to get anyone else involved.  It took a little time, because I measured everything 2 and 3 times, in an effort to avoid the "senior moment" and waste plexiglass.  I used a new finishing blade on the saw and it gave pretty clean cuts with no cracking.  The plexiglass sits in slots in the frame, so you don't see the edges.  I used the cuts from the table saw "as is" without further smoothing.

 

The next photo show plexiglass fitting into the top frame.  It still has the protective covering on it, which I'll remove at the end.  The last photo shows plexiglass fitted to the ends of the case.  The sides still had the cardboard patterns when I took the photo.

 

Since then I've fitted all four sides of plexiglass and screwed the top on, so it's all secure now.  Not a lot left to finish display case.  I'll take the protective cover off tomorrow and hope there's not too much static to attract dust.  I've ordered some anti-static plexiglass cleaner, so if this is a problem, I'll wait until it arrives to clean & finish.

[desalgu]

Got the display case finished!  Once I decided to cut plexiglass myself, it went about as smoothly as any project like this does.   I had test fit everything several times, so it all went together easily.

 

The lights work great, even better than I expected!  Well worth the effort.   The lights I used are battery powered, remote controlled, for closets and shelves.  Amazon has a bunch of them.  I put 4 in the case and it's about right at 100% brightness.  Reviews said batteries don't last long, so I made it so I can quickly remove lights and change batteries.  I figure I won't have to do this too often, because I'll only use lights when showing off to visitors.

 

I have it sitting on a game table for now, so there's background distractions.  When custom table arrives (I've been told about a month), I'll put it against a wall and I think it will look even better.  Photos picked up some reflections, which you don't actually see.

 

 

[Gahm]

This looks fantastic! I have to keep your display case in mind once I am finished 🙂

 

Thomas

[PRS]

Beautiful!

 

The lights are a nice touch.

[desalgu]

Thank you Thomas and Paul.  

 

I now want to add lights to the display case for the first model I built around 15-20 years ago.  Without lights, that model is too dark in the case.  It would look so much better with lighting, and I could use the same method as on this case for lights.  I was surprised at how well this worked.

 

 

 

[WalrusGuy]

The display case looks amazing! Very professional. Awesome work!!!

[desalgu]

I finally received the custom table for the Syren display case, so it's now officially done.  I also had a nameplate made for it.  It looks very nice. Wish I hadn't gotten so much rake in the masts, but that kind of happened before I realized it.  Always learning!

 

I also added lights to the old display case for the Prince de Neufchatel.  This was my first model ship and I stained the hull & deck too dark.  I looked at notes and the Prince was finished in 2005, the display case in 2006, and the table was added in 2007.  The lights really show up the rigging and deck.  It's a big improvement.  And of course, it's been moved to a new location in the house.

 

Photos show both cases and tables, Syren first, Prince last.  I'll include photo of nameplate.  This was an inexpensive addition and I was surprised at how something that simple made it look better.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 3, 2021 by desalgu
wrong photo order

[desalgu]

Prince de Neufchatel model, case, table, and lights.  Included this just to show effect of new lights in case.

[abelson]

The lights definitely show off the model? Nice job.

[GrandpaPhil]

Congratulations!  Well done!