San Juan felucca by Baltic_submariner - FINISHED - OcCre - 1:70

Baltic_submariner · July 12, 2021

Hello,

I found this little cutie and decided to build her as escape from big and complicated ships. She looks like isn't popular kit and I wonder why? I realized that I very like look of lateen rigged vessels and she was smaller from Chebec which will be definitely a few months build. Here I will add to the San Juan probably 2 swivel guns as this ship wasn't big and maybe I'll paint her. I have big urge to made single plank with mathematic calculations - this seems as very big challenge and as San Juan has lenght of biggest frame about 70mm it will not require many 5mm width planks to fit.

So far I've made skeleton and planked deck.

During previous months I made such frigate - Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes.

Baltic_submariner · July 19, 2021

Some progress with San Juan.

I made some details of deck with booth. I want to add some furniture inside of booth like desk, wardrobe and chairs. I bet such booth hides also stairs to lower deck.

Deck has been planked and I made immitations of nails.

I tapered masts for San Juan and I decided to replace metal parts number 136 and 142 with carved in wood with same part from which main mast and mizzen mast were made. I think glueing this metal parts without reinforcing connection with metal rod will be very weak and telling the truth I didn't have such tools to drill in metal. I impregnate O-shape part with CA glue and then I'll paint this part soit should be enough.

One thing puzzles me. Why there is grating in stern part of deck? Any cargo bay would be extremely small and unpractical as such bay will be too shallow to store most of goods. Ship toilet? But there is no "outlet" on the other side.

Booth isn't mounted on last photos.

Edited July 19, 2021 by Baltic_submariner

Baltic_submariner · July 28, 2021

Actualization.

I almost completed hull and rigged masts with sails. I was getting used to square rigging and some of parts were very confusing, like metal toggles ( I think it's english name of this part ) Ropes are coiled, jack is flying although it's not over. On page of one Spanish modeller I found that San Juan transported post from Spain into Cuba so I decided to arm such boat with 4-6 swivel guns. I doubt that such vessel could be unarmed but of course I can be wrong. Now also time for some cargo on board.

This was really different from rigging of deadeyes and laynards but when at start I was thinking it's easier, I was wrong. It's so different but I realised obvious fact that I fall in love in fore-and-aft rigged vessels 😉

Occre kit is supplied with many metal parts of questionable quality and I decided to replace them with my parts made from wood. Main problem was with pumps, anchor windlass and some of cleats. Instruction suggested glueing or drilling a hole inside metal parts. I didn't have machinery for such operations so I cut proper pieces of circular rod and made two holes. One all the way trough for hand operated mechanism and second to mount immitations of water mouth. I also cut from paper some very thin stripes.

Next I glued rolled strips of paper to immitate parts of pump as same as advised Sapelli part.

Last part was mounting a handle and water mouth

I think it's much better than supplied metal pumps.

Anchor windlass was similar case. I glued together two pieces of thin wood to later cut sides of windlass and from same circular rod I made main part.

I glued similar paper strips and using profiled file I made curved shape.

Next step was cutting off shape of sides of anchor windlass and many, sanding.

Last step was making from metal rod windlass handle and shaping of drum ends at ends of winch reel. I hope I didn't mixed any word as I used words from modern windlass. I certainly add some details to such windlass. You can make laugh but I was really suprised how satisfactionary is scratch building of parts.

Another parts were catheads? ( I hope I didn't made mistake ) to which anchor is mounted by ropes. As It can be potential further problems I drilled a small holes and mounted nails with removed head. All parts await for further sanding and shaping.

Another case are ship dinghies as they are also casted in metal and I'm thinking about making my own dinghies from wood.

catopower · July 28, 2021

Paul,

I don't know why nobody else has commented since you started this build. But, it is looking very nice.

I agree that this is a very nice looking ship. Although you are an experienced modeler, I think it would make an ideal first model for a beginner. It has a nice easy hull shape for planking, and a square-tuck stern, which also makes for ease of planking. There are some metal parts, so they simply need to be painted, and glued into place. Again, this is easy for a beginner to do. Plus, the lateen rig is simpler than a square rig, and it's interesting.

You've done a nice job making your own replacement parts and showing us what an experienced ship modeler can do with this kit!

Baltic_submariner · July 28, 2021

32 minutes ago, catopower said:

Paul,

I don't know why nobody else has commented since you started this build. But, it is looking very nice.

I agree that this is a very nice looking ship. Although you are an experienced modeler, I think it would make an ideal first model for a beginner. It has a nice easy hull shape for planking, and a square-tuck stern, which also makes for ease of planking. There are some metal parts, so they simply need to be painted, and glued into place. Again, this is easy for a beginner to do. Plus, the lateen rig is simpler than a square rig, and it's interesting.

You've done a nice job making your own replacement parts and showing us what an experienced ship modeler can do with this kit!

Thank you for an answer!

Yes, model is easy and very pleasant to build. Some time ago I decided that I must build something like such felucca because last model which I made tired me very much with rigging. You have right that it's kit for beginners although at least for me it's shame that she isn't more popular in comparison to the Polaris or some other kits. Here I suppose that lateen rig isn't as popular as schooner or square. I'm not trying to criticize kit as it's good model, only such metal parts didn't appeal to me but you have right, for most beginners it's not a problem. Also I think such tries in scratch build are good introduction to the bigger modifications and such models are nice bases for starting with imagination.

BTW. In case of Occre models you can order plate with name of ship directly from them and they made such plate for free. I have such plates for frigate Mercedes ( completed ) and third rate Montanes ( one of my shipmodelling dreams ) Maybe this helps others too 🙂

After reading ( although it's not most proper word ) book Rigging Period Fore-and-Aft Craft by Lennarth Petersson I'm ill about making lugger as this rig looks so different from most known to me.

I'm not sure am I experienced 🙂 Still I made some very stupid mistakes and some parts are bigger or lesser problem for me. Overall it's great and nice challenge with trying how to solute some problems.

catopower · July 29, 2021

Dear Paul,

I've been ship modeling for over 25 years now, and I still make silly mistakes! It never seems to go away.

It's good that you are scratch building your own replacement parts. I think that is the best way to move beyond a simple kit. Some modern kits pre-make the parts for you in perfect scale. But, for me, the fun has been that the kits aren't perfect and I've always enjoyed learning how to make them better. You are doing that with the San Juan. It gives one much more sense pride that just following someone's instructions.

I understand what you're saying about complicated rigging of the square-rigged ships. My most recent projects are lateen rigged or have a simple, single mast and sail. It is much simpler to get to the rigging stage. It doesn't last too long, and the then model is compete!

About the lugger, do you mean that it is something you are interested in trying to build? I built one lug-rigged gunboat model and it was kind of nice to do such a simple rig. I have often looked at building a model of the French lugger Le Coureur. It's a nice looking ship with history and there are a couple kits available in wood. There are even a couple available in paper, which is something I've been doing a little the last few years.

By the way, it's funny that we're discussing simpler rigging, but I too have an OcCre Montañes kit in my workshop! It is difficult not to love and be lured by the big complicated square-rigged ships 😁

Anyway, good luck with your San Juan build. It looks like you are nearly done. I'm looking forward to seeing how the scratch built details look on the model.

Baltic_submariner · July 30, 2021

Hello Clare!

I saw Le Coureur from three publishers. Wooden kit from Mamoli which as I understand isn't as small as size of real ship could suggests, two card models from Shipyard ( one is laser cut as I remember while other is full paper ) and fully ribed behemoth from China or Taiwan. I would rather choose Mamoli ship and upgrade her on my own. Long ago as kid I made some paper models from local publishers. Nothing spectatular to be sure, mainly due to me. To this time survived only small CSS Virginia ironclad waterline from anonymous publisher and Admiral Ushakov from ProModel but this definitely proved me that paper models aren't for me.

Montanes has very nice shapes, really it's beautiful ship which isn't as mainstream as certain very famous British First Rate while still having very interesting history.

Meanwhile I worked a little bit with deck dinghy. I decided to use kit supplied and slightly modify her. I added rudder and rubbing strakes from wood. I made 4 oars and fixable mast, yard and bowsprit with some obvious coils of ropes. I'm not exactly happy about paint connection between black and brown but I probably stain this place with some modellers wash.

I found on rigging scheme of xebeck/jabeque that lateen sail had more rigging as pulleys to setting sails. It could be a little tricky now but I decided to mount such pulleys and ropes because this sail is just empty. Four ropes and two blocks give a little bit more life.

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[screenshots from Occre page]

Cathead · July 30, 2021

Paul, very nice work on this little model. To answer an earlier question, I cannot figure out what the little grating at the stern is for, either.

You also wondered why this model seemed unpopular. I assume you mean on this forum, as we have no way of knowing what sales figures are overall. As this is an English-language forum dominated by Americans, British, Australians, and so on, I suspect that Spanish and Mediterranean vessels are somewhat less familiar and thus less popular in this context. I would not be surprised if Spanish or Italian forums had many more of these, and fewer Constitutions, Victories, whaleboats, and so on.

Baltic_submariner · August 8, 2021

San Juan is finished. Kit was really fun to build even if whole ship was easy and non requiring any gymnastics during assembly.

For blackening of anchors I used AK Interactive 159 Metal burnishing liquid which gives nice a little rusty look. Liquid is very easy to use but beware as it's rather "heavy" chemistry.