Jared Posted October 2, 2023 Author Share #91 Posted October 2, 2023 Since the last update I have begun working on the the topmasts & bowsprit. These have been loosely mounted on the ship. In the past few days I have built the top on the fore topmast (see photo). I will be painting the top white. The trickiest thing about building top was the fabricating and mounting the cleats on the spreader. I had to try different types of wood incl. multilayer strips before I finally found something I could cut without the tiny wood pieces falling apart. gak1965 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gak1965 Posted October 3, 2023 Share #92 Posted October 3, 2023 @Jared, you might consider strengthening the spreaders a bit. I glued a strip of brass on the underside before painting. It's not obvious and it kept things from breaking on more than one occasion. Snug Harbor Johnny 1 Quote Current Builds: Bluejacket USS Kearsarge, RRS Discovery 1:72 scratch Completed Builds: Model Shipways 1:96 Flying Fish | Model Shipways 1:64 US Brig Niagara | Model Shipways 1:64 Pride of Baltimore II (modified) | Midwest Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack | Heller 1:150 Passat | Revell 1:96 USS Constitution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared Posted October 3, 2023 Author Share #93 Posted October 3, 2023 Thanks George for this great suggestion. I was very concerned about them breaking or bending when attaching the rigging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share #94 Posted October 23, 2023 Quick update. The spreaders on the 3 topmasts. I was hoping to start adding the blocks to the masts, but discovered on size of blocks was missing from my kit. While I await the missing parts from Model Expo, I will work on the bowsprit and jib-boom. I implemented your suggestion George to strengthen the spreaders with copper strip on the main topmast and mizzen topmast spreaders. I added copper strip where I could on the already completed spreader on the fore topmast as doing otherwise would have required a complete rebuild of the structure. Adding the cleats to the 2 new spreaders went much better than what I encountered on the fore topmast. Put it down to learning from experience and using finer tweezers. Snug Harbor Johnny and gak1965 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared Posted October 29, 2023 Author Share #95 Posted October 29, 2023 (edited) Spent all day today building the dolphin striker. This tiny part turned out to be one of the most challenging pieces to date. All of the small metal fittings on the dolphin striker were made by bending thin blackened copper wire. For the lower metal band I used adhesive copper tape. The lower fitting was made from a single piece of wire. On another note, I mentioned that I discovered the other day that I was missing one size of wooden blocks. I contacted Model Expo and soon after I received a reply that the missing blocks were on the way. What fantastic customer service!! Edited October 29, 2023 by Jared gak1965 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wawona59 Posted October 29, 2023 Share #96 Posted October 29, 2023 I've had good experience with Model Expo's customer service as well. Even though I bought my Flying Fish in 1996, ME sent me a complete set of bulkheads, keel and planksheer to replace the parts that I screwed up. (see my build log to see how bad I did). No questions asked. Now, I'll just start over and do it right this time. I hope to be back working on the Fish soon. Quote Wawona 59 John Next Project:: New Bedford Whaleboat - Model Shipways Wish list for "Seattle Connection" builds: 1/96 Lumber Schooner Wawona, 1/96 Down Easter St. Paul, 1/32 Hydroplane Slo-Mo-Shun IV Completed Builds: Midwest - Chesapeake Bay Flattie (highly modified); Revell - 1/96 Constitution, 1/96 Thermopylae, 1/96 Cutty Sark, 1/570 Titanic; Dragon - 1/700 USS Arizona; Model Shipways - NY Pilot Boat Phantom, Aurora - Whaling Ship Wanderer, Maquette - Boeing 307 Stratoliner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared Posted October 29, 2023 Author Share #97 Posted October 29, 2023 My kit was purchased around 2008. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gak1965 Posted October 30, 2023 Share #98 Posted October 30, 2023 They do have good customer service. I needed more brass for my Fish Quote Current Builds: Bluejacket USS Kearsarge, RRS Discovery 1:72 scratch Completed Builds: Model Shipways 1:96 Flying Fish | Model Shipways 1:64 US Brig Niagara | Model Shipways 1:64 Pride of Baltimore II (modified) | Midwest Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack | Heller 1:150 Passat | Revell 1:96 USS Constitution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared Posted October 30, 2023 Author Share #99 Posted October 30, 2023 (edited) Over the weekend I made significant progress on the Bowsprit, Jib Boom and Dolphin Striker. The work on the Bowsprit and Jib Boom was fairly easy. The paint scheme is as per James Buttersworth's Flying Fish painting. The various holes for the ring bolts and other rigging components are difficult to see but have been completed. Edited October 30, 2023 by Jared Tom E and berhard 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick310 Posted October 30, 2023 Share #100 Posted October 30, 2023 Coming along well!Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared Posted October 31, 2023 Author Share #101 Posted October 31, 2023 Today I complete the topgallant masts. The second photo show a side view of the model, with the various masts loosely attached. I still have more to do on them, including installing fids, eyebolts, and blocks. berhard, robdurant, gak1965 and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gak1965 Posted November 1, 2023 Share #102 Posted November 1, 2023 Lots of progress Jared; looking absolutely great! Quote Current Builds: Bluejacket USS Kearsarge, RRS Discovery 1:72 scratch Completed Builds: Model Shipways 1:96 Flying Fish | Model Shipways 1:64 US Brig Niagara | Model Shipways 1:64 Pride of Baltimore II (modified) | Midwest Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack | Heller 1:150 Passat | Revell 1:96 USS Constitution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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