Meta by bolin - Billing Boats - 1:40 - original fore-and-aft schooner rig

[Keith Black]

 Bolin, glad to hear you've recovered from Covid. I think your wench looks very well made and spot on.  

[bolin]

Time for another update. I have continued forward on the deck with fittings and equipment. Nothing has been permanently mounted yet. I want to see everything together first, to check that the proportions looks good.

 

In this photo, we can see the top of the windlass. Nothing else of the area in front of the fore mast can be seen above the railing. I need to make an educated guess.

I have decided for something similar to the layout shown in the following photo. It is from another schooner from about the same time. It shows the windlass, a companionway and a hatch. There are also two bollards at the railing, similar to the photo above.

For the windlass, the kit contained some nicely made brass pieces.

 

However, I don't feel that the roll is accurate enough. So I decided to make my own pieces.

The result, thus far. There are still the handles, and the mechanism for turning the drum to install. Maybe I will wait with that for later, so I won't break them when working with other things.

I'm still thinking about redoing the windlass drum. It may be a bit too big. I will look at how it looks together with the rest and decide later...

[bolin]

Just a quick little update of the cathead and the forecastle.

 

[bolin]

Continuing with the masts. Before I permanently mount the deck fittings and buildings, I like to check with the masts, booms and gaffs to see that the proportions look ok.

I have derived the lengths of the spars from a photo. I know the length of the hull, and by relating that to the masts and other part I have an idea of the lengths.

 

The topmasts are relatively short, even compared to other schooners from the same time. Especially the mizzen topmast looks very short and thin. This may not have been the original. I have read that when other schooners and barques were motorized (typically in the 1920s), they became unbalanced under sail. The propeller caused a drag. A common remedy was to reduce the rig on the mizzen mast by replacing the mizzen topmast and removing its topsail.

 

Since I want to represent the ship as it was originally built, I'm considering adding a taller mizzen topmast. The picture above is most likely from after the first motor was installed.

 

I made the mast from square lengths, and reduced them to the correct proportions. First to square cross-section, then to octagonal. The diameter along the length I got from the formulas in Underhills "Masting and Rigging The Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier".

 

 

The final rounding was done by putting the octagonal pieces in an electric drill and while holding a sandpaper in the other hand.

 

The (temporary) final result. I think I will make another mizzen topmast to see how it looks.

 

 

[Keith Black]

 Bolin, beautiful build. The foremast being a bit taller than the mainmast is strange. Did they perhaps shorten the mainmast as well when they were motorized?

[bolin]

Thanks Keith. It certainly looks strange. I think I’ll make a new fore top mast, and move the one I have to the mizzen. I actually have another photo, where the mainmast is is the tallest one. Unfortunately, I don’t have dates on the photos. It’s hard to be certain about the evolution of the ship.

 

In the end I think I will not be able to label the build “Meta”. Instead it will be “Baltic schooner, circa 1915”.

[Wintergreen]

Nice progress Bolin.

I think that with this kind of builds, where there is no unambiguous documentation a bit of artistic license is always allowed. 🙂 

You can always add Meta as source of inspiration to the Baltic schooner.

 

Keep it up!

[bolin]

The lack of detailed documentation has forced, and inspired, me to a lot of extra research. By this I have learned a lot. More than if I would have built from fully documented source, an accurate kit or a monograph. I quite enjoy the research, and most of the future builds I’m thinking about will require (at least) the same.

 

 

[bolin]

This time of year, there is not so much time for modelling. Here in Sweden, the short summer means that you don't want to waste it with too much indoors activities. But sometimes it rains... So a few things has been happening on Meta.

 

I continue with the masts and spars. There are a number of details that needs to be decided. This picture seems to correspond well with how Metas fore mast must have been rigged when built. We can observe a number of details, such as internally strapped blocks, standing rigging of steel wires and a fair bit of metal pieces.

I have not worked much with metal, and I basically only have hand tools. There is a bit of learning to be done...

 

Here are some initial pieces, a start of spider bands for the masts. And start of bands to attach lifts for the booms.

 

 

I have also started with the gaffs.

 

[bolin]

A brief update, the gaffs are finished.

 

 

[bolin]

Thanks for the likes😊

I have worked with the booms in parallel with the gaffs, so now they are finished too.

 

A part of what has taken so long is to figure out how to work in brass. The (working) hinges and the spindle band is the most intricate assembly I have made thus far.

 

The final booms, after blackening and a bit of touch up paining.

 

Cheers

 

[clearway]

Nice  work on the bands/ goosenecks😀

 

Keith

[bolin]

Thanks Keith!

 

The next step is the trestle tree, cross tree, cheeks and topmasts. The topmast are mostly complete since before. I only need to narrow down the pole section and create a shoulder there.

 

 

[bolin]

It is starting to come together.

 

Most individual parts are completed, only the windlass and the bowsprit has e bit of metal work to be completed.

 

Now the assembly will start. No parts are glued in place yet, I have waited until the masts are done so that I can determine exactly where the chain plates should go. That is what I will continue with next.

 

 

[bolin]

Measuring the position and angles of the chain plates. To protect the hull, and to have something to draw on, I put som tape on the sides.

The chain plates are made from strips of brass. In the end of each strip I made a loop and soldered it closed. Then I filed loop down to about 1 mm width.

 

The chain plates should go through the hand rail. So I drilled, carved and sawed slots along the railing. I managed to do that without splitting the walnut of the hand rail. I think I was fortunate that I had to laminate the handrail from two pieces of 1mm sheets, that made it less prone to splitting.

 

In the picture below I have also drilled holes for the rivets.

The deadeyes shall be attached to the chain plates with metal bands. I have experimented with two options. In the one on the right, I flattened the end of a brass wire, and made holes for a rivet. In the method to the left I made loops on the end of a thinner brass wire. This is the method I chose. This method seems a bit easier and more repeatable.

With a bit of solder, the loops will probably be strong enough.

[Nirvana]

Beautiful!

 

[Wintergreen]

It has been a while since I last checked in. Glad to find some good progress Bolin!

 

Keep it up!

[clearway]

I chose the flattening the ends of wire and drilling holes through for the deadeye strops on my HMS Terror build and it was shall we say interesting! 

 

Keith

[DocRob]

Wonderful work on a beautiful ship all over. I really like larger schale vessels, as there are better possibilities to show fine details, like you do in your build.

 

Cheers Rob 

[bolin]

5 hours ago, DocRob said:

I really like larger scale vessels, as there are better possibilities to show fine details, like you do in your build.

Thanks Rob. Unfortunately, larger scale also mean larger model to display😀 I’m not really sure where I will put it when it is finished.

[bolin]

Back to the workbench again. It has been some weeks of very little building. Mostly because we got access to our new vacation home in the beginning of August.

 

Now I have managed to finish the chain plates.

[bolin]

Finally I'm back again. A 50th year anniversary and a lengthy business trip later I'm now back with a small update. This time it's the bowsprit.

 

With that I can start assembling the deck equipment and the rest of the individual parts. I hope that it won't take as long with that...

 

[clearway]

Watching this with more and more interest as i have purchased billings Lilla Dan and will most likely be replacing the plastic mast caps and cross/trestle trees as per your build.

 

Keith

[bolin]

Lilla Dan is a nice little ship. I look forward to your build log of it. In general I like the subjects that Billing produces, but few of their fittings.

[Wintergreen]

That is some excellent planking you're showing us in the previous post!

I am a bit nervous for my own planking since I have planked only two hulls and that whas 30+ years ago.

 

Keep it up!

[bolin]

Thanks form the kind words Håkan. Slow and methodical was my method. I basically followed Chucks method of blank bending. I think you will do fine, your framing on the Atlantica looks excellent.

[TripleTrable]

On 9/16/2021 at 6:51 PM, bolin said:

Today I got a package from MassivHolzWerkstatt in Germany with replacement wood.

 

 

Beech strips for hull planking and a piece of thicker (7 mm) beech for keel, stern and stem.

 

Maple for deck planking and for hull planks for the lifeboat that I will need to scratch build.

 

I have no experience with either type earlier, but with the good quality I got I look forward to learn how they work.

Hello bolin,

I just discovered your build while researching for my onw Meta kit which I got from my father.

Could you tell me the sizes of your strips and plates? I have never build a wooden model before and I have no experience regarding size and thickness.
Should I just order the same sizes as in the kit?

Thans in advanced.

[bolin]

Welcome to MSW! I wish you luck in your build of this model. When you get started I suggest that you start a build log here at the site. Then you can get help and encouragement from fellow modellers.

 

For my Meta I did not just buy the same dimensions as in the kit. Instead I made som research for more scale accurate alternatives. 
 

The beech strips I bought for the hull were 7x2 mm. I had a photo where I could count the number of planks from the deck level to the water line. From that I could estimate the real plank width. The thickness of the strips was determined by availability. I would have preferred 1.5 mm, but could only get 2mm. 
 

For the deck I replaced the subdeck from the kit with 1 mm lime sheets that I already had. For the planking on top of that I got a 0.5 mm maple sheet, from which I cut the strips myself. The width I estimated from photos of the decks of similar ships.

 

I also got a 0.8 mm maple sheet for other details and for the life boat. I have a scanned copy of the plans for a life boat from the same period as Meta. I got the thickness from that.

 

For the keel I got a 7mm thick sheet. I estimated the width of the keel from plans of similar ships.

 

Cheers

[TripleTrable]

Thank you for the fast reply and welcoming words.

 

Once I am finished with my current university exams and the wood is delivered, I will follow your suggestion on starting a build log.

Until then I try to acquire the necessary tools.

 

Cheers

 

[bolin]

The progress I still rather slow. I have started to build the blocks. The rig will need about 90 blocks of various sizes. From 4 mm to about 6 mm.

 

At the time when Meta was built blocks were internally strapped. I build them from a laminate of wood with a brass strip folded between. They are held together with CA glue and a brass rivet.

 

In the top middle there are a few finished ones that I built first to test out my method. I hope that the rest will look better as I get more practice.

Cheers

Edited January 26, 2023 by bolin