Scratch building the Syren using the kit's plans

[rtropp]

I have the kit Syren with Chuck's excellent instruction.

My question is that since I own the kit, don't I also own rights to use the plans?

I began to think that with great instructions, and the initial experience I get from building the kit, wouldn't that be a good ship to try my hand at scratch building?

Or, does it sound crazy to build two of the same ship?

Richard

[mtaylor]

Richard,

 

I guess the only answer is "why not?".     As long as  you are not violating copyright, the plans are yours. 

[augie]

Richard -  I know nothing about copyright laws but as you do own a copy of the plans you are certainly free to scratch build a second model.

 

Are you crazy ......not at all.  I've been an RC pilot for many years and sometimes compete in scale competition.  With a new plane or new design, we often build a prototype to work out the details of the build, proper CG (center of gravity) location and flying characteristics of that design.  Generally we do so without putting in the time on that first build to add all the scale details as we're just 'practicing'.  Once satisfied with all aspects, we build the masterpiece for competition.  With a ship, you're not worried about flying characteristics but, if you're new to the game, you learn an awful lot on your first build and sometimes wish you could go back and do a better job.  So a second, scratch build might be a lot of fun.  You could even chose to use different woods for the rebuild so that you might wind up with one ship being the painted version and the second being done in all natural wood tones.  And of course you could always change the scale of the build with some creative copying.....again for your own use.  One gentleman on here, Roger, has a build log of what I believe is a 1:32 Syren which is a real beauty (he hasn't posted in a while).  He was using Chuck's plans blown up.

 

Keep us posted!

[Chuck]

Go for it...That model was created for MSW before it was a Model Shipways kit.   I designed it to be a great first scratch project and many of our members did just that.

 

Have some fun and dont hesitate to ask me any questions.

 

Chuck

[rtropp]

Chuck,

Thanks.

Richard

[Rustyj]

Hi Richard,

 

 

 

The Syren was my first adventure to the "dark side" of scratch building and was a wonderful experience.

 

 

 

As Chuck said "Go for it"!  

 

[rtropp]

Rusty,

What did you use to cut the small parts out of the sheet, such as the stern stems or the even smaller parts?

 

I tried cutting the Syren's stern stems to replace bad parts. It was not a pretty sight.

Richard

[uss frolick]

If you're going to all the trouble of scratch building a model, then why not take the extra step of building a contemporary sloop of war other than the recently, much modeled Siren? You could use her same plans and the instructions as a guide toward building, say, the 18 gun brig USS Argus, a sloop with a tremendous history. Her plans, redrawn by Howard Chapelle for his 'History of the American sailing Navy' are available for little more than the cost of the copying. Argus would require no more material than the Siren.

 

There are many flushed deck American ship and brig rigged sloops of war, built in 1813 of only slightly larger dimensions, that rarely ever see the modelers bench: Wasp I, Hornet, Wasp II, Peacock, Frolick, Erie, Ontario, and the Argus II. Their draughts are also available from the Smithsonian. Then there are the similarly sized British Cruiser Class sloops that they fought: HMS Frolick, HMS Peacock, HMS Pelican, HMS Reindeer, HMS Avon, HMS (later USS) Epervier and the HMS Pelican. How about the mighty little 450 ton 20-gun, flushed-decked ship sloop HMS Levant, that fought the USS Constitution? And there are so many more beautiful and larger American sloops build after the war ... All these sloops deserve to be built.

 

Don't limit yourself. If you're going to spent many months, if not years, of your life scratch building a ship, why not make her unique and special?

[Rustyj]

Hi Richard,

 

No one simple answer. It depended on the parts needed but generally speaking I used

a scroll saw to cut out most parts. I would cut out and paste the plans on the wood

using temporary paper cement and cut them out using the scroll saw.

 

Some parts were cut using a razor saw or xacto blades. Sometimes I would cut them

larger then needed and then sand to the correct shape. The better the wood, the nicer

the piece produced.  This is what works for me and trust me there were many a piece

that went into the scrap bin.

 

The hardest thing for me to learn was throw it in the bin and do it again.  

 

I hope this helps.

[rtropp]

Rusty,

That is helpful. I think I will have to try my hand with some of the better quality wood obtainable from sites like lumber yard. I plan on getting either the Proxxon or Microlux scroll saw. I was leaning towards the Microlux but, since I work indoors, I am loath to work without a vacuum attachment.

By the way, I read in one of the forums a tip from a modeler whose wife (a quilter) showed him a way to create templates. You use freezer paper, copy the shape on one side then put the wax side down on the wood and pass a warm iron over it. The wax melts to the wood providing a great template stuck to the wood but removes very easily without leaving any residue on the wood.

Richard

[mtaylor]

Richard,

 

The Microlux Tilt Arbor does have a vacuum port.  Hope this doesn't throw a monkey-wrench into things.

[rtropp]

Mark

I was referring to the mini scroll saw, not the 16" which could be a little large for my workspace. In addition to size, I also thought the rip fence and miter guide that come with the mini would be useful. This model is similar to the Proxxon 115 !. hence the comparison and decision point.

I didn't see a tilt table being that useful unless I went for a mini table saw later. Even then I am not sure it would be worth the extra cost.

Richard

Edited July 29, 2013 by rtropp