Medway Longboat 1742 by Freebird - FINISHED - Syren Ship Model Company - 1/2” Scale

[Freebird]

Ahoy All! After being a landlubber for the summer, I’m back! Work has once again resumed on Medway. I will say that my skills have tarnished some, not unexpected. When I left off, I had installed the starboard riser. This weekend I installed the port riser, made/fitted the last thwart and started on the cockpit seats. I still need the nail the port riser and add some WOP. it feels great to be back in the dockyard! Pictures to follow.

 

Cheers … Rick

[Chuck]

Im looking forward to seeing more photos of your progress.

[Freebird]

Chuck, quick question. Before I start on painting, is it ok to put a coat of WOP on?

 

Cheers …. Rick

[Chuck]

Sure…I do that all the time.  
 

chuck

[Freebird]

Excellent! Thank you!

 

Cheers …. Rick

[Freebird]

Here’s a couple of pictures, still have to fix the gaps on the seat. I’m way out of practice, I couldn’t for the life of me make the slots tight around the frames. 
 

Cheers …. Rick

[Freebird]

Started to add some color! Very happy with the shade of red, but not happy with the texture, it’s too flat and needs just a little gloss. BTW - I’m using Chuck’s painting technique, this is only 2 coats. The aft thwart and cockpit seats are just posed for the pictures. 
 

Cheers …. Rick

[Tossedman]

Great work Rick. I've enjoyed following along. When McRibs come back on the menu and Chuck produces a few more of these I'd like to build one of my own.

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

[Freebird]

Thank you, Todd! It’s been a fun and challenging build. I too hope that Chuck will cut a few more. 
 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Freebird]

Haven’t had much time to work on the longboat. I added the frieze, added some filler to fill the gap in the cockpit and added a few more coats of paint. The knees for the thwarts have been fitted and are being painted, several more coats are needed. I really like Chuck’s technique of applying many coats of thinned paint, results are really nice. The transom frieze was very difficult to size, I’m not really happy with it. I may redo it.

 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Freebird]

Had a little time to accomplish a task or two, so I decided to tackle some metal work. Like most items on this project, the metal work is something I’ve never done. Took 3 tries to make half mast hoop, still needs a little tweaking. The straps weren’t too bad, again took several attempts to get the holes drilled in a straight line that was centered. Not perfect, but being I was running out of metal I had to quit while I was ahead. Next up is to blacken the brass.

Merry Christmas to All! 🎁🎄

 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Freebird]

BTW - Thanks for all the likes! Much appreciated!

 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Chuck]

That is looking excellent. 

[Freebird]

Thank you Chuck, that means a lot to this newbie!

 

Merry Christmas!

 

p.s. My Admiral …. er Santa was very generous with the beginnings of a Winnie! 
 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Freebird]

Another first, I made a scraper from 1/32 brass and made the moldings. Looks good to my eye, even though I’d use some thinner brass next time. 
 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Freebird]

Still more progress. I wanted to get the mast thwart in place, so it was time to tackle the belaying pins. Again, I’ve never made anything like this, but using the photos in Chuck’s practicum, I was able to turn out (pun intended) some pins using my Dremel and 3/32 square boxwood. I know Chuck says to use 1/16 square stock, but I wanted to have a little more wood to work with. 

Best Regards …. Rick

[rcmdrvr]

I am absolutely jealous of the quality of your work.  It serves as a goal to strive for.  Thanks for sharing.

[Freebird]

Rcmdrvr,

 

I’ve read many of the build logs on this site and one of the themes I’ve noticed is that slow and steady is the path. Trust me, there are several belaying pins in the trash that don’t look anything like belaying pins and some planks didn’t make the grade. Also, don’t settle for substandard work, just about every task to date has taken more than one try. If there’s something I don’t understand, I stop and search other logs for possible solutions. Main thing though is to have fun.

 

Best Regards …. Rick

Edited December 26, 2022 by Freebird

[Freebird]

This morning I wanted to do something a little different, so I cleaned up the pedestals and glued them to the cross braces. I also taped some sandpaper to the hull and tapered the arms to match the bottom of the hull. 
 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Diver]

Just viewed your build.  Very impressive.  I have been away from my build for to long, time to get motivated

[Diver]

2 hours ago, Diver said:

Just viewed your build.  Very impressive.  I have been away from my build for to long, time to get motivated

Just going over you entire build.  I hit a mental block trying to get a good fit on the forward platform.  Have made 2 or 3 failed attempts.  I just came up from the shop and am working on a template from a piece of sheet lumber.  When I am happy with the template I will transfer to the built up piece, and work very slowly at getting it installed. My planking is not perfect, port and stbd new not end up perfectly level 4 planks down

[Freebird]

Made the windlass and the bars today, still need to size and round the ends of the windlass. Not sure how to approach this as I don’t want to mess it up. Also added 4 of the 6 knees on the thwarts. I want to complete the mast thwart outside of the hull. As you can see, the paint has taken a beating, no worries though as a couple more coats are needed.

 

Best Regards …. Rick

[whitejamest]

Beautiful work, very sharp. 

[Freebird]

Thanks guys for all the likes and great comments, much appreciated! This has really been a fun and exciting project!

 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Freebird]

Quick question to those that have gone before me. I'd like to glue the molding in place under the frieze, however the boxwood strip is very stiff and greatly resists bending at the bow. How do I overcome this? Do I set up a jig and soak the wood for a while and clamp in the jig? Or do I soak the wood and then clamp it in place on the hull and let it dry? I don't think that applying heat to the hull is a good idea. Also, what glue should I use? I don't want to make a mess. Need some thoughts here, Thank you!

 

Best Regards .... Rick

[CaptnBirdseye]

Have to say Rick, what a glorious first build! Very impressive stuff you have going on here. Your background has obviously stood you in good stead. Makes me very envoius

[Freebird]

Thank you Captn! I’ve learned a lot and have really enjoyed the build. Waiting in the dockyard is Cheerful, love the lines on that Cutter!

 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Freebird]

Had some time to spend in the shipyard and accomplished a few tasks. Iron work has been blackened and attached to the thwart and the thwart has been installed and also the last of the thwart knees. Windlass and the bars are also completed and a couple coats of WOP applied. The iron work was a bigger challenge than I expected. So far, so good. Up next is the fixed block on the stem. 
 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Freebird]

Still looking for ideas to bend the boxwood molding before gluing it into place. Any recommendations?

 

Best Regards …. Rick

[Freebird]

Got the molding glued to the port side. I soaked a few inches in hot water for several minutes, clamped it in place around the bow and dried it with a heat gun. Worked very well. Now that was completed I could finish the treenails on the port side. I’ll clean them up tomorrow and reapply a coat of WOP. 

 

Best Regards …. Rick

Edited December 30, 2022 by Freebird