Niagara by lb0190 - Model Shipways - 1/64

[lb0190]

That'd help, huh? The parts you bought from Syren. I think I understood you bought them in anticipation, but have not used them yet, so you don't know if they'll be the right parts. If you haven't used them yet (which it doesn't look like you have) let me know how they work. If you have used them, let me know and I'll buy them now.

 

So far I've only used a small amount of rope to hold up the capstan bars. What I bought was less than 20% of what was supplied from the OEM when looking at it by cost, so I'm sure this will be used up. My intent is to buy in batches so cost can be spread out and in case the kit provided more than needed, not over-buy any specific part. 

[lb0190]

Hi John,

 

I'm convinced Alexey's machine is the better of the two. For my needs (and budget) I suspect the lower cost machine will meet my needs. In regard to greasing the rods, I agree it may become an issue over time. Maybe a very little dry silicone lube placed on the exact spot needed by using finger tip with clean cloth may help and not become an issue to deal with at a later time. Then again, a little use may work out the kinks.

[Laxet]

If you are going to serve shrouds & long lines, Alexey's machine will make life so much easier. With the other one, you will be continuously moving your line down.

[lb0190]

Thanks Dale. I did not give that any consideration.

[GuntherMT]

I have Alexey's Serving machine as well.  Just played with it so far, as it will still be a while before I get to the rigging on the AVS.  I've just used dry graphite to lubricate the squeaky bits and it worked fine.  Very happy with the craftsmanship and received it in about a week, and the shipping from overseas is included in the pricing.

[Jerry C]

Larry,

I made a serving machine from studying pictures of other machines and it was pretty simple. I got the gears from a hobby shop as well as the tubing. I have less than $25 invested. I tested it and with a little practice it worked great.

Edited February 11, 2015 by Jerry C

[Jerry C]

Larry,

 

I jumped onto your site the other day and mentioned that I was slightly behind you on my Niagara build. I am working on the channels for the chain plates and masts and trees. I haven't put any of the deck "stuff" on yet but have it made. These are not very good pictures but I thought I would give it a go since I have never attached any pictures before. So if they don't turn out contribute it to the learning curve.

Edited February 11, 2015 by Jerry C

[lb0190]

I have Alexey's Serving machine as well.  Just played with it so far, as it will still be a while before I get to the rigging on the AVS.  I've just used dry graphite to lubricate the squeaky bits and it worked fine.  Very happy with the craftsmanship and received it in about a week, and the shipping from overseas is included in the pricing.

 

 

Hi Brian, I think Alexey's machine is awesome and it's back on my list for consideration. Budget is a big driver for me in making decisions and I'll waffle on it numerous times before deciding which direction I'll go. I'm also considering building one. Since I'm at least a month or more away from needing one, it gives me a lot of time to change my mind many times... Thanks for the input and sharing of experience.

 

 

 

Larry, I made a serving machine from studying pictures of other machines and it was pretty simple. I got the gears from a hobby shop as well as the tubing. I have less than $25 invested. I tested it and with a little practice it worked great.

  

 

Larry, I jumped onto your site the other day and mentioned that I was slightly behind you on my Niagara build. I am working on the channels for the chain plates and masts and trees. I haven't put any of the deck "stuff" on yet but have it made. These are not very good pictures but I thought I would give it a go since I have never attached any pictures before. So if they don't turn out contribute it to the learning curve.

Hi Jerry, your serving machine looks very good. I looked in my local hobby store for gears as well as a craft store - no luck yet in finding the needed sizes. I have not given up on this option but not sure at the moment which direction I'll go. This will probably be a last minute decision... . Your ship looks impressive and as you can see the pictures posted fine.

[lb0190]

The past few weeks have been spent work matching up the starboard side with the port side in regard to cleats, capstan bars, plus making the ladders for each side. When I started making the ladders, I though I'll knock them out today, but the model ship building fairy set me straight. It's never as easy or quick as I think it should be. The first ladder issue was the tread thickness - 0.015" which I did not have and figured I could no make consistent enough for ten steps. I ended up using styrene which turned out OK once I figured out how to set the correct angle for the steps (pictures later). 

 

I've also been working the the carronades - actually just one. Once I have one built that I like I'll start the production line for the remaining seventeen. This is where I need your help. I've seen pictures of what I assume to be Niagara carronades. Some have the quoin to adjust barrel elevation and others have a jack-screw. Ignoring what may be historically correct, I kinda liked the looks jack-screw method and thought I would try to replicate that. I almost destroyed one carronade by attempting to drill a hole in the breech end of the cannon for a small screw, so I dropped that idea. I though just having the jack-screw mounted so it interfaced with the breech may look OK. Below are pictures of my reference material (THANKS MSW builders!) and a preliminary attempt of making the jack-screw, with the jack-screw sitting loose in place. I still need to dress up the ends of the jack-screw handles by making round knobs with CA glue and the normal touching up of paint, but it's close enough to gather a few opinions. I used a #90 brass hex head machine screw for this project. After drilling two thru holes 90 degrees apart, I turned the hex head round using a hand drill and emery board. I CA glued the handles in place and painted the assembly black. I did not make a quoin to compare the two since it's pretty easy to imagine. 

 

Questions: does the jack-screw look out of scale and too rough and which do you think would look best - quoin or jackscrew?

Edited February 23, 2015 by lb0190

[Guest Tim I.]

That is some great detail work on the carronade sled. Are you going to replicate the same level of detail to all of them?

 

- Tim

[GLakie]

I like the jack-screw myself, but in the end it's all about how and when you yourself want to depict it. Scale-wise, it looks OK. 

 

Cheers

[Laxet]

I like the jack-screw look. Way too much work for me even once, let alone 18 times. I took the lazy out but yours will look very nice.

[Carlmb]

Jack-screw looks awesome. Nice job.

[augie]

Another vote for the jack screw.  Scale looks fine.

[lb0190]

Thanks everyone for your input and compliments, it looks like the jack-screw is the choice. I'll finish this gun up with the rigging then start drilling out more brass machine screws.

[GLakie]

Well, as I mentioned, in the end, it's really what you want, but yes I think with all the other nice detail on the carronade sleds, the jack-screws enhance all that very nicely.

 

Cheers

[lb0190]

Hi George,

 

I agree the Captain (well maybe the Admiral) has the final say and I was leaning heavy in favor of the jack-screw, but I always appreciate hearing from others. I would have used a smaller diameter screw if I could have found one, but the no.90 will work fine. Thanks for looking in and for your comments,

[SGraham]

I agree with the jack-screw votes. That's a very impressive job you've done replicating it, Larry. Also, I like the color you achieved on the carronade barrel. Is that blackening or paint?

 

I have a couple of questions about details in the photos. In the second photo on the preceding page--the photo showing the jack-screw, I like the look of the rope wrapped around the barrel. Was that commonly done? Also, what is the small ring right in back of the bottom of the jack-screw for? I notice in the photo that there is a small line tied to it, but I can't imagine what its use is.

 

Steve

[lb0190]

I agree with the jack-screw votes. That's a very impressive job you've done replicating it, Larry. Also, I like the color you achieved on the carronade barrel. Is that blackening or paint?

 

I have a couple of questions about details in the photos. In the second photo on the preceding page--the photo showing the jack-screw, I like the look of the rope wrapped around the barrel. Was that commonly done? Also, what is the small ring right in back of the bottom of the jack-screw for? I notice in the photo that there is a small line tied to it, but I can't imagine what its use is.

 

Steve

 

Hi Steve, Thanks for stopping by and for the compliments. The cannon color is called Cannon Black, from Model Expo. It is not as dark as most black paints I have used and looks like cast iron to me. I really like how it looks on the guns. 

 

I'm a long ways from being an expert, but I believe the second photo shows the guns in a stowed (non-use) configuration, using additional ropes to secure the guns in place. The small ring just behind the jack screw is called the "in-haul plate" and would be attached to a rope and block to pull the upper slide aft. I suspect there are circumstances when the gun has been pulled forward and needs to be moved aft without firing.  At this time I do not plan on attaching a rope/block to this plate due to the congestion on the deck. Some Niagara builders include this rigging in their build and others do not. From the photo, the small rope attached to in-haul plate and jack-screw does not appear to serve a purpose but I cannot help but think it does. I suspect the angle of the photo prevents us from seeing the reason for it being there. After a second look, it may prevent the jack-screw from turning by blocking the handle but that is simply a WAG (wild axx guess) on my part.

[lb0190]

Here is a small update. Time to work on the Niagara or to even read MSW, has been very scarce. I started working on the carronades again. I've painted the guns and sleds, made all of the metal work with the exception of the jackscrews (a project in itself), installed the mount pins on the lower sled but still need to install the line plates on 17 of the 18 guns. I've also worked on figuring out how to rig the very tiny 3/32” blocks from Syren Model Ship Co.. I modified a clothespin to hold the blocks while I install the 0.008 line and hopefully not cause them to flip out and disappear - if I ever find where that stuff goes I should have enough material to build an entire ship    . I'm debating between have one set of blocks per gun vs two. I'll add a second set with coils to the one in the picture to see how it looks and then decide, but your input is always of value to me. I've also made a rope coil tool and made a few rope coils, to which I need to improve on size and consistency.

 

Pictures are:

 

• the modified clothespin hoding a block

• my hand holding a block for size reference

• several shots of one carronade rigged with the breech line and one set of blocks with a rope coil. The aft block assembly is onstalled backwards on one photo and corrected on another without the rope coil in place.

• I could not help from setting the carronades loose on the ship for a few photos. She now has some teeth!

• Rope coil tool and a few coiled ropes

[augie]

Yes, those blocks are tiny!  The guns are looking good.  So do the coils.  Next time around you can do a 74!

[texxn5]

Looking good Larry. Good to see you back in the shipyard. She's shaping up.

John

[lb0190]

Thanks Augie & John. Let's see... 74 x 8 blocks = OMG!!

[texxn5]

Yeah, those 3/32" blocks can cause you to go blind. I'm working with them right now in my rigging, and like you if I ever find the ones that seem to completely disappear at times - especially after spending 30 minutes to strop them and paint them to only vanish into the atmosphere I could rig another ship. That's why I buy extras.

[GLakie]

Those tiny blocks are microscopic Larry, but I'm sure you'll work through it. She looks awesome with her teeth in place. Very nice!

[lb0190]

John, I cannot imagine painting them and keeping the holes open. I did buy some Min Wax black stain to see how that looks, but have yet to give it a try.

 

Thanks George, she's coming along slow, but I'm OK with the pace.

[popeye the sailor]

you'll simply have to expand on the Flemish coil tool you made.......how do you do it???????    they look awesome!   nice looking teeth you got there!  no complaints from the dentist,   I bet! 

[lb0190]

Hi Popeye,

 

Thanks!

 

A few years ago, I found a web page that showed how to build the rope coil jig and provided a video you could save, demonstrating how to use the tool. I cannot find the url for either. I was getting ready to provide the static page and avi video when I noticed at the bottom of the static page: Copyright © Hubert Sicard  which I suspect means I cannot post it on MSW (???) even though I was under the impression the information was being openly shared. I'll ck with Chuck to see if my interpretation is correct. I do not recall where or how I found it and that it read as if it was meant for other modelers to replicate and use. Once I hear back from Chuck I'll get back with you on the subject. It's a preety neat tool that makes rope coils pretty quick and easy once you get the process consistent.  

[lb0190]

I added a lower slide set of blocks on the fwd (right side) side of the gun - looks congested and does not compliment the model in my opinion

I removed both upper sets of slide blocks and installed only lower slide blocks. I think I stick with this configuration, with rope coils for the rest of the build. 

[lb0190]

you'll simply have to expand on the Flemish coil tool you made.......how do you do it???????    they look awesome!   nice looking teeth you got there!  no complaints from the dentist,   I bet! 

 

 Sorry Popeye - I heard back from Chuck and he confirmed my suspicion. Huberts site is off limits as he has a subscription to it.  All we can do is provide a link if one exists. If I find the link I'll post it.