Niagara by lb0190 - Model Shipways - 1/64

[texxn5]

Larry, I just saw that Hubert Sicard passed on March 30.....just an FYI.

[GLakie]

From what I understand, his family is going to keep the site open in his name at least for the time being. A subscription is $45 US for access to the vids and other info.

[lb0190]

Thanks for the info. My condolences to his family and friends.

[Sjors]

Hi Indian       

 

You have the nerve to put all the blocks on the cannons.......

But looks great !!!!!

 

Sjors

[lb0190]

Hi Sjors 

 

IK hoop u en Anja goed doen!

 

I thought the above would be better than smoke signals ( I hope it translated correctly), but in case there is a translation issue.....      

Edited April 9, 2015 by lb0190

[lb0190]

Hi Indian       

 

You have the nerve to put all the blocks on the cannons.......

But looks great !!!!!

 

Sjors

Thanks for looking in...

I've been changing the number of blocks trying to decide what I like best and the picture below is what I think I'll use for all of the carronades. One set of blocks for the lower aft train tackle eyebolts. I'll add the rope coils once all of the guns are glued in place.

[Sjors]

You did a fine translation Larry     

 

We are knowing what you are meaning.....

Nice carronades !

 

Sjors

[Guest Tim I.]

Larry,

 

Your carronades look great. Watching with great interest.

 

- Tim

[lb0190]

Thank you Sjors and Tim. I just finished attaching all of the train tackle eyebolts/hardware and 50% of the rings for the recoil rope. I'll add the rigging rope/blocks next and save the jacks-screws for last. It's a slow process for me but so long as I'm making more steps fwd than backwards I'm happy with the pace.

[popeye the sailor]

looking very nice Larry!   I can imagine a whole row of 'em     sweet!

[lb0190]

Thanks Popeye. I ran out of the larger eyebolts for the recoil rope, but more are on order. They are easy to make but not much fun. There are plenty of other parts to work on while I wait.

[Don Quixote]

I'm downloading the pictures of your carronades and pasting them onto the bulk heads. NICE job!

[lb0190]

Thanks Brian. Today I mounted the last carronade on the deck, all with recoil ropes. I'm working on the two cannons right now with the next step being assemble and mount the block and tackle for all of the guns. The last step will be to make and mount seventeen more jack-screws. Slow and steady......

[lb0190]

I have a short update. All carronades are mounted with the breech ropes. I still need to add the block and tackle to all but one. I also need to add the jack-screw to all but one. I mounted one cannon with breech rope, still needing to add the block and tackle. The cannon was a project in itself. Out of curiosity I listed every piece and came up with 53 parts if I counted correctly.

 

2 Cheeks

1 Gun

1 Quoin Body

1 Quoin Handle

2 Gun Trunnion Bands

4 Trunnion Band Pins

2 Breech Line rings on Cheek

2 Breech Line Eyebolts on Cheek

2 Breech Line Eyebolts to Mount to Waterway

1 Breech Rope

2 Breech Rope Seizing Lines

2 Gun Tackle Eyebolts

1 Train Eyebolt

4 Wheels

4 Wheel Pins

2 Axle Bodies

4 Axle Rods

1 Bed

1 Bed Rod Support

2 Ropes for Block-Tackle

4 Rigging Blocks

4 Rigging Hooks

2 Rigging Block Eyebolts to Mount to Waterway

2 Rope Coils

 

53

Edited May 1, 2015 by lb0190

[GLakie]

That's a lot of parts, but also, a lot of detail Larry, and well worth it. She looks great with almost all her teeth in place.

 

Cheers

[augie]

Surprising how the parts count adds up!  They look terrific.  Well done, mate.

[lb0190]

Thanks Augie. I would have never guessed they would have added up to that many.

[popeye the sailor]

she looks super Larry......and as George said,  a lot of detail!    very very nice indeed! 

[lb0190]

That's a lot of parts, but also, a lot of detail Larry, and well worth it. She looks great with almost all her teeth in place.

 

Cheers

Thank you George. I'm glad to be on the downhill side of this phase of the build. It was one of those "it hurt so good" timeframes....

[lb0190]

Thanks Popeye. I appreciate your following along and for the encouragement.

 

Cannon no.2 is over half complete. It sure goes faster the second time around!

Edited May 1, 2015 by lb0190

[Sjors]

That's great Larry !!!!!

You count the things so I don't have to do it   

But don't think that it is going easy when you have done a few.

Each cannon is a build of his own !

 

Sjors

[lb0190]

Hi Sjors,

 

Thanks for looking in. I cannot imagine building a ship like yours with so many guns! BTY, your build is impressive!

I hope to have cannon no. 2 mounted tomorrow and then it's time to work on the block & tackle.

 

I have a small issue I need to resolve. The garboard ladders will be in the way of the aft block & tackle for a carronade. I'm not sure what they did in real life and was thinking about simply passing the hook between two steps. I'll have to see how that looks but all of the other options I thought of sound less attractive. Any suggestions anyone?

[stevebrock]

Check how it is done on the big ship.

 

The size of the openings on the model reflect the current ship, not the smaller openings found on the original. There are several paintings of the Niagra, some done by artists who painted her around the time she was built, showing smaller gun ports, a higher railing, and gun port doors. 

As an aside, the current color scheme is not historically accurate either.

[GLakie]

It's the same case for the Constitution Steve. When modeling any one of a number of period ships, you have to make the decision as to which era you want to depict them in.  As they look now or as they looked then. 

[lb0190]

I just installed the block and tackle on my third carronade and thought maybe I should share how I rig the tiny 3/32” blocks, 3mm hooks and 0.008” dia. lines. My results are not exactly what I would like to get, with my knots being the biggest issue but it does not look too bad. Sharing the process may be beneficial to others and also hopefully provide feedback on how to improve my results. The sequence below is not what I used. That detail varies depending on a lot of variables, including personal choice.

 

First, how small is it really??? The parts are small enough I could not hold them by hand and even getting them in a tool could be challenging with some slipping out and going to the unknown location we all have in our build areas.

I tried using tweezers to handle the hooks but smooth jaw duck bill pliers worked best for me after I figured out how to get them into the pliers. A small piece of tape folded over exposing a small are of the sticky side works well for picking up the hook so I can transfer it to the pliers.  

 

Transfer to pliers completed.

 

Once in the pliers, I chased the hole and then inserted the rope. The first 1/4” or so of the rope had to be soaked in CA glue first to stiffen it up so it could be shoved through the hole of the block as well as the hook. I also clipped off the glued end to an angle so there was an actual point which also helped a lot.

 

Chasing the block hole. I used a clothes pin for holding the blocks for some of the work. I glued two pieces of wood to the clothes pin so it opened and closed evenly. This reduced the number of tiny blocks being flipped to who knows where (Sjors have any of my missing blocks showed up at your place? They certainly are not anywhere here to be found.    )

 

 I stick a piece of tape on my work bench so I can place a drop of CA glue to pick from with a needle on a stick or exacto knife blade point.

 

From this point it was just a matter of stringing the rope to the configuration needed. I always applied a very small amount of CA glue to each knot using the pointed end of a no. 11 exacto blade. The blade allowed very good control for the amount of glue as well as placement. I would clean the build up glue on the tip by simply scraping it off or burning it off from time to time. I also applied CA glue to the tiny grove on the side of the block to hold the rope in place.

 

Rope coils to be added later. I may end up placing a small amount of CA glue into the block where the pull rope exits, so the block?tackle stays tight. 

 

 

 

 

 

[texxn5]

Looks great Larry. Isn't it fun working with the small blocks..lol. I think I could build another entire ship with what I could find lying around in the most unlikely places...fortunately, I don't have carpet, but do have lots of dark places...it's amazing how they can propel with just a little gentle pressure from the pliers (or fingers) - 10-15 feet sometimes. Wish we could capture that kind of power for our weapons...

[augie]

Whatever works for you Larry.  I generally do put the smallest drop of CA on the block to hold the lines tight as I do the coils later on.

[GLakie]

I like your method for dealing with those tiny blocks Larry. I sense trouble in my up-coming build since my assembly area is carpeted.   In fact, the whole apartment is carpeted except for the kitchen. 

[lb0190]

Hi John, Augie & George,

 

Thanks for looking in. I agree John, it's a good thing most kits have extra parts. Thanks for letting me know Augie, I was not sure if it was a good idea or not.

 

George, harbor freight has floor pads the link together that may help keep parts from falling into the carpet:

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-anti-fatigue-foam-mat-set-94635.html

[GLakie]

That might work!-------Hmmmm---Maybe paint some adhesive on it so when they land, they don't bounce into places unknown!  Something else that just came to mind is, using one of those lint-rollers to roll on the carpet to find un-seen things.