Nisha by DB789 - FINISHED - Vanguard Models - 1:64 - Brixham ‘Mumble Bee’

[DB789]

Both Andrew’s and Craigie, thank you very much for the advice.
 

I’ve been playing around to see what works. Sanded down the areas where the paint looked bad first. Then covered most of the model with cling film and only used masking tape to protect the waterline and white trim. I blocked the holes in the bulwark at the bow with blu-tac. Then resprayed the affected areas. 

The really bad side (port) has cleaned up very well. There’s just a faint line amidships where the two paint jobs meet. 

 

I only had a small area on the starboard side that needed respraying. This has resprayed fine, but I’ve learnt the limitation of cling film and painting. I’d pressed the cling film tight against the hull, excess paint went on the cling film and it then fused to the hull. So a new area to respray. I’ll need to leave that until the surrounding paint is dry before repeating the process. 
Once the paint is fully dry I’ll get some polyurethane varnish on it to protect it. 

In the meantime I chemically blacked some brass PE for the first time using Carr’s Metal Black solution. Seems to have worked perfectly. 
 

Thanks again. I’ll brush paint the upper hull next time so I have paint I can brush on to match! 

[Craigie65]

Looks great.  I am thinking of borrowing some of your scheme for Erycina.  I am thinking dark green for the engraved bulwarks and black wale and hull to the waterline.

 

I have had mixed results using Carr’s blackening.  You look to have pulled it of.  I probably don’t spend enough time prepping the brass beforehand.  

[DB789]

Craigie, not my paint scheme, very much influenced by Andrew Johnson, whom I’m shamelessly copying! That would look great on Erycina. 
 

I just put the parts briefly into budget Boots nail varnish remover (the one with acetone in) for a minute then straight into the Carrs solution for 10 mins and it seems to come out properly blackened. The problem is that it’s just covered in a powdery coat of black where the reaction has happened, which both comes off whilst the part is fitted and also marks everything else. I need to find a way of sealing it properly. 

[DB789]

So Nisha’s hull is nearing completion.
 

I’ve deliberately taken the rudder and tiller off as I keep breaking them. I’ll leave them off until she’s rigged now as I’ve broken the wooden spigots that join the rudder to the hull and any repair will remain fragile.

 

I also haven’t done the aluminium chimneys as they need a metal saw which I don’t have yet. I’m waiting for a decals setting solution before applying the decals. The red parts need another touch up too. 
I’m really pleased by the way she’s turning out, that’s a testament to the quality of this kit. My entire modelling / woodworking experience is the Fifie, one balsa RC aircraft that never flew and a few plastic models as a kid. I never thought that ship modelling would be within the grasp of my abilities but Chris’s Vanguard fishing boats are giving me the satisfaction of producing genuinely lovely looking models. 

 

However, despite my best intentions I’ve rushed through this build too. Only just over two weeks into building and the hull is almost finished. But at the cost of so many unnecessary breakages.  The companionway was extremely fiddly and I broke the roof into six parts, Chris provides a spare as it’s fragile but that broke into eight parts, but it’s wood and all fixable! 
 

Other than the companionway the deck furniture was pretty straightforward. 

[AJohnson]

Looking very neat! 👍

[chris watton]

Looking very nice!

 

For the aluminium tubing, you really do not need a metal saw. I have always used my trusty old Stanley Knife to cut the tube by simply rolling the tube with the blade until cut, it really only takes seconds, as the metal is so soft. (This is the reason I chose it).

[DB789]

Thanks Chris - I’ll try that! 

[Craigie65]

Your Nisha is turning out a smasher.  I really like the colour contrasts you have gone with.  

[DB789]

Thanks Craigie.

 

Debating on what sail colour to go for. I think probably a little redder than the RIT cocoa brown I used on the Fifie. Could go for a very red red such as Andyrew did on his Nisha and looks great. Ideally I’d like somewhere between the two but that involves mixing dyes and feels risky! Or do something completely different such as RIT Tan that James H has used on the prototype Saucy Jack build to great effect. 
 

My default is cocoa brown because it’s the safe option and will look good, but I think these trawlers from the south of the UK did typically have redder and pinker sails than the Scottish drifters. 

[Craigie65]

Difficult choice! I was nervous that I would waste a lovely set of sails.

In the end I plumped for RIT scarlet with dark brown in a 50/50 mix. RIT’s website gives formulae for different colours,  of course screen and actual life can be very different.  Mine turned out a bit more brown than I expected.   I think for Erycina, I will go more red and go 60/40 or even 75/25.

[DB789]

Craigie, 

That’s how I felt with the Fifie’s sails too. Interesting to know that your sails were 50:50 scarlet with cocoa brown, I was guessing from your photos that it was 100% cocoa brown as I did with the Fifie. 

I’ve ordered a selection of RIT dyes and some cotton rag and will start experimenting. 
Thanks

Dan 

[Craigie65]

I used dark brown, not cocoa. I wonder if by mixing it ended up closer to the latter?   

 

Anyway I look forward to seeing the results of your experiments and will shamelessly purloin your good work 😉

Edited May 17, 2022 by Craigie65

[DB789]

There’s not much I’ve found on MSW about dyeing sails so I’ve been testing different colour RIT dyes and mixtures. I’ve never done dyeing before so here goes - these are my results so far.
 

Unless otherwise stated all fabric swatches have been left in the dye for 20 minutes and the dye mixes are for 1 litre of water. The fabric is 100% cotton T-shirt type fabric which is much lower quality that the Vanguard linen sails. I appreciate that the colour in real life differs from a photo but they seem a pretty close representation and hopefully people will find this little guide useful. 
 

I tried some reds first based on the scarlet dye. The reds are probably too red for sails, but I’ll include them in case anyone wants very red sails. 

Dye 1 is RIT’s colour formula “Poinsetta Red”. (7ml Scarlet + 2ml lemon yellow)

Dye 2 is RIT’s colour formula “Maraschino Cherry”. (15ml scarlet + 2ml tangerine)

Dye 4 is RIT’s colour formula “Flame Red”. (15ml scarlet, 5ml golden yellow, 0.7ml sunshine orange) 

 

Dyes 1, 2 & 4 are almost identical. 

Dye 2 on Nisha - too bright won’t go with this one. 

Dye 3 is a bit different “Blazing Red”. (10ml scarlet, 10ml neon yellow, 10ml golden yellow). Whilst this colour is too bright for me, adding a lot more yellow to the mix could liven up some I’d rather dead brown colours. 

Dye 3 on Nisha. Too gaudy? Adds to colour contrast. The yellow gives it more life than the purer reds. Could consider it! 

So having decided that the red and yellow mixes are probably too bright for Nisha I experimented with some mixes of cocoa brown and red. I used cocoa brown on my Fifie which looks great but is a proper brown colour and I think too dark for Nisha. I read somewhere that the English boats had brighter coloured sails than the Scottish drifters. 

So I’ve tried some mixes of scarlet and cocoa brown. I’ve also experimented to see what the effect is from both doubling the amount of dye in the mix whilst keeping the proportion the same and also leaving the fabric in for 40 minutes rather than 20. 

My “control” for this is Dye 5 (10ml scarlet + 10ml cocoa brown - 50:50). 
 

Firstly I compare these to the Fifie sails, 100% cocoa brown. Note the much finer fabric the sails are made of which has a less obvious weave and provides a more consistent colour than the rough T-shirt cotton weave. 
Dye 5 on Nisha, definitely a contender:

 

Dye 6 is the same dye mix but the sample has been left in for 40 mins rather than 20 mins which according to RIT should make it darker. 
In practice this makes no difference whatsoever. 
 

Dye 7 is the same proportion of dye but double the dosage as Dye 5. So 20ml scarlet + 20ml cocoa brown. 

This does make a difference but not much. Produces a slightly darker, duller version of Dye 5. 
 

Dye 7 on Nisha: 

 

Dye 8 is 5ml scarlet and 15ml cocoa brown (25:75). Very similar in outcome to Dye 7. 

Dye 8 on Nisha:

Dye 9 is 15ml scarlet and 5ml cocoa brown (75:25). 
Dye 9 on Nisha: 

 

5, 8 & 9 are contenders with I think 9 being my favourite so far. What do you all reckon? Any feedback welcome!
 

I may experiment with adding some yellow to dye mixes 5, 8 and 9 to make the sails a little more tan / orange and alive. 
 

In the meantime Nisha has grown a bowsprit and dead eyes. I’ve fixed the rudder by drilling a hole for a length of 1mm brass rod in both rudder and stern post in place of the middle spigot so it’s firm and strong now. Repair is almost invisible. 

Edited May 19, 2022 by DB789
Duplicated photos

[Craigie65]

So much choice!

thank you for posting your results.

My eye is drawn to 8, I like the slightly browner hue. 

But I think any one of the three on your shortlist will work.

 

I feel your pain on the wonky rudder, had to reattach mine three times 🙁

 

Edited May 19, 2022 by Craigie65

[AJohnson]

My vote is for 8 or 5. 👍

[DB789]

Thanks for the feedback! You’re both right, 9 is too red.
 

I’ve dyed two more based on 5 and 8 but added some yellow. The middle two are the ones with yellow added. I quite like the warmth and seemly better colour saturation I’m the yellow adds to the sails which may be more like they were in real life. 
 

The top sample is 5, the next down is 5 with 10ml golden yellow and 10 ml neon yellow added. 
 

The bottom sample is 8 and the second from bottom is 8 with 10ml golden yellow added. 
 

Think I’m graduating towards 8 too without the yellow for this build - but I may add some yellow for one of the other fishing boats.

[Craigie65]

Oh my, choices!

 

I do like 8 with the yellow, it has a slightly faded look.  Perhaps if the rest of the boat was suitably weathered, but for me I have never perfected that art, or come anywhere close.  I always feel that I have cheapened the model. Some people do it oh so well, but alas not me.

[DB789]

Well what a waste of time all that dyeing was. 
 

Exactly the same mixture of 75:25 cocoa brown to scarlet as dye 8 and all other variables identical, but the sails have come out an entirely different colour. 

The linen sails have absorbed the dye very differently to the cotton swatches. I was expecting some difference due to the weave being less noticeable… but not this much. 
 

Nevertheless, the sails are a colour that will still look good on Nisha, but not what I’d planned.
 

Guess we’ll have to continue a hit and miss approach to dyeing sails! 

[AJohnson]

Don’t worry, those sails look the business. Your Nisha is going to look very fine 👍😀

[Craigie65]

I agree, that will work very well.

[wool132]

They look great! 😀

[DB789]

Just a brief update. 
 

The mast and spars are complete and the mast stepped. Tapering and shaping them with a drill worked well. I need to massively improve my tying on / seizing of blocks which are scruffy on close inspection. This is the first boat with proper rigging that I’ve built, the Fifie has very little rigging in comparison

 

As per the instructions the mainsail and main gaff were attached before the mast was stepped. 

I’ve fitted the main shrouds this evening and will make a start on the ratlines tomorrow - slightly dreading these! 
 

The decals are on, but have silvered. I hated water slide decals as a kid making plastic models and I hate them today. I did spray gloss varnish onto the areas where the decals were due to go and use the Revell decal softening solution, but to no avail. I’m unlikely to use any decals provided on future builds. I prefer the BECC self-adhesive letters. 
 

My third build has turned up in the dockyard. Yes, another Vanguard trawler, the Zulu. Beautifully packaged and promptly delivered as always - thanks Chris! I look forward to building her but won’t start until Nisha is complete. 

[DB789]

Nisha is complete, a month and a day since I started building her. 
She has been a lot of fun to build with plenty of challenges (learning points).

I’m very happy with the unintentional colour the sails ended up. Think I’ll use this colour when I build Erycina too (75% cocoa brown: 25% scarlet).
I found the rigging quite hard despite being relatively simple compared to most of the models on MSW. Still developing my techniques and need to be less reliant on CA glue. 
I stick to my previous conclusion that Nisha for someone who is a complete beginner, such as me, is tricky as a first build but makes an ideal second build. Compared to Vanguard’s Fifie she is smaller, fiddlier, harder to plank, I broke lots more pieces during construction and the rigging is considerably more demanding. All challenges I welcomed on a second build but could have put me off during a first build. The Fifie was the ideal first build for me. 

I’ve changed the way the lines are secured from that shown on the plans. There are 7 lines coming down the mast plus the inner jibsheet which need securing. The inner jibsheet goes through the ring on a runner but the plans suggest it is just tied to the ring. I think that’s unlikely as it leaves no scope for the crew to trim the sails so I’ve tied off the jibsheet to the windward rails below the deadeyes. 
 

4 cleats on the masts are also likely too few to secure the other 7 lines so I have taken several other lines through the loops at the mast foot and then tied them off to the railing below the deadeyes on both sides.

 

Nisha is built on the starboard tack (as all of Chris's fishing boats seem to be). So I think that the leeward / port flying jibsheet should be taught and the windward / starboard flying jibsheet should be loose.

 

I’m not sure that these changes are accurate and I couldn’t find clear enough photos in March’s Sailing Trawlers to confirm but based on having a bit of sailing experience it makes more sense to me.
 

Fifie welcomes Nisha to the fishing fleet!

Off fishing. 

Thanks to Chris for creating another superb kit that has enabled a beginner such as me to build a second stunning boat, I have no doubt that if I’d bought a mass market kit I’d never have finished even the first build and certainly not have ended up with two fine looking fishing boats. Also thanks to Andyrew, Andrew Johnson, James H, Craigie and others for their valuable advice and excellent build logs which have been a huge help during the build.

 

Next addition to the fishing fleet will be the Zulu.

Dan

Edited June 1, 2022 by DB789
Typo

[wool132]

Congratulations on finishing the model - it looks excellent!! 👏

 

Jonathan 

[Craigie65]

Beautiful build Dan.

You should be very proud of her!

 

Like the alternative rigging.  I am guessing Chris simplified it for beginners.  

 

Looking forward to seeing your build of Erycina.

Edited June 2, 2022 by Craigie65

[AJohnson]

Well done Dan, a lovely looking model. 👏

[ccoyle]

Very handsomely done, Dan!

[DB789]

Thank you! 

[Andyrew]

Your Nisha is a lovely looking Fishing Boat Dan, it's been enjoyable watching you racing through the building of her. 👍

[DB789]

I was visiting Devon this weekend and managed to fit in a visit to Brixham (had to bribe my wife and kids with lunch at Rockfish in return). I knew Pilgrim wouldn’t be there from her sailing schedule, but Vigilance was. I’ve taken some detailed photos which may be of use for modellers of both Nisha and Erycina.

Vigilance was the last smack to be built in Upham’s yard in Brixham in 1926, the same yard as Nisha was built in 1907. She’s much larger than Nisha at 78ft and a ketch rather than a cutter. In size and rig she’s more similar to Erycina but has a rounded transom. 
 

Vigilance has been significantly modified. Most notably a deckhouse now stands where the main hatch would have been, the trawling gear has been removed, there’s a metal frame supporting the boom and mounting instruments astern and portholes cut in the hull sides. 

I’ll add a few more posts detailing things that I thought were of interest.