Syren Ship Model Company News, Updates and Info.....(part 2)

[Rustyj]

Wow, They look great.

[GGibson]

Wow! Those look great, Chuck!  I need to take an inventory of what I need for my Bluenose, but I do recall that some 9/32" (7mm) triple blocks were on the parts list, among other single & double blocks.  Out of town this weekend, but will look it all up next week!  Glad to see you are on the mend! 

[Chuck]

Its gonna be a long long while before the blocks are available.  So take your time.  
 

 

[Jim Rogers]

Chuck I know you are quite busy. I have a question. My brother wants to purchase a Medway Longboat Kit and I note they are out of stock. Do you have plans on restocking?

[Chuck]

I have all the parts laser cut for a small run of kits and will be putting them together for purchase this week.    I cannot reserve them though before you ask.  First come first serve whenever I finish them up.  I have far more folks who wishto reserve a kit than actual kits in this run so it wouldnt be fair to pick. 

 

 I just reopened the store and I am getting clobbered.   So it may be towards the end of the week.

 

Chuck

[Chuck]

 

A small batch of longboat kits is now available.  But they are going super fast....so .....

 

The masting and rigging installments will be coming really soon.   I just have to bang out a whole bunch of Winnie chapter sets first.

 

Chuck

[Chuck]

Now Available as 1/16 wide hinge straps.....Syren gun port hinge mini kits.

 

They are laser cut from a special high density plastic.  Some prefer a wider strap.   Also great for the Winnie.  Those can easily be shaped differently too, being extra wide.   There are 36 hinges per package.   They can be made shorter if needed as well.   

 

1.  What a hinge looks like straight off the sheet.

 

2. Round off the bottom with fine sandpaper.  Drill a small hole for the split ring if needed.  Use a #76 drill bit for a 28 gauge wire ring.

 

3.  What the gport hinge pin looks like straight off the sheet.

 

4.  Sand the actual pin slightly thinner and to a point.  This will be inserted and glued into the hull above the port.  Also  insert and glue a length of 28 gauge black wire into the laser cut hole and cut off the excess as shown.  Use CA glue as it is plastic.

 

5.  Join the hinge strap and hinge pin by slipping the wire pin into the hole of the strap.  This makes a working hinge.

 

Once glued onto the port lid, you can sand the straps even thinner.  Just gently sand the face of the port with fine sandpaper and taper the hinge straps even thinner if you like.

 

Apply weathering powder if you like that look.   Make some split rings (not shown) and add them on the hinges as is typical.  

 

 

 

[Chuck]

AND....

 

Sweep Port Hinges will be available soon.  In fact the largest of them will be in stock tomorrow.   I am making 3 sizes.   The first will be the largest size which will be used on Speedwell.  The sweep port lid hinges will fit 1/4" to 9/32" sweep port lids.  They are made from the same material but very thin.   They have etched details such as raised bolts and hinge pin details.  I hope you can see the details in this photo.   Also 

The next sizes will fit 3/16" sized sweep port lids and then a smaller size for 1/8" to 5/32" sweep port lids.

 

Sold 24 per package.  Just give them a quick wipe with a damp cloth to remove any dust from the laser etching process which will leave nice blackened hinges ready to use straight out of the package.   You may even want to add weathering powder before you remove them from the sheet.

 

Also note the image below shows the wider 1/16" gun port lid hinges.  Excuse the crude mock up to show the products.

 

Chuck

 

 

[dvm27]

"Excuse the crude mockup", with over 100 perfectly placed holes for trennels and proper shift of plank butts.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by dvm27

[Chuck]

Its just a small square of 1/8" thick cedar with all the ports and planking and even treenails laser etched into it.  It was the quick and dirty cheat of making a mock up.  LOL....I do love that scene in Back to the future though.  Made me laugh Greg.

 

 

 

[davyboy]

Great news about the sweep port lid hinges. Speedwell at 1:48th has sweep ports 3/16"x 1/8th". I'll be keeping a weather eye open for when the size I need is available.

 

Dave 

Edited May 23, 2023 by davyboy

[Chuck]

Yes you need the Medium size....will be making those today.  Literally cutting them right now.  My measurements have the ports at at 3/16" x 5/32" however at 1/4" scale.   It wont matter though.   Just wipe them down first.   If you want them really black very lightly sand the horse shoe part of the hinge with very fine sandpaper...like 400 grit.  That gives them a nice finish based on my testing.   But not the hinge pin because thats raised and you dont want to sand that away.  These are the actual medium hinges below right out of the laser.  Tough to photograph as they are black.  These have a smidge of weathering powder on them before I removed them from the sheet.

 

Chuck

 

 

[Gregory]

Any chance you will be making hooks and eyebolts from this mystery stuff?

Would be a great relief from the PE ones, since they wouldn't have to be blackened.

[Chuck]

I am not sure if it is strong enough at the thicknesses needed.  But I can always run some tests.  
 

I can also give some to folks who are rigging at the moment so they can test for me.  
 

they will be perfect for stuff like rigging guns…I am not sure about if they are under tension from rigging though.

[dvm27]

Eyebolts are simple to make but well shaped hooks are not easy, especially the tapered tips. The PE ones I have are one-dimensional and not very realistic looking. If anyone can make them it would be Chuck!

[Chuck]

I agree with you Greg about PE hooks.  They are not nearly thick enough and look kit-like.  The plastic hooks look better and seem pretty strong.  I had a file around for a while but never tried it on this new material.  I just laser cut some and they are pretty good actually.  They are of course not as strong as metal etched hooks like PE.  But these are plenty strong, even the smaller ones.  I would never apply so much tension when I rig that they would fail.  But I worry about some others.  I have seen how much tension some folks apply to the rigging and it is just not a good idea...tight as drum...

I tension just barely enough to prevent sagging and then try to even introduce a gentle sag because its more realistic.  But thats just me.

 

I could absolutely make these if there is interest.  If I remember correctly I placed forty 3mm hooks, Forty 4mm hooks and ten 5mm hooks all on one sheet.  You would get 90 hooks in a package for $11.00.

 

I could cut these tomorrow and have them in stock.  Let me know if you guys are interested.  Pictured is a 5/32" single block rigged with a 4mm hook as test.  

 

 

 

[jfhealey]

Yep, I'm interested. PE hooks are better than anything I can make and these look better still. 

How do you find the time to do all this stuff?

best wishes 

Fred 

[Thukydides]

I am definitely interested in these.

[Gregory]

I would buy them tomorrow!

[VTHokiEE]

I would buy them as well, but I don’t have an immediate need for them.

[Jack12477]

I would buy them also. Don't have an immediate need yet! 

[dvm27]

I'm hooked!

[Chuck]

Well OK ....I made a few and they are now in stock....I will make more when I get a moment but there are about a dozen available right now.

[Gregory]

There were 11 when I got mine..  Who got the first one?

[Chuck]

I actually already had to make more.

[Thukydides]

1 hour ago, Gregory said:

There were 11 when I got mine..  Who got the first one?

I took #s 10 and 9 :).

[rlwhitt]

Hi Chuck,

 

Will definitely be getting some of these when I get a bit further along in my current build.  Just a quick question - does the stated size include the whole length, including the eye?

 

Thanks, and kudos for your continued innovations.

[Dr PR]

Chuck,

 

Looking for hooks was my next chore. You solved that. I just ordered some.

 

Now I have a question. Does anyone have a reference that tells the proper size of hooks to be used with blocks? Looking at illustrations it seems hooks are 1/2 to 2/3 the length of the block they are stropped to. But this is just guessing.

 

Using this ratio, hooks for 3/32" (2.5 mm) blocks would be 2/32" or 1/16" long, or about 2 mm. Or the 3mm hooks would be good for 4 mm (5/32") to 6 mm (1/4") blocks. 5 mm hooks would be good for the larger blocks.

 

Can you make 2mm blocks, and would they be too fragile to work with? I know the 3D printed parts I have worked with would be very fragile, but maybe parts cut from a plastic sheet would be tougher.

[Chuck]

The hooks are the total length…including the eye.

 

blocks are in development.  I am not sure about 2mm.  I can make them but they are so small it is a product with a very limited audience.  The larger sizes will be made first.

[GGibson]

9 hours ago, Chuck said:

...blocks are in development. 

 

Great work on the hooks, Chuck! Nice to see you "back at it"!  Keeping an eye on the blocks announcement. 👍