Bluenose by MajorChaos - Model Shipways Kit No. MS2130 - 1/64 scale - Canadian Fishing Schooner

[MajorChaos]

The fashion pieces.

 

I probably looked at this piece on the drawings and in the book for an hour before I figured out what the heck it was and how it was shaped. It finally clicked.
 

I figured I could used the square stick I made the railing pieces out of. Dove in and started carving and sanding. They need a little more finish sanding and squaring up with the transom but I’m very happy with how well they look. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GGibson]

Nice work, Major!  I have to admit I wasn't sure about the fashion pieces, either, and couldn't find much about in other logs that helped me so... I moved on. <shrug>  Very nice deck planking work!  Excited to see your hull painting!

[MajorChaos]

The fashion pieces secured in place and dressed. They turned out nice.
 

The transom fill work looks more complete. I prepped the rudder. 
 

I’ve filled some cracks, sanded, damp cloth dusted the hull and the deck and main rail most of the day. I think I could do this for days and not find it all. I’m trying to get a decent finish. 
 

I’ve got to mark the waterline next. I don’t have a great tool or setup for the waterline marking. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bhermann]

That is some more nice work.  I hear your concern about the waterline marker.  I recall sticking a pencil between two heavy Cisco certification books and dragging the levelled hull past it.  I also recall not being happy with the result and retaping and painting by eye to fine tune things.  As with all things Bluenose, take your time, rework as needed until you are happy with the finished product.

 

Bob

[GGibson]

Regarding the waterline marker, if you are looking at investing in a tool that can be used for several different applications, I highly recommend a "helping hands" tool such as this.  Stick a pencil in its alligator clips and it can assist with waterline marking.  It can also be helpful when seizing blocks for rigging.

 

Hawk 2" Helping Hand Magnifier with 2 Strong Alligator Clips (modelexpo-online.com) 

[MajorChaos]

@bhermann  Thank you for your recommendations. I caved I bought the Micro Mark tool. It was a bit spendy, but it looks like it could be used for other holding tasks. 

Certainly trying not to rush. And not miss anything. I’m running to the end of my skills and will need to learn new tricks to get the top of the deck and rigging installed.  
I’m currently chain plates out side camp, not sure how to cut the grove and make it look nice nice. I’ll trade a fashion piece for a chain plate error lol. 
https://www.micromark.com/Toolmakers-Surface-Gauge-Ship-Waterline-Marker

 

@GGibson I may get that tool also. Looks handy. I’ll see how the other one works out. Thanks for sharing it. 
 

Main rail with a thin coat of white paint. I promise I want to paint it with one brush stroke, but slowly might finish up nicer. 🤞🏻
 

 

 

[Dr PR]

I have one of those two-arm gadgets with the magnifier. The magnifier is almost useless! It actually gets in the way of seeing things. Get a magnifying visor!

 

The other thing to remember is that these things have CHEAP ball adjustments. They wear out quickly and cause problems setting the desired angles. Still, mine must be 20+ years old and I am still using it, although it can be quite annoying to work with. The screw clamps to hold the alligator clips crush the thin metal tubes of the alligators further adding to the frustration when trying to reposition them.

 

I got my money's worth out of it, but there must be something better.

[MajorChaos]

Another coat of white on top.

 

A start of black, a thin coat and that’s what it is. The primer fights to stay in view. The wood soaked up the black. It’s going to take a few coats. And… it’s a hot mess. Maybe when the first coat drys/cures it won’t lift or smear when another is added. ME paints are being used. 
 

 

[GGibson]

Hey Major! It'll take several coats and it will look sharp.  I hand-brushed mine, and while I liked the ME gray primer paint, I wasn't a fan of the ME acrylics and used (IMHO) a better brand that brushed on better, albeit several coats, sand, coat, sand, coat, etc...  

[bhermann]

Agree on needing several coats.  I hand painted using ME.  The black took three coats, the red was 6 or 7!  In the end, it all looked good.

 

Bob

[MajorChaos]

I’m tying to not make this look like one brush stroke per picture, but the next coats are darking up nicely and lay down good. The semi gloss finish will look great end the end. 
 

I’ve received my waterline tool today, and a resistance soldering iron setup. 
 
Has anyone added up how much they spent on small tools, files, blades, electric motor gizmos, sand paper and all the other bits? Yeah, not doing that… 
 

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by MajorChaos

[GGibson]

16 hours ago, MajorChaos said:

Has anyone added up how much they spent... Yeah, not doing that… 

 

No, no, no, no..... 🤣🤣

 

Good to hear the multiple coats are helping!  Don't think you can put on "too many" coats without it looking better and better.

 

Good luck with the resistance soldering!  I have done that, as well as "normal" soldering with a soldering iron and silver soldering with a small butane torch.  Have struggled with all of them, but I keep practicing! 👍

[MajorChaos]

The black is mostly done. I’m still working out how I want to paint the white on top. I’ve seen all different color breaks. 
 

I’m not sure how I’ll pull off a clean yellow strip. I think I have the white strip and red color break figured out. 

 

I had to make a marking stick to fit in the scribe tool. 1/4 pencils in round are not easy to find. It worked. 
 

I’ve thought about being at this point and beyond for over 15 years. Feels good. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MajorChaos]

Painted the bottom of the hull. Another coat and maybe some sanding. And then fixing all the stuff I wasn’t supposed to paint…. Haha. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2023 by MajorChaos

[MajorChaos]

It’s not perfect but it’s not too bad. 
 

 

 

[MajorChaos]

The rudder parts were harder than they look. The pintles and gudgeons are not called out in the instructions at this point but it seemed like a good idea. Soldering isn’t going well. I had to stop in frustration trying to get it to stick and line up. Tomorrow sometime I’ll bust out the new resistive soldering setup and give it a go. It looks like I could electrocute myself easy. My wife said she would help me get it set up…. She’s very sweet. 🤣. 
 

I’ve watched every MCU movie and TV show. 
Every LOTR at least once. 
Mr Robot series

The Last Kingdom

Every Star Wars. 

Every Star Trek movie. 
Listened to many audio books. 
The new Reacher on Netflix was great. 
All the Indiana Jones movies. 

John Wick 1-4

Matrix all of them. 
Pirates of the Car all of them, I missed one or 2 that I had not seen before recently.  
And so much more I can’t remember. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[MajorChaos]

Hawse Pipe is what I think this is called. 

 

The mooring chock installed also. Horrible Britannia pieces. 
 

It’s amazing how much detail the pictures pick up. When I turn down the lights and move back about 5 ft it looks amazing! 
 

 

 

 

 

[MajorChaos]

Finishing the deck in natural satin.
 

Progress is progress. 
 

Deck stuff next. Officially at the end of what skill I may have. 
 

I’m waiting for som solder paste and can finish attaching the rudder, resistance soldering is awesome. 
 

 

 

 

 

[MajorChaos]

I didn’t get any pictures of the resistive soldering setup. The last part that helped was paste solder. Using a soldering iron to bond these pieces was crazy hard. The resistive soldering method made quick work of it with the paste solder. Highly recommended. It will be useful many times over at certain stages. It’s extremely quick. 
 

The rudder is attached. With blackened parts. The hull is surprisingly sturdy, it was somewhat a violent process. 
 

I’ve looked at the deck structure plans all day. I guess I’ll just have to start and see where it goes. There is a large number of wood sticks left and the plans seem to say, build it however you want, with what ever wood you want. It’s clear why there are a large number of Bluenose logs unfinished. Maybe it’s time to dock this project and see what I can do to wrap up the other 3 in work. The cutout sheets I made when doing the main rail work worked good for deck structure location planning. 
 

I did rough out some parts for the Samson post, bowspirit bitts and platform, I could figure out what it was made of at least. Maybe build what I can figure out and see what’s left. 
 

Tiny micro mark nails will be my signature when able. 
 

 

 

 

 

[GGibson]

Hey Major!  It all looks great!  Nice rudder work, and yes, you will go thru the nails to simulate pins in the rudder and various plates!  The deck structure work was, to me, a nice break in between the hull and deck planking work and the upcoming mast and rigging work.  Looking really nice, sir!

[MajorChaos]

18 hours ago, GGibson said:

Hey Major!  It all looks great!  Nice rudder work, and yes, you will go thru the nails to simulate pins in the rudder and various plates!  The deck structure work was, to me, a nice break in between the hull and deck planking work and the upcoming mast and rigging work.  Looking really nice, sir!

I think I like building hulls the most. Deck structure work doesn’t at the moment look like fun. I cleaned off my work space. I’ve about got the Ben Latham unpacked to start. The instructions and plans and pieces are everything the Bluenose is missing or falls short. Maybe I should make a deal with someone that doesn’t like hulls to take over building up. Haha 

[hamilton]

That person is me!!! Planking drives me crazy!!! But I love building deck structures and absolutely love rigging.....The hard part is - who gets the finished product!! It's easier to ship a hull than a fully rigged model, after all......but I've always wanted to visit Tennessee!! 

hamilton

[MajorChaos]

@hamilton I enjoy the hull planking. The deck planking not as much. Shipping a completed model wouldn’t work well no matter how much packing and support. They get bounced like mad in a box. 
 

I’ve not done any deck structures or major rigging to know if I like it or not. Haha 

[GGibson]

If I could give one piece of advice, Major, in the position you are now with your build, after I've been working on my own Bluenose bowsprit and rigging, it is to position the bobstay plates at the front of the hull while you are able to do it with the ship upside down. 

 

It would have been much easier to place the plates, glue in position, and attach the links at that stage, rather than afterwards, when you can no longer flip the ship with the various deck furnishings in place. 

 

Others may disagree and did not have as many issues as I, but my 2 cents of advice at this stage... <shrug>  EDIT:  And yes, it involves more nails! 😄

Edited December 31, 2023 by GGibson

[MajorChaos]

@GGibson great advice. One of the reasons I started the bowspirit bitts was to get the bowspirit mounted/built/cut/formed. It can only go in one time and be finished. It does not look removable after more of the pieces are attached. Bob stay plates and chain plates are next to build. I’ve worked pretty hard to have the slots in place even thru the painting stages. My goal was to finish anything and everything below the main rail inside and out before I started working up. 
 

The Bluenose is parked and covered for now. 
 

I found another bag of small nails when I was cleaning up! Cleaning up and putting things away was a good thing lol. 
 

[MajorChaos]

A 4mm star looks like a perfect fit. If I finish this BN the star will be a nice addition to the finish. It was worth an update…. Anyone want a star? I ordered 30, I’ll have 29 spares haha.