Endurance by theoracle09 - OcCre - 1:70

[Jim Lad]

You have the photographic proof that that's the way she was rigged, so go for it. As for the lack of shrouds on the mizzen mast, in his book "Grain race", Eric Newby describes his horror at having to 'shinny' up the stays of the topgallant masts as they had no ratlines, so evidently not an unusual thing.

 

John

[Mike Shea]

On 8/19/2023 at 4:19 PM, iMustBeCrazy said:

A few more photos:

 

The interior of the 'ritz', obviously gutted during the fit-out and I think modified during the voyage. Note the door in the aft bulkhead (I'm happy to see it as it just had to be there), no ladder and no visible skylight (but it's shown in exterior shots actually I'm not sure about that now, I think we only see a canvas cover on the voyage which could be covering stores ??? Not sure.). Strangely it looks too wide but that must be an illusion.

 

https://www.gettyimages.com.au/search/2/image?family=editorial&phrase=endurance ritz

 

A view forward along the bridge deck (is/has anybody added the skiff to their model?)

 

:

 

The galley door, port wing bridge and companionway:

 

 

 

I always get a chuckle everytime I read how stowaway Perce Blackborow was discovered by the crew and Shackleton's reaction. He turned out to be a good hand.

Edited March 21 by Mike Shea

[theoracle09]

On 3/21/2024 at 12:47 PM, Mike Shea said:

What a wonderful buid log. I am just starting on this kit and this thread wil be invaluable!

Thank you so much for the kind words! I would love to follow your log and see your interpretation while building her, I'll keep an eye out for when you start!

 

On 3/21/2024 at 12:54 PM, Tomculb said:

Go for it Josh!  There seems to be no argument that the real Endurance wasn't rigged that way.

Thanks Tom, I've decided that's the route to go. It'll be unique, and I really enjoy unique ships.

 

On 3/21/2024 at 1:59 PM, Snug Harbor Johnny said:

  The solution seems evident, as form follows function.  FIRST, one has to climb the futtock shrouds to reach the top mast shrouds mounted on the side of the top.  You can just make out the ratlines on the futtock shrouds on the second picture, and this is almost universally the way to gain access to the next set of shrouds with ratlines (or horizontal bars, in this case).  So one should use solid bars on the Endurance shrouds, but the ratlines on the futtock shrouds below have the characteristic 'sag' of rope ratlines (a small detail to note).

 

  SECOND,  the man will move to the other side of the topmast shrouds (the inner face) - which one would do to stand on the top.  It looks like there is a larger space between the decking on the top and the first climbing bar - so perhaps this is meant to pass under before climbing the inside. 

 

THIRD, one climbs up as far as the bars go (heres comes the tricky part, but not so hard for an able bodied seaman) then transfer to the climbing bars going up from the back of the top.  This leads to the access door on the crow's nest (presumably hinged and secured with a latch - and opens inward), which is on the aft side of the crow's nest ... since it secured to the back of the top mast.

 

Excellent summation Johnny! I always learn a lot from your posts so keep them coming. I actually assumed the sailors would clamber over the top of the crows nest. After seeing your explanation I went back to the reference photos and found exactly what you described.

An excellent shot of the main top mast, including the bottom of the crow's nest.

 

On 3/21/2024 at 2:06 PM, Jim Lad said:

Eric Newby describes his horror at having to 'shinny' up the stays of the topgallant masts as they had no ratlines

Hi Jim! That definitely doesn't sound fun! I'll have to check that book out.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I ran into some issues getting the fore mast sails adjusted. The two double blocks used on the lower top sail yard were not glued with thin CA, just fray check. I didn't even think to brace those blocks while pulling on the lines, so they slid out a bit before I caught it. I don't have a picture of them, but if I were to pull on them any more they'll become detached from the yard. I'm not taking the chance, so the lines are staying the way they are.

 

I'm happy with everything except the upper top sail sheets. They could be more even, but for my first rig job I'll accept it. The lower top sail sheets can also be a little more even, but since that lines goes through the block I talked about, it's there forever. With the adjustments done (including the bunt lines, I tightened those up) I glued and cut the loose ends.

Since I don't need to access the quarter deck belay pin rack racks anymore (I mean, I'll hang some coils, but I don't need to belay lines) I went ahead and secured the starboard fore mast back stays.

A small note for future me: pay attention and confirm lanyard sizes before lanyarding. I haven't done lanyards for a couple weeks now and between thinking of all the things I forgot what size rope I used for the rest of them. For the third lanyard from the left, I used 0.3mm and glued it before I realized things weren't quite what they should be, which is 0.5mm. That's why it's twisted a bit as well. I considered cutting it out, but I used clove hitches on the masts themselves so I have two working ends to tie the lanyards to. Which are glued. Needless to say, it's on the starboard side and I don't think anyone can really tell anyway, especially behind a case.

 

In the next pic you can see the two double sheave blocks on the lower top sail yard which slipped. They're only being held against the yard by the robbands. If I tug on those lines any more, those blocks will slip all the way out, and I'll really be in trouble.

 

After seeing everyone's post and making up my mind I started figuring out how to build an aft top mast ladder to the bottom of the crow's nest. I added 4 eye bolts to the main top mast. The upper shrouds have a distance of 9mm between the holes, so I did the same for this aft ladder. The upper eyebolts are 11mm aft from the drilled hole in the mast top.

Before proceeding with the main mast upper shrouds I wanted to figure out the crows nest first. I knew right away I didn't want to use it because it's incredibly bulbous. I ended up turning one on the lathe and came up with this. I don't know the species of wood it is, but it's a cut off from a pen I made at some point.

I don't know why I didn't get a pic of it, but I drilled a hole all the way through the middle. Including the bottom. I spent some time trying to come up with a way to emulate the reference pic in the beginning of this post, but I didn't really come up with anything. I wanted to make the half-circle shape to show half of the "floor" of the crows nest being hinged up, as if no one was currently in the nest. I decided the detail isn't worth it, as no one is going to be crawling on their knees to view the bottom of the crows nest. Since the hole goes through the entire thing I'll explain it away by saying there's a door in there that's hinged up and when a sailor climbs up through the bottom they'll close the hatch, or floor, and be able to hang out.

 

Thanks for reading along!

Edited March 22 by theoracle09

[Mike Shea]

All you need now is about 65 1:70 scale dogs.

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  Your photo from below shows an open access in the bottom of the 'crows nest' ... so there's no need for a door - which was a guess, really (and that would have been awkward).  The 'nest' appears to be an elongated barrel.  So the climbing bars go right into the bottom.  'Not sure what there was to stand on, but the simplest arrangement would be that 2/3rds of the bottom was hinged (either there or one further up in the barrel), so that it could be flipped closed once inside.  The taper of the barrel would keep the trap door from moving further than horizontal.

 

  Hmmm, gives new meaning to the old phrase, "Your turn in the barrel." 😉 

[Andynewbie]

On 8/8/2023 at 5:40 AM, theoracle09 said:

I spent some time yesterday and today building a copy of the Syren servo-matic machine because it looks cool as heck and I had everything on hand to build it. I also wanted to upgrade the gear shafts to include bearings I purchased many years ago and had to buy 10, but only used 2. I used 1/2" cherry and 3D printed the gears, after modeling the entire thing in Blender to get the measurements right. Full credit for the design goes to Syren though. Other details include a 5mm bobbin holder, and 8mm gear shafts. I don't have a scroll saw, so to make the handle I used some forstner bits.

The gears are attached to the shafts with 5 minute epoxy, the same for the bearings to the wood. The shafts were pressed into the bearings using the lathe. I seem to be using it more to press stuff than turn anything lately! I didn't have washers that fit the 8mm rods, so I used a playing card cut to shape to provide a little standoff and so the gear isn't rubbing on the wood.

Does it need bearings? Absolutely not. But is it cool? Yes!

 

Next my attention turned to the engine funnel. I've been poring over expedition photos and keep noticing the shape of the funnel. It's a rounded rectangle, and the more I considered it the more I knew I'd want that shape. I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to figure out how to shape the aluminum tubing into that rectangle while retaining the rounded corners. Then I thought, 3D printing it might work. I have an FDM printer (Ender 5 Pro), not resin, so there's a limit to how small I can print, and the flare at the top might be too small. I modeled the shape I thought looked similar to this picture and this picture and gave it a shot. Lo and behold, I think it worked out nicely.

 

The base is also 3D printed. The bands are copper tape (slug repellent or doll house conductivity tape, same stuff) and the tube is a 1.5mm brass rod. I primed it with Vellejo surface primer, several coats. For the color I didn't want a "brand new" white so I mixed 10:1 Vellejo Model Air White and Vellejo Bone White. Then finished up with matte finish.

 

Boy, zoomed in pics really bring out the lumps and bumps eh? Compared to the aluminum tube with heat shrink tubing I very much like the result of the new funnel. I'm not sure if it comes through in the pic, but it is raked back according to the OcCre plan. The eyebolts are soldered and blackened (assume every eyebolt shown from here on out is soldered and blackened). I'm missing the whistle, and I'm still considering what I can use to suggest it. Or I may leave it off.

 

Thanks for reading!

I have just started my Endurance build. I like what you have done with the engine funnel. I don’t have a 3D printer but was wondering if you could send me the files that you made to print it so I can try to get a local company to print it out for me.

[theoracle09]

5 hours ago, Andynewbie said:

I have just started my Endurance build. I like what you have done with the engine funnel. I don’t have a 3D printer but was wondering if you could send me the files that you made to print it so I can try to get a local company to print it out for me.

 

Hi Andy, welcome to MSW! If you plan on creating a log please let me know and I'll follow along. I really enjoy seeing other's interpretations of Endurance. I've attached the STL of the funnel to this post, you should be able to download it and give it to anyone with a printer (resin or FDM, doesn't matter). This model has two parts, the main funnel and the base.

 

SmokeStack.stl

I'll go ahead and attach the other models I've made, just in case you or anyone else would like to download them and use them for their project.

 

CapstanCombined.stl

CapstanHandle.stl

 

MiniSmokeStack-3.stl.

Stanchions_01.stl. Please note: These are not the stanchions you see on my model. I used 3D brass instead of the 2D brass that came with the kit. I modeled this for Will as he has a resin printer and will print his out. I'll include it in this post, but do note I did not use this.

Single ball stanchion.stl. Same thing here, the single ball stanchions seen at the bow of my model are brass. This was just modeled so if you couldn't find the brass ones in stock anywhere and had a resin printer sitting somewhere close you wouldn't have to use the 2D brass ones the kit comes with.

Chippy Model_05.stl. I haven't shown this in my log yet, but I did make a Mrs. Chippy to place somewhere as an easter egg of sorts. He (yes, the tabby cat was a male. The crew kept calling him Mrs. Chippy anyway after they realized the mixup) will be placed on at the very end. I decided not to place dogs on the deck so won't be modeling any of those.

I hope these can help!

SmokeStack.stl CapstanCombined.stl CapstanHandle.stl Mini-Smoke Stack_3.stl stanchions_01.stl Chippy Model_05.stl single_ball_stanchion_02.stl

[Cenizas]

The level of craftsmanship on this thing is unreal!  After seeing this and Tom's, my Endurance model will never see the light of day on this forum haha!  So awesome to watch you progress on this.  

[theoracle09]

Thank you for the kind words, @Cenizas ! I would absolutely love to see another Endurance model around here so I would highly recommend you start up a log! I'd like to provide a link to my first log, an AL San Francisco. Unfortunately, the beginning of the log fell victim to MSW 1.0 and I don't have pictures of when I started planking. Believe me when I say, it was a mess. My point is, it was because I started the log that I was able to remove my first planking attempt and do it the right way. I didn't have any more anger or frustration during the task, and found planking to be an immensely cathartic experience. Now ratlines on the other hand are a totally different story!

 

I've learned so much by showing my representation of Endurance, it really is awesome having folks stop in and make comments, corrections, suggestions, etc. Had I not created this log, I don't think I would've been pushed to create her the way she sits now. If you do decide to create a log I'd love to follow along!

[Tomculb]

Josh, I know absolutely nothing about 3D printing, but I can see that such a printer could be invaluable when it comes to making custom ship model fittings. Google searching I see that a printer can cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand.  Any advice you could give to me and your other followers? Perhaps point us in the direction of a useful and informative site on the web for 3D printing 101?  Thanks.  

 

And Travis (@Cenizas), I echo Josh's encouragement that you start a build log for your Endurance; I see that you started one for your Polaris build.  You private messaged me (and others I assume) with good questions, but I suspect you would have gotten better answers if you asked your questions publicly.  The wonderful thing about these MSW boards is how willing people are to help. And no matter how long some of us may have been building, I think most of us feel that we're still just beginners, with a whole lot more to learn.

[theoracle09]

5 hours ago, Tomculb said:

Josh, I know absolutely nothing about 3D printing, but I can see that such a printer could be invaluable when it comes to making custom ship model fittings. Google searching I see that a printer can cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand.  Any advice you could give to me and your other followers? Perhaps point us in the direction of a useful and informative site on the web for 3D printing 101?  Thanks. 

 

Of course! In my opinion, 3D printing is the way to go if someone is after ultra-realistic historical accuracy. Searching the web for obscure parts 10 years ago was vastly different than it is today, and I find it more difficult to obtain these items nowadays. Which is weird, considering the leaps in technology and people making their own stores on Etsy or wherever else. The point is, with a little bit of time to learn a 3D modelling program, it's quite viable to model and print your own objects.

 

I have a main website I've gone to over the years to obtain knowledge on 3D printing. First, a primer on the difference between FDM and resin printing should be understood. Long story short: resin printing is more suitable to smaller models. FDM (such as Ender and Prusa printers) leave layer lines that need to be dealt with in post-processing, and the print becomes less consistent at smaller models. Resin on the other hand produces smooth, tight results much better suited to model building.

 

Knowing that resin is the way to go now, here's another article on resin printing. It goes over the technology differences between SLA, LCD, etc. At the bottom, it lists some recommendations for printers sorted low to high. Of all the research I've done, an Elegoo Mars is what I would purchase if/when I'm ready to buy a resin printer. I currently have an FDM (Ender 5 Pro) so I can print bigger items, like the smoke stack, but not the capstan and other smaller things. I've found the Elegoo line to be reliable from my searching and is even the brand @Hunt270 uses. He could chime in more on the resin side of things if he'd like.

 

All-in-all at the time of typing this an Elegoo Mars 4 is currently $269. Not bad at all in my opinion. The thing is, you need other items with resin as well, like a washing and curing station. These two items can be found bundled on the 'Zon, or on Elegoo's site directly. It increase the initial cost to get into it, but once you have them you'll find you can model and then print whatever you want. If you have amazing photo reference pics you can model the object and print it out and be the only person on the planet to have that 'thing' in your model. Unless you share your models, of course.

 

I hope this helps! A bit lengthy, but I wanted to include as much detail as possible.

[Cenizas]

22 hours ago, Tomculb said:

Josh, I know absolutely nothing about 3D printing, but I can see that such a printer could be invaluable when it comes to making custom ship model fittings. Google searching I see that a printer can cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand.  Any advice you could give to me and your other followers? Perhaps point us in the direction of a useful and informative site on the web for 3D printing 101?  Thanks.  

 

And Travis (@Cenizas), I echo Josh's encouragement that you start a build log for your Endurance; I see that you started one for your Polaris build.  You private messaged me (and others I assume) with good questions, but I suspect you would have gotten better answers if you asked your questions publicly.  The wonderful thing about these MSW boards is how willing people are to help. And no matter how long some of us may have been building, I think most of us feel that we're still just beginners, with a whole lot more to learn.

There are a couple things that are keeping me from doing a build log.  Mostly, with working two jobs, I barely have the time to even put a ship together.  I tried with the Polaris, but just couldnt maintain it.  Also, (and I know this isn't healthy), but my work is just not up to par compared to what others are doing here.  Im super new to modeling in that I've only done some really basic stuff like the dory and Norweigan Pram.  The Endurance was probably a bit of a stretch for me and I've made several mistakes on it that are pretty glaring and embarrassing.  (I put the decorative sticker that is supposed to be on the bow in totally the wrong place lol).  Seeing the pictures you guys post is teaching me one super important thing. . . I need to just slow down.  I'm so excited about finishing this thing that I'm wanting to see progress too fast and it's hurting the quality of my build.  I sure appreciate the time you guys take to post your pics.  They are super helpful!  Once I'm a bit more confident in what I'm doing, I'll try and maintain a log.  Anyways, sorry for hijacking your thread!

 

-Travis

[Tomculb]

I've long thought of "work" as a nasty four-letter word.  Not that I wasn't fortunate enough to enjoy what I did, but I always enjoyed (and now enjoy without interruption) the alternatives better.  

[theoracle09]

Hi everyone! Progress is slow, but is still progress. Short and simple update today: the foremast backstays have been completed. Of course one of the lower deadeyes pulled out and needed repair, but no one can tell so no worries there.

I'm not super impressed with the height differences in the upper deadeyes, so I'll pay more attention when setting the lower deadeyes next time.

 

Finally I have also completed the lower main mast ratlines. I've slowly been working on a few knots here and there, and it's complete. 

Thanks for stopping in!

[theoracle09]

Hi everyone, thanks for the likes and checking in. I'm slowly working towards getting the ratlines complete. The port side main top mast is finished.

And the ladder is complete as well.

Thanks for stopping in!

[Tomculb]

Question Josh, did you do anything special to the brass stanchions before you painted them? And did you use acrylic paint?  Your paint job really looks great.  And my apologies if you already covered this in your log.  My stanchions arrived in the mail today, and getting them ready may provide a nice diversion from working on the channels, chain plates and dead eyes.

Thanks

[joshee]

Another one of  Shackleton's ships , The "Quest" was found.