Cat Esther by GrandpaPhil - FINISHED - 1/64 - CARD

[GrandpaPhil]

The anchors and anchor stocks are mostly done:

As can be seen, I used the box from some snack cakes as raw material.

 

I essentially layer up the card and then shape and trim as needed with a fresh scalpel blade, which is extremely sharp.

 

I made the banding from a sheet of scrap paper that I had laying around.

 

Next up, I will final shape the anchor shanks and assemble the whole thing.

 

When working from card it is beneficial to seal pieces after assembly, being the sealant stiffens up the card and makes it easier to work with.

 

Using CA with thin pieces helps too.  I did that a lot when building the Solferino due to the small scale (1/200).

 

Once you seal everything and layer up the card, after giving the glue time to cure, card works similar to wood.

Edited September 21, 2024 by GrandpaPhil

[GrandpaPhil]

And four anchors, awaiting sealing/painting:

 

 

They’re not perfect, but they’ll work quite well.

[Coyote_6]

Phil - Very cool in their unpainted state.  Nicely done!

 

Steve

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you very much!

 

Here are the anchors and the spars in their fully painted and highlighted state:

Next up: seal everything and then make some sails!

Edited October 5, 2024 by GrandpaPhil

[GrandpaPhil]

I have my sail making stuff out.  I need to finish a couple small plastic kits (a 1/144 B-25 and a couple 1/144 F-100Ds) for a buddy of mine and then I’m finishing this one.

Edited November 17 by GrandpaPhil

[GrandpaPhil]

One set of sails, ready for cutting and stitching!

 

That light pad is an awesome tool!

[GrandpaPhil]

Making progress on the sails:

I’m over the halfway point now.

[GrandpaPhil]

I have a full set of sails now:

They are sewn from unbleached muslin linen with all purpose thread.

 

The bolt ropes are upholstery thread.

 

I just sewed them by hand.

 

Next up, I need to wash them to try and remove the stray pencil markings as best I can.

 

Then, I’ll iron them, prior to beginning the installation of them.

 

The last time I did this, I learned how to install bolt ropes.

 

This time, I am learning how to utilize parrels.

 

I am learning.

 

Hopefully, my Revenge and my de Zeven Provincien will gain a lot in quality from this build.

[GrandpaPhil]

The sprit sail is on and with it, the running rigging commences!

Needless to say, the sprit sail has several more rigging lines to be installed.

 

This is only my second ever square/ship rigged ship.

 

The first was Mamoli’s 1/100 Endeavour which had greatly simplified rigging and no sails.

 

That one, built a decade ago, took me something like 3 months to rig.  
 

It was an 18 month build overall.

 

Hopefully, I do better this time.

 

I spent about four hours today studying the rigging plan to make sure I understood it.

Edited December 1 by GrandpaPhil

[GrandpaPhil]

The forecourse is bent to the yard and ready to install:

I took the parrel brackets off the plans from the Revenge.

 

Speaking of which, look for a finishing run on the Revenge after I complete this model.

 

I forgot how much I enjoyed working on it and remembered going back through the plans.

 

Lastly, the parrels:

Edited December 8 by GrandpaPhil

[GrandpaPhil]

The fore course is up and mostly rigged: 

It still needs the bowlines.

 

I know the clew lines and sheets look kind of funky for both the sprit sail and the fore course, but the plans don’t show tacks for those sails.

 

I’m assuming that’s because the katschip was something of a specialty design, and is a borderline coaster intended for a small crew.

 

Straightened out, like it was under sail, the tension would be correct.

 

I put on parrels for the first time ever:

I really dreaded making these enough that I have deliberately avoided rigging a large scale full sailing ship for a few years now.

 

Turns out that making parrels was a lot easier than I thought it would be.

 

Lastly, I also made some of the Continental European lift blocks for the fore course and the main course:

All in all, the running rigging is nearly a third done!

 

 

[GrandpaPhil]

The fore mast running rigging is done, and the main course is pinned/glued to the main mast.

 

This means that the running rigging is over half completed.

I am enjoying working at this scale.

 

It is SO much easier to belay a line than at 1/100 or 1/96.

I was looking at my HMS Prince plans (the Amati plan set) tonight.  
 

That thing will be beautiful if I ever build it.

 

It’s in 1/64 scale too.

 

I held my Revenge up to the outboard profile and the Prince dwarfs it.

 

I have Amati’s Sovereign of the Seas plan set too.

 

I think if I ever use that set, I would have to rescale to 1/64 or 1/48 and then build using McKay’s book for the decorations and Amati’s plans for hull shape (with a round tuck).

[GrandpaPhil]

And done:

 

 

I got kind of carried away and just finished the model without taking extra pictures on the way.

 

This concludes my fourth finished scratch build.

 

I learned a lot along the way and I had fun with the build.

 

I will ensure that I have more bulkheads in the future.

 

I learned that the pulp board like I used for Oryol would be much better than corrugated cardboard for frame construction.

 

I learned that grain direction matters even if you are painting everything.

 

I learned a LOT about sail rigging and Dutch rigging fittings.

 

Lastly, I learned that no square rigger is a quick build, lol (22 months later, although only 10 of them actively working on this model).

 

[Keith Black]

 Congratulations on completing a another fine card model, Phil. 

[Geordie Tyne]

Congratulations! A fantastic model to add to your collection. I still find it hard to believe that it is card.

 

Regards

[Coyote_6]

Very nice Phil!  All the more impressive as a scratch-build.  Well done, and congratulations!

[Knocklouder]

Excellent ‼️ Another fine build, Congratulations,   

Bob  M.

Edited 3 hours ago by Knocklouder

[GrandpaPhil]

@Keith Black, @Geordie Tyne, @Coyote_6 and @Knocklouder,

Thank you all very much!

Bob,

  I had the same problem that you do with the bowsprit, except my problem is breaking off the aft flag pole.

 

I think I broke it five or six times this past week, lol.

Edited 3 hours ago by GrandpaPhil

[ccoyle]

Nice work, Phil!