San Francisco by SiriusVoyager - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - 1:50 - Cross-Section

[SiriusVoyager]

Starboard ratlines are now rigged.  It took about an hour to do 10 once I got a rhythm going. This got me really good at using two sets of tweezers, one straight and one bent end, to manipulate the thread. I think my PVA needed to be a bit more diluted for a cleaner look.

 

[SiriusVoyager]

Finished the ratlines on the port side.  Not much else to mention since it was the same process as the starboard.

 

[ChuckCHS]

Looking good, Eric.

Chuck

[SiriusVoyager]

Thanks Chuck!

 

Next was the futtock shrouds.  Lashing these at first was difficult, but once I got going it wasn't so bad.  I decided I didn't want to lash them with the thread provided in the kit.   It is just too thick, so I used sewing thread which was much easier to use.  I clamped the shroud on two pieces of scrap wood to elevate it above the table. The loop is to pass the shroud through itself when it goes around the dead eye.

 

 

 

 

 

I started the lashing by tying it down to the shrouds to hold it in place, then used cow hitches to pull each loop tight to each other.  I am sure this is not  how it is done on a real ship, but it works on with the thin thread.  I am not sure if the cow hitch is easy to see here.  Basically it is just a loop, but pulled through itself. The thread loops around the two pieces of the shroud and the other end of the lashing thread.  This is so there is a way to tie it off at the top.

 

 

 

 

There is the Lashing above.  I continued with a second lashing on each shroud.  The first three I made, I made the mistake of gluing the lashing with diluted PVA once they were tied off.  This was a mistake because it wasn't properly fitted for when the shroud is looped around the dead eye.  The next three I didn't glue until the dead eye was inserted.  The lashings could easily be slid down the shroud then glued. 

 

OH NO! DON'T CUT MY ARMS OFF!! AAAHHH!

 

 

The finished futtock shrouds.

 

 

Edited October 8 by SiriusVoyager

[k-slak]

On 8/14/2024 at 1:34 PM, SiriusVoyager said:

I blackened what should the last of the brass parts.  Mostly eyelets and nails. To do it quickly and efficiently, I used an old film canister with holes drilled into it.  I then lowered it into a jar of a very unscientifically measured 1:3 Brass Black and distilled water.  Swirled for a few seconds until blackened to my liking, then dipped in distilled water to stop the reaction.

 

 

 

There is also a coat of shellac on the nails and eyelets as well.

 

Next was blackening the chains for the dead eyes. The model kit uses a pieces of brass wire to make the chains.  I didn't want to blacken the wire first because of concerns with ruining the finish while working.  I was also concerned about blackening after the wire was installed due to possible staining of the dead eyes.  I decided to try out blackening the installed chains with the dilute solution of Brass Black with a cotton swab.  It worked ok, and solution was dilute enough that there is no noticeable staining of the dead eyes.

 

 

One side of the chains installed into the channels.  I will have to make sure that the dead eye and lanyard aren't blocking the gun port once rigged.

 

 

Wow on use of legos to create jig and ways to clamp. Also love the film canister trick for blackening. Thank you for sharing your tricks along the way. 

 

My first bigger ship was a cross section of HMS Victory. Great place to learn and develop skills.

 

Apologies, I'm new here so don't understand the best way to comment on specific posts well and have issues posting without lots of clutter. 

 

On 6/16/2024 at 6:14 PM, SiriusVoyager said:

 

[SiriusVoyager]

10 hours ago, k-slak said:

 

Wow on use of legos to create jig and ways to clamp. Also love the film canister trick for blackening. Thank you for sharing your tricks along the way. 

 

My first bigger ship was a cross section of HMS Victory. Great place to learn and develop skills.

 

Apologies, I'm new here so don't understand the best way to comment on specific posts well and have issues posting without lots of clutter. 

 

I wish I could say those were all original ideas but I am not that clever. I wish I could remember where I came across both ideas so I could give proper credit. In any event, I’m happy to see that something I posted was helpful. Thanks you for taking the time to check out and comment on my build log! 

[SiriusVoyager]

To install the futtock shrouds, I clamped the eye of the first shroud to the top, the tied the futtock shroud near the highest ratline, then lashed it.  For the next two I pinned them to an index card to get the heights right.  I messed up a little by pulling the shroud a bit too much when tying off the futtocks which helped caused the dead eyes to not be quite even. 

 

 

 

The next step was to create the top shrouds.  These were pretty straight forward.  Rather than tying the lines to the topmast head, I looped and lashed them.

 

 

 

Attaching them to the bottom, I made a loop and clamped the loop down to add weight for tension and to free up my hands to do the first lashing.

 

 

I used the loop to rig the dead eyes.  I was able to do this on the futtock shroud dead eyes without much of a problem, but for some reason the dead eyes on the top shrouds didn't want to cooperate.  Once the loop was around the dead eye the lashing could be slid down and the rigging tightened.

 

 

The three dead eyes attached.  They are a little uneven, but I thought it would correct for the futtock shroud being a bit off. 

 

 

lanyards were rigged next.  As can be seen, not quite level.

 

 

As a side note, this little threading tool was the best dollar ever spent.

 

[SiriusVoyager]

The port side is a bit more even.  The next step is to add the ratlines to the top shrouds. I think I need to work on removing the fuzz off of the cotton threads.

 

Edited October 12 by SiriusVoyager

[SiriusVoyager]

Added the ratlines to the port side.

 

 

I then noticed that the dead eye on the left had twisted around and the knots were in the front. 

 

 

Fortunately this was a simple fix as redoing the lanyard only took a couple of minutes.

 

[SiriusVoyager]

Ladders on each side of the hull installed.  The instructions called for the inboard pieces to be made from a 4 mm x 2 mm strip.  I could not find a full one in the box, only scraps.  According to the parts list there should be one included with the kit.  It looks like there is an earlier step that calls for the same part number.  Either there is an error in the parts list and instructions or I messed something up.  I had a 4 mm x 1 mm strip so I used that instead, a relatively minor change. 

 

 

P

 

Parrel beads for the three yards.

 

 

I started working on first yard.  The kit doesn't include sails, but I wanted to add furled sails.  After studying the instructions and doing some research I had second thoughts since rigging such as the clew lines were also not included.  Ultimately I decided to add some furled sails anyway.  I started out cutting some fabric, gluing the edges to prevent fraying and marking where the bends will go.

 

 

It seemed like the sail should be bent on to the mast prior to the rigging.

 

 

 

This was way too much fabric so I trimmed it down to keep the furled sails from being too bulky.  I had a heck of a time trying to furl the sails in a way that looked sort of natural.  Here is the end result.  Hopefully it wasn't a mistake furling the sail prior to attaching the rest of the gear. 

 

[SiriusVoyager]

The top step on the port hull ladder wasn't lined up right which is now fixed.  A little IPA and careful use of a hobby knife separated it fairly easily.  The soft wood didn't stand up well, so another step was cut.

 

 

Blocks placed on the yard.  Fortunately it wasn't a problem having the sail furled to the yard.

 

 

For the footrope, the instructions call to use metal wire for the strop to hold the shape.  I understand why since the lightweight string may not hang properly, but I didn't want to use wire, so I used the dark brown thread.  Care must be taken to ensure they are the same length.  As far as holding the shape, I used some clamps to provide tension and use PVA to stiffen the strops.

 

 

Once that dries the ends will be tied to the yard arms.

 

The next step will be to hoist the yard up to the mast so I figured now would be a good time to put the belaying pins in.  When I first made the rails, I suspected that the holes for the pins would be much too small.  They were.  I wish I would have checked this sooner so I could widen the holes without the shrouds being in the way.  I'm not sure why the instructions don't have you install the pins when making the rails.

 

 

While working on the fife rail, the soft wood basically disintegrated. 

 

It took two attempts to make a new fife rail.

 

 

The stem of the belaying pins has a slight taper to it which resulted in them not sliding all the way into the rail.

 

 

I filed them down to fit as well.  I didn't want to make the holes in the rails too large and split the wood.

Starboard belaying pins installed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 22 by SiriusVoyager

[JacquesCousteau]

Nice job working around some of the kit's limitations!

[SiriusVoyager]

It is finally time to raise the main mast.

 

 

The halyard blocks are held up by wire, which I am pretty sure is not historically accurate.  I am not even sure if a halyard on the main mast is historically accurate.  I have seen conflicting information on that.  I was concerned that the blocks would slide down the mast, but they actually seem to be holding up ok.

 

Trying to hold the mast up while adjusting the length of the halyard was a bit tricky, but clips helped.

 

 

 

The cross jack lifts are next.  There is little guidance from the instructions on how tie off the blocks or how to attach them to the mast.  I ended up tying them to the trees.  The lighter colored line coming off of the end of the block is tied to the darker line that is tied around the block.  The instructions make it look like the two lines might be joined somehow on each end of the block, but it is hard to tell in the low resolution photo.  I couldn't position the camera to see the lines tied to the tree.

 

 

 

 

 

Lines tied down to the belaying pins.  I think I should have used more string to have large amounts of coiled line.  The mast couldn't realistically be lowered with that little line.

 

 

 

The parrel beads were tricky since there wasn't an easy way to hold them tight to the mast.  I essentially had to barely clip them onto the side and tie off each end loosely, then tighten each side up.  I am pretty sure that they aren't rigged realistically and the instructions give no guidance on how to rig them, so I simply tied them to the mast.

 

 

The cat is not impressed.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 26 by SiriusVoyager

[SiriusVoyager]

The top mast and the top gallant mast were very similar in how they are made and attached.

 

 

I found a better way to fold the sails, but I still can't get them to look good on the ends.  I think better material would make it easier to get the edges looking better. 

 

The top mast being held by the halyard.

 

Here are a couple of photos on how I tied my blocks.  I made a loop to tighten around the block with the line pulled through it.  I tightened the darker line then tied the lighter line in place.

 

 

 

There were also small pin rails for the flag lines.  These were much easier to make off model, then attach to the bulwark after.

 

 

 

 

At this point I ran into a problem while rigging the rest of the yards.  I ran out of thread (good reason to make my own rope from here on out).  I also looked at the remaining rigging and the couple of resources I have, and the rigging didn't make any sense to me.  It seemed like they were just running lines around the model to make it look "cool."  I could be mistaken and the rigging could be perfectly legitimate, but I was unable to make sense of it.  I also had a problem with the flag.  It was a large sticker and it folded over onto itself essentially ruining it.  I am not a fan of stickers anyway.  After a day and a half of contemplating I decided to call it compete as is.  I learned a lot, including that I still need to work on slowing down and taking my time.  Also trust my gut regardless of the instructions.  Every time I didn't do what I wanted to do, I regretted it later.  Things like staining the frames and adding the furniture on the lower decks prior to building up.  I can say that I am content with this model and I think it would look ok to the uninitiated eye.  Eventually I will build a model that I am really proud of, but in the mean time, keep practicing.  Final pictures to follow next post.

 

 

[SiriusVoyager]

Here are the last few photos before she heads to the shelf next to her friends.  Thanks to everyone who has followed along and for the likes, comments and words of encouragement!

 

[djford]

Very smart little build Eric, congratulations on it!

[SiriusVoyager]

2 minutes ago, djford said:

Very smart little build Eric, congratulations on it!

 

Thanks!

[JacquesCousteau]

Very nice job!

[SiriusVoyager]

7 hours ago, JacquesCousteau said:

Very nice job!

Thank you!

[Desertanimal]

Looks great. Impressive work!

[SiriusVoyager]

1 hour ago, Desertanimal said:

Looks great. Impressive work!

Thanks!

[ChuckCHS]

Eric

I haven't started on mine yet but I've bookmarked your build. I looks great compaired to my cross section of the Connie. Good job!

 

Chuck

[SiriusVoyager]

1 hour ago, ChuckCHS said:

Eric

I haven't started on mine yet but I've bookmarked your build. I looks great compaired to my cross section of the Connie. Good job!

 

Chuck

Thanks Chuck. I look forward to seeing your build. 

[MikkiC]

Very nice work Eric. I enjoyed this build log and seeing how you overcame obstacles. Every kit has its issues to work out. For me, that's part of the fun. Our neverending drive to figure things out coupled with our unending resilience helps us build the confidence we need to keep on trying and building more difficult projects. Thanks for sharing this. I look forward to your next build.

[SiriusVoyager]

3 minutes ago, MikkiC said:

Very nice work Eric. I enjoyed this build log and seeing how you overcame obstacles. Every kit has its issues to work out. For me, that's part of the fun. Our neverending drive to figure things out coupled with our unending resilience helps us build the confidence we need to keep on trying and building more difficult projects. Thanks for sharing this. I look forward to your next build.

Thanks!  Yes, that is part of the fun though it may not seem like it in the moment.  Each one is a learning experience.  Thanks for following along!

[Knocklouder]

Nicely done,   Congratulations   

Bob M.

[SiriusVoyager]

7 minutes ago, Knocklouder said:

Nicely done,   Congratulations   

Bob M.

 

Thanks you!