Speedwell Battle Station Kit 1752 by CiscoH - Syren Ship Model Company - 3/8" or 1:32

[CiscoH]

Good evening MSW

 

I won one of Chuck's Battle Station kits at the Joint Clubs Conference so I'm taking a short break from my Armed Virginia Sloop.  I justify taking on a second project with the excuse that this kit will be a great way to practice rigging a cannon, which I have never done.  The kit includes Syren rope and blocks, and at the Conference Chuck gave a presentation on how exactly he likes to seize his rope.  With this knowledge still fresh in my mind I felt I better use it before it was forgotten.  So here I go

 

Here's the kit unwrapped on my bed; there's a lot of parts in the little box.  Directions are downloaded from Syren's website.

 

I read through the directions, unpacked all the parts, and re-read the directions.  The wood is all AYC I think, which I haven't worked with before, my previous experience is with basswood (blah) and holly.  AYC seems to be a good compromise wood; midway between basswood and holly in hardness, very minimal grain pattern, and it looks great under polyurethane.

 

I glued the two base panels together at right angles, creating a 2-ply plywood of sorts.  The thicker piece had warped a little but I left them clamped under a block of wood overnight and it came out flat.  Then I used water-based polyurethane (because thats what I have for my AVS) on both sides of the panel.  I plan to paint the top black somewhere down the road and the urethane provides a good base.

 

Next was gluing in the frames.  Mine fit fine without any sanding and I checked each piece for square as I went.  The slots are deep and the frames didn't require much adjustment and stayed put, and each frame is labeled.  Frame 5 (pictured below) is narrower and will only fit in 1 slot so its harder to screw up placement.

After gluing in the 5 frames I waited an hour then sanded the backside of the frames flat and added the back panel  Once it dried I sanded it flush with the frame edges.

And finally I added the blocking.  The Ultimation Hand Sander I got 2 Conferences ago worked great for removing small amounts of wood without rounding the edges.  I glued the blocking in place and clamped (gently) across the top.

And thats where I am tonight.

 

thanks for reading

 

Cisco

[yvesvidal]

Interesting and unusual kit. I will be following with interest your model.

 

Yves

[Chuck]

Great start...This small kit should take you little time to complete.  Just have fun with it.  I am busy making the second set of kits as I write this.

 

Chuck

[Thukydides]

It looks like a fun little kit.