Xebec by Auvergne - Amati - 1:60 - C. 1753

[Auvergne]

A fresh start to a new build, friends. This is a Barbary coastal favorite ship of a variety of pirates during the 18th century. I chose this build for a second build in progress to relieve myself from mistakes made on the first build for awhile. I have learned a great deal from you all and really must think every stage of the operation through.

 

The Xebec is a fascinating ship of her day. She was swift and carried a fairly good size armament for her crew typically used by Mediterranean pirates and off the Algerian coastline. I will give more history later.

 

This Amati kit is a museum quality hardwoods and softwoods, metal fittings and cannons, scrollwork, oars, lateen sails, six types of rigging, color plan...I have found this kit to be of very good quality

 

More data to come in good time...

 

John E     

[gjdale]

Sounds like an interesting project John. How about starting with a few photos of the kit box and contents?

 

I look forward to following your progress with this one.

[Auvergne]

Following are a few photos of the kit. One thing I have noticed on this Xebec is all material appear (to me, anyway), to be of high grade. A great kit to build I believe. Time is of the essence and with my next step once the bulkhead frames are individualized I will paint them as the colors the kit requires, then attach to the keel.

 

Onward I shall proceed. Presently it is 3:46 A.M. I have officially entered the ship yard.

 

Thank you kindly Grant for the friendly reminder of posting photos.....let me give her a try.

 

Regards,

 

John E

[sawdust]

 Hello John,  If I recall correctly there were a number of builds of  this kit on MSW1 so there is some expertise and experience that may resurface as you progress. Do you have membership to Hubert Sicard's  site  " wooden Ship Models for Dummies"? He featured the kit as a build .  Sadly after a very informative start he dropped the project. I know early on decisions' have to be made regarding whether the  deck planks  are to be laid curved, as in the illustrations (but not in the instructions).  I know he also installed the outer gratings correctly so that   the tops lay flush with the finished  deck.  It is an elegant vessel and good quality kit. How is your Italian? I look forward to following your build.

Kip (aka Sawdust)

[gjdale]

Thanks for the pics John, looks like she will make up into a very nice model indeed.

[Auvergne]

Hello Kip,

Thanks kindly for responding. I do not have membership to Hubert's site but shall give it a try. As I have pre-fit and sized my bulkheads (in order to have a flush deck), bulkhead # 17 must be beveled on the underbody section of the frame due to the positioning of frame # 17 striking at an angle of about 30 degrees towards frame # 18. There is very little room to work with when attaching to the keel. The frames are quite snug and one must be careful not to snap the stern post right off.

 

I am in the process of painting the timber section of (forgive my ignorance), what appears to be gunwale framing and the transom and interior of the cabin. Once complete I will post photos of the progress. I am delicately taking my time though.

 

My Italian is very rusty but, alas, my wife Judith is Italian by her father. She is a tremendous help for the Amati kits.

 

Thanks for following.

 

Regards,

 

John E

[sawdust]

  Hello John,

Hubert  mentioned the fit of some of the frames were tight and also their alignment in some cases needed adjustment. I should have mentioned that   there is a one time subscription fee of $45 (?) but it is possible to take a somewhat limited look before laying out money. The site is fcontinually updated , full of tips and techniques many in video form.  In case you are wondering I have no connection with Hubert other than being a satisfied customer. You may wwant to seek the opinion of others before  subscribing.

 Have fun and enjoy the journey,

 Kip

[Auvergne]

Thanks a bunch Kip!! For the advice and about Hubert's site. I will have fun with this one.

 

Regards,

 

John E

[Auvergne]

Well here I am at stage 1...Positioning all frames into the keel after painting required areas. For color, I used Daler-Rowney Acrylic Inks. As you can see from the thumbnails, red, is the color of choice....by me as well as the kit....apparently the Barbary Pirates liked red, I don't know. After taking the photos I noticed several diminutive areas requiring touchup so I will attend to that prior to advancing.

 

I will be laying down the foundation which later will be the means for planking the decks.

 

I shall post additional photos as progress continues.

 

John

 

I tried to load some photos but now must resize...apologize.....will make it up, thanks.

[Auvergne]

OK...let me try and load the photos for the previous post. What you see is mentioned in my previous post. I will say, the 1st layer of decking material is 1.32 mm thick. Very fine material (basswood), and I have not included photos of the deck (unfinished), but did have to trim the notches for the gunwale posts. I will post those photos as soon as that phase of the job is complete. Thanks for your patience.

 

John E

[Auvergne]

So sorry for the delay...

[themadchemist]

I've always loved the Xebec design with its lateen sail and unique deck structure. This should be a fun build to watch.

 

I've always loved the model posted here

http://www.shipmodels.com.ua/eng/models/elite/shebeka/index.htm

Alexander Romashchenko's log was one of the great losses when the old MSW1 disappeared into a puff of electrons.

It has some beautiful carving and so much detail. Sure a beautiful build.

 

Looks like your off to a good start, John. Its good to see this being built as its a fairly rare kit as far as I've seen.

[themadchemist]

Hey John

Not to be nosey but I was just curious where you got the Amati Xebec kit. I just saw cornwall has it for $196 US which sounds really reasonable but shipping fron the UK may be expensive. Just curious where and how much she set you back as now seeing her, you've given me the bug again. I like that its a 1:60 scale also.

 

You really have me wanting one of these now. Next to the Galleons, the Xebec is one of my favorite gun ships.

[Auvergne]

Hi Keith, thanks for sharing the same passion for the Xebec, my all time favorite of ship design with lateen sails. I purchased at a place called Hobby World out of New Market, Maryland....formerly from somewhere in Canada. The guy who sold it to me is named Sam, it took over a month to receive it and the price was 400 but I paid less than 300. It used to be a 197.00 kit 5 years ago. The materials are excellent and despite the fact there is a lot of cutting and trimming, looks fairly easily built as of yet....

 

I think the link may be at www.hobbyworld.com ....give her a go.

 

Thanks also for an awesome comment!

 

Regards,

 

John

[Auvergne]

Hey folks...been at it since 5 a.m. today on the Xebec. Today is the first day I have actually drawn blood though, so, this project is beginning her safety days over. I accidently pushed too hard with the nail driver and pierced my thumb. I am in a delicate situation because I have the tendency to push to hard. Still taking my time very well as I nail the thin sheet (1.32 mm), for the decking foundation down. Have done a pretty decent job on that since 1.32 mm is not very sturdy but on one nail pushed a little too hard initially and cracked a small section (3/8" x 3/8"), off and now have placed back into position. Guessing that must have been when I pierced my thumb.

 

I had to do some minor trimming on the cut-outs for the posts outside the parameters of the deck but she fit nice and snug...

 

Now I am just taking a break but I was hoping someone may be able to identify which actual name this ship had made by Amati called Sciabecco - 1753....for now I will research a bit and let you all know whether I discover anything. If I have my history correct I believe the USS Constitution captured a warship off the Angolan coastline in the 19th century as her last mission.....I do not think or even come close to knowing what type of ship she captured but I thought it was pirates...

 

Well all, have a great day and I am in the process of re-sizing about 15 photos for today's work and I will be back shortly to post them.

 

John

[Auvergne]

Following are some of the photos I promised.

 

Have fun folks....

 

John

[Auvergne]

Planking the Aft Deck...not sure what it is called in Italian. Job is going well after about 1-1/2 hours today cutting individual planks at 80mm long. The planks for the deck are measuring 1x3.5 mm. To tell you all the truth I am having nothing but fun with this one. Very relaxed, listening to some music and cutting one plank at a time. Comments, advice and suggestions are most welcome folks. I have so much to learn.

 

Thanks and all have a great day!

 

John E

[gjdale]

Looks like you're doing a great job there John.  You seem to have the hang of the "shift of the butts" with the deck planking, so all looks fine from here.

[Auvergne]

Many thanks here Grant!!! I appreciate your comments. Looks as though I may complete the aft decking sometime later today, but I am in no hurry. I am watching closely the other finely crafted Xebec on MSW hoping to learn more. He is doing a wonderful job.

 

I shall keep you posted here Grant.

 

Many thanks!

 

John E

[jthemanjack]

      Hi John,                                                                                                                                                                                                        Pretty much decided she will be my next build so i will be keeping tabs.......you seem to be doing a fine job there .

With the deck planking its an idea to try and simulate the caulking that weatherproofs the joints,,,,this can be done lots of different ways the easiest of which is to use a soft leaded pencil to darken the edges, its not critical but gives the planking a nice effect .

 

   Good luck,

       Jack

[olliechristo]

I agree, your build is looking great mate.. Well done, keep up the good work, pace yourself Ollie

[Auvergne]

Many thanks Jack and Ollie!! It always is so beneficial to hear from other mates out there. I appreciate you both as well to MTaylor and Sawdust, too! You guys are great confidence builders.

 

Jack, I certainly hope I can be of assistance to you for she is a fine build when completed. Best of luck to you, friend.

 

John E

[cor_f]

Nice work so far John! I'm closely watching you progress, as you are watching mine

Keep the pictures coming!

I know that Occre named their xebec "Cazador" but it has very many similarities with 'Le Requin' (which is extensively described in the Ancre book).

Funny: Cazador means Hunter in spanish. Requin means Shark in French.

(Sciabecco means 'small three masted vessel' in Italian.)

 

Personally I've never pushed nails in, never tried it either. I have this tiny hammer, this worked great for me.

Best regards, Cor.

[themadchemist]

You 2 are watching each other and I'm watching both of you.

Cor do you happen to have or have seen the Ancre monography and plates for La Requin. Your 2 builds have pushed me over the edge and I sent an email to Didier at Ancre today on how to do EU to US conversions. Its looking like my Christmas present this year may be my first set of POF plans.

 

The Xebec are such a beautiful overlooked ship and with their 3 mast lateen sail setup I think it would be a excellent first scratch build. The carvings are something else I'm wanting to explore further also and I love La Requin's sculpture.

 

Not to ignore Johns build, I really like that colour of the deck wood your using. its going to look great.

[Auvergne]

Thanks Cor and Keith for your valued comments! I had hoped to discover which ship's name my Xebec had but its OK. I have enjoyed your progress thus far. Keep up the brilliant craftsmanship.(Cor).

 

Keith, I as well would have made this a Xebec my first scratch-build as well but have not ever attempted. Should you be able to obtain plans please let us know.

I wish to do the same in a 1/4" = 1'-0" scale. I don't know how well your drafting is but there is a project (a nice looking Xebec), in one of my books by Chapelle I believe. Not sure of the title though but will get back to you if you like.

 

Good luck gentlemen. Thanks kindly.

 

John E

[mij]

Hi John

 

The Xebec kit you are building looks great, I like it that much I went on line to Cornwall Models last Monday and ordered the plans, they arrived the following day. 

This kit I`ll be building from scratch with sone alterations.

 

 mij

[mij]

Hi John

 

How is your model of your Xebec coming along.

 

 mij

[Auvergne]

So sorry folks I have been delayed and away for some time since my last post....had 3 surgeries in one year.....I am back on the Xebec though...I would be very interested in Le Requin's plans for a scratch build myself. Never have tried one but definitely wish to give her a go....here are some of the latest pics.

[AntonyUK]

Hi John.

Nice build.

I also love the Xebec and the lines she has.

Looking forward to a few more pictures and will follow your progress

MIJ has done a scratch build on this boat and it's worth a look at his build log. Using the same plans.

 

Regards Antony.

[Auvergne]

Hi Anthony!

 

I am hoping to make this Xebec on a second go around as a scratch build should I acquire the necessary skills. I have some ideas rendered from MSW and our fellow mates. I will be using the same plans unless I obtain other plans from elsewhere. In one of my books by Chapelle there is a very nice Xebec...Spanish I think and that may be a possibility as well.

 

John E