US Brig Syren by Gahm - Model Shipways

[Gahm]

Thank you, Jason! For the lead lining I used aluminum tubing of the right diameter (you can get that in any hobby shop at very low cost), reduced the wall thickness of the tube to scale with a file, glued it in the hawse hole, and removed the protruding parts on both sides of the hole with a rotary tool equipped with a diamond bur. Finally I opened both sides of the tube up with a conical piece of metal - actually I used an old chisel from my fossil hunting days and gave it a conical tip using a file. Finally to give the aluminum a more "lead-like" look (otherwise it is too bright and shiny to simulate lead) I painted it with Testor's steel paint. Once that was dry I moved my chisel tip a little bit in the opening to produce a few scratches. Both together along with the tube shape give a pretty realistic lead impression.

 

On the outside you are supposed to create the "fancy border" out of 2 layers of wood. Of course you do everything I described with only one layer of wood in place. This gives you the opportunity to cover up any mess you made with the second layer 

 

 

Thomas

Edited November 13, 2013 by Gahm

[Chuck]

Nicely done!!  The cables do look a bit heavy but that is an easy fix.

 

Chuck

[Gahm]

Thank you, Chuck! I fully agree, the cables shown in the pictures clearly won't make it to the "finals".

 

Thomas

[gerty]

Very nice work Thomas !

[Gahm]

Thank you, Gerty!

[Gahm]

The catheads are finished. I used walnut and pear (first 2 images) instead of bass wood as it is easier to do the necessary detail work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rafine]

Really nice work on those catheads, Thomas.

 

Bob

[Gahm]

Thank you, Bob. As you know the catheads are just a "stepping stone" to the real tricky stuff, the head rails.  Let's see how that goes 

 

Thomas

[Gahm]

A little update on the head rails: I started with the middle rails as they seem to be the most challenging parts and I wanted to get them out of the way before Christmas. Like the cheeks I made them out of pear wood. Image 1 shows the assembled starboard rail including the hanging knee. To get the right shape I fitted the 3 pieces of the middle rail together as they were temporarily mounted on the hull, but I removed the piece as a whole for the final finishing. Images 2, 3, and 4 show the permanently mounted middle rails from different angles. Image 5 shows a prototype of the upper rail. The final candidate will have the upper end of the molding ending a bit further down to be better in sync with the middle rails.

 

Image 1: Starboard middle rail 

 

 

Image 2: Starboard middle rail

 

 

Image 3: Mounted middle rails

 

 

Image 4: Mounted middle rails

 

 

Image 5: Prototype of upper rail

 

 

Edited September 17, 2014 by Gahm

[rafine]

Thomas, your fears about the head rails are totally unfounded. They're going to look great, based on what you've done so far.

 

Bob

[Gahm]

Thank you Bob! Your feedback - especially as you have already done these head rails yourself - is highly appreciated!

 

Thomas

[Gahm]

Dirk, unfortunately my plans for the timbers are that I can get to them at the earliest in January. Too many other commitments for the rest of the year! However, looking at the plans and Chuck's description I still have the "illusion" that they should be relatively straight forward - perpendicular to the keel and connecting the two rails. Of course I have no experience so far with them and probably will go through several rounds of prototyping (other people call it construction and deconstruction ) before I may get anything useful! 

 

Thomas

[Gahm]

After several weeks of interruption due to traveling I finally resumed work on the head rail of my Syren model.  Upper rails and middle rails are finished, and I started with the head timbers. I am using the method described by Chuck in the instruction book. Building those head timbers is a bit tricky and clearly not my favorite occupation!

Below are different views of the current state of the head rail.

 

Thomas

 

Backboard view

 

 

 

Top view

 

 

Front view

 

 

Starboard view

Edited September 17, 2014 by Gahm

[Gahm]

After not posting anything for several weeks here is a brief update about my head rail efforts:

First I ended up not really liking the middle rails shown in the last images, so I finally tore them down. The major reason for that was that the part which was mounted directly on the wall of the ship turned out to be too short and as a consequence the shape of the head timbers would go from concave to convex.  Then I tried to figure out which method of building the head timbers would lead to some decent looking results. I tried the method mentioned by Chuck in the head rail design of the Confederacy as there the head timbers do not consist out of 2 parts each but just one continuous piece. However, the Syren plans do not show any head timber profiles, so that method ended up with too many “degrees of freedom”.  I finally went with the method described in the Syren instructions. With this method one of the challenges consists in generating the perception that each head timber, although constructed out of 2 parts, looks like it is made out of one continuous piece of wood. As I was not quite sure whether I ultimately would get acceptable results I finished middle rail and head timbers just on one side. So the good news is I have finished half of the head timbers. The bad news is I still have to do the other half. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[russ]

So far the head rails look very good. Nice work.

 

Russ

[Gahm]

Thank you, Russ! I am still not quite sure whether they look like they should. I guess I need a little distance to that topic 

 

Thomas

[Charley54]

Looks really good to me Thomas. Fine work

 

Charley

[alde]

You have turned a great kit into a work of art. The attention to detail and craftsmanship are amazing.

[NWdiverTodd]

Really wonderful work!  

That is one part of the build that has me a bit intimidated.

Very symmetrical.  

[Gahm]

Thank you for the Likes and your encouraging comments! Feedback is always highly appreciated! So on to the 2nd half of the head rail 

 

Thomas

[scott larkins]

As I watch thhis log I continue to be impressed.  Very well done.

[Blue Ensign]

The headworks should look light and with graceful, subtle curves; to my eye Thomas you have ticked all the boxes

 

B.E.

[Gahm]

Scott and B.E., thank you for the compliments! Your feedback and insights are highly welcome!

 

Thomas

[greatgalleons]

A very fine build, will use this log as a guide to my build. Huzzay!

[Gahm]

Thank you, greatgalleons! 

 

Thomas

[kscadman]

Hi Thomas, your work is simple perfection. I bow to the master each time I check in on your build.

 

Richard

[Gahm]

Thank you, Richard! I only wished I had more time to work on my model. Too many other (business) obligations.

 

Thomas

[greatgalleons]

Hey there Thomas , this build looks great, can't wait to start mine. Ive always wanted to know why this brig has quarter gallery windows when the backside of the galleries is an open deck. Is the light supposed to shine in and then down into the hull. Who knows, just courious.

[Gahm]

The quarter galleries on the Syren were just decoration, probably showing window simulations and not real windows. There is also the theory that a ship of the size of Syren would look more "impressive" at a distance with those quarter galleries in place. According to Howard Chapelle, "The History of the American Sailing Navy" the quarter galleries were included in the original Syren plan, but it is not quite sure whether they ever were really mounted on the finished ship.

 

Thomas

[augie]

Your headrails are just immaculate.  Don't fret about your building time because of other obligations.  Just maintain your pace as time allows.  She's going to be a beauty.

 

Subjectively, I agree with the illusion of size conveyed by the quarter galleries as seen from a distance.  Of course, if you're being run down by a 60 gunner, it's not going to help very much!