US Brig Syren by Gahm - Model Shipways

[greatgalleons]

Hi Thomas, even if the gallery windows are not functional they do look great on your build.

 

A question on the black painted areas on your build, did you use acrylic paint or enamel. I've heard of using thined down acrylic paint in many layers ,sanding in between each to achieve a nice uniform look. How did you achieve it on this build. Thanks. A.J.

Edited March 29, 2014 by greatgalleons

[Gahm]

I have used the acrylic black paint from Model Shipways (Hull/Spar Black MS4830) and applied it exactly as you describe it above. I thinned it down and applied several coats with fine sanding (400 grit first, finally 600 grit) between each coat. 

 

Thomas

[Gahm]

I finally have my head rails finished.  As this is one of the more challenging assemblies of the Syren build I will summarize in more detail the method I used to make these head rails.

 

The whole assembly was built out of (regular) pear wood as the firmness of the wood facilitates getting clean looking edges and inscribed lines, and especially helps with the making of the tiny head rail timbers. Contrary to Swiss pear regular pear with its yellowish look blends in nicely with the color scheme chosen for my Syren, especially once stained with Golden Oak wood stain (MinWax).

 

Cheeks and rails were all built according to the same method which is demonstrated with the example of one of the middle rails in images 1 – 4. I first used the laser-cut bass wood part from the kit to transfer the correct lines to the pear wood sheet (images 1a and 1b). Then I took the remaining negative shape of the same part, which is left in the kit-provided bass wood sheet when the respective positive part was cut out, as guide to impress and carve the “decoration” lines into the pear wood (images 1c and d). Finally the part was roughly cut out (image 1e).  In the case of the middle rail the part was cut in 2 pieces using the dimensions of the kit provided parts as guide (image 2f). However, to ensure that the head rail timbers would all end up with a concave shape I increased the length of the middle rail piece, which is supposed to run closely along the ship’s hull, by about 2mm. The middle rail was then fitted to the ship’s hull (image 3), the 2 pieces glued together and its shape refined via sanding (image 2g). Finally the knee for the cathead was fitted to the middle rail, the whole piece sanded to its final shape (image 2h) and permanently mounted on the ship’s hull (image 4).

 

Image 1

 

 

Image 2

 

 

Image 3

 

 

Image 4

 

 

That was the easy part  .

 

 

The challenge with making the head rail timbers lies in making the 2 pieces of each timber appear like you are looking at one continuous piece. As demonstrated in image 5 this can be more readily achieved adjusting the timbers like shown on the left side (a)) of the drawing. However, this method implies making tiny pieces with “crooked” angles (image 6). Once mounted these parts need to be adjusted to their final shape. To be able to do so it is very helpful to have easy access to the head rails from the top and the bottom and therefore to mount the ship’s hull upside down when needed. I also made a good number of special sanding sticks (image 7, top) to be able to do the fine sanding required within the head rails with the timbers mounted, and I needed a special wire tool (image 7, bottom) for mounting the head rail timbers, which are closest to the hull. My finest tweezers were too big to get these parts in their correct place.

 

Image 5

 

 

Image 6

 

 

Image 7

 

 

The top rails were built following Chuck’s instructions in the Syren booklet. They did not pose any significant challenges. Images 8 - 10 are different views of the finished head rails.

 

 

Image 8

 

 

Image 9

 

Image 10

 

 

[mspringer]

Very nicely done, sir.  I've just started on the Syren and have wondered if I should upgrade some of the supplied wood (basswood).  This is another good argument for it. 

Edited April 12, 2014 by mspringer

[kscadman]

Beautiful work Thomas. The curvature you put on your head rail timbers is fantastic. Three cheers to you!

 

Richard

[russ]

Thomas:

I agree. Great looking head rails. This is one of those details that will make or break the model's appearance. You did a wonderful job on them.

 

Russ

[dragzz]

vary well done u have done really great work keep up the great work

[rafine]

This is a WOW moment in your build Thomas. Simply beautiful work.

 

Bob

[fnkershner]

Wow! I am going to book mark this for my build.

[Gahm]

Thank you very much for your nice compliments and positive feed back. They are greatly appreciated! And Bob, you are absolutely right, it was a "WOW" moment when I realized that I was finished with the head timbers! 

 

Dirk, I am adding a top view and a side view image. I hope this is what you wanted.

 

Thomas

 

 

Top view

 

 

Side view

[Gahm]

During the last weeks I spent some time on the figurehead.

 

As shown in the following images I used a block of pear wood cut to the right dimensions with a hand scroll saw (image 1a), glued a copy of the Syren figurehead from Chuck’s plans on it, cut it out roughly with the scroll saw (image 1b) and mounted it on a copy of the bow as a stand for carving (image 1c). By means of a rotary tool, different carving knifes and my sanding sticks (already used for the head rail) I refined the shape of the figurehead (image 2). The arms (and later also the head) were separated from the body as it was easier for me to focus on the body shape and the arms/ head as individual pieces. In this way the chances are also increased not to mess up the whole figure if the one or other part does not work out the first time  . The obvious disadvantage of this method is, however, that the figure needs to be pieced together later without showing too many seams. This turned out to be more challenging than initially expected.

 

As a next step the scales for the fish tail and the fin pattern were inscribed (image 3). To make the details more visible I enhanced them with some graphite powder gained from a pencil. The excess powder was “washed away” with Golden Oak wood stain (MinWax). Then I carved arms and head as separate pieces (image 4). Getting a decent looking face at that scale is a bit tricky.

 

The different parts of the figure were finally assembled, correct transitions between the parts established and the seams hidden. The result is shown in images 5 – 9.

 

Image 1

 

Image 2

 

Image 3

 

Image 4

 

Image 5

 

Image 6

 

Image 7

 

Image 8

 

Image 9

 

[russ]

Very nice figurehead. Lots of great detail and you have done great work getting the figure's proportions correct.

 

Russ

[augie]

Masterful.  A splendid addition to an already beautiful vessel.

[rafine]

A superb piece of work Thomas. Your carving skill is really impressive.

 

Bob

[kscadman]

Great work on the figurehead! Beautiful! Not a seam to be seen. It looks like it was carved from a solid pierce.

 

Richard

[fnkershner]

Thomas - This the one piece of this kit that has had me frustrated (at least in my mind). I was very disappointed when I saw the metal figure head provided by ME. You have dome an outstanding job! And it is made out of wood as it should be. Have you considered making any more of them? I would pay you for this!

[Chuck]

Splendid......very well done.  I love the quality of your figure.   

 

Chuck

[Gahm]

Thank you for all the “likes” and the wonderful compliments!

 

After working on the same piece for a longer time period it sometimes is quite difficult to see the forest for all the trees. So your feedback on the right proportions of the figure (Russ) and the quality of work (Augie, Bob, Chuck) is very welcome! Where the seams are concerned (Richard) I think I just got lucky with my photo shots  .

 

For the last 6 months I spent all my ”ship modeling time” on the head rail and now the figurehead. I am more than ready to move on to something different such as the carronades and the deck fittings. So Floyd, although I am highly honored that you seem to seriously consider to mount my figurehead on your Syren model, I rather try to get my model finished “before my retirement” and then go for one of the big frigates such as the Confederacy, Essex, or if Chuck should have his book published the Winchelsea  .

 

Thomas

[Gahm]

I finished the stern davits. I made them out of pear wood (image 1) and mounted them (image 2) by notching the davits (and not the stern). I felt it would be easier to recover from potential mistakes using this method. Images 3 and 4 show the davits in their final position.

 

Thomas

 

 

Image 1

 

 

Image 2

 

 

Image 3

 

 

Image 4

 

[russ]

The davits look great. Using pear wood, it is almost a shame to pain them. It made for beautiful job though.

 

Russ

[rafine]

Lovely work ,as always, Thomas.

 

Bob

[augie]

Nice and sharp.

[kscadman]

Beautiful work as always Thomas! I just installed my davits this weekend. After seeing your work I feel I should of thought out of the box as you did. Yours is the better result.

[Gahm]

Russ, Bob, Augie, Richard: Thank you for your kind comments! They are always highly appreciated! I was kind of surprised myself to get something finished in such a "short" time frame. I almost forgot how that felt 

 

Thomas

[Gahm]

I finished another little detail - the rudder coat. Image one shows the jig and process which I used to make this piece. The finished rudder coat mounted on the stern of the Syren model can be seen in images 2, 3 and 4.

 

Thomas

 

 

Image 1 Jig and process for making the rudder coat

 

 

Image 2

 

 

Image 3

 

 

Image 4

 

 

 

[russ]

Very nicely done. Great jig and the finished product looks like it has been there for a while.

 

Russ

[fnkershner]

What material did you use?

[Gahm]

Thank you Russ! This piece was quite a bit more challenging than I initially anticipated. I had several tries, each of them turned out to be either too tight, too big, too clumsy looking, . . . I finally settled for the one which you see in the images. The rudder coat is not really difficult from a technical point of view, it is more to get the details right such as an "in scale" texture, the size, tightness versus a number of of well placed wrinkles . . .

 

Floyd, for the material I just had a close look at everything made of cloth, preferably cotton, in our household to identify something with the right texture (obviously there were certain pieces I stayed away from such as my wife's dresses ). You can find ribbons for presents with all kinds of very interesting textures. I finally settled on an old handkerchief made of pretty fine cotton which has not seen any use since the invention of the paper tissue  . I cut out the right shape as shown in the picture (1b), mounted it on the jig and gave it the right shape by gluing it to the paper coat of the jig (1c,d). The paper itself was only glued to the jig at the very edges (1a), so that it was nicely fixed to the jig, but was not glued to it in the area where the cotton was attached to the paper. In that way you can later easily remove the rudder coat from the jig with the paper still sticking to the cotton, and together with the glue preserving its shape. I soaked the whole arrangement two times with highly diluted black paint (1e, ModelExpo Black). Once dry the rudder coat was removed from the jig (1f), cut into its final shape with a scissors, and mounted on the Syren. After some touch up the nails were finally inserted. The nails were from Scale Hardware, 0.7mm nail head diameter.

[HIPEXEC]

Nice detail work!

[Gahm]

A little update . . .  just to show a sign of life . I spent some time figuring out how I want to do the carronades. The following 3 pictures show the current state of the prototype. Obvious points of improvement are the elevation screw (in the picture it is really “screwed” up), the wheels need to be a bit smaller, and the holder for the recoil cable on the gun barrel needs to be more substantial. For all of these issues I have ideas how to change them, but so far my chronic lack of modeling time prevented me from doing it.

 

Thomas