Licorne 1755 by mtaylor - 3/16" scale - French Frigate - from Hahn plans - Version 2.0 - TERMINATED

[Omega1234]

31 minutes ago, cog said:

A feast for the eyes ... another smile on my face ...

 

...and you can add my smile to the growing list of admirers, too, Mark!!!

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[mtaylor]

Thanks for the likes and comments.

 

Well, I finally hit the brick wall.  So rather than let it stop me, I'll go around it.

 

Attached photos show the blocks for the gun rigging.   Unfortunately, even at 5/32" they're still too big. I tried Chuck's 1/8" blocks but had to give that up after sending an even dozen flying across the room.  Too tiny to handle and to chase the holes for the .017" line.  A bit frustrating to say the least as I was enjoying doing the seizings for the lines. I'm going to look for some smaller line and hope I can use these small blocks for the 6 cannons up on the weather decks.   In the meantime, I'm telling myself that all that work would be hidden anyway under the decks and gangways.  I think the next model will have to be 1:48....

 

Anyway, here's the closeups of the cannon that tested with. 

 

Footnote1:  Somewhere around the shop are 7 or 8 of the 5/32" blocks which I'm sure I'll hear the vacuum suck up.

Footnote2:  The black hook in the first photo is one of Dafi's 2mm hooks.  Even the thin sowing thread looks huge when blown up.  

 

Time to go install deck furniture and build her galleys.

 

[lmagna]

Hi Mark

Probably a pretty dumb suggestion as I have never in my life worked with tackle as small as this and therefore it is kind of like the student talking to the Sensei.

 

Would it be possible to pin the blocks to a flat surface like a bug collection with pins to hold them until you are able to secure the outer rope and hooks? Then you could hold them with a third hand type of tool by the secured lines and run the pulley ropes through them until they are fully rigged.

 

I am almost certain that there is something that probably prevents this method from working but I thought I would throw it out there anyway just in case.  

[usedtosail]

Mark, from experience, you will find those blocks that flew away when you are looking for something else on the floor.

 

Dealing with those small blocks is challenging. I used 3/32" blocks for the Connie guns and am using them now in the upper running rigging. I was loosing a lot at first (which I think I have found most of since then), but was able to get a pretty good process down to stropping them. I just takes lots of practice.

[mtaylor]

Thanks for all your patience and following along.  Many twists and turns on this journey and a few are self-inflicted.

 

Lou,

I experimented and used several jigs and all the results were, for lack of a better word..... meh.   

 

Tom,

I suspect you're right on the more practice.

 

 

After a good night's sleep... I reconsidered things.  New glasses weren't helping much and I probably focused too intently on the problem and used the wrong materials.  So, I'll revisit these little pests. Here's my thoughts:  The thread I chose was too thick which limited me on block size.  I need to use the smaller blocks due to the distance from the bulkhead hook to the gun carriage eyebolt.   I located my stash of fine linen thread that I wanted to use with the ropewalk and a test this morning shows it's doable with the smaller blocks (the 1/8" ones).  Vision goes bananas but not like it was so I'm stepping back from this for now.  Maybe in a week or two things will be a bit more stable.  So the gun rigging isn't dead yet... just on hold.

 

In the meantime, I'll sort out the deck furniture for the gun deck, make a rigging plan to sort out what I need to run to the gundeck before it's inaccessible, and maybe work on the exterior hull... eyebolts w/rings, channels and possibly the lower deadeyes and chains.  Almost forgot.. ship's boats need to there also.

 

So.. going to sit down with the plans and design and build her galley stoves.  Should be fun.

 

 

Edited April 10, 2018 by mtaylor

[Piet]

Great looking gun deck Mark. Sorry to hear about the minor tackle snafu. It's amazing though what a good night's sleep can do, clear the fog.

 

Cheers,

[shipmodel]

Hi Mark -

 

Yes, working with very small blocks is tedious, but I have developed some techniques that have simplified the process for me.  Here is a quick overview of the one that I use the most.  I hope that it can give you some ideas for your own work:

 

The central concept is that the stropping line is always under tension until the stropping is complete.  To do this, I took a Helping Hands tool and added a small alligator clip and a light spring to one of the tool's end clips, the left one in my case because I am right handed.  The selected stropping line is wrapped around three sides of the block and clipped into the stationary jaws on the right, with the tails held firmly in the spring clip (a).  The selected serving line (always smaller than the stropping line) is looped or tied around the strop tails (b), then wound tightly up towards the block, forming a nicely tapered siezing (c).  This is glued with your favorite glue and left to dry.

 

Once the glue is dry the extra seizing line is snipped off and the block is released.  At this point it has two tails, making it suitable for tying the block to a spar or other rigging point (a).  If the block is going to be at the end of a pendant or other similar location, one of the tails is cut off very close to the seizing and a loop is seized into the end of the tail in a similar manner (b).  This technique works for me from the largest down to really small blocks.  In photo (c) the block on the left is a 7mm triple; the middle is a 4mm single which is the one in the photos, and on the right is a 2mm single.  The technique is the same, just the choice of stropping and seizing line changes.  The smallest block is seized with fly tying thread, which is about the smallest that my old hands and eyes can still work with.  On that note, an added benefit is that with the tails on it is much harder for the block to get itself lost when I am opening up the sheave holes.

 

Of course there is more - seizing in hooks or eyebolts to the blocks, double stropping, etc.  but you get the idea, I am sure.  You can probably think of some improvements.

 

Hope that helps a bit.

 

Dan

Edited April 11, 2018 by shipmodel

[Canute]

I find when working on the fine details that I need a lot more breaks for the old Mark 1, Mod 1 eyeballs (me wearing glasses). I try to stop before I get cross-eyed. And no such thing as too much light. The bench lighting even gets augmented with a quartz halogen floor lamp aka mini-sun.

[popeye the sailor]

the gun deck looks very good Mark.......so good to see you've been able to devote quite a bit of time to her   that means Janet is doing better....glad to hear it!  you and Janet deserve to enjoy some good days     I forget which one......but one of my projects has some 2 mm blocks,,,,never done them that small {should be a hoot}!  sounds like you have other things to make.........take a break from them for the moment.  you rigged the breech ropes on all the gun deck cannons so far...consider it phase 1  

[src]

Mark, She is coming along nicely. Sorry to hear the micro-blocks are giving you fits. I used the same size block on my Enterprise carriages and remember well the learning curve, they were the first blocks I ever stropped. FWIW I used a fly tying vise, very carefully adjusted so it did not crush the block. That and the ever present lighted magnifiers.

Looking at Dan's technique I may be trying that out next though, that spring looks to be the ticket.

Best of luck,

Sam

[Jaager]

Mark,

 

You might could consider using linen thread as is.

 

I bought the following from Colophon Book Arts Supply :

 

Londonderry linen thread

                dia        dia 1/48   circ 1/48    dia 1/60  circ  1/60

100/3    0.009       0.42         1.3            0.53        1.6

80/3      0.01         0.48         1.5            0.48        1.9

50/3      0.012       0.6           1.9            0.75        2.3

 

The price is < $3.00 and delivery was fast.

 

Since it is already 3 strands laid  you can use it straight up. 

 

As for holding the blocks 

I bought some Dritz Quilting Crystal Glass Head Pins,

that are 1 3/4" long and are # 76 wire gauge

that may not be too large a hole for the rope and

if you nip off the bead and mount it on a piece of wood - there is a lot of up/down play before a block would come off the top

The bead could be nipped after even.

 

I don't know how Londonderry does their 100/3 - I have trouble laying up 62/1 yarn - it breaks before I can get long lengths

 

[mtaylor]

Thanks for looking in, my friends.

 

I'm still having eyeball problems (new glasses the cause?).   And working on redoing the pumps. The more I looked at them, the less I liked what I saw. 

 

Dan, I'm using the 3rd hand (modified) also. The one's in the pic were from "fiddling"...playing a bit and thinking things through.  There's not enough "space" for serving but I'm looking over your method and will try that when I get to the "real" rigging.  Re-do that... there's enough room for maybe two or three wraps of seizing but I'll have to check spacing.

 

Ken, Popeye, and Sam...  Yeah.. breaks.  I think you're right that I need more of them.

 

Jaager, the line I'll be using is some 100% cotton (Coats & Clark).  No fuzz nd a visible "twist".  

[Chasseur]

Hey Mark coming along nice. I feel your pain about the glasses, sucks to get old my friend! A tip a guy told us at a workshop about eye strain is not to focus more than 15minutes whether at the computer screen or what have you. He said you need to look away and focus on something 5-10 feet away to give the eyes a break.

[mtaylor]

Small update.  The pumps are done.  The pic shows the "old" one on the left and the new one on the right.   I've spent the last day or so blackening various brass bits... still more to go along with working on the rigging list.  The pumps are just about 5 foot tall as this seems to be the size.  I'm giving thought to having one rigged to show how they were operated.  For those not into French ships, here's a video of the ones on the  L'Hermione replica: 

 

[cog]

That's a hughe improvement Mark. Turned out darn good

[Canute]

Nicely done on the elm-tree pump Mark.

[CaptainSteve]

Yep. They look fantastic, Mark !!

[BANYAN]

A much better result Mark, the new ones look very good.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Piet]

Super nice looking pumps Mark.

 

Cheers,

[alde]

I thought the first ones looked pretty nice but the new ones are a big improvement. Nicely done.

[Beef Wellington]

Of course everything is looking good!  One thing that jumped out at me was the ladders in your earlier post, looks like there are two ladders coming up from lower deck, one port and one starboard, looks to be a very challenging setup to avoid accidents if both sides are being used simulataneously and doesn't seem to leave much headroom space when coming up - do you know if that is a unique French design?

[mtaylor]

Jason, I wondered the same thing also but that's the layout both using Hahn's plans and the one's I ordered from the British archives. Plus those ladders are coming up under the pinrail.  This ship seems pretty compressed and packed as far as space on deck.  The access below decks gets even more restrictive once the ship's boats are in as the large open hatchway will have a boat over it.

 

Thanks for the comments on the pumps and for the likes.  I'm working on Rev 4 of the stove/kitchens/fireplaces (depending on the translation) and I think these will be the ones.  I did try two more times on the gun rigging but there's just no way.  I'll give it another shot when I've completed the gundeck furniture.

[mtaylor]

Since I'm working on the fireplaces, here's a picture now that the iron bars the pots sit on have been installed.  I still have the exterior to plank and the pots to make.  The flash made them redder than then actually are as they're more of a red-brown or rust color.  I wanted them to look like they had been used.

 

 

 

[Omega1234]

Hi Mark

 

Sorry if I missed it, but what material did you use for the brick-work effect?  It looks super nice!  

 

Cheers. 

 

Patrick 

[mtaylor]

Hi Patrick

 

You didn't miss it as I never mentioned it.  It's model railroad brick wall.  Appears to be a vacuum formed sheet of plastic.  I tried making bricks but they were just too darned tiny.  Each one is 1 inch (25mm) wide, .75 inches (20mm) deep and  .625 inches (15mm) high.

[Old Collingwood]

Great work with the kiln ovens mark, sutch an easy item to miss out but great putting the extra effort in to detail them, she is looking like a fine ship.

 

OC.

[Omega1234]

1 hour ago, mtaylor said:

Hi Patrick

 

You didn't miss it as I never mentioned it.  It's model railroad brick wall.  Appears to be a vacuum formed sheet of plastic.  I tried making bricks but they were just too darned tiny.  Each one is 1 inch (25mm) wide, .75 inches (20mm) deep and  .625 inches (15mm) high.

Thanks Mark!

[cog]

What's for grub, Mark? ... you keep on tinkering ... I just wondered, copper or cast iron pans ...

[Landlubber Mike]

Very nice Mark.  I was looking for something similar for the try works for my Morgan and saw that plastic sheet stuff.  Looks great!

 

If you're a masochist, these look interesting.  I've considered trying them out to see how the finish:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/100-Extremely-Tiny-Real-miniature-bricks-HO-OO-N-scale-railway-wargame-diorama/161304880942?hash=item258e85272e:g:AG4AAOxyBvZTQ9PQ

 

[mtaylor]

On 4/22/2018 at 10:42 PM, cog said:

What's for grub, Mark? ... you keep on tinkering ... I just wondered, copper or cast iron pans ...

Copper, of course. 

18 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Very nice Mark.  I was looking for something similar for the try works for my Morgan and saw that plastic sheet stuff.  Looks great!

 

If you're a masochist, these look interesting.  I've considered trying them out to see how the finish:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/100-Extremely-Tiny-Real-miniature-bricks-HO-OO-N-scale-railway-wargame-diorama/161304880942?hash=item258e85272e:g:AG4AAOxyBvZTQ9PQ

 

I might be a masochist, but I'm not that bad yet... then again, model ships.. hmm..