Armed Virginia Sloop by grayarea - FINISHED - Model Shipways - 1:48 - First Wood Ship Build

[grayarea]

Thank you Brian. I take it to mean you're soaking the line in water, and then brushing on the glue once the line is in place.

I've been using the glue mix to wet the line, and I've been creating the drape by "shaping" it with carefully placed weight. As I said, I'm going to stay consistent for the rest of this build, so I'll have whitish line for the cannon rigging. But I'll give other rigging a soak and see if I can improve the effect as you suggest.

[GuntherMT]

Thank you Brian. I take it to mean you're soaking the line in water, and then brushing on the glue once the line is in place.

I've been using the glue mix to wet the line, and I've been creating the drape by "shaping" it with carefully placed weight. As I said, I'm going to stay consistent for the rest of this build, so I'll have whitish line for the cannon rigging. But I'll give other rigging a soak and see if I can improve the effect as you suggest.

 

No, I never soak any part of the line in plain water.  I 'paint' on the 50/50 water glue mix after everything is set to make sure that there are no color variations and to lock everything in place.  The droop on the line between the coil and the blocks is made by just soaking that line with the mixture and shaping it a bit with the paint brush.

 

So my sequence was to do the cannon tackle rigging on all the guns, and secure them in place.  I then took the 'tail' of the tackle rigging and coiled it in place on the deck using lots of 50/50 mix and a paint brush to sort of 'paint down' the line.  Once the coil was as tight as I could get it I would cut off the excess line so that it could be tucked into the center of the coil, and then place a small paint bottle on top of it to hold it in place while drying.  After it was dry and the bottle removed, I would paint the mixture onto the gun tackle and shape the droop in the line between the coil and tackle as needed.  I would soak the breeching line in the mixture at this point as well, and do final shaping to it, also with the paint brush.

[grayarea]

My model and I are not on speaking terms at the moment. 

 

After successfully placing 4 cannons and rigging with little drama, the 5th is fighting back. I've had rings pulling out of the bulkhead and carriage. I'm on the fifth try rigging the starboard tackle after the flemish has repeatedly uncoiled while I was getting the blocks connected and in place. 

 

I've learned how to re-coil the line while still attached to the cannon, but apparently not really because I've done that twice and it uncoiled again both times.

The line gets too compromised after two tries, so then I've had to unrig the whole thing and put in a new line. I've done that twice now.

 

I've put nearly as many hours into the cannons as I did on the outer planking. I probably shouldn't keep track of such things. 

 

And I've still got the 6th cannon to go; I hope it decides to play nice. 

 

Thinking on it, I think I've spent half of my actual working time hunting for the pair of tweezers I just put down. Does that happen to everyone - losing the tools you're using right in front of your eyes?

 

Plus I've got the dropsies and bumpsies. I keep hitting the hull with my magnifying lenses when I try to get up close. Just dragged a wet paintbrush across the freshly repainted main rail.  And for every block I've worked with in the last week there are two on the floor. There are several small rigging hooks down there too. Amazing little things; they don't just fall out of your tweezers - they leap.

 

Each time I go to the workshop for a session with my hobby, I put my yoga practice to work - ready to enjoy whatever the model gives me. I figure I might work for a couple hours or 15 minutes - the model will tell me. 

 

What it's been telling me is that I'll spend two hours to make 15 minutes of progress. 

 

I've managed to keep my sense of humor about it, but I think I'm about to take a couple days off.

[GuntherMT]

Nothing wrong with taking a bit of a break when you need to.  What rigging line are you using, the terrible stuff in the kit?  

[gjdale]

I think we've all experienced what you have just described, so don't feel bad. Take a break if you need to - the model will still be there waiting patiently for you to return (even if you CAN see it sneering at you!)

[grayarea]

Nothing wrong with taking a bit of a break when you need to.  What rigging line are you using, the terrible stuff in the kit?

 

Yes, Brian, I'm using what came with the kit. I'm glad to hear it's not just me. I've considered ordering the Syren line that everyone speaks so well of, but this is my first build and I bought this kit for a lot of reasons - one being that I don't have to worry about every last decision. So I'm determined to make the best of what's been provided.

 

The only aftermarket purchases I've made so fare were pear wood for the deck (great decision) and blocks for the cannons that were more to scale than the ourptsized blocks provided.

[grayarea]

I think we've all experienced what you have just described, so don't feel bad. Take a break if you need to - the model will still be there waiting patiently for you to return (even if you CAN see it sneering at you!)

Thanks for the encouragement Grant. I've just passed the 2-year mark working on this, so I'm clearly comfortable taking breaks. But I do love working on it and there is no danger of my not finishing it eventually.

 

I went back to the workshop yesterday and made nice. I talked gently and said encouraging words. This ship is more like a cat than a dog. She was indifferent - unspooling another Flemish on me as soon as I touched it. But she also yielded a bit. All 6 cannons are rigged and resting comfortably.

 

Today, despite the unseasonably warm local forecast, I'm looking forward to starting in on the anchors and catheads, and making what looks like fast progress when I finally get to affix some of the many finished deck details that have been sitting in a container since I fashioned them months ago.

[GuntherMT]

Yes, Brian, I'm using what came with the kit. I'm glad to hear it's not just me. I've considered ordering the Syren line that everyone speaks so well of, but this is my first build and I bought this kit for a lot of reasons - one being that I don't have to worry about every last decision. So I'm determined to make the best of what's been provided.

 

The only aftermarket purchases I've made so fare were pear wood for the deck (great decision) and blocks for the cannons that were more to scale than the ourptsized blocks provided.

 

I can see why you are having so much difficulty with the line then, that stuff from MS is actually nylon/plastic stuff and probably isn't absorbing the glue/water mixture at all, and you will be relying purely on the surface stick.  I refused to use it, so I can't really give you any tips on how to handle it.

 

Good luck!  

[David Lester]

Hi,

I have been following your build log with interest; I built this model last year. I found an effective way to make Flemish coils. It's not my own idea, in fact I read it in a build log somewhere and it works like this: place double sided tape down on the deck, then find a small round object, such as a vial cap or something like that (I used the cap from the tube that small drill bits come in). Press the cap down on the tape where you want the coil to be and make one loop around the cap, pressing the line down onto the tape. Then remove the cap and continue making loops working from the outside in, pressing the line down as you go. It isn't hard to get a nice coil. When it's finished, you paint it with diluted glue. Once it's dry, you can peal the tape off the deck, then gently peal the coil off the tape and then replace it on the deck an glue it down. I made my coils in place on the deck where I wanted them using the line directly from the gun rigging. I guess you could also make the coils on the bench, leaving one end of line long and glue it to the rigging block when you placed the coil on the deck.

 

I also replaced my rigging line. I had decided not to upgrade all the parts in the kit as many do, but I did think that nylon line was going to be difficult to work with and opted to replace it. The Syren line seemed very expensive to me, so I searched high and low for decent line at an affordable price. I found some at Blue Jacket. They have both cotton and linen in a wide variety of sizes. I ordered their cotton line and it worked beautifully. Where I couldn't match the size exactly, I opted for the closest size smaller.

 

I also read with great interest your posting today in which you attributed a spirit to your model (a feisty one at that!) and likened it to a cat. The timing seemed  amazing to me because I had just moments before finished hearing an interview on CBC with Marie Kondo, the Japanese expert on de-cluttering who subscribes to the idea that inanimate objects actually have souls and that we relate to them. It's not something we think about very much, but here in one afternoon I heard about it in theory and read about it in practice!

 

I'm looking forward to watching your continued progress.

David

[grayarea]

David,

Thanks for following and for the nice comments. On my next build I will definitely look for a different approach to the flemish coils.
And depending how the early work goes as I progress to rigging the spars, I may still end up buying new line based on the feedback I'm receiving here. 

[gjdale]

Glad to hear you're back on speaking terms!

 

Changing your rigging line is one upgrade you will definitely not regret. It will save you a lot of heartache and your model will look better for it. I can't recommend Chuck's Syren line highly enough.

[grayarea]

You guys are killing me. But I suppose it's better than when I was playing with full-size boats. A suggestion to upgrade the line on my last boat would have cost about $2k.

Edited March 2, 2016 by grayarea

[grayarea]

Based on the advice of so many I've ordered a sampling of Syren line. If the difference is as great as you say, I'll raid the cookie jar and order a bunch. I'm thinking running rigging anyway - wondering if the stuff the kit supplies is still adequate for standing rigging.

[gjdale]

Wait til you see the Syren line - you won't believe the difference!

[GuntherMT]

Wait til you see the Syren line - you won't believe the difference!

 

This man speaks the truth.  I used Syren line on my first model (a Constructo kit) because the kit line wouldn't even fit through the blocks after drilling them out as much as I could, the line was so out of scale.  So when I opened the AVS and saw the line, and played with it for a little bit, I just threw it in the trash and ordered the line from Chuck to do the AVS.  Not a single regret.

[grayarea]

I've been meaning to post these photos for the last couple weeks, but work has gotten in the way of progress on the boat AND posting updates here. 
I've finished Sheet 3. My next activity will be on the mast, but I don't expect to get to it for another week or so. 

 

At the suggestions above, I did try the Syren line and see why it's so highly recommended. Much more fun to work with than the stuff that comes with the kit, and much more realistic. I'm not sure if I'll use it for the standing rigging, but I plan to do all the running rigging with the Syren line. 

 

Meanwhile, here's how she looks. 

Edited April 10, 2016 by grayarea

[David Lester]

Your model is looking great!

David

[gjdale]

Great work. She's looking terrific.

[grayarea]

After finishing the hull in April I took a long break away. It was a combination of work kicking my but, a summer that refused to give way to fall until almost Thanksgiving, and simply needing a break before jumping into a new phase of the model.

 

But I started again in October on the spars. I took this series of photos a few days ago; missing are the gaff and flag staff - which are both now well under way - and footropes on the upper yard arm.

 

 

I decided I want the spars natural rather than painted. I stained them with a light walnut stain before varnishing to get the orange look. There is some inconsistency in finish; the mast is darker than the others; I suspect the larger dowel simply had larger grain that took up more of the stain. But the color difference is exaggerated in these photos and doesn't bother me at all.

 

 

The mast was enjoyable. After building the cross trees as indicated in the plans, I ended up removing the forward cross brace; it seemed an unnecessary restriction to putting the two parts of the mast together. So I put did that first and then fitted a new cross brace after the fact.

 

 

I started the bowsprit twice. I was unhappy with my initial effort to transition the inboard end from square to round. I'm not all that happy with the second effort either; the octagonal portion looks a bit random. But I decided to live with this imperfection.

You can the wandering ridges below. The dimple in the sprit is where it will pass through the hole in the bow. It will be hidden under the main rail once installed. It was a shortcut to get the bowsprit to sit right on the deck without further rounding out the hole (I was running out of room and did a bit of damage in fiddling with it, and just needed to get my fat fingers out of there). 

 

 

The hole for the jib halyard - at the outboard end of the sprit - is supposed to run top-to-bottom, which is how I first had it. Then I took a look at the next sheet in the plans, and it showed the hole running side-to-side. After filling it and redrilling, I noticed another note - perhaps in the book- that explained it clearly as top-to-bottom. I'm going to enjoy looking at that boo-boo once the whole thing is under glass.

 

 

The main boom (below) was most notable for the amount of sanding it took to get the shape right. But I was happy with how it came out.

 

 

The "brass" straps that hold the walnut chocks on the inboard end are made form pewter etching foil - standard inventory at the art supply store. It's much easier to work with than the brass strip provided. When I used the same stuff on the cannons, I blackened it. Here I used bronze paint from the standard paint set. 

 

 

The yardarms were a breeze. I'm doing the footropes now on the upper yard. In the photos here, the footropes need a little dot of glue to hold the in place - since taken care of.

Edited January 11, 2017 by grayarea

[Tigersteve]

Just found your log and skimmed through it. Nice work on this kit!

Steve

[grayarea]

Zolten, you remembered. I've ordered Syren line and it is much more enjoyable to work with. It looks better too. That's Syren on the yardarm. I may still use some of the crappy stuff that came with the kit; finances are such that I don't need to be ordering all sorts of extras. But anywhere a line needs to drape, or where it's likely to be hard to work with, I'll use the good stuff.

Edited January 12, 2017 by grayarea

[GuntherMT]

Looking good grayarea.  I had some of the same difficulty that you did in the transition area on the bowsprit, so I feel your pain there.  I ended up making 3 bowsprits as I didn't like the dowel, went to a wood from the hardware store (square stock) and then ended up doing the final bowsprit in boxwood that also started as square stock, which makes the octagonal area much easier!

 

Glad you ended up with some Syren line, it's just so much better than that nylon stuff in the kit.  That line is probably my biggest 'issue' with MS kits.

[grayarea]

Broken hearted. Literally. In rigging the strop to hold the forestay, the forceps I use as a clamp cracked the heart. Gluing it back together isn't a possibility; it's not a clean break and there are tiny shards of walnut missing that make a repair harder than carving a new one.

 

Which I've decided not to so. My CA glue is going bad and I'd like a rubber-gripped clamp for holding these small parts, as I've broken several blocks the same way. So I'm taking the easy path on this one and ordering a package of 10 hearts. 

 

But here's a thought for Model Shipyard: There is a lot of room on that large sheet of laser-cut walnut parts. Would it be so hard to program a couple extra hearts into the laser? I sure would have been nice to have an extra.

[GuntherMT]

Bummer grayarea.  I never use forceps as a clamp because they don't have any force adjustment at all and clamp very tightly.  For stuff like that I'll use the style of tweezers that are normally closed, or small alligator clamps.

 

For the hearts, Model Expo will replace parts free of charge, so don't be afraid to just contact them and ask for more!

 

I replaced the kit hearts completely using the ones from Syren.

[grayarea]

Feeling annoyed. Do the double holes of a deadeye go up or down? Based on the instructions, I put them all upward on the chainplates. I did this months ago. 

 

Now I'm rigging and notice they face down. So I just tore apart the port-side chainplates and reversed them. 

 

Two hours later, after the reconstructive surgery, I noticed this.

 

 

Make up your mind.

 

So now what do I do? Change the other side? Leave it half-and-half - knowing that it will show when I have the shrouds rigged?

 

First I'm going to walk the dog.

Edited February 11, 2017 by grayarea

[grayarea]

Thanks. I if couse investigated on the Internet after committing to the change. It took about 4 minutes. I had it right the first time.

[grayarea]

Bit by bit her rigging is coming along. I've got the bowsprit rigged and affixed. Here's a shot of it with a short focal range and a perfectly focused background.

 

Here's a closeup at the bow - and in focus. I'm just noticing the rough edge where the bowsprit emerges for the first time. I'll have to clean that up. 

I'm rigging the mast now and am most of the way there. It looks like a real mast being prepped - lots of spaghetti, all of it making perfect sense to me and to nobody else. I've love to show you a photo, but it was either out of focus or it wouldn't load.

 

A serving tool from Ship Ahoy Models arrived and I managed to get the forestay spliced, served and moused on the first try in less than 2 hours. I've got a nice picture of it; it woulndn't upload. But here's the serving tool. It's well-built and operates smoothly. Part of me felt like I should make my until this arrived; I couldn't have come anywhere close to this and would have spent far more time and just as much money trying to work it out. 

That's all I've got. I'm disappointed; I wanted to show more stuff but ... out of focus or wouldn't load. I'll try again in a couple days. 

 

 

 

Edited February 23, 2017 by grayarea

[grayarea]

Rigging continues. I'm on my second set of shrouds because I didn't read the documentation carefully enough and learned the hard way that the deadeyes need to get spliced on before the ratlines or else you'll ruin the ratlines in trying.

I came to the realization over time, so it wasn't too rough of a lesson. I had finished one set and was about a quarter of the way through the second. So no more than about 200 tiny clove hitches.

It also gave me the excuse to redo the shrouds using nice Syren linen line instead of the polyester that came with the kit. Because I ran out of the polyester.

I'm much happier with this second set. Once the shrouds are done, I'll double-check the drawings to make sure I have as much done as possible before affixing the shrouds and mast. It seems every time I look, another small assembly jumps out at me that I wouldn't want to install once the mast is firmly in place.

But I feel like I'm getting closer to the point when I can start connecting all the rigging systems I've been building to the mast and boat.  At that point, progress will seem to go very quickly - for at least awhile.

 

Below: The 2nd try at ratlines - about 2/3 complete. 

Below: This was the first attempt at shrouds and ratlines, since discarded. I'm more satisfied the 2nd time around. 

Closeups of the 2nd try: 

Below: The served forestay, followed by the completed forestay with mouse - which I carved from a small dowel and painted black. I looked at various techniques to weave the mouse more authentically, but, well, no. Not this time around at 1:48 scale.

The mast rigging shot below is my first run-through, with old shrouds pre-ratlines/deadeyes. I've since removed the topmast, which is making the second attempt at the shrouds and other rigging much easier. 

 

Below: Port-side shrouds, before jigging to tie on ratlines. 

 

[grayarea]

Here's how I keep my line. Rather than letting it get tangled in the little plastic bag, I wrap it around the neck of prescription bottles. I keep the empty package inside the bottle even though I write the dimensions on the label. Because I'm a bit anal retentive. But if you're on this forum, you have at least a little bit of that in you too. 

Here's the starboard shrounds/ratlines completed.

 

Here's the port side in progress. One of the shrouds - at the bottom of this picture - is just a little bit long. About 1/32" - close enough to fake it and too close to fix it. If you look closely at the top of the shrounds, you'll see a brad stuck in between them at the top of the wood work surface. That's to tension the loose shroud. I plan to lose that odd space in the mass of lines where the top mast attaches. Getting each ratline even without distorting the shrouds is a slog. Much harder than with the first set. It'll be some kind of wonder if I don't have to discard this one half-way through and start over. 

 

 

 

[GuntherMT]

Interesting idea to do the complete assembly off the ship.  I put the shrouds on completely and did as much of the standing rigging as I could before I did the ratlines on the ship.  I'm afraid I'd finish the entire assembly, go to put it on the ship and discover that it didn't fit right.

 

How are you going to alternate the shroud pairs over the mast head left/right/left/right (or whichever way they alternate, I forget now)?