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

[grayarea]

Gunther,

It will be touchy work to layer/alternate the shrouds but they will go. I've already had them on and off a couple times without the ratlines.

The first time was to build the loops at the top - when I left plenty of tail at the bottom.

 

The second time was after the loops were finished, I put them on the mast - correctly layered - and got the deadeyes set at the right length and held in place with a knotted thread and a tiny bit of CA. The hardest part of this process was making sure the mast was straight up-and-down, which I did with a teeny, tiny plumb bob, smooth jazz and no small amount of Bourbon. Once I was satisfied everything was true and the right length, I removed them and finished the deadeye splicings.

 

Then I put them on again to test the length and was satisfied. 

 

Once the ratlines are done, I'll put them back on along with all the other spaghetti that I've been preparing. They are toward the bottom of the pile of line at that part of the mast, so if I need to cheat a bit to widen the loops and create 1/32" of extra tension, I'll be the only person who knows. (Except for all of you, and I'm pretty sure you won't tell.)

 

The technique for getting the shrouds on is straightforward; hold them all at the top section of the main mast and loop them on in proper order, then lower them into place and arrange them. 

 

The real pressure is to make sure I put on every system in the correct order. 

 

With all that said, this is my first build and it could all go terribly wrong. My goal isn't to get all the rigging set up beforehand; just the items that look like they'll be really difficult.

 

If I've really screwed up, there will be 2 options to fix it:

1: Adjust the height of the mast from the bottom as needed - the only piece I'd have to redo is the ring at the base of the mast. This is probably good for up to 1/8" in either direction.

2: Throw away 15 hours of work on the shrouds and start over with the mast in place. 

 

I'm prepared to do either but fingers are crossed that I won't have to. 

 

Meanwhile, here are the parrels. I'm really glad I didn't have to affix these with the mast already secured.

 

 

[grayarea]

I've been making my way through the rigging. I've been picking my order as I go, doing what seems to make sense next, with an overall game plan of avoiding getting my fingers and tools twisted in the rigging that's done. 

 

So I tend to work on related systems (e.g. Forestay and associated halyards) rather than in the layers of standing and then running rigging. I'm also trying to minimize doing the more intricate work on the boat itself. Like the parrels - I much preferred doing those on the workbench than on the mast under the forestay. 

 

But it means working several steps ahead; Igor example, I needed to have the tops'l yard ready to rig and on the topmast before I installed the flying jib stay. So I'm working several steps ahead.

 

The whole thing is fraught with peril, and I've made a few layering mistakes. But nothing I couldn't re-rig free of damage.

 

Next up are the topmast backstays, and the rigging for the tops'l yard. 

 

I haven't been finishing off lines lines as I go. I can see where it will cut off access to some of the cleats that aren't yet occupied - especially at the bow. That will be a tedious last step. 

 

The big lesson I've learned is to let the lines sit overnight before gluing in the cleats and washing the line with dilute white glue. They have a lot of stretch in them and they need to settle.. and I've caught a lot of errors that way.

 

I'm enjoying the rigging. I thought it would move a bit faster, but im in no rush. 

 

Here are some photos. 

 

 

[GuntherMT]

Looking good and coming along nicely!

[grayarea]

I'm still plugging away, an hour here and an hour there. It's summertime and the basement workshop gets moist and unpleasant. So I keep the model on the dining room table (I'm on borrowed time with that), and carry it downstairs when I work on it.

 

I'm literally tying up loose ends - coils. I'm down to my last 10 or 12 of them, all at the bow. After than, I just have to put in the swivel guns and the flagstaff on the stern, and it will be done.

 

I'm starting to think about a display case, and am realizing it involves tools I don't own.

 

All the bites that hold the coils together are real; I made them the way I was taught when I was first learning to sail. As everyone here surely knows, getting them to lay or hang naturally is no small trick. Here's what it looks like. 

 

[Tigersteve]

That looks great. I especially like the rope work. 

Steve

[janet bode]

Hi grayarea,

                  What a cheek you start your first build and it turns out like that.Seriously i must congratulate you on such a very nice model,

                 

                  it looks terrific keep up the good work.

 

                               Janet B

[grayarea]

Project finished.

Jan. 17, 2014 - July 21, 2017. 469 hours.

It's funny, after that amount of time, that I put on the flag staff and that was it. Done. Simply nothing left to do on a project that often seemed as if it would/should never end. No abmiguity, not one more little thing. Simply done.

 

I enjoyed every moment - even the rough ones. 

 

I've been planning to build a display case and have drawn up plans. I hoped to use acrylic with a UV filter to protect the model from sunlight and reduce the weight of what is likely to be a very fragile box. Then I priced it out; the acrylic alone will cost over $400. Even UV glass would cost about $300. So now I'm looking at regular glass. Heavy and not protective against fading. But better than letting dust accumulate on the rigging.

 

After that, I'm going to take a break for a year or so. I have another project - entirely different - that's been waiting none-too-patiently. But once that's finished, I'll reward myself with another model to build. Perhaps the brig Niagara - which won the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812 under Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry (don't give up the ship). Being a Lake Erie sailor, it has local significance to me, and the living replica is located just 90 miles from my home in Cleveland - so part of the build will include necessarily include at least one field trip for photos.

 

Anyway, here are some final pics. I'm happy with the way she turned out for a first build. And thank you to everyone who provided encouragement along the way. I enjoyed the community. 

 

I'm not completely in love with the way the name plate came out. I wanted the lettering to pop, but the white background pops just a bit too much for my taste. But I don't hate it enough to risk the damage of trying again. It's one of those imperfections along the way that you deliberately decide to live with.

 

 

 

[Tigersteve]

Congrats! Looks great!

Steve

[gjdale]

Congratulations on completing your first build. You can be justifiably proud of a fine model - well done!

[russ]

This is a very nice looking model. Congratulations. Your rigging is very good. An excellent model all around.

 

Russ

[donrobinson]

Good work

 

[GuntherMT]

Congratulations on completing your first build, and a job well done.  Certainly you can be proud to display that!

[captgino]

Congratulations on your first build, nicely executed!!! 

What is next? 

[grayarea]

I don't have plans yet for my next build. I have at least one hobby too many and an unrelated project that I want to finish over the next year. And then I'll decide what to build next. As mentioned above, I like the idea of building the brig Niagara. 

But I'm also curious about what other kit brands have to offer.

 

Any suggestions on brands to try other than Model Shipways are welcome - and particularly why you'd recommend them.

 

[grayarea]

One final shot of my AVS on display. 

 

I made the case using standard molding and UV-filtering museum-quality acrylic that I found online for a shockingly good price. The back panel is a mirror, which I protected by gluing fiberboard to its back side. 
The process was to make the "glass" box first, using acrylic glue; it's strong stuff and needs to be used with good ventilation. It goes into the cracks with a syringe and welds the two pieces of acrylic together. With reasonable care, it was easy, neat and effective.

 

Then I reinforced the box by gluing square molding to the inside joints. I used household Goop, which seemed to be the right adhesive based on online research, to glue the wood to the acrylic, and also to the mirrored back-panel. It was my first time using the stuff; it's very effective. I wish I had been a little bit neater; some of it shows at the joints and it's really tough and hard to remove.

 

Then I put together the exo-skeleton of molding. It does add more strength to the construction, which is quite rigid and not overly heavy, but its real purpose is cosmetic - to cover up the glued acrylic joints.

The base is just a piece of stained poplar with decorative molding glued onto the edges. That's because I don't own a router to have made the edges myself. I purposely left about a quarter-inch of play all the way around between the cover and the base-molding that holds it in place.  

Black felt under the base and at the bottom of each corner of the cover gives everything a nice finished look. 

I played around with ideas to be able to open the case from one end, but all of those added a lot of complexity to the job. So this case needs to be lifted off over the top of the boat; there is some risk in it, and it's 100% a two-person job. But it's not something I plan to do often.