US Brig Niagara by Laxet - FINISHED - Model Shipways

[Don Quixote]

I just created a new topic on backing up a computer in shore leave.

[GLakie]

It was the USB drive that caused my problems (actually the program used for backing up). So now I must find a new one.

 

I have already purchased my next (intended) project, unless something else simpler comes along first. I do have my eye on the Syren, but that almost seems redundant after Niagara. Anyway, I have the Caldercraft HMS Victory sitting in the corner calling me. The problem is I have so many other models waiting, it may a couple of years before I get to it. Wow. I just counted (for the first time ever) & I have 46 other kits in front of the Victory, including a Hasegawa 1/16 Wright Flyer & an almost scratch built T2 tanker that I sailed on for a summer in my youth. I have already "jumboized" it, & if it is appropriate, I will do a build log on this forum.

46 kits waiting in the wings? Be sure and let us know if you ever decide on having a clearance sale. 

 

Cheers

[Laxet]

Since I'm now retired, I have lots of time. I am amazed at how many I have finished in the last two years. I am going to try to have one big project & one little project going at the same time so I can keep this moving along. The problem is, there are always more I want. There are two on my want list now: a Beech Starship and a Piaggio avante.

[GLakie]

Well------All I can say is maybe you should talk to Matt S.  and ask him where you can recruit some of those squirrels that have been working for him. 

[Guest Tim I.]

Dale,

 

I also have the same problem with numerous kits on the shelf. I have so many ships waiting, it is easy to loose interest in the one I am working on. I am greatly enjoying following your Niagara log.

 

- Tim

[Laxet]

Thanks Tim. I try to keep it entertaining. I'm thinking of renaming it "What did Dale screw up today?" I know what you mean about losing interest. I have some kits I started over 15 years ago & I'll probably never get to finish them. I imagine all of the great mods I will do, & then once I start them I realize it's way beyond my capabilities, so they sit.

 

Here is a crappy picture of my masts placed in the hull the final time (I hope). You can almost make out some of the pre-installed rigging. I started attaching the deadeyes to the lower shrouds today. This will be tedious & time consuming. It looks like I will get a pair a day done, so 10 days if nothing goes wrong (yeah, that never happens).

[GLakie]

Looks good with the masts and spars in place Dale!

 

Cheers 

Edited February 22, 2015 by GLakie

[Guest Tim I.]

Wow, it really looks great!

 

- Tim

[Laxet]

Here's another funny story of something old Dale did wrong (sort of). I attached the spanker gaff & boom to the main mast & then realized I couldn't rig them because then I wouldn't be able to install the main shrouds, since I had already seized the top of them & they needed to slip over the top of the lower mast. So the booms sit on the railing as you can see in the picture.

Edited February 22, 2015 by Laxet

[Laxet]

And yet another funny story from yesterday. It's been pretty dry here this week with lots of static electricity in the air. I was trying to serve the shrouds with some very fine thread. Every time I moved the tweezers near the thread, it moved away. I felt like a snake charmer. Boy was that annoying. I guess I need to ground my chair, tools, supplies, everything.

 

Here are two pictures showing the shroud deadeye attachment in progress & finished. You can see the makeshift spacer I cobbled together to space the deadeyes. It doesn't look like much but it works like a champ & it is very strong, which it needs to be considering the size of the shrouds.

[GLakie]

Looks good Dale! As long as it works, doesn't matter what the tool looks like. Fixed post 399. Don't usually get names wrong but it was an interesting day. 

 

Cheers

[Laxet]

I got tired of pulling the spools of thread onto the floor, so today I rigged this up. It's just a piece of wire from some Romex. Now they are out of the way & easy to pull. It is attached to my magnifier lamp.

[JesseLee]

Good idea!

[Laxet]

I tried & tried, but I just can't seem to get the shrouds equal lengths. I don't know know what the secret is, but next time, I will build them one at a time, install it & then use it to measure the next one. And I just noticed looking at this picture, I got the #2 shroud run backward around the top deadeye. Sheesh. I can't believe it took three days to install the lanyards on the shrouds. I ended up having to drill all of the deadeye holes again (meaning I ended up doing it twice) because the line they called out was just ever so slightly larger than the holes I had already drilled.

 

And here is another lesson learnt. Don't install the boat davits until the shrouds are in place & rigged. I broke one off with my large hands, as well as one of the metal brackets that holds them in place.

 

Now to install the ratlines. This ought to be good (heavy sarcasm).

Edited March 1, 2015 by Laxet

[Laxet]

After doing a little tidying up of the shrouds, I started doing ratlines. I got about 1/2 of one side of one mast done. This will go faster than I expected. I'm going to sick of clove hitches by the time I'm done.

 

It is a good thing that I take these pictures & post them. It allows me to see mistakes that I probably would have missed otherwise. I see some stuff that needs to be attended to before I continue.

 

Once again, the picture is slightly out of focus on the parts I was trying to show.

[Laxet]

Shoot! I started rattling the shrouds then I realized I forgot to do the futtock shrouds. This is going to be a bit difficult, with all of the yards & rigging in place. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I break something. Here is a picture of one of my futtock shrouds. I finished all 16 of them today plus an extra because you just never know what's gonna happen.

 

I don't know exactly how far down to attach them so I measured down from the top 1" and will attach them there. That looks about right unless anybody else has better info.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Laxet

[Laxet]

I've been working on these catharpins (cat-harpins) for two days. I finished them today & will install them tomorrow. That will be difficult, working inside the shrouds under the magnifier. My hands are so big I anticipate damage. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I purposely left the lines long on one side so I could fine tune the lengths once installed. I don't know how else to do this, but it sort of replicates actual practice & what more could you ask for. Then I can attach the futtock shrouds. Seems everything is dependent upon something else & it all snowballs.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Laxet

[GLakie]

Good luck on your installation Dale. Doesn't look easy. 

[Laxet]

Thanks George. Should have pics tomorrow & a whole sob story.

[Laxet]

Installed 3/4 of the catharpins today. Didn't get one side attached. I finished the main mast & tightened them but haven't cut the excess yet. You can see them in the attached pictures. I had to run one in front of the spanker mast & one behind. I could find no references to tell me one way or another whether this is correct or not. Otherwise it would rub against the spanker mast & that doesn't seem right. The spanker boom can't go above this point anyway so it seems okay.

 

This whole operation wasn't nearly as difficult as I expected it to be. It was just time consuming.

[Laxet]

I'm 3/4 finished with the futtock shrouds & all finished with the catharpins. Pics to follow tomorrow once all done.

 

I've been thinking what a lot of work this has been. I will have spent almost six days making catharpins & futtock shrouds. The thing is, the catharpins are barely visible. By the time the futtock shrouds are attached & the ratlines are in, along with miscellaneous rigging, you won't even know they are there. If I wasn't building my first ship & learning how to do this stuff, I might not have even bothered with them. It goes back to the question I posed early in my build log, how much detail is enough? 

[GLakie]

I've been studying the different modeling techniques, and standards, some of the other modelers in this forum have been following, and I've come to the conclusion that it's all about what you yourself as a modeler want in the end. From what I've seen in the quality, or standard of excellence, that you've shown in the rest of your build, it would be a shame not to follow that same standard for the rest of it. What you've done with the catharpins, follows shipwright practice, and you'll know they're there and could point them out to any unknowing observers. IMHO, worth the extra effort.

 

Cheers 

Edited March 7, 2015 by GLakie

[JesseLee]

Do as much or as little as your gut is leading you to do. This is for your enjoyment & satisfaction.

[Laxet]

Finished installing the futtock shrouds & rattling the stbd side forward mast (except for the futtock shrouds).

 

When I first built the main shrouds, I thought they looked too big. They've since grown on me & I'm thinking they look about right now. It also gives a sense of realism having so many different line sizes. I think that's one thing that really makes a ship model pop. For my next ship, I think I will attempt to use all line as close to actual scale size as possible. I've already added several sizes to this build & serving lines is icing on the cake, even though they are very difficult to work with.

[Laxet]

Wow. All of this & valuable info too!

 

I saw something that I had never noticed before. They actually seized a ratline to the deadeye lanyards on the lower tops. Here are three pictures with circles & arrows & a paragraph on the... sorry. Just got through listening to Alice's Restaurant. Anyway, check this out. I might just have to add this little detail.

 

Man, where does he come up with this minutiae?

[Laxet]

I am contemplating the construction of the mouse on the forestays. I have seen several techniques. & have pretty much decided how to do it, but I don't know how big to make it. Does anybody know how big a mouse is in real life or how big of a bead I need to be scale size?

[Laxet]

Well, I see don't nobody know nuttin' 'bout no mouses, so I'll have to figure it out all by my lonesome.

 

Finished the first set of ratlines. You can see how I aligned them with a lined piece of paper. They are spaced 7/32" apart per the plans & after aligning the ratlines, I had to add 6 more. That shows how well eyeballing it works. This part actually looks pretty good to me. Not perfect, but not bad considering it's been over 30 years since my last ratline.

 

I just started on the second set & I was amazed at how slanted the whole set of ratlines was. Couldn't tell by just looking. I highly encourage the use of a guide of some sort, even as simple as mine.

[GLakie]

Your ratlines are looking good Dale. About those "mice". I can only relay what I've seen and read about them, and it's pretty much everything you already know about them. As far as size goes, since my plans don't specify any size at all, I would guess, as long as they're large enough around to stop the line ahead of it from sliding past it, it would be large enough. 

[Laxet]

All right, gather 'round. I'm going to divulge what is apparently some sort of trade secret involving mouse making. You won't find this precise of information anywhere on the entire internet. If anyone thinks these look too big or not right, I am sure they will let me know (please).

 

First, know this is not my technique. I stole it from someone right here on this website. His moniker is AEW, & here is a link to his posting: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/201-hms-vanguard-by-aew-victory-models-scale-172/?p=129898

 

I started with a 1/4" dowel. I drilled a #56 hole in the middle. Then I put it in my pencil sharpener & sharpened it. Then I cut it 3/8" long & filed it. There it is. Put this info in your pocket where you won't lose it. I guess now I'll be banned from the Shipbuilder's Castle in Hollywood.

 

Model Expo must think they're slick. They included .040" line with the original kit. I found out later that they were now supplying .051" line, so I asked them for some. They sent me what they called .051" but it is exactly the same size as the .040 line I already had, The main stay is supposed to be .047" & I have nothing very close. You gotta watch those guys!

 

In the 2nd picture, the middle mouse is the first one. It seemed a big bigger than the rest so I made another to replace it.

Edited March 22, 2015 by Laxet

[Laxet]

Boy, I really screwed the pooch this time. I spent the last three days building the fore & main stays & preventer stays. I was thinking the mouse was a little big, but I decided to go on anyway. Well fate, being the female dog she is had other plans for me.  I ended up gluing the mouses on backwards. Now I *have* to remake all of the stays. You can see the comparison below. This time I used a 3/8" dowel. The first ones were pretty shoddy anyway so I guess this is for the best (also in a picture below). MAN, I hate doing things twice.

 

I bought the mouse making attachment for my serving machine, but I'll be darned if I can work it. So I'll try something else.

Edited March 26, 2015 by Laxet