US Brig Syren by _SalD_ – FINISHED - 3/16" scale

[Jimz66]

Keep it going Sal. Looking good. 

[_SalD_]

Now that all the pieces are ready I started to install them.  Started with the swivel brackets for the carronades which I lined up by eye and the installation was pretty straight forward.   Then the pin rails were installed followed by the cleats. After all these pieces were installed I gave the entire inward bulwarks another coat of paint.

 

 

 

To help position the eye bolts around the gun ports I cut out the portion of the drawing showing their location to make a little template.  The template was placed at each port and a tick mark was made for drilling the holes.  The split rings were made from 28 gage wire wrapped around a T-pin with a diameter of about 1.3 mm. After putting the rings on the eye bolts I soldered the gap using silver solder.  Used a piece of drywall for the soldering board.

 

 

Eye bolts and belaying pins in place.  I used the brass belaying pins that came with the kit and blackened them prior to installing them.

 

[Jimz66]

Excellent work Sal. See you in September. 

[_SalD_]

Thanks Dirk and Jim always appreciate the comments.

[GLakie]

Very nice Sal!  That's some very clean work. 

[_SalD_]

Thanks George and.....

I just realized I made a novice boo-boo with the carronade eye bolts.  The split ring for the breeching lines should have been placed on the lower eye bolt and not on the upper where I have it.  I guess I looked at the picture of the aft cannons in the instructions that shows the rings on the upper eye bolt and carried that through for the carronades (oops).    Time for some ‘deconstruction’ as Dirk would say.

[augie]

Nice catch!  Looking good over there.

[Gahm]

Very nice progress! It always makes such a difference when all these details get added.

 

Thomas

[_SalD_]

Thanks Thomas.  I had a question for you or anyone else, I am planning to drill the mast holes in the deck and was wondering what size drill bit you used.  I'm thinking 3/16" diameter since it's a 5/16" diameter mast.

[Gahm]

3/16" sounds about right. I reduced the diameter of the dowel for the mast at one end on the lathe and chose the drill bit accordingly. I have to go back and see what I used exactly.

 

Thomas

[CPT_D]

Ship looks fantastic, I'm pulling up a seat.

[_SalD_]

Thanks cpt_d, welcome aboard

[CPT_D]

For sanding I used my dermal to take off a majority of the material, for the final sanding I used the sanding blocks shown below.  I had seen the red blocks in Marsares's Syren build and liked their shape so I purchased two.  The 20mm wide sander was very handy for doing the inboard side of the bulwarks, the 40mm wide one was good for doing the outboard side with its rounded surface.  The one I made from a cardboard tube with sandpaper taped to it also worked very well for the outboard side.  The emery boards and pencil sander I used to clean up the inside of the gun ports.

 

IMG_0999.JPG

Sal, where did you get these red sanding blocks?

[Gundorph]

CPT_D : You can bay them at CMB...

 

http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/sanding_tools.html 

 

There i have bought mine...

[GLakie]

CPT_D : You can bay them at CMB...

 

http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/sanding_tools.html 

 

There i have bought mine...

That link gives me a 404 error message.

[CPT_D]

Same here, 404 error.

[CPT_D]

looks like this is the place to buy them

[_SalD_]

looks like this is the place to buy them

cpt_d,  I don't recall off hand where I got mine but I know I got them in the US.  When I get home tonight I can look through my orders and see where I bought them.

[_SalD_]

Small update today.

 

Finished up the inboard bulwarks by stropping the double block to the traveler and installing it above the rudder.

 

 

 

Now I'm in the process of getting all the parts ready for the carronade sleds. 

 

[Gundorph]

Sorry the link didnt work... But yes its the link you have there CPT_D... There i bought mine...

[_SalD_]

looks like this is the place to buy them

 

I remembered (sometimes the old synapses fire in the right order ) I purchased them from www.hobbyLinc. com.

Link http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/zon/zon37790.htm

Edited August 20, 2015 by _SalD_

[CPT_D]

Very cool.  Ordered.

[augie]

Really shaping up, Sal.

[_SalD_]

Continuing with the carronade assemble I used my drill press to drill all the holes for the eye bolts.  This worked well except I should have paid closer attention to aliening the holes on either side.  I used a divider to mark the hole locations but as you can see they’re a little off.  I don’t think it will be that obvious once all the rigging is added and as long as I don’t tell anyone no one should notice.

 

 

 

Next I glued on all the photo-etched details to each sled and mounted the wheels to the lower sled after painting them.   

 

 

 

After reviewing some of the other Syren build logs (Gahm’s & Dirk’s) I decided to add the breech ring to the sides of the upper sled.  A little more work but I like the way it looks.  I have to say, that as I am working on these small parts I have a much better appreciation of the craftsmanship that Thomas and Dirk put into their cannons (and ships).

 

[_SalD_]

Looking very good Sal, but I noticed the holes are a bit off ...

 

Darn....I was hoping no one would notice...

[GLakie]

They look good to me Sal.  Don't think the "average" guy would notice. 

Edited August 25, 2015 by GLakie

[_SalD_]

Thanks George.  If I take my glasses off and take a step back I don't notice it either (lucky if I can still see the ship).

[Gahm]

Your carronade sleds look very good! Can't wait to see the finished carronades!

 

Thomas

Edited August 26, 2015 by Gahm

[_SalD_]

Thanks Thomas and thanks for all the likes.

[_SalD_]

Carronades  (sorry for the long post)

 

After much reflection I decided to upgrade the carronades from the kit supplied ones to the carronades from Bluejacket Shipcrafters.  The kit carronades just appeared a bit small and wimpy.

 

Bluejacket carronades compared to kit supplied ones.

 

The one thing that the Bluejacket carronades do not have is the part of the cannon that the elevating screw passes through.  For this part I raided my daughter’s jewelry beads and used a brass crimp bead.  To help secure them to the cannons I drilled a small hole in it and glued in a pin.  The other modification I made, and I’d like to thank Rod (rvchima) for posting his mishap with these same cannons on his Syren, was to remove most of the lug at the bottom of the cannon.  This was done so the cannon would sit lower on the sled to be better positioned in the gun port.  I also added a small pin on the bottom of the cannon to help secure it to the sled.  Then painted them all

 

 

The screws used to adjust the elevation of the cannon were made from toothpicks.  I chucked them in my drill press a used sandpaper to thin them down.  I used a bead to make sure I had the right diameter.  The toothpick was cut to length and a small hole for the handle was drilled into it.  For the handles I used the scrap shank pieces from shortened eye bolts.

 

 

All the pieces were then assembled.

 

 

Carronades are only temporarily placed.  I want to drill the hole for the masts before I glue them down.

 

 

 

If anyone is still reading I was wondering what peoples opinions were about rigging the cannons.  Is it easier to do it with the cannons on or off the ship?