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

[GLakie]

Those are some really nice carronades Sal, and they look splendid setting in place. 

[_SalD_]

Thanks George, appreciate the compliment, as always

[augie]

Aftermarket carronades look nice and robust.  Nice work.

[_SalD_]

Thanks Augie, I went back and forth on using the supplied ones or buying new ones. I guess you know how that ended.

[Gahm]

These are some fine looking carronades! I love your bead idea!

 

Thomas

[_SalD_]

Thanks Thomas and Dirk.  Need to add her back teeth now.

[Gundorph]

Looks very Nice... keep up the good work...

[GuntherMT]

 

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?

 

I've only done the single ship with cannons (not carronades) and I couldn't figure out a reasonable way to rig them off the ship.  I did use hooks on both ends of the tackle so that I could pre-rig the tackle, and then hook it into the eyebolts and tighten them.  Was still quite fiddly and time consuming, but I have no idea how I would have done it prior to fixing the carriages in place, since I wouldn't have a way to get the proper positioning of the carriages with all the ropes in the way, and also no way to get the lengths right on the ropes (the breach lines mostly) without the guns on deck.

 

I'm sure there is a way, and I'll keep prowling build logs until I see the magic system!

[GLakie]

Brian, I've been following Ken's (xken) build of the Niagara, and he came up with a pretty efficient way of rigging cannon and carriages. Starts here: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/10038-us-brig-niagara-by-xken-model-shipways-scale-164/page-11#entry325043  and continues here with the jig he used: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/10038-us-brig-niagara-by-xken-model-shipways-scale-164/page-12#entry327833

 

Cheers

[_SalD_]

Thanks for the information Brian and George.  A lot to read and study.

[_SalD_]

Carronade breech rigging.

 

To rig the breech lines I decided to glue all the cannons in place and not do them off the ship, pretty much how it’s described in the manual.  After doing three cannons I came up with a procedure that worked pretty well for me.

 

 

First I made up all the breech lines I needed for the remaining five starboard cannons with a breech ring and eye bolt seized to one end.  At the other end of the line I applied some ca glue to stiffen it up to make it easier to thread through the other rings. Next I glued the breech ring’s eye bolt to the bulwark and threaded the line through the left and center breech rings.  Prior to doing the right side of the cannon I glued the line to the deck on the left hand side of the cannon as Chuck did in his instructions.

 

 

 

On the right side of the cannon I glued the breech ring to the bulwark prior to threading the line through it.  I also slipped a ‘zip-seizing’ onto the line before threading it through the bulwark breech ring.  'Zip-seizing'?, you may ask.  While reading Brian’s (GuntherMT) AVS log I was intrigued with his use of ‘zip-seizing’ and thought I would give it a try and it worked out rather well.  Here’s a link for anyone interested in learning more about it http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/8936-zip-ties-yes-or-no-for-seizings/?p=263833.

 

 

Before threading the line through the ‘zip-seizing’ I glued the breech line to the deck. Once the glue was dry I tightened up the line on the breech ring and applied some ca to the seizing.  Threading the line through the ‘zip-seizing’ was a challenge but with a little patience it can be done.  I'm also glad I added the breech rings to the upper sled, it made positioning the breech line much easier.

 

 

Starboard side finished.                                                 Port side done.

[augie]

She's got most of her teeth.  Smiling over here.

[_SalD_]

Thanks Augie, sounds like me, got most of my teeth too.

[jablackwell]

Hi there,,,,,

 

I have been watching this build log with great enthusiasm and appreciation. The Syren is next on my build list, so all the help I can get is huge! :-) So, a big THANK you for keeping this marvelous log. 

 

I have a question about the carronades on the Syren, or on any vessel with a similar style of installation.

 

The back end of the "sled" which holds the cannon barrel has little wheels or some such: to allow for rolling the sledge back and forth for aiming, I presume... but also to allow the whole thing to come back for reloading, yes?  The front of the sled rests on the foot rail or inboard planksheer by the looks of it. When the cannon is broughtback inboard to reload, does the sled then not fall off the planksheer? Or is there something else under there that I am not seeing? Just curious.

 

Thanks!

~john

[_SalD_]

Hi John,  Thanks for the kind words and I'm glad you're enjoying my log.  The carronades, as I understand it and by no means am I and expert on the subject, have a two piece 'sled'.  The lower sled is pinned to the swivel bracket located inboard of the gun port and has the wheels at the back end.  This sled travels in an arc for aiming pivoting at the swivel bracket.  The upper sled with the cannon mounted to it slides back and forth along the slot in the lower sled guided by a pin.  So when the cannon is fired only the upper sled moves backward and then is 'run out' again for firing.

 

I hope this makes sense and I'm sure there are others on this forum that can give you a much better explanation.

 

added a picture

 

Edited September 8, 2015 by _SalD_

[jablackwell]

THAT is brilliant!  Thank you for sharing this. Now it all makes a ton of sense. I was thinking that the whole assembly moved back with the shot. Thanks!

Keep up with the fine build.

~john

[Gahm]

Excellent progress, Sal! Those breech ropes look very good! First time I see this zip-seizing method.That's an interesting way of doing it.

 

Thomas

[_SalD_]

Thanks Thomas. I thought it was an interesting way to seize the lines so I thought I'd try it.

 

And thanks to all for the 'likes' it's most appreciated.

[FlounderFillet5]

Sal,

 

Thought I would come check out your build log to see another great ship being built.  All I can say is wow, fantastic work so far! I look forward to seeing your progress as you move forward.

 

Question, since your first build was the Phantom and this is your second, how do you feel about the instructions that are included with this kit? As I understand it, they are quite detailed but I am wondering how much prior knowledge is assumed since this is an advanced kit.

 

Keep up the great work Sal!

 

Best regards,

[_SalD_]

Max, I'm glad you like the ship, it's quite a step up from the Phantom.

 

One of the main reasons I purchased the Syren was because of the detailed instructions that came with it and Chuck does an excellent job of explaining each step.  You can go to the Model Expo site and download the instructions if your interested prior to purchasing the kit.  I think too that just as long as you have some basic knowledge of ship building and model making (and a lot of patience) you shouldn't have any problem building this kit.  There is also this forum that is most helpful for looking at previous builds and for answering any questions you may have.

 

Best of luck

[FlounderFillet5]

Hmm... I will have to think over when I want to build this beautiful ship.  I would love to build it next but I don't think I have the confidence in planking the hull yet and I would like to get one or two POB kits under my belt so that I could do this ship some justice.  I know this was your first planking job but you id a much better job than I think I could do on my first try, it is actually very impressive the quality of planking you were able to accomplish.  Additionally, I don't think I will be able to convince the admiral on the purchase of another kit while I have a few under the bench already.  Regardless, first things first... finish the Phantom before planning my next challenge, on my way to update my log now.

 

See you around,

[_SalD_]

After making a number of blocks with hooks for the carronade tackles I decided to make up a couple tackles to ensure they were going to work.  I am using the kit supplied 3/32” blocks with Chuck’s 3mm hooks from Syren.   I’m glad I did this because I discovered a slight problem.  I found that I positioned the upper sled too far forward on the lower sled which made the outhaul tackle very tight.  The upper sled was originally positioned that far forward so the barrel of the carronade was slightly beyond the outboard planking of the gun port.

 

 

Not being able to make the tackles any smaller I decided to reposition all the upper sleds farther back on the lower sled.   Using an x-acto chisel blade I carefully pushed it between the two sled parts wiggling it side to side as I pushed.  I’m glad I used white glue to fasten these to pieces together.  I repositioned the upper sleds with the barrel of the cannon just flush with the exterior of the gun port thus giving me a little more room for the outhaul tackle.

 

 

In retrospect I should have positioned the eye bolts for the outhaul tackles on the sled as far back as possible and spread the eye bolts on the bulwarks a little wider to provide as much length as possible for the tackles.

 

[WackoWolf]

The rigging on the cannons looks excellent, I had just seen them at the meeting and now you started the rigging. Now I have to wait until the next meeting to see the finished. Thanks for sharing.

[_SalD_]

Thanks Joe, I'll try and finish by the next meeting.

[WackoWolf]

Don't rush, take your time. Most times when a person rushes things they end up having problems, You do excellent work, go at your speed, I am not leaving this world yet LOL. I can wait.

[_SalD_]

Eight down eight to go!

Finished rigging the eight port side carronades which was pretty straight forward with just a lot of repetition.  The Syren company hooks worked out well and I followed Brian’s (GuntherMT) advice to thread the hooks before cutting them off the sprue. I’m not sure if this is proper but I decided to run the outhaul lines underneath the  gun tackle lines for a couple of reasons.  One, I thought the ropes would have a more natural looking droop leaving the block and two, I didn’t want to obscure the gun tackle ropes with the outhauls going over the top of them (personal preference).

 

[GuntherMT]

That's a lot of gun tackle rigging!  Looking good Sal.

[_SalD_]

Thanks Dirk.

 

Thanks Brian and thanks again for the tip on threading the hooks. I didn't lose one.

[Gundorph]

Looks great... I have a long way to go... 

[_SalD_]

Thanks Gundorph and just take your time on your ship and enjoy the trip.

 

and thanks again for all the likes, much appreciated.