HMS Surprise, kit.

[Lormarck]

Hi all, I watched the pictures and your various ingenious ways of getting the gunports carriages and guns properly installed. I notice that the Mamoli HMS Surprise kit is identical to the Mamoli French frigate La Gloire (MV34) in the Mamoli catalogue. Now what I did is saw of about one inch and a half ofh the back of th upper deck (the joint will be hidden anyway under the poop deck superstructure with the 3 metal hatches. This allowed me to glue the transom and side windows (metal parts). The 1 millimeter slit you have to be careful to leave between the transom and the 4 finishing wood blocks under the transom is to allow you to insert the ends of the planks of the 2d planking. With transom attached, metal gunports aligned (tedious job, I agree!) and glued with strong 2 component epoxy glue, I planked the inside gunwales around the gunports, finished the second planking outside, overlapping the edges of the metal gunports and sanded everything smooth. I then painted the inside of the gunwales and guncarriages red and glued them, guns installed, with epoxy glue in place against the gunports. When all was done, I glued the upper deck in place and planked it. I have now nearly finished the hull. Just the channels need to be attached, and then on to the masts. I wish you best of luck with HMS Suprise, Mark

 

Sadly, Mamoli Model is out of business due to a fire on the company premises. They are not likely to start up again, so our Mamoli Kits may well be our last!

Edited August 24, 2015 by Lormarck

[Bipper]

Wow, I didn,t realize they were out of business. Bad news I can't rely on customer support for shortages, etc. Good news is there is an opportunity for a new, better company to make great kits. From my 3 builds, I think the kits could be a whole lot better. There are many very talented folks on here that should do a startup. Unfortunately, I don't have any venture capital but if ya need a CEO, computer guy, or bean counter, let me know.

 

Mark, thanks for info, it all helps. I am still struggling through 1st planking with metal gun ports, big mistake. I thought the gap on the stern was for the 1st planking, oh well, it's amazing what I can do with enough sand paper.

 

Does anyone have a good reccomendation on paints? I think I am good for the metal stuff, but on the wood, what works well and what colors do ya think? Best all!

Edited September 10, 2015 by Bipper

[Ulises Victoria]

Does anyone have a good reccomendation on paints? I think I am good for the metal stuff, but on the wood, what works well and what colors do ya think? Best al

 

Hello Bipper. I will be using these paints on my Royal Louis. I can not actually tell how they work as I have not used them yet, but for what I have learned, they are specially formulated  to be used on bare wood and look "antique and authentic".

 

Woodcraft carries these.

 

http://www.milkpaint.com/

Edited September 10, 2015 by Ulises Victoria

[Bipper]

Thanks!

[Jaxboat]

I did a little research on "Milk Paint". The binder is casein which, indeed, does come from milk. Many of the pigments they use were indeed available during the great age of sail. (iron oxides).  Ultramarine is a synthetic version of Lapis Lazuli which was used in blue paint but was extremely expensive until the synthetic version was accidentally discovered in the 19th. Chrome oxide green was not available until mid 19th century, All of the pigments I saw listed were inorganic and very color stable under normal UV and temp conditions.  Best aspect of these paints is their total lack of toxicity. I would be somewhat concerned about their durability from a UV exposure and moisture resistance standpoint.

Jaxboat

Edited October 26, 2015 by Jaxboat

[DLYNAM]

Just read all the trouble you guys have had with the gun port issues!  I'm an accomplished modeler in another discipline and since I have started ship modeling it seems the instructions are wrong most of the time, parts in the box are the wrong thing, missing or inadequate, the plans have missing information or can barley be deciphered.

 

Do the manufactures' care at all about the product?  My fist ship is the Dallas and I had to stop, it was such a hash to figure out!

 

I decided to do the Model Shipways Shipwright series to get the basics down before I go further with the Dallas!

 

At least I'm finally off to a good start now!

 

Thanks so much for the forum and sharing you knowledge with the newbies like me

 

[mtaylor]

16 hours ago, DLYNAM said:

Just read all the trouble you guys have had with the gun port issues! 

 

Do the manufactures' care at all about the product?

 

 

 

Many, if not most of the "old" manufacturers don't give enough attention to instructions.  The newer ones do have much better instructions and also plans.   

 

Many are starting to get the hint about their products quality and starting to change and update their products.  Sadly, there's too many that still don't seem to care plus, many of the older kits will remain on the market for a long time probably on E-bay.

[DLYNAM]

Thanks for the reply and info!

 

I have found a copy of Frank Martini’s book “Ship Modeling Simplified” and has filled in most of the blanks the instructions omit!!

 

Thanks Again!

Dave

[allanyed]

Dave

 

Model Shipways Shipwright series is a great way to start off!  There are additional great kits as well, but also some others that are difficult to work with and are avoided by many folks due to poor materials, poor instructions, and design details such as gratings, belaying pins, etc.  that look nothing like what is found on a real ship or a well scaled model.  Study the build logs here at MSW and compare to photos of contemporary models and plans on various websites like RMG Collections to get a better idea of which kits will suit your needs and tastes in the future.

Allan

Edited April 30, 2022 by allanyed