Santisima Trinidad by GTM - OcCre - 1:90 - Kit Bashed

[Micklen32]

Running out of superlatives again Theo

Really beautiful and very precise work

[GTM]

Continuing with the deck "furnishings"..

 

And continuing the current trend by scratch building the mast partners by using some remains of the supplied walnut strips by the kit.

 

 

 

 

As well as the the plywood supplied bowsprit knighthead …

 

 

 

 

 

...

 

 

Edited March 28, 2014 by GTM

[Moonbug]

Great work with your deck - love the details.

 

- Bug

[usedtosail]

Much nicer than the supplied parts

[Sjors]

And here comes another " bashed " model     

Next build scratch Theo ?

Real improvement you've make from the parts that came with the kit !

 

[GTM]

Thank you guys !!,

 

I know the next part it is not exactly after the instructions either ..

I don’t like all the “visual” plywood parts and as I’m not intent to paint my model I try not to use too many different materials/colors.

 

According to the instructions the stairs to the lower decks should be made as shown down below. I find the supplied columns slightly out of scale so I wanted to change them.

 

 

Browsing through MSW I stumbled over scrapers and I decided to make one from used scalpel blades and by grinding a column pattern into them ..

I used a thin grinder but still it was not easy, not very accurate & it removed very quickly too much.

.. just by trying, trying & trying..  finally !! (more luck than science) I had created some usable scrapers      

 

 

 

By using a round stick in a lathe (unfortunately not my own)  and using the scraper, I succeeded to produce some columns in a better scale

 

 

 

After this  I also wanted to change the handrails a bit.

I needed 3 Staircases, so I decided to use a jig to make sure to keep all the parts in place and in the right angles during the gluing process.

 

 

 

I noticed that some plywood around the hatches would still be visible after mounting the stairs.

I glued a very thin border around the frame to prevent this and mounted all the columns and the handrail section.

 

 

 

 

And added handrails to the stairs.

 

 

Here it is, the very first one waxed & fitted in position..

 

 

 

...

Edited March 28, 2014 by GTM

[Sjors]

Very nice Theo !

 

[GTM]

I finished all 3 staircases today, and I continued with manufacturing the beams for the main hatch.

 

 

I'm extremely happy with my table saw and i use it whenever i can.

All material and angles in the supports are cut with a table saw.  

 

 

 

 

But.. no fancy machines for creating the arch in the supports.. 

 

 

..I became a big fan of jigs during this build..

Just by gluing 3 simple pieces of scrapwood in place and it will make sure that all the supports are glued exactly on the same spot.

 

 

 

I rounded the top edges of the beams

 

 

And glued them in place

 

 

No secrets & as suggested by the instructions !!! 

Edited March 28, 2014 by GTM

[Micklen32]

Really nice Theo

Great use of unusual components there

Well done sir

Edited January 20, 2014 by Micklen32

[klimi]

Very good preparation for sters (ladders)

[Moonbug]

Wow, great idea with the jig, and great results!  Very nice.

 

- Bug

[GTM]

Thank you all for the likes & the comments, they are (as always) appreciated a lot and very motivating, keep them coming 

I hope I don’t bore too much with all these “how I create stuff” pictures as these might not be relevant for all of you followers...

 

..Right now I feel I’m starting to run in circles..

Off course the supplied “metal cast” bell-tower didn’t matched the rest of the wooden interior, so my next project became the bell tower.

 

The biggest hurtle was to find out how to create the arc from wood.

I made it by cutting very thin strips of African walnut, soaked them in water and wrapped & dried them on a 10mm drill-bit afterwards.

 

 

 

After gluing 3 of them on top of each other ..the result..  

 

 

 

I used the kit’s bell tower as the reference and together with my imagination I added a bit more details to it.

 

 

 

“2” laser cut “plywood” !!  :mellow: Brackets are needed when installing the bell tower (“32”  brackets will be needed for the entire build)

So I setup an small production line and made enough brackets from a piece of 10mm redwood which was available to me.  

I glued the brackets supplied by the kit at the end(s) of them and used these as "shaping guides", I shaped them, and cut individual “brackets slices” afterwards on the table saw .

 

 

 

 

 

To add a bit more detail I wanted to mille an edge in the curved top of the brackets.

To achieve this a came up with the idea to mile the bit (with the appropriate depth and width) into a round piece of scrap wood.

 

 

Luckily the brackets where not too small and by using toothpicks and a pair of tweezers I could avoid milling my fingers

 

 

 

Off course "afterwards" (when looking at the macro pictures) I can now see a lot of different “colors” 

 

 

Fortunately when looking at it from an distance it doesn’t show too much, but learned a lesson here: “next time use only wood from the same batch”    

So finally a few pictures of the bell tower fitted on the ship (including the (blackened) bell and accessories) and with the previously modified pillars & handrails

..Enjoy..       

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2014 by GTM

[Sjors]

What can I say ?

I don't say a thing.

It's just amazing !

And please go on with those little "tutorials" !

 

 

[GTM]

I worked mainly on the belaying pin - rack assemblies (fife rails) this weekend, and discovered that the supplied belaying pins where totally out of proportions   

So I spend quite some time in trying to manufacture my own (I created an separate post about how I made them) .. link to the post ..

 

Besides the belaying pins I placed 2 sheaves in 4 knightheads (I believe these where used for the lower yard tackles of the fore and  main mast)

 

i Started with milling of the sheave openings in the knighthead  

 

 

I manufactured the sheaves with a lathe from a 2,5 mm brass rod using an home-made cutting tool, drilled an hole in the middle and used an cutting tool to separate the sheave from the rod

 

 

 

 

Blackened the sheaves and fixed them in position by using a Ø 0,7mm bamboo stick

 

 

Added also some details to the knightheads 

 

 

the cross piece is as suggested by the kit but I did round the edges on the front.

Here are all of them glued into position including the scratch build belaying pins..

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2014 by GTM

[usedtosail]

They look great.

[GTM]

To all you Santisma Trinidad builders out there. 

 

.. .. Be aware of the following!!....

 

Just before gluing the quarterdeck ladders in place I realized suddenly that the planned cannon rigging and drilling holes behind it will be quite a challenge..

So ‘m forced to do some cannon rigging before continuing with the deck furniture..

 

But even without the ladder in place I’m afraid this will be very difficult 

For me (being allready at this stage) it’s not so nice to remove the quarterdeck anymore, so let’s see how things will go from here..

 

 

 

[Sailor1234567890]

Would the sheaves have been blackened? I think it's a step that could safely be skipped. The sheave is a working part, the line passes over it all the time. It's constantly "polished" by the line passing over it. I think it would be perfectly acceptable to keep it shiny in there. Would add a little something to the model instead of just blackening it and making it disappear in the shadows.... Just a thought. Looking great and enjoying your progress.

[GTM]

Hej Sailer1234567890,

 

You are absolutely right, after blackening & fitting the sheaves I was a bit disappointed as well.

.. as you correctly noticed, all the details (& efforts) disappeared..

 

To comfort me I said to myself that the details would have been disappeared anyway when all the ropes are fixed in place...  

[GTM]

I tried to install the cannons under the quarterdeck today but I had a bit of a setback..

During manufacturing of the cannon rigging blocks, one of my very small router-bits snapped and I have to wait now for a new one to arrive :mellow: ..

 

So to kill some time and to be a bit constructive I continued with manufacturing some of the remaining fittings.

 

I started with the chimney, again the supplied one was made of cast metal, and I made one in walnut ..

 

 

I also had to manufactor an curved handrail, which I had saved for last.

I tried some time ago to bend the handrail by soaking it in water for quite some time, but the curve was just to narrow and/or is walnut wood just not flexible enough.

 

So again the table saw helped me out by cutting 4 very small (app. 11 degree angled) pieces of handrail which I glued together with carpenter glue.

 

 

 

After this it was just an matter of rounding the whole thing with sandpaper & scalpel 

 

 

Here they are installed..

 

 

[newbuilder101]

Beautiful job! I am a little partial to these Spanish ships.

[GTM]

.. Still waiting for that router bit to arrive :mellow: ..

So in the mean time I practiced a bit on the breech rope.

To be honest what you see on the pictures took me quite some time to produce .

 

Basically I had to reinvent the wheel, as I never did anything like rigging before..

But after having found out how I wanted it and which tools to use, it seems to get a lot faster. 

 

I also spend some time to find out what kind of rope and which color to use for the canon rigging. 

I settled with “sand” as the color “brown” seemed to fade away in the background

The rope itself I made (on my home made ropewalk) with a total of 9 strings and it measures Ø 0,65mm. 

 

 

A bit more info about the rope for those who also make their own rope: I made 3 “Hawser Laid” or “Twisted” ropes from 3 yarns and used 3 of these ropes to produce a “cable laid” rope. 

 

 

Intentionally I also wanted to rig for the “train tackle” 

but as you can there’s not really any room for such rigging as the main hatch is right behind it when the guns are in “loading” position.. 

 

 

So i guess i have to give up that idea..

Edited February 14, 2014 by GTM

[GTM]

What can I say.. 

Time flies and work & other tasks prevents me from  working on the project..

So this will be a minor update to show that I’m still alive & kicking 

 

I now have installed the breech rope on most of the cannons.

At last the router bit arrived so I was able to continue with the canon rigging blocks.

 

I used boxwood to start with, but decided to redo them as I find the boxwood color “to bright”, so after some experiments with walnut, cherry, pear I ended up with sapelli as the “best color”

The downside is that Sapelli is grainy and it easily breaks for these (2mm) block-sizes.  

 

The unprocessed result..

 

After "tumbeling" with grain 150/400 in app. 10 minuttes

 

 

The next thing was “how to rig a cannon” ? ..

After some research on MSW, I ended up with the following…

 

 

 

As usual the first one seems to takes ages, I’m sure it will get a lot better after installing number 20.. 

Edited March 11, 2014 by GTM

[GTM]

Some progress..

After this prototype rigging I started the "production line" this weekend.

 

I made & blackened all eyes needed for the job, I decided to use 3 different eye types, when using these eyes the blocks are getting “angled" as i would like them to.

 

 

I became extremely happy for my x-over-tweezers it really helped me to keep these small blocks under control while “attaching” the eyes to the blocks.

 

 

"I cheated" by using (2) small drops of CA to fix the rope on the double sheaved block.

 

 

 

all 54 of them..,so far so good..

 

[Sjors]

Very nice Theo.

 

Question....what is a X-over-tweezer ??????????

 

[newbuilder101]

Great work on those tiny blocks!

 

Sjors: Crossover tweezers:

[Sjors]

Thank you Sherry,

 

And you know what ?

I have one       

I didn't know that you called it that.

 

[GTM]

“I know", "I know”.. , I should not use SMS language on every keyboard. 

[GTM]

Continuing the production line with the single sheave block.

 

I prepared all the ropes by cutting them to a 9 cm length. 

Wrapped it around the sheave including the eye and holding it in place with the “crossover tweezers”.

 

 

Using brown sewing thread and a “normal” overhand knot to tighten the ends together.

I lock the knot by dipping very thin CA on the knot. 

 

 

To prevent too much glue on the knot I started to use a piece of brass wire (made a small hook at one end) by dipping it in CA and carry it over onto the knot (and repeat the process as much as needed.)

This method works very fine for me, when the tip becomes too thick (to much dried CA glue) I cut off the hook and make a new one.

.. Easy, cheap, quick and efficient ..

 

After wrapping the thread 2,5 times around I secure it again with CA glue, and cut off all ends..

 

 

 

The end result (left & right rigged) , the only thing remaining is to install them..

 

 

Taa-daa !!...

Edited March 23, 2014 by GTM

[Sjors]

Looks crowd Theo   

 

Is it possible to re-post the pictures that are lost ?

I'm looking at your pictures to see what I can do better with my fiddly stuff.

Thanks.

 

[GTM]

Hej Sjors,

 

I will post the missing pictures later this weekend 

..It is not so easy to take pictures while using both hands to hold these tiny things..