Model Boat Mayhem
The Shipyard ( Dry Dock ): Builds & Questions => Yachts and Sail => Topic started by: dlancast on April 05, 2019, 08:54:06 pm
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Hello Folks, I have been commissioned to build Model Shipways "Mayflower" at 5/32"=1ft. Wood, plank on bulkhead construction. I would like to post the build here for those interested. The kit is wonderful and very high quality. Great instructions, plans and parts and supplies. She will make for a very nice model and I am honored to be building such a historical vessel. I am currently in framing and will be posting pictures soon. Just wanted to give you folks the heads up. Most of my previous builds have been of Navy war vessels, with a nice English Frigate thrown into the mix some time ago. Stay tuned, more coming. Cheers! Dennis
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This is certainly something different Dennis - I'll definitely look in on this one O0
Regards,
Ray.
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Very nice kit, with laser cut framing and other parts, cleanly done and accurate. Assembly is coming along fast and clean. Basic frame is together, nice thick bulkheads for solid planking footing. Moving into gunport framing and then general faring of the hull to prepare for planking. Its been over a year since I've done plank on bulkhead, almost forgot how much fun it is. This model will mostly be single layer of planks, so what goes down will be finished product, less room for mistakes. Sistering and spiling will be done in traditional method. Bluff bow and stern sweep will require some plank bending prep work on jigs, etc. So, here we go, hope you folks enjoy the build. Dennis
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Nice one Dennis I'm really looking forward to this build. What type of wood do they supply for the planking and decking? Looks great so far :-))
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Thanks... the wood appears to be Beech or Bass Wood, they don't say. It is all the same. Grain is clear and tight and on the hard side. No warpage, very clean and alot of it in many different sizes, so less ripping. Blocks look like Walnut. Staining and painting are recommended. Sizes are in inches, so if the plans call for a stick 3/32 x 3/32 inches square, the wood is exactly that measured by steelscale. I have built a number of Italian kits with great results, but never the precision this kit has. I think the difference all that will make is less assembly time fiddling with fitting. We will see about that. its not a race, but I do have other projects in the wings. You know how it is. Dennis
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Sounds great and its nice to hear of a well supplied kit too. I'm looking forward to the updates - good luck with the build ok2
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I am looking forward to watching this build :-))
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Just finished framing the lower deck cannon ports. I can choose, after hull planking to either show the ports closed or opened with dummy cannon showing just inside. Next will be the bulkhead edge fairing to prepare for hull planking. Dennis
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False decks on and counter is double planked at the stern. Hull planking will begin soon. Dennis
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And the planking begins. Kit gives you the option to single or double plank. First layer is 1/16"x1/8", second will be 1/32"x1/8". I prefer to double plank, gives me a second try to improve the planking. Frame is very robust, could plank one side of the hull first, but will just take it down 6 planks from main deck and then do the other side. That apple bow makes for some difficulty in laying the planks fair. Requres Spiling for sure. Have jig for that. I also have a plank bender tucked away somewhere. Gonna have to find it. Its all fun. Dennis
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Hull planking is going slowly with the first layer of 1/16"x1/8" planks. Spiling jig shown, does help with bending at bow. Dennis
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Starboard side of hull is planked and faired, Port side working. Dennis
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That’s looking really nice Dennis you’re doing a great job on that planking
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Tks, its very tedious, but rewarding as well. In reality, I am creating a solid substrate to lay the second thin planking over. Should have started with a solid hull and I believe that this kit company did solid hulls and changed to plank on bulkhead. This method gives me the feeling of building a real wood ship, in a very small way. All the concepts of spiling, steelers, etc. are applied with this model. Keeps my old hands busy. Cheers, Dennis
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Hands of a model maker. Port side planking in progress. Dennis
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Now that the bottom hull planking is in, the main deck is being installed. 1/32"x1/8" planks are glued down over the subdeck. Simulated caulking is done with lead and tree nails are drilled out at appropriate framing locations. When deck is down, it will be stained with a light stain. Dennis
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All but one deck are planked and stained, bulkheads planked, doors, hinges and rings installed. Stbd side is planked on inside, stained and mounted. Port side is in process planking. She is starting to look like a ship now. Loads of fun. Dennis
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Window glazing on this model is a bit tedious. A small square of clear poly is laid down on top of the window plan. Then, thin strips (.010) adhesive tape is laid over the lead frame lines, two directions, then framed with a wider adhesive tape. The window is cut out and glued to the "inside" of the bulkheads to finish. Dennis
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Forecastle waterways, bulwarks and stanchions installed and stained. Maindeck in progress same. Dennis
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Stern windows glazed and installed. Dennis
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Thats looking really nice and there's some pretty tricky woodwork going on too :-))
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Bluwark stanchions are installed and to be stained. Ready for second layer of upper hull planking. Dennis
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Second layer of hull planking from the water line up. Drilled out hundreds of tiny holes to simulate tree nails on planks. Stained all topside a light oak. Varnished with satin poly, one coat to seal. Installed Wales and painted black. Painted waterline and below, white (they used Tallow, which was a yellow/white. I like the contrast of white/white flat. Next will come various moldings on hull above cannon ports. Color will be brought into those moldings with red, green, white and black. She is coming along well. Dennis
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absolute beauty O0
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thank you sir, your HMS Victory Tug, is that a paper model? I have a battleship model that is paper, I just started before this model I'm working on. That paper model looks very daunting, what have been your experiences? Can you give any advice? Tks, Dennis
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EEERRR, sorry - you missed the comma {-) , its HMS Victory and a vacuum hull of a tug, Victory is partially built using all the parts of the Airfix Kit but until I get sufficient mojo to carry on she is currently in dry dock - no internal decks fitted but the main gun deck is set with crew and guns ready to go in.
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Color is coming on with various hull moldings, rather striking.. though I trust the color accuracy, probably was not that bright. I will be toning it down some with a overcoat of satin varnish to seal. Dennis
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The Beakhead has been completed and installed. Moving on to quarter deck area. Dennis
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Looking great. As for colors, the white could have been that white, but the red possible not. After a year or two at sea (not uncommon journey lengths), I wonder how bad the paintwork would have been.
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Great question and one that I have asked. The kit manuf. states that the colors may appear too bright and that I need to tone them down with washes, etc. My intent was to seal with a statin varnish overbrush, which seems to tone things down a bit. But, will also lock in that intial brightness. A thin "grey" wash may be the trick. Yes, red is notorious for fading quickly in the elements and yes, the white on the hull is waaay too bright for the tallow that was used... would be more like a yellow and only clean at the waterline while underway due to friction rub..... still thinking on this matter and I always welcome the good inputs from you dear folks. Dennis
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Rudder installed. Pintles and Gudgeons made from copper tape, wire for pin shaft. Dennis
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Howdy folks, well... time has been spent on internal and outside details. Such as: completing the Knights, Belfry, Pumps, Ladders, Catheads, Chesstrees, Channels and Pinrails. I softened the bright colors with a over-wash of thinned down light sea grey. I think she looks better now. Painted the Rudder as well. Next will be the ships boat. That should prove a challenge at this scale. I will be using the "lift" method, shaping and hollowing out the inside, then installing ribs, etc. At least, that is how its supposed to go. Then its on to "Masting and Rigging"... the fun part. Dennis
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Main, fore, lower masts complete and stepped. Mizzen completed and stepped. Next will be addition of lower deadeyes and installation of standing rigging (shrouds/ratlines). Dennis
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Lovely job Dennis its coming on a treat
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It's been a while since I last looked in on this one and Wow!, what a transformation - she's turning into a beauty Dennis O0 .
Regards,
Ray.
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Thank You sirs, its slow, steady as she goes! ;) Dennis
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Deadeyes and Chainplates are completed on the STBD side. Dennis
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Always watching on Dennis. O0 ........{those people were very brave.....[or foolish?] navigators}....
The decoration and coloration of trim from these vessels, of the period always delights :-)) ......
Derek
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Ok, standing rigging has been started. I like to begin with the Mizzen shrouds, starting on the STBD side, then moving forward. I use a simple twisted wire to make a spacer for the deadeyes, then clip in the shroud to the deadeye to secure. Lanyards are then threaded into the deadeyes and secured. I do temporarily secure the Port side of the Mizzen to help keep it aligned midships as the shrouds go in under tension. A slow, methodical process. But, rewarding. Dennis
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All lower stays and shrouds are installed. Next is lower ratline work. Very calming. Just a side note as we remember the 50th year celebration of the Apollo 11 moon shot mission. I was just nearing my Navy career and will never forget the tv pictures of the first man on the moon. As I work on this model and reflect that we are all explorers. Space, the Final Frontier! Cheers Dennis
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Your patience and methodical way of working are an inspiration Dennis, your shroud work is fantastic :-))
Regards,
Ray.
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Thank you sir. :-) Many years of model making and these old hands can still manage. I think this hobby keeps you young. On to Ratline work now. My method is to tie with clove hitches in a surpentine pattern. Touch with fast glue and clip. Of course for the rivet counters, true method was to have a loop on the inside of each outter shroud that the ends of the ratlines are secured to. I don't think I have ever used that much detail before.... but did think about it a time or two. ok2 Dennis
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Starboard ratline work progressing. Installed Futtock and its ratlines on lower main. Clove hitch shown in detail... knots can be slid up and down shrouds to adjust for level. A touch of fast glue secures everything as I go along... very tedious and slow... its funny at our house, dear wife is in the family room doing her cross stitch that turns out like a fine oil painting and I'm here in the back office/hobby room building old sailing ship models. We are a real pair. :-) Dennis
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Foretop is installed, slow and steady as she goes. Dennis
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More slow progress being made on rigging the Mayflower. All standing rigging is installed. Ratlines are all tied in. Top forestays are in with block and tackle appropriate. Garnet lifting tackle is installed. Just installed the running backstays for the foremast. Main mast will be same. After that will come the mizzen. I will be installing a fully rigged mizzen sail on this model per request from the owner. I'll try to show that in detail, as its most interesting how that sail was rigged. Much more to do yet. Cheers! Dennis
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The block we see in the centre of picture 'garnet tackle (2) must have been a really heavy one! Glad I wasn't around in those days :o .
Looking good Dennis :-))
Regards,
Ray.
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Good eye's Ray, yes.... its supposed to be a huge Fiddle block, but I used a double that I had on hand that was close to the scale required. They used that tackle for lifting cargo and ships boat, etc. Wait till we get to the yard halyards, they used a Ramhead block that was huge. I am trusting the plans on this kit, but as is always the case, scale could be off... push the scale into reality and one does need to question sometimes if that was really true... were the loads that massive? Dennis
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If the ropes going through the blocks are not going to working/running, I have seen one trick to make them stay straight, and look like they are under natural tension. Put the block and cord assembly under tension and touch the tip of a CA glue bottle to the cord, so that the cord draws in the CA. The cord will then remain rigid and straight. Try it on a sample piece first.
Sorry if I am trying to teach you how to suck eggs.
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Thanks for the tip kind sir.... I've used that when needed. The way the Garnet is rigged on this model is without load... I followed the plan as much as I could, there is slack as the line hangs from the main forestay, no load at this point, so she would be slack, unless they deliberately placed tension on the rig while in storage..... Dennis
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Dennis that rigging is inspirational :-)) This is some thing that I would like to try my hand at and I hope I can get somewhere near what you are doing. This build is really coming to life - beautiful job!
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Mizzen yard (Lateen) is installed and rigged. My dear wife is sewing up a sail soon and that will be hanked on and tension applied to the rig at that time. The lower main yard has been shaped, blocks added and it is now mounted via main halyards that are secured to Ramhead block at deck. Next will be the lower main Parrel that will secure the yard to the mast. It will be tricky due to close quarters I always try to work inside to outside as I rig so I don't get blocked by too much rigging already in place. I do have rigging tools that I have made if I need to reach in to make a tie, etc. Coming along. Dennis
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She's coming on a treat Dennis - lovely to see her coming to life.
Somebody's going to be in trouble if they don't move that barrel, or whatever it is, from the bottom of the port stairwell mind O0 .
Regards,
Ray.
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hahaha... good catch there Ray. I managed to knock over one of the bilge pumps with my clumbsy fingers.. caught it after I posted the pic.... its glued back down now. tks. O0 Dennis
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All rigging from main mast to stern is now complete. Thanks to my dear wife who sewed the mizzen sail, I was able to hank on the sail including all running rigging. Installed main yard braces, lifts and sheets, same for topsail. Now moving on to rig the lower yard for the foremast and continue moving forward. Still lots to do. For such a little ship, she has lots of rigging. Dennis
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Hi it's John V i can see you are doing a lovely Job you should be very proud of your self .keep up the good work .take care John V
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I have to agree - stunning work :-))
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Hi mark T it's John V it's nice to see outher Mayhem people on hear to leave good comments on Dlancast work .some don't bother I think he is doing a grand Job cheers John V
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Thank You for your kind words. i know its a static model, but it has been challenging. It does pale in conparism to many of the fine and complex work that is done on this forum. I am humbled. Dennis
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In my humble opinion you are in the same league as the quality and skill to produce a vessel like this is outstanding.
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Foremast yards are installed and rigged. Next will be Spritsail Yard rigging, then anchors and flags and this build will be completed.
Dennis
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Dennis, progressing brilliantly........ :-))
This could be a good example of understanding that the nautical term Forecastle was used to describe the multi level wooden castle structure built toward, or at the fore or pointy end of sailing ships of the 1600's?..........
So when did the pronunciation change to focastle :o .....not even Worldspell will accept it ;D
We had Centrecastle in 3 Castle steam ships, however I am unsure if Aftcastle was used to describe the deck accommodation of the Engineers, Smoke house & chimney?
Derek
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Well, there ya go Derek. I've always known the term "Forecastle" as this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forecastle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forecastle) . Evolutionary sort of thing in ship design. "Fore" always meaning before the main mast or mast. The castle part is as design shows.. kinda looks like the turret of a "castle". . could it be? Tks for your kind comments. I'm anxious for the build to end. The Spritsail rigging is a bit pesky in my books, maybe tenious is a better word? Tons of rigging just to adjust and support that yard and her sail as you will soon see. Its fun. Dennis
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Its called a fore castle as in ye olde days, the main arnament was a group of archers, so they needed some protection and vessels looked for all in tense like castles on water, apparently they had nets over the middle section to prevent boarding, I remember a program suggesting that a particular wreck lost all hands to 'not just that the sailors could not swim', but when it turned turtle, those that could, were not able to get out due to the netting.
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Well folks, the Mayflower model is now finished. All I have to do is make a wood base and mount with brass pedistals. I'll snap some better pictures when that is done as a final. Its been a challenging and fun build, hope you all that followed enjoyed it as much as I did. I believe the fella I'm gifting this to will be much pleased. My next project appears to be a 1/200 scale model of the USS Arizona done in "paper". I will post the build over on the Military section of this forum in a few days. Cheers! Dennis
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Fantastic job. :-)) I am amazed it only took you 6 months (to the day when you first posted) to complete.
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Gee, it didn't seem that long. It used to take me 1-3 yrs to do a wood model. Always depends on complexity..... clipper ship is a good solid 3 yr project, small cutter, 3 mos. Plastic or resin models, much faster. Less custom hand work and shaping. Dennis
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Thats a lovely job Dennis and I have to agree its been done in really good time too. Its a shame to let it go really but thats the way it is with commissions I guess. Whats the next build going to be?
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Thank you for the kind comments. My next project will be a difficult one, as I have not worked in paper before. the build is of the USS Arizona in 1/200 scale. When I ordered it, I recieved a stack of color printed sheets, plus a stack of 1mm card stock and a set of instructions that are horrible at best. Alot of clueing and cutting and precise folding. A picture of the finished model is stunning, if its truly paper. I'm gonna find out. I'll be posting that build over on the military page. I am in process on the mounting stand for the Mayflower and will provide pics of that when done next week. regards, Dennis
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A picture of the finished model is stunning, if its truly paper. I'm gonna find out. I'll be posting that build over on the military page. I am in process on the mounting stand for the Mayflower and will provide pics of that when done next week. regards, Dennis
Looking forward to seeing both of them Dennis :-))
Regards,
Ray.
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Final pictures of the Mayflower just before she goes out the door to her new home. Dennis
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She's an absolute beauty Dennis. Hope the owner appreciates the work and the skills involved in its creation.
Regards,
Ray.
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Thank you sir.... yes, just got her delivered in one piece. Onward. You can check my new build on the miltary section as I take on the USS Arizona in paper/card. Oh, what fun that is. regards, Dennis