Modelik Flower class corvette

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
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otter boards

I try to make at least a little progress every day...and today I made very little! But I did finish the otter boards. No picture, as these consist of mere rectangular pieces of card laid against the bulwarks next to the floats...not very impressive. :) I did, though, solve a mystery and learn something that may interest only me. I had wondered why of the two kites, stored on platforms at the rear superstructure, one sat on an open frame, while the other sat on a solid piece. Turns out the solid piece is a spare otter board. Aha...I can sleep more peacefully now.

G'nite!
 

Jim Krauzlis

Active Member
Sep 26, 2005
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Copiague, Long Island, New York
Truly an beautiful build, Chris, and, yes, it's quite evident you have become a great builder. Yeah, that's not even an issue.:grin:

It is nice to discover answers to those little, nagging questions that pop up during a build, isn't it? Can't explain why, but it does matter to one's state of mind...sometimes you just gotta know!:)

As always, I'm looking forward to the next update.

Cheers!
Jim
 

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
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Has it really been five days since I updated?? Seems like two, maybe. Anways, here's the cranes. Construction was by the numbers. Wire handles and hooks, monofilament cables. Oh, and that white box on the deck labeled '224' (there's two of 'em)...those are the LAST two numbered white areas on the model! Bwahahahaha!!

Does everyone else get this twisted when nearing completion on a large model?

Till later,
 

B-Manic

Peripheral Visionary
Nov 27, 2006
218
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Beautiful British Columbia
Millenniumfalsehood said:
CDCoyle, your build is TOTALLY AWESOME so far!! :shock: I bow to your immenence, sir!

Where did you get this model? I'd like to try this out myself.

Hobby Factory has this model in 1/100 and 1/200 scale. I bought one a while ago - pretty intimidating.
 

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
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Hi, all!

Today I added two water-tight hatches and various and sundry vent pipes. I know it doesn't look much different, but believe it or not, this shot shows the completed stern, which means that the ENTIRE HULL esta completo! :) :) :) Only the masting and rigging remains.

Millennium, my model was purchased from Paper Models International for $13 and change.

Later,
 

Jim Krauzlis

Active Member
Sep 26, 2005
1,490
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Copiague, Long Island, New York
It's amazing how the little details don't stand out in stark fashion but they do add so much to the model! You have to feel very proud of this build, Chris, she's brilliant! You've done a superb job with both the major parts and all of these little items...a lot of work VERY well spent!

Now, on to the masting and rigging!:grin:

She's beautiful!!!

Cheers!
Jim
 

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
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main mast under way

First up for the masts is to find a suitable material. Foremost prerequisite: it must be cheap and, preferably, on-hand in the house somewhere. Solution: meat skewers from the kitchen. Next, they must be tapered. For those not familiar with the trick, here's what many of us wood ship modelers do. First I chuck the dowel (skewer or whatever) into a variable-speed drill. I hold the drill in my lap, and while it is turning at low rpm, I sandwich the dowel between the sides of a folded piece of sandpaper. Sliding the sandpaper along the length of dowel as it is turned produces the taper, which I check periodically with calipers. As I get close to the desired diameter, I switch to progressively finer grades of sandpaper, followed by steel wool. Works a treat!

Here's the finished product:
 

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
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Back to...really...slow...progress. Here's another glimpse of the masts. The upper mast is the main mast, with mast bands, gaff, and truck in place. The gaff is made from steel rod, rather than the annealed wire I usually use, since the gaff will need to take some tension from rigging lines. Same goes for the yards, which are not shown. The gaff is also recessed slightly into the mast for additional strength. The middle mast is the fore mast, and the bottom bit is one of the original skewers from which the masts are turned. I don't know what kind of wood the skewers are (definitely not bamboo), but they turned well and were not at all brittle, which allowed me to take off a considerable amount of wood, as you can see. I probably could have made the masts even narrower if I needed to.

Bye for now,
 

eibwarrior

Member
Dec 17, 2005
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54
Knoxville, TN
Meat skewers! That's a great idea. Not only do they look beter than any paper counterpart, but they look very much like the real thing.

Bravo on the scratch build genius.

I'll be sure to site your idea when I borrow it. :roll:
 

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
170
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main mast

The main mast is almost complete. Here is the rigging to date. I tied the shrouds to the mast before gluing the mast to the hull. The vangs were glued to the hull first, then one was tied to the gaff end and the other inserted through the overhand knot before gluing both in place (this cut down on the number of knots). The flag halliards are one piece, looped over the gaff and glued to the hull. The flag, here shown snapping smartly in a force 4 moderate breeze, is colored with a red Sharpie and blue ball point.

I just had to throw in the nautical jargon...'cuz I can. :grin:

Regards,
 
C

cgutzmer

The detailing here is superb! Thanks for sharing with us :D
Chris

p.s. nice use of the nautical terms - did you know them or look them up? :)
 

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
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cgutzmer said:
p.s. nice use of the nautical terms - did you know them or look them up? :)


I mainly build wooden sailing ships, so I had to learn a whole dictionary full of them. It can be baffling at times, learning that a "crow's foot" isn't found on a bird, a "cathead" isn't on the trunk of a cat, and a "fish" doesn't swim in the sea. Anyways, I'm assuming that many of those old terms from the days of sail were (are) still used on the steel & steam versions. Yes, baffling, but always entertaining.

Cheers.
 

cdcoyle

Member
Nov 21, 2005
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Thanks, guys.

I knew of Sackville, but I hadn't visited the site. She's a storied ship, but of limited use as reference for Agassiz, as she is a long-forecastle vessel, and much of her equipment is different.

Regards,