"Flying Dutchman" - Ghost Ship - OREL Russian Paper Model Build

[mtrappett]

First Look - Crew of the Undead ​

My wife said to me, "so where are the little people?" I said, there aren't any She said, "it would look good with pirates on the ship!"

So, she always gets her way, you know what they say, "Happy wife, happy life"

There are 12 of these little guys in total. I did some serious research to find these characters, and although they aren't Davy Jones and all those dudes, they are undead, so I guess they qualify okay for the jobs onboard the Flying Dutchman.



The scale of these looks about right for the ship.



Ahhhh.... shiver me timbers maties!



I was going to leave them all till last, but then I realized that there needs to be some planning involved as to where they should go, and the rigging may get in the way in some cases.

I'm looking forward to painting them! They need to have enamels like used on plastic models. Super-fine brushes too!

 

[mijob]

That would be a nice add on those lovely looking pirstes. Uuuuhhh I mean pirates are not lovely they are ..... oh never mind. Anyway they would look great onboard there ship.

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

The pirate figures are a GREAT TOUCH!!!

 

[tino]

What an amazing work your are doing!!!

 

[mtrappett]

I work for several hours each and every day on my ship. The demands on all of my resources has been high. This is by far the most challenging model I have ever built in my life!

This is a test fit for one of the yards for the mizzen mast located at the stern of the ship.



It gets tough to keep a track on all the "ropes".



She brightens the ship!



I fitted some shiny metal door handles using a couple of pin-heads.



The port side so far with the rigging.



Close up on some detail of the cross trees, cap. crows-nest and so on. I added the ties that go over the top of the caps to alter the height of the yard on the mast. Each of the yards usually has this feature, and I figured it out from my sources in books and online.



The process of making a set of shrouds. They are unique in the size and length of the ropes. That is the beeswax too at the upper side.



Each has a loop and whipping at the top of each shroud.



Another birds-eye view of the progress so far with the standing rigging.



I use small clamps to temporarily hold the ends of the ropes at the correct orientations.







Here is the starboard side so far.



There is a way of increasing the tension of the shrouds using a wedge on the particular side that needs extra.











These are all the parts for adding the ships fittings that you will need. There is also the test deadeye, and blocks that come with the ship but I wouldn't recommend using these.

 

[mtrappett]

That would be a nice add on those lovely looking pirstes. Uuuuhhh I mean pirates are not lovely they are ..... oh never mind. Anyway they would look great onboard there ship.

Captain Jack Sparrow would likely agree whole heartedly that pirates are lovely looking

 

[mtrappett]

Its a good looking ship in a pirate'y kind of way! Collecting the souls of all the dead pirates must have kept old Davy Jones busy for sure!







These hemostats are a God send for building the blocks. Before these, I always had to use my ship's vice.



Lanyard building.



Blocks will usually need to have a rope attached.



Overview of some of the rigging colors and sizes. There is MUCH more rope/twine needed than I ever imagined!



Its worth running some CA glue on all the delicate items like the cannon barrels! This should be a super-tip! This makes them like steel after the glue goes on.







Close up of one of the caps.







There is the fife rail with all the belaying pins I added. This is HARD to get to and the ropes have to be wrapped around the pins



Be sure to strengthen the cross trees and cross trestles with CA glue as they need it!







If the black patina is not working very well after dipping, I suggest replacing the reservoir of the acid anew.



I know its a pain and all, but I found it much better to solder the joins in all of the chain plates and their pieces. Use the flux to guide the flow of solder to exactly where you need it to go! Again, the hemostats work awesome for holding the metal pieces for soldering.







Keep a weather eye Matie on the masts from the front. You need to control the straightness and alignment with the rigging accordingly.







Compare this to previous pics to see the progress in the rigging overall.



So far, so good I guess?

 

[mijob]

Wow thats still a lot of rope to work with You are nearly to finish up this model.

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

All of the time, effort, energy, and work that you have (and still are) put(ting) into this project is really paying off!
Like I have mentioned before, this is a museum quality piece!

 

[mtrappett]

Wow thats still a lot of rope to work with You are nearly to finish up this model.

Ah, there is still much to do I haven't started the yards yet, and that is TONS of work

 

[mtrappett]

All of the time, effort, energy, and work that you have (and still are) put(ting) into this project is really paying off!
Like I have mentioned before, this is a museum quality piece!

That is so very kind of you Rhaven, and believe me, I find that it really helps push me along. I have never built a ship model as complex as this before, and I am enjoying every minute of it even though it is definitely a challenge before me.

 

[mtrappett]

The detail of the rigging is making it difficult to document. I will be showing pics of the progress and hopefully in the future, I will be able to go back in and add more description and detail for each step, but right now, that is impossible.



























Amazing detail of the stern decoration for reference.




This is useful for making the whippings.


Pretty picture.



This is how I will be doing the belaying of the ropes with the fife rail and pin rails (hopefully).



Mind-blowing!

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

That is so very kind of you Rhaven, and believe me, I find that it really helps push me along. I have never built a ship model as complex as this before, and I am enjoying every minute of it even though it is definitely a challenge before me.

You are more than welcome! I wholeheartedly understand how something like this can be extremely challenging (especially for someone who has never done this before). Which makes this particular build all the more AMAZING! You have been really been doing this model JUSTICE!

 

[mtrappett]

You are more than welcome! I wholeheartedly understand how something like this can be extremely challenging (especially for someone who has never done this before). Which makes this particular build all the more AMAZING! You have been really been doing this model JUSTICE!

I do really love this ship! I have learned a great deal I feel from building this model, and I would recommend it, especially if you are a Disney Pirates of the Caribbean fan like myself. Anyway, I have to get back to it so I can begin collecting some souls of model builders with the ship when completed. They could be the faces on the cannon ports instead of the dead pirates, yo ho!!!

 

[mtrappett]

The Sails - First Look​

So, here are the sail options. The pic below shows side one of the first page of paper sails that come with the model.



This is the opposite side. They are not washed out like the pic suggests.











I bought the canvas pack of sails for the Flying Dutchman which I will use instead of the ones in the kit. I like the transparency and the nice dark green that more closely matches the real ship.







There seems to much detail now to comment much about. I will add more in the future if required.



I used some packing material on the bowsprit to stop it getting damaged. Its very vulnerable, and I have a small work area too which makes it dangerous for the model.











































This is one of the upper caps getting ready for eyelets to be installed. I also coated them with a layer of CA glue to add strength.

 

[micahrogers]

Phenomenal

 

[zathros]

Incredible rigging. I try and get some Silk for the sails. Lots more work, but the end result would be appropriate.

 

[mtrappett]

Phenomenal

Thank you Micah

 

[mtrappett]

Incredible rigging. I try and get some Silk for the sails. Lots more work, but the end result would be appropriate.

Thanks Zathros! Yes, the sails will take some work! With the Flying Dutchman, it is supposed to be able to go under in the ocean. Thereby it collects a bunch of seaweed and sea life all over the ship including getting a bunch in the sails. This adds another level of complexity to get it looking right.

 

[mtrappett]

Continuation of Rigging Process​

Top view of the crows nest for the foremast.



Sometimes, its hard to feed the lines through certain positions in the ship. I found some time copper wire works really well. Just tie the line to it and feed it through the tricky areas, then pull the line through!



Sorry about Elvira in the top, right of the screen by the way.



View of the chain plates assemblies.







Making an eyelet in the line for one of the stays.



Eventually I will probably have to paint the deadeyes and other pieces with a gray wash to get a nice consistent color over the ship.



The ships vice is awesome for positioning for the rigging. This is with the ship on its side position. My wife always gets scared when she sees the ship like this in case it falls



The kit is very detailed right down to the Davy Jones octopus character that is laying across the capstan (see Dead men tell no Tales movie of POTC).







These are double blocks for use on some of the ships sails running rigging. These are super-tiny made of pear wood.











Belaying some of the "ropes" on the fife rail. This is pretty intricate stuff



I found it easier to place a rope on the belaying pin by first making a loop and then using tweezers and the belaying tools to pop it over the desired pin. Then, pull gently to tighten and put a dab of white glue using the scribing tool or the like on the head.











Hemostats are a VERY useful tool to have for working on the lanyards and rigging in general.