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Model Shipways Sultana Colonial Schooner Build Log |
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May 18, 2006 |
Model Shipways - Sultana Colonial Schooner - Solid Hull Kit
Built by Benjamin Hollowell in Boston in 1767, Sultana was seaworthy far beyond her size of 51 feet. The Royal Navy
bought her in 1768, and she became one of Britain´s most effective weapons in the fight against smugglers.
The Sultana comes with a machine carved basswood hull that requires a little light shaping and sanding. This kit
also has other wooden parts, including a ship´s boat, which is laser cut for a perfect fit. Plank-scored decking, spars,
wood materials and eight cast metal swivel guns are all included. For historical accuracy, original rigging is duplicated
with cotton cordage and 67 wooden blocks. Detailed plans by Ben Lankford and a 24 page instruction manual help you build
an authentic replica.
This is an Entry Level Kit
Length 17 inches Height 15 inches Scale 3/16 inches = 1 ft. (1:64)
Ok, so this is going to be very obvious to some and to others it may not be so apparent. There might be some here that
have never tackled a wooden ship model before. I can only say that I have had a "taste" of it, but no completions. Wooden
Ships will go together will a different type of personality if you will. There are a lot of differences that go beyond
the scope of this posting that I am making now. Depending on the complexity of the wooden ship depends on how much
"building" is done not "putting together".
This is why I choose the Sultana is that is has a combination of "putting together" and "building". And for heavens sake
I certainly hope that I do not come across any certain way by describing "putting together" and "building" as both applies
to making a model. I am sure however, that some will contest my witting and my attempt to help. My time is limited right
now, so I am in a bind to be less wordy about it at the moment. Now, The discussion at this moment for this build is about
Adhesives I done some research about what kind of glue to use with wooden ships. Like I said, bear with me. I have found
that if you use Cynoacrylate or CA (super glue) then that is ok, but one thing that some needs to think about is this:
If you plan to finish your Sultana with like a natural stain or whatever (instead of painting colors), you might find
that the CA glues will not allow your stain to get thru, but will "block" that stain.
If you want to stain naturally your ship, you might want to consider using some products like Titebond original, regular
Carpenters Glue and or a product called Weldbond. These later glues allow for stains to be applied and they are also
"sandable" whereas the CA glues will dry on the surface hard and maybe crusty depending on your expertise of applications.
I am going to go with a variety of CA and some locally bought Titebond from Lowes. I think the Titebond will dry fast
enough for what I want to do. My ambition here is not to get carried away with Adhesives, but just to put some thoughts
out there for this project coming up. I am not going to go with a stain per say, but I think the mast might have a stain
look to it. I will use the Titebond or something similar with that as it will not hinder the looks of the mast or yards.
But on parts that will be hidden, then the CA will do fine. There are also some applicator tips that you can use to make
sure that too much CA is not being used. I tend to be a little allergic for some reason of the CA. I found that ZAP makes
a non-odor variety or non-allergic. It does cost more, but it actually works (no allergic reaction no odors).
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May 25, 2006 |
I thought I would try my best at informing everyone about the
colors that I ordered as part of the package. The Model Shipways part number is MS2016 which includes 9 bottles of paint. It is
actually eight colors (the 9th bottle is an extra Primer - you have two bottles of Primer).
Ok, so I tried my hand using my paint program to duplicate those colors the best that I could. Now, the deal is that I
know that everyone is going to have their Computer Monitor set up a slight different. But, at least we have some type
of representation of what is going on here with the paint.
The paint is also 100% Acrylic Paint that comes 1 oz in a nice glass bottle. The bottles are rather larger than I
would have thought. Handles nicely in the hands. Dilute with water.
So here goes the color scheme (please remember this is the best match I could get).
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MS4802
Bulwarks Red |
MS4803
Hull Tallow |
MS4828
Iron Cannon Black |
MS4829
Hull Yellow Ochre |
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MS4830
Hull Spar Black |
MS4831
White |
MS4836
Bright Green Trim |
MS4839
Primer |
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May 31, 2006 |
Tonight I have settled down and decided to get the manual
out for a good intro reading and seeing what this ship is all about. I was wondering if any of you have done the same? I must
admit that in reading the first few pages in "shaping the hull", I am either slightly confused or something. I don´t want
to hop ahead of anyone because I think that we have one modeler left that will be getting theirs in shortly. What is every
bodies impression of the kit so far of those that have it in hand? I noticed that at the beginning of reading that it says that
there are different ways to make the hull and they do leave it to a modelers experience and decisions about how to do the hull. I must say
that I hate making decisions like this Confused - now I don´t know if I want to plank it or just build it from plans
or what the heck to do. I would like to get some opinions and advise. This is going to be interesting because I don´t
think that any two Sultanas are going to be the same Make a Toast.
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June 02, 2006 |
I hope I don´t get thrown over-board for this, but I also
noticed that http://www.micromark.com has some rigging line. I have not scrutinized it, but it is at least an effort to go
to the site and see. If you go to the search and type in rigging, it will come up with various rigging thread. Also, I
personally have found that just about any hobby store will have Bead making materials and for instance Hobby Lobby has
hundreds and hundreds of various lines and threading. I know that this is not what everybody is looking for, but I found
my stuff in the Jewelry making section. I am not an expert on rigging line, but I have come up with some ideas just by
looking in the most unthoughtful of places.
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June 11, 2006 |
BODY
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Hull
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Hull
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June 11, 2006 |
Be aware that the Profile template seems to be off about
1/16¨ in lenght. (too long about 1/16?). I think that someone made mention that due to repeatedly copying that is causing
the template to be off just a bit.
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June 11, 2006 |
Well, this is a technique that worked for me on aft of the ship
in doing the transom. I used a small block of 3/8¨ sqaure at the aft keel to keep alignment in order. My left hand is stationary
to hold the small block tight against the keel, then the longer 3/8¨ piece that has the sandpaper is going up and down motion to
sand the angle. The small block is a guide so that the upper transom piece will have the correct angle to it. So far it is working out. I
used a 1/2¨ dowel about 2¨ long with sand paper wrapped around it to get that curve. I done this without carving anything
on the transom piece! The sandpaper is #100 so it is cutting threw pretty good.
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Hull
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June 15, 2006 |
Well, I haven#180;t heard from anyone lately, so I don´t know
if that is a good sign or if everybody is scratching their heads! For me, I am sanding and staring at the plans trying to decide
whats next. I have only "profiled" the hull and marked the center lines. thats it! I made a small error and sanded just a
tad too much on the transom, but that was easily repaired. I am now on to trying to mark the other templates onto the side of the hull.
I personally have stopped myself several times with almost making several mistakes. As they say - measure twice, cut once. But with me, I
am measuring 3 to 5 times and cutting. Unless someone else is different, it is so easy to make a mistake on the hull
carving.
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June 16,2006 |
Go slowly as it is easy to carve too much before you realize it. I
hope to start carving on the hull this evening. I decided to go ahead and remove my bulwarks and I am glad that I did - it does seem
to make things easier, however, everyone should feel free to express their modeling taste. Also, marking the center lines can be tricky
too. I bought me a center ruler or a zero center ruler. Very nifty item I must say.
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June 20, 2006 |
I make jigs not so much that I enjoy doing so, but I do it because it
helps me figure things out better. It is not for everyone, and also, you can be welcome to copy any ideas that I come up with. I am sure that
this goes way beyond anyone that cares to get this involved in trying to find the "center" on anything. Actually, I am not
being perfectionist about this. I am engineering minded so my heart follows with the gadgets and jigs to help me do things
better. At any rate, I do not want to become long winded as there are people that have other ideas that would suffice them.
I made for lack of better description, a trellis as you see here to help facilitate many things. It has helped me so far
in a lot of measuring. The trellis are glued with regular Titebond - no nails. I used a machinist square to make sure they
are square. The other stick across the top is a feabled attempt to make a "center" ruler before I actually found one in a
store. I used this jig to help me find center across the whole keel.
As far as the deck or top of the ship, I used plain dividers as the photo describes in itself. Ok, now, I found that my
hull out of the box was not centered. I found that the Keel Center Line was (ok at the stern keel but off about 3/32¨ or a
little more at the bow of the keel). sorry about my lack of nautical terms. (forward Keel "off" aft Keel "ok")
How did I find this out - I am trying to remember !
It seems that I had the ship in vise with deck up as I was looking down on the deck. I took the pair of dividers
and I measured the "center" at 3 places. The 3 places were the 3 deck steps. Aft Step, Midship Step and fore Step. Again,
I plead forgiveness of my lack of nautique. I marked the Center Line with a mechanical pencil. I then turned the ship over
with the Keel facing upwards. It seems to me that I took some sanding paper wrapped around a 3/8¨ square stick and I
started to lightly sand along the whole keel until I started to notice a good visible flatness of the keel. I think I
measured a 4mm width and maintained that while allowing for the sanding to find the "natural" center by sanding. This
worked for me, but I did have that 3/32¨ offset at the bow. However, let me say that after I drew my line down the center
of the Keel , I noticed that the Center Line of the Top of the Deck LINED up with the Center Line of the Keel. So with
that, I figured that by sanding the keel edge first, it sorta found its natural center. I am not sure if I am explaining
myself here or not. Maybe I got lucky, who knows. Let me say it this way. Straight out of the box, I measured the Center
Line on the deck. I turned the Ship over, and did not measure anything, but started sanding the keels edge. By sanding
the Keels edge, the center of the Keel became more prominent and exposed enough. Then I could mark and measure the center
line of the Keel from aft to fore.
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