Grants Xebec 1:60 (using Jabeque Cazador Occre1:60 kit) [COMPLETED BUILD]

[GrantTyler]

Hi my friend. I just love how you are incorporating more and more scratch-build aspects into your build. It is not only a clear sign of a modeler gaining in confidence but also in craftsmanship. It's a pity about you not having the 2.5mm blocks, but hey, we have to make do with what we have and that you are doing admirably!

Good morning Heinrich. Thanks. I am pretty happy how they are coming out and how they compliment the rest of the Xebec. Now to make 16 more all the same. Cheers Grant

Wow, rigging these cannons on the ship is very difficult. You have a very small area to work on. The cannons look very good and I like the tiny details like the nails in the wheels. Great work!

Good morning Peter. Thanks. I also thought it would be difficult to rig them on the ship however they are not so bad. I did not fit the pumps, bell etc to the deck (as per the instruction sequence) so I have space to manoeuvre. I have to drill out the 3mm double blocks though for the 0.3mm outhaul and in haul lines which is a pain in the butt.…

I'm super impressed with these carriages made from scraps! And I don't think the blocks are disturbingly large - about 1/3 to 1/2 the size of the trucks (wheels) gets you in the ballpark. Excellent work Grant!

Good morning Paul. Thank you. The cannons are a huge feature on these ships so I attempted to give them some character and detail. They are only 6 pounders with short and low carriages so the blocks and rigging hide all the detail and do give the appearance of being over sized. They don’t detract but I think a 2.5mm may have looked better. Cheers Grant

These guns and tackles are looking very good - and correct.
The only thing, what I would do in principle: blackening of the eyebolts and rings, and the nail heads of the trunnion caps maybe
- but I have a principle problem, because I do not like the look of brass - but like everywhere in our hobby - just a question of taste

Good morning Uwek. I knew someone would “chirp” about the brass. My story why and I’ll keep it short…..When I bought the kit I also bought some brass black from Amazon (no local store (gun shops included) has brass black). That was in November last year…My brass black is still in transit, lost or stolen. So brass it is….Funnily as inaccurate as it may be I am enjoying the look on my Xebec. Cheers Grant

Looks stunning Grant, great work

Good morning and thank you. I eagerly wait for your next update on your beautiful POF Le Requin

Just some very nice rigged canons, Grant. What can I say more ……..
Regards, Peter

Those look great!

Good morning Peter and Dean. Thank you kindly gentlemen.

Now a dedicated modeller would sand and shape each block individually to it's correct size.
Loving your work Grant.

Good morning Richie….do those guys exist…..- Oh wait there is Paul (@dockattner )…Thanks for the compliment.
Cheers Grant

 

[Jack Jäger]

That's a real good job you have done with those guns Grant. Definitely more the genius of MacGyver than my 'Heath Robinson' way of going. You are building a brilliant model, I never miss a view of your progress, impressive.

Cheers JJ..

 

[Heinrich]

Grant, don't fuss a moment about the brass! I decided from the word go to keep all my brass, brass-colored without blackening anything. Heck, I did not even blacken the cannon barrels and I much prefer that look.

 

[RDN1954]

These guns and tackles are looking very good - and correct.
The only thing, what I would do in principle: blackening of the eyebolts and rings, and the nail heads of the trunnion caps maybe
- but I have a principle problem, because I do not like the look of brass - but like everywhere in our hobby - just a question of taste

Since I'm not particularly fond of the look of brass, I tried three possibilities, one of them unwittingly.
First, paint the brass hardware. Not particularly easy to get rings, hooks and eyebolts evenly painted and one touch and the brass shines through, even when primer is applied.
Second, blackening. A bit easier than painting, but very widely varying degrees of blackening, thus in color. Plus, again, it's quite easy to damage the patina layer.
Third (accidental), natural "blackening". For some time I left an opened hardware box sitting on my workbench. I used parts from this box almost daily, so I didn't see the need in closing up. Lo and behold, after some time a natural patina emerged. I checked with my other Bluenose, where I used brass rings to attach the jib's to the stays and observed a similar patina layer. Not midnight black, not even in appearance, but not the shiny brass one sees in unopened packages of brass parts. And still prone to surface damage.
So, if you don't cover it up the full 100% by a poly or something equivalent, the brass will respond to its' environment and patina will develop.

 

[shota70]

great progress, the The cannons with the carts and all the the rope work that is attached to them looks perfect

 

[Fish&Chip]

Great job and inspiring too.

 

[GrantTyler]

That's a real good job you have done with those guns Grant. Definitely more the genius of MacGyver than my 'Heath Robinson' way of going. You are building a brilliant model, I never miss a view of your progress, impressive.

Cheers JJ..

Good morning Jack. Thank you. I do what I can with what I have…not always the best but it is fun.

Grant, don't fuss a moment about the brass! I decided from the word go to keep all my brass, brass-colored without blackening anything. Heck, I did not even blacken the cannon barrels and I much prefer that look.

Since I'm not particularly fond of the look of brass, I tried three possibilities, one of them unwittingly.
First, paint the brass hardware. Not particularly easy to get rings, hooks and eyebolts evenly painted and one touch and the brass shines through, even when primer is applied.
Second, blackening. A bit easier than painting, but very widely varying degrees of blackening, thus in color. Plus, again, it's quite easy to damage the patina layer.
Third (accidental), natural "blackening". For some time I left an opened hardware box sitting on my workbench. I used parts from this box almost daily, so I didn't see the need in closing up. Lo and behold, after some time a natural patina emerged. I checked with my other Bluenose, where I used brass rings to attach the jib's to the stays and observed a similar patina layer. Not midnight black, not even in appearance, but not the shiny brass one sees in unopened packages of brass parts. And still prone to surface damage.
So, if you don't cover it up the full 100% by a poly or something equivalent, the brass will respond to its' environment and patina will develop.

Good morning Heinrich and Johan. Ahh the brass story. If my brass black did not get lost in the post, I would have blackened the brass. On Grants Xebec it looks cool though and I am certainly not unhappy with it. Johan you are correct the brass does get dull (especially In Melkbosstrand by the coast). The brass on my Victory is already dull and not shiny.

great progress, the The cannons with the carts and all the the rope work that is attached to them looks perfect

Good morning Shota. Thank you. These cannon carriages take a while to make and I don’t get each one exactly the same but overall I am happy.

Great job and inspiring too.

Good morning. Thank you very much.

Cheers Grant

 

[GrantTyler]

Good morning. Typical Grant - I got tired of making cannons. So I made the PS swivel cannons.

As with most of the fittings from the kit the hinge brackets are oversized. Like crazy so. The rounded handle on the cannon is also oversized.

I used a dremel tool and filed the parts way smaller and also rounded the top of each bracket.

The cannons fitted on Grants Xebec design.



Oar redo : you will notice I cut the oars off. I could not live with the oversized oars and parts of the kit. I am going to have to find some 3mm dowels and do something with the handles and supports…..as the say in Afrikaans “n Boer maak n plan”….
Cheers Grant

 

[RDN1954]

The story of a committed modeler: re-do's galore.

 

[Heinrich]

I have full faith in that plan being made. Go for it, my friend! The culverins look great!

 

[Pathfinder65]

Geez, miss a couple days of following along and your build skills show incredible progress. Cannons - Culverins have appeared and look outstanding. Nicely done.

Jan

 

[Fish&Chip]

Good morning. Typical Grant - I got tired of making cannons. So I made the PS swivel cannons.

As with most of the fittings from the kit the hinge brackets are oversized. Like crazy so. The rounded handle on the cannon is also oversized.
View attachment 390719
I used a dremel tool and filed the parts way smaller and also rounded the top of each bracket.

The cannons fitted on Grants Xebec design.
View attachment 390720
View attachment 390721View attachment 390722View attachment 390723

Oar redo : you will notice I cut the oars off. I could not live with the oversized oars and parts of the kit. I am going to have to find some 3mm dowels and do something with the handles and supports…..as the say in Afrikaans “n Boer maak n plan”….
Cheers Grant

I love the treatment of the wood that you've done on the ship. Beautiful grain and color and sanding, etc...

 

[dockattner]

you will notice I cut the oars off. I could not live with the oversized oars and parts of the kit.

sorry...I feel like I caused this...

 

[GrantTyler]

The story of a committed modeler: re-do's galore.

Good afternoon Johan. Not sure if it is committed or someone who just doesn’t get it right the first time

I have full faith in that plan being made. Go for it, my friend! The culverins look great!

Good afternoon Heinrich. One way or another the oars will be improved. With no proper scale reference and so many aspects of the kit being oversized, it is a bit of self judgement. It is why I printed that dummy figurine at the correct scale. There is just no way anyone or team of crew could manoeuvre the kit sized oars and oar fixtures. Most importantly they just looked out of place on the ship. Yep some form of plan will be made- boy I wish I had a wood stockpile .

Geez, miss a couple days of following along and your build skills show incredible progress. Cannons - Culverins have appeared and look outstanding. Nicely done.

Jan

Good afternoon Jan. Thank you. I have been building individual cannons and working the culverins into shape a little here and little there overtime. Again thanks for the compliment I appreciate it.

I love the treatment of the wood that you've done on the ship. Beautiful grain and color and sanding, etc...

Good afternoon. Thank you.

sorry...I feel like I caused this...

Good afternoon Paul. Yes I think an apology is required. You certainly have contributed to many hours of redo work and having to find some limited wood resources etc etc……hmmm, some retribution is required. . I may be thanking you once the redo oars are done though.
Cheers Grant

 

[RDN1954]

Good afternoon Paul. Yes I think an apology is required. You certainly have contributed to many hours of redo work and having to find some limited wood resources etc etc……hmmm, some retribution is required. .

Paul has just found himself committed to a 6000+ treenails. Now he's trying to create havoc among us, innocent bystanders, trying to get us to do as many re-do's as he possibly can. (And doing rather nicely, I might say, you starting a re-do on your oars...)

 

[dockattner]

Paul has just found himself committed to a 6000+ treenails. Now he's trying to create havoc among us, innocent bystanders, trying to get us to do as many re-do's as he possibly can. (And doing rather nicely, I might say, you starting a re-do on your oars...)

I've been exposed ...

 

[GrantTyler]

Good morning. SB side culverins /swivel canons :

Cheers Grant

 

[Nomad]

Grant, your deck is just waaayy too clean and tidy. Seriously, you need to throw some sand or grit all over it, or at least spill some paint so that we don't feel too embarrassed about displaying our decks on this forum

 

[Jack Jäger]

Looks great Grant, have you given any thought about sails yet? To my way of thinking, a fore and aft rig lends itself much better than square rig when it comes to adding them as you can still see most of the ,(in your case beautiful,) deck. Be interested to know your thoughts.

Cheers JJ..

 

[RDN1954]

Grant, your deck is just waaayy too clean and tidy. Seriously, you need to throw some sand or grit all over it, or at least spill some paint so that we don't feel too embarrassed about displaying our decks on this forum

You're absolutely right about Grant's Xebecs' decks; they're immaculate and scream ropes, barrels, swords, a cripple sailor, anything, but hide those decks.