Bulwark Stays

S

steven

Joined
Nov 27, 2021
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Greetings again
I am planning an Occre Albatross kit build. I have been looking around this site, and I find the Constro Albatross has bulwark stays and the Occre kit has none.
Should I add the stays to the Occre build, or am I just over thinking this endeavor.
Thanks again for the help on probably stupid questions,
Steven
 
Add them if your research indicates they should be there. Kits are OFTEN oversimplified, and leave out many features. If you add a lot of details to a kit, it becomes less the kit designer's model and more your own. You will find there are dozens of small details you can add to a kit. When the model is done, there are so many that the model becomes a feast for the eyes. The model I am currently working on transitioned in mid-build from a kit with added details to full scratch build after collecting so many books and online sources of information. Knowing so much more about a ship than when you started created such a demand to make changes and corrections. You'll be surprised what details you can add with some stained sticks of wood and some glue.

There are several rigging lines that are temporarily installed in the process of operating the sails or doing maintenance. These are optional for the modeler. You can rig the anchors to depict weighing (retrieval) operations, rig the garnet tackles to show the operation of lifting cargo or the ship's launch aboard. A small example shown below is leaving the top rope installed for the main topmast. This line is used to telescope the topmast up into position during the installation of the topmast in shipyard, and its block and line are removed once the topmast is in place. You can see the top rope running through sheaves in the foot of the topmast below. The line starts from where it is hooked to an eye below the top, runs through blocks and sheaves, and goes down to the deck where a tackle exists to haul the topmast upward through the hole in the masthead. This line tells you how the masts were erected visually. The more you research the details of how the ship is operated using its fittings and tackles, the more options you discover for adding to your model. The overall progress slows, but the final result is a super-detailed model. As the builder, you set the level of detail that you want.

1644775030161.png

And please, ask more questions. It's part of the learning process of a build and everyone who reads your questions and member's responses benefits.
 
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I can only agree with what DARIVS ARCHITECTVS has said, even though I hated having to do latin at school. With the help of people on this forum and my own research, I am trying to get my San Francisco II (Artesania Latina) model more authentic. It depends how far you want to go with this. It also depends how you want your model to look when finished. Do you want it pretty and gloss-varnished, or do you want it 'gritty' and weathered? I've made decisions that stray away from the 'pretty' and lean more to the realistic I've also done the opposite. I like the wood with a satin varnish. I'd hate to cover the hull with the whitish gunge that would be more realistic... so, I'm halfway. Realism to some extent, beauty on the other hand.

If you find that these were on the ship in your research, add them if you want. For me, I enjoy research, but sometimes I can't find a definitive answer. At that point, I use what I've learned from research and add stuff that suits me. As long as it doesn't contradict known facts, I feel justified. I pick what looks best for you. It's your model. You are the one spending hundreds (thousands) of hours on it. My best recommendation is to do what you think is best!

I admire your desire to get this right, btw.
 
CumbrianLad said:
I can only agree with what DARIVS ARCHITECTVS has said, even though I hated having to do latin at school. With the help of people on this forum and my own research, I am trying to get my San Francisco II (Artesania Latina) model more authentic. It depends how far you want to go with this. It also depends how you want your model to look when finished. Do you want it pretty and gloss-varnished, or do you want it 'gritty' and weathered? I've made decisions that stray away from the 'pretty' and lean more to the realistic I've also done the opposite. I like the wood with a satin varnish. I'd hate to cover the hull with the whitish gunge that would be more realistic... so, I'm halfway. Realism to some extent, beauty on the other hand.

If you find that these were on the ship in your research, add them if you want. For me, I enjoy research, but sometimes I can't find a definitive answer. At that point, I use what I've learned from research and add stuff that suits me. As long as it doesn't contradict known facts, I feel justified. I pick what looks best for you. It's your model. You are the one spending hundreds (thousands) of hours on it. My best recommendation is to do what you think is best!

I admire your desire to get this right, btw.
Click to expand...
I have the SFII kit waiting to be started. Nice model for beginners. It's hard for me to resist changing the SF II kit to THIS level:
1644784759541.png
 
CumbrianLad said:
I can only agree with what DARIVS ARCHITECTVS has said, even though I hated having to do latin at school. With the help of people on this forum and my own research, I am trying to get my San Francisco II (Artesania Latina) model more authentic. It depends how far you want to go with this. It also depends how you want your model to look when finished. Do you want it pretty and gloss-varnished, or do you want it 'gritty' and weathered? I've made decisions that stray away from the 'pretty' and lean more to the realistic I've also done the opposite. I like the wood with a satin varnish. I'd hate to cover the hull with the whitish gunge that would be more realistic... so, I'm halfway. Realism to some extent, beauty on the other hand.

If you find that these were on the ship in your research, add them if you want. For me, I enjoy research, but sometimes I can't find a definitive answer. At that point, I use what I've learned from research and add stuff that suits me. As long as it doesn't contradict known facts, I feel justified. I pick what looks best for you. It's your model. You are the one spending hundreds (thousands) of hours on it. My best recommendation is to do what you think is best!

I admire your desire to get this right, btw.
Click to expand...
The SF II was my first build. Great way to learn alot. The videos help. I didn't bash it as it was a learning experience for me.

20211015_140355.jpg
 
Both lovely, gents!

Philski, I like the rubbing strakes, gunwales and other touches in black! Don't be too offended if I lift those details off you! (Sure you won't be, but I'm shamelessly stealing the idea anyway). I really think she looks better that way. I may just use a very dark woodstain: maybe that's what you did. Photos never show everything. It has inspired me, seeing my model assembled. Some days, when I've only made two gratings or planked 1/4 of the stern, I can get a bit weary! On the other hand, I'd rather take an hour over a pair of planks and get it nice, than do 3 dozen and end up with unsightly gaps... at least that's what I tell myself.

Darivs, that's lovely. You're right San Francisco would deserve it, but I doubt I'll go that far. So far my plans are to add working whipstaff steering and I had wanted to retrofit lower gun decks. I've a problem with that, though. I'm still deliberating. I'd need to drill/saw/ file several sections of the already installed false bulkheads and centre 'keel'. I can do most of it by basically reconstructing the internals one deck down at a time. My issue is that at least 3 pairs of cannon will clash with the plywood of the original false bulkheads.

That's difficult but not insurmountable except for 1 pair. We'll see. I'm an engineer and I can only work with what I have. Structural integrity has to come before aesthetics.
 
An afterthought, Philski... I love those cam-style supports! Home-made or bought? I could make some... but I'm sometimes lazy! Made of wood that's a really nice gentle way of supporting a hull, especially before it's varnished.
 
CumbrianLad said:
Both lovely, gents!

Philski, I like the rubbing strakes, gunwales and other touches in black! Don't be too offended if I lift those details off you! (Sure you won't be, but I'm shamelessly stealing the idea anyway). I really think she looks better that way. I may just use a very dark woodstain: maybe that's what you did. Photos never show everything. It has inspired me, seeing my model assembled. Some days, when I've only made two gratings or planked 1/4 of the stern, I can get a bit weary! On the other hand, I'd rather take an hour over a pair of planks and get it nice, than do 3 dozen and end up with unsightly gaps... at least that's what I tell myself.

Darivs, that's lovely. You're right San Francisco would deserve it, but I doubt I'll go that far. So far my plans are to add working whipstaff steering and I had wanted to retrofit lower gun decks. I've a problem with that, though. I'm still deliberating. I'd need to drill/saw/ file several sections of the already installed false bulkheads and centre 'keel'. I can do most of it by basically reconstructing the internals one deck down at a time. My issue is that at least 3 pairs of cannon will clash with the plywood of the original false bulkheads.

That's difficult but not insurmountable except for 1 pair. We'll see. I'm an engineer and I can only work with what I have. Structural integrity has to come before aesthetics.
Click to expand...
I was really joking about converting SF II into that incredibly detailed galleon in the picture I posted. If you really wanted to go that detailed, you'd probably want to start from scratch. Still, SF II is a blank canvas that can use some additions, without disturbing the clean simplicity that make this galleon a thing of beauty. Adding a whipstaff is a very nice touch, and would be a challenge to get working since it requires the internal deck and parts. A worthy challenge.
 
Philski (Home made. Its an adjustable cradle that hold everything as I built it. Inverted for planking.)
I'm interested in your cradle, do you have ant pics of it inverted for planking?
 
CumbrianLad said:
An afterthought, Philski... I love those cam-style supports! Home-made or bought? I could make some... but I'm sometimes lazy! Made of wood that's a really nice gentle way of supporting a hull, especially before it's varnished.
Click to expand...
All home made. I have a full woodshop so I can fabricate stuff readily.....
 
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