Columbus ships, Santa Maria and Pinta, kit by Amati... [COMPLETED BUILD]

[moreplovac]

The work on rudder continues.. by making a new set of braces, three of them, cut out of a brass plate... 2mm wide. I used just a scalpel and cut probably 10 runs to have strips removed from the plate. I also marked a middle line that will show position for a piece of tube that will hold the pintle. The tube was soldered and then cut into required length. Just easier to maneuver the longer tube, instead just 2mm long, very tiny tube..





After soldering, all material are dumped into degreaser for a few minutes..



Washed under water and dipped into blackening solution.




While blackening is taking its time, I marked the position of braces on the keel side.



Before parts are put in blackening solution I tested fitting on the keel..





And mounted on the ship. Some touch ups are required since I used nails to secure braces to the hull..



Happy modelling..

 

[moreplovac]

Touch up for rudder braces... sorry for a weird picture..



Started to work on serving the for the mast.. the same helper machine and method was used for serving the line.. and result..



Now, simple seizing knot was done on the rope, and the line was dragged over the mast.



The working setup to keep the line straight so I can seize it correctly..



The mast was mounted to the ship..





Happy modelling..

 

[moreplovac]

There are four blocks that holds the mast at the stern area; they are attached to hooks which are pushed in the deck... I started with running the rope thru the hook and seize it closes to the hook possible..



Another seize is made approximately 6mm from the first one, which will mark the length of area that will be served.



The serving is done using the seize excess rope length, just running around the rope by hands. Then the simple knot was made leaving some room to insert the block. Block's opening will be further from the hook.



The rope looks very hairy from the zoom distance



A small dot of CA was applied on both ends of the knot and excess rope was cut.



The served block is pushed to the predrilled hole on the deck.. and secured with a drop of CA.



Now the fun part of attaching the backstays.. The distance template was made out of a wire..



It is necessary to attach a rope that will go thru the block on the deck. A simple seizing knot was used to secure it and one end of that seizing rope was used to serve the line..









Serving is done with a small load attached to the seizing line and run it around the rope 5-6 times. The load helps keeping it straight. Then a small drop of CA will fix the serving line.



Then blocks are connected..







A little help from blue tack to assist in preventing block from turning around and slipping of the template wire..



And completed.





Even though I put the excess rope on the desk, still contemplating how to make it more visually appealing and not taking to much space on the deck...

Happy modelling..

 

[moreplovac]

The mizzen mast is up and secured...



Now it is time for a dangerous part, DeWalt and ship model, who will win... need to slightly widen the opening for mainmast with 10mm drill bit... very controlled movements and very small speed completed the work with no damage to the model.. I don't have 10mm wide file to assist with this task..



And the main mast is up and glued.





Now, the same process but without DeWalt is done for foremast...





Once foremast was glued and secured, I worked on bowsprit, first by adding two blocks and correcting the angle at the end to sit flat on the deck. Originally I follow the plan but it will need to be more sharper angle for my deck..







Once bowsprit is glued to deck, I drilled a hole for a simulating nail, 0.6mm brass wire was driven thru, cut and sanded. The working area received a layer of golden oak stain to cover the sanding spot.. The simulating nail is not on the plan but I have added it as a small detail..









Happy modelling..

 

[moreplovac]

Attempting to protect the fragile parts I put some green tape around them, to make easier visual contact while working close by, but it is not quite working..



Flag pole was broken. Luckily, it was an easy fix..



Gammoning was done but took me a while to run all those rope runs thru very tight spot...using different tools managed to get it done but not completelly to my liking...



Then I start working on forestay... first I run the line for a block...



.. and seize it with a knot and few serving runs..



Then the block was attached and secured with a single knot; two drops of CA to secure the lines and excess rope was cut.



Then the other side of forestay started with a work on a block, seize knot and few serving runs.. with a help of a small clip..





Using distance template made out of a wire, I have attached the forestay to the main mast..







Now it is ready for final assembly later in the process..



Happy modelling..

 

[moreplovac]

I have decided to replace the "chainplate" from the kit with custom made chain plates. The upper links, middle links and toe links were made out of 0.6mm brass wire, which was run thru the flame from a small buttan torch, to make the wire easier to work with. Wire is also sanded with 1000 grid paper to remove any protection and to allow good blackening results.

First the deadeye was traced on the piece of wood and nails were pushed in.. and the nail tops were cut off..





Then not that hot anymore wire, was twisted around the nails to make an upper link.



Approximately 20 were made, but 12 are only needed.



The excess wire was cut with cutters to make the cut end as flat as possible which will allow good soldering grip. Every upper ink was tested with deadeye and wire adjusted to fit closely to the dead eye.





Then the soldering was done using low temperature silver paste and a torch..









All upper links were put in blackening solution for approximately 2 minutes then dropped into water and dried with paper towel.



Every link was polished with a small brush to remove excess blackening..



The deadeye was added to the upper ink and the wire was adjusted and squeezed. The pliers were holding the upper link on the side where soldering was done to prevent the breakage of that area when the wire was squeezed. Apparently silver soldering provides stronger bond so there is not much danger for breaking the link.



12 chosen one..



There are some collateral damage as well..



Now it is time to test the length of links.. deadeyes with upper link were put in channels.. and measurement was taken..



Now it is time to make middle links... I used some access card from one of my previous jobs as the width is appropriate.. and the wire was twisted around. The wire was cut and soldered.






Some filing was done and links were squeezed a bit in the middle..



After removing excess solder with files of different size, the links were blackened and polished and are ready for assembly. The next will be toe link and bolts.



Happy modelling..

 

[moreplovac]

Middle links were made in the same way as other copper parts and soldered with silver soldering... it does take some practice to make perfect soldering joint, the amount of solder used, the heat required... the upper and toe links were attached to the middle link before soldering and soldering was carefully done making sure not to burn the deadeye. After a bit of modelling on the link, all assembly was put in blackening solution.





The links were polished with a brush.... Now will make some rings..



Happy modelling..

 

[moreplovac]

Making a holes for chainplate hooks are done next..



Mounting one chainplate assembly, I used a nail to mark the area where hook will be attached, the pilot hole (0.5mm) was drilled and the main hole was drilled using hand tool. Prefer not to use drilling machine for holes bigger that 1.2mm (with exception of DeWalt few posts above)...



Then hooks are made; 0.6mm brass wire, previously softened on the torch, first 90 degree was established...



.. then holding with needle pliers the wire was twisted around the point end, towards right hand side. The wire is soft so no damages to fingers...





... and hook is cut.



Blackened...



Now I have added a rivet to each hook, make it more interesting...



Soldered on the top...





One more blackening and cleaning baths...



And inserted into the hull..

 

[moreplovac]

Some of chainplates did not end up quite fine for me so I decided to replace them...

First, I measured the distance between upper plate and the hook, then divided on two and made several new parts using this small template...



Then the chain plate ends were silver soldered, filed and squeezed... here the soldered one is on the top, filled and cleaned in the middle and squeezed, ready for blackening on the bottom..



Testing the distance on the channel.. at this moment, some final adjustment for chainplate length was done..



Then blackening, cleaning and polishing was done and whole assembly was mounted to the ship..









Planning to put a capping strip to cover the channel slots even dough it was not on the kit plan...

Happy modelling..

 

[moreplovac]

Channel slots were covered with a strip of cherry plank.. few nails were simulated using 0.6mm brass wire and attached to the strip and channel.




And a layer of protective oil was applied..



Happy modelling..

 

[moreplovac]

It is hard to dedicate some modelling time during summer.... and other projects around the house..

Backstays for foremast was next task... they are attached to the mast and the same process was applied to them as for mizzen mast, with template to keep the distance same between blocks attached to the deck and blocks on the backstays; seizing rope was added after the block was secured in backstay...

First the rope was fixed with a CA glue...



Then the small opening was made between the rope and block, using a needle and the rope was pushed in... There were several attempts to drill it thru but at the end I made it..



Pull out further away with a players...



Then seizing rope was used to make seizing and 6 serving runs were done, using a small clothespin as a weight and running the seizing rope around...



The finish product...



Happy modelling..

 

[moreplovac]

These two pieces will be used to secure the foremast to the blocks attached to the deck, the end of the rope will be going around them instead of belaying pins..
Just preparing them for a future work...





Now it is time to work on backstays for a main mast...First the template was used to put the dead eye on,



then the backstay was prepared... I always struggled with how to keep the backstay tight when working on. Now I am using a simple knot to prevent usage of small clothespins, etc...









Now I can work on the shrouds without loosing the tightness in the rope.. seizing is on the way..



The final work..



and ready to be tighten later...



Happy modelling...

 

[moreplovac]

Two more done... very hot this days.... no much progress..



Happy modelling..

 

[moreplovac]

One side completed..



The view from the other side..









Happy modelling.

 

[moreplovac]

There must be some other ways of checking the unknown rope size, but I like to use this simple way: wrapping rope around some object 10 times, measure the wide of the wraps and the end result is divided by 10 giving the approximate diameter of the rope...





It is better to have manufacturer providing the rope size but sometimes you have to do it on your own..

Now it is time to work on halyard. First the holes are drilled for the hook/ring that will hold the whole assembly to the deck. For these tight locations, I usually use hand drill, not powered one, just because of more control available using a hand tool.







Then I worked on rams head block, by running the rope through the holes on the bottom and seize it with a 0.5mm black rope. The ring was attached to it as well, and few more seizing wraps are done to secure the rope and the ring.







Once it is done, I have attached halyard tackle through the bottom block.







On the upper block tye was added by running the rope through the block and seized on the top, similar to backstay...the whole assembly was then mounted on the deck. The ring was secured with two drops of CA.









Happy modelling..

 

[Frank48]

One side completed..

View attachment 386396

The view from the other side..

View attachment 386395

View attachment 386394

View attachment 386393

View attachment 386392

Happy modelling.

Hi moreplovac, let me point out that this block is mounted backwards.Frank

 

[moreplovac]

Hi moreplovac, let me point out that this block is mounted backwards.Frank

View attachment 386658

Hi Frank48,

thanks for comment, could you pls elaborate what you mean by backwards. Not sure I am following properly..

 

[Frank48]

Hi Frank48,

thanks for comment, could you pls elaborate what you mean by backwards. Not sure I am following properly..

 

[ConsNZ]

I think Frank48 means your block is upside down (sottosopra)

 

[Frank48]

I think Frank48 means your block is upside down (sottosopra)

yes