Zvezda Black Swan 1/72

Question:

Is there any reason why I can't attach and rig the sails from lowest to highest?

The instructions show the sequence of installation from Highest to Lowest, Fore, Main, then Mizzen...but every time I have to rig up a sail that has another sail above it, then the mast-connected rigging blocks are obscured....if I reverse the order, I'll always be rigging a sail with clearance above it to reach the blocks...and the highest sail (obviously) is always accesible from above.

Looking at the upcoming steps, I can't see any reason why I shouldn't do it in reverse order, but maybe I'm  not seeing the *big* picture?

Any advice?

As always, thanks for the encouraging words!  It's nice to know people are still interested in this thread!

Honestly, I'm not going to go crazy fixing every little detail, or I might actually GO crazy!  But I'm sure I'll tug the shrouds up a little bit, and touch up that rail with a little paint...I'm usually pretty conservative with cement, but sometimes things get out of hand  :)

One thing I have to admit: I'm not too savvy with tying line ends...I don't know what knots to use, and I generally don't make terminations that will allow me to tighten things up later...even though I know how stuff gets out of whack once additional tensions are applied to the parts...Often I use overhand knots, or slip knots, or maybe a clove, or I've been known to simply wrap a line around it's end-point a couple of times, hang a clip from it, and dab a bit of CA to fix it in place...cut off the extra line, and move on.  I'm kind of a slouch when it comes to rigging knots...and with the complex rigging plan of this ship, it's becoming evident that it would do me some good to learn more about the particulars...

Phil, I've gotten the topgallant foresail (?) on and rigged, and it went pretty smoothly, but now I'm looking ahead to the top sail and realizing that all the blocks attached to the mast are going to be increasingly harder to reach for running the rigging line as I work my way down!  I just made an Extenso-Needle-Threader (needle-threader attached to a 7-inch long 1/8" dowel) so I can hopefully reach in around the sails and lines, and try to avoid tearing anything apart in the process!  Do you (or anyone) have any suggestion of ways I can proceed?  With your Pearl, did you just make your way through the rigging with carefully-placed, long-reaching tools?  Or should I have done more thorough pre-rigging?  I guess I'll see what happens when I start poking around in there!  haha

Oh, and as a matter of fact, I've been looking ahead to my next project already...

I got that Corel Berlin wooden kit recently, and I'm thinking of starting on it once the Swan is done...but I have to say, the more I learn about building wooden kits (especially HECEPOBs), the more I realize they are super-tricky, and require a lot of knowledge...not to mention a bunch of tools!  So anyway, I'm reading up on wooden kit techniques, and making a list of tools to begin accumulating...we'll see how it goes...I'm sure I'll start a WIP thread for it, and my guess is it'll be one of those things where it takes a LONG time, and I'll make a ton of mistakes, and ask a bunch of Noobie questions...and maybe never even finish it!

But truthfully, I like working with plastic a lot, it's just that I can't seem to find another plastic kit that I want to build that fits my criteria of interest.  So far, the Black Swan is the best plastic sailing ship kit I've found for my taste and style. I wish some new big, high-quality, Galleon-looking ship kits would come out...but I don't think there's much chance of that happening!

Or, I guess I could go on to some other kind of modeling once I finish the Swan...I have a few other types of kits I'd be interested in building....

Dang! Long, rambly post!  

Dave

Looking good David.  I love all the detail.  There's a lot to attract the eye.  And you sail looks just fine.  I can't wait to see all the sails rigged.  It will really stand out.

As for the glue on the fife rail.  Let it dry for a few days.  Then, use the edge of hobby blade and chisel into the glue at the deck and down the side of the fife rail.  You should literally trim the glue cleanly off.  Then just use some touch-up paint or a wash/drybrush to cover where the glue was.  

For the fouled shroud, it looks like it just needs to be tightened a bit, which can be taken care of once all the rigging is done.  Trust me, you'll end up tightening a bunch of lines once it's alls and done.  But the shrouds are easy to to tighten by just grabbing the whole bundle where it connects at the mast and lifting it up.  It will probably only move a millimeter or so, but it will be enough to tighten up the shrouds.  Then jsut a small drop of CA to hold it in place and you're done.

Great Job David.  Keep up the good work.  Another couple of months and you'll be thinking about your next kit!

That's a brilliant model David! Each step you take makes it look even better!

Got the foremast rails pre-rigged and installed, and attached the highest foremast sail this morning. Phew!...got a bunch of loose rigging lines to start tying on!

I followed the instructions for each belaying pin, and added an extra 10cm to each line, just in case of error, and to allow for extra length needed for knotting.

The sail paint job is actually much better looking than the pic suggests...I'll try to get better lighting on it for pics when I get finished...I'm actually really proud of how the mottling looks.  I'm optimistic of the injection-molded sails...

here's a couple pics of the spaghetti-lines!  Try to ignore the slightly-fouled shrouds, and the excess glue around the bottom of the fife rail!  Oops! 

 I'd also like to mention that the instructions for this kit have been very clear and almost entirely correct.  The pre-rigging steps are a big help, and will save me from the frustratingly tedious job of terminating lines on the rails later!

Thanks, GMorrison!

This afternoon I went ahead and re-sprayed the sails....I had painted them Flat White with Tan overspray for some mottling....now they're Radome Tan with Dark Tan Mottling....BIG improvement!  They look much more understated and worn....I think they were too bright before and I didn't want the color to draw too much attention from the rest of the ship....seems like it'll be better balance of color now!

Next, I'll mask off the yards and paint them with MM Leather.

David_K

Thanks!

Now that all the stays are on, I wish I'd gone with a heavier line for the shrouds...

That is a great model.

Thanks!

Now that all the stays are on, I wish I'd gone with a heavier line for the shrouds...but it's no biggie...I'm sure there's always going to be "should have, would have, could have"s in modeling.

I also had some trouble keeping proper tension on the stays...drawback of plastic modeling, I guess...the masts are flexible, so any tension makes them bend, which loosens (or tightens) previously connected lines...it's a balancing act!

Got the anchors detailed last night, might get them attached this afternoon.

  Just great. I can't image me doing such a model,  but you certainly make it an interesting and learning experience.

Wow!   David, you have done a fantastic job.  The rigging looks beautiful and your ratlines/shrouds are perfect.  And your color choices for the hull are just great as is the weathering.  Just the right amount.   You should be proud of yourself.  I can't wait to see her when you add sails and the running rigging.  

Great Job!

Phil

Hey Guys-

Got a lot of standing rigging done this weekend....here's a few progress pics.

The more I learn, the more I see mistakes that I've made....but overall I'm happy with the way it's turning out! Gotta get the anchors on (though I see no reason why they can't wait til the end!)...and then I start rigging up the rails, and then I'm on to mounting sails....

Lovely, you make some nice models Paul.

That's the Revell of Germany 1/9th kit.

Hi Paul, sorry for calling you Phil! I love the Norton, being a biker it is right up my street! What kit is that?

P.s. Nice to have you back!

Hey guys... I am still around.  My Swan is on the back-burner as David has already guessed.  I got involved in several other GB's on other forums.  I've been able to do four automotive models since I laid the Swan aside, and now I'm committed to a Spitfire build.

It's taken me close to 45 minutes to bring myself up to date on this thread.  LOL

Great work David.  I'm glad you're enjoyimg yourself with this build.  It's going to be awesome when finished.

Jockster...

Do you mean Paul (AKA 2whl) who originally started this thread?  You know, I haven't heard from him in a long time.

I do know that the Swan is his first sailing ship kit....he usually builds other types of models.  If I was going to guess, I'd say he might have gotten busy with some other projects, and his Black Swan is on the back burner for now???

Paul!   Hey Paul!!!!!  You still there?   haha

Look forward to the pics David, yours has been an exciting and enjoyable build, have you heard from Phil about his build, he hasn't posted for ages?!

congrats on your progress

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

heard to mumble to self....

not saying anything about the light at the end of the tunnel being a train headed this way !...nope, not me, won't do it, David is too good a guy to do that to; so it won't pass, my lips, nope.....

Well, guys....by now I've become a ratline-tying machine!  I can sit down and kick out clove hitch knots for 30-40 minutes at a time, and now I've almost finished all the ratline sets on the ship...all that remain are the upper mizzen-mast sets, and I figure I can finish that up with about an hour of bench-time.  Then it's back to stays, and then rig up some pinrails....looking ahead a couple of steps, I see an injection-molded sail being attached!  Funny how all the steps sorta start coming together, and you see a light at the end of the tunnel!

Still have a way to go yet!

Pics when I finish up the ratlines...

I'm just as bad Duster and have had to eat my words many times before. But yes, the cyano gives a good base for painting and for glueing other parts to it. Scotch invisible tape is another one that I use, cyano sticks to it well. and beleive it or not, sticky paper labels, packing tape is not a good one though, the brown stuff, the adhesive peels right off the back of that stuff. You guys should have a look at Jammydog.com and see the tapes they offer.

Jockster.

Jockster

That is outside the box for tape! clever.

 I would assume (Oh gad that word) your coating the tape with Cyrano, is what gives  the tape the needed sealing for the paint to follow, while adding a 3d dimension to the part and sticking for the long term.

 EDIT: well if I were to read ALL the posts befor ethrowing my  in I would see my points are made by the author sorry--still like the idea(s) though.

 off mumbleing to self- now I have the answer to that dag natted part on my......

Jockster, I'm a big paper/card person myself.  I find it much more forgiving than plastic sheet.  The entire bulkhead of the Black Pearl was made with papercard, with just a little Evergreene plastic strip.  And in hindsight I would have saved money had I used papercard strip instead.

I must also admit I am enjoying this thread for the sheer amount of information that is being shared.  I wish there were more like this...

Keep up the great work David.  I can't wait to see the finished shrouds.

Phil

You already said that a month ago, Manstein!  lol

It's okay, I love it, too....although I still feel like I sorta hijiacked it from the original Poster, 2whl.  

I love this thread and want to marry it...

As the guys say David, the adhesive in masking tape doesn't last, but the thin Cyano works two ways for me,

1, It stiffens the tape and helps it to hold its shape thus resisting the peeling effect.

2, The thin Cyano creeps around the edge of the tape and I seem to get a full length bond between tape and model.

I use other tapes too, but mostly masking tape and so far there has been no problem. I use masking tape from 'Jammydog' which comes in widths as narrow as 0.5mm. I also use 'Letraset' line tape which I have in a 0.25mm width. I hope I don't live to regret it at some point but I've been doing this for years so far.

I also use tracing paper, card,  photocopy paper etc. the same way with the cyano turning it into plastic when set. This worked particularly well with the splinter shields around the curvy gun platforms on the masts of my 1901 Varyag!

Jockster, that is a very interesting idea.  I've never heard of it quite that way before.  That's one reason I love this site.  You learn something new every day.  Jtilley, I use both Tamiya and 3-M Blue for masking.  Both tapes have similar adhesives, but they are not long term.  Maybe a few weeks at best.  They are excellent for masking though, especially the Tamiya.  I swear by it.

When I painted the lanterns on The Black Pearl  I painted the framing freehand using a very thick acrylic craft paint in a tan color.   Having it thick allowed me to lay down a controlled "bead" of paint that didn't run.  And when it dried it was slighty raised above the glass panes.   After the paint dried I did a very, very light drybrush with a metallic gold to give the framing a metallic look.   After that I sealed it and weathered it with a wash (make it look like hazed over lanterns of the Black Pearl)

Phil

Jockster's idea is a most interesting one.  I've never tried it, but I do feel obliged to raise one caveat (which I learned - the hard way - in my museum curator days).  The standard masking tape sold under that name in American stores is one of the two least durable adhesives I'm aware of.  (The other, which is even worse, is rubber cement, which usually cuts loose in less than a month.)  A piece of good ol' cream colored masking tape can be relied upon to stick for about six months - at the most.  It's a near- absolute no-no in museums (except for use in paint masking projects).

I have no idea how different the adhesives in Tamiya masking tape, 3-M blue tape, or the recently introduced Frog tape are from the old unreliable.  And Jockster's CA treatment may solve the problem; I've never tried it.  But personally I'd be very hesistant to use masking tape for anything I wanted to last more than six months.  (I've read many times about modelers making seat belts for aircraft models out of masking tape.  I'd be interested to know how many of them that are more than a year old are still stuck.) 

David, you could enhance the frames using thinly cut strips of masking tape or similar, I do this, when all the tape is in place, I 'paint' the tape with thin superglue (cyano) to lock them in place before painting, this will lift the frames a little bit. I use this technique for lots of things such as framework inside aircraft cockpits or the bands around the funnels on my 1901 Varyag. You can see the funnels on that ship on my posting for the Slava class Varyag. 2nd page. (Trumpeter 1/350 Slava Class Missile Cruise 'Varyag').

I know, it should say 'Cruiser'!

Regards, Jockster.

We'll see...After I get the rigging done, I'll see if I can paint them to look right...the frame around the glass panes is where it gets dicey...