Revell 1/96 Cutty Sark

Thanks Jim...the hard task is running the sheets rigging and all the lift rigging.....that BEFORE the control running rigging.   That is why I chose the thinnest nylon thread for the job. so it doesn't look so bulky.

I wish your father could be involved as well......thanks for the fine comments.

Rob

Absolutely beautiful! Wish my late dad could've seen this!

And another..just for giggles.

Now I have to finish these yards...so I can get to the control running rigging.

Looking up at the yards from pier level.

Formast main yard finished and set

One from the larboard quarter.  I'm very pleased how the stained running rigging is coming along...No more waxing and frizzies.  Just clean line...that will last for a long time.  Now onto the formast.......I can hardly believe I've come this far so fast.  Coutple more weeks and it will finished I'm sure.

Then onto the Ferriera.  I will also rebuild the Thermoplyae..from the revel kit.  I have been studying it for some time and the kit has some real issue.  They use far to many CS parts and the Deck houses and furniture needs some real remodeling.......that one will be fun too.

Anyway..........thanks for following.

Rob

A closeup of the belay pins of the main mast...showing(Poorly) the coiled rope.

Aft angle

A close up of some detail.

Finished with the main mast yards.  I also added blocks for formast rigging as well.  I added lifts(rope and chain) and all the rigging associated.

Again..I stained all the running rigging as I went along.

Finished another main yard....2 more to go and the main is finished...lots pf rope at the fife rails too.

Sometimes when you install a fixed rigging part...the actual string/premade ratlines may not align properly and give an unnatural  inclination.  you want your ratlines to be purpendicular to your deadeye/lanyards.

That is my personal view..and not set in stone.  Your build is very good..really.

I want to see more.

Rob(I'll be back at it Monday myself)

Rob,

Your suggestion regarding not installing the deadeyes/lanyards units until having installed the crosstrees is duly noted and will be remembered on my next classic sailing ship model.

Thanks,

Mike

Are you kidding me....you did a great job...I mean it.    I love the deck and your paint job is actually very nice.  If I had one criticism it would be not to install the deadeyes..till you know the exact hight of the crosstrees.  Some times you can have the deadeyes aiming to high..and they are not in alignment with the shrouds toward the tops.

Still...a great job.

Rob

I thought I'd post some pictures of where I am on my Cutty Sark. I have explained before about my lack of skills in scale modeling but, hey, learning from mistakes and dogged persistence in spite of the aforementioned may someday result in a ship model of which I'm proud. In the meantime, here are a few images of my ship as she sits just now.

Yesterday (3/29/13) I attempted to put on the decades old decals that I have (I only had one set from my 3 kits but I received a second set of decals from a VERY generous person on Finescale ..... Thank you again Adrian!!! He said he didn't need them anymore and simply sent them to me gratis.  At any rate my first attempt about 3 or 4 days ago was a disaster. The one decal I'd cut out broke into what seemed like dozens of little pieces. So, I then searched the internet for solutions. (I don't believe a LOT of the stuff I read on the net but one CAN find useful information in cyberspace - just be logical and skeptical). So I bought Testors decal bonder along with their dull and gloss coat cans and sprayed the bonder on the remaining decal sheets. I waited a day and then, yesterday, attempted the decals again. The result, although not perfect by any measure, was satisfactory in general. I still need to spray a dull coat over the decals today but that's no big deal. You will see misaligned and broken decals on my ship. Just now I DON'T CARE! It's, as I said, I learning process. My only regret is that I used up all the depth markers trying to get them right and, in the future, when I build my second CS, I'll not have the ability to print out white depth markers. Maybe I'll use a light yellow ?

I've broken and re-glued some stantions, I've messed up the rails and tried my best to fix them, and my painting is not professional. However, I'm satisfied that I'm doing better than I did on my 1/96 Connie a couple of years ago and progress counts.

Rob's Cutty Sark has inspired me, at age 70, to push on and attempt to develop some measure of skills that will further my enjoyment of this delightful hobby.

With no further ado:

Aft.  I ran out of tan cord and had trouble finding what I wanted...so I did the next best thing.  I found nylon thread the exact size I needed....then I mixed up a custom stain and matched the color pretty well.  Now I don;t have to worry about fly aways and fuzzies on the lines.....and I stain everything to match....cool.  I also let the sheets hang in the previous picture..till I fully rig the yards...so don't worry.

Having fun yet?

Rob

A bit more rigging and yard laying on the main mast....

Getting a bit of the spanker boom rigged.

Finished with the fife rail rigging.

Now it;s time to move onto the main mast yards beginning with the upper topsail yard(main and lower topsail yards are finished)  Here we gooooo.......

Closeup of topsail yard lift tackle.

Here is some more closeups

The difficulty with that is the access to properly rig the boats through a web of rigging makes the job tedious if not nearly nerve racking. However, if you have bumbling fingers and poor manual dexterity...then any means to achieve the final result for ones self is a *Good Idea*.

Rigging, for me is the funnest part and I have the tools to make it so.

Rob(good luck to everyone)

Indeed......I like to replicate the tared siezing of the rope ends and rope tie offs.....and a black paint touch up does that nicely.....

Here is a close up of some rope work on the mizzen fife.

Rob, Dave, et al.,

Did you consider leaving the boat installation until after the ship's standing and running rigging? Obviously Rob went ahead with the boat installation but I am wondering about this article - http://www.johnsplasticships.com/2007/04/boats-flag.html where the author says that he leaves the boats off until the rigging is done so that access to the belaying pins is less of a problem. Considering my fumbling fingers and general lack of manual dexterity, would this not be a good idea?

I will post some more pictures of my mangling of the CS in the not-too-distant future.  

Mike

I have found that spraying any glue spots with Alclad flat when the model is done will hide any shininess.  Naturally, globs of glue are not allowed.

I also try to hide my glue...and where ropes are secured to yards..line in the lifts, and on blocks/chain...I always blacken the junction with flat black paint...It makes things much neater and clean.

I also wax my lines prior to instal and afterwords, I paint each line with India ink and alcohol to weather the lines.  No white clean lines for me.......they must look almost dirty grey.

Rob

Thanks Dave....I shopped around till I found scale chain for the sheets.  I have about 20ft of it...so the ship will not be wanting where chain is called for..  What I do at the rail, is, first run the line down and under and over a pin...apply glue then cut off the excess.  Then I follow up with  belayed rope to cover over the secured line.  Trying to do all of that in one action is a tough gig.  I ain't that tough.

I'll post some images of how it looks...a bit later.

Rob

Shipwreck...I sleep very well...thank you...Heehee.  Actually I put in about 2 hours a day..not to include weekends.  It is a matter of priorities and schedualing.  I am self employed so I can make time.

I will sneak in time to build amongst  my daily schedule....an hour hear an hour there...it all adds up.

Today...will be about 2~3 hours as well.  I do a lot of study so I know exactly what my bench time will entail....I try to waste no time...if possible.

Rob

Hi Rob,

Could you show some close-ups of how you're tying running rigging to the pin rails?  By the way, the chain on the lower yards looks fantastic!

Dave

rwiederrich, you are making fantastic progress. It may be interesting if you could inform us as to how much time you are putting into this project and how you are scheduling it into your day. Do you sleep?