Artesania Latina 1/75 Bluenose II

[handiabled]

Great to see this one again! I'm glad you were able to get your bench back in order again

[fox]

Hi everyone! Well, the entire workroom project is finished and I can get back to work on the Bluenose II.

Thought I'd post a few pics of the hobbyroom before I show the Bluenose progress. We decided to do the stairway ourselves. We just had the floor people remove all the wall-to-wall rugs from the stairs. After they were finished with the whole house, we started on the stairs. I rough sanded the stairs then started filling all of the staple and nail holes. Another sanding. More filling. More sanding. Sound familiar? Two coats of white primer, two coats of flat white then two coats of white enamel. Step pads installed then the runner was stapled down. FINISHED!

photos.app.goo.gl/JAinFtnMYQ9WNWYw7

Now, at the top of this georgous staircase is the "Hobbyroom". First is the basic "ThunderRoad" flooring. Great name, right?

photos.app.goo.gl/DRwHNmCxE5p9MsoFA

Now, the Hobbyroom.

photos.app.goo.gl/sbv5GDJNDRwefJrf9

photos.app.goo.gl/5ayVe1YheJKF72WW8

photos.app.goo.gl/zxxx5z5z87eyMRLq8

OK, enough of the workroom.

The hull and the deck of the Bluenose II is completed and now it's time for the masts and rigging. The Main mast and Foremast hole bases were missing soooooooo I scratchbuilt them. Completed and installed the Crosstrees. Started making the various blocks and tackles and installing them. The topmasts were tapered on my proxxon lathe and the mast trucks were installed.

photos.app.goo.gl/GUAHufwqV4baGJrX6

photos.app.goo.gl/58k5nxysoBdEdD7a9

photos.app.goo.gl/3ptbvhE9cLeo3vrj8

photos.app.goo.gl/aATwi37yUYg4ZWUA9

photos.app.goo.gl/2EJRs13GYxAcdQzf7

That's the 1st 4 pages of the 2nd instruction book. Now comes the real FUN, the clump blocks, rigging, small rigging and ratlines. It's a good thing I have quite a collection of left-over rigging because I don't think there's enough in the kit.

I hope this works as it is one of my many tries to post photos instead of links. It looks like it is working but I won't know for sure until I hit the enter button and it does enter. If it doesn't, I'll try, try, try until it does.

Stay safe.
Jim Emoji

[keavdog]

I just see the links.  Regardless that's a beauty of a ship!

[fox]

If you click on the links, can you see the photos?

Stay safe.
Jim 

[keavdog]

Yes

[fox]

Thanks Keavdog! For a few seconds there I thought even the links didn't work anymore. The pics came over one time but I haven't the faintest idea how it happened. When I tried to duplicate it, it didn't work. Only the links seem to work. One of these days I'll get the hang of it, if the Man Upstairs doesn't get me first. In the meantime, I'll keep on trying.

Stay safe.
Jim 

[Steve Zuleski]

Pretty awesome work Jim, and links are working fine.

[fox]

Ok everyone, I think I am getting back to some sort of normality. With most of the work in the house completed, I am getting back to working at the bench. I'll still have to post links that you can click on to see the photos until a better way comes along. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I started working on adding the blocks to the rigging. This is not as hard as it looks but it is tedious and time consuming work. I made up the 1st 18 pieces of rigging in two sessions on the bench. 

photos.app.goo.gl/5MwjUAPGGrhXaJDt9

Both the masts holes lined up perfectly with the cutouts in the bulkheads while building the hull and the masts lined up as well. Adding the rigging will be a little easier as the masts do not move in any direction when adding the rigging, unless you do not use equal tension on the port and starboard side. So, I started adding the stays.

photos.app.goo.gl/aYPjZwu97a8VKRJ7A

I am adding the 8 stays on the main mast one on each side and keeping them slightly loose to be tightened up when all 8 are attached. The line coming off the right side of the bottom block will be used to sieze the line to the top block. The line coming off the left side will be attached to a belaying pin directly behind the line and a small coil of line on the deck. Each line will be set the same way.

photos.app.goo.gl/uYcgMQ3qNMXXemQP8

That's as far as I got last night. Tonight I'll start on the foremast. Already ran out of the black line used for the rigging. Only added a little extra when cutting them to allow for adjusting room but ran short. They don't give you much in the kits. Lucky I have a seamstress for a wife who has boxes of all types, colors and thickness in her workroom that I have free access to. One of the lines used in the kit says that it is natural brown. There is only one brown line and it is almost black and way too thick for what it is supposed to be used for. Found a perfect match for the one in the instruction photo in my wife's inventory. 

Well, that's it for now. Catch you on the flip side.

Stay safe.
Jim 

[fox]

It's been a while since my last post. Got a little work done on the Bluenose. Foremast and Mainmast stays are installed. Started working on the ratlines. Got the port side finished and working on the starboard side. Used to be able to do them a little faster. Takes me about 4 minutes to do each line. I do 1 or 2 on the foremast and then 1 or 2 on the Mainmast letting the diluted Elmers glue set up on the knots.

photos.app.goo.gl/RsxscwWnT7yvYrQK7

Trying to get some time on the bench to work has been hard this week and will be for the next couple of weeks. Had a couple of doctor visits last week and have a couple more coming up this week. Have to have a sleep study as the pulmonary doctor thinks I need a little more air at night from my bypap set-up. Getting cataracks removed. Family doctor says I need a stress test and X-rays. And people say "These are our GOLDEN years". I think the gold has changed to LEAD. I'd love to get my hands on the guy that started that rumor. I'd ring his neck. 

Stay safe.
Jim 

[keavdog]

That's looking beautiful Jim! Looks like quite a lot of work.

[handiabled]

Just got caught up with this again. You have been a busy man! The rigging and ratlines look outstanding Jim!

[kyledehart5]

My goodness Jim. Great progress. She’s looking fantastic.

[fox]

Thanks guys. Got about 20 minutes of work done on the ratlines today which adds up to not much. But, as the old saying goes "Every little bit counts".

Stay safe.
Jim 

[greg]

Hey Jim, wanted to stop in and check out your project. That is a some beautiful work you have going on there. Seems all the years we've 'known' each other from another forum, I don't recall seeing any of your ships before (for whatever reason). Very impressive!

I had to laugh a little at Buddho's remark on pg one, said he'd go daffy working with a ship like this. I was thinking the same, you must have a special kind of patience. It's certainly paying off!

Hope you keep this WIP going.

[fox]

Thanks for the compliments Greg. 

Sorry you didn't get to see more of my builds. I think that all of them from around 2000 on to present day were posted on FSM. Might have skipped 1 or 2.
Let's see if I can show you a couple of them. 
The first is my Avatar the "Scottish Maid".

photos.app.goo.gl/8rsrhcugvuLr2f6q7

In no particular order are H.M.S Victory (plastic), Fishing Trawler (plastic), Bluenose (plastic), Robert E. Lee (plastic), P.S.Great Western (plastic), Emma C. Berry and PT 109(Wood and R/C'd), plastic PT 109 and British Vosper Patrol Boat, R/C Wood Cabin Cruiser and finally the Kearsarge (plastic).

photos.app.goo.gl/vu3rDvzWzDZp462V8

That's all I can remember right now. Have photos of some and no photos of others. I know there was more but my grey matter is getting old and tired. If you want to see more of any of them let me know and I'll see if I can dig them up.

Planning to take more photos of the Bluenose tomorrow. So I'll try to post them tomorrow night. I'll have the ratlines finished tomorrow morning. 

Stay safe.
Jim 

PS - Looking at that list, I can't believe I built all them plus all the other planes, tanks, cars, trucks and figures. 

[greg]

Wow, you've been a busy bee over the years, Jim. Those are all great. I have never seen a proper PT 109 completed model, yours particularly caught my attention. They both look awesome. I somehow scratch-built a PT boat for a school project as a little kid. I can't remember if it was supposed to be the 109 or not, but I've always had an interest in what they were really supposed to look like.

Maybe seems odd that out of all those nicely done ships and boats, the PT-109's jump out at me, which is why the comment about mine way back when.

[kyledehart5]

An absolutely stunning collection

[fox]

Thanks Greg.

When I was into R/C boats, If I wasn't working or riding around with REACT I was in the basement building boats. Today, I remembered more of the boats I built. Looked for photos but couldn't find them (YET). There was the Big Mo, a scratch built Swift boat scaled up from the plastic kit, a German Police boat, a scratch built Oriental fishing Boat, and quite a few R/C sailboats both wood and fibreglass. My first wife loved my hobby and went with me to club sailings and racing, travelled with me to out-of-town races up and down the east coast, a few in Canada and a few out in Ohio. We brought the kids too. When ever races were done, they would take turns sailing one of the boats. She used to come down in the basement and sit there just watching me work on a boat or anything I was building at the time. She's probably been sitting up there on a cloud somewhere for the last 36 years still watching. My present wife(married for 33 years) likes the hobby and tolerates all the time I spend on the builds(up to a point) and helps when she can. She says that if I ever end up in a nursing home I'll probably go crazy with nothing to do.

When I built the 109, I think it was a Dumas kit, I tried looking up all the info I could so I could say it was a "Scale" boat. There is so much contradicting info out there that I told everyone it was "Stand-off Scale". Stand back 5 or 10 feet and it looks great. Just now, I remembered I built a wooden submarine out of a kit (can't remember whose). Generic WWII and surface only. One of our club members had a PT that fired battery powered torpedoes. We modified the bow of the sub so I could fire 1 torpedo. The torpedo was a little too fast for scale but everyone liked it.

OK, I've talked too much. Catch you later. Have a great weekend.
Stay safe.
Jim 

[fox]

Thanks Kyle.

I still have a few of them hanging around in the workroom. I have an internal fight going on to decide whether or not to find another home for some to make room for more of them. Just last month, I finally sold my favorite racing sailboat from back in the '70s. In 100% racing condition but nowhere to sail. The guy that bought it belongs to a club that I tried to sell the boat to one of the members. He wasn't very friendly and said they didn't want any new members. The guy said he'd have a talk with them. That was over a month ago so I think I know their answer. Not really interested in actively racing R/C sailboats again anyway. 

Stay safe.
Jim 

[greg]

Enjoyed the building (and racing) stories, Jim. You enjoy your weekend too.

[Leon]

Everything looks great Jim! Don't envy you doing the rigging. I did the rigging on the Black Swan. That took a lot of patience and quite a few day to do.

[fox]

Thanks Greg and Leon. Sometimes I think the rigging is a pain in the butt also and other times I just think of it as part of the model. I find that I forget the problems of the day and just work away. It's almost the same as trying to fill a seam on a model and it just doesn't seem to want to work. I like doing rigging best when the wife is out of the house, no work to do in the house and I can crank up the radio with some good Classical music and drown out the noises outside, relax and enjoy building whatever is on the bench. No matter how much time I get at the bench, it's not enough.

Stay safe and have a great weekend. That goes for everyone on MSC too!
Jim 

[fox]

I'm baaaack!!! The last photos I sent were of the ratlines being done. Well, they ARE done, finally. Here are the photos.


photos.app.goo.gl/dAYdcQipDx84kpVb6

Got the rest of the standing rigging done also.


photos.app.goo.gl/Uu3qn9YDyNDqPMxY8

The next step in the book is the booms. I have the jib boom, the foremast boom and the foremast gaff finished. Working on the main mast boom and main mast gaff.


photos.app.goo.gl/zSnBRKmBBrCLwFwx8

After that is installing all these booms. Looking ahead, I have seen fittings in different locations on different photos. It proves my earlier statement that they used two completely different boats when taking the photos for the instruction manual. The measurements are off also depending on which boat they used. One of them is not built according to the plans and the other is. 

Have been gifted with a started kit of a Sailing ship by a neighbor whose husband has passed on. The built hull and, I guess, the remaining parts are in a plain cardboard box with no instructions. Going to do a little research to find what ship it is. There is a zip-lock bag with some nice looking brass fittings. Not going to look any further until the bluenose is complete.

Stay safe.
Jim

[kyledehart5]

I love this build. Always enjoy seeing an update on it.

[bakster]

Hi Jim. Your work is exceptional. Enjoying the progress.

[fox]

Thanks Kyle and Bakster for the kind words. Had my left eye cataract removed on Wednesday and couldn't resist working on the bench yesterday and today. Wow, was that fun. The 2.5 drug store glasses worked the best. Going to be fun for a while. In two weeks I'll get the other one taken out. Then we'll see what happens.

Tried to attach the foremast gaff on today and it took me quite a while to attach it with the double blocks Threading the line between them while attached to the mast was really a test of nerves and patience. Rigged it wrong the first time so I had to de-rig it and do the whole thing again. When I started this build I thought it was going to be a little test of my abilities like the other AL kits I've built but this one is tougher and really putting me through the mill. Oh well, such is life in the big city.

Stay safe.
Jim 

[handiabled]

It's great to have you back on this one again Jim! Looks fantastic with the standing rigging done!

[greg]

Looking great, Jim.

Just thinking about ship rigging makes my eyes blur, can't imagine working on same period let alone during cataract recovery!

All the wood looks real. Please refresh me, is this a wood kit?

[fox]

Hi guys! Thanks for the kind words.

Greg, this is an Artesania Latinia (spelling might be off, don't want to run up and check right now) wooden kit. You can hold the white metal and brass pieces in the palm of your hand along with a few PE pieces. There is a few different types of wood. When I got my first one and opened the box, it literally scared the heck out of me. You pay a LOT of money for a box that's only got a small amount of strips of wood, some brass parts and instructions. The rest is up to you to do the best you can with what you've got. 

When I first took one to an IPMS Show, the judges just walked past it without a look. It wasn't plastic so it didn't get judged. Now, between all the different materials used in model building, they do judge them. I've been beaten by a few of the Giant size wooden ships. When you walk around checking the competition and see one of them there, you can almost fly a white flag. Those are beauties that only a few can afford.

Stay safe.
Jim 

[greg]

Jim, thanks for the info about wooden ship kits. Interesting stuff.

When I got my first one and opened the box, it literally scared the heck out of me. You pay a LOT of money for a box that's only got a small amount of strips of wood, some brass parts and instructions. The rest is up to you to do the best you can with what you've got.

Oh my, that is enough to scare me away right there!