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Ships in Scale - Latest Issue
September/October '26

Jib Sail Construction

I hope you are correct. Amazon wants $160 for the book and there is only one left in stock (supposedly).

By Anchor Klanker · 2 hours ago2 hr
Hello from buffalo,New York

Hello from western Massachusetts, Larry. Welcome aboard. I hope we can see some pictures of your Soleil Royale.

By DocTom · 3 hours ago3 hr
USCG Harriet Lane by DocTom - Model Shipways - 1:96

Post 43 - "Minor Details"
The instructions have you add the figurehead and some eyebolts to the stem before mounting the model on the stand. I had misread the instructions

"Dry-fit the dowels home in the model, then glue the dowels and model into the baseboard. Check and adjust so that the model is vertical when seen end-on."

and had already glued the model to the dowels. No big deal. The base did not interfere with what had to be done. I blackened the eyebolts with Jax Pewter Black diluted 10:1 with water, after soaking them in vinegar for two hours followed by a Dawn dish-wash soap rinse. It took about 10 minutes to blacken them, after which I dunked them in a bicarb-water rinse to neutralize the reaction. I tried this method (which was suggested by Google AI) because my blackening efforts on prior models didn't work too well - the black kept flaking off. This seemed to do the trick.

I primed the figure head after cleaning off the flash with my mini polishing rotory tool. I used Deco Arts '24K Gold' for the paint. The instructions show a different stem than the one included in the kit:

For good or ill, I made the assumption that the figurehead fits in the notch. A test fit bowsprit sat properly, at least. Here is the result:

I used 5 minute epoxy to attach it.

I then cleaned up the inner hawse pieces. Also had my next Model Shipways-itis attack: the pieces are far too short:

This is partly due to my raising the bulwarks to fit the guns, but even without that, the hawse holes would need to be in the spriketting for these pieces to work. I think a fix will be easy, but will sleep on it first.

By DocTom · 5 hours ago5 hr
HMS Winchelsea 1764 by Kusawa2000 Syren Ship Model Company 1:48 scale

Good job Mike. Both models are looking great.

By Thukydides · 5 hours ago5 hr
LEGO Privateer Frigate Fortuna by TJM - Bricklink set

That is a very cool lego model.

By Thukydides · 5 hours ago5 hr
San Francisco Scow Schooner by hamilton - Midwest Kits - 1:48

Thanks Jim!

Managed to get a bunch of work done this morning, so spent the afternoon at the bench, which was a much-needed respite - this time of year my evenings and weekends get soaked up with work, so it's nice to get ahead of it a little bit....

In any case, today I stepped the foremast & rigged the foresail (throat and peak halliard, sheets and topping lift), and since this didn't take quite as long as I thought it might, I also managed to add some stays. The jibstay is seized to the foremast at the trees and feeds through the bowsprit to become the upper bobstay, half the length of which is chain. The forestay starts its run as the triatic stay, seized to the main mast just above the masthead, fed through a hole in the foremast, and then run down through the bowsprit where it becomes the lower bobstay, almost all of which is chain. The main topmast stay is a simply single line seized to the topmast head and to an eye on the aft side of the top of the foremast. Nothing too difficult. Rigging is by far my favourite part of model ship building so it has been fun.

Enjoy the photos and bye for now
hamilton

By hamilton · 5 hours ago5 hr
HMS Winchelsea 1764 by Kusawa2000 Syren Ship Model Company 1:48 scale

boxwood looks great

By grey wolf · 6 hours ago6 hr
Hvide Ørne 1753 by Arthur Goulart - CAD, for the moment

Thanks for the guidance. I’m going to work through it.

By paul xu · 7 hours ago7 hr
HMS Indefatigable 1794 by Mowzer - Vanguard Models - 1:64

Very nice looking! You're doing it right, for sure! Pleasing to look at!

By TMJ · 7 hours ago7 hr
Can I use acrylic paint over urethane?

Thanks for the information, that helps alot. Yes, I want to put the white acrylic over the satin finish. I thought the satin might help seal the wood before painting. I did notice the the satin can be thinned with water just like the acrylic paint, so I guess we're all good. Thanks again!

By Jeff S. · 8 hours ago8 hr