The Black Pearl... a slow build log

[smokeriderdon]

I am never ever again claiming I detailed ANYTHING.

[Twokidsnosleep]

I am never ever again claiming I detailed ANYTHING.

Ha
I call BS, I have seen your modelling. It is every bit as good
Sometimes you get lucky and find the right thing, like that rope, that kicks up the details

[BigWall]

I'm so glad you didn't throw in the towel on this build!

[Twokidsnosleep]

I'm so glad you didn't throw in the towel on this build!

Thank you
There is a ways to go and lots to do
My goal is to completely finish by the end of this year

[cor]

The rope looks good. Whole ship looks good. Quite a project you have going on.

[Twokidsnosleep]

The rope looks good. Whole ship looks good. Quite a project you have going on.

Indeed
The rigging will be a real test
Thanks for commenting

[Twokidsnosleep]

Getting the main mast ropes up with the whipping technique

[digger303]

Very nice.The ropes look great.

[Stokesy44]

I'm running out of superlatives. Its just a pleasure to watch the work. This is what the forum was set up for. Thanks for the way you post, its great stuff

[psmithmags]

Fantastic work. As Stokesy said, it is a pleasure watching this. Watching new ideas,improvements, thinking outside the box. If everything else is tackled the way the masts were,they'll soon be 'whipped' in to shape.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Fantastic work. As Stokesy said, it is a pleasure watching this. Watching new ideas,improvements, thinking outside the box. If everything else is tackled the way the masts were,they'll soon be 'whipped' in to shape.

Thanks for the great comments
Good way to start my day

[Twokidsnosleep]

I'm running out of superlatives. Its just a pleasure to watch the work. This is what the forum was set up for. Thanks for the way you post, its great stuff

Oh man that is so nice of you, Thanks bud

Very nice.The ropes look great.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Playing in the snow this weekend so no boat building…furniture moving and such actually

[KalebB]

I think some good snow is always a good excuse for no building

Looks like a lot of fun

[Stokesy44]

Nice pics.

Some part of me wants to live in a country where snow is part of the way of life for its people.

When it snows here, its just a bloody inconvenience because we're not set up to deal with it properly. Having said that, its been years since we had a proper impactful amount of snow in my part of good old Blighty.

[digger303]

Playing in the snow this weekend so no boat building…furniture moving and such actually

Furniture moving and moving up hill....are you going though a crisis ?

[Twokidsnosleep]

Working on the last mast, the mizzenmast
Installing the brass inserts to support it


Then tested it out on the ship. All three masts in for the first time

It is gonna be tall so I took it out of the spray booth


Then had my supervisor inspect for any deficiencies …sadly she was not impressed

[digger303]

You wouldn't believe it's the same kit.

[Stokesy44]

You wouldn't believe it's the same kit.

Agree. Its more of a restoration than a build!

[Twokidsnosleep]

For those at all interested, I have decided on the plan to weather the Black Pearl
The legend is that the Wicked Wench was burned , sunk and re-incarnated as the Black Pearl
So many of the ship builds are very black, almost too so IMHO

I wanted to do a wood brown base for the deck and such with darker chocolate for the woodwork details
Then add a black oil wash that gets randomly wiped and more removed in areas that would show wear and tear
Then a white/grey ‘salt air’ wash as the final weather. Metal gets rust or verdigris patina
The blackening reminds me of this Japanese woodworking technique where a flame is literally applied to burn the grain pattern



Like this

No I am not using a flame on the plastic model

[KalebB]

I like the direction you are taking it. Like you said, the Wicked Wench was burnt and sunk, not painted stark black like I've seen many models of the Pearl painted.

I'm excited to see it in it's final stages sir

[Stokesy44]

I tried to do battle damage on a Lancaster once. It melted and I burnt a hole in the brand new turf in the garden.

I can still feel my father's wrath.

[digger303]

Nothing like a plan before going into action.

[Twokidsnosleep]

I like the direction you are taking it. Like you said, the Wicked Wench was burnt and sunk, not painted stark black like I've seen many models of the Pearl painted.

I'm excited to see it in it's final stages sir

Yes exactly. And the char and burn would wear off after thirteen years of use
I got a suggestion on the ship site I was making it too pretty with the wood shades...but it's mine so I do what I like
Jet black Pearl looks silly IMHO

[Twokidsnosleep]

Some pirate flags came

I thought they were waterslide decals but are actually stickers
So I will put them on a thin metal base and then weather and warp them

[BigWall]

I really think you're headed down the right path with the paint/weathering. It's going to have so much visual interest.

[Twokidsnosleep]

I really think you're headed down the right path with the paint/weathering. It's going to have so much visual interest.

Thank you
A black/brown combo is always a good look

[Twokidsnosleep]

There was some talk about plastic ships having trouble with masts bending under the tension of rope rigging
It is ok with the styrene false rigging, but the tension of real threads or rope can make the styrene bend or even snap
I have had styrene rod snap on me, the latest this year on my Vincent motorcycle. I had to redo the forks main attachment into brass as the styrene broke.

So I am trying an all brass upper mast parts for the Mizzenmast to see if I can do it

Finding the brass parts


Drilling holes and breaking drill bits


Making a round hole square with a square file


The round and the square


Test fitting the squares and rounds in their holes


I soldered most of this together and burnt myself, naturally
Show more later

[KalebB]

Probably better off doing them in a stronger material from the get go huh, looking good sir

I also seem to burn the piss out of myself every time I solder, must be a gift

[Twokidsnosleep]

Probably better off doing them in a stronger material from the get go huh, looking good sir

I also seem to burn the piss out of myself every time I solder, must be a gift

I had a quenching vessel of water and still burnt myself
Using a cigar lighter torch now and the paste flux/solder….good quick combo but heat control an issue

[Stokesy44]

Probably better off doing them in a stronger material from the get go huh, looking good sir

I also seem to burn the piss out of myself every time I solder, must be a gift

I had a quenching vessel of water and still burnt myself
Using a cigar lighter torch now and the paste flux/solder….good quick combo but heat control an issue

Fantastic work on the replacement parts

Burns, cuts, CA crusting and finger print removal are all badges of office for the combat modeler. They should give out Purple Hearts and long service awards!

[Garion77]

I've been watching for quite a while...in silence. And it's just amazing the amount of work you are putting in this project. And mostly the care of details you do. Great work ! And you did a good thing with the mast. My brother build a few plastic ship and what you say happened to him.
Amazing work !

[Twokidsnosleep]

Probably better off doing them in a stronger material from the get go huh, looking good sir

I also seem to burn the piss out of myself every time I solder, must be a gift

I had a quenching vessel of water and still burnt myself
Using a cigar lighter torch now and the paste flux/solder….good quick combo but heat control an issue

Fantastic work on the replacement parts

Burns, cuts, CA crusting and finger print removal are all badges of office for the combat modeler. They should give out Purple Hearts and long service awards!

We will have to set up boo boo badges on the forum to show our battle scars

[Twokidsnosleep]

I've been watching for quite a while...in silence. And it's just amazing the amount of work you are putting in this project. And mostly the care of details you do. Great work ! And you did a good thing with the mast. My brother build a few plastic ship and what you say happened to him.
Amazing work !

I am glad you said that so I know the effort will be worthwhile
Styrene in support positions often fails me when least expected...and when everything is together and painted

[digger303]

Is there any fuzz on that rope your using at all. I just recently acquired some locally made product, but he can't get any smaller than .75mm and it does have a small level of fuzz.
Still enjoying your build and appreciate the effort your putting in.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Is there any fuzz on that rope your using at all. I just recently acquired some locally made product, but he can't get any smaller than .75mm and it does have a small level of fuzz.
Still enjoying your build and appreciate the effort your putting in.

Nope not fuzzy..unless I start cutting them; then it unwraps pretty easy, especially the smaller diameters
That is why I have that Thread Zapper handy to just melt the ends a bit

[digger303]

Is there any fuzz on that rope your using at all. I just recently acquired some locally made product, but he can't get any smaller than .75mm and it does have a small level of fuzz.
Still enjoying your build and appreciate the effort your putting in.

Nope not fuzzy..unless I start cutting them; then it unwraps pretty easy, especially the smaller diameters
That is why I have that Thread Zapper handy to just melt the ends a bit

So it is a synthetic material that can be melted ?

[Twokidsnosleep]

Is there any fuzz on that rope your using at all. I just recently acquired some locally made product, but he can't get any smaller than .75mm and it does have a small level of fuzz.
Still enjoying your build and appreciate the effort your putting in.

Nope not fuzzy..unless I start cutting them; then it unwraps pretty easy, especially the smaller diameters
That is why I have that Thread Zapper handy to just melt the ends a bit

So it is a synthetic material that can be melted ?

Exactly..and thus no fibers to give you the fuzzies
He carries natural rope as well but I went for synthetic to avoid the dreaded fuzzy bits.
The synthetic still glues, paints and stains very well too

[Twokidsnosleep]

General shape of the brass upper mizzenmast mast done
It certainly seems more rigid and less prone to bend with the rigging









I will do the same for the other two mast’s upper portions

[cor]

Arrgh, that be a nice piece of work.

[Stokesy44]

Superb replacement work. Carry on like this and you'll be able to make a kit out of the bits you didn't use!

[digger303]

Nope not fuzzy..unless I start cutting them; then it unwraps pretty easy, especially the smaller diameters
That is why I have that Thread Zapper handy to just melt the ends a bit

So it is a synthetic material that can be melted ?

Exactly..and thus no fibers to give you the fuzzies
He carries natural rope as well but I went for synthetic to avoid the dreaded fuzzy bits.
The synthetic still glues, paints and stains very well too

The synthetic still glues, paints and stains very well too
Good to know

[Twokidsnosleep]

We had a long weekend in Canada, Victoria Day.
Aside from changing out snow tires and garden work, I had a goal to finish the brass mast soldering work on the Pearl
So here are the three upper mast parts, their top fitted loosely in telescoping brass tube/rod
Each has a slightly different arrangement to attatch to their lower mast, thankfully so I keep them properly arranged


Now I have to clean them up, prime/paint, add rope to the lower sections and then weather
On the ship, the masts make her really tall and harder to work with in my smaller spaces. I can barely photograph it
I can see why the movie ship had masts that were cut shorter

[RangerNeil]

General shape of the brass upper mizzenmast mast done
It certainly seems more rigid and less prone to bend with the rigging









I will do the same for the other two mast’s upper portions

Might want to consider doing the bowsprite too. I did the Heller kit of HMS Victory years ago and some of my unfondest memories are firstly the bowsprite bending like a banana as soon as tension was applied - then coming home from work to find Mum had smacked it with the vacuum cleaner and snapped it off halfway along its length.

[Twokidsnosleep]

General shape of the brass upper mizzenmast mast done
It certainly seems more rigid and less prone to bend with the rigging









I will do the same for the other two mast’s upper portions

Might want to consider doing the bowsprite too. I did the Heller kit of HMS Victory years ago and some of my unfondest memories are firstly the bowsprite bending like a banana as soon as tension was applied - then coming home from work to find Mum had smacked it with the vacuum cleaner and snapped it off halfway along its length.

Crap I forgot that one
I will put a brass rod inside it and make it stronger rather than re-make it entirely
Thanks for the reminder

[Twokidsnosleep]

Support rod placed into the bowsprite
I had a wood dowel in there but have amped it up a bit with brass



It links onto the foremast post too

[digger303]

Nicely drilled

[KalebB]

Brass will definitely hold her now! Haha

[Twokidsnosleep]

Nicely drilled

Almost got my finger

[bfrd]

Are you sure it will still float with all the added brass?