Martian Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Having accidentally won a gold and silver at Telford for my models of Le Corsair and La Fauvette respectively, I thought I should try and get another sailing ship underway. I have chosen the Heller 1/75 kit of the Nina. The Nina was known as the Santa Clara prior to Columbus' voyage and according to some sources, the kit is closer to her in her pre-Columbus days. It appears she may have received a partial or whole new rig for the crossing of the Atlantic. Full size replicas of the ship vary in their rig. I have decided to keep the rig Heller suggest and will be trying to add quite a high level of detail to the model during the build. Please note that the build will be one that I drift in and out of between now and Telford 2020 which is the target for this build so updates will be intermittent in order to fit around some other builds I want to do/ complete over the coming year. I have already obtained a rigging set for the kit and have ordered some wooden grating material. Not having a proper lathe, turning up a horizontal capstan could be interesting but I have overcome harder problems than that in the past. Box art for starters: Martian 👽 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefy66 Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Looking forward to seeing you getting started with this one. and congratulations on the awards very well deserved IMHO beefy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Very interesting. Going by you previous two 'sails', I reckon this'll be a cracker. Take your time and make it a good'n. Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted December 4, 2019 Author Share Posted December 4, 2019 4 hours ago, beefy66 said: Looking forward to seeing you getting started with this one. and congratulations on the awards very well deserved IMHO beefy Thanks Beefy. 2 hours ago, Courageous said: Very interesting. Going by you previous two 'sails', I reckon this'll be a cracker. Take your time and make it a good'n. Stuart We will try and oblige as always. Martian 👽 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnWS Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Congrats on receiving the awards, Martian. Looking forward to watching this build. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Looking forward to this one, deffo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robgizlu Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 And Very fine were Le Corsair and la Fauvette in the flesh! Congratulations from me. Looking forward to seeing the same magic deployed here Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted December 4, 2019 Author Share Posted December 4, 2019 7 hours ago, JohnWS said: Congrats on receiving the awards, Martian. Looking forward to watching this build. John Thanks John, 2 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said: Looking forward to this one, deffo I have nothing I have to do tomorrow so hopefully I make a start on this and get a bit more done on the Triebflugel models. 1 hour ago, robgizlu said: And Very fine were Le Corsair and la Fauvette in the flesh! Congratulations from me. Looking forward to seeing the same magic deployed here Rob Thanks Rob, we will see what we can do to oblige. Martian 👽 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdave22014 Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 On 12/4/2019 at 12:24 AM, Martian Hale said: Having accidentally won a gold and silver at Telford Accidentally won..... How very careless of you oh be-tentacled one. It's astounding to think they sailed all the way to (almost) America in such a small vessel - makes a change from the usual "Ships Of The Line" that we see. This is going to be an interesting build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 Have you finished it yet? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArnoldAmbrose Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 3 hours ago, Bigdave22014 said: Accidentally won..... How very careless of you oh be-tentacled one. Gidday Martian, please accept my accidental congratulations. They were good models. 3 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said: Have you finished it yet? Jamie, give him a break! You could at least let him have the week-end. 😁 Regards, Jeff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted December 5, 2019 Author Share Posted December 5, 2019 6 hours ago, Bigdave22014 said: Accidentally won..... How very careless of you oh be-tentacled one. It's astounding to think they sailed all the way to (almost) America in such a small vessel - makes a change from the usual "Ships Of The Line" that we see. This is going to be an interesting build. Sounds odd doesn't it? What I mean is that as I do not belong to any club that displays at Telford, I have to put my models in the competition if they are to be on show at all. To this end I no longer build my models with a view to winning prizes and any award is an added and unexpected bonus. 6 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said: Have you finished it yet? Has anyone ever told you, you are a very, very silly Earthing? I am hoping that the postie brings the grating material today as I would like to sort the hatches out as early as possible into the build. 2 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said: Gidday Martian, please accept my accidental congratulations. They were good models. Jamie, give him a break! You could at least let him have the week-end. 😁 Regards, Jeff. Thanks Jeff. You too are a very silly Antipodean Earthling! Martian the Sensible 👽 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArnoldAmbrose Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 3 minutes ago, Martian Hale said: You too are a very silly Antipodean Earthling! Gidday again, I've been called a lot of things, that's some of the nicest, almost a compliment. Almost. 😁 Regards from the silly Antipodes, Jeff. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted December 7, 2019 Author Share Posted December 7, 2019 Yesterday the postie delivered the grating material that I had been waiting for which allowed me to get started on this build. I always try and start a build by sorting out the bits that I am most worried about so that should things go pear shaped , I have not put too much effort into the model. I began by cutting away the deck hatches supplied in the kit and trimming the grating material so that it fitted the holes snugly. I then glued a sealing strip made from 20 x .20 plastic strip around the base of the new hatches. The gratings themselves will be glued to some plastic strip on the underside of the deck which was put there to create some support. This all went surprisingly well. The next job will be to sand down some of the kit supplied detail on the inside of the bulwarks so that it can be replaced by some more three dimensional structure. Finally does anyone have any idea as to what a Fifteenth Century bilge pump would have looked like? Thanks for looking. Martian 👽 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longshanks Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 Looking good . . . I have a couple of suggestions for you https://www.frigateunicorn.org/2019/01/05/design-blog-the-bilge-pump and tongue in cheek https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ships-Bilge-Pumps-Development-Archaeology/dp/0890967229 HTH Kev 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefy66 Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 2 hours ago, longshanks said: Looking good . . . I have a couple of suggestions for you https://www.frigateunicorn.org/2019/01/05/design-blog-the-bilge-pump and tongue in cheek https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ships-Bilge-Pumps-Development-Archaeology/dp/0890967229 HTH Kev Fascinating you really can get a book on any thing these days. beefy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnWS Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 Nice start Martian. Out of interest, where did you order the grating material? I'm wondering if it could be used for bridge/deck flooring. 6 hours ago, Martian Hale said: Finally does anyone have any idea as to what a Fifteenth Century bilge pump would have looked like? Funny, this was the first thing that came to mind. 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdesaxe Posted December 7, 2019 Share Posted December 7, 2019 There is a good source from which you could start in Thomas James Oertling's book Ships' Bilge Pumps: A History of Their Development, 1500-1900. It can be accessed as an ebook (for which you must pay about €10). The pump diagram from Unicorn is for a chain pump. While these existed at the time, they were not introduced into sailing vessels until the mid-eighteenth century. Excavations of shipwrecks from around 1500 indicate that the pumps then used were suction pumps similar to the traditional village pump on land and with a hollowed log forming the barrel. Maurice 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted December 7, 2019 Author Share Posted December 7, 2019 8 hours ago, longshanks said: Looking good . . . I have a couple of suggestions for you https://www.frigateunicorn.org/2019/01/05/design-blog-the-bilge-pump and tongue in cheek https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ships-Bilge-Pumps-Development-Archaeology/dp/0890967229 HTH Kev Thanks Kev. food for thought there. 5 hours ago, beefy66 said: Fascinating you really can get a book on any thing these days. beefy This one would be a cheap alternative to sleeping tablets methinks. 2 hours ago, JohnWS said: Nice start Martian. Out of interest, where did you order the grating material? I'm wondering if it could be used for bridge/deck flooring. Funny, this was the first thing that came to mind. Funny man! I got the grating from Mantua Models, here: https://www.mantuamodel.co.uk/ 18 minutes ago, mdesaxe said: There is a good source from which you could start in Thomas James Oertling's book Ships' Bilge Pumps: A History of Their Development, 1500-1900. It can be accessed as an ebook (for which you must pay about €10). The pump diagram from Unicorn is for a chain pump. While these existed at the time, they were not introduced into sailing vessels until the mid-eighteenth century. Excavations of shipwrecks from around 1500 indicate that the pumps then used were suction pumps similar to the traditional village pump on land and with a hollowed log forming the barrel. Maurice Cheers Maurice, I think we may be zeroing in on something here. Martian 👽 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnWS Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 Martian, Here's a link to a detailed paper (more late night reading) describing three bilge pump types. It's pretty wordy but the good news is there's lots of drawings & photos (listed on pages ix & x). The History and Development of Ships' Bilge Pumps, 1500 - 1840 Hope this helps. John 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted December 8, 2019 Author Share Posted December 8, 2019 5 hours ago, JohnWS said: Martian, Here's a link to a detailed paper (more late night reading) describing three bilge pump types. It's pretty wordy but the good news is there's lots of drawings & photos (listed on pages ix & x). The History and Development of Ships' Bilge Pumps, 1500 - 1840 Hope this helps. John That does indeed help John, I now have pretty clear idea as to where I am going with the pump. Martian 👽 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted December 8, 2019 Author Share Posted December 8, 2019 I have been a bit busy this weekend with MVS duties but have managed to get a small amount done on the model. Pictures of models show a small grating on the quarterdeck. As there does not seem to be any other way of light entering the part of the ship under the deck in this area, this seems perfectly logical and so one was inserted into the quarterdeck part. I also spent quite a lot of time removing flash and injector pin marks from the ship's railings, a boring but essential process if the model is going to look anything like half decent. Thanks for looking Martian 👽 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted December 9, 2019 Author Share Posted December 9, 2019 Today the battle to get the sides of the ship making up the sides of the quarterdeck resumed. Why Heller could not have moulded these as part of the hull, I have no idea. The problem is to get these to fit at the correct angle so that the deck itself will fit. I tried dry fitting the transom piece in place but this fits where it touches and will require quite a bit of remedial work itself. I ended up by gluing the side parts of the assembly in place with slow setting glue and taping the transom into place. I then held the deck in place and sat around like a pranny while the hull sides set. I could have used a few extra tentacles for this part of the build!. There was also quite a lot of flash and ejector pin marks on the railings and a lot of time was spent cleaning these up. I am now waiting for the sides of the hull to cure properly, prior to scratch building a forward bulkhead for the rear cabin. I am coming to the conclusion that getting the hull and associated structure right is going to be by far and away the hardest part of this build. Thanks for looking Martian 👽 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted December 11, 2019 Author Share Posted December 11, 2019 Today the penny finally dropped that this is not going to be an easy build and that I am in for an awful lot of work. I had been surfing the net looking for more reference material, when I came across a YouTube clip which gave a brief tour around one of the Nina replicas. This showed that the area underneath the quarterdeck is open to the elements and that all the ship's structure in this area will be open to view. This is compounded by the fact the sides of the hull under the quarterdeck are also open to the elements. This is indicated by the shaded areas on the inside of the hull and I foresee a lot of very tedious fretting of them out in my immediate future. I have therefore the begun to add the structure in this area from .60 x .60 'thou plastic strip and also detailed the underside of the quarterdeck. The Heller kit only does at the bulwark structures and is best rubbed smooth and the remaining outlines used as guide for something a bit more three dimensional I was unable to get anymore done this evening on the grounds that I have used up all my .60 x .60 strip. Given the industrial quantities of Evergreen product I go through on these august forums, I am firmly of the opinion that the company should be sponsoring me! I can always start recommending Slaters Guys, just a subtle hint. well, as subtle as a Martian hint gets! Time for some pictures methinks. Thanks for looking. Martian 👽 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefy66 Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Starting to look more interesting now that you have added some details beefy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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