1:100 Scale Halcon Baltimore Schooner NTJK Models - Part Two

I decided to take my time with this build, I'm surprisingly impatient when it it comes to modelling projects.  When I get bitten by the bug, it's hard for me to not just dive in.

Building the Keel, Frames and Fitting the Deck

The first part of the instructions are probably the best part of the instructions and it was just a simple case of popping out the numbered parts and supergluing them together.

The first thing to build is the cradle / display stand.  disappointingly this does not have a name plaque in English so this will need to be designed and printed.

I did make one change to the order of operations in that I left the frames unglued until I had laid in the deck.  This was a lesson I learned from my earlier 1:30 Naxos Fishing Boat build as the frames do not always line up with the cutouts in the deck.  If you force them to conform you will either snap the horns of the frames or the delicate deck. 

Deck Fittings

Cannons - the laser cut frames of these cannons are perfectly acceptable at 1:100 scale so I proceeded to glue these together.  The cannons provided in the kit are flat and definitely not good enough for this model.  You can buy an upgrade pack with brass cannons but as I have a couple of 3D Printers it was a trivial task to find a suitable model and print them out.  

I will document all the 3D printed parts including the links in a seperate post. 

Capstan - I thought I would try out the capstan which was provided.  After building it I am in two minds as I think it would possibly look nicer in resin, but it's a crazy shape and will likely test my modelling skills.  There were also a distinct lack of arms on this capstan which might be historically acurate but it looks kinda weird on a masted ship.

I have bought some scale chain to go with this capstan and so I will need to check out how it meshes with the webbing to see if I want to continue using it.

Locker - Again this is borderline acceptable at 1:100 scale although the roof of this locker is way too thick and will need to be sanded down

Anchors - I liked the laser etched detail on the anchors so I thought I would give them a try.  They sort of look okay at the top but the buisness end of the anchor looks awful.  I will have to mull this over.

In the Part Three I will look at planking the hull.

1:100 Scale Halcon Baltimore Schooner NTJK Models - Part One

I immensely enjoyed my recent foray into wooden model boat building, learning new skills and working with unfamiliar materials so I thought I would have another go with another cheap chinese kit from Aliexpress.

1:100 Halcon Wooden Sailing Boat - NTJK Models - £5.99

This is another kit from NTJK Models and comes in a little plastic bag with all the basic things needed to make a passable model.  Five laser cut sheets of varying thicknesses of wood, some lengths of dowel for masts, a sheet of linen for sails and a reel of cotton for rigging. 

At the super low bargain price of £5.99 (that's cheaper than a Big Mac) there literally is no downside.

The History of The Halcon 

Doing a bit of research turned up some interesting documents:

A 1933 court report documents that on February 15, 1932 the Spanish Honduran registered ship The Halcon was found off the coast of New Orleans with a cargo of "intoxicating liquor".  She was escorted to Mobile Alabama and seized by US Customs. 

Model Research 

Building my last kit from NTJK models taught me that the assembly instructions are somewhat lacking in the actual instruction department.  Nothing has changed with this wooden boat kit and there are some pretty critical instructions missing including: 

• Sail Plans - How big are the sails and what shape?
• Mast Dimensions - All those dowels need to be cut to lengths but how long do they need to be.
• Rigging Plan - What ropes need to go where and what blocks and dead eyes are needed.
  

Some intense internet browsing was therefore required.

Ships of Scale - This build log has a number of great pictures and also illustrates how there can be differences in the kit supplied and that an accessory kit is also available containing brass cannons and fixtures.  These I will of course be replacing with 3D Printed parts.  Also useful is a set of deck and rigging plans showing the routing of the anchor chains and various other deck accessories. 

There are a few other builders on there who have documented their builds of the Halcon, so this was a must community to join.

HIS Models - There are plenty of different models of the Halcon and companies supporting the model making fraternity with accessories.  One such company is HISModels who provide a set of CNC wooden blocks and deadeyes.  They illustrate the content of their kit with this extensive rigging plan. 

Best Ship Models - is another great resource site for model boat building and they have another set of plans. 

Tune in for the Part Two when I actually start building this boat.

Jessie's Prints - Episode 43 - Compact Travel Dice Tower

This week, I are mostly been printing... A Compact Travel Dice Tower!!

When I found out last week that a new modelling competion had launched on Printables, I had to have a go and enter my first 3D modelling competition.  I don't expect to win or even get any award at all.  I am just entering for the experience and the badge.

Compact Travel Dice Tower - Printables

When you're gaming on the go you don't want to be lugging around a hefty chunk of plastic or having some huge lump taking up valuable space in your games bag.  The travel dice tower is just the thing.

I designed this for D&D or other RPGs which use the standard 20mm (d20) sized polyhedral dice. The dice tower is big enough to safely store a set of 7 dice.

The "Slide" comes in two varieties solid or grill or can be replaced by a 2mm thick sheet of perspex or acrylic if you truly want that high visibility look.  This is a work in progress so expect more designs to come in the future.

The backside of the insert includes a 50mm indent to magnetically attach an Inspiration or Hero Coin for your chosen RPG. Check out my other models for inspiration coins:

I have also produced a few 50mm "Inspiration" counters for some of the more popular roleplaying games and these can be fixed to your dice tower magnetically.  Coins are actually the simplest dice of all so you get a bonuus d2 if you download the matching coin for your favourite RPG.

If you are a boardgamer then you will appreciate a solid 1st player token.

Inspiration Coins / 1st Player Token

• DnD Inspiration Coin - Thingiverse thing:6589034
  
  
  
  
  
• ICRPG Hero Coin - Thingiverse thing:6590981
  
  
  
  
  
• Meeple First Player Coin - Thingiverse thing:6592163 - A custom design for the TableTokGames channel.
  
  
  

Please let me know if you download and make your own and if you would like a custom coin please leave a comment below.

Enjoy :)

Bitten by the Aliexpress bug again

You go on Aliexpress to buy one thing and you end up with seven!!!

Akira Bike Construction Toy (241 Pcs) £5.63

The Lego monopoly is over guys and those ingenious chaps at Jie Star have come up with a fantastic little Akira bike which is Kinda Special - Lol.

Mandalorian Razor Crest Construction Toy (103 Pcs) - £3.11

I'm sure that this blatant ripoff of the Star Wars IP will have Kathleen Kennedy issuing legal letters.  But it's a fairly passable miniship version of the much beloved Razorcrest.  She is gone but never forgotten...

Tabletop Gaming Wound Counter - £1.50

This is such a simple design 2 acrylic plates (40mm x 19mm x 3mm),  2 plastic wheels (19.5mm x 3mm)  and 6 tiny 4mm x 3mm magnets.  The wheels have little numbers printed on them and they are mirror images of each other.  Honestly it's so simple it's a genius idea and it should be free...

1:100 Scale Baltimore Schooner Halcon 1840 (Wooden Kit) - £5.99

When I saw this complicated looking model kit I just knew I had to buy it.  Something to challenge the old modelling skills now that I seem to be into making model boats for some reason...

Outdoor Shockproof Waterproof Case with Foam insert - £4.32

Given the absolutely exorbitant prices of miniature carry cases I put my money down on one of these bad boys.  It is properly watertight including a rubber gasket seal and made from some hard shiny ABS like plastic.  A bit on the small, but has enough space inside to comfortably fit an entire party of human sized minis.  I think the trick here is to do a lot of searching to find exactly the right size whihc works for your minis.  

7 in 1 Multi Tool Pen

So this is a bit of a random "Choice" purchase and was made just to ensure that I qualified for the free postage.  What can it do? I hear you say...It is one a pen, two a spirit level, three a cm ruler, four an inch ruler, five a smart phone finger, six a philips screwdriver and seven a flat blade screwdriver.  Amazing!!

But Why?

Well... I have a secret project which has gone a bit Pete Tong and I thought I might be able to rescue it with a...

STC15F2K60S2 Microprocessor - £1.26

Wow a 3D Modelling Competition I might be able to actually enter!!

So on my daily cruise of all things Printables I noticed that Joseph and the team had launched a new flash competition.

Design a Dice Tower

It's a simple task and one well within my design skills, so this weekend I am going to be knee deep in my favourite 3D design app Sketchup.

My Dice Tower History

My clubmates at Dragons Keep Roleplay Club know about my legendary bad luck when it comes to rolling the old plastic polyhedra.  Years ago I decided to take the human influence out of the RNG and buillt my first dice tower:

The Pringles Can Dice Tower - This is simply a discarded Pringles can (preferably with the plastic lid) and a whole bunch of bamboo skewers stuck through it to create a little spiral staircase.

The iPhone Box Dice Tower - One of my earliest makes on this website was for a portable dice tower made from recycled materials.  I can't believe that this was almost 12 years ago.  My how time flies and tools change.

Castle Gray Skull Dice Tower - My current favourite dice tower is Castle Greyskull which I printed on my old Geetech i3 Prusa clone back in 2020.  At the time it was my longest ever print and it barely fit withing the vertical build envelope of that printer.  It has served me well over the years but has strangely never graced the pages of this site as it predated the Jessie's Prints series.

Wish me luck...