The
Curse of the Sirens Scream
She was a Brigantine freighter like a thousand before her,
moored in a harbor unloading her cargo of oil and exotic spices from faraway
lands. It mattered not what language her
crew spoke, for her destiny would be to serve under a flag of skull and bone.
On shore, a band of criminals and cutthroats had the freighter
in their sights. Recently broken out
from a prison and leaving no one alive to sound an alarm, the desperate group
knew their time was slipping to make their escape. Using stolen rowboats, they easily crossed
the channel and climbed aboard the unsuspecting ship under the cover of
night. By daybreak, the Brigantine was
under new command with the bodies of her old crew in her wake.
The captain was ruthless and fearless, pirating without
mercy or care until a faithful decision would test their luck. Deciding to navigate a forbidden passage
known for disappearing ships, the freighter found herself in the clutches of
the most feared demons of the sea.
Some call them mermaids, others sirens, but able sailors knew
them as nightmares that arose from the deepest trenches to entice the fateful
into their arms for a deadly embrace. An
attack by a monstrous kraken would be more welcome than the sight of these fair-skinned
nymphs breaching upon the rocks while singing their lethal cry.
Their beauty could tempt the most prudish and their song
lure the most willful, but the unfortunate sailors that succumb to a siren’s
charm found themselves pulled to the ocean depths to satisfy the lust and
hunger of these watery beasts. Hunting
was scarce for these creatures as most ships knew better then cross the home of
these deadly fiends, and the sly captain saw an opportunity to make a
deal. In exchange for treasure, the pirates
would deliver holds full of unknowing victims for the sirens to feast
upon. The aquatic devils with faces of
angels and tails of fish agreed, and loaded the freighter with gold and jewels
taken from the skeletal remains of sunken vessels scattered along the ocean
bed.
The captain rechristened the Brigantine freighter the
Sirens Scream, and set out on his unholy quest to satisfy his contract with these
evil monarchs of the sea. However, the
captain had another path in mind.
True to his form, the pirate captain betrayed the merfolk
and instead spent the winter season safely on a Caribbean island where the rum
flowed freely and the women were less famished for human flesh, except for ways
more welcome by the crew. Soon the treasure
had been spent, and the pirates found themselves back upon the waves looking
for other vessels to plunder when the sirens found those that had deceived
them.
No skill of tongue would save the captain this time, and
the crew of the Sirens Scream were cursed to sail the world as a ghostly vessel
crewed by undead spirits that know no rest nor pity.
Even today, the youngest of sailor’s sons are warned if
they encounter a ship on the darkest of night moving against the wind and
glowing a phantom green more bright than Saint Elmo’s fire to turn and not look
back for sake of their very souls. For
if the ship comes near enough that you can see a rotted hull more at home at
the bottom of the sea than upon the waves, then it is too late, and all that
will be left of your name will be inscribed upon a tombstone before an empty
grave.
Hello, my name is Philip and this blog will follow my
build of a pirate ghost ship. I thought
it would be fun to document the many steps involved in a project like
this. The base model being used for this
project is the 1:80 scale Brigantine Corsair kit produced by OcCre. Brigantines were a favorite ship for pirates
due to their speed, maneuverability, and large cargo hold. This is a plank-on-frame kit, which would
build up to a museum quality model. I
chose this kit as I wanted to do a very detailed ghost ship. The planking and rigging will be the main
challenges of the build.
I have been building models for over 30 years, but this
is my first plan-on-frame kit. I will be
customizing the ship as the build progresses and trying out new things, so we
will see how it goes. This is also the
first time I have created a blog, so good times all around.
The Corsair kit by OcCre is very nice, with detailed
instructions and a comprehensive parts list.
I have been researching wood ship building for the past few weeks to get
a better understanding of what I am in for.
Fortunately, there are several websites dedicated to model hobbyists
that have a wealth of information.
This is the basic kit out of the box. Wood kits like these are not cheap, with a medium
sized ship like this going for around $250.00 or more. I will probably have at least a couple
hundred more invested in other parts and supplies before I am done. Modeling can be an expensive hobby for a
welfare guy like me!
And here is my workbench with some of my basic
construction essentials. Actually, I
will do most of the work in another room, and just jump back and forth as I
need things. I won’t go into too much
detail here as far as what tools and supplies are needed for the build, rather,
I will talk about that as the build progresses.
Basic tools such as files, sandpaper, hobby knives, and clamps will be
used throughout the build. I am not sure
how long this will take, but some of these builds can take months, or even
years to complete.
But hey, look who works for the government! This guy!
Looks like I will have a little more time than originally planned to
work on this ship as we are currently in a furlough.
Here, I have removed the fame pieces and glued them onto the false keel piece. These parts are laser cut into the wood, and are held on by small tabs that were not cut all the way through. Care must be taken to remove these without damaging them. The frame sides are then sanded. The laser cutting process seals the sides somewhat, which can interfere with the wood glue penetrating. It is important to sand all these sides to ensure good adhesion.
The frame pieces were test fitted to the false keel part
before being glued in place. Care must
be takes to ensure the frame is at a right angle to the false keel. If the frame is not correct, it will throw
off the rest of the model. To make sure
the fame is correct I set the deck piece on top to make sure the notches all
line up. As there is a bit of a curvature
to the deck a weight was used to hold it down.
The deck is not glued on the ship at this point.
This ship is a double planked hull design. After the first hull layer is attached, then
a finishing layer is attached on top of that.
Keep in mind this ship will be a derelict, so I will not be finishing
off certain parts to make it pretty. The
final design must look closer to being a wreck.
I attached some hull planking just to get the feel of it here.
The main and poop deck has been attached at this
point. All the surface pieces have thin
strips of decking attached. You can see
this in the bulwarks, where I haven’t trimmed the decking yet. After the decking is glued down and trimmed,
a pencil is used to line out the individual planking to simulate the caulking.
Here the bulwarks are being attached. To make the wood curve, pieces must be soaked
in water to make them pliable. This will
be done as needed. To soak the hull decking
steps, I took a large piece of PVC pipe and sealed one end, then filled with
water. This made a handy way to soak the
wood strips.
Clamping parts that have a curvature sometimes takes
creative methods. Here the stern has
been attached.
First layer of hull planking is almost done. Yeah, I know it is not pretty right now but I
will sand and grind down where needed. I
purchased an Amati Delux Nailer to attach the small brass nails which works
great. Hull strips are also glued with
wood glue.
The hull will be coated with the patch and paint and then
sanded.
Here the patch and paint has been added.
Second layer of hull planking being added. I wanted to make a large hole in the side of
the ship as well, and have cut that here.
Planking just about done and keel added.
I wanted to make the stern cabin sides longer than the plans
called for, so I made some extension strips to attach.
This kit contains several metal parts that need to be
painted. I was going to just paint everything
wood brown until I came across some textured rustic umber paint. I thought it might make an interesting
effect.
The parts turned out to have a neat aged look.
More creative clamping for the trim.
I wanted to add some decorative carving to the ship, so I picked up some of these little wood parts. I also got some actual wood belaying pins to replace the brass ones in the kit. There is a brass one next to the wood ones for comparison.
Making the pinracks.
This is my second attempts, as my first I make the holes too close
together. I am spacing them out with the
deadeyes to make sure they line up.
I wanted to add some decorative carving to the ship, so I picked up some of these little wood parts. I also got some actual wood belaying pins to replace the brass ones in the kit. There is a brass one next to the wood ones for comparison.
The windows in the kit were metal, but I wanted open ones
to give a more ominous look. Here are
the ones I made next to the kit supplied parts.
Holes were cut into the stern cabin and the windows attached. Also, more trimming and the carvings have
been attached.
Stern window.
Here I am stiffing the thread that will be used on the
anchors and windlass winch. I clamp them
to keep tension on the thread and brush on some Minwax water based Polycrylic
clear finish.
Here I am working on the mast pinracks. They were rather a pain in the buttocks. I am using a 2 part epoxy adhesive to ensure
they will not come apart. I also used
the epoxy on the other pinracks along the hull sides. Because there will be tension on these
pinracks from the running lines and shrouds, I am cautious to make sure they
will not come lose.
Here are some more metal parts, including the cannon and anchors. I wanted a different color for these, and
picked up some Sea Green Multicolor Textured spray paint.
I really like the look of these parts. They appear to be rusted and crust-covered.
So, here is the ship so far. Most of the trim is on, along with the
pinracks and winch. The bow anchor
details have been added, with some other details here and there.
Keep in mind there is no finish on this wood, it is being
kept bare for the aging process to come later.
The Figurehead:
Finished making the rest of the deck details today. I am leaving off any metal parts until I have
aged the wood, which will be done a little later.
The kit came with a metal hulled lifeboat, however, I wanted
a wooden one for the ship. Model
Shipways makes a few different sized lifeboat kits, so I picked up the 95mm one
and will work on that next. Here are the
parts for it next to the kit supplied one.
While parts of the lifeboat have been glued and I am
waiting for them to dry, I thought I would also work on the masts. The masts come in wooden dowels that need to
be cut and tapered.
You can taper the ends by hand using sandpaper, or my
way. Take a belt sander and turn it
upside down, then just run the dowels until tapered.
Masts are done.
The yardarms are temporary attached by wire. I will remove them until most of the rigging
is done.
I am going to try something different for this ghost ship
built. I plan on using blacklight paint
to make a ghost like effect, hopefully it will work. Blacklight paint should not be confused with
glow in the dark paint. Glow in the dark
paint absorbs light and then glows when the lights are out. The paint will fade down over time, though. Blacklights reflect ultraviolet colors, and
some backlight paint will have phosphorus added to make it reflect better. Some colors will naturally work under blacklight as well,
like some neon colors.
Anyway, my dad made a case for me for my ship, which was
nice of him. The case is 32x30x12, so
the ship should fit well. There is a blacklight
mounted at the top.
I received a background picture found on eBay after much
searching. I thought this picture will
go well with a ghost ship theme. As a
bonus, the brighter colors reflect under the blacklight, so the case is good to
go.
The Figurehead:
The kit does not have a figurehead, however, I definitely
wanted a mermaid figurehead for my ship because that’s how I roll. I thought about several options, from pewter
mermaids to sculpting one myself. I then
came across this little carved netsuke I thought could be modified.
The wood was very hard and took a lot of grinding to
remove the base.
Here she is mounted.
The lifeboat is also complete, looking all wrecked and
such. That lifeboat was more of a project than I thought!
Masts are now in place.
Basically, Phase One construction is complete with all wooden parts attached
except for the yardarms. The ship is now
ready for aging the wood.
The bottom deadeyes have been attached. I used thin black wire to attach these.
I originally planned to make new sails, but instead decided to use the sails included with the kit being they were already pre-cut and sewn. The sails were an off-white color, so I decided not to boil them in tea to stain them.
Instead, I brushed the sails with the vinegar liquid I used to age the wood. After the sails dried a little, I put them in an old pillow case and tossed them in the dryer to finish drying. The sails instead ended up bunching together and the liquid seeped from sail to sail. I then ironed them flat. They ended up coming out beautiful, I was really happy with the result.
The bottoms of the pre-sewn sails were cut off and cuts were made. I then went over the sails with a dremel tool using a bit used to polish off rust. The result worked out great. It gave the sails that worn look I was hoping for.
Aging Process:
This is a wood aging technique that can be used on
furniture or any wood material. It is a
two step process.
First, take some fine steel wool and vinegar. It does not matter what kind of vinegar, I
happen to have apple cider vinegar on hand.
Put together in a container and let sit for several days. The steel wool will dissolve into the
vinegar.
The second ingredient is made by boiling up some strong,
dark tea. I only had green tea, but made
it very strong.
Here is the tea and the vinegar mixture. Brush on the tea all over the wood and let
sit until dry.
When the tea is dry, brush on the vinegar mixture.
Here are some of the treated and untreated yardarms to
compare the effect. Different types of
wood will have different results.
The blocks and deadeyes were also treated.
Here is the treated ship.
Quite a difference, sure don’t look pretty anymore! I will take this outside and spray it down
with some clear matt before moving on to the next step.
With the ship treated, I will now work on attaching all
the rigging blocks.
It has taken three days, but I have completed attaching
all the blocks to the masts. Here is a
little rig I made to tie off each block.
Also, the eyeholes were too small in the blocks, so I drilled those
out. The blocks with double holes were a
bit tricky to drill. After every knot
was tied I put a drop of CA glue to hold it in place.
It might be a good time to talk about threads used for
rigging. Many ship modelers use a cotton
thread to rig their ships. Since the
thread can be a little fuzzy, they will wax the thread as they use it. For myself, I am using two types of
thread. The thinner running lines are
being rigged with Coats brand Button Craft thread that can be purchased at
Wal-Mart. I was going to use black and
an off-white thread for the rigging, but I think I will just use black because I
think it looks better with the color of the ship. The thicker line is a pre-Waxed Thread you
can get in the leather section at craft stores.
Works pretty well.
Here is the ship so far with the blocks attached. I am now ready to start the most tedious part
of the build, making the shrouds and ratlines.
Also of note is that I dusted the hull with the brown textured paint I
used earlier. It gives the hull a bit of
a sandy look.
The bottom deadeyes have been attached. I used thin black wire to attach these.
I looked at several methods other modelers have used to
make the shrouds. Here is a jig I made
to make mine.
Once I got going, it wasn’t so bad. I decided not to make the last three, as
those will be tied off at the mast and not part of the ratlines.
Working on the top shrouds.
Working on the ratlines.
So many knots!
Finished tying the ratlines. I used clove hitches to tie the center lines,
then drops of CV and white glue on all the knots to hold them in place.
Any pirate ship worth its weight in salt has guns, and
the Sirens Scream will have 16 on deck.
Earlier pictures show I painted the cradles with brown textured pain and
the cannon with green. Cannon should be
rigged to the ship, but these did not have any rigging eyes on them. I found these eye pins on eBay and thought
they would work. I had to cut and file
all the stems off the eye pins, then painted them with the brown textured paint
to match the cannon cradles. Two eye
pins were glued on the cannon and two on the bulwarks.
Here are what the cannon look like assembled.
There were no cannon balls with the kit, but I wanted to
put a couple on the deck anyway. The
ones I purchases are actually too large for the cannon scale, but they don’t
look bad so what the hell. I drilled
some wood strips and weathered them, then glued on the balls. Cannon balls were mounted toward the center
of these ships to keep as much weight as centered as possible.
The cannon, cannon balls, lifeboat, and other little
parts like the ship’s wheel are now attached.
Next comes the rigging, fun fun!
The standard rigging is complete. This is the rigging using the thicker waxed
thread that stabilizes the masts. I have
also completed the bowsprit rigging, and attached the gaff and boom and rigged
those.
The rest of the rigging will require the yardarms and
sails to be attached, so it is time to work on the sails.
I originally planned to make new sails, but instead decided to use the sails included with the kit being they were already pre-cut and sewn. The sails were an off-white color, so I decided not to boil them in tea to stain them.
Instead, I brushed the sails with the vinegar liquid I used to age the wood. After the sails dried a little, I put them in an old pillow case and tossed them in the dryer to finish drying. The sails instead ended up bunching together and the liquid seeped from sail to sail. I then ironed them flat. They ended up coming out beautiful, I was really happy with the result.
The bottoms of the pre-sewn sails were cut off and cuts were made. I then went over the sails with a dremel tool using a bit used to polish off rust. The result worked out great. It gave the sails that worn look I was hoping for.
Yeah baby, now those are the sails I was looking for.
The kit supplied two different pirate flags, a square and banner type. I am just using the square one. The flags kinda suck. They were not printed as one flag but in two halves, so I had to glue the flag together.
The black coloring on the flag was dull, so I darkened it in with a sharpie. I also painted over the white skeleton with ultraviolet white paint so it will glow, and gave it the same treatment as the sails to make it worn.
Sails and yardarms are now mounted. Starting to look like a pirate ship! I’ll be working on the rigging for a while
now.
Fire was a constant danger on sailing vessels, so there were rarely any lights on these ships. However, many vessels carried two or three lanterns on their stern. This kit did not contain any lanterns, but I wanted to mount a couple anyway.
Rigging is done…yay!
There is some additional rigging that could go around the sails I left
off since the sails are ragged, so there was little need for it.
I also mounted the anchors and rigged them.
Here is a little nameplate I made and painted for the
stern. Painted in…BLOOD…of course….
Now that the rigging is done, I can finish up the little
details on the ship.
Here are the four swivel guns mounted. The instructions show the guns mounted on
higher posts, but I thought those were too high so I made some smaller bases.
Fire was a constant danger on sailing vessels, so there were rarely any lights on these ships. However, many vessels carried two or three lanterns on their stern. This kit did not contain any lanterns, but I wanted to mount a couple anyway.
I picked up a set of resin 1/35 scale lanterns and lamp posts
from Verlinden to use. There were three
different kinds of lanterns to choose from.
I am using the two hex shaped ones and the metal mountings. Those were all sprayed with the textured
green to age them and I used ultraviolet yellow for the light part.
The ship also needed a bell, but no bell was in the
kit. I found a package of plastic
liberty bells that will work. I think I
have enough bells to last a lifetime now.
I aged one of the bells with a little green paint and mounted it on the
foremast on a little post.
Here are the mounted lanterns. I trimmed the mounts so they would sit
level. I think they came out nice.
The kit supplied two different pirate flags, a square and banner type. I am just using the square one. The flags kinda suck. They were not printed as one flag but in two halves, so I had to glue the flag together.
The black coloring on the flag was dull, so I darkened it in with a sharpie. I also painted over the white skeleton with ultraviolet white paint so it will glow, and gave it the same treatment as the sails to make it worn.
Here is the mounted flag.
Well, here she is.
Construction is now complete of the ship. But, we’re not done yet...ohhhh no. The next task is to add extra weathering
details.
To make the ship look like she has been resting on the
seabed, I wanted to cover her in seaweed and such. I picked up some of this decorative moss to
use and it worked out well. Long strings
of the moss were woven around the rigging and masts, and other moss placed here
and there. I also got a bag of little
dried starfish to use. Anything at the
bottom of the sea seems to have some starfish on it. I also found a little octopus to put on it
later.
After these details are done, I will spray the ship down
with this invisible UV green paint. Hopefully
this will give is a ghostly look under the blacklight. This paint isn’t cheap, as this little can
cost me $35.00, but I have seen it for up to $60.00.
Here is the final construction of the ship. All that is left is the crew.
Now we can make the crew.
This ship is suppose to be in 1:80 scale, however, there are parts of it
that are a little out of scale so any figures I want to use don’t have to be
exactly 1:80.
I found a couple neat little figure kits in 1:72, one of
pirates and one with skeletons. The kits
I picked up are the Orion 1/72 72001 English Pirates Sea Warriors and Caesar
Miniatures 1/72 F103 Undead Skeleton w/Lich King sets. I also found a couple packs of little skulls
to use somewhere.
I picked out a few figures to use on the ship. A ship this size could hold up to 100
pirates, but I’m not using that many.
The figures were modified a little where needed and painted white with
primer.
I got a set of UV paints and a bottle of UV white for the
painting.
I went over the figures with the UV white, and then
colored the clothing in. This paint
requires a two or three coats, so it is not good for figure detailing. But, since I am just making ghosts it should work. I also gave them glowing red eyes. The figures will be cut free of the bases
after painting and mounted at various locations on the ship.
Done Done Done! Here she is, the Sirens Scream in all her unholy glory.
Done Done Done! Here she is, the Sirens Scream in all her unholy glory.
Here is the ship under the blacklight. Unfortunately the camera doesn’t capture the
full effect, the color is brighter and more detailed in person. The crew glow pretty well too, especially the
red color.
Well, another project off the bucket list. Thanks for looking!