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  • Wave 2 Mast Repair

    First, let me state that I have no doubt that Ares will replace any damaged ships from Wave 2. That is, in fact, what they told me in a KS email. So, the following information is only for reference if you don't have the tools, time or patience/skill to do the work.

    Because the break on the foremast was clean and flush with the deck I decided there must be some way to reattach or pin the masts back into the deck. Re-gluing the masts wouldn't work as there's nothing to keep them from sheering off again. I have access to micro drills, which I've been using for the Langton 1/1200 ship builds and lately the rigging on the SoG ships as well. Using one of the smaller drills to start a pilot hole I carefully drilled out an amount of plastic that would accommodate the shaft of a household sewing pin in the foremast itself. You don't want to start with a large drill as that will push out the plastic of the mast and potentially split it? I didn't measure exactly how far in the drill went into the foremast, but I'd guess it was about 1/4 of an inch or 6 mm. Drilling in the deck to hold the pointed end of the pin isn't as much of a concern as you have supporting plastic around the hole. Once the pin is in the mast you can insert into the deck, either a set amount or, just push the pin further into the deck until it feels really secure? I've not glued anything yet and I may not so I can adjust the mast angle for rigging when needed. I do fully expect to rig all of the big ships as it will dramatically improve the strength and security of the masts.

    Hopefully the pictures I took will give you a better idea of what I did, rather than my clunky description above. I've repaired two of the three damaged ships, and I'm quite happy with the results. The Orient lives again!!!










    This article was originally published in forum thread: Wave 2 Mast Repair started by Nightmoss View original post