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TMAN

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Everything posted by TMAN

  1. Hi Johnny, Thanks for your post....I don't use a specific ratio, glue to water. I put an amount of water (about 3/4" deep) in a plastic container with a screw on top and add about 3 - 4 drops of Titebond to the water and stir, or shake, it up to a thin milky consistency (like skim milk). As I stated earlier, I soak the line for about 10-15 minutes to let the solution saturate the line. The line does not come out overly stiff or sticky as I run the line through my fingers as I remove the line from the container. That doesn't allow the line to stiffen up to a "wood like" piece; in fact, the line is very workable and can be rove in short order. I hang the line with alligator clips, from a hook in the ceiling for straightening. I usually wait a few hours or overnite before rigging the line. That's why I soak longer lengths (4'); I then cut the line to the lengths I need. This is really a "go with the flow" system that works for me. No more fuzzies!
  2. As and addendum to my prior post, I have to disclose that learned this process from watching a YouTube video by Tom Lauria where he described this a the process he used to as opposed to beeswax. I think this works really nice...........
  3. Hey guys, Here's how I solved my problems with fuzzy line: 1. I no longer use beeswax on rope line, especially on black shroud lines; it seems to leave a "whitish" film on black line, for one, and doesn't really seem to solve the "fuzzies." 2. I make a solution of white glue (although Titebond works) and water in a container with a screw on cap. 3. I then cut about a 4' length of line (depending on how much I need) and place it in the solution. I shake the bottle so that the line gets saturated. 4. I let the line sit in the solution for about 10 - 15 minutes. 5. I then carefully remove the line (which gets somewhat tangled up from the shaking) and run it between my forefinger and thumb to wipe of the excess solution back into the bottle. 6. I then hang the line using an alligator type clip to dry. You can also dry the line with a hair dryer which makes the process quicker. I've found that this step accomplishes several things: it takes out all the kinks in the line, it reduces the fuzz more than beeswax (without discoloring the line), it makes running rigging lines hang more naturally and although the lines seem a little stiffer, after steps 1-5, I believe it makes rigging go smoother.
  4. Loved it..... merci! All the best, TMAN Current build: Model Shipways Topsail Schooner, "Eagle," 1847 Prior Builds: NY Pilot Boat, "Phantom;" " Gertrude Thebaud;" 1929 & Henry Hudson's "Half Moon" 1609.
  5. Do a search here for "Berlin by Corel" and you'll find the build log for the "Berlin" by Maggsl_01 in 2016 (I think) and scroll until you see how he made his head rails. Study the photos closely and compare them to your plans. I'm currently following Pete Jaquith's build log for the 1847 Topsail Schooner Eagle for my current build. Those logs and photos are an incredible source and visual aid that are an amazing way to help you realize that it's not as hard as you think! TMAN P.S......Thank you Mr. Jaquith..........!!!
  6. Thanks Dr PR, I'll check out Floating Drydock and check out Zu Mondfeld's page 240. But what I am trying to determine is in "model size" how many links to the foot of chain I should use for a 3/16" scale model. I'm using an 18th century Continental Type anchor. Thanks, TMAN
  7. Ahoy Mates, I'm building an old Model Shipways' (solid hull) 3/16' Topsail Schooner Eagle. I need to determine what size chain I need for the anchors and bowsprit chains. I have no idea how to size the chains to scale. I also don't know where to get the chain; Micro Mark or Model Expo. Any advice is appreciated, thanks. TMAN
  8. i think this is probably one of the best exchanges of ideas i have read on this site. Each modeler has expressed their personal views & experiences in this craft that are truly enlightening and inspiring. I've been modeling since the early 1960's as a teen (model cars, some of which I still have and display) but in the middle seventies, on a trip to the Smithsonian, in Washington D.C., I saw a huge display of model wooden ships for the first time. I was mesmerized; I'd never seen anything like it. Right then & there I knew that some day, I had to build one. Then in the mid 1980's, I took my girlfriend (now my wife) to the NY South Street Seaport Museum. Again, model wooden Ships. I told her that one day I wanted to build a model ship. For my 35th birthday, she gave me Model Shipways PHANTOM. I didn't build it until 1995, why... I was overwhelmed! It looked so complicated. Then, one night, I took the hull & plans out of the box and studied everything. I looked at it as a challenge and figured, if I could plastic model cars and make my own parts, why couldn't I build the PHANTOM? I visited the hobby shop, found and later subscribed to SHIPS IN SCALE Magazine & learned about books, the NRG and discovered the LONG ISLAND SHIP MODEL SOCIETY. I joint the cub and learned from all sorts of fellow modelers about tools and this "trade." I realized then, with their help , criticism, advice & encouragement, that I could realized my dream...that I could build model ships like those in the Smithsonian. It became a passion; one of the most rewarding accomplishments so many folks walk away from out of frustration. This craft, in my view, takes, research, encouragement, practice, loads of time but most of all, perseverance; so to you newcomers...NEVER GIVE UP...YOU CAN DO IT. TMAN Current Build: Model Shipways, EAGLE Completed Models: Model Shipways PHANTOM Boucher Models, Henry Hudson's HALF MOON GERTRUDE L. THEBAUD Note: All solid hull models
  9. Thanks, great advice...I'll wait at least a week. TMAN
  10. Hey all, I'm currently using an old jar of Floquil Buwarks White on my current build of Model Shipways, Topsail Schooner "Eagle." I need to apply multiple coats to any parts that require painting, particularly the metal windlass. I cleaned all the "tarnish & age" off the windless with a fine brass brush & 0000 steel wool; came out real nice. Soaked it in isopropyl alcohol for a quick minute, sprayed the next day with Krylon grey metal primer. Came out real sweet! But...the floquil white isn't adequately covering the windless knees, cheeks & bits. Do I have to re-prime the part or can i paint over the areas with an acrylic paint? Thanks, TMAN
  11. Ahoy Vossy, I'm currently building a 1/8 scale of GERTRUDE THEBAUD (1929). I've already prepared about 20 barrels of different sizes for placement on the deck when the rigging is complete. Reviewing several publications about 1920's fishing schooners, photos of real boats showed numerous bucket & barrels to be filled with the "catch" on the decks; so many, in fact, that it seemed as if the crew had no place to move around freely. these details, in my opinion make the model "real!" TMAN
  12. gertrude thebaud

  13. A good friend and fellow model builder built a model of Model Shipways "EAGLE." In the process, he dropped a paint brush on the deck. The bristles were full of red paint. Strangely enough, though the spot left on the deck was rather small, instead of trying to clean it up, he made a figure of a deckhand carrying a paint bucket of red paint and a brush. The brush was dropped, by the figure, on the deck. It too was full of red paint; guess where the deckhand's brush was dropped...right where my friend foiled the deck when he dropped his brush. It was one of the most ingenious repairs I ever saw on a model! And it looked planned. Fret not my friend.......all mistakes are repairable.........
  14. Thanks again Frankie, You are correct; they have to be topmast shrouds. They run from the tops of the cross trees to a collar atop the topmasts. I guess i get mixed up between crosstrees & trestletrees. I always believed they were the same? They do run P & S and have nothing to do with spars. I will use black shroud lines. Thanks much; you've cleared up my problem.
  15. Thanks NJ Frankie, In looking at the plans, the lines ("lifts") are referred to as topping lifts. However, they are fixed to eyebolts on the spreaders (trestletrees) and are served at that point. They also are fixed to eyebolts at the mastheads and have no other function other than supporting the topmasts like shrouds. They're definitely not running rigging, seized to deadeyes and have no other apparent function beyond acting as shrouds. I don't want to tar them unless it's proper?!
  16. I'm currently building a 1958 kit by Marine Model Co., Inc. of the GERTRUDE L. THEBAUD fishing schooner ca. 1929. It's a solid hull model. I'm not using any of the kit parts except the hull; I'm scratch building almost everything. The plans are crude and the kit has no instruction manual. Are the topping lifts tarred? I can't find the answer anywhere; not even in Chapelle's "American Fishing Schooners 1825 - 1935." I know that standing rigging is...any clues?
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