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wq3296

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Everything posted by wq3296

  1. wq3296
    Greetings Ross, After I get the 2x4 it cut down and finished I will get some pictures out. Since I am now working on a naval vessel, I think I might take the propane torch to it for a battle worn look. To me the appeal of the drift wood is the nubbyness of it. I need a change from the buttoned down look of the manufactured bases. I think my pedestal approach makes fastening the ship to the base easier. Not always easy to drill up through a 3/16" keel to install the typical screws supplied with the pedestals. Another option may be tongue and groove oak flooring. These planks, used for flooring, are narrow so you could glue 2 or 3 together along the joints and then trim and rout the edges to achieve the required width. wq3296
  2. wq3296
    Greetings, An alternative to the typical hardwood baseboard with brass pedestals for ships that may not come with cradles, I like to make my own. I have used oak, ipei, maple, with simple pedestals of my own design. For my current project I found a weathered 2x4 on the beach that I will cut down to correct length. I will also reduce the thickness to about an inch. We live on Narragansett Bay, so one can usually find all the weathered wood needed. The particular 2x4 I found has turned grey and the edges have beautifully rounded due to "life at sea". I expect I will make up some pedestals from other wood I have kicking around. Wood pedestals provide another option for mounting the ship to the base instead of the typical screw. I cut slots in the pedestals to accommodate the keel width then, with the ship set in place, I drill small holes (1/16" dia.) horizontally through the pedestal slots and the keel. I then drive a tight fitting brass pin (usually stuff left over from kits) through the holes in the keel/pedestals. The length of the pin is the outside width of the pedestal. The pins should fit such that they can easily be pushed through the holes for removal. Note: the pedestals should be fastened to the baseboard with screws that are the correct length to avoid piercing the bottoms of the slots which would prevent the keel from settling in to position. wq3296
  3. wq3296
    Greetings Wally, In my opinion, I wouldn't bother with trying to show any deck fasteners. Even at 1:48 scale, assuming the real fastener is no more than 11/2" dia., your looking at a scale dia. .02" - .03". Look at an architect's scale for 1/4"=1' (1:48) and you will get an idea of how small a scale inch is. Take a look at a model with treenail decks and you will see that they over power the look and become the center of attention. wq3296
  4. wq3296
    Greetings Tar... I have not read Before the Mast. However, I read the book entitled The Mary Rose by Margaret Rule, which focuses on the the actual raising and preservation of the MR. This book has some excellent pictures and drawings of the MR which may be more useful for your purpose than a book that describes ship life. How do you like the kit? I have been considering it for a while. wq3296
  5. wq3296
    Greetings Hipexec, Please disregarding last post. I mistakenly provided info on the Victory and, of course, you are doing the Constitution. wq3296
  6. wq3296
    Greetings Hipexec, According to Longridge's book on his model of the Victory, the mainmast is vertical but the main and mizzen masts rake aft as follows: mainmast .478" to the foot, mizzen .852" to the foot. This equates to 4' and 7' per 100 feet respectively according to Longridge. Note that Longridge's model was taken directly off of the original 1765 drawings and the drawings from her 1922 restoration. wq3296
  7. wq3296
    Greetings Dafi, Your picture of the actual Victory is the money shot. This picture coincides with Longridge's description in his book and his photo of the Victory. Frankly, the way the Victory's rudder is rigged makes perfect sense as to the reason for these chains. wq3296
  8. wq3296
    Greetings Chris, Go to any store with a paint department and take a look at the stain samples. That's what I use. Don't be so defensive - I'm simply expressing an opinion. wq3296
  9. wq3296
    Doubtful. wq3296
  10. wq3296
    Greetings Chris, With all due respect, I think the finish process you described is a lot of work and, in my opinion, not worth the effort. Painting departments in a Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace, hobby shops, etc. would have any number of finishes that look exactly like yours which can be applied in one go. I just don't understand why builders go through such machinations to reinvent a finish that paint companies have already perfected for our use. Granted, in other countries availability of materials may not be as it is here in the USA. If that is the case, builders have no other choice than to mix up their own concoctions. Other than that, mixing up special stuff seems to be a waste of time. wq3296
  11. wq3296
    Greetings Marcus, You forgot to mention that Spanish cedar is used to make cigar boxes, humidors, and cigar wrappers. Otherwise, good work. wq3296
  12. wq3296
    Greetings Matt, If it is truly western red cedar, it seems that it may not be useful for most modeling purposes. Hear in New England we use western red for shingles, usually on exterior walls, but it is also used for roof shingles. I smoke cigars, and many of the cigar boxes are made of Spanish cedar. Some smokes even come wrapped in very thin Spanish cedar. If you lay hands on this stuff, it is great for laminating over plywood edges or other woods you want to hide. Good stuff. On the other hand, I built a cedar closet with pre finished cedar boards. This wood had a really smooth finish, and it was basically red with white bands through out. This cedar may be usable for rough model work. Let's not forget that wooden arrow shafts were red cedar, as are common pencils - both having nice painted finishes. I guess you could mill some up and see how it finishes. Worst case, you could at least make some fine spars. wq3296
  13. wq3296
    Pete, Update seems to create more questions than answers. Trafalgar happened in October 1805, and there was an HMS Ajax at the battle according to three books I have that detail the entire engagement. According to the EM history the Ajax fell off the radar screen at the end of 1802. If the original Ajax was lost/decommissioned shortly thereafter, is it possible the Brits could have commissioned a 74 gun and named it Ajax in time for it to participate at Trafalgar? In my opinion possible, but is it probable? I don't know how long it was taking Britain to build, outfit, and commission a 74 gun ship in those days. Is it possible that Britain had two ships named Ajax at the same time? Are the accounts of the battle wrong and there was not a 74 gun Ajax at Trafalgar? To me it is more probable that EM somehow screwed up the history or simply fabricated a history, not realizing that the real Ajax was not a frigate nor that it was at Trafalgar. Let's not forget that EM's history says there is no more information on Ajax after 1802. Apparently, their research was faulty. Regardless, the kit is a great product. wq3296
  14. wq3296
    Greetings Cabrillo, I built the frigate Ajax by Euro Model several years ago. The Ajax that fought at Trafalgar in 1805 was really a 74 gun ship, not a frigate as indicated in the history of the ship as told by Euro Model. Note that EM specifically states that their Ajax fought at Trafalgar. It is possible that there was an Ajax frigate, but it did not fight at Trafalgar. As a result I did a little modification of the kit and came up with the 32 gun frigate HMS Juno. I bought some carronades and mounted them fore and aft on the spar deck and got rid of the beakhead bulkhead. In my opinion, Euro Model makes an excellent product, although they ought to update the history of the ship, if there ever was a frigate Ajax. wq3296
  15. wq3296
    Fred, Now I see - no issue at all. Just fair (blend in) the bottoms of those frames until they conform to the bearding line. Notice that the shapes of those frames are pretty close to where they should be anyway. It will make more sense if you hold a plank along those frames. The plank is supposed to lay almost flat, with minimal flare out, from the keel all the way up to the turn of the bilge. The plans probably show this in the hull sections. wq3296
  16. wq3296
    Greetings Karl, You are a real cracker jack. In my opinion your workmanship is the pinnacle of what is achievable in model ship building. wq3296
  17. wq3296
    Greetings Boyd, In my opinion, flat black is the default approach. Many of the components you mentioned were iron anyway, and the brass ones were probably coated with tar. I don't have much use for the products that are supposed to turn metal black, as they don't seem to do a very good job on brass. Some guys coat the blackened parts with clear coat anyway, so why bother? Get a good flat black spray paint and give it hell. All you need is just enough paint to coat the parts because you don't want them to look perfect - you are not painting a Ferrari. I would cull out any parts that would obviously be brass, such as decorations, bell, brass guns, etc. and leave them be. wq3296
  18. wq3296
    Greetings Tim, 1. Nice job. I built this model several years ago. I really like the Blue Jacket products - well produced and made in USA. 2. If you ever get the chance, visit the Fall River, MA Marine Museum. That museum has an outstanding PT Boat section, including an honest to goodness restored PT boat from WWII. They also have many PT boat components including engines, props, transmissions, hull sections, etc. 3. If you are interested, there are several PT web sites. One web site has a complete list of EVERY PT boat ever built indicating when the keel was laid, where it was stationed, when it was destroyed/decommissioned, and how it met its end. I gave my PT #164. There were many more PT boats in the Pacific theater, not just the 109. 4. I know the Blue Jacket kit doesn't show it, but many later PT boats had radar fitted to their masts. Some of the websites show PTs with this radar fitted, and it is not difficult to model on your boat. I put it on my PT using some scrap wood and a bit of dowel. wq3296
  19. wq3296
    ...but it's not the same wood. Red oak and white oak are both from the same species. I think you'd agree that they are not the same wood - each has different characteristics. wq3296
  20. wq3296
    Greetings Frank, If it is honest to goodness basswood, I have no problems at all using it as deck planking. Basswood has a very tight grain. In fact, at least two kit manufacturers that I am aware of (Model Shipways and Blue Jacket) supply basswood for decking material on many of their kits. I have used it many times and prefer it to some of the stuff supplied with European kits. Limewood is another story - OK for the first layer of a double planked kit but, in my opinion, the grain is not right for decking. I know that some folks think basswood and limewood are interchangeable, but they are not the same the wood. wq3296
  21. wq3296
    Greetings Fred, Don't worry about it. If the bearding lines and bulkheads forward and aft of #9 seem good, lay a straight edge along the bottoms of these bulkheads and draw a line from one to the other. Try #9 again and see how she looks relative to this line. If necessary, modify the bearding line, slot, or bulkhead to arrive at a fair run for the bearding line. It will all make sense once you realize what it is you are trying to accomplish. The top of the bearding line should be at the bottom of the bulkheads to facilitate planking installation. Check the drawings and instructions carefully. Usually they call for the tops of the bulkheads to be flush with the top of the keel/former. HOLD ON - Another thought: is it possible you have the #9 in the wrong slot? Double check this, and the other bulkhead locations, before you do anything else. wq3296
  22. wq3296
    Greetings Mark, I checked Chapelle"s book, the American Sailing Navy. Plan 20 shows 74 gun ship Ohio. The rabbit line is shown exactly how would expect it to be (i.e. uniform all the way to the top of the stem.) Other scale drawings in the book for other ships show the same thing. It may be that the dotted line you mention is not the rabbit line at all. I think the rabbit line is represented by the solid line just forward of the dotted line. Note that at the forefoot, and for most of the way up, you have solid lines that seem to then become dotted. The other dotted line that you think is the rabbit veers aft. This leads me to believe that that dotted line represents the termination of deck framing or something else as has been suggested. It may not be faulty drafting at all. Without additional drawings, notes, or call outs,it's true purpose is indeterminate. What difference does it make anyway? You know as a model builder how the rabbit should be shown, so change your drawings accordingly. wq3296
  23. wq3296
    Greetings Gary, The color looks correct to me. I have it on the bottom of the Blue Jacket PT boat and their Charles P. Notman. Note that copper was entrained with a reddish based paint to give the paint anti fouling properties. You could get that paint in various colors, including copper. I think it was lead based, so it is probably not available today. I assume you will be applying it to a ship/boat built in the 20th century. I would research this before using it on a late 19th ship/boat since it may not have been available then. wq3296
  24. wq3296
    Greetings Jim, Hold on. It is my understanding that "white stuff" was not paint, but rather a coating. I believe the main ingredient was tallow, with other materials added in an attempt to give it anti- fouling properties. My opinion is that it was applied to all bottom surfaces including metal, by design or accident, but probably did not adhere as well to metal. As a result the iron work (straps) may have shown through in a short time. As an option you could coat the straps with a much watered down paint that you use to paint bottom. This would allow the blackish straps to "read" through the coating which is probably the real deal. wq3296
  25. wq3296
    Thanks garym, Enjoyed the discussion and look forward to more of your input on future topics. Let's have a grog or two to knew friends. wq3296

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