ChrisLBren
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Everything posted by ChrisLBren
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No Rob (I wish) I used Chucks resin copy painted to resemble boxwood. I wont have this luxury on my next builds.... -
With some care - Chucks Figurehead paints up nicely. I'm hoping to get the rails and trailboards finally installed by the end of next week.
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Hi Richard, Swiss Pear takes it really well - better than boxwood. I typically apply 4 - 5 coats buffing between coats. It dries almost immediately and has a sheen very close to Ebony. It is a little dangerous to dye wood on a model - because it will run. But Ive developed ways of dealing with that as well. I usually top coat with Watcos Danish Oil. Check out my scratch build Confederacy Build log if you want to see some pics. Chris
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Hi Richard, I use Fiebings Black Leather Shoe Dye available at most cobblers/shoe repair stores. Chris
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For me its Swiss Pear and Costello Box. Swiss Pear takes dye really well to imitate Ebony. I agree with Toni on all of her points regarding workability of hardwoods vs anything else.
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How are you liking the scale Rusty ? Some swear building larger is easier.
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Amazing work Johann - i love this ship ! Chris
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Looking great Alex ! Thanks for the update, Chris
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Ha - im worried about the supply of Swiss Pear too !!!! Welcome back from vacation Ben. And thanks for the kind words Mike and Rob. Mark as far as the conversion of the Commerce De Marseille to the L'Orient - its not that difficult - Gerard Delacroix included a supplemental plan sheet which has the figurehead Ive posted and the arrangement of the Poop deck to accommodate the 6 additional carronades she carried. Thats what I love about these Monographs - all of the research has been done for you - they are spectacular.
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Thanks Druxey - i now spend a couple hours at night after the babies go down to visit the workshop vs watching TV. As far as the next projects - I feel L'Orient is a notable subject - boggles my mind that I have never seen her modeled. In my opinion, one of the most beautiful 3 deckers ever built (sorry HMS Victory). I plan on building Le Gros Ventre as a proof of concept/introduction into building fully framed and French Naval Architecture. Then i will decide whether to build L'Orient P.O.B. or Full Frame. I am 43 - so hope to have another 40 years in me or so. And yes the wife knows both will be built in 1/48..... Here is her figurehead
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Thanks guys - Mark - rest of my life - yes - Le Gros Ventre will be full frame for sure - and Im toying with the idea of building the 3 Decker as L'Orient - Napoleon's Flagship at the Battle of the Nile full frame - enormous....
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Hey Group An update ! Working on the cheeks - have to say this is my favorite part of the build so far. This is where the careful work i did almost four years ago on the stem is paying off - everything for the most part is lining up. You can see I did rework the trailboards vs using the ones Chuck generously supplied - mine needed to be about 1/16 wider at the hawse holes for it to fit and align everything properly. Some tweaking will still be necessary - my advice for people building the kit is to know going in - this area is probably more of a scratch building exercise than simply using the kit components. Most will need to adjust/re work parts to compensate for the creep that is unavoidable in your build. I also highly recommend using hardwoods for the cheeks. Next up will be to finish the cheeks by inscribing the moldings, dyeing the tailboards/stem/adding the carvings, painting the figurehead and installing everything to the model. Lastly picked up a couple Ancre Monographs and am currently studying them for my next builds. I'm pumped ! I should be busy for the rest of my life with these - I intend to build both in 1/48. Chris
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Really nice work Allan on an interesting subject. Look forward to following this build, Chris
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Hi Augie, Your Syren is a beaut ! Look forward to following your Confederacy build. I'm going on 4 years in this November - started scratch building her the same time as Rusty. Right now I'm working on the cheeks and headrails - I can't imagine tackling these timbers, the volutes or the moldings with anything other than a hardwood since so much carving, scraping and shaping is involved to get them right - Chuck proved it can be done though ! You could always buy some of Jeff's boxwood for these timbers and it will match the basswood planking nicely if need be. Enjoy the build ! Chris
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Wow - good to see you back - really nice John
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Shes a beauty Greg !!!
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Well couldn't resist - i removed the cheek and filed down the lip of the wale on the left side - I think it looks much better at least to me.... Onward!
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Hey Mark, Thanks - the cheeks are identical - what you are seeing is the line of the left wale where it hits the stem is about 1/64 higher than the right. So once the cheek is mounted the rear of it is slightly elevated making it look slightly thicker. Once i add the hawse holes and the forward parts of the cheek you probably wont be able to tell the difference (at least im hoping) Chris
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OK Group, An update at last - starting the headrails. Up first is the lower cheek. After careful sanding to get it to fit - the next issue was devising a way to get straight groves along the faces of the cheeks. The solution is simple - create a handle - which I did with a couple scraps of wood - and a brass nail elevated exactly 1/64. Then all you need to do is run the piece along the nail several times to create a groove - which was then enlarged with a series of larger nails used by hand similar to an awl. Ive also attached a bow shot - alignment here is so critical - and by my eye the right side is a little lower than the left. Not much can be done here to correct other than possible adjust the height of the hawse hole boards if need be to compensate for the upper cheek. We will see how it looks once i remove the black strake above the cheek in order to install the hawse hole boards - hopefully this weekend if the twins allow.
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Hi Mike, Basically the formula for painting to resemble boxwood is a 50/50 mix of Raw Sienna and Yellow Ochre as a base coat. You then go in with light washes of Raw Sienna mixed with a touch of white for your low lights and Yellow Ochre mixed with a touch of white for your highlights. Use several washes to give the piece dimension. Then apply Minwax Golden Oak - allow to get tacky for about 30 minutes then brush off. Repeat if necessary - stole this one from Chuck. Chris
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