Blue Ensign

It gives me great pleasure each time I see your latest update Doris, those crowns are a  much nicer version.

Regards,

B.E.

Hi Mark,

Amati sell the copper sets as an aftemarket item.

Here's a link to a UK Supplier, The Model Dockyard.

http://www.model-dockyard.com/acatalog/amati-Copper_Hull_Plates.html

They're showing nil stock at present but you may be able to get a delivery date from them. The Model Dockyard are a reliable UK supplier.

Regards,

B.E.

That looks excellent Timmo, got a good period feel to it, and so much more satisfaction knowing you've done it yourself.

Well done.

Cheers,

B.E.

Even more impressive with the close-up shots Bob, wonderful detailing.

B.E.

A nice little improvement made there Peter, and much better seated on the step.

Regards,

B.E.

Love those head shots of your Victory Gil, your rigging is a thing of beauty.

You commented a while back about  the thought of a press ganged farmer sent up the rigging.

I think this is mainly the stuff of Hollywood, your farmer would be a waister until he proved himself, hauling, scrubbing,  and any number of  routine tasks requiring  muscle.

The topmen were in the premier league of the ships company, generally younger, fitter, and more agile, and with a  good head for heights. No good sending an unskilled  landsman aloft to do a  critical task if he's likely to freeze or fall off.

i believe in the Nelson era there was at least one Woman who attained the prestigious role of Captain of the Foretop, she was of course disguised as a man.

Regards,

B.E.

I'm late to this party, and what I don't know about using a milling machine would run to a small book.

However, I am thrilled to bits with my new little Proxxon MF70 Miller and for most purposes it has made my wobbly old drill stand redundant. I did buy the separate beautifully engineered vice to fit on the table as can be seen in the photo posted by JP, and I have decided to get the dividing head also.

Cheers,

B.E.

That is very neat work Robert, fine shaping to the standards.

Cheers,

B.E.

A beautiful build Bob finely executed, that has helped me along the way. I was struggling to work out the stopper bolt positions on the Upper deck and your deck photos sorted it for me.

I wish now I had gone the extra mile and fitted the anchor stock planking on the Upper deck as you so effectively have done.

Thanks for re-posting.

Regards,

B.E.

Hi Grant, your kind comments on my build alerted me to your own log.

This is a very fine Victory build, I very much likes the look of her.

Salutations to a fellow 'basher'

Regards,

B.E.

Hi Timmo,

When I was trying to decide on the background shade for the  decoration on Pegasus I trialled Admiralty Yellow Ochre, Humbrol Pale Yellow(81), and Humbrol Linen.(74)

 I discounted Linen as being too bright and pale, the Yellow ochre looked ok, but by a nose I think the Humbrol Pale yellow looked best against the blue ground.

Left - Yellow Ochre; Centre – Humbrol Pale Yellow 81; Right – Humbrol Linen.74

It has a slightly sulphury tone to it and seems to look more like a painted frieze than the stronger yellow ochre which stands out more.

Once I had fixed the decoration I used artists oils over the base coat to create  highlights and shadows to bring out the relief.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

B.E.

That is a fine looking build Rusty, the more I see of Syren, the more that kit appeals to me.

Well done.

Regards,

B.E.

Hi Timmo, that Admiralty French Blue is far too strong for my taste, although I think it looks better against Walnut than boxwood. I spent ages trying to get that slightly dusky blue with grey overtones, but once I had it I had to make sure I had enough tp complete the build and for any touch ups.

I think your third option looks the best and may even stand the addition of a little more grey. Colour perception on photos tho' is always difficult and you're in the best position to judge.

You're right about scale colouring, on smaller models such as my 1:150 Seventy-four the black needed toning down with grey to stop it overwhelming the model. On Pegasus at 1:64 the standard Humbrol black looks ok at least to my eye.

David Antscherl in Volume 11 of the ffm gives a  good 'how to' on design painting and mentions something called White Transfer paper available thro' art suppliers for drawing the design outline, which can then be  wiped away once the design is painted. He also refers to the option of painting the designs on paper which is then stuck to the boarding.

This is a technique I believe was used on contemporary models. The advantage is I suppose you can bang away on the paper design until you get a result you like without messing up the the actual bulkheads.

Regards,

B.E.

Hi Michael, that last shot shows how beautifully you have modelled the sheer lines of Wasa, very nice work.

Cheers,

B.E.

Just catching up on your build Jay, great progress, loving your attention to detail.

Cheers,

B.E.

Thanks David I'm glad you like it.

It was a testy little build and originally I had intended it to be part of a larger diorama including a French Frigate and a British Seventy-four. They still sit in their boxes.

Unfortunately working at 1:150 with that level of detail proved too much for my aging eyes so she sits alone in her case.

Regards,

B.E.

The flanges on the scuppers look good Peter, an excellent solution. Better than using flattened slivers of aluminium tubing as I did I think.

Regards,

B.E.

Hi Mathias, nice to see your build logged on here, great photo's, she is looking wonderful.

Cheers,

M.

Well, an update on the Stag at last.  I didn't get a lot done yesterday as we are in the middle of school holidays at the moment and the museum was crowded with families - always fun when you're surrounded by a mob of kids asking questions about your model.  At one stage I dropped a needle on the floor and had a group of kids crawling around the floor searching for it for me (they found it, too)!

 

 

There's hope for the future of the hobby John if you are surrounded by a mob of interested kids. I am prepared to bet that your exquisite little cutter will stick in the minds of at least one or two, and some way down the road, they will appear on MSW influenced by the beauty of what they saw in 2013.

Regards,

B.E.

Good looking build you have developing there Timmo, Granado is an interesting subject.look forward to seeing your progress.

Cheers,

B.E.

Nice work on the stern David, well done.

B.E.

From the photos the planking looks fine to me, fortunately Rattlesnake doesn't appear to have much sheer and is not too bluff in the bows both of which present slightly more complex planking issues.

You can see best how to proceed, but these are the basic rules I follow.

Never taper a plank to less than half its width.

Use long tapers not short.

Never force a plank laterally, use stealers say at the stern where  a gap may appear.

If the taper at the bow looks to be getting too sharp use drop planks or  spiled planks.

Have wider plank widths to hand to accommodate spiling, trouble with kits is they generally only provide one width, I always buy extra sizes.

I like to plank from both keel up and wale down and aim to have any remaining oddly shaped plank requiring spiling appear on the underside of the hull.

Stick with it JP, you're nearly there.

B.E.

I admire your tenacity in sticking with the boat Tony, I'm sure it will pay dividends in the end.

You will have a boat that you have wholly created yourself to be proud of, and learned another new skill into the bargain.

I look forward to seeing the finished article.

Regards,

B.E.

 I get the impression that this is a kit just begging for a bit of 'bashing', and I'm looking forward to seeing your build develop Hamilton.

Regards,

B.E.

Just picked up on your Syren log Thomas, what a beautiful build, your work is of a very high standard.

Regards,

B.E.