Cuda1949

Chris's 1577 Revenge kit from Victory/Amati provides extensive printed paper decorations. In my build of this superb kit and after testing this appliqué approach, I didn't like the appearance and I decided to paint over these printed patterns. I've included one photo here to show the results of my solution. Looking closely, one can see that my "over-painting" isn't perfect. In fact, slight brush marks and tiny "wobblies" in the application of acrylic paint accomplished exactly what I intended: the appearance of precisely-hand-painted, decorative friezes. It is important to note that the scale of this kit is 1:64; the large, geometric patterns weren't that difficult to execute by hand.
 
However....
 
For models of latter era ships, whether kit or scratch-built (mainly English and French Navy warships of the 17-18th centuries), accomplishing accurately painted embellishments (mostly on outer bulwarks, sometime on sterns) is extraordinarily challenging  - at any scale - but especially so at scales smaller than 1/48 (I" = 1ft.). This style of ship decorative painting is called trompe-d'loeil ("fool-the-eye"). This painting style was popular in contemporary European art of the late 17th and early 18th centuries and adopted by ship owners and builders. The themes are very detailed and typically featured floral and ornate tapestry designs which mimicked the decorative interior trends of the period. I have seen numerous (legacy) ship models in museums and in various publications with this painting technique and believe the vast majority of these models are at scales of at least 1:48. Modeler's attempts to accurately portray this embellishment at scales of 1/64 or 1/72 (for example) are rare precisely because it is extremely challenging to do well.
 
To the point: Paper appliqués, whether printed or hand-painted off the model, are a reasonable "best solution" for period ship models at scales smaller than 1:48.
 
Members here will note that Chuck Passaro's HMS Winchelsea model has beautifully rendered the trompe-d'loeil style paintings on both the bulwarks and stern with excellent painting by hand: As most would agree, Chuck is a trained and accomplished artist  — and, importantly, this impressive model is 1:48 scale.
 
It will be interesting to see what Chris decides to offer for his kits of ships featuring these 2-dimensional ornate embellishments. I'm certain it will be clever!
 
Ron
 
 
 

Finished the running rigging. Over two years so far invested so far. Actually the model is 99% done. All that is left is to make the figurehead and then make a base for the model to stand on. Unfortunately I have to wait to get to the lumber mill to get a nice piece of wood to mount the ship on. 

Finished the running rigging. Over two years so far invested so far. Actually the model is 99% done. All that is left is to make the figurehead and then make a base for the model to stand on. Unfortunately I have to wait to get to the lumber mill to get a nice piece of wood to mount the ship on. 

Finished the running rigging. Over two years so far invested so far. Actually the model is 99% done. All that is left is to make the figurehead and then make a base for the model to stand on. Unfortunately I have to wait to get to the lumber mill to get a nice piece of wood to mount the ship on. 

Slow is not a problem Eric 😁. It helps as I find I don't make mistakes (as much) as when trying to push the build along. 
She's looking good now and is going to be a little beauty when she's done😊

A little bit of progress on the rigging- I’m getting a little bit faster but it is slower than I would like.

I bought the same model kit off ebay back in the early 90 s and it was first model I built after building many ships is bottles. I wrestled with the model but I did finish it and it sits proudly among my sib of the PRIDE OF Baltimore and the Young American. Very nice work on your part look forward to following along.

In order to attach the deadeyes inside the bulkhead I attached and glued the bass wood strips to the deck. 

I have attached the railing supports on the rear deck.  Still working on attaching the deadeyes to the deck.

The deck houses are not glued onto the deck as I am currently working on attaching the rails and deadeyes. I also have the two bathrooms built and the winch and chain. This was completed on July 7, 2018.

I then created the other two deck houses and the chicken houses and hatches.

This planking was started in March as you can see there wasn't  a false deck. I had to put in wood block in order to support the decking. The planks were marked with a black magic marker. 

I received this hull of the Cutty Sark back in 2013. A friend of my son gave it to him to give to me. It has sat in my boatyard all this time. Back in March I started working on by planking the deck. 
 

 

 

Finished the three life boats and sewed covers on top to replicate canvas covers. Lesson learned do all your deck work first the attach your rigging. Life boats are in place and tied down. Now on to the final running rigging. 

Well, since The Plague has started, I've only spent a minimal amount of time out in the shop but more due to the inclement weather (damp/cold) than anything else. I've been slowly working around clockwise from the back on paneling the inside of the walls. I'm now working on the inside of the front wall and will probably be out there again tomorrow in addition to starting to plant some seeds in the raised garden beds. Today, visibly I was able to adjust the pulley & hook a bit to one side and installed my Americana Emblem on the front:

If possible, I'll try to get a shot or two of the interior to show where things stand, etc. 

Today turned out to be a good day (well, the afternoon did...) to head out and make further progress on ye olde work shoppe😏! So, I managed to do touch up painting on siding on the porch roof front and along the door frames, completely frame out and install another 36x36 side wall window, add more insulation, and finish installing the boat house beam/hook in the upper peak of the porch front. I'll add the block & pulley assembly tomorrow. Here is today's work:

Hello modelers..
 
I’ve recently joined this elite group and have been browsing around for the last several days to become familiar with the site. To say the least, I’m amazed ! To introduce myself, my name is Chuck and I live in SE Pennsylvania . As the story goes, I’ve been into models for years but mostly aviation stuff. Started into real aviation very early in life and continued till retirement n 2010, but still working at the local airport for fun. Very normal and boring to date. Well,  my life change a few weeks ago, with  a major medical event. No more flying for me!  But the really interesting part of the story is yet to come.
My Brother John pulled up roots, purchase 7 acres in Maine, built a house and moved. Most people move to warmer climate, but not John. For years, he and his wife have boarded the schooner Stephen Taber out of Rockland, ME, presenting classes to fellow travelers on how to take pictures of light houses. My great idea was to build a model of the ST as a house warming gift. The closest kit I came across is the Smuggler from Blue Jacket.  Now it just so happens  that the Blue Jacket company is very close to where my Brother now lives. How cool is that!!
Kit was purchased a couple of weeks age and now working on the hull. As soon as I learn how to post pictures, I’ll do so as soon as I learn how to start a blog.
For now, happy modeling to all.
Chuck

More block work. I used 28 gauge copper wire (blackened chemically - but it wears away easily) on the blocks. My tools are a regular pair of snips, xacto blade and a regular pin (head snipped off and mounted in a pin vise). The pin is the correct diameter loop making as it fits the dyed string I'm using for the standing rigging.  

I bought the same model kit off ebay back in the early 90 s and it was first model I built after building many ships is bottles. I wrestled with the model but I did finish it and it sits proudly among my sib of the PRIDE OF Baltimore and the Young American. Very nice work on your part look forward to following along.

I bought the same model kit off ebay back in the early 90 s and it was first model I built after building many ships is bottles. I wrestled with the model but I did finish it and it sits proudly among my sib of the PRIDE OF Baltimore and the Young American. Very nice work on your part look forward to following along.

I bought the same model kit off ebay back in the early 90 s and it was first model I built after building many ships is bottles. I wrestled with the model but I did finish it and it sits proudly among my sib of the PRIDE OF Baltimore and the Young American. Very nice work on your part look forward to following along.

I bought the same model kit off ebay back in the early 90 s and it was first model I built after building many ships is bottles. I wrestled with the model but I did finish it and it sits proudly among my sib of the PRIDE OF Baltimore and the Young American. Very nice work on your part look forward to following along.

I bought the same model kit off ebay back in the early 90 s and it was first model I built after building many ships is bottles. I wrestled with the model but I did finish it and it sits proudly among my sib of the PRIDE OF Baltimore and the Young American. Very nice work on your part look forward to following along.

I bought the same model kit off ebay back in the early 90 s and it was first model I built after building many ships is bottles. I wrestled with the model but I did finish it and it sits proudly among my sib of the PRIDE OF Baltimore and the Young American. Very nice work on your part look forward to following along.

I attached the jib to the ship, breaking the weld in the process. So it goes. I also wrestled with the mast heads; the supplied ‘pre-cut’ one don’t match the profile view in the plans and I wasn’t clever enough to see ahead enough to catch that difference. Such is the price of wisdom...