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Martin W

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Everything posted by Martin W

  1. Martin W
    Greetings -- The shipment of lettering/cyphers arrived today, and I thought I would post a photo to show them alongside one of the Syren gun barrels: The sheet is thicker than I had thought it would be, and the cyphers especially (so far the only pieces I've actully looked at on the sheet) look very clear and sharp. This is a very nice product, and I would definitely recommend it. You can see that there are 2 sizes on this sheet -- the smaller ones just above the barrel are the ones that look appropriate to this scale. If I recall correctly (no gaurantee about that), a few people (BE & Alistair) mentioned that some of the cyphers came off during the blackening process. What kind of glue did you guys use? I assume you used cyanoacrylic? Would it perhaps be better to blacken the barrels & cyphers separately, then glue the cyphers on? Cheers, Martin
  2. Martin W
    Hi Scott -- You're definitely hard at it! Great work on the guns and the boat. Very tidy all around. Cheers, Martin
  3. Martin W
    Hi Peter -- great action shots, as always. Congratulations on getting your running rigging done. Smooth sailmaking from now on! Cheers, Martin
  4. Martin W
    I second that -- Very Nice Indeed. And some good looking rope from your ropewalk. Cheers, Martin
  5. Martin W
    Bravo! I applaud your success, and your determination. Martin
  6. Martin W
    Thanks for the advice on the accursed gunport strip, Spy and Alistair, I will definitely follow it. I think part of the problem, as Spy suggests, is that these metal-cast carriages sit a bit high. But another problem -- which I think others have mentioned -- is that the ports don't easily line up at a consistent height from the deck. I also find -- apropos of your suggestion, Alistair, that the barrel can be adjusted -- that these metal carriages are harder to adjust that the wooden carriages that have an actual quoin. Spy, the ply doesn't seem to stain very well -- as I've found out in trying to stain the bulkheads -- since the laminated layers show through. The ply carriages would have to be painted. I have nothing against paint, and admire the color schemes that I've seen on other builds (and I also admire your ability to make those metal carriages look good), but in an attempt to make my own build at least somewhat distinctive, I'm trying to avoid the brush when possible. If I can successfully drag myself through this last day of the work week, my hope is to get a Syren carriage set up this evening. Cheers, and Happy Modelling! Martin
  7. Martin W
    Just a quick and brief update on the guns. I still haven't actually started on any assembly, but am trying out different options. First off, here's a comparison between RB gun & carriage with the kit gun & carriage: What stands out to me is that on the RB carriage the groove for the trunnion is too far back, well behind the axeltree & trucks, which would have the effect of putting the weight of the barrel over no support. Next, we have Chuck's carriage, unassembled, un-cut out. This is boxwood, and quite attractive: So attractive, in fact, that I'm thinking for the first time of abandoning my aspiration to fabricating my own carriages scratch out of the same heartwood I used for the capstan. To that end, I've gotten ahold of some stains -- not paint -- that might achieve a desirable red without concealing the grain. Here are the three I'm trying: From Left to right, we have the heartwood (in a circle) for comparison; then there's "Cranberry," which acquires a pinkness in this photo, but is actually the closest (in tint as well as space) to the heartwood. Then there's "Mahogany," which it much too brown for my taste. And finally, "Crimson," which in reality is just about as pink as it looks here. The Cranberry & the Crimson are both water based -- I think the Mahogany might be as well, but the label has a lot more warnings on it. For a final comparison, here's the Cranberry with two pieces of the heartwood: I think in this photo the proximity of the stain to the heartwood is clearer. Plus, you can see how the lovely grain of the boxwood still shows. On the basis of this experiment, I think I'm going to assemble Chuck's carriage stained, and see how it looks. On a related issue, I set the kit gun & carriage in a gun port, with the strip clamped in place. By "in place" I mean that I aligned the top of the strip with the tops of the bulkheads. Ok, so I'm not going to use the kit's gun, but doesn't it look too high? should the strip actually be a skosh higher than the bulkheads? Suggestions, opinions? Martin
  8. Martin W
    Hi Jon -- I like that trick of setting the spool of thread on the dowel. Getting those lengths right, just so that there's enough room for the lashing proved to be a royal pain for me. Like you, I tended to keep making the served lengths too long, and even when I made them shorter they seemed to be too long. At this scale, there just isn't much margin, and as the line gets thicker from being served, you tend to use up whatever margin you might have had. Good luck, Martin
  9. Martin W
    Hi Nils -- It's looking good. As for the rigging question, I find references in David Antscherl's FFM IV (the rigging volume) to all of these sails and their rigging except for the flying jib. I don't have a copy of Steel to hand, but am sure others would know what that source includes. Cheers, Martin
  10. Martin W
    Hi Daniel -- I am simply in awe of your skills in working with such fine detail. Beautiful and fascinating. Cheers, Martin
  11. Martin W
    Hi Foxy and Daniel -- thanks for checking in. I really am looking forward to seeing the ciphers in actuality, and only hope I can do them justice. Cheers, Martin
  12. Martin W
    Thanks for that, BE, the photo shows quite a bit of the fit & proportion. Daniel & I have finally linked up, and the PE sheet of letters & cyphers is speeding even now from Germany to the prairie. To say I have bated breath don't do it justice -- I'm pretty doggone excited. Although it is hard to judge precisely from the website, those cyphers are pretty impressive. And last week I ordered a carriage set from Syren just to see how it looked, and I have to say it is nice indeed: laser cut boxwood, that looks easy to assemble (ahem, at least before I get going), and well proportioned. Seeing it led me to order some red stain so that I can check out its appearance in proper color. Now, if only my job would stop interfering, I could get some modelling done! Cheers, Martin
  13. Martin W
    Alistair -- that's very generous, and I thank you. But I put an order in with Dafi just yesterday -- which is to say that I emailed him with a request for an order, but haven't heard from him. I think that in the interest of general knowledge at least one of us should use Dafi's ciphers, and I volunteer. Cheers mate, Martin
  14. Martin W
    Thanks a lot for that, BE. It's an interesting site that I've never even heard of. Now if only I can sneak an order in without the Missus finding out. Watch this space. Martin
  15. Martin W
    That's a good find, Nils. Some of the bamboo I've seen has a nice tight grain that would definitely make it suitable for the kind of work we do. And at that price, who could say no? Cheers, Martin
  16. Martin W
    Very nice, Nils. Where did you get the bamboo? Cheers, Martin
  17. Martin W
    That photo is quite revealing, BE. I did notice the difference in diameter, but without your experience couldn't really think of how it mattered or not. I think you're right that seeing them as a set will help. On a slightly different detail, I have this question: both you & Alistair attached the GR emblem on the barrel -- did you fabricate that somehow yourself -- and would you mind telling me your secret? It really makes a nice touch, even at this scale. Cheers, Martin
  18. Martin W
    A very interesting process, with admirable results. I don't think, however, I would know how to do the computer part. Cheers, Martin
  19. Martin W
    Hi BE, thanks for joining in. Actually, what I recall you saying is that you would have used the Syren gun barrels had they been available back when you were working on the guns. I took that as a slight leaning toward the Syren barrels. Didn't mean to put words in your mouth. I also ordered some swivel guns from Chuck, but can't remember the dimension off the top of my head. They're pretty far down the road for me, but but it was convenient to add them to an existing order. -- I'll also take this opportunity to mention that the simple jig you set up for assembling the carriages is one that I plan to copy. Nils -- thanks again for that info. In looking back through your log, I understand exactly what you've done, and it looks great. The RB barrels do look exactly right on your build. I also have to admire the initial mock up of the gun & rigging you did in advance. Cheers, Martin
  20. Martin W
    That is a terrific companionway, Vitus. The window/lights look to be exactly right. Did you just cut those out with an exacto? Cheers, Martin
  21. Martin W
    Interesting Nils -- so what does the barrel actually rest upon? I'm going to have to go back and study your photos some more. Thanks for the info. Martin
  22. Martin W
    Hi Alistair -- In fact, I've gone over that part of your log countless times (hmm, seems I've done the same with lots of other chapters from your log as well) -- I definitely count you among the "intrepid trailblazers" I referred to above. Nonetheless, I'm still trying out a few ideas, none of which has succeeded: e.g., I just came in from my outdoor workshop (ambient temp, 98, on the Fahrenheit scale -- which I guess is something like 40 on the Celsius; doesn't matter: it's hot), where I tried cutting some plugs with my full sized miter box. No luck, since there's just enough give that cutting a 1/4" piece start off right and ends at either 7/32 or 9/32. Still, I have one or two other ideas. Cheers, Martin
  23. Martin W
    Nils -- My understanding (from the diagram in FFM 1) is that the transom is the piece of wood forming the front of the carriage, with a concavity cut to cradle the gun barrel. It would also provide support and spacing for the carriage sides. Cheers, Martin
  24. Martin W
    Aha, Spy! I thought those carriages looked as though they'd been modelled after the kit carriages, copying their lines onto the walnut. But what really threw me were the eye bolts. I guess I hadn't thought even that cheap-o metal would be soft enough to drill. Nils -- did your RB carriage kits come complete with the transom, or how did you resolve that lack? Cheers, Martin
  25. Martin W
    That's interesting Nils. I actually ordered the 29 mm barrels from, following the lead of Blue Ensign. Now I wish I had also ordered some at the 32mm length, just to do a comparison. Isn't the RB barrell 32mm? Cheers, Martin

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