Jack12477

If there was any questions of what 3D printing will do for modeling...
 
This represents the answer....
 
Very well done....

Can I be a remote member of your club😂🤣
 
Better than the brass rod and board tool I made. 

Its possible but these are really meant to be disposable or have a limited lifespan...they wont last forever as you cut away the loose ends and secure your hanks with glue, etc.   They will probably get messed up a bit.  Some people will have them last longer than others based on my observations over the years, LOL.   Hence why  3D printing them was too expensive an option.  But they will last for a few hundred coils if you arent messy with the glue and a terror with a sharp blade. You can just toss them and buy another set once they are used up.   They are cheap at $12 for the 3 of them.   Basically 4 bucks per tool.   So they dont have to look pretty.  
 
Chuck

Rope hank tool is brilliant.   Would cherry be an option?   (My serving machine is aging beautifully and looks great in the shop!)

I am still nursing a bad FLU and Sinus infection.   I have to add it to my site and will reopen at some point today or early tomorrow.  This has been a bad flu season.   It has been a couple of weeks and I still feel like crap.  But I got bored and decided to finish the design for the ROPE HANK TOOL.   I cant just sit around and watch TV, LOL.
 
This tool is a result of an antihistamine high and dizzy dreamlike vision.  It just came to me.  It is so simple its almost stupid, LOL.  I was trying to prepare for a tech session I am doing at our next club meeting.   "How to Belay a line to a cleat or pin".   So after using the traditional method of making a rope hank I just said to myself there must be a better way to do this consistently and quickly.   
 
So now I have a little mock up to show how to belay a line and this tool to demonstrate how to make a Rope Hank.  My club will probably do a lunch where everyone gets these and gives it a try.
 
 

That is great. Much better than the two pin method I use. 

I didn’t see it listed on your website, but then it also closed for maintenance. 😊

Looks like a very cool (and useful) tool!  And I'm an easy target for simple yet effective tools like this, Chuck!  As soon as I see it in your online store, I'll snag one.  Will be very helpful in eventually needing to make a bunch of hanks on my Constitution.
 
By the way, your 3D printed cannon and carriage looks awesome!  Assembled and painted one as a test.  Sweet! 

I would add IHYLS (I Hope You Learned Something) to that list. Sometimes his pronunciations can be a bit jarring, but, he does inject a good deal of wit and humour in his videos. I think Rex has mentioned him in a couple episodes of his own.
 
But yes, wading through the tsunami of AI slop that is propagating through YouTube is getting to be a pain.

I wonder if it is worth creating a post on here where we can curate a list of reliable, accurate and non-AI military history channels that are worth watching? 
 
Andy

Thank you all for your support, Señores, it really helps to get out of a slump, to read your suggestions and supportive thoughts.

 
 

Thanks Dan and Phil. I like the idea with the base board, but will first try, to get the Lotus halves united without one. Yesterday, I glued together the first snapped connection on the suspension with a big blob of CA. Poco a poco, step by step, I will reinforce all the sensitive connections with CA and then hopefully get the halves together.

Cheers Rob

 

Hi the engine is very well modelled and go's together easily the tricky part is the pipes 
Can't wait to see your build 
Martyn 

I installed the "Hangar" on the base, to make sure everything fits: 
 

 

 

 

 
Yves

Thank you a lot Andrew for your nice comments. I appreciate them!
 
Thank you Ken, I am glad that you like my work. Yes, Airfix is very good.
 
Wow Martyn, thanks for your great comment.
 
Best regards,
Dan

Than you Jan for your kind comment which I appreciate greatly. I am also happy that you commented positively the pictures. About the setup, I have to admit that my setup is very basic and simple as shown in the picture below. I just use what I had in the house. In the past, I was used to use two 5000K table lamps, but recently I like to use natural light diffused by the window light curtains. I hope that my basic approach is not disappointing anyone.

I always tend to stay as basic as possible in many of my activities and step up with equipment only when necessary. Of course, the drawback of this simple setup is that you have to wait for a bit of sunshine and this is sometimes a bit of a difficulty in winter here in Holland 😉. What I do to get best results is to use a very small diaphragm aperture to get the maximum depth of field and use the maximum tele lens setting to flatten the perspective. Both of these things call for extremely long exposure times which require clearly the use of a tripod. For triggering, I use a timer, so I don't need to touch the camera to shoot a picture. In addition, I very often take several 'bracketed' under/over exposed shots and select the one that I like best.
I hope you like my, perhaps, too long explanation,
warmest greetings,
Dan
 

Thank you Chris!
 
Thank you Rob for your positive comment. I also like the B&W shot version, I often play with that.
 
Thank you Yves for your enthusiastic comments about my model! Yes, the latest Airfix kits are getting really nice.
 
Best regards,
Daniele

Introducing the SYREN ROPE HANK TOOL
 
You will get three tools to make three different size Hanks.   These produce hanks to be neatly placed over belaying pins and cleats.   And yes another tool is forthcoming that will allow you to easily make round rope coils to be placed on deck, for examples for gun tackles.  This HANK tool produces elongated coils to mimic the correct shape when hung as would be effected by gravity.
 

Some assembly required.  Its really simple.   Just glue the small button or coil plug to the top of handle.  There is a laser etched reference to make placement easy.   I did sand the char off the top face and back of the handle.  But that's it.  There is no need to remove the char from the edges.   Once glued up...I applied a coat of Wipe-On-poly.  Lastly I rounded off ...or just knocked the sharp edge off the top edge of the coil plug.  Not much but just to soften it.  The small nail will be needed later...keep it handy but it is NOT permanently positioned.
 

Now you are ready to make a rope hank...Just grab a length of rope.  I am using Syren .018 rope which is common when rigging a ship with ropes belayed to pins or cleats.
 
Just stick the end into the slot to secure the rope on the left side....NO GLUE.   It will stay just fine.

 
Then wrap the rope around the coil plug 3 or 4 times.  I would NOT go around more than for times although you might want to try 5 times with thinner thread.   You dont want these hanks to be too heavy and clunky on your model.  TIP...I found it easier to rotate the tool rather than wrap the rope around the plug.  It actually helps prevent the rope from twisting as it sometimes does when you wind it around the plug.   As I was rotating the handle I just instinctively pressed each wrap down so they were neatly pressed together with no space between each wrap.  Nice and neat.  Go in a clockwise direction.
 

Now its time to take that handy little nail.   Insert it into the hole on the back of the tool.   Just press fit the nail into the hole so it is secure.  Take the rope through the notch to the back and around the nail.   Counterclockwise.  Easy-Peasy.

Bring the rope up the other side so it crosses over and then bring it back through the notch to the front of the tool.

Then take the rope and just stick it in the notch on the right side of the tool to secure it.   Not too tight but snug as you can see.

This is what it looks like on the back side...

Now I am using polyester rope from Syren so I must use CA to secure the rope hank in a few spots before moving forward.  Not a lot as you dont want to glue it to the plug .  I am using medium CA and applying with a toothpick.   Not a lot remember.  Just a little goes a long way.  If you are using Cotton rope you can use watered down white glue or Elmers.   
 
I start by added a little across all four coils at the top within the notch.
 

Then a little bit where the two ends touch the bottom coil.   This needs to be secure because we will be cutting these off soon.

You can add a little on each side across all four strands too.  Not a lot!!!  Wipe it away to prevent any staining or shiny spots.

The very bottom too!!

And lastly, flip it over do the bottom.  DONT glue the hank to the plug!!!

Next you can pull the pin....

Using one of the four small tools included or whatever you find easier,  even a tweezers or bent wire...you can experiment with whatever is easier for you, I found the tools worked just great.   There are different style tips.
 
Push that loop from the back of the tool through to the other side....the front.   Push it through under the rope coils.

Then grab it and pull it over the top of the hank.   This should be taught and the tighter you pull it towards the back the longer this loop will be in the end.   You can adjust how tight depending on how long a loop you will need to hang the hank on your belaying pin rail or cleat.

Add a drop of glue...

Then go around a second time.  Its not difficult at all.

Use the nail or whatever to pull it towards the back.   Adjust how tight to make this final loop as long as you need it.  If you want a shorter loop, dont pull so tight.   You get the idea.

Add more glue to the top to secure that loop....and then you can start freeing your hank from the tool.  Use a sharp NEW blade to cut the loose end.  Cut is as close to that bottom coil as you can without damaging the actual coil.

Discard that loose end....a nice clean cut.  Repeat on the other side.

Then simply lift the finished hank off the plug.   Hopefully you havent over done it with the glue.   You shouldnt have any glue that really touches the plug or handle while you did all that wrapping.   If you were successful, you should be able to push that hank off very easily from the back side.  Use one of the four small tools provided  as shown below.

And thats it....congrats you did it.   Now repeat because you will need a lot of these.   It goes quickly and makes some really neat rope hanks.

Thanks for watching.
 

Coming Soon,  if there is interest....
 
Syren Rope Hank Tool
 
Make three different sizes of rope hanks.   I have been using similar for years but decided to tweak my design so others might want it, and it would be easy to mfg.  Originally I was going to 3D print this but that would take a while to do and be very expensive.  It used a lot of resin.   I found that just laser cutting a simple design worked even better actually and is very cheap.  After many design changes I have finally finalized my design...
 
Its very simple as you can see.  My guess is you will see quite a few copies really soon,  just remember where you saw the original after it shows up on Temu and on the ZHL site, LOL.  Patent Pending!!!
 
I will have a step by step after a take some photos of the process.  Make perfect rope hanks every time!!!!
 


 
 

I was reviewing Page 1 of this log and was reminded of Andy's recommendation of the Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles YouTube channel. In the last year or so, the number of military history channels on YouTube has absolutely exploded. Most of the new channels are total el crappola grande -- poorly researched, AI-generated, text-to-voice narrated cash cows, and many times they are simply re-uploading someone else's content. One often has to know a lot about the subject already in order to properly judge whether the channel offers anything of substantive value. With that in mind, I thought I'd take a moment to recommend a few additional aviation channels whose research chops I trust and whose content is engaging. In no particular order, these are:
Rex's Hangar (an Aussie lad who does a mix of both short and long videos; he also has videos consisting of shorter videos stitched together to make videos up to four hours long -- perfect for background audio during build sessions!) Military Aviation History (This channel is run by a German researcher, so he makes extensive use of original German source material.) Blue Paw Print (design and engineering deep-dives done in exquisite CGI renderings) Hope you enjoy these!

Chris, is there any part of building this kit that isn't fiddly? 

Work has commenced on the fiddly tail wheel assembly.
 

 
I can foresee some stability issues with this structure once the wheel has to bear the weight of the finished model, so I plan to incorporate some judicious stiffening with CA. The interior portion of the wheel well will only be partially visible if the viewer were to turn the model over while viewing it -- which would of course subject the viewer to the very real possibility of physical harm at the hands of the model's irate builder!

You got me Gary, I´m in. Enjoy the cruise, it will not be easy at all times, but building MFH kits is very rewarding. Take your time and always check twice, specially where large components, like body or chassis are involved. You often have to browse through the whole manual, to see, where everything fits. Special care should be taken with doors, bonnet and trunk, moving parts, where a good fit is essential.

Cheers Rob

Don't light the fuse, until all the lines have seized tight - you'll shoot your eye out!

As others said, leave it alone for a while, then come back to it with a fresh mind. 
Cheers,
Dan

Some vanity shots, before disaster struck. I finished the cockpit with the driver, the instrument panel with added wiring and the steering wheel. Would I have known, how prominent the clumsy hands of the driver figure where, I may have given a first shot of sculpting a try.
I added the rear wing without difficulties and installed some braided lines instead of Tamiya vinyl tubes. Therefore, I pinned all the fittings with 0,5 mm brass rod.

















Cheers Rob

After a lot of detailwork, I can see the finish line slowly. I added many fittings to the engine, added the rollbar, tank filler and other bits and pieces. I installed the roll bar, which hasn´t even the height of the drivers helmet, so far for security.
The cockpit fairing was finished, with PE-fasteners, rear view mirrors and the yellow tinted clear part. The rear wing is prepared, but needs some curing time before mounting.







Cheers Rob