Justin P.

This is just beautiful work... if I get this point in my own work, I'll have lived beyond what I think I can achieve at the bench.

This looks great, following along.

I look forward to following this build, love this Conny.

Welcome from Poulsbo, WA... would also like to get into contact with the North Seattle club!

Great video, quick question: What is the 7 volume set on the shelf titled "Royal Navy"

Indeed, cant wait!

Do you mean mold release from the wood or the rubber? Here is another view...

Have a small side project going, Mini Mamoli Brittania and for about a week I had the solid hull clamped into a rubber gripped Dremel vice while laying down the deck planking. Pulled it out today and to my suprise there is a darkening of the wood where the clamp comes into contact with the hull... No moisture in the shop, the wood has sat for at least several years drying... cant figure out what would cause the discoloration, wasn't clamped all that tightly... Just curious. Explain like I'm five...

When I was 15 or 16 I bleached an entire Cedar Barn for my Biology teacher. It was a great summer job, I ruined much clothing but to answer your question' Yes very much wood can be bleached.

This work is inspiring.

Im not actually having much luck finding acrylic MM primer for sale anywhere... seems like a rather rare item!

Well... I wish it were as easy as inventing a scenario and applying blanket treatment protocols. We are often faced with treatment problems that push the limits of what we would wish to do, and in those instances we would as you suggest, replace the rigging that needed it, as Ive already said. My guiding principal is not made up, and is not one that was developed in a vacuum. It is what guides all conservators of all things... Each object and in this case, each ship-model, would be evaluated independently and treated on an individualized basis. Your original advice to simply not attempt to save any original material without regard to context, individual condition of rigging or even process would be viewed widely among conservators as an incorrect or even irresponsible approach. We/You simply do not have the ability to say that the rigging of all old ships is rotting and not worth saving, BUT we/you do have the ability to evaluate each model on a case-by-case basis utilizing the guiding principal that we would save what we could. I understand that you view threads/cords used in rigging as somehow in some kind of shockingly quick state of decay, however I am here to tell you as someone who has spent many years studying, writing and researching the decay of cellulosic based materials such as flax, linen and cotton that with care, consolidants and environmental control we can actually slow some of these processes down. I teach a graduate course on this very subject at a major university, so trust me when I say: saving the original materials is possible and well worth the effort if the right circumstances exist; which is more often than you would think. Further... I regularly see materials of this sort happily live into their 500 and 600th year of use. It all depends on the individual item. The original project posted discussed rigging that was 250ish years old, and in my experience could concievable be in a state that with the right conditions and repair, might live another 250 years happily. If it were a situation where the rigging on this project were in such a state that they would only last another year, then Im sure the conservator would choose to replace the rigging, but only AFTER carefuly documenting, saving and very carefully archiving the patterns, knots and materials used in the original. Believe it or not, I have spent days unraveling and drafting sewing patterns for original structures... its part of the job. Now... to answer your question. The first thing I would do is manage expectations and explain all this to the Board. I would share many examples of treatment scenarios and other work which would closely communicate what they are likely to receive from me; a conservator. I would explain to them (as I would hope their curators would have already done) that much valuable information is at risk of loss and/or found in original materials and this is why a conservative approach is preferred. Now... if that is not enough, they are free to go somewhere else but they would be warned that they are not likely to get something else from another reputable conservator. A private citizen with no formal training, accreditation or peer-review might happily do it; and I wouldnt stop them. But I have my career and reputation to protect. I am not bound to them and their models and they are not bound to my guiding principal. However... if I worked for them they would get what I recommend and no more. I have regularly told clients (mostly dealers) No, I wont do it and walked away from thousands of dollars in work, that is the life. A ship-model restored sells better than one that has been conserved precisely because restoration replaces much of the signs of age, leaving little of the original work behind. In the case of incomplete rigging, it may very well be that I choose to literally fix loose ends and leave the lost rigging lost, it really depends. Again...in some cases, replacing the rigging is the only option Im sure, but SHOULD NOT be the go to practice. I hate the feeling that Im in some kind of argument here, is there no value as you see it in attempting to save original components? The nice thing is, truly, that you are not bound to a conservators approach. You could do whatever it is you want, but be warned, monetary value is often lost in inappropriate restoration activities which is why I ALWAYS tell people to slow down, call a conservator and THEN make a decision.

With regard to museum, art gallery and library artifacts, yes. The current standard of practice calls for extensive documentation, condition reports and photographic recording of all work completed by conservators. In 200 years, a researcher would see clearly in the catalog record that conservation work had been undertaken, by whom, when and to what extent. They would easily be able to determine what was original to the piece and what was the addition, subtraction and manipulation of the conservator. You are fundamentally right though, she is by doing anything changing the ship. However, leaving it as is would be be a disservice to the piece and the collection, while doing too much would be the same. The conservator lives in the middle... In doing some and not all, the research 200 years from now can still enjoy what is left of the original... the point is to stabilize and lessen the distraction overall of the evidence of age and misuse/handling. Now the object lives in the Museum it will have a better life and the original components will last much longer.

What primer did you use for the Model Masters?

If you zoom in on the photo you should be able to read 98% of the text. Sorry for the poor quality! it was the Annual Meeting of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. I am a conservator of books and paper by profession, but it is a meeting of all sorts of conservators.

Well Im not trying to sway you. Merely trying to present you with a bit more of the nuance of the nuance of the work. It is not insistence that drives my want to save the original material but really the core of the job. If I cannot within my skill, ability and materials knowledge do so, then I will find someone or some way to; or if left with no other option, describe, document and ultimately as you suggest replace it. However your advice to just go ahead and replace it based on nothing more than the fact that it is degrading would lead (if followed broadly) to a lot of lost material. Honestly, that was the attitude of many restorers of the earlier part of this century and now widely viewed as good-hearted but misplaced. Again... context plays an extremely important role. To your analogy: there are many examples of contemporary artistic works which pose the very same problem you point out. Digital photographic prints come immediately to mind, but yes even the work of the artist you describe. To follow your analogy, re-rigging the ship is more or less the same as repainting the painting rather than trying to save the original canvas. In many instances we conservators deal with such problems by replacing the carrier, or in this case the rotting canvas if only to save the larger work. By utilizing methods to face, relaminate and transfer the painting to a new carrier. BUT ONLY if the artist allow, if they are dead then ownership and provenance are the next priority. However I would say that it is hard to make the comparison between a painting and a ship model, especially when considering the rigging versus the blank canvas material. They are not, to my mind, inherently the same. Also, I didnt mean to suggest that a restorer COULDNT duplicate the rigging as it was done, but more questioned wether they would attempt to do so at all. If you can save it, you must and if you cant then every attempt must be made to preserve artistic intent. If you choose otherwise, then your practice would not stand up to the stringent ethical standards and peer-review that we American conservators must abide by, and one step further you would not at all be legally allowed to work as a conservator in Europe, let alone be certified. Being a European trained, American peer-reviewed conservator means I have this conversation daily with the work and clients I have. I love this kind of debate... I think ship models provide an extra layer of complexity to the issue... Truthfully, there is very little room for ambiguity on this, which is why there are conservators and there are restorers. (Incidentally, some european languages translate conservator as restaurer).

Here was an interesting poster project shared at a recent conference I attended in Chicago, IL. I thought it might be interesting to you all as well. I have received written permission from the author to share this photograph.

I doubt she shortened the line, it looks like she was making it longer... There were two splices where she ADDED material... And yes, to a degree any intervention changes the character, etc BUT some forms of intervention are minimal and others are extreme. The conservator chooses the minimal wherever possible and restorer (often driven by other motives) generally takes the extreme. One must keep context in mind. For a collector, replacing the rigging and restoring the sails might be chosen and thus would be considered a restoration. Whereas a museum, which has a duty to protect the evidence and authenticity of the objects must choose a more conservative approach. I remember in one particular piece, the sails where made from a antiquated silk fabric not often used today... likely that no modern materials would be appropriate for a replacement (from a conservation standpoint).

I agree, in part... the conservator must make that call. In this particular project, my guess was that the cause of the damage was more incindental than passive or age related... Again, this was not a restoration. This was a cleaning and then some stabilization with some it-situ repair, or otherwise a conservation treatment. I dont actually know what caused the damage to the rigging, but I do know that unless over 90% of the rest of rigging was damaged then there is no reason to tear it all down and do it over. Especially because your not likely to do it the same way thereby totally erasing the original creators works and imparting your own. Thats a big no-no...

While I understand the heart of what your saying here, I have to counter and point out that any Conservator working on an "historical" model (technical or non-technical) should strive tor retain ALL original materials whether judged ephemeral or not. Conservation and restoration are at their core fundementally different concepts which come with fundementally different approaches to the work. Replacing all the rigging, in my opinion, would be a restorative act; while repairing and retaining to whatever degree is possible would be a conservation approach. It is not our job as conservators to do any favors for the next conservator. Our duty is to the artifact and the public. We often prefer to return original artifacts to the collections knowing full-well that they will continue to deteriorate and we do everything possible to understand that detioration, and take preventive measures. You'll note that I left out all the slides of her sophisticated materials research. First and foremost she is a scientist... do not take for granted the level of technical analysis that goes into this work. In order to provide the public the greatest access and information, while preserving the dignity and authenticity of the piece we therefore must go to extreme measure to extend the life of all materials associated with the item. When making these judgements we weigh use/storage and exhibition as main contributors. In this particular case, the model was historic, the rigging deemed original and it lived in a environmentally controlled museum quality environment. Further degradation of the rigging was already halted/slowed as much as it could be (to the molecular level.) The model would not be handeled and would concievably be the perfect candidate for the fussy work of rigging conservation. All that said, MY professional advice would be to not attempt restoration/conservation of any kind unless you are a trained professional conservator, most importantly if you are considering such work on an historic model. There is no doubt someone with professional training is available in your area and you can consult AIC for a peer-reviewed list of professionals by discipline. While you may wish to conduct the work yourself on your own collections, conservators will generally offer advice or point out great reference materials for no charge. There is a line, and much of what we take for granted as ephemeral objects actually have a great deal of importance to those who use these models and collections as research tools. Remember that with everything you do, undo and redo you are effectivly changing forever the original character of the object and potentially erasing historic information about practices, materials, contemporary thinking and tradition.

Lots of great tips and info being shared here, thanks all....

Hi All, I am a professional book and paper conservator and this week was in attendance at the American Institute for Conservation's annuall meeting in Chicago. While typically I generally stay within my own professional discipline and associated talks, I had to break out and catch the very interesting talk given by the Junior Conservator for Ship Models, Davina Kuh Jakobi from the Rijks Museum. Her talk was generally discussing the dilemmas all conservators face when dealing with cultural heritage arifacts wether books, chairs or in this case ship models. I found her distinctions between what is considered "technical" models and "non-technical" models fascinating, and her discussion of the process they used for identifying the model she was working with even more interesting. I acquired her permission verbally to share some of the photo's I took of her slides and spoke with her briefly about NRG and MSW. She implied that she often peruses these pages quietly, so Davina if your reading this, Cheers! Its my belief that her project would make a wonderful submission to the Journal so I plan to reach out to NRG editors and Davina to see if something could happen. Hopefully she is looking for somewhere to publish! I left much of the technical slides out as per professional courtesy, but I think included enough for you all to get a jist of what was discussed. Her work restoring the silk sails was just marvelous! Also her techniques for splicing the old broken rigging very clever... If anyone has questions, I'm happy to try to answer or if maybe Davina if she catches this thread will pop in and answer herself. I do hope she does! I'm sorry the quality of the photos are so poor, it was dark and all I had was my phone!

I generally skip the booze when working, buts a product of never quite know when my wife or kids are gonna interupt and need something fixed/installed/delivered/painted/mowed/assembled or played with #dadlife. Otherwise, my essential tools these days are patience, iPad for MSW and a good set of sanding sticks. #fairallday. That said... single malt, super peaty, fire and I'm happy, of course happier when following a particularly productive session in the shipyard without breaking anything.

wow. thats impressive.

Anybody else work in there garage or uninsulated/unheated space? Just curious how some of you builders get through the colder months without moving he entire shipyard indoors... the admiral would never approve.