Piet

Impressive Mike. Very nice rigging ... looks like you've done it before

You have some well trained spiders, Mike.
 
Your rigging is excellent.

Firstly a big thank you to all who are watching and liking what they see. Its great to be able to share the log.
 
Now, here is a turnbuckle.
 
After 36 of them and a lot of string (!!!) here is what it looks like now.
 
 

Thanks very much gentlemen for your kind comments and suggestions, I'll try to remember them for the future. Thanks also to all who clicked the like button.
Yeah, Dennis but I'll wait making a new one when the ship is securely in the sea, that way I won't accidentally brush against again.
 
Well, I have completed the model and am about to start with the diorama base. This will take a little while because it's all new to me.
For now I like to post a few pics as "Java" looks like as of today.
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

Hope the test works well for you, good luck.
 
Cheers,

Nicely done Denis.
 
Cheers,

Thanks very much gentlemen for your kind comments and suggestions, I'll try to remember them for the future. Thanks also to all who clicked the like button.
Yeah, Dennis but I'll wait making a new one when the ship is securely in the sea, that way I won't accidentally brush against again.
 
Well, I have completed the model and am about to start with the diorama base. This will take a little while because it's all new to me.
For now I like to post a few pics as "Java" looks like as of today.
 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

Thanks Carl. Nice and rough. 
 
Thanks reklein, that made me 
 
Painted the shutters by hand. Not exactly straight lines but then it does not have to be.
Colors: Van Dyk green, titanium white and dark cadmium red.
 
As long as the vanes are perfect otherwise they won't turn properly. The directions say that this is the most important thing about building a mill. 
Marcus 

It is written in the instructions you can use a brush with that type of "hairs" for the thatch ...

Thank you Mark, Jan, Ken and Denis for your kind comments. Oh I understand that the like response does not mean you liked what happened but just to indicate that you read with understanding. I really appreciate your likes.  Actually what is bothering me emotionally much more is the time I was in Japanese concentration camps and then the Indonesian war for Independence after the war was with Japan was over. That is still very difficult talking about without choking up.
I am touched by your supportive reaction, that means a lot to me.
 
Okay, time to start putting the last few parts on the ship, checking for touch-ups and start with the diorama. See all of you on the next post.
 
Cheers,

# Piet, thanks for the info on lights and you are correct about the interest I have generated with the mill built.
 
We need a category on building windmills in the Scratch Building heading. Related to ship building would be a saw miill. The Dutch invented that to speed up ship building and they invented warehousing. Different tradesmen would make all the parts for building a ship and store it in the warehouse. Then when a contract was signed for a ship, the shipwright would go to the warehouse and pick up the pieces. Dutch ships were build in half the time compared to the Brits. (sorry, got off track) 
 
Excellent pen and ink drawing, such detail. 
 
# Jan, I think I will try that. It is cheap and readily available.
 
Most versions of windmills around here is the one I am building. You can always tell if a person of Dutch heritage lives in a house by the windmill in the front yard and kissing boy and girl statues in traditional Dutch clothing.  
 
Marcus 

Hello everyone and thanks to those who came visiting and clicked the like button, it's much appreciated.
 
This is my second attempt placing a post. Last evening, in the middle of pounding away at the keyboard it just disappeared into cyberspace. No idea what and why.
 
This post is for days 59 and 60, which brings us to march 19.
 
On day 59 I cemented the previously assembled propeller guards to the aft hull.  I then cleaned the hull area from some excess cement and painted the propguards and the aft hull section. That was all I could do.
 
I changed my mind on the depth charge launching ramps so on day 60 I cemented them to the fantail. I omitted the guide railings the kit provided because i did not see them on several photos or on the drawings. However, I made two posts to cement next to the anchor cable guide and cemented a piece of PE wire to the posts and the end of the railing as shown on the drawings. I think that this arrangement works for me.
 
With your indulgence I would like to add the missing details of "Java's" sinking and the death of my father with the crew he served with. As I have mentioned before the aft section of the ship has special meaning to me because that's where my father's battle station was. For a long time I did not know this and how he may have died. All this came to light for me in stages, separated by many years in between bits of information.
I have attached a few pictures to help you in following me.
 
The first bit of information I received was at a lecture by a surviving naval officer fron "Java." That was sometime in 1954 when I served in the Royal Air Force when based at the airbase in Deelen, near Arnhem, Netherlands. This officer talked about the Battle in the Java Sea and the sinking of "Java" and Admiral Doorman's flagship "de Ruyrter." After his talk was done he opened it for questions. Obviously my hand went up too and when it was my turn I introduced myself by rank and name. He instantly became quite excited and asked me if I was related to Adjudant van Warmerdam. I responded in the affirmative and told him the I am his son.  He immediately adjourned the meeting and told me to come see him. He invited me to the Officer's mess at the base and we had a long chat. The main point in our conversation was how my father was killed. He informed me that the aft gun fall on him due to the explosion. and that part of the ship almost immediately broke off and sank.
Now at last I had confirmation of his death and no longer had to worry about the possibility of him having been a POW of the Japanese and died in a POW camp.
 
The next bit of information came to me from Kevin Denlay, an Australian diver who was part of the crew of the research vessel looking for the wrecks of the ships sunk in the battles against the Japanese Imperial Navy. I stumbled on his writings and posted photos doing some research on my computer. I contacted him and in the conversations we had via e-mail I learned that the stern section lays about 100 yards behind the main body of the wreck. The most aft 15 cm gun was at the edge of the forward section, laying askew and half way below deck level. After I told him what the surviving officer mentioned to me back in 1954 he had to agree that this gun, the #10 most aft gun, did indeed appear to have fallen down. The support pillar had collapsed down taking the gun with it due to the hull's structural failure caused by the explosion. 
These two bits of information confirms it for me with Kevin's agreement, that this was indeed my father's battle station and must have died instantly. Kevin also told me that the stern section deck was missing as if peeled off like the lid of a sardine can.  He also told me that a part of the hull between the aft side of the AA gun deck and the forward end of the stern section seem to be missing.  This too corroborates what the Dutch Naval officer told me and the eye witnesses of the US cruiser Houston. They heard two explosions, the second following the first by several seconds. Both these witnesses saw parts of the hull and bodies fly over 100 feet into the air. Kevin never found the #9 gun on subsequent dives.
Now that the wreck has been lifted from the sea floor I think that Kevin would not hesitate allowing me to show the photo of the #10 gun. I think it is too important a piece of evidence to miss.
 
As a trained accident investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration I had no problem piecing these things together to form a clear picture of the events. This information is not known to anyone, beside my immediate family, till now.
The Japanese long lance torpedo struck "Java" on the port side aft of the armor belt. This is the weakest area of the ship and the power of the explosion exceeded the structural integrity many fold over.  It was also where the aft ammunition area is. It was stocked with depth charges, 15 cm shells, cordite packs and the 40 mm ammo for the Bofors guns. It does not take a genius to figure out what devastating results an exploding torpedo has in that confined area. 
 
To be sure - I am at piece with this - knowing that my father and the crew of "Java" died an honorable death and should be remembered for their heroism in fighting a non winnable battle. When my father came home the day before this battle he and I had a man to man talk where he told me that he would most likely not come back. He also gave me certain orders that I had to affirm with a handshake. I am happy to say that I have been able to achieve all I promised him, in spite of many roadblocks thrown in my way. I am sure that he would be very pleased with my accomplishments in life.
 
Okay, here are a pictures with further explanations
 

Propeller guards and depth charge ramps installed.
 

Closeup of propeller guard with the #10 gun. Compare this with Kevin Denlay's photo a few pics below.
 

Stern section
 

A low res picture of "Java" being resupplied and fueled in Tantjong Priok, Batavia (now Jakarta). My father was on her when this photo was taken.
 

Part of the propeller guard. As can be seen that the deck is missing.
 

A graphic illustration of my explanation.
 

A copy of my 1:50 scale drawings. The #10 gun support gave way due to the collapse of the support structure below it, caused by the explosion. The area below the stern deck holds the officer's quarters.
 

This is Kevin Denlay's photo of the #10 gun. This now is my father's grave marker, even though it is no longer on the sea floor.
 

This is a copy from Jeffrey Cox's book "Rising Sun, Fallen Skies." Perth had make an immediate turn port to avoid De Ruyter. Houston witnessed both sinkings.
 
Cheers,

Hope the test works well for you, good luck.
 
Cheers,

Hey Greg, good seeing you here. I was not aware that Face Book shows dioramas. I don't do FB though, long story about that. Has to do with my work for the US Federal Government I was part of. Need to keep a low profile, even on this forum I have to be careful with what words I use. Some trigger a "blip" on "their" screen   However, I have found and saved quite a few dioramas from YouTube, all very interesting with good info in the how to's.
 
@ Carl: My proposed diorama size is 24 X 8 inches. Display space poses a minor problem but I'll figure something out.  True about your comment on my 1:2000 scale diorama of a New England shipyard with two topsail schooners in the stocks - inside a 60 watt light bulb. I don't know if that is hot-linked in my signature. I needed a seeing-eye dog to help me with it   Am currently working on a 1:3000 scale diorama of Young America or some sort of a clipper ship. I set it aside for the time being to work on the "Java" but will continue after it is done and simultaneous work on the VOC ship again.
 
Good to see you here again John Allen, thanks for your kind comment. Yep, that's why I have my trusty seeing-eye dog at my side. No, just kidding - I use 3X reading glasses that gives me ample magnification. A 1:350 scale is not all that bad, just the delicate PE has posed a few problems, mainly that I am not familiar with it. In retrospect, I will do certain things different in the future - if I do another kit with PE - to prevent these thin wires to misbehave.
 
I started my next post on "Java" yesterday evening and half way through it just magically disappeared. Now I have to start all over again, bummer. Especially in that it will be very personal to me.  So stay tuned.
 
Cheers,

Thanks Carl for your faith inn my "prowess." Actually due to the added lower half of the hull will make this a little more - - ummm, challenging. Normally the sea part is about 1/4 or so inch thick but in my case it's a half inch from the keel to the waterline. My plan is to use a smidg'n over 1/4 inch of white caulking compound first, then lay the ship in it and let it cure. Then follow up with an epoxy fake water with a blue dye mixed in it to form the sea. It is supposed to allow time for some modeling but needs to be followed with another two part epoxy to model the waves.
 
In any case it'll be an experience and keep my fingers crossed.  Boris has send me a bunch of pics and URL's of dioramas. All look very good. There are plenty on the internet too. Yeah, I read that article in the NRG. That would not work for me because I need an opaque sea due to the lower hull.
 
Cheers,.

THat is a very nice drawing!
 
and a wip-watermolen is a very nice one indeed. Most gardenversions of a mill over here are wip-watermolens.
 
for those not familiar, This is the one, 
 
Jan

Wow Piet, I don't know how I missed this log but I found it now. You not only do a good job building but you also give us a lot of detail and the history of what you build. Always a pleasure!
 
Jesse

Mark has a good idea there........I've never tried to split hairs     I've uses thin wire from those little motors........the ones you get from toys and such.  the armature wire is very thin......almost as thin as a human hair.   nice progress........too bad about the flag  

A very good job well done, Piet. At that scale getting it done so well ... hats off gents

Piet,
 
On the thread "problem"with the twist, etc....  one way is paint the thread (in place on the jig) with 50/50 water and white glue. The other would be starch.  I don't envy your eyes and than holding your breath will doing all this.  

Excellent work on the rigging Jesse, think you've captured the scale beautifully.  The colours really look spot on as well complimenting the rest of the model.  Well done.

congratz on making it to the rigging stage......quite a journey to get to this stage     she's a labor of love......and your off to a good start  

Looks great, Jesse! 
 
Thomas

good luck