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Louie da fly

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  1. Louie da fly
    Moving onto the axe: Drilling a hole in the figure's hand to take the axe-shaft: And starting on the mail I discovered that this is about the limit I can manage with the tools I have; I think it looks much more like the real thing than the previous version. But it's very labour-intensive and fiddly and I ended up wondering why I'd started. Merciful oblivion covers the next 8 hours or so: And here's the figure with the mail all complete. Next - painting! Steven
  2. Louie da fly
    Roughing out the back of the figure - again, cutting away around the bits closest to the surface. Giving it a bit of shape: and refining it still further. Now drilling holes to separate the legs. Have to be very careful with this - if the hole intrudes into the wood you want to keep (such as a leg), there's no way of recovering it. Roughing out the shape of the legs and cutting away behind the shield. More to come, Steven
  3. Louie da fly
    I finally decided I wouldn't be able to live with the coarsely detailed "Russian tractor armour" the Varangian guard was wearing, so I carved a new one with finer mail, this time with a two-handed battle-axe - as described by Princess Anna Komnena in "The Alexiad" her biography of her father Emperor Alexios I, "The Varangians too, who carried axes on their shoulders, regarded their loyalty to the Emperors and their protection of the imperial persons as a pledge and ancestral tradition, handed down from father to son, which they keep inviolate, and will certainly not listen to even the slightest word about treachery." I timed how long it took to make from go to whoa - about 8 hours to carve the figure, and another 8 to do the mail. Never again! I also photographed the full sequence. First a drawing of the figure in spirit pen, which I photocopied (in case of Murphy's Law) and stuck the copy onto a piece of pear wood. Then cut around the outline with a coping saw. I left a decent amount of wood below the figure so I had something to hold onto while I was working on it. Next, cutting around the head - firstly this is one of the parts that are closest to the surface of the piece of wood and second I like to do the face early because if I get that wrong I might as well throw the figure away and start again. Cutting around the head first, trying to retain as much of the picture as possible for as long as possible. I use a scalpel with a No. 11 blade for all this work. It's very important to use a very sharp one. Cutting the main features of the head Now moving down to the arms and shoulders, cutting progressively further and further back. The right arm sticks out forward, as he'll be holding an axe in it. Now moving onto the shield, which is also fairly far forward. Again I cut around the outline first and then cut away a bit to form the hand that's holding the shield. Here is the figure with the front elevation roughed out. Next draw an outline to guide the coping saw in cutting off the waste at the back of the figure. After cutting. Still leaving a good grip to hold the figure while it's being worked on. More to come, Steven
  4. Louie da fly
    Very narrow and not very stable. Apparently the rowers could tell if someone was walking about on the top deck by the alterations to the trim. Steven
  5. Louie da fly
    A nice size. About the only reliable dimension I know of for the length of galleys is that the length of the ship is determined by the interscalium (distance between the rowing benches). The optimum is about a yard, give or take - longer and the ship becomes too heavy; shorter and the oarsmen get in each other's way. So a twenty-oared galley would have ten interscalia = about 30 feet - plus the length of the prow and the stern. If you want to make a trireme, you might be interested in this video - Enjoy! Steven
  6. Louie da fly
    Very nice work, Luponero. This is a very impressive model, beautifully detailed. Steven
  7. Louie da fly
    Just out of interest, Vic, how long are these galleys? I realise they're not all to the same scale, but they all seem to be of similar length. Steven
  8. Louie da fly
    Yes, contemporary representations often don't bother to show the blocks etc, and sometimes don't even show the ropes. One source that might be helpful is at http://nautarch.tamu.edu/academic/alum.htm - you may find archaeological artefacts that will help. TAMU covers ships from the entirety of time and often has papers on this kind of thing. Steven
  9. Louie da fly
    Um . . . what mediocre workmanship? They look very good to me. In my experience, ship modellers worry far more than necessary about tiny failings in their own work which nobody else can see. If you're really concerned about some error, just regard it as a learning experience rather than as a fault - something you'll handle better next time. But just keep on with these galleys - I think they look great, and something to be proud of. Steven
  10. Louie da fly
    Changed the frames a bit, and worked out the approximate line of the upper deck. Starting to look better, but now I have to put in the deck beams and adjust them to get a smooth line. Because I'm fixing up something existing there's a lot of ad hoc work to be done, and I'm making the deck beams from balsa because it's much easier to trim and adjust by trial and error with than a harder timber. And I've started repairing the superstructure in readiness to put the sides back in place - a lot of minor breaks in the planking and particularly the little arched gunports (for small arms). Cutting a small piece of walnut sheet the same thickness as the planking putting it in the gap; and gluing it in place so it overlaps into the arch opening on each side. Taking note of the next gap to be repaired; And gluing a strip of walnut in place to fill the gaps. Photos of this scale and definition bring it home to me that at 17 years old I had a lot to learn about model ship building. But it's nice to be restoring something that's both a very sentimental possession and a record of my own earlier life. Steven
  11. Louie da fly
    Mark, I've already made one guardsman in lamellar armour (that's like upside down scale) - see my post of - ye gods! Is it that long ago? - May 14, 2017. I'd like to have the other one wearing mail because they're so different (and were both common in the Empire). After a bit of study I've roughed out a preliminary bodge-up for the siphon, based mostly on Richard Windley's design. I still think it was rather poor form, however, that though his design is simply an improvement on the Haldon siphon that was successfully tested 6 years previously the History Channel programme apparently gave Haldon no acknowledgment at all. My bodge-up is just bits of balsa and bamboo skewers, to get the spatial relationships worked out for it to fit on the forecastle, and also amend the forecastle itself to make sure it will fit. Note that I've made the pump handle single-sided, because there's so little room on the forecastle and there's no need for a double-sided handle. Steven
  12. Louie da fly
    You're making a very nice spread of galleys of different eras and locations. I like it. Steven
  13. Louie da fly
    Thanks everyone who added a "like". Grandpa Phil, Goetzi and Patrick, thanks for the comments. Druxey, what can I say? The two-handed axe is the Queen of the battlefield. Before the battle began a bunch of axemen stood in front of the English line swinging their axes around their heads. I thought it looked a bit Hollywood/Disneyland, but apparently the guys on the Norman side were horrified . . . Christos, thank you very much. I'm not totally certain I've reached the limit, but I suppose unless I make another figure and try even finer detail, I won't know. I'm still thinking about that one. Pat; thanks regarding the mail, but I won't be doing any more armoured figures - I did one earlier in the log and this is the only extra I'll be making. The Emperor is usually shown with just two guards and a bunch of courtiers. On the other hand, I still have to make 50 oarsmen, but I'm intending to cast them. Carving's too much work. I'm going to have to do a fair bit of design work for the siphon. Might take awhile. Steven
  14. Louie da fly
    I've been working on the forecastle and have started thinking about the Greek Fire projector or siphon which will be mounted on it. There's been a lot of work done on theoretical reconstructions of the siphon, particularly by John Haldon who is probably the world authority on the subject, having worked on it for 25 years. Here's a Youtube video of a reconstruction in action to John Haldon's plans, even using the light grade crude oil from central Turkey that was available to the Byzantines. Funny thing is, an independent guy called Richard Windley (?) made a reconstruction in 2008 which has considerable advantages, particularly in that it can be operated by a single person. In Byzantine times only a single crew member, one of the lead oarsmen - was the siphonator, with the duty of operating the projector. However, this reconstruction doesn't have a brazier heating the oil, he uses a modern fuel and the directing mechanism seems a bit frail. And unless I've missed something, though his reconstruction is obviously based on Haldon's design he doesn't seem to give Haldon credit. Very worthwhile information in both, and I'll be ensuring the shielding against heat and fire is of a similar level to these. My own model will combine aspects of both these designs. But it won't be made workable - I'm not completely nuts. Steven
  15. Louie da fly
    Fascinating work, Dick. Very interesting to follow your working out of the structure. Steven
  16. Louie da fly
    Latest progress on my Varangian guardsman. I've done my best to simulate mail (NOT chain mail, please - that's a term invented in the 19th century and unknown in the Middle Ages), but it's rather difficult. To show what real mail looks like and at the risk of blowing my own trumpet, here's a photo of me and my Hearth troop when I portrayed Leofwine, the brother of King Harold, at the re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings on the actual battlefield on the 940th anniversary in October 2006 (I'm in the back row, fifth from the left, with my hand resting on the axe-head.) To duplicate that isn't easy in a carving at 1:50 scale. Here's a few contemporary carvings at a considerably larger scale (probably 1:1) I first did a test piece on the figure I'd already decided wasn't good enough to go on the ship. Here's one method, which didn't satisfy me: and another, which seemed to work better: and here's the guardsman with the mail in progress: It's a bit coarse and I'm not sure if I'm totally happy with it, but at this scale anything with a finer "weave" is likely to be invisible. I'd hate to discard this guy after all the hard work I put in - we'll see how it goes when he's finished. Steven
  17. Louie da fly
    Oh no, Druxey. You got the quote correct. I was just quoting the next line, to keep the game going. But there was only ever one mamelon - it was a hill in the Crimean campaign, which looked to the French soldiers like a mamelon (=nipple). Both it and a ravelin are/were defensive works. Alan, I look forward to the progress on the figurehead, even if you end up throwing it away and doing another. But I find in my own carving (see my dromon build log) that once it's roughed out you just "cut away anything that doesn't look like Bellerophon and Pegasus". The most difficult thing seems to be the face, and I usually concentrate on that first, once the roughing out is done, because if you stuff that up there's no point in doing the rest of it. It's like anything else in a build, though - patience and care, and don't hurry. And do it again if you're not satisfied - you're the one who has to be happy with it. Steven
  18. Louie da fly
    "when I know what is meant by "mamelon" and "ravelin" I'd never heard of a mamelon so I looked it up. Worth checking out. Revisiting the spear vs javelin thing for a moment, spear is the generic term for a "knife on the end of a stick" - pikes, javelins and lances (and assegais, for that matter) are all spears, but their functions are different. A (military) javelin does have a head, but it's usually very small, as it's a thrown weapon. Most javelins are quite short - compared with, say, a 15 foot pike a javelin's more likely to be between 6 and 8 feet long. Love the figurehead, by the way. Any progress since the last photo? Steven
  19. Louie da fly
    Just finished this book. I found it very informative, not only about the battle itself but the strategic, religious and political circumstances surrounding it, and the "mythology" it generated. If I have any criticism, it's that in attempting to demolish the "Christians good - Turks Bad" that normally accompanies traditional accounts of the battle, he goes a bit too far the other way. He makes the point that for all the celebration that attends the battle, it was in no way decisive - the Holy League were not in a position to follow up the victory, and any effects of the battle were very temporary - Cyprus remained in Ottoman hands, and the ships of the Turkish fleet were fully replaced within a year (albeit with unseasoned timbers and inexperienced crews). And the mutual suspicion and antagonism between the members of the Holy League, particularly Spain and Venice caused it to disintegrate within the same period of time. One thing I found extremely interesting was the Holy League's galleasses. They were much heavier than the galleys and had to be towed into position (against a headwind) forward of the main line of galleys, in the centre of the line. They were too unmanoeuvrable to take part in any but the initial stage of the battle, where the Turkish galleys swept past them to engage the galleys of the Christian fleet. Their broadsides are only known to have sunk two Turkish galleys before they were left behind, but in splitting to bypass them, the Turkish centre lost much of its cohesion. Another fact of which I was unaware is that after an initial cannon volley, renaissance galley battles were very similar to classical and mediaeval ones. Normally only one cannon volley was discharged before the vessels met, and the rest was done by boarding. The Holy League knew (from their own experience from Christian fleets fighting each other), as the Turks did not, that firing at point-blank range was far more effective than firing earlier. After that initial salvo, galleys would attempt to "gang up" on galleys of the opposing fleet and sweep their decks clear of defenders in hand to hand combat. Once one enemy galley had been emptied of its crew, they would move on to another and repeat the performance. The Holy League didn't have it all its on way - the number of galleys taken by the Turks with all the crew killed was considerable. But though it was a "famous battle", it really didn't decide very much (except perhaps for the fact that the Turks began to build their own galleasses.) The deconstruction of the myth surrounding the battle is also very interesting and informative, though I must take issue with his contention that Tolkien's Lord of the Rings was substantially based on the conflict between Catholic Christianity and Islam. Thoroughly researched though the rest of his book may be, I really don't think he took the trouble to read Tolkien's. Nonetheless, very well worth a read. Steven
  20. Louie da fly
    Looking good, Yancovitch. I'm fascinated by galleys as well. I find them intensely interesting. Before you start making your oars, I thought I'd mention a small point; though we don't have complete information on them, different periods and regions seem to have had different oar types and shapes. For example, Ancient Greek ones are often shown on pottery, such as at https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1NHXL_enAU770AU770&biw=1600&bih=758&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=7X5KXNfTD4SGoASiz5DgAw&q=ships+in+ancient+greek+pottery&oq=ships+in+ancient+greek+pottery&gs_l=img.3...18345.20265..20600...0.0..0.216.1533.0j5j4......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i8i7i30.ezBdCT3ec8E#imgrc=Ipq6qQ1dtRMhfM: Egyptian ones can be seen at https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1NHXL_enAU770AU770&biw=1600&bih=758&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=wH9KXPP-HNXr-QaPpJuQDw&q=ships+in+egyptian&oq=ships+in+egyptian&gs_l=img.3...48668.52248..58708...1.0..0.271.1574.0j7j2......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0j0i5i30j0i24.NY93QXYebF0 . Unfortunately these sites include modern "interpretations"; naturally it's best to stick to original representations from the time. Egyptian ships are also represented by contemporary models, which can be useful. I haven't been able to find any of Viking oars, and as far as I know no Viking oars have been found, though several steering oars have. I researched Byzantine oars for my dromon model. You can see the results on my build log. Best wishes, Steven
  21. Louie da fly
    If he's lying down rather than sitting on his haunches, the leopard would be described in heraldry as "couchant" - if he was looking at you, rather than straight ahead, he's "gardant". So he'd be "a leopard proper couchant gardant". Steven
  22. Louie da fly
    Thanks for all the likes and encouraging comments. I think I've come a long way since the first figure I did for the ship (which I now consider not good enough to be included). Christos, I've got quite a few figures made now - they're scattered through the build log. The helmsman is incomplete till I get the steering oars in position (I have to work out exactly where his arms go), and the seated Captain probably won't be included now because he has to give up his seat when the Emperor is aboard. There was a quantum leap in the quality when I got the magnifying headset, though. Though I'd carved wooden figures before, I'd never tried to carve anything that small with that amount of detail, and the headset made it so much easier to see detail. Compare the face of this guy with the Emperor and his courtiers and bodyguards, which I made after I got the headset. Steven
  23. Louie da fly
    Started work on the pseudopation (forecastle), making use of the lessons I learnt making the xylokastra - such as making the deck and parapet before I make the supports. Here's the cardboard mock-up (version 2) along with the lion's head which forms the outlet for the nozzle of the siphon for Greek Fire (which will be added after the structure is complete and in place). Deck structure, Decking added And in the meantime for a break, a bit of carving - the Emperor's second Viking bodyguard. More to do, but coming along nicely. I believe the faces are getting better as I gain more experience, but the magnifying headpiece has made a big difference as well. Steven
  24. Louie da fly
    Thanks everyone for the likes. Patrick, I may still have to adjust the frames. The upper part of the new frame second from the front seems to have a slightly different angle to the others, and may have to be packed out a bit. I'll be better able to sort this out when I replace the upper planking. Steven
  25. Louie da fly
    Thanks, Druxey. Yes, it's 1:200. You can blame Bjorn Landstrom (sorry, can't add the correct accents to his name) - I directly copied it from the 1:200 reconstruction side view in his book The Ship. When I built it in 1970-odd, I carved three people out of bamboo to inhabit the ship. They were pretty tiny. Sadly, they got lost along the way along with many of the other nice detailed bits I made. Still, 1:200 pales into insignificance compared with the guys who routinely make ships at 1:350. I have no idea how they do it. Patrick, you were right; the frame was out of line. I've fixed it and moved on somewhat, putting in cross-beams which will support the upper deck. This is all a bit rough and ready - I have yet to work out exactly the run of the deck - the black lines are where I think the deck will run - and of the hull below the water line. Which is part of the reason for using balsa - it's so easy to work and to "bodge" if it's bit out. Still lots of work to be done, but slowly making progress. Steven

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