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Louie da fly

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  1. Louie da fly
    "Dog's breakfast" is a common expression here in Oz, as well. Steven
  2. Louie da fly
    I love Scarlatti's harpsichord sonatas - I have a CD of Wanda Landowska playing a number of them, recorded in Paris during WWII. She was brilliant. (Oh, and you can occasionally hear the crump of artillery in the background.) Steven
  3. Louie da fly
    Here's the mainsail with the bowlines added (I had to pull them out sideways so they'd be visible). And far too late I realised I needed knights for the mizzen and bonaventure mizzen lateen halyards. I had to somehow drill holes in the deck past all the shrouds and other rigging. Here are the knights dry fitted. I'll need to run the lanyards through them before I glue them in place. It won't be feasible afterwards. But I have no idea how I'm going to do the halyards for the lateen topsails. And Anderson's The Rigging of Ships in the Days of the Spritsail Topmast, for a change, is no help at all. I'm sure I'll figure something out. Steven
  4. Louie da fly
    The site I got these pictures from interpreted the two figures as Adam and Eve, and I got the impression that this is the academically accepted interpretation (though that doesn't by any means prove it!) Steven
  5. Louie da fly
    Hi Dick, I just came across these articles, which may have some bearing on your build - https://medium.com/the-bronze-age/the-ships-of-the-sea-peoples-part-1-994249af5304 , https://medium.com/the-bronze-age/the-ships-of-the-sea-peoples-part-2-2bed75f8e05c I realise these are just someone's interpretations of the original, but I hope they are of some use to you. Steven
  6. Louie da fly
    I'm sure you're right. Steven
  7. Louie da fly
    I found this on Facebook. "Stillingfleet. Yorkshire. The church is Norman. The ironwork hinges and decoration on the south door date to much earlier, probably to the middle of the 10th century when York formed part of a Viking kingdom. That would mean that either there was a church here several centuries earlier than was thought, or, more likely, that the door was brought here from elsewhere." The ship appears to be incomplete - by rights it should have an upcurving bow similar to the stern, but it's presumably been lost over the centuries. Steven
  8. Louie da fly
    Hi Joe, and welcome to MSW. Have you chosen a particular ship for your first model? I'd recommend you read these pages before starting out: And when you do get under way, start a build log - it's a great way to get help and advice (and we get to see your progress as you build your model). If you are building a kit, use this: or if you're building from scratch, use this one. And above all, have fun with it. That's the whole point of this wonderful hobby. Steven
  9. Louie da fly
    Hi LegoKing, Several others have already commented on the tools needed to start off with, and I'm probably duplicating what some of them have written, but I've found it's amazing how few tools are really necessary to get started on ship modelling. I wouldn't even think of getting machine tools to start with, except possibly a drill. Plenty of time for that when you find the need for them. In the meantime, I'd suggest a good coping saw, a craft knife or a scalpel with exchangeable blades (a No. 11 blade is the best for modelling, I find). LOTS of clamps - *LOTS* of clamps, of all possible sizes from tiny to fairly big. One of those green cutting boards, glue (I use PVA (white) glue, but others swear by CA (cyanoacetate = superglue - but watch out for the fumes) one of those headpieces with built-in magnifying lenses - you can get them at car supply places. Files and (SHARP!) chisels of various sizes. When it comes to bending your planks, in the real world they use steam. But although there's some disagreement about whether you should wet or heat planks to bend them, apparently the heat is the important factor - it loosens the fibres in the wood and allows it to bend without breaking. You can get specialised bending tools, but honestly I find a cheap soldering iron clamped in a vise (oh, yes, get a vise, too), and gently bending the wood around it works well - see picture below - (you can get really tight curves - those dimensions are in millimetres). If you're building a kit rather than a scratch build, much of the preliminary work (such as getting thin wood for planks) is done for you. The other advice I'd give is to start simple - don't buy a kit of HMS Victory - too many people start out with great enthusiasm but get discouraged by the complexity of their first build. There are really good kits of such things as longboats - see https://modelshipworld.com/.../18657-new-to-ship.../ . Oh, and a good workspace (doesn't have to be big) with good light and where you can safely keep the model "set up" in between modelling sessions. Good luck, and have fun with it! Steven
  10. Louie da fly
    Making fiddle blocks for the mainsail martnet tackles. Holes drilled in blank Cut to shape Glued and clamped after it split Note the tiny plastic pegs (available from craft shops) And with tackle going through both holes (temporary - just to demonstrate). Steven
  11. Louie da fly
    Current state of play: A new pair of blocks on the stay for the two maintopsail bowlines (the pegs are just weights, to tension it all till the glue dries) And with the bowlines in place: And just below the top you can see the two-sheaved block the bowlines run through to the deck. I realised I'd misinterpreted Anderson's book for the topgallant sheets. In fact, they double as topsail lifts; there are only separate lifts on the topgallant yard. So I had to undo the sheets and add a new pair of blocks just below the topmast top to take the sheets/lifts, and run them through those. Unfortunately, I'd made the same mistake on the foretopsail sheets (though I'd added the extra blocks, I hadn't run the sheets/lifts through them). But it would now be much too difficult to correct, so I'm going to leave it as-is, as a reminder to make sure I've really understood the instructions. Steven
  12. Louie da fly
    No, he shows them in the video. They are definitely ducts - square wooden tubes for and aft, angled up at the ends.
  13. Louie da fly
    A few minor points regarding terminology, but overall, an excellent video! Steven
  14. Louie da fly
    More rigging; now I've got the main topsail in place. I had quite a bit of trouble getting the original "parrel truck" (really made out of cotton thread) to fit back onto the mast - it got all mutant on me for a while and I had to pretty much force it into the right shape - not really what I wanted to do. But eventually it worked and I was free to start rigging. First, the topgallant sheets now had a spar to hold them (sorry about the photo quality). The sheets run through a block on each topsail yardarm then along the yard to a block near the mast And down to the bitts Then - disaster! I snapped the larboard topsail yard (they're VERY thin!) and at the same time the block for the clewline pulled away from the sail. Then the sheet pulled away from the sail as well. This photo was taken the next day; I'd already mended the yardarm with CA, but still had to fix the clewline block back in place - you can see the dislocated block in the top right of the red rectangle. This took far longer than I'd expected - several failed attempts before I got it right. Here's the repaired assembly, roughed out: And trimmed: and I've added brace pendants for the topsails A match to show how very thin the yards are - very easy to snap. And the brace pendant on the starboard side (a bit blurry, sorry): And trimmed to length: And I've now started adding a two-sheaved block to the foremast to take the topsail bowlines. A lot of swearing at this point - I was trying to get the strop around the foremast past all the ropes that were already there. Absolute murder, and I finally gave up and just looped a length of cotton thread around the mast (not very visible I'm afraid - all you can see are the loose ends): And added the block to the loop (in the centre of the red rectangle, just above the parrel truck) Adding blocks to the mizzen shrouds to take the main topsail braces: And trimmed off. Lots of fiddly stuff. But slowly getting there. Steven
  15. Louie da fly
    I never fail to be amazed at how strong model hulls are - even though the planking is to scale thickness. Enjoying the ride. Steven
  16. Louie da fly
    I thought you might like to have some contemporary pictures of carracks to refer to in your build. I've divided them into vessels with a single mast (which I like to call "proto-carracks"), and those with at least two. The hulls seem identical: https://www.pinterest.com.au/lowe1847/proto-carracks/ and https://www.pinterest.com.au/lowe1847/carracks/ Steven
  17. Louie da fly
    Thanks, mate. But I have space limitations. Never going to do 1:200 again, but I've done 1:50 and 1:75, and I'll probably keep on with 1:75 as my "default" scale. And of course, if all the models are to the same scale you can compare them. Steven
  18. Louie da fly
    Sounds like you're speaking from experience, Druxey. I fully concur, having done a very comprehensive renovation myself. Can of worms territory! Steven
  19. Louie da fly
    Thanks, Firdajan. Unfortunately when I first started the model I had no idea what problems the small scale was going to make for me later . . . Steven
  20. Louie da fly
    Old fat spider spinning in a tree! Old fat spider can’t see me! Attercop! Attercop! Won't you stop, Stop your spinning and look for me? Old Tomnoddy, all big body, Old Tomnoddy can’t spy me! Attercop! Attercop! Down you drop! You'll never catch me up your tree! Lazy Lob and crazy Cob are weaving webs to wind me. I am far more sweet than other meat, but still they cannot find me! Here am I, naughty little fly; you are fat and lazy. You cannot trap me, though you try, in your cobwebs crazy. (Bilbo's song, from The Hobbit) Some more cobwebs - main topgallant bowlines, running via blocks on the main topgallant stay to blocks on the fore topsail shrouds and belayed to the upper fore top. And sheets on the main topgallant sail. Now I'm ready to add the main topsail. Steven
  21. Louie da fly
    Now putting those blocks to use. The main topgallant lifts and pendants for the braces: Main topgallant braces and clewlines: They are currently only held in place with weights (those tiny clothes-pegs) until I finalise how all the ropes interact with each other, so they're all tight at the same time (I hope!) And I had another go at the lifts for the fore topgallant, which were loose and crooked. They look better now. And instead of belaying them to the side of the top I've followed Anderson and belayed them to the topgallant shrouds. More to come in due course. Steven
  22. Louie da fly
    Fascinating work, Dick, but I must admit I'm a bit lost with the addition at the prow. Doubtless further progress will clear that up for me. Steven
  23. Louie da fly
    Glen, I've been carving the blocks from pearwood with a scalpel (No 11 blade). I drill a row of holes in a thin sheet of wood, (note the grain us running up and down the page in this photo), using a brass "sequin pin" which is just the right size to let cotton thread through the hole without making the block too big at 1:200 scale. One thing I have to do is put the holes far enough from the end so the wood doesn't split. I still ave problems because I'm using a hand drill, and the holes don't always go through at right angles. Better to use a drill press. The shortcuts are simple - set it up so I do as little carving as possible, as that's the most time consuming activity. 1. I cut the sheet as close as possible to the proposed thickness of the blocks. 2. I space the holes just the right distance apart, and 3. once they're drilled I cut the end off the sheet close to the holes so I don't have to carve it down, and 4. cut between the holes, (again, to reduce the amount of carving I have to do). 5. Then I carve the individual blocks to shape (the one on the right). It doesn't always work and the wood still splits too often (I'm pushing the wood to its limit), but that's the general idea. Druxey, that might be a better technique. I'll have to do some experimenting on a bit of leftover cloth. Steven
  24. Louie da fly
    That tentacle looks amazing! Steven
  25. Louie da fly
    Yes. I'm not sure if I should do it to all the rest of the sails, or leave the others as they are for consistency with those on the foremast (though of course having one sail like this and all the rest the other way isn't all that consistent either). I think I'll be able to form the glued-up sail to the final shape I want, once all the rigging lines are added, by wetting it and letting it dry in the new shape. Steven

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