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Louie da fly

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Everything posted by Louie da fly

  1. Louie da fly
    Admit it - that's not a real name - you made it up, didn't you. Not like normal names, like Gidgegannup, Wyalkatchem or Mukinbudin . . .
  2. Louie da fly
    I was born in Adelaide but grew up in Perth. The trip to Adelaide is do-able in a day and we've been a few times (our daughter was living at the tip of the Yorke peninsula, another 4 hours drive away). Adelaide's very beautiful, and definitely worth going back to (although I did get a bit tired of brushwood fences). That would be the King Bakery at the bottom of the main drag? Best vanilla slices in the universe. The funny thing about Louie is you can't help liking him even though the TV ad is for a flyspray. He's a bit of a larrikin - somehow appeals to me. You'd be the right age to remember Mr Squiggle, too, I expect.
  3. Louie da fly
    Beautiful work on the anchor, Silverman. And that lego ropewalk is brilliant! I'm very envious. Do you have plans or instructions on how to make one?
  4. Louie da fly
    Looking good, Kondzik!
  5. Louie da fly
    That paintwork and nailing looks really good, Silverman. Your best bet (lacking archaeological finds of anchors) is to look at contemporary pics and work out an appropriate size by proportion in relation to the vessels pictured. And they'll also give you an idea of the shape of the anchors. Unfortunately I don't know any contemporary pics of cogs that have anchors. But there are a small number on my "Early 15th century" Pinterest page https://www.pinterest.com.au/lowe1847/early-15th-century-ships/ and a couple in the "Nef" page - https://www.pinterest.com.au/lowe1847/mediaeval-nefs/ That's the best I can do, I'm afraid.
  6. Louie da fly
    Welcome to MSW, Mark! When you decide which kit to build, I'd highly recommend you start a build log - instructions here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/24705-before-you-post-your-build-log-please-read-this-starting-and-naming-your-build-log/ It's a great way to get help and advice and encouragement. And don't get too intimidated by the excellence of some of the builds on MSW - the skill level ranges from complete duffer to total expert. We're all about helping, not criticising - we all had to start sometime, and we all make mistakes (even the demigods of modelling - they just make much more interesting ones than us mere mortals).
  7. Louie da fly
    Welcome to MSW, Mike, from another Aussie (but still at home). Sounds like you're on the right track. I hope the withdrawals don't get you too much before the next model arrives (I've just finished my dromon build and already experiencing withdrawal - fortunately I've got another one to get on with.) Where are you in Yorkshire? I went to York back in 2000 and fell in love with the place. Did some travelling around as well, but not all of Yorkshire by any means. I grew up in Perth and have lived in Sydney, Cootamundra, Port Hedland, Mildura, Frankston, Research (yes that's really its name) and now in Ballarat. Where in Oz are you from?
  8. Louie da fly
    Looking good, Racedees. You're making very good progress. Yes, it's the ship's figurehead, but in the case of the Victory the figurehead is a shield with cherubs as supporters. It's the coat of arms of the House of Hanover, the family of George III, who was king of England at the time of the battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
  9. Louie da fly
    Welcome to MSW, Tom. I'd highly recommend you start a build log (Meddo put the instructions in his post above). It's a great way to get help, advice and encouragement. And the rest of us get to see your model under construction. (By the way, a lot of people are a bit wary about starting a build log for fear their work isn't up to the standard of others here. Rest assured, the range of skill on MSW is from total beginners to demigods who write books on how to make models. And it's all about encouragement and help, not criticism. So have a go, get a log going and post some pics. And enjoy yourself! That's what it's all about, after all.
  10. Louie da fly
    That's right. It's best to check for yourself, and just because someone drew reconstruction plans doesn't mean they didn't make mistakes! Use your own judgment and make your own decisions.
  11. Louie da fly
    Gee! I've barely finished after five years of work and you guys want me to rush into a new model! Gimme a break!
  12. Louie da fly
    Looking very good, Julian. nice crisp work. Yep, know the feeling . . . happened repeatedly with the railing on my dromon. (In retrospect I shouldn't have put it on so early in the build . . .)
  13. Louie da fly
    Druxey, when I was a kid we had a record with two Goon shows on it - "Dishonoured" (from which the above quote comes) and "Tales of Old Dartmoor". At the time I could quote whole passages verbatim. I'm still pretty good, but out of practice. For example Moriarty's first line is actually "Welcome to the Indian river police, little boy." (which is part of a running gag that goes through the whole episode). Andrew - Nineveh was hundreds of miles inland - it was on the Tigris river, but I doubt a quinquireme could have floated there. However the Assyrians whose capital it was owned pretty much the eastern Mediterranean coast, so Masefield is only stretching the facts a little. On the other hand, it's doubtful the Assyrians had quinquiremes . . . as I understand it they were a later development. Per the Encyclopaedia Britannica " Ophir, unidentified region famous in Old Testament times for its fine gold. The geographic list of Genesis 10 apparently places it in Arabia, but in the time of Solomon (c. 920 BC), Ophir was thought of as being overseas. Gold, almug (or algum) wood (i.e., sandalwood), ivory, monkeys, and peacocks were procured there. Many areas of the Arabian Peninsula have been proposed as the site of Ophir; the principal alternative locations overseas are East Africa and India." Unless of course you mean the old town in New South Wales near Orange, which was "the site of Australia's first gold rush" (that's news to us in Ballarat - there are several other claimants to that honour . . .) And the curtains are rolled up! As far as Dick is concerned, he's currently building both a Byzantine merchantman and a frumious hulk . . . https://modelshipworld.com/topic/25641-the-incredible-hulc-by-woodrat-a-frumious-reconstruction/
  14. Louie da fly
    Very similar except for size, OC - Great Harry was about one and a half times the burthen of the Mary Rose. They were built within 4 years of each other. The planking is just a matter of my own inexperience, nothing else. I just have to muddle through and hope I get it right (and keep the isopropanol handy in case of stuff-ups). In fact I've already started - here's the garboard strake begun for one side. I cut the rabbet for the garboard, but I've also had to shave the keel deadwood down so the planks will lie flush at that point, as I hadn't understood the process properly and the keel would have been too thick with the planks added. It's not finished - I've got to do the whole "approach" to the sternpost, but I'll continue that after I've got the first planks in and I can remove the black thread and move on upwards. I'm finding it rather difficult getting the deadwood smooth enough for the planks to lie flat. I'm hoping I've got it right - if not, remove planks and start again . . .
  15. Louie da fly
    Thanks for those references, Silverman. I haven't had a chance to look at them yet, but I'll make sure I put the time in later on.
  16. Louie da fly
    Thanks everybody for all the comments. It's been a long journey, but worth it in the end. The figures became an albatross around my neck, but now they're done I'm happy I did that extra work. I think they make the model much more believable, and having them working on raising the yard and unfurling the sail is an unusual touch which I believe gives it more life. Moriarty: Hullo little boy Bluebottle: Oooh, it's the forces of evil Moranatum. (Thinks: I know how I can get rid of that dynamite) Mr Moranato, how would you like a nice long red cigar with a wick on the end of it? Moriarty: I'd like that very much. Bluebottle: I'll light it for you (sound of match being lit) WHOOOOSH! Bluebottle (from a great distance): Is it nice? Moriarty: It's gone out. WHOOSH! Bluebottle: I'll light it again for you . . KABOOOOM! It's one of the possibilities, though I might leave that one till later - after all, the Great Harry which I have yet to complete is a sort of super-carrack.
  17. Louie da fly
    Oh, wow . . .
  18. Louie da fly
    Good point. Plenty of 15th and 16th century pictures show ships with bonnets but no reef points. At least as many show neither - though in many cases I'm prepared to believe that's artist's error. I know of only a single one (a "great carrack" that doesn't have a date but looks to be early 16th century) that has reef points. Perhaps we're looking at lost technology, which was "rediscovered" later?
  19. Louie da fly
    That's the final stage - next thing to do. Mind you the cats aren't allowed into the Boat Room (the name by which my workshop is known at home) so it's relatively safe for the moment.
  20. Louie da fly
    Agreed. But they had to be invented at some time - Most contemporary pictorial representations of ships before the 14th century don't show them. Is this because they didn't exist, or did the artist just leave them out?
  21. Louie da fly
    Most ingenious, Dick. And up to your usual superb standard of workmanship.
  22. Louie da fly
    That's looking extremely good, Silverman. I love your windlass - I wish I'd known about it when I made mine! (I had to copy the Mary Rose windlass, 500 years wrong!)
  23. Louie da fly
    Those bottom blocks look very good. A good solution for fixing them to the hull, too. And I agree - she looks better with the boat behind her than alongside.
  24. Louie da fly
    Very clean work, Rodolfo. A pleasure to see.
  25. Louie da fly
    Ok, the model itself is finished, and now I've done the stand. The wooden part, painted gold, was done ages ago. The base is made of a piece from a broken slab of marble that was in the garden when we bought the house. Marble - Byzantium; of course they belong together! I was going to paint a fairly elaborate decorative border - vines curling around and all that. Then I decided the focus should be on the ship, not the stand, so I've kept it simple. Just the description and date in a readable font. Unfortunately after all the work I did on carving that beautiful golden stand, it's almost invisible behind the oars.

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