Louie da fly
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Everything posted by Louie da fly
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In Oz until Covid hit every second Easter there was a gathering open to all Australian "pre-colonial" re-enactors, where everybody immerses themselves in the ambience (or ambulance as my family prefer to say) for four days - living under canvas, fighting, talking, having workshops, making music, cooking over a wood fire etc. I learnt how to make a fire with flint and steel, and it's quite rewarding making do - we know it's not really like living back in the day - thank heavens - but it's very enjoyable. Every other Easter, there has always been a "Dark Ages" gathering in a pine forest at Armidale in rural New South Wales - same sort of thing, but Dark Ages specific, That's where I met my lovely wife. -
New to modeling where to post a kit build for advice?
Louie da fly replied to bosco72's topic in New member Introductions
Hi Bosco, The page on how to post a log is here: The reason for Old Collingwood's question is probably that the section on kit logs is divided into time periods - starting with "up to and including 1500 AD' and working up from there to present time. Choose the one that's appropriate to your own build. And welcome to MSW. I'd second OC's curiosity - what model are you building? -
The one in the blue, yes. It's a bit hard to see what the steersman in the red is doing. Maybe I should go through all the illustrations in the Skylitzes to see if there are any others showing anything worthwhile on this subject.
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It pretty much is, for many people. I remember a re-enactor's surprise when I told him we were not going to get married in mediaeval costume. I said re-enactment was my hobby, not my life. He found that hard to accept, too.
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Oh, wow - they just keep on coming up! I'm familiar with this picture, but I never noticed the ιστοδόκη before.
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Just discovered another rendition of an ιστοδόκη. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a source for it (I got it off Pinterest), but I believe it to be Roman.
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Ah! But he has an awning over his head (yet to be added) which will take care of the banner tails. But they certainly had those big banners - in fact I'm being a bit conservative, if anything . . . From the Synopsis Historian of Ioannes Skylitzes (commonly known as the Madrid Skylitzes Chronicle, after the library where it's held) And I've just realised I have another Byzantine pic of a steering oar with a tiller - check it out - it looks a lot like what I ended up making! Though it seems to me the steersman is holding it the wrong side of the rudder shaft. From the Sermons of Gregory of Nazianzus: Pantaleimon Cod. 6 f. 183r
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Yeah, but 10 years? Something seriously wrong with his GPS. And of course it's not a good idea to annoy the sea-god.
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Brian, you never know till you try. From my own experience the first attempt would probably be pretty dreadful, but you learn from the first one and apply those lessons to the next attempt, and it turns out quite a bit better. Just don't try doing the Academician's dragon head as your first project!
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I love your storage box for the figures. Keeps them safe from harm. I keep mine in a clear plastic box but the principle's the same (and mine are quite a bit smaller). Here in Oz you could never get anything like those numbers for 17th century re-enactment - or any other period for that matter. I understand why they do it (to minimise the injuries to cuts and bruises), but it's always bugged me - in the real world those pikes would be held horizontally, not vertically. See this video of the Battle of Hastings re-enactment in 2006 - the spear work starts at 7.25.
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Looking really good, Ekis.
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He probably thinks it'll only take a week or so . . . Beautiful work, Christos. A model to be proud of.
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For one horrible moment I thought you'd drilled up through the bottom of your longboat. Then sanity intervened - I realised it's just to give an idea how the mast will look (Be still, my beating heart!)
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My God! He's actually doing it! All this time I'd thought (hoped) it was all a bad dream . . . Just joking, Dick. In fact this could be really interesting and instructive.
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And on to the lashings for the side rudders. The diagrams of lashings in the TAMU paper I mentioned on the previous page weren't much help, so I worked up something of my own. Remembering back to my days as a Sea Scout at the age of 14 I remembered a lashing we'd used. But first I had to re-teach myself how to do a clove hitch, something I hadn't tried for 57 years, and even back then I'm not sure I really mastered it. Took me two or three goes with the instructions in front of me, then maybe half a dozen tries without. And I think now I can do a clove hitch from here on in - something I think is going to be very useful in future models involving ratlines(!). The clove hitch starts the lashing: Then round and round: This is a sort of universal joint made from rope. It allows the rudder shaft to pivot left and right for steering under the influence of the tiller, just as in a stern rudder. And it can also swing upwards around the beam so the rudder lifts out of the water - either when only one rudder is in use, or to enable the dromon to be pulled up onto the beach stern-first. Then for the lower lashing - this one is made of lighter rope. According to the TAMU paper on the previous page of this log, if the rudder hits a submerged obstruction, instead of the rudder shaft being shattered the rope will break allowing the rudder to swing up out of the way. Before beaching the ship this lower lashing is untied. That's all for now . . .
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Congratulations, Hellmuht! You've done a beautiful job of this model; a combination of thorough research, inspired guesswork when the information wasn't available, and superb craftsmanship.
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Glad you liked them, Christos. Probably the best website for these is https://zaherkammoun.com/2017/01/06/des-mosaiques-de-sousse/
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Roter Löwe 1597 by Ondras71
Louie da fly replied to Ondras71's topic in - Build logs for subjects built 1501 - 1750
A real pleasure to watch your progress. Beautiful work. -
Thanks for the idea, Carl. But I feel I'm committed now, and I really don't want to go back. I've got a solution that works now - that's good enough, I think.
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Thanks for the likes, everyone. and for the flattering comments. Possibly - were you thinking of supporting it from the lateen yard? Without something to support the block I can't see how you'd do it that way when the mast and yard have been lowered. Or were you suggesting that the block's tackle should be belayed to something lower down, such as the pavesade (railing to support the shields)? I'm a total duffer when it comes to this sort of thing - always have been. For me, learning how rigging works is like driving nails (blunt ones) into my brain.
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Looking very good, Christos! She's almost ready to go. I thought you might like a few contemporary representations of vessels with dropped masts, showing the ιστοδόκη on each. 3rd century galley mosaic, Themetra, Tunisia Themetra baths Tunisia Themetra baths Tunisia Hellenic ship, mosaic (ca 1st century BCE-CE). This one doesn't show the ιστοδόκη, but it looks like they're dropping the mast. Trajan's column c. 114 C.E. Trajan's column c. 114 C.E.
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Those guys were a lot tougher than we are today - no footropes, just shimmy up the yard - no problem! (I'm scared of heights anyway, so I'd be no use whatsoever.) Here's another picture of the same thing, by the Portuguese painter João José Vaz (1859 - 1931)
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I've made and installed the tillers for the side rudders (steering oars) and put the rudders in place. I discovered I'd slightly miscalculated the position and angle of the holes for the brass pins mentioned above. The tillers were too high and instead of facing directly across the ship they were angled a little aft. So I drilled new holes in the rudder shafts - fortunately the old holes are hidden by the shafts themselves when the rudders are in place. I have yet to add the rope lashings that supposedly hold the rudders in place, finish the steersman I've already made (he's just standing there loose fitted at the moment), and carve another steersman for the other rudder. I've been tidying up the free ends of the rigging (the bosun will be pleased) - adding coils to the ends of the loose ropes, particularly for the after yard where the tacks and vangs aren't yet ready to be pulled tight (and shortening the ropes - so the coils take the place of the bit I've cut off). That way they're not all over the decks. I'm still thinking about the free end of the halyard tackle the crewmen are pulling on to haul up the yard. By rights, there should be a lot of it - if you take into account all the rope that runs between the blocks of the tackle. But I'm thinking of cheating and just cutting it shorter - otherwise it's just going to mess up the deck. And I forgot earlier to post the fact that I've added ladders to access the side castles. I had to put them at the after end of the castles so they didn't get in the way of the oarsmen getting to their benches - they can just get in through the side of the castle, (except the man right in line with the ladder, who can get to his own bench by climbing over the back of it).
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I haven't been looking at this build for a while. Your progress is very impressive, and the boat just keeps getting more and more beautiful. And I think I'll steal your idea for the sail!
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