Hank

Plunge taken!! We'll see how this tool works for turning small stuff.

Thanks, all - I think I'm about to take the plunge.

Well, I guess one good report is better than none - I may order one later this month. I'll look around the online Proxxon vendors and see who might be selling a bed extension, as well. Thanks, Mike/Andy.

Andy, Yea, I've got a Turncrafter Pro Midi Lathe (Penn State Ind.) that I've used for turning masts & spars on PEACOCK and large models, but I would like a small mini lathe for the smaller stuff. The TP lathe is too large for very small masts, yards, etc.

I posted this sort of question on the old forum, so I'll repost my question here: Anyone have or use the Proxxon Mini Lathe DB-250? If so, comments or recommendations, good or bad are requested.

As many of you may be aware, the Bicentenial of the War of 1812 is currently taking place. As part of this event, The American Society of Marine Artists has produced a video of the conflict which includes models of ships - some built by NRG and MSW members. The website http://naval-war-of-1812-illustrated.org is devoted to chronicaling the War of 1812 from the maritime aspects of Canada, Great Britian, and the United States. The video is broken into various segements that highlight specific theaters of the war which makes viewing it a more interesting and useful experience. I would like to thank Charles R. Robinson, Exec. Producer and Director for his request that ship modelers from various places participate in this production. 50 individual modelers/artists have helped out with this production. Clicking on the provided link will take you to the Introduction Page of the video. I have also attached their .pdf file with further information regarding the video as well as an art exhibit relating to this important topic. Further_Video_Information.pdf

Brian, Well, that's interesting...the plan in the Grimwood book only gives station lines and no frame sizes, spacing, etc. Of course, the plan in NRG may be quite a bit more detailed, although I wouldn't think that Grice would have drawn up two different plans of the same simple craft...well, I'll soon find out. Much appreciate the details...my curiosity has been aroused.

Brian, Thanks so much - I've now got it on order - many available from various vendors. I figure that perhaps his approach to the model with help me also.

Brian, Thanks for the info. FYI - there are many of that title available used. Was this a one time book or a series, etc.? As for the article on the anchor hoy, would it be worth having? Let me know when you can.

John, Mark - Thanks for the support. I don't like having to re-do things, but at the same time I think it was the proper call on this one. Time to go back and rethink and redraw and then begin construction anew.

Well, at this point I have begun planking on the starboard side and realized that the bulkheads present a problem as they are currently laid out. I did fair the bulkheads, but this was not enough to prevent the planks at the stern from drying mishapened to the amount that I can't sand away. After consideration of various solutions and realizing that the bulkhead layout needs refinement I am temporarily pulling the plug on this build. There are a couple solutions that might produce (well, SHOULD produce) a better model in the long run: 1) I am going to re-draw the hull centerboard/keel assembly/stem & stern posts in MicroStation as well as all bulkheads to ensure a uniform layout. 2) The bulkhead layout will be studied and additional bulkheads added to ensure a smooth planking from one end to another. the original Grice layout that I am working from leaves a bit to be desired as far as bulkhead spacing. I intend to correct this and thus improve the overall carcass of the model in order to make the planks lay truer without abrupt or sharp changes in shape. I think there should be a smooth and even curvature of the planking from one end of the ship to the other. I also intend to widen the current bulkheads to 1/4" thick which will enable better adhesion of the planks. Utilizing Chuck's laser layout method I intend to have the bulkheads printed out and laser cut by a professional laser cutting service. 3) I hope to salvage the transom as this was not affected by this decision. Stay tuned - I will continue this build when I'm ready with further modeifications and progress.

I recently purchased War of 1812 - The Marine Art of Peter Rindlisbacher. As an interested student of naval history and naval art, I found this book very well written and (obviously!) illustrated. Mr. Rindlisbacher, being a Canadian, has shown the naval side of the war in the Great Lakes pretty much on an even keel, although it didn't take long for me to realize his perspective and points of interest in this book. It doesn't, however, take away from his wonderful artwork at all. I was led (mainly by the title) to believe his artwork was all inclusive as to the Naval War of 1812 and this is not so - he illustrates the lakes only - and I must admit, an area that has not been well documented in recent history that I can recall. Only one pet peeve I have in his book and that is in regards to the naming of U.S. Navy ships during this period - none had the "USS" designation before their names (the earliest references I can find officially happen in the 1820's on. While his discussion of the major combatants (such as CONSTITUTION, CHESAPEAKE, PRESIDENT, etc.) he refers to them with the "USS" prefix, he does not when discussing the smaller ships, such as brigs, schooners, and such. In this respect, I have no complaint. Once again, this is a thorn in my side, perhaps not occasional readers. Other than that, his artwork is quite nice, detailed, and his historical perspective and knowledge adds that extra something to his renderings. I'm glad I purchased this book and will more than likely closely read it over the summer in order to learn more about our navy's involvement in the Great Lakes.

The disposition of most (if not all) U.S. Navy sailing ships can be found in Donald L. Canney's Sailing Ships of the U.S. Navy. Also, the U.S. Naval Historical Center (website) will give ship histories of all U.S. Navy vessels.

John, Thanks for the kind remark! The hull planking will not be easy given the blunt bow and the curves associated with it - a real challenge. Starting with the wale kind of defines how the curves will go, so that's the plan anyhow.

As of Tues. night (03/26) I have added deck curvature brackets (my definition) to some of the bulkheads that did not conform to the deck layout. Also, the keel, stem & sternposts were added. I've also got the transom constructed and outside painted, trimmed. Photos should show that progress. What do you mean you can't see the model for the guitar? Simple pleasures... Wed. night I added the three brass stars to the transom (holes are visible in photo) and will install next week. I will also begin the hull planking with the wales.

Please see edited initial post and photos for latest on this project!

David, Thanks so much for the reply, information, and advice. One question: what is "art776"? I will check in on GeorgeK's build and see what's going on there. Having built Mantua's ROYAL CAROLINE I am aware of their instructional "shortcomings", etc. Thanks for the reminder. I did a search of Mantua parts available thru Cornwall Models (UK) and after looking over what I had been given, I realize that the transom pieces on my kit are plastic (actually, very nicely molded decorative pieces) while the current version is a brass etched sheet for the transom/stern quarter galleries. I was hoping to find some replacements for the quarter galleries as those on my model will need to be removed (at least the stbd. side) and rebuilt. I may have to completley rebuild the entire transom, as well - something just isn't correct about it. You mentioned the entire parts list as being one of the sheets included in the kit - that may be one of my missing sheets. Once again, thanks for the nice reply!

Mark, I appreciate your interest. It will be a long term project, so pack a lunch...and dinner...for a long while!!!!

On March 22nd I took protective custody of a Mantua 1:98 Scale kit of HMS VICTORY that was partially constructed, damaged and repaired, and never completed. This model belonged to former NRG modeler Gerald Shaw, Chattanooga, TN. Mr. Shaw passed away in 2012 and was a close modeling friend of fellow modeler Ken Smith (NRG). Ken and another local modeler Bill Mitchell (NRG) went to Chattanooga last year at Mr. Shaw’s request and received most if not all of his ship modeling tools, supplies, books, etc. as well as this unfinished kit. When Ken asked me if I was interested in possibly repairing, rebuilding, and completing the kit, I wasn’t sure that it was something that I had an interest in doing. However, after some thought on the matter, I decided that this challenge was worth the time & effort and graciously accepted this offer. This particular kit was introduced by Mantua in 1971 and I’m guessing from the browning and brittleness of the paper instruction pages that it is at least an early ‘80’s vintage kit. Thanks to Toni Levine (MSW) pages 3, 4, and 5 that were missing have now been sent to me and the originals were found and will be in my possession later today (03/28/13). As far as I can tell the kit (while no longer in its original box) is complete – I still need to inventory all the parts to this kit that I received from Ken. As I will be constructing this as an Admiralty Styled model, the masting,etc. will not be incorporated. Additionally, a set of detailed VICTORY plans was included (M.A.P. Services) and at the proper (1:98) scale of this kit. They should prove very helpful in this reconstruction/completion. I also have 13 of the 15 part S.I.S. (1984-880 article on kitbashing this model and the other two sheets were (once again!!!) provided by Toni Levine (MSW) - Thanks, Toni!!! The initial assessment of the model: (see photos) 1) amidships damage sustained when an iron bed rail was dropped (might be detectable in the photos); gunports out of size and will need to be corrected. 2) right and left quarter galleries and inner transom will need to be rebuilt entirely (well, the stbd side will need to be replaced); transom will be completely rebuilt and curved correctly. 3) bottom coppering will be left as it is - it's not perfect but it's not that imperfect. 4) upper deck planking not to scale - will be stripped of all items, sanded, and then veneered with properly sized planks. I will need to make a "punch list" for demoing the kit and also a "construction punch list" for the rebuild once it is reduced to that stage. I will try to give a fair account of this project as it progresses. It will be a long term project in conjunction with my current Anchor Hoy build. As of yesterday I had removed all the metal gunport lids, stripped the upper decks of all deck fittings, furniture, etc. removed the out of scale flag lockers and begun stripping the transom of all trim. I will post further photos next week.

I agree, also - Queen Mary. My dad rode her (no pun intended!)in the '60's on his way to Europe on business. I've still got a few of his photos from that trip.

Jay, Carl: Thanks for the supportive remarks. CAD is a good tool for ship modelers, so choose the one that you feel comfortable with all the way around. If you can, check out my suggestions.

Carl, This is one of those questions that will get responses all over the place - it's the (in your case) BMW vs Vauxhall situation. So here's my take on which CAD to use: 1st - I'm a CAD professional with 42 years of Graphics/CAD experience. I use it every workday and sometimes on weekends. So, my response is biased, but based on experience. Nothing in life is free - understand that first and go from there. Cheap CAD programs and most shareware are based (somewhat loosely) on AutoCAD. In my experience, that is NOT the easiest or most user friendly software available. Just because it sells more copies doesn't mean it's the top choice from a user standpoint. Now, my CAD software of preference is Bentley MicroStation. The normal software can do 2D, 3D, modeling, etc. If you don't want that extensive ability, then look for their PowerDraft version of MicroStation. It has all the 2D functionality and ease of use that their full-blown 3D/modeling version comes with. MicroStation is much more sophisticated than the ACAD based programs are. You have less keystrokes in placing lines, circles, etc. (elements) in a drawing with Micro than with ACAD. We can support dual monitors and divide each into 4 views, if you so choose. Any CAD software is going to take time to learn to use PROPERLY. It isn't something that you are going to be doing (correctly) after one day. Since I do CAD professionally, I look at this perhaps somewhat thru a different viewpoint than an occasional user. I also use this software for my ship modeling needs. My last project I created over 40 drawings for that model - all the masts, yards, gun carriages, fittings, deck furnishings, etc. MicroStation, rather Bentley (parent company) is available in Europe - here is the US website: (http://www.bentley.com/en-US/) - I would highly recommend you shop around and perhaps find someone who has an older licensed version that they are interested in selling. Pricewise, MicroStation is comparitable with ACAD here Stateside. While other packages are either free or cheap keep one thing in mind - you get what you pay for.

Jay, This has been a most informative thread. I think all of us have had problems with the usual variety of modeler's blackening agents - all with similar results. The blackening either isn't permanent and comes off on your fingers or doesn't affect the metal at all. I will have to dig out my toolbox with stained glass supplies and see if there is any of that patina there. I don't recall having used it in the past. The most common problem that I've seen with this process is getting a permanent oxidation of the metal, so this interests me quite a bit. Thanks for the experiments and so forth - that's the kind of "time well spent" research that helps all of us.

Yea, sometimes it actually is worth watching the evening news!! I guess I would be curious to know how this is being received by "other" modeling forums in our community. Perhaps one of our MSW "double agents" will keep us appriased.

Yesterday (19 March 13) the U.S. Supreme Court, in hearing arguements regarding the resale of copyrighted materials ruled those sales legal. From the current article on CNN News: "The Supreme Court has ruled that copyright owners cannot legally forbid people who buy their works to sell them in the US, even if the items in question were made outside the US. The decision upheld a geographically unlimited first sale doctrine — a provision which holds that once someone buys a book, DVD, or other work copyrighted in America, they're free to sell or rent it without the copyright holder's permission". I'm certainly no lawyer, but this would seem to me to answer any question regarding the sale of CDs and DVDs (such as Bob Hunt's Practicums)to a 2nd party. I know this question has come up various times on MSW in regards to members who wished to sell one of his practicums. This applies to original media, as far as I can tell. Members may want to read the entire article currently (03/20/13) running on CNN news. Other media outlets probably are carrying the story, as well.