toms10

Starting to put the rope coils on the belaying pins. Seems like this phase will take a while between making about 150+ coils and then placing them. 
These are on the port bulwark on the forecastle. 

 
This pic is just aft the main mast

 
Really trying to put some time towards finishing in time for the show. The last big hurdle is mounting the mizzen sail, gaff and boom. Also still need to figure out the belaying of those lines. Tick tock  goes the clock 😜. Shouldn’t be a problem but I need to stress about something. 🤣😜
 
Tom
 
 

Starting to put the rope coils on the belaying pins. Seems like this phase will take a while between making about 150+ coils and then placing them. 
These are on the port bulwark on the forecastle. 

 
This pic is just aft the main mast

 
Really trying to put some time towards finishing in time for the show. The last big hurdle is mounting the mizzen sail, gaff and boom. Also still need to figure out the belaying of those lines. Tick tock  goes the clock 😜. Shouldn’t be a problem but I need to stress about something. 🤣😜
 
Tom
 
 

Starting to put the rope coils on the belaying pins. Seems like this phase will take a while between making about 150+ coils and then placing them. 
These are on the port bulwark on the forecastle. 

 
This pic is just aft the main mast

 
Really trying to put some time towards finishing in time for the show. The last big hurdle is mounting the mizzen sail, gaff and boom. Also still need to figure out the belaying of those lines. Tick tock  goes the clock 😜. Shouldn’t be a problem but I need to stress about something. 🤣😜
 
Tom
 
 

Starting to put the rope coils on the belaying pins. Seems like this phase will take a while between making about 150+ coils and then placing them. 
These are on the port bulwark on the forecastle. 

 
This pic is just aft the main mast

 
Really trying to put some time towards finishing in time for the show. The last big hurdle is mounting the mizzen sail, gaff and boom. Also still need to figure out the belaying of those lines. Tick tock  goes the clock 😜. Shouldn’t be a problem but I need to stress about something. 🤣😜
 
Tom
 
 

Starting to put the rope coils on the belaying pins. Seems like this phase will take a while between making about 150+ coils and then placing them. 
These are on the port bulwark on the forecastle. 

 
This pic is just aft the main mast

 
Really trying to put some time towards finishing in time for the show. The last big hurdle is mounting the mizzen sail, gaff and boom. Also still need to figure out the belaying of those lines. Tick tock  goes the clock 😜. Shouldn’t be a problem but I need to stress about something. 🤣😜
 
Tom
 
 

Starting to put the rope coils on the belaying pins. Seems like this phase will take a while between making about 150+ coils and then placing them. 
These are on the port bulwark on the forecastle. 

 
This pic is just aft the main mast

 
Really trying to put some time towards finishing in time for the show. The last big hurdle is mounting the mizzen sail, gaff and boom. Also still need to figure out the belaying of those lines. Tick tock  goes the clock 😜. Shouldn’t be a problem but I need to stress about something. 🤣😜
 
Tom
 
 

Starting to put the rope coils on the belaying pins. Seems like this phase will take a while between making about 150+ coils and then placing them. 
These are on the port bulwark on the forecastle. 

 
This pic is just aft the main mast

 
Really trying to put some time towards finishing in time for the show. The last big hurdle is mounting the mizzen sail, gaff and boom. Also still need to figure out the belaying of those lines. Tick tock  goes the clock 😜. Shouldn’t be a problem but I need to stress about something. 🤣😜
 
Tom
 
 

Hey guys I’m now a sponsor on the forum so I can openly discuss any questions you may have. I also want to thank all the members who have purchased from me. And I hope everyone is satisfied with the product I’m putting out. I’m always open to feedback. 
I know a lot of people have been requesting holly and I’m actively looking for good quality wood, but the prices right now are sky high and I don’t want to put anyone off by the price I would have to charge above the other woods. Thanks again and contact me if there’s anything you need. 
 
Joe

Please welcome Joe as our newest sponsor.  He sells precision milled wood sheets and strips.  Please visit his website and have a look.
 
Modeler's Sawmill
 
Boxwood...Swiss Pear....Walnut....Cherry...Alaskan Yellow Cedar etc.
 

 
Welcome Joe!!!

Nice scores!
 
I'm a little self-conscious of my Fred Flintstone feet showing up in pictures after being teased on here a few years ago.  Now I'm more careful!  Mark is right though, we can't smell them so no worries 😁

Don't worry, we can't smell them from here! 😁
 
Thanks for the post. 
 
All the best,
 
Mark P

Its the constructo USS Enterprise (1799).  It took 2 months (500+ hours of work)  At least over 100 errors making it! LOL.. it was really hard.. Instructions weren't too helpful  (e.g. like 1 page says plank the entire hull and shows only 2 pictures...  It was really rough to build (for me anyway).. I felt it was like a torture at some(most) times.. but in the end.. very glad I had done it! (yay!)  It was beginner try to build up experience to build the USS Constitution.. but for now going to take a break! Thanks all for all of your help!
v.r
Bill

I don't have nor did I ever have those Byrnes Trifecta. I did however buy well over $200.00 on modeling tools 25 years ago and wound up selling or giving most of them away because I didn't need them. But then again it's good excuse to tell your wife how you need all those over priced tools/toys for your hobby. I'm a minimalist, I don't even use a scroll saw, although I do own one. I use a coping saw most of the time because I have more control of it and get a better cleaner cut all be it slower. My desk top belt sander is my hand 3x21" belt sander flipped up side down on my bench.    

Bob, Richard, 
 
You make excellent points and your timing is superb: I intend to 'copper' the hull of my 1/64 schooner in the coming months and have been thinking about this for some time. I am trying to make the model 'accurate' rather than conforming to model making conventions and this has faced me with some awkward decisions. 
 
A model is a representation of reality and will always have some compromises. Some are close to that reality, for example the thickness of a rigging line or the width of a plank. Some are conventions that we accept, for example a ship is stationary in a case and is not actually sailing. The many choices in between these extremes are a balance between accuracy, artisan skill, and art. All of these characteristics are subjective to some extent. 
Accuracy: In theory we follow Admiralty drawings or information from contemporary models, but we overlay this with our own imagination and desire to represent features that might not actually be visible at a scale distance. There are nails and dents on the edges and face of a copper plate and I would like to nod towards them rather than ignore them. Similarly, I include a few figures on my models to give an indication of scale and I paint the brass buttons on a jacket. 
Artisan skill: Many models are made to demonstrate the maker's skill and there is nothing wrong with this. It does affect the choice of wood and other materials and sometimes the result looks good but is far from simulating oak planks. 
Art: I put a few sails on a ship because I like the look, as does my wife. They are out of scale but in my mind the model is bare without them. We all make our own choices because we have different preferences. 
 
I have a pack of Amati etched copper plates and might still use them. Or I might make plates from paper in the way that Bob describes. Accuracy is important for me but is it the accuracy of a hull in the water (and the model is definitely dry) or a hull freshly coppered, or in dry dock... Do I want to include weed and barnacles or is that a step too far, for me? A diorama would be treated differently. 
 
This model making is something I do for relaxation so I will make my decision at some time soon, and I will not criticize others for their decisions if they happen to be different. 
 
George
 
 

I hope everybody is sitting down, because this is going to cause a lot of people to gasp in horror...
 
If it's an accurate depiction one desires in the scales we usually build models, using real copper to "copper" bottoms really isn't the way to go. It is difficult to work with and nearly always produces a poor result. Model kit manufacturers include copper tape and foil in their kits because it's just one more inexpensive way to make consumers think their kits are "high quality." 
 
As many have noted, prototype coppered bottoms look nothing like what the majority of coppered bottom models look like. To achieve an accurate scale depiction of a coppered bottom, one must consider the principle of "scale viewing distance."  Scale viewing distance is the distance between a model viewer's eye and the model multiplied to full scale. In a 1:48 (quarter inch to the foot) scale model, one foot of scale viewing distance is what the viewer would see from 48 feet away from the real ship. At two feet of scale viewing distance, which I'd say was a "close look," the scale viewing distance of a 1:48 scale model is 96 feet, or a third of the length of a football field or about the length of two big semi trailers. For a 1:96 scale model (1/8" to the foot) a two-foot actual viewing distance equals a scale viewing distance of 102 feet. Can your eyes see a half inch copper tack head against a copper plate at a hundred feet? Of course not.
 
One way to accurately depict copper plating at model scales is to use paper "plates" which are of scale thickness. This is quite thin paper. (You can do the math.) Glue the plates onto the hull. Soaking the paper plates in water will allow them to be contoured to bends and curves as needed. When the glue dries, apply a coat of thinned shellac which will soak in to the paper, harden and stabilize it, and serve as a primer for painting. Then paint and weather the "copper" plates to appear, at scale viewing distance, like the real thing. Apply quality paint sparingly so as to preserve the barely visible plate edges. (If for some stylistic reason you wish to depict your coppered hull as bright and shiny, use quality copper-colored metallic paint.)
 
When plating a model hull, "Less is more." is the key.
 
I know that this method will not yield a "real copper" coppered bottom, but it will look a lot more like the real thing than real copper itself and creating that compelling impression of realism in miniature is what it's all about, no? 

Thanks Eurus. I am not to sure about museum worthy but being my second model and first scratch build I am pleased. It has taken quite a long time but half of it was spent learning and reading. The MSW family has been invaluable in my education. 
Tom

Made a little more progress this weekend with the mizzenmast staysails, top gallant and top sails. I need to mount the crossjack then finally the mizzen sail. 



 

Currently debating whether I will put up the mizzen staysail or not. I left off the lowest staysails at the main and foremast so as not to cover up the deck detail. The gap from the deck to the bottom mizzen top mast staysail is higher than the other masts so it kind of seems out of balance.  Maybe it will even out when the crossjack is put up. Problem is it will be very difficult to get in there to install all the necessary blocks for the rigging now. 
 
Finally I need to go back and tie up the braces and make what seems like a thousand rope coils for the belaying pins and various odds and ends… all by mid September so it is ready for the Northeast conference 
 
Tom

Hi all,
It has been a while since I posted but I am still picking away it when I can. Still have lines hanging all over the place but making progress. All the main staysails and mast sails are up with most of the lines rigged. Getting ready to move on to the mizzenmast area next. 

 
i need to pick up the pace if I am to get it finished for the Northeast conference at the beginning of October!  Funny thing though, the more things I knock off my “chores around the house” list the longer it gets!😜 That “work for a living” thing seems to be getting in the way a lot too!🤣😜
 
Tom

Made a little more progress this weekend with the mizzenmast staysails, top gallant and top sails. I need to mount the crossjack then finally the mizzen sail. 



 

Currently debating whether I will put up the mizzen staysail or not. I left off the lowest staysails at the main and foremast so as not to cover up the deck detail. The gap from the deck to the bottom mizzen top mast staysail is higher than the other masts so it kind of seems out of balance.  Maybe it will even out when the crossjack is put up. Problem is it will be very difficult to get in there to install all the necessary blocks for the rigging now. 
 
Finally I need to go back and tie up the braces and make what seems like a thousand rope coils for the belaying pins and various odds and ends… all by mid September so it is ready for the Northeast conference 
 
Tom

This looks really terrific, Tom.  I look forward to seeing this in person, in New London!

Overwhelmingly beautiful...Moab

Made a little more progress this weekend with the mizzenmast staysails, top gallant and top sails. I need to mount the crossjack then finally the mizzen sail. 



 

Currently debating whether I will put up the mizzen staysail or not. I left off the lowest staysails at the main and foremast so as not to cover up the deck detail. The gap from the deck to the bottom mizzen top mast staysail is higher than the other masts so it kind of seems out of balance.  Maybe it will even out when the crossjack is put up. Problem is it will be very difficult to get in there to install all the necessary blocks for the rigging now. 
 
Finally I need to go back and tie up the braces and make what seems like a thousand rope coils for the belaying pins and various odds and ends… all by mid September so it is ready for the Northeast conference 
 
Tom

Made a little more progress this weekend with the mizzenmast staysails, top gallant and top sails. I need to mount the crossjack then finally the mizzen sail. 



 

Currently debating whether I will put up the mizzen staysail or not. I left off the lowest staysails at the main and foremast so as not to cover up the deck detail. The gap from the deck to the bottom mizzen top mast staysail is higher than the other masts so it kind of seems out of balance.  Maybe it will even out when the crossjack is put up. Problem is it will be very difficult to get in there to install all the necessary blocks for the rigging now. 
 
Finally I need to go back and tie up the braces and make what seems like a thousand rope coils for the belaying pins and various odds and ends… all by mid September so it is ready for the Northeast conference 
 
Tom

Thanks Eurus. I am not to sure about museum worthy but being my second model and first scratch build I am pleased. It has taken quite a long time but half of it was spent learning and reading. The MSW family has been invaluable in my education. 
Tom

Made a little more progress this weekend with the mizzenmast staysails, top gallant and top sails. I need to mount the crossjack then finally the mizzen sail. 



 

Currently debating whether I will put up the mizzen staysail or not. I left off the lowest staysails at the main and foremast so as not to cover up the deck detail. The gap from the deck to the bottom mizzen top mast staysail is higher than the other masts so it kind of seems out of balance.  Maybe it will even out when the crossjack is put up. Problem is it will be very difficult to get in there to install all the necessary blocks for the rigging now. 
 
Finally I need to go back and tie up the braces and make what seems like a thousand rope coils for the belaying pins and various odds and ends… all by mid September so it is ready for the Northeast conference 
 
Tom