Landrotten Highlander

Just noticed this thread, so inclined to give my thoughts.
 
I am working on one of their mini kits at the moment.  Also have one of their larger kits waiting on the shelf.  I preferred the typical Japanese ships they offered over the more European / Modern kits - but that may be just my taste.
Lovely wood (Japanese Cedar - adore the smell), and has very well executed details.  Parts are very finely laser cut and laser edged where needed.  Initially the wood may feel flimsy, but it appears stronger than what I assumed at first look (e.g., not have any parts split on me so far, even though they are very thin).
 
The kit is easy enough to put together when you take time to study the instructions - all pictures are in my mother tongue, as well as English, French, German (you get my drift); the text is Japanese, but pictogrames used for 'glue this, do not glue that, file this, etc' make the instructions sufficiently clear not to need even a basic understand of the wording.  Compared to some other kits, these instructions are very good - similar to some plastic kits such as Hasegawa or Tamyia.
 
The kit may seem pricy, but I think it is worth the money - especially when you consider that the wood is of such good quality (unlike some of the cheaper kits I have where the wood is not so pleasant to work with - replace the wood is a thought that often occur to me with such kits) and they offer ships that are not so common in our market.
 
Just my thought, and hope it helps.
 
Slainte
L.H.

Just noticed this thread, so inclined to give my thoughts.
 
I am working on one of their mini kits at the moment.  Also have one of their larger kits waiting on the shelf.  I preferred the typical Japanese ships they offered over the more European / Modern kits - but that may be just my taste.
Lovely wood (Japanese Cedar - adore the smell), and has very well executed details.  Parts are very finely laser cut and laser edged where needed.  Initially the wood may feel flimsy, but it appears stronger than what I assumed at first look (e.g., not have any parts split on me so far, even though they are very thin).
 
The kit is easy enough to put together when you take time to study the instructions - all pictures are in my mother tongue, as well as English, French, German (you get my drift); the text is Japanese, but pictogrames used for 'glue this, do not glue that, file this, etc' make the instructions sufficiently clear not to need even a basic understand of the wording.  Compared to some other kits, these instructions are very good - similar to some plastic kits such as Hasegawa or Tamyia.
 
The kit may seem pricy, but I think it is worth the money - especially when you consider that the wood is of such good quality (unlike some of the cheaper kits I have where the wood is not so pleasant to work with - replace the wood is a thought that often occur to me with such kits) and they offer ships that are not so common in our market.
 
Just my thought, and hope it helps.
 
Slainte
L.H.

Tadheus, 
 
I am not saying my representation is good or wrong.
I tried only  to reproduce  Boudriot’s drawing.
1 reason it is difficult to understand is because the drawings  use a piece called talonnier which is in the same family as talon, heel in english.
There is  text explaining the talonnier but drawings show it partially.
 
If you can provide better drawings to explain, please do so.

I have right now got some photos from Mile. He have finished the Caroline's boat. The ornaments are made of pear wood.
Drazen

That actually works quite well Greg.   The finishes can vary however but yes I have used that technique.  Its actually easier than using the dies that you mix with the resin before pouring.  BUT for cannon and black items there are better alternatives.  Several black resin and plastic products are available that cure black.
 
http://www.reynoldsam.com/product/smooth-cast-onyx/
 
and 
 
http://www.alumilite.com/store/p/928-Alumilite-Regular-Black.aspx
 
These work great for casting and afterwards you can use some weathering powders to really make them look like black metal.  
 
Here is a link with something like Greg was referring to about making parts look like metal...its a powder rather than a spray or liquid application.  I have used these and it works well.  For example...if you use the pewter powder with black resin it looks pretty awesome on a cannon casting.  But you have to experiment.  I prefer the powders. 
 
http://www.alumilite.com/store/p/1082-Alumidust-clone.aspx
 
http://www.alumilite.com/store/p/953-Alumilite-Metallic-Powder.aspx
 
The monogram for example which is usually shown on a barge gold leafed...would look rather nice with the casting made using the gold powder.  Just for giggles I will order some so you guys can see how it works and looks on these cast carvings for the barge.  They come out much cleaner than painting them.  the downside is they remain on your mold somewhat and you have to have a dedicated mold for that finish....more mold prep before casting subsequent copies is needed to make sure the mold is free from left over powder that might clog small details and textures the next go-around.
 

In order to support the remark made by Jan, see the stern section of Dutch ships.
Drazen

THE KEY TO USE CHERRY WOOD
 
‘’My mystery partner’’ will be starting  a model of a 74 guns as soon he finishes his actual model.  He wants to know if  cherry wood could be a good wood choice for his next build? He asked to see a picture of the darkest wood avaialable. Why not show everybody the answer and  at the same time, try to demistify if this wood could  be use in a model ship construction perspective.
For  3 different batches of cherry wood that I saw, the wood grain pattern was different each time. I have been working few years up to now and if I take time to regroup the observations I made during this period, I can observe  4 main wood grain pattern for this specific wood:
 
1- Sap wood is white and heartwood is somekind of  different brown.  Time  darkens and embellish condiderably the color.
 
2- By comparison, which is often the best way to learn a subject, pear wood has no grain pattern. This gives the wood an adavantage for the model maker enthousiast.  All the planks are identical for the wood grain. He does not need to select any plank,  all the planks have the same  identical  grain pattern. From the point of view, workability pear wood and cherry wood  are similar even if pear wood  has a slightly higher density. Finally, for the sandability, both are identical.
 
Cherry wood has  a grain pattern. This pattern is different on the top and on the side of the plank. The pattern is partially governed by the annual year growth . Ideally if the rings were smaller, cherry wood could be the ideal wood to use for us, modeler.
 
When you look at a plank from side or top the pattern can be completely different, This pattern  comes back often and it is pretty nice to see but on 1 side only.
 
3- The worst grain pattern we can find is when when the growth lines come perpendiculary to the lenght of the plank. This kind is the less desirable to use. The worst  mistake I could do is to use this pattern for the planking.
 
Ideally by decreasing   the scale of a model, we should also decrease the wood pattern of the grain. For the best results, we should find a wood grain which looks exactly like oak but at a much smaller scale. Does this perfect wood exist? I do not know.  One of the nicest wood I have seen for the planking is apple wood, yet another fruit wood, our best friend.
 
4- Each wood as his own advantages. Oak has a grain pattern which goes in the same way as the plank goes. Occasionally, a cherry wood plank will have the grain perpendicular to the lenght of the plank. This is exactly this kind of situation which must be avoid. If someone succeeds to avoid this trap, it should be possible to get a good result  simply by categorising the wood, not as a selling perspective classification as on the market, but as a perspective of use in model ship realisation.
 
For the frame,  the less attractive wood grain of the batch can be use and the best looking grain is kept for the planking. 

I will be doing a demo at my local club as a follow up to the carving exercise we had.  I will also create a photo essay of sorts here on MSW.
 
I have already created the test mold for the live demo and made a few test copies....but will be making more molds of other elements.   I will demonstrate one method for making simple one part molds for these flat carvings as it is something that comes in handy for ship modeling.  Especially for things like gunport wreaths etc.
 
So look for the demo to commence in about a week.  I am just waiting on newer resin and rubber mold material to arrive in the mail.  It has a short shelf life. Using old rubber mold materials is also not good because it could ruin your master.  
 
I will be trying a few brands so I can talk about and review each of them.  I hope you will find this a useful addendum to the carving section as it is somewhat related.  I hope its OK with you folks that I post here in this area.
 
Below is the first mold....a master carving....and two cast copies.   Casting thin parts is problematic but its what we do as ship modelers so lets give it a go.
 

 
 
Chuck

wasn't gonna post any shots till the basic hull was finished, but i thought i'd add one here and there, cause i don't keep any records of the progress at home ....so at least it's somewhere
   was tired of looking at the bare side of the barn..especiall at this scale, so i added some windows...this time i use art resin which was a bit expensive but they didn't charge shipping and i oversprayed with uv protected satin urethane by minwax, and to also dull the gloss.....decided on some fancy supports for the chanels, cause i figured it's a fancy ship......added the gunport lids but not installed until i paint the insides red.....gads...my wife is keeping tabs on how much i'm spending, and it's about $2000 cdn. so far including electronics.....maybe i should have bought a kit haha....but it shouldn't be much more than that to complete...oh....i will eventually line all the windows with some leather cord or whatever you call it....for jewlery making...........getting flags printed may be a problem for a french ship ....with the british it was easy and cost little......cornwall hobbies gave me an estimate of 140 to 180 pounds.....scratch that................anyways....a la prochaine

... and the small boat ....
 
Drazen

few photos in progress

I do apologize for my tardiness in updating this log. I have been in the process of restructuring my professional committments and, consequently, have neglected the more enjoyable of my pursuits. I have, however, finally worked out the likely method that was used to laterally stabilize the mainmast. The shrouds are passed inboard, not as in later vessels outboard to chainplates. The pendants from the mainmasts ( more later) are secured by tackles. This is more in keeping with the iconography of the period in mediterranean vessels. It may well have been different in the northern european vessels as illustrated by the drawings by the flemish master WA, which show chainplates. Certainly it would have been vastly simpler for me to secure the pendants outboard but, in shipmodelling, it is sometimes better to aim for accuracy rather than facility. Nonetheless, I offer this as a solution which is consistent with the scanty evidence.
Dick
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

I'm pulling up a chair as well.
 
@Gaetan, can you give us the title of the 5th book (I already have the 4 in the series and am aware that there are separate plans sold as well).
 
Slainte
L.H.

Hello,
 
I worked with Jean Boudriot and I was his friend for many years and I can tell you that the 3D drawings of the V74 are not real drawings calculated on the drawing board, they are only photographs redrawn keeping only the desired part.   On the other hand, it should be noted that the V74 is not representative of the French construction of the 1780s, the model preserved at Rochefort which was used by JB as a working basis, goes against many building rules of the time. But this does not detract from the exceptional contribution of information that are contained in the four volumes of the V74.   For the "Fifth volume" it contains some strange details in the framework plates (11 plates), the rest (31 plates) are enlargements to 1/48 of the four volumes plans. A little expensive just for enlargements ...   This is not a négative criticism, the V74 is an indisputable reference of the French shipbuilding of the end of the eighteenth century. Jean Boudriot composed an extraordinary document on the practices of this period, but we must go beyond his reading to appreciate all the subtleties and therefore the peculiarities.   Jean Boudriot is at the origin of the revival of the "arsenal modelism" and only for that, we owe to him a lot.   GD

The fifth one, from Ancre.fr,  and I forgot, I have a  sixth book , containing  almost 550 pages about the construction with photos.
 
I did not think that there would be comments on this first post. So, thank you. Occasionnally I like to consolidate the experience  of the last years.
 
Some peoples saw the construction of the V3.0_74_ 1/24 in the MSW1.0 forum.
For those who did not see the other models, there are :
 
V1.0_ 74_1/192, to give you an idea about the diameter of the figurehead, it is about ¼ of the diameter of a small finger.
 
V2.0_ 74_ 1/48, this model is represented at port during winter. (Here in Quebec, this year it  will probably the year with the most snow the way it is looking today)
 
V3.0_74_ 1/24, this model is made from many kinds of domestic and exotics woods.
 
V4.0_74_ 1/24, Depending of the content of the fifth book, a choice will be made to see which 74 will be represented. The only kind of exotic wood I still like to buy is a orange amaranth which smell vanilla when we sand it. But it is to use for ship modeling. For this build, 100% cherry wood will be use. I beleive that cherry wood is a suitable wood for our activity. In the last build I done, a 64 guns, cherry wood was also use. Among the comments, only 1 people, from France, did not like the choice of cherry. Some are very strict about customs. Somebody wrote in another forum that the only scale you can use 1/48 and that the only woods you can use is pear wood and boxwood. To stay polite, I will say that I think in life we need to see broader horizon.
 
In the structure there is no problem, it is only in the outside planking that, careful  choice must be use to select the grain. If this rule is well applied, then I would say that cherry wood is perfectly suited to use for model ship construction.
 
What did I learn working at different scales; the bigger the scale the easier the work, and the reason is pretty simple : it is easier to work a piece of wood if we can hold it with all the hand fingers instead of only 2.
 
What is the best tool I tried?  It is not for any reson if the jewelers work at  a higher height, closer to their eyes, it is to see better the small parts. Height adjustable table is probably one of the best tool. To have the part at the good height makes the work easier  and also the work can be done  with less effortsthus inducing less fatigue.
 
 It enters in the category of the when ‘’you try it, you keep it.’’ Mike found probably the best source to buy an adjtable height table : IKEA. To make it simple, you can buy 3 kinds : 2-3 height position, handle height adjusting and electric adjusting table.
 
In the small category, my  prefered 2 tools I like to use are the scalpel with #11 blade. This tool is a great mystery in itself. Even if it is the best small knife available, most people on this forum prefer to use  the commercialised hobby knife : Exacto. I guess to understand you need  to compare side to side the performance, then  you can see that an exacto blade is far from being as sharp as a scalpel blade.
 
The other one is the proportional divider. This tool comes back occasionally on the forum. The last time I saw comments about this tool, I observed that  there is still a lot of education to do about this tool. I am far from being sure that everybody understands the real uses  of this tool. But the nice thing about this forum :  is that forum is a great educational tool.
 

I'm pulling up a chair as well.
 
@Gaetan, can you give us the title of the 5th book (I already have the 4 in the series and am aware that there are separate plans sold as well).
 
Slainte
L.H.

Hello,
 
Here is another update - all the frames are done.
 
Regards,
Alexandru

Thank you for interest.
Here is another update with the weekend progress: I made the first and the last frames corresponding to the ship bow and stern then I started the assembly of the frames on the keelson and the other two strikes parallel to the keelson. I have so far 9 out of 30 frames done.
 
Reagards,
Alexandru

Hello,
 
I started the year with a new project - since my Victory is "done". The project I choose is  small utility vessel used in French ports to keep them clean and accessible based on a monograph by Gerard Delacroix. The model will be built as plank on frames with a side open.The plans are at 1/36 which will give a model about 50 cm long - so not too big.
 
It has no rigging and the hull shape is quite simple with a perfectly flat bottom. The hull itself will be relatively easy to build - which I like as I don't feel like embarking in huge projects for a while now (Victory took me 9 years). But there are challenges to this project too: the two wheels and the metal scoops. 
 
Here are some pictures  with the progress so far.
 
Regards,
Alexandru

Thanks for looking in.   So far, so good on planking.
 
 
 
This Deathstar II, Rev2.   I think.  Ah.. just call it Deathstar III.  I've got one pesky setting that won't stay in place on a mirror adjustment.  Considering my options....  Locktite, epoxy, or weld it.   
 
 
Jason, 
 
Here's a couple of screen shots that might help.
 
The first is complete drawing (as of today) with all the layers of which there are 10.  I started with a scanned image of the deck, then added reference lines (red and blue).  Then each part of the deck got it's own layer so I could lock it and turn it on or off as needed.
 
The red tick marks off the vertical lines is where the planks cross the beams (actual measurements).  I started in the center and worked both ways by copy/pasting the original set of marks and then adjusting the size to fit the space (scaled them).  So far, so good.  It seems to be working.    This is a computer variation of the planking fan that Chuck uses in his planking methods.
 

 
 
This shot is of the cutting layers for the plankings....  
 

 
Any questions, feel free to ask.

Continuation.
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
The beginning of the relation is available at this address:
 
 
http://5500.forumact...ndre-1-24#66516
 
 
 
Regards, Pawel

Hello Alexander,
 
vossiewulf was referring to this blog http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/327-le-fleuron-by-gaetan-bordeleau-124/
Gaetan is the person who has just finished building a beatiful model of the French ship 'Le Fleuron'.
 
The 'dictionary' he refers to is one way of saying he is running out of words to describe how good your work is (and that of Gaetan) - and I agree.
 
Hope this helps with understanding.
 
Slainte (this is a Gaelic greeting)
Peter

Hello Alexander,
 
vossiewulf was referring to this blog http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/327-le-fleuron-by-gaetan-bordeleau-124/
Gaetan is the person who has just finished building a beatiful model of the French ship 'Le Fleuron'.
 
The 'dictionary' he refers to is one way of saying he is running out of words to describe how good your work is (and that of Gaetan) - and I agree.
 
Hope this helps with understanding.
 
Slainte (this is a Gaelic greeting)
Peter

Hello Alexander,
 
vossiewulf was referring to this blog http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/327-le-fleuron-by-gaetan-bordeleau-124/
Gaetan is the person who has just finished building a beatiful model of the French ship 'Le Fleuron'.
 
The 'dictionary' he refers to is one way of saying he is running out of words to describe how good your work is (and that of Gaetan) - and I agree.
 
Hope this helps with understanding.
 
Slainte (this is a Gaelic greeting)
Peter

Continuation.
 
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
Pawel