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Cathead

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Everything posted by Cathead

  1. Cathead
    I'm so sorry to hear that, it must have been a devastating feeling regardless of which model it was.
  2. Cathead
    The final details have been added. First, I made a series of rope coils for each rigging line, to hide the cut-off end and because it just looks better this way. Below is just one example; no idea if this is just how Vikings coiled their lines but I don't think we can know for sure, so I'm going with it. And the final fun, an anchor. I like the look of stone anchors that other modelers have done, such as this one from killickthere's build: So I cut a few live branch junctions (so the wood would be flexible) and hunted around for a good igneous pebble that would look like the right kind of rounded glacial boulder a Viking shoreline would turn up. I found an awesome triangular one. I used a sharp knife to carve the branch junction down so it looked like an axe-hewn trunk, and made a bottom cross-piece: The cross-piece was bored so that the branch Y would have to bend around the rock a bit, helping hold it in place. The fit isn't perfect but it's the closest branch shape I could find in the time I wanted to spend on this. Test-fitting: I stained this with dilute paint and then rubbed it with pastel before installing the rock. I then made a final rope coil for the anchor. This is a big beast, but it's a big ship, and I can envision a few burly Vikings heaving this over the side with a grunt. Here it is in place at the bow: I think it gets the idea across well enough. So with this, I think I'm done adding details. Tomorrow I plan to take a full set of photos (including for the NRG model contest, due August 2), and then I'll declare it done.
  3. Cathead
    Nicely done so far. I've always liked the look of driftwood bases.
  4. Cathead
    Glad to see you're still carrying on! You have a nice balance of wood colors there.
  5. Cathead
    Oh cool, this looks fascinating. I speak some German but probably not enough to be useful in translating maritime history. You've been a great influence in dragging my interests from obscure American riverboats to even more obscure ancient ships. This looks like a good extension to the rabbit hole. I admit I was rather startled to see "Winchelsea by Louie da Fly" and wondered what prompted such a drastic change in modeling period for you!
  6. Cathead
    Wow, that looks great. You're definitely right about the paint bringing out the realistic look. Nice job on the texturing. I like the idea of a dark/rusty maroon, something that sets off the edge a little but doesn't highlight it. I found a detailed painting of the Cairo's interior on another modeling forum in a log for the BlueJacket kit. Not going to directly post it here as I'm not sure about copyright issues (not even sure if it's from the kit or some other source), but here's a link. It's a bit grainy, but appears to show gun rigging that looks fairly standard for naval cannons. If it is from the kit, I wonder if you could source a good copy directly from BlueJacket? If nothing else, I bet they'd be willing to discuss their own research used to develop that kit and maybe help you find new information?
  7. Cathead
    The bottom pieces look like valve parts, so is that the valve an engineer would use to control the flow of water into the jet condenser? Not sure what the wooden pulley-like objects would be. Great essay overall, thanks so much for sharing it.
  8. Cathead
    In the Heart of the Sea is another good one by him. Your vessel and base go nicely together. I hope you enjoy your hiking trip.
  9. Cathead
    Thanks for starting this!
  10. Cathead
    Yes, please do, this is one of my next projects and I'd enjoy reading some third-party experiences.
  11. Cathead
    Very cool prototype and kit story, looking forward to this build. Roger, if I recall correctly, Nansen's Fram was built the same way (to move upward under ice pressure) as opposed to Shackleton's Endurance, which relied on brute force hull strength. Not sure if Fram was the first to do so or was following previous designs in that respect. I would assume the builders of the current vessel were aware of Fram and any of her predecessors.
  12. Cathead
    None here, I've never used varnish so have no useful input.
  13. Cathead
    My hands shake a bit, too, I've learned to balance my forearms or even wrists on something when doing delicate work. It makes a huge difference. Apologies if you're already doing that; it was a bit of a revelation to me.
  14. Cathead
    This is a fantastic exercise that everyone should engage in! You have a great perspective on thinking this through as part of becoming a better modeler.
  15. Cathead
    Huh, I'd never experienced that. I've always used a very thin sheen of wood glue on the bottom side of such pieces, since they aren't under a lot of stress and it ensures glue doesn't squeeze out anywhere else. I can see how overloading the glue might have the effect you mention (and I certainly believe you given your experience). Just interested to hear of it because I hadn't run across that effect.
  16. Cathead
    Hey, just saw this introduction. I grew up in the Finger Lakes and never stop missing it. Enjoy it for me and welcome to MSW!
  17. Cathead
    Good start! If interested, I strongly suggest lraymo's ongoing log for this build, in which she asks a lot of good questions that might be useful for other builders:
  18. Cathead
    Another way to look at it is that blackening most metal will improve the realism but leaving metal as brass can improve the artistry. There are some very nice models that leave all fittings brass, it's very attractive, just not as accurate. My take would be to choose one way or the other for the most part (for example, as noted above, bells remain brass even if other metal is iron). Haphazard mixing (like blackened rudder hardware but brass chainplates) may look inconsistent or even silly.
  19. Cathead
    Just read through your log so far, great work to this point. You're really doing a nice job learning how to do things and asking the right questions. I can't wait (ok, I can) to see how this turns out.
  20. Cathead
    I agree, I don't know why they would suggest that when PVA is so much cleaner and easier to use. May be a translation issue, foreign kits are notorious for poor English. Thanks for the kind words! Lots of people find this kit to be a good entry point and it produces an attractive display piece even if it isn't particularly accurate (which isn't necessarily important). If you enjoy it and want to dive deeper, I strongly recommend Model Expo's Chaperon kit, which is the only accurate wood riverboat kit I know of. Strongly agree on Twain, and one I never get tired of rereading.
  21. Cathead
    Personally I would use regular wood glue for all wood-wood contact. Makes a very secure and stable bond, and dries at the right rate (slow enough to allow you to set the joint, fast enough that you're not waiting days). I agree that choppers like that are wonderfully handy.
  22. Cathead
    Enter! At worst it's a learning experience. I won silver with Arabia in the Wisconsin contest despite my photos being not all that great (wrinkled sheet behind the model and everything).
  23. Cathead
    Mark, I believe the problem is that known hulls show no signs of ever having had figureheads, removable or otherwise (Steven can correct me if I'm wrong). If there was a clear socket for one, or a clearly hacked-off stempost, we might at least confirm that we were used. But as I understand it they're only known at all from literature and later artistic renderings.
  24. Cathead
    Have fun! I’m near the end of the larger version of this, took me over a year rather than the few months I expected, but much of that was my own fault. I had some trouble with various aspects of mine but the smaller version may be easier. Looking forward to what you do with it!
  25. Cathead
    Finished the rigging, which wasn't overly complicated. I just followed the kit's instructions. There's probably a more complex and accurate way to do it, and I temporarily studied some photos of the reproduction, but had a really hard time following the lines. What's shown here at least makes basic operational sense to me. Note the beitass holding the windward corner of the sail (the pole wedged into the leeward hull and extending up to the sail). Balaclutha75's drakkar log has some good discussion and imagery of how this might have functioned, especially the lovely National Geographic artwork linked in this post. That image also shows a few shields lashed along the bow gunwale, forward of the oars, just like I decided to do. Don't know if that's coincidental or if I subconsciously remembered that when working out my shield arrangement. It also shows shields stashed below the deck, which I can always used as an excuse for my missing 20 shields, even though I dismissed that as an overall solution earlier. Nothing is glued in yet (hence the clamps in the photos below), so I'm curious if anyone has specific arguments for how/why I should change anything (within reason). You'll also notice that I installed my figureheads. I realize these are still somewhat controversial as literary and archeological sources don't line up. But as someone who loves the Icelandic sagas and other literature from the period, I'm fine with hinting at that style of ship-building. Artist's license. Looks like I got the focus a bit off on this last one, but don't feel like retaking it as the ship is already back inside. It gets the point across regarding rigging setup. Once I'm comfortable with the rigging, all I have to do is add the oars back in and I'm done. Then it's time for some proper photography. Please let me know what you think of this rigging setup (especially if you think any changes should be made), so I can move toward completion! Thanks so much.

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