amateur

Hi Doris, I would happily believe anyone that tells me that you fotoshopped a real gun into your last picture Your mastery, not only of card, but also of paint is astonishing. Jan (pm to myself: scan the dictionary for more superlatives )

Don't panic: it is like a lego box, but a slightly more complicated one Buying second hand is a bit of a risk: the box already being opened can result in either missing, or damaged parts. Buying a kit that is already started, is also a risk: you start out with the problems an other person made. Having siad that: step 1: check the contents of the box (check it against the instruction booklet, which I hope is there, otherwise you have a BIG chalenge) step 2: read the instruction booklet (not hust the first step, but all of it, at least twice). You can also do this as step 0 Step 3: try to imagine where everything has to go (more or less) step 4 buy you some basic tools and materials. a small hammer, couple of pins (you know the long shapr ones, the missus uses when creating a new dress). Clothing peggs can be usefull as well as clamps. Buy something like a couple of sharp knives (the X-acto will do, don't forget the spare blades, as you will snap and damage a couple when going along). for glue: white wood glue, gives you plenty of grip, and plenty of correction time. Some modellersfiles (not the heavy metal workers version), and sandpaper (course and fine). Accept the fact that you will come to the point that your tools don't suffice, and buy when needed. No need to set up a full scale modellers workshop before starting your first. Don't set your standards too high. I don't know what you paid for this kit, but be prepared to think "ah well, it was only just for fun, and I had some fun trying". The 'next will be better thought' will never leave you, however high quality you will ever reach With respect to the model itself: it looks as if the frames are already glued to the keel. If so, make sure that the keel is straight, and than the frames are perpendicular to the keel. And then you are off, onto a whole new road: read the booklet, and sees what comes next. Remeber: it is very tempting to do things not in the order the booklet shows, but they are there (probably) for a reason. In all cases: don't forget to think ahead. What comes next, and how am I going to do it. In case of doubt or emergency: stop working, and give us a shout and a picture. Jan

Angling that part can be disrupting..... I should have done the same:cutting and glueing. I didn’t dare to do the steps jan

Looking wonderfull. the booms are around 10 milimeters? Jan

Hi Bob, Although I admire your knowledge and your equipment (guess you also use it for models, bur couldn’t find anything of that work here at msw), I wonder whether you make things more difficult than necessary: you can draw ideal lines, but I guess (never tried myself) that slightly less ideal would also work. The final fairing is done when frames are set up in the model so the use of a simple pencil and ruler and a basic set of curves should do for a beginner. I have even seen an admiralty type of model without lofting, using just station lines. Also Mccaffery uses such a method for his small-scale models: he cleverly builds up a layered block, and shapes it as if it were a solid hull modell. Requires some thinking and preparation, but it works without any curves or dawing let alone drafting. Jan

Problem with electrical tools: sometimes they tend to take too much in too short a period. just doing it by hand takes more time, but I find control a bit easier. Jan

Hi Grandpa, I guess that very much depends on the scale and period you are building. wooden cleats can be done in various ways: miling a strip of wood into the outer profile you need, and sawing off cleats in the width you need. or just forming them one by one froma strip that has the correct width and thickness. metal cleats, I never did one, but I guess that there are also various ways.... Jan

Thanks for the explanation!

Wow, it takes some time to realize the size of this ship. Can you tell how you made the sails? they lookvery convincing. Jan

You need quite a notch to get a strong connection. So large that it is visible (at least it was in mine.) using a parrel and a drop of glue was enough for my yards Jan

Hi John, that is deceptive: he has quite a number if things to do. Railing stanchions for instance. But, you’re right: less work than rigging ratlines for a three-masted man-of-war. Jan

That is quite impressive! Jan

Mamoli went down, not because of poor design, but because of fire: their productionfacility burned down. I guess that the square-business holds for almost all pre-laser kits....Mine (corel) wasn't much better. What I don't like at the Mamolis is that their research was lousy. Kits could have been much better representation of the ship without too much effort..... Jan

Here

Doris did Now I need to think: where..... Jan

HiVossie, it is even weirder: the botteloef is not a bowsprit in a normal way. Therefore, next to this botteloef (and its extension 'opsteker'), these ships often had a separate boom as bowsprit. the botteloef is intended to have the fore sail forward as much as possible, as that improves sailing qualities. (And that is also the reason that some owners had the botteloef extended using such an opsteker: getting the fore sail even further forward. ) Jan

As Carl already said: funnel looks better now. could you do a pic with a referenceobject for size? I am a bit lost when I look at those parts. You call them big guns, They look huge, but I suspect that is pure delusion. Jan

Strict rules on plank length, shift-patterns etc. were not around when the Revenge was build. Archeological evidence suggest there is quite a margin to fudge

I thought your metalwork in Varyag was stunning...... this one is even better. Why isthis one on hold? Jan

I like the red, but as it is quite heavily shaded in with black ,the overall impression is (at least on my screen) a bit on the dark side. Jan

Hi Anna, Nice going! Whether to use paint, lacquer or oil is largely your own choice. I prefer paint/lacquer (just the normal smallest tin of non-coloured 'histor blanke lak' sold by Gamma ) that way the wwood is protected. I never tried oil. From what I have seen here: oil goes into the wood, lacquer remains on top. So any errors with (too much) glue tend to show up with oil, and lesswith lacquer). Paint is another story: some like the wood to show, and use different types of wood to have variation in colours. Other refer to the ships that are modelled, and that are never unpainted, and therefore use paint to resemble to original as best as possible. Up to youo whichever gang you belong (and you can always turn to the others ). When using paint, you can use the standard stuff from the home deco, but it works easier with modelling paint. tamya and Humbrol sell small tins waterbased enamel/paint in a broad range of colours. Originally for plastics, they stick very well to wood and metal as well. I guess Shamrock still sells them. In al cases, it needs some ahead planning: you have to paint when everything is still reachable. Nothing so annoying a a spot you can see, butnot reach with yourbrush. But on the other hand, glue will not hold on paint, lacquer and oil. So, don't put the stuff on too early. Jan

Hi Anna, Welcome to MSW! Jan

Placing your model in the snow. I wouldn't dare..... Your rigging looks great! Jan

Digital painting. Ideal when science discovers that it was actually red and yellow in stead of black and white. Why thoses small pieces above and under the upper gunports? Jan

The Groene Draak was a wedding present from the Dutch people to Prinses Beatrix and Prins Claus. Not a very 'royal design', on the contrary, it was based on the rather common flat bottomed working ships there used to be. Jan