dafi

Still worked on the template and made the middle groove larger for that I also can work the smaller stairs, now making them is real easy fun :-) I also was able to use the template for repairing: Cutting off a misglued step, putting the stair back into the template and fix a new step :-) The only tricky thing is the groove in the middle of the large stairs. Even well packed they like to bow up and then vibrate out of the vice. So well placed ... ... and held down by dafis patended steps downholder. And that´s the bounty of the last days ... ... cuties in every angle ;-) So now you may call me MotS, Master of the Stairs ;-) Daniel

Usually I like to work without machinery, but that time I had to bring out the heavy material: the Micromiller ... Putting in a block of Ureol, with an prepared angle according to the stairs.Distance of the steps 2,5 mm, as seen in the test before. CAD indicates a step in depth of 1,9 mm. And here we go with a 0,6 er miller for the gauge of the 0,5 mm steps ... ... and a groove for helping the ejection, and I champfered the edges to avoid problems with increeping glue. Then putting the steps in ... ... adjusting the sides, fixing with tape ... ... putting a stop for the bottom position of the lateral supprt, glueing ... ... and another nice shot for the family album :-) And as it came out pretty enough even a close up ... ... on the target area ... ... and once lifelike :-) Lieber Gruß, Daniel

So I decided to go differently :-) Status: Heller, V1 from the very start of the build and the V2 ... And here the planks of 0,5 mm x 2 mm that I prepared long time ago before I realised that the 6 maters mentioned at Mondfeld are far to small ... ... and on the right two tests for a right distance of steps: left 2 mm and right 2,5 mm, which looks right :-) And on the far right a first test with a new assembly technic :-) Looks right more soon. Liebe Grüße, Daniel

Meanwhile I sent my small worker for a small dress up ... ... and it looks like he had done some hard working lately :-) And tried hard with the building of the stairs: As it is difficult to measure inside of the ship, I took a masking tape to take measures, so one can easily get it right after taking it out :-) Then glueing the treads onto tape ... ... to get all of them the right distance. Beside you can see V1 from the early beginning of the build. Regrouped vertically for the milling of the groove of the middle rib.. Made some templates for the assembly ... ... glued the treads ... ... and the middle rib. And there he stands my small worker and shaking his head upon the wrong proportioned stairs and sends the carpenter back to work ... At least, he tried to do his best ... All the Best, dafi

The missing carriges! The old question: First painting still on the sprue or first assembling? I decided to do like Alexander cutting the Gordian knot: First assembling and then painting on the sprue! Sounds easy? It is ;-) Flatend the ends of the axis ... ... used felt to take the scraps away ... ... and as my files were to big to take the paint off, I used a diamond miller in a drill handle ... ... and here they stand all proud waiting for a small white drybrush and their barrels :-) Daniel

Hello Klaus, nice to see you back here! Daniel

Some pictures from the finished job And to finish with the british pattern, the batten on the top edge. Have fun, Daniel

Hello Yon, happy to have this build back! I like it very much! daniel

Gary, great to see Alfred again!!! All the best, Daniel

Then at X-Mess, I kept up with this holey ship (got the pun? ;-) After scuppering around with the scuppers I transfered the 1765 sceme onto my 1805 version. Just added the visible sceme to the last unsure positions and was able to fit the needed 8 ones each deck and side. Here are the test holes for the 6,5" at the manger, 5.5" scuppers of the lower deck and 3.5" of the upper ones, here in scale 1,5 mm 1,2 mm and 0,8 mm. In MSW druxey reminded me that all openings should not be on top of the seams. This explained my question about the double scupper in the manger area that usually have different heights. And now come the holey ship: 54 holes including the two inlets on the bottom for the elm tree pump. First a little wellness programm including some acupuncture, then enlarging stepwise onto the 0,8 mm, 1,2 mm and 1,5 mm ... ... sometimes placing wrong and so replacing and sealing the wrong holes with sprue ... ... and always nicely avoiding the seams. That led me to replace the old eyebolts too that I positioned onto the seams and ... ... as by trying to get them out, already having nice tension on the tools, the bolt broke, the ship jumped to the side, the original thin Heller-stand gave way by splitting itself into two parts and with lots of good luck I just caught the ship before it could continue its dive from the gallery to the living room situated some 3 meters below! Take a small breath and to continue ... ... all around ... ... and thats what I researched for for more than 18 months ... ... but that was my own decision ;-) All the best, Daniel

A bigger research was for the scuppers, as the only ones shown on the Vic today is one on the manger area and the ones for the chain pumps in the middle of the side steps. Arming and fitting gives the number and sizes, but not the positions. It took me months to discover a contemporary model of a three decker showing those: The Vic as build in NMM. (Thanks for Chapman from the Bolitho-Forum) I got the right link: http://collections.nmm.ac.uk/collections/objects/66473.html So I managed to correct the layout a little bit: Green the ones that were identified on the model, blue the ones that I added following the logic. Daniel

And on we go, the fore :-) First grinding down all the hoops, reengraving all the inner edges, lenghening the rubbing paunch on the bottom ... ... but the biggest changes took place in the masttop: It got its taper towards the top ... ... the area inbetween the cheeks was rebuild, the assembly splitlines of the top were engraved, the clamp for the yard-sling fixed ... ... rebuild the battens, engraved the cheeks and the holes for the bolts. As reference always pictured with the main mast in its oob state. on the last picture one can see nicely the different angels of the masts on the angle of the trestletrees :-) Some more views ... And the spareparts box is happy about two new entries :-) Here still the dolphin striker: original and imitation. Lieber Gruß, Daniel Edit: For the protocol: The two black clamps are really fixed oob ;-)

Thank you B.E. for help with the fairlead collar and the gammoning fish. Lee was the right answer. Jim from MSW even recollected that Steel mentioned the fairlead collar in his 1818 publication. So ok, lets go ahead :-) And that is what came out: At Lee I found two other nice details: The leather inlay for the hole of the jibboom in the cap and the lead cover of the spritsail sling saddle to avoid it galling the bowsprit. Fixed the dolphin stiker with two hoops ... ... and the flag staff in its groove and the fitting. The bees finally got their right form and ... ... still added some eye bolts. And as I most probably will not need the flag jack staff in the final presentation ... ... it can be taken out :-) All the best, Daniel

Jo-jo-jo, ... ... some more petitesse. This pic was left from the knie operations. To be able to paint them, drill a 0,5 mm hole in the back and press it onto a needle ... ... played around with the blocks ... ... n° 2 from the left is the 2 mm JB and the right ones are the 3 mm Krick, and, by the way, 190 sailors and sailoresses have made their crosses ... ... even without press gang ;-) Ah, and the bowsprit got new hoops ... ... following Steel about 10 cm high and 1,5 cm thick ... ... and 5 on the bottom, 9 in the middle and two at the bee, like it is meant to be on a first rate. The dolphin stryker had a rebirth in its true size- not as kiki as the Heller original :-) The wooden bit was meant just to be a mockup for a brass one, but proved that stable with its 2 mm square that it got the job permanetly. And once more my trouble with the fairlead saddle ... Steel shows on the plate and describes it on page 33: "The saddle for the running-rigging is similar to the above [der Sattel der Oberblinde], and nails on the bowsprit just without the gammoning, but not till the bowsprit is rigged. It has several holes bored through fore and aft, through which the rigging is led claer into the bow" As Maurice wrote Lee mentioned it to be used untill 1805, Marquart and Schrage show and discribe it, Longridge shows on his model and on plan n° 7, I finally found it at the McKay-drawings in McGowan ... ... but it is not to be found on contemporary models ... Could Steel be interpretaited that it was just fixed in the end and therefor is omitted in models? And to put one more on the top: What is about the saddles for the bowsprit gammoning? Haven´t found any prove apart from Vic in P. ... Another anachronism ??? All the best, Daniel, oh how life is hard ...

... for that I do not loose the feeling that I work on a SAILING ship I had to do some spars ... Thats the bounty of the last days: Enlarged the bowsprit cap, ... ... took out the not needed grooves. Cut off the original foot and positioned the bowsprit on the partners... ... adjusted lengh ... ... fixed it ... ... filled it up ... ... filed an octagon and rounded it. On the backside of the bowsprit cap closed the hole for the jib boom and made a new groove for the Jack. On the bee I enlarged the two existing holes to longholes and drilled two new square ones for emergency stays ... ... and enlarged the jib boom saddle. I do not know yet if I will use the fairlead saddles, still investigating if they were used with the mariners walk ... Still a long way to go - as usually - but the start is done, all the best, Daniel

Here comes an interesting version on doing the aft nameplates by using plottcutted car adhesive foil from the car branding industry. Prepared the size on the computer, and send it to the manufacturer, got it back ready to use and putted on place. The colour applied in thin dry layers ... ... and a couragous pull ... ... and it already looks great :-) First toches of paint ont the frames, a set of eight boltrings ... ... and done :-) Also great as a base for reoccurring paintings like the friezes on the ship´s sides instead of the etch parts often used. Always try out first on a sample to find out how to apply the paint and to make sure the paint underneath can stand the pulling off of the template! Good luck, Daniel ;-)

That is when I realized that the used Krick-deadeyes were drilled too unevenly for my taste ... As I did not want to discard my painfully soldered parts and get better deadeyes, I startet closing the holes with toothpicks and filed them even. Just then I realized that because of the size and curved surface the planned drilling templates did not work :-( At least I know by now why they those bastards are drilled the way that they are ... OK, good old solid handwork, putting each part into the vise and mark the central line for the two middle holes ... ... and with patience, a template and a good eye drill the preliminary holes with 0,5 mm, set the third hole with a fresh eye ... ... and finish the drilling with 0,8 mm. I usually drill small holes by hand with the drill fixed on a round material as it gives far more control as any machine! . Now came the tricky part of straightening everything up, worked best upon a cutterblade, even the smallest loops :-) And finally I had a complete set of deadeyes and preventer plates for the main-mast channel on my adhesive tape. :-) Hourray ... and finally came the montage :-) First à la nature ... ... then with a little bit of colour ... ... and it looks like it was all simple! ;-) Liebe Grüße, Daniel

Here comes the lower part for the fore- and main-channels ... ... bent around two steel pins and squeezed in the middle. For the bolts I use sewing pins. I grind the diameter on a file by putting the pins into my Dremel and afterwards still reduced the hight. The needed lengh will be around 4 mm. On the left the original needle. And now the soldering - what a hell to learn :-) First the lower ring, then sliding it into the loop of the deadeye, putting it into the third hand for soldering ... ... and ready. Looks sooooo easy ;-) The black is not burnt but just some paint :-) Here the ensemble is already in place, the part that is ment to go into the hole of the hull is lenghend in its place and bent ... ... putten into the hole and the needle forced in with it. Take a thread and check direction and angle. Secure it with a drop of superglue. A package of tree with different lengths.

It took me ages to develop the way of doing the chain plates as I did not find any documentation on the internet by the time that I was trying to find out how to do it. Tried lot of work arounds as I did not know how to mass produce in a satisfactory way and tried to avoid soldering which I never really did before. On the other hand I did not want any photo eched parts because they always look "flat" to me. But in the end I realised, the only way that worked for me was to produce it the same way the originals work - just a lil´bit smaller :-) First some 0,5 mm brass wire around the deadeyes ... ... putting it in a template with tree steel pins ... ... cut into lenght and the top part is ready for soldering. The ring underneath is done out of a couple of rounds around two steel pins ... ... cut in one go - the gap underneath helps to access the lower rounds ... ... first a little bit soggy ... ... and straightend up - The real straightening up will be done just after soldering.

For the coppering I used self adhesive Copper foil from the Tiffany workshop. It is nice to see the difference between the new material and the old copper paint. It was good to have the paint underneath, as to make minimal gaps not too visible :-) I use masking tape to protekt the black paint from the glue, otherwise it will take out good chunks - just guess how I found out :-( BTW: The glory for bringing this ingenious material to my attention belongs to a chap in a german forum, who presented this technik on a wooden Santissima Trinidad. The copper is rather cheap Look in the internet for suppliers of Tiffany lamp builders, you need two rolls of 4 mm, self adhesive. As in my case the tiles were already in the plastic mould, I was able to use the material in straight lines. Other ones cut the material into the actual tiles. I omitted the clues in my scale, but I saw already great results on this material in imitating them by stamps or cogwheels. Also if the surface is cleand from the protectiv what-so-ever, nice verdigris can be produced on it by a spray of saltwater, lemon air and time. Greetings Daniel

Happy to see you back too even though all the obstacles! Daniel

Halleluja, praise the heavens! Why? Because also small things can make me happy :-) Looking back: A year ago I was already working on the improved gunport lids but had a grandious failure on the gunport tackles: Looks like a ball of hair straight out of the shower plughole :-( These days I broused through Gil Middletons wonderful Jotika-Victory and dicovered the splicing that he presents there: (Edit: Later I discoverd this in use by many others too!) We proudly present: The Powersplice It is simple but effective: Thread - here 0,3 mm - through the ring, neadle through the thread, it is more easy than it looks ... ... make tight, secure with a drop of glue ... ... and once more through it with feeling ... ... pull thight and ... here we are! Great, isn´t it??? All the best from a happy Daniel to all of those who showed it before!

Hello Thom, I used brown package tape - just try different ones :-) Liebe Grüße zurück! Amicalement, Daniel

- without words - XXXDAn

... is, that things developed differently than planned, the hanging knees were meant to be simple forms just to accentuate the thickness of the walls ... ... just a simple stick, rounded at the bottom end but ... ... the beams were diffcicult to fix, the tight space for the gun crews was not to be shown and anyway, the standard of modelling had evolved by the time :-) So worked on some little helpers ... ... the templates and fixing helps as much as the pillars. The inside of the knee I did with the sanding drum ... ... the outer edges with the disc ... ... and a rounded surfaced sanding block for the beatuy. Afterwards ... ... 1- using the help for placing ... 2- checking the angle towards the beam with the block ... 3- the knee glued ... 4- and the deck beam glued in place. It is pushed upwards from underneath by the pillars, that are 1 mm longer then the outside height, thus giving a nice curve for the next gundeck. And this comes out: As the beams will be the last thing fixed on this deck, I use two sticks pushed through the gun ports to get the right orientation for the knees. And here we are ... ... just look at the angled knees :-) Result: Good and solid way of fixing the beams and nice enhancement for the deck :-) Amicalement, Daniel