Gaetan Bordeleau

The work will now be aft outside. In preparation the windows. The process of building is exactly as a real home wall framing, openings, covering the walls, moldings. Many windows are fake, meaning no glass, and a black back. I revisited the notes from the first forum about it. In 2009, with Jack Nastyface and Wacko Wolf we had an interesting discussion about these fake windows. The fake windows are mostly on the sides, For 6 windows, 1 1/2 is true, on each side. I am actually working on the framing that I began few years ago. Unfortunately, I have a big dilemma about the number of windows on the first deck which is 10. With the fake windows, they wanted to give the illusion that the ship was much important than it really was. I began the work by covering the beams. Working this way, it means that there would be 8 windows. But in this megalomania, on the plans, unfortunately, for me, there are 10 windows. Maybe, I should have done the same 74 as Mark, the Bellona which has 8 windows at the first level. So, now the question is will I be cheating or undoing some works? Fortunately, model ship building is not the only pleasure. I like to make adaptors, sometimes called jig and sometimes called tool. I always try to apply the same principles. It must fill a need, it must be as simple as possible, it must be made as fast as possible, when metal is not required, plastic or wood is used. I bought a brush made with v dents to clean the polishing wheels. Very efficient to clean.

The other reason why you cant mill steel with a drill press , in fact you can, but everything will be jumping on the table, because lack of rigidity. For small wood parts, there should be no problems to mill as long as you have the proper vise.

I would say: I don't like to look directly bright LED, it is like looking directly at the sun, it has a blinding effect. This is why LED light should have intensity control to adjust to the work you want to do. Before LED lighting, it was halogen lighting. In a way it is similar in lighting to a warm LED, they both add orange in the colors. LED lighting can not only be useful for photography but for working also. To maximize LED lighting, you should use the right amount of lighting: not too little, you will not see everything and not too much, everything will be too bright and also you will not see everything. This is why it is preferable to be able to adjust the intensity. In fact it will be the same thing with photography, light intensity needs to be adjust.

This subject comes back again and again. You can search. In 1 line: I apply 1 coat of tung oil and the wipe the surplus. I tried many other but the best results are with tung oil. Example on the photo, the right part has not yet oil.

Hi Allen, Each scale has different challenges of construction and tools. Building at 1/200 is different than 1/24 and is also different than 1/1. Details disappears with smaller scales and they appear with larger scales.

I recently hurt my leg so, I will not be working very much on the model for a while I began this actual model in 2017 and I use Lightroom as a catalogue for the photos. Up to this day, over 3250 photos are classified in files. I have selected 12 photos representing my vision of this model through light variations in photography. After selecting these photos, it is clear that most of the photos were taken inside the model ship of a 74 guns at 1/24 scale. This model, is the fourth one of this series. Each model had different goals. One goal, for this model is to try to photograph inside all the decks at the same time and if possible to have a good level of lighting at each deck. To get there, the deck planking is as far as possible: absent, so that more light can go through. 3 types of cameras were used: camera, action camera and phone camera. For the photos inside the model, the action camera works best and sometime, when I get lucky, the phone camera gives good results, but I rarely use the camera phone. What would be the best advice I could give to an aspiring photographer? Light is always the first thing to check. there are also 2 other things that I always take great care: First, I always photograph as close as possible to the same height of the object. By example, if I take a photo of the outside model, I will position the camera at the same height of the model or even lower sometimes. At the contrary, if I take a photo at a much higher position than the model, it will look like more like a toy. Second, I always check so that the camera is parallel with the horizon. These simple 2 advices will get more realistic photos simply because it will be as if the photo was taken at the same height as the human eye. It is never interesting for the eye to see a model which is not parallel with the horizon.

This morning, I tried to understand WB in less than a page:

My surface grinder and my Hardinge lathe run on 3 phases... and I have only 2 phases. The third phases that also runs on 240 volts is supplied by a motor, through a rotary phase converter.

Yes Sir, this is how it should be made!

I have 2 mills, 1 on the table and 1 on the floor. Also 1 drill press on the table because most of the small mills do not have the handle to make it as well a mill and a drill press. Proxxon has 1 model but it is expensive. The floor model serves as a mill and as a drill press. Does a table model is essential for a model ship maker, of course the answer is no. The work can also be done by hand on wood but it is fun to work with a small mill and this tool can be more accurate than a knife. I rarely use the table mill, may be 1 time every few months. On the other end, I use the floor model every week. I use the mill more often than the lathe. I bought my first lathe and mill about 30 years ago and never regret it. Like the table mill, the floor mill will ease the work you can do on metal and it will do it better than if it is done by hand. Especially with metal, the work will be done I do not know, 50 or 100 time faster, because cutting and filing metal by hand... you get tired very fast. The table mill can do work on metal and the main difference with a larger one is the quantity it will remove in 1 pass. With the table mill, you will remove 1 or few thousands at the time and with the larger ones, it can be anywhere from 10 to 100 time faster. If you never intend to build some parts in metal, a floor model will never be necessary. A table mill is a nice tool and fun to use for a model ship enthusiastic. It will be use as much for wood and metal and as any other tool, it will facilitate your work and it will help precision to assembly some parts in less time.

Hi Mark, Carving is a fascinating subject and you are doing good. The more you try it, the more you gain confidence and the better are the results. As for Tung oil, I have a good idea why it is popular because I have been using it for years and here are some reasons: -Tung oil is clear of debris in comparison with linseed oil by example -Easy to apply and then you rub the excess -Applied by thin coats, one is usually enough -No strong odors, non sticky -Instantly give 100 years to the look of the wood -The wood grain is highlighted by using this oil -Easy to photograph, no shiny effect like shellac by example

Thank you Jorge, I know that photography is not very popular but it does not mean that I cannot try some experiences with light.

Druxey, I have already bought a new fixture and I am still testing it. Wefalk, 1-LED lighting is progressing very fast. The beauty of these new generations LED panels is that they are getting closer to a light which enables to take a photo and getting the real color of the object. Mainly, LED panels are divided in 2 groups: daylight or bi-color. If you want to get the most lux you will get the daylight option and you will be close to the color. On the other end, if you are in a mix light situation and want to improve th quality of the lighting, you will use a bi-color light which are able to adapt to any situation of lighting between 3200 and 5200 degrees Kelvin. By example, if In a room with low quality light (for photography), you can use a light with a variable intensity in the "quality" of the lighting. In this situation, bi-color light is good to adjust the lighting. Another way to face the problem when taking a photo is to get immediately to the correct lighting intensity. First by closing the low intensity lighting which often will be close to 3200 degrees Kelvin and light up the correct lighting with the daylight panels. 2-endoscopes is a product I did not use. I do not know up to which quality they can get. By example can they go up to 4K in the quality of the photo? An endoscope is probably a good solution to get inside a 1/75 model ship. In my situation, at 1/24 scale, a larger camera can be use. For this reason, I can use a small camera action with a good photo quality at 4K resolution. I tried 2 of these cameras, a first one with 2k with mixed results and a second one with very acceptable results; a GoPro Hero 9 black. It took me a period of adaptation to get good results. There are 2 main direction that I had to improve. First lens distortion. Lightroom does fix this problem. It has correction factor f for the camera. The other factor is the lighting. To get "correct photos" you need "correct lighting". LED panel is an easy way to get there very quickly. 3- I have been searching a long time a way to suspend these LED panels on the ceiling. One day, I was checking parts used to build a drum stand assembly. 2 parts looked very interesting. bThe first one is able to hold the LED panel and the second one allows to suspend a chrome metal tubing from the ceiling and also it can be adjusted at different angles. So I did a little assembly allowing to position these LED lights in a variety of positions. This way, I can position all the light individually. This way, I can get a lighting where I need. What do I mean by "what I need"? In a way, you could say that in the workshop, there is lighting only in the work area and at a correct intensity, not over- lighted and not under-lighted. In a way, you could compare this with a surgery room. You get as much as Lighting as you need but only where you need. There are no added benefits to over light a room. LED panels have intensity knob fo easy adjustment. This way I can use as many lights I need and never be over lit. Druxey, Fresnel lights are vey interesting. You could compare a Fresnel light to a surgery light because you can adjust or concentrate the beam of light. Actually, I have an old fixture used in a surgery room. The light input in lux in very high but the quality of light in degrees Kelvin is too low. I figure that the same could apply to the fresnel light. Last week I bought a new light; a LED light with the possibility to adjust the light beam. I am actually conducting tests to evaluate its potential.

I am actually writing a small chapter exploring ways to photograph a wood scale ship. Taking a photo is not only about a camera but it is also about Lighting. So here is an overview of the tools we can use:

Ship' double wheel: Some are from a Go pro camera. It is possible to correct image distorsion and other characteristics in LIghtroom which has the profile of many camera and lens.

Using a black background is one way to do it. To do it, you need a black background. There are other methods to do it and you do not need a black background: Here are 2 examples: - Using a flashlight when it is dark at a few feet from the model to photography. - Using a flash. This can be done during the day in a room not over illuminated. Again, the idea is to be close to the model because the light of a flash falls very fast in intensity with the distance. If you use the flash at a great distance, you will "loose the black background and you will see everything around the model and this is not what you want. Next, is an example:

As a model maker, it is fun to use a mill. But a milling machine was never created to shape wood. A milling machine is made to work with metal, a hard material to work by hand. Is there a piece in a model ship that needs to be done absolutely with the mill? The answer is no. But, on the other end, it does not mean that a milling machine cannot be useful. Here are some examples.

I control the white balance in the workshop at 4300-4500 degrees Kelvin when I want to take photos. The reason is very easy. If I take a photo with white, I do not want the color to be red or yellow or blue, I want it to be white. WB is only to tell the camera what the colors should look like.

To take a perfect photo with a white background is quite difficult. To take a photo with black background is so much easier.

Sharpening at his best:

After some thinking... well, I could not build it at 1/12 scale. There are physical limitations to the scale we can build: frigate: 1/12 scale, 74 guns: 1/24 no rigging. 74 guns, 1/36 with rigging To build a 74 guns at 1/12, it would be the outside only. The most difficult parts to build ( or more precisely, to reach) are in the hold. By example, physically at 1/24, the maximum span I can reach with my arms is in the hold.

I could build (just the hull) in the basement at 1/12 scale... but it would be impossible to take it out! At 1/24, I would like to build it because visually, it is a very nice looking ship and also the figurehead is ... just superb!

This question has been asked many times in this forum, it also has been answered many times. Jean Boudriot in the 74 guns books describe this subject very well. Here is an example of linen threads died.