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Chuck

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  1. Chuck
    Thanks....for all the comments. I am not a big fan of the frapping. I also dislike the french coils on deck. I prefer the simple coil on deck. Hopefully I can get in the shop soon to start the other five guns. Waiting on an electrician at the moment and then I will start back on making rope and blocks. Chuck
  2. Chuck
    I am not sure I agree with you Kester. But I do think that is what makes the hobby interesting. For now the coils will stay as is. I think they look head over over heels better than most other attempts I have seen and I can live with them. There is always the next model too!!! I have never seen so much scrutiny on rope coils. I am just glad they came out neatly. Most times I see them modeled they look like they been smashed together from over handling and too much glue. Just getting a clean coil for a change is a welcome thing. Chuck
  3. Chuck
    The lines I have hanging are in much larger coils and may hang more naturally...I have images of hemp rope on ships looking like that. BUT having said that...rope coils made on deck and meant to be kept neat....well that may be different and why I thought to make them tighter and more circular. Take a look at this. This is actually a training session in Maine on board a sailing ship. I believe they may have been handled differently but I agree the old rope may have been very stiff indeed. But who knows in the end. The only real way to make the coils on deck more natural would be to make them very sloppy as if a drunken sailor made them. If they coiled them like this fella it looks pretty plausible. And pretty easy to make a good circle of coils. I imagine the sailors got quite good at it very quickly. vs. hanging and my interpretation for comparison... Chuck
  4. Chuck
    It depends on what your going for....Take a look at these rope coils. Odd yes but pretty typical on contemporary models. I have looked at a whole bunch and these will be easy enough to swap out....should I go relaxed or should I go contemporary??? I am still pondering. I am trying to experiment and then choose after doing some pretty serious study of contemporary examples. Rope coils for me are a challenge. But I am trying hard to give this model some of that old-time contemporary feel. Having said that....the relaxed coils on the pin rails do look good to me and would be very different if I was going to stick with these contemporary stylings. I know modern rope bends and flexes but maybe the old rope in those days was much more stiff, hence the look of these contemporary rope coils. So many contemporary models have them its hard to ignore. Click on that last image and really take a look at them. Its very different than the natural coil I have hanging on the pin rail. Which is more correct??? I have no idea. I will go with one or the other after living with it for a while. If you have Grant Walkers new book on the Rogers Collection, I urge you to flip through it and see how the rope coils look on some of those models. There are some fantastic close-up images in that book in addition to these which I got from our gallery and my own collection. I believe these are mostly contemporary but some of the Rogers stuff was rigged buy Culvers I think...back in the 20's. He was masterful. I have dozens more that look just like these. Go figure. So...relaxed coils or structured coils. Chuck
  5. Chuck
    Fantastic!!! Makes me want to start one.
  6. Chuck
    Had some time today to rig the carriage tackles. I used 1/8" single blocks and .012 light brown rope. I also used my 3mm hooks. These were all made off the model and took some considerable time to make. They fixed in position and the end of the tackle glue to the deck. Then a small rope coil was glued on top of that. I also took the time to experiment with a few rope coils for the pin rails. I wanted to improve my abilities here and there is no time better than now. With no rigging in the way I can experiment with different lengths and techniques and see how they will look. I think these look pretty good. I tried about a dozen different sizes and configurations. The goal of course is to make them look somewhat natural without making my crew get in trouble for being so sloppy and undisciplined. Now to go through the whole process again on the other side. Yikes.
  7. Chuck
    Looks great Bob. Nice work!!! You are in the home stretch
  8. Chuck
    Very inspiring. I still cant get over how small the model is and how much detail you are managing to put in there. Well done.
  9. Chuck
    The breech rope was made using a technique I saw on an actual contemporary model. The splice for the button of the Carronade was simulated. As mentioned I am using Syren .035 light brown rope. All of my .035 size rope is four strands. I dont think it would look as nice otherwise. Four stranded rope just make it work nicely. But essentially, the entire breech rope is made to length....3" long. (addendum) After consideration I think the breech line should be no longer than 3". It looks a bit long in the photo. The eyebolts and rings were slipped on before the end was finished off. You can see that in the photos. The eyebolts were 28 gauge wire while the split rings were 24 gauge. Then I used a sharp but wide awl to simulate the splice. It has to be large enough that the splice will fit over the button of the carronade or cannon. In the center of the breech rope I pushed the awl through so there were two strands on top and bottom. Hence the need for four stranded rope. Then I applied some watered down white glue and let it dry. Once dry the simulated splice stayed to shape. I have seen many real splices attempted and they just look to big and out of scale. I couldnt pull that off convincingly. Even though this is a cheat, I think it looks better because it stays smaller. I could have just gone with the usual wrapping once around the button of the carronade...but that is tough to do in my opinion. It wont stay in place and you must use glue so it wont come undone. This ends up pulling the finish off the barrel etc. In the end it just looks too sloppy for me. So I gave this a try. No glue is needed at all. It slips right on the button and wont come off. This allows you more control to set the other eyes into the brackets of the carriage and then place the whole thing on deck. Hope that makes sense. I also stiffened the line with the watered down white glue before starting. Let it dry. I just find it easier to work with when its a bit stiffer. At least with the breech rope anyway. I started with about a 5" long piece of rope. Chuck
  10. Chuck
    Nicely done...she is a fun hull to plank...much better than those huge frigates dont you think. Chuck
  11. Chuck
    Thank you!!! Here is a first crack at a breech rope. I am using my .035 light brown rope. I think it looks pretty good. This was just a first attempt to go through the motions and now I will detail how I did it. You can spend endless amounts of time tweaking how this rope falls so it looks natural. After a while one has to say it look good enough. Four more to go and then the tackles are next. Note to self.....paint the underside of that cleat. LOL Chuck
  12. Chuck
    You have been busy......less time on the golf course. That is looking just great Allan. Looking forward to seeing progress.
  13. Chuck
    Funny Allan....I am itching to see pictures of the Litchfield!!!! Lets see what you are working on bud. Move out of Jersey and I cant get any updates....
  14. Chuck
    Its an interesting discussion. Well, I think we have a winner. Here is the model with the trucks painted red. I do in fact like this much better than the bright trucks. Thanks Greg!!! I know its just a matter of personal tastes but I think I will pursue this approach from now on. I think its more pleasing and less distracting actually. Although I will leave the black trucks to someone else to experiment with. I see the bulwarks are very dusty...much touch up to do. I will wait until after a rig these which is what I think I will do next. It will be a nice break from building another five carriages.
  15. Chuck
    Thanks guys. I have actually switched to Grumbacher paints for this model. Just to try them out. They are from a tube and acrylic. I am using Mars Black and Crimson. Thats it.
  16. Chuck
    I actually think I am going with red.....what the heck....there is always the next model if I dont like it. But yes I dont like black either. But red might be OK. I have to try it at least once.... And at least everyone building her will see a few different styles and can choose better because I took the plunge. Most contemporary models have red trucks. Black and natural also but much less from what I have seen. But I agree with Greg, they may be too bright as is now. Chuck
  17. Chuck
    Cheerful rigging chart
  18. Chuck
    Thanks.... I have done the research.....I agree Greg. It is rather bright...more so in the photos than in real life. The truth is I have seen it done three ways...left bright and also painted red to match the carriages. I have also see black trucks. Th eSurly contemporary model has them left bright. But now that you mention it, lets see. I thought that might be too much red however? I imagine I could test one and if it doesnt look good I could replace the trucks. Its easy enough..... Also take a look at this one cutter model with ivory trucks. go figure!! I wont be doing it this way. Black trucks red trucks Any thoughts.
  19. Chuck
    The next step was to add the carriage bed and on top of that add the quoin. I didnt add the quoin handle yet because I always break those. So they will be the last bits to be completed. In that same photo you will also see the metal work is completed. The brackets (sides) were actually made in two pieces and held together with long bolts through both top to bottom. Even though these are one piece the two bolts visible were simulated. I used 28 gauge wire. After inserting them into the holes I cut them so they stood proud of the surface. There are the eyebolts on the aft side for the tackle. These were made from 28 gauge wire as well. On the sides of each bracket there is also a bolt through to the transom. For this I used 24 gauge black wire. Finally one more eyebolt was added to the side for the tackle. I will not add the eyebolt and ring for the breech rope yet because its easier to do that while rigging the breech rope. But I did drill the holes for them. That is an absolute must. Finally some images of the cannon placed on each carriage. The trunnion cap was just made with some heavy paper painted to match th emetal. Then I added a small length of 28 gauge wire to simulate the hinge for the trunnion cap. I wont be adding any chains or other small details. I dont think they look very good at this scale unless they are done perfectly. Rather than try and become a "kitchen sink" modeler, I prefer to simplify and concentrate on neatness and execution. I know I wouldnt do it justice. Now to begin the other five carronades for the other side....YIKES
  20. Chuck
    Very nice...smooth run for the planking to come.
  21. Chuck
    Yes and since they will be covered it doesnt make sense to mess with them. Chuck
  22. Chuck
    To begin making the carriages, I first removed the laser char from the mini-kit pieces. Even just making the four remaining carriages for the port side takes considerable time. I used a sanding stick and there are many pieces. In addition, the outside ends of the axles were rounding off and all of the pieces were painted red ahead of time. Finally I decided to make a small jig to make assembly easier. You can see it in the photos and its simple to make. Step one was placing the axles into the jig. Then the two pieces ....the transom was added atop the front axle and another strip was added across the rear axle. Note how the front axle is shorter than the rear axle. Step two was when I added the sides (brackets) to the carriage while they were in the jig. The carriage was removed and a length of 24 gauge black wire was pushed through the holes in the sides of the bracket. The carriage bed will sit on top of this eventually. The wire is snipped off so each end stands a little proud of the surface. To finish of step two the wheels (trucks) were put into position. Now to finish these four carriages off....the next steps will be shown soon. Chuck
  23. Chuck
    Take a look at the plans of cutters in the nMM collection online. There are many that show the horse but not on the top of the bulwarks. It was primarily on deck forward of the mast and sometimes curved. The Duke William (1763) I believe shows this very well. Click the link http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/86177.html and the Endeavour (1763) http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/86283.html Also look at models of yachts like the Yacht Chatham......I believe that model shows the horse. Its quite high off the deck in that instance.
  24. Chuck
    First thing you need to do is wash the guns thoroughly and get any oils or residue off of them. Then you really should prime them first. Then apply paint. I didnt prime these but I am also very careful not to handle them too much at all. But the paint sometimes does come off but not as much as I have seen in the past. I have also taken very fine steel wool and cleaned them before painting. It makes the paint adhere better. But rinse them off afterwards. I didnt do that either this time but if handled gently its not a problem.
  25. Chuck
    Thanks guys Greg, that is a great place to start. First the guns were airbrushed black using Badger Airbrush paint. But just going with straight black is not good enough. The guns and other metalwork needs to be different in appearance / texture than the wood elements painted black. If for nothing else but to add some more interest. Straight black is to harsh and leaves a lot to be desired. You can go with a warm hue or a cool hue. I decided on the warmer. I then brushed on very sparingly some weathering powder. The goal here isnt to make it look like a rusty heap. Its just to change the surface appearance. As quickly as it was applied with a soft brush it was buffed off almost entirely with the same soft brush. It changes the color only slightly BUT it does also change the surface texture making it noticeably different than other black painted parts. I use this technique on all of the "metal" parts on the model even if they arent made from metal. It works quite well. For the guns it really makes the reinforcing rings stand out as well as the other details. But remember you have to buff it off. Now I am not using these weathering powders for anything else....I have no intention of making the model look weathered. In most cases where I see folks weathering .....it is over done and everything looks like a junk ship rusting out. Its just too much. But if used sparingly it can be very effective. Just my opinion of course. I use the MicraMark weathering powders and the set contains a small jar of Rusty brown and if you are going cooler you could use Grimy Gray or even a dark blue. All of the guns are completed with this technique below and waiting to be mounted on their carriages. I store them like this until needed. Now to build those carriages!!! The same technique was used on the chainplates. You can see how the powder makes the Black noticeably different than the painted wales. Before the application it looked exactly the same. Now its different but very subtle. The key is NOT to over do it and get carried away.

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