shiloh

I posted a brief heads-up on this title in the 'plans' section but was sensibly asked to do a review in this one, so here goes...
The book is 'American Steamships on the Atlantic' by Cedric Ridgely-Nevitt,  who was a marine architect.  This is one of those overlooked periods in American - heck, world! - shipbuilding, so, being interested in this period I ordered it from Amazon out of curiosity, and was glad I did.  It begins with the earliest efforts by Robert Fulton and others and covers the entire period of the wooden, mostly paddle wheel  coastal and seagoing vessels of that period. Among the illustrations are exquisitely drawn plans by the author,  somewhat in the style of the late Howard Chappelle, with lines included.  The set for the New York-Havre liner 'Arago' are particularly nice and I'm thinking of starting a model of her.  I was a bit disappointed by the material for the Collins liners but apparently little remains, except for the lines of the 'Adriatic' (I'm queer for Collins liners).  Vanderbilt's ships are fairly well covered.  The written material is exhaustive and interesting.  To anyone interested in this comparative backwater, I recommend this book without reservation.

I tend to fall on the side of more detail with the very important rule that it must be in scale. It must look realistic to the scale and subject you are working on. I think a model should offer more than a viewer can take in. When I am adding a detail using a high magnification lens then bury it under additional layers of rigging etc, I do so knowing that it is there. 
 
The model is an illusion of the real thing. Just as a good illusionist is one who's performance does not break down when the viewer moves from the back row to the first row, my goal is for my ship's illusion experience to work as well. When someone looks at a model they start by seeing something obvious then following that down into details. They may start with a yard then follow that down to the lines controlling it, then the blocks controlling the lines, then how the line terminates on a pin rail and the coils of line looped over the pins. They should be able to picture a sailor coiling that line. A line, block or deck fitting that is out of scale will break the illusion. Then the viewer starts seeing the art of the modeler rather than feeling the illusion of looking into a ship.
 
My goal is to provide and experience where the viewer runs out of the ability to focus on a detail because it is too small before they run out of details to see. Grabbing a magnifying glass should not break the illusion.
 
Knowing what can be successfully accomplished in this endeavor is a challenge. When I built my Connie, there were details that would have been great to add but I could not either because the scale was too small, or my skills or materials were insufficient. A detail that cannot be executed well should not be on the ship. As some have said, you need to be consistent for size. If you get down to something that is 6" across then everything 6" or larger should be on the ship - except where it cannot be done without breaking the illusion of the model.
 
Treenails have been mentioned. IMHO, treenails can be a very important detail or a (pun intended) nail in the model's coffin. Treenails, spikes, or rivets that are over scale, too few, or too obvious, make the viewer see the the art of the modeler rather than the illusion of the ship. On my current ship I use brass to represent the iron spikes used through out the ship. Luckily I have documentation on many of the sizes of spikes used in the various areas. There have been areas where the size of the spike causes it to disappear completely in the wood. When I had trouble finding where I put them using my magnifying headset I decided not to add them. These details were in the ceiling planks below the berth deck. It would be impossible to see them even with magnification. So they will not break the illusion not being there but would break it if I made them large enough to see.
 
However, I am also guilty of adding detail that no one will probably ever see. These are put in because I want to. I enjoy challenging myself on learning to create the details that can make something come alive. I know I am not alone in this. How many of us have painstakingly added detail after detail on a Brodie Stove that is then buried under a deck and can barely be glimpsed through a grating? However if someone does get the correct light, and has eagle eyes, they will be able to see details and know that there are more to be seen. The illusion does not break before their ability to see the details does.
 
Some have made reference to impressionist painters and our modeling ships. Recently I was lucky enough to go to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam  to see a huge collection of his paintings. His work gives the viewer the feelings he was experiencing looking at his subject. His "impressions" of the subject. The details are unimportant and indeed the illusion falls apart when viewing the paintings up close. There you can see the art of the painter when applying just the right colors in the right shape to make it look like a field of sun flowers when viewed from a distance. Van Gogh's genius is providing the viewer the ability to "feel" what he was feeling looking at the subject. No one would look at "Starry Night" and say that looks exactly like the view he saw out his asylum window in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. It is not realistic nor meant to be. However we do feel the wonder and beauty he felt when looking to the stars from the fantastical manner he painted it.
 
I posit ship modeling falls in the realism genre. I had the opportunity on the same trip to go through some of the finest examples of model ship building in the maritime museums in Amsterdam and Lisbon. The ships show amazing detail in scale. I did not get a sense of what the artist felt when he looked at the ship other than respect for the subject. Instead, the best models would make you feel like you were looking down at a ship from an omniscient perspective. You could see inside the ship's frames and move all around to appreciate the art of the ship's construction (notice I did not say the model's construction). My goal as a model builder is to give that to the viewer. I want them to see the ship and it's beautiful lines and the artwork of it's mechanics and appreciate the men that designed and built her - not the person who built the model.

I have 3 different sizes of Head Knifes. Have used them on thin wood placed on a mat, but  I have them to cut leather. Have seen those rotating blades advertized, the pizza cutter we have that is a similar design but larger blade works fine. With the head knife you could make straight cuts, circular cuts or sharp angle cuts easily. Might be worth looking at.
jud

Thanks, a lot of answers in Mr. Muller's work. Seems that the terms he used in the days of smooth bores, fits well with modern rifled pieces. Wonder if smooth bores will again become the norm using finned sabo equiped projectials, certintly allows for greater muzzle velocity. Don't believe that guns are dead, their future will be in throwing projectials using other ways than expanding hot gas. Kind of glad that I have experienced the smell of gunpowder.
jud

Called the one parked at 9.795N, 115.856E  home in 67 and 68.
jud

Thanks, a lot of answers in Mr. Muller's work. Seems that the terms he used in the days of smooth bores, fits well with modern rifled pieces. Wonder if smooth bores will again become the norm using finned sabo equiped projectials, certintly allows for greater muzzle velocity. Don't believe that guns are dead, their future will be in throwing projectials using other ways than expanding hot gas. Kind of glad that I have experienced the smell of gunpowder.
jud

Called the one parked at 9.795N, 115.856E  home in 67 and 68.
jud

Baffel perhaps.