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EJ_L

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Everything posted by EJ_L

  1. EJ_L
    Dan has voiced a question that has started to bug me in the accuracy of the overall shapes of the ships being painted. When we have ships that the known information is largely based on artistic renderings from hundreds of years ago, how much reliability can we give to the those artists when it comes to proportion? It is not uncommon for artists to exaggerate an objects shape in order to make it "pop" on canvas or allow room for details. Even more detailed and accuracy oriented artists who were truly attempting to reproduce the object they were painting may exaggerate a line in order to allow it to fit especially when translating a 3 dimensional object to a 2 dimensional drawing. It is almost the opposite problem that model builders have in translating 2D drawings into a 3D model. There is always something lost in translation. Now take into consideration the time period. This was long before high definition pictures, lasers, 3D scans or even binoculars as we know them today to provide a clear up close image or measurements. Most artistic paintings were done from the shore at a distance or even after the fact based on people's accounts of the action/object. Just these facts begin to raise the question of reliability. Not to discredit Berain's, or anyone else for that matter, drawings as they are excellently done and I am relying on them immensely myself. I think some lee way must be given that they are not proportionally accurate. This is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that it gives us more freedom to model the ship as we feel it may have looked, within reason. The curse is we do not know what the historically accurate ship would look like.
  2. EJ_L
    Very cool! A great addition to your S.o.t.S.
  3. EJ_L
    I always like seeing the overall shots as well as the close ups. It is easy to get lost in the details and forget what the entire ship looks like and how those details look with the rest of the ship. She is looking great Michael!
  4. EJ_L
    Thank you all for the nice words and likes. I thought I would take a few more overall pictures to add on here and for my own records before she goes under the plastic while I work on S.R. I moved her to the dining room also so there would be less random stuff in the background that makes it harder to see her rigging. Also I needed a drink and that table is next to the bar so...
  5. EJ_L
    Wow! That is incredibly small yet very well done!
  6. EJ_L
    Haha!! My dad was over last night looking at it and he asked if I had taken weaving lessons from a spider to do that work! A web is about as accurate of a description as could be given for some of this.
  7. EJ_L
    I would add a couple lawn chars, beer cooler and fishing gear off the stern...
  8. EJ_L
    Busy week in the shipyard as all three of the mizzen yards have been rigged! The actual rigging for these yards was simpler than the other masts but threading the ropes through all the lines from the main mast yards and behind the lower main shrouds was a pain. I've also started to add in the rope coils but I still have a lot of those to make for all the rigging ends. Now I just have the two yards on the bowsprit but those will have to wait till after I work on S.R. for a bit. I need a break now from rigging! As always, thanks for stopping in and enjoy!
  9. EJ_L
    Do you have a known dimension such as a window or door that you could use to find the scale? Example, if you know the height of the actual window should be 2 feet and the model is 1 inch than your scale would be 1:24. There is a handy app for your phone called model scaler that I use for those handy conversions or to find unknown scales.
  10. EJ_L
    She looks incredible! You have done an excellent job and that large scale just adds an even bigger wow factor!
  11. EJ_L
    Great find Steve!! That looks like a fun little kit that you could get creative with. I got a seat and am ready to watch the show.
  12. EJ_L
    Hey Denis, Just stumbled across your log here and my first though was, "I don't remember you finishing your Thermopylae..." then I took a minute to stop looking at the pictures and read and it all made sense. It is kind of fun to take a break from serious builds to do a fun one every now and then. I am betting that while this will be entertaining to watch and though you are keeping it "simple" it will still turn out to be a nice model when all said and done. Think I will hang out and relax and watch your Jolly Roger.
  13. EJ_L
    Welcome to MSW! There is lots to learn here for any experience level and plenty of people who will happily guide you as you start out. Good luck to you and I look forward to seeing your work!
  14. EJ_L
    Welcome to MSW, even if it's a few months later. Best wishes to you on your Niagara build!
  15. EJ_L
    Welcome to MSW Shane! Great to have you with us. I wish you the best of luck on your Bounty build and look forward to seeing your work!
  16. EJ_L
    Welcome to MSW Dylan! Not for certain but the turrets at the bow and stern bring to mind the La Couronne, French Ship 1637. The Fleur-di-lis also back this up. There are many discrepancies though, including that 1580 year stamped on the sail that could either be wrong or indicating a different ship altogether. I hope you can find out some more information about her! In any case, take a look at my Couronne build, link in my signature. If this is her than it may be of some help and if it's not, well it still might give you an idea of a similar vessel. I wish you the best of luck and I will keep an eye out for your log as seeing these old relics get restored is fun to watch! P.S. I also have that book Frankie mentioned and it is extremely valuable for rigging ships of this period. I recommend buying it!
  17. EJ_L
    Welcome back Thomas! I was not here for the old site so everything about your build will be new to me! Looks like you have yourself a nice place to work and a good start on your ship. Looking forward to seeing her resume progress! Best of luck and happy building!
  18. EJ_L
    Welcome to MSW Louie! Great to have you with us. I highly recommend if you have not done so yet to start up a build log so we can see your pictures and help you work through the issues. I always say to try not to compare your work always against those that are better. Instead use them for inspiration and guidance but only compare your work against your own work with the goal in mind to make sure each build is a little better than the last. That way you are always improving and before you know it, your work will be up there with those you admire. I wish you the best of luck and look forward to seeing your ships!
  19. EJ_L
    I have heard the same as Richard stated about having to either sit astride the barrel (though that would not be fun when hot!) or having to lean out over the bulwarks to clean and reload. This was obviously very dangerous but they did what they had to back then as it was normal. With that method to reload and not having a large recoil, smaller deck space would be acceptable. In addition to metallurgy still in early development, so too were these large ships. Learning how to build multiple deck ships and what requirements were needed for all the was still in the trial and error stages. Each ship would make an adjustment here and there but there were no set rules of what worked. I'm sure if Vasa had actually seen combat the narrow deck space would have been noted as an issue and possibly changed by narrowing the cargo hatches during a refit.
  20. EJ_L
    Well, I just surprised myself and finished up my crows foot rigging a day earlier and it even looks good! With that, all the main mast yards are in place and I am ready to move on to the mizzen mast. Partly because I am still in the mood to rig and partly because I am not in the mood to start sanding on S.R., I am going to go ahead and push on with La Couronne. So that means more pictures and entertainment for all of you! For now, here are the current pics. Michael, I did include a close up of the Euphroe blocks. Hopefully that clears that up a little more. I had to use the camera on my phone as both batteries on my good camera are apparently dead... so focusing in on the close ups was difficult but I think you can see enough. I can always upload better if needed once the batteries charge.
  21. EJ_L
    I've always made those particular lashings tarred as I agree with you in the amount of water they would be exposed to on a regular basis would justify them being tarred. In my understanding of rigging, with a few exceptions, unless it is running rigging used to make something move, it would be tarred for protection. As always, great work and nice clean rigging. Those bowsprits with the spritsail masts really make a statement when installed.
  22. EJ_L
    Thank you Michael on the kind words and to the likes as well. The Euphroe blocks that you pointed out are just as you suspect, custom but simply made. Scrap wood, drill the required number of holes stacked on top each other the then I trim and sane the block to size and shape. Basically, it is just an oval with a row of holes. Where is used the fiddle style blocks on the crows feet, I cannot say for certain if this is correct. My drawing was not very clear on this either but as to function, it works fine as it is still one hole on top of another. I first thought of using double and triple blocks as you have said as the way Corel draws their rigging, it looks like all the ropes pass through the same plane as they would in a double or triple block. This is incorrect. The proper rigging uses Euphroe blocks as described above. My recommendation would be to stick with the Euphroes. In fact, my entire forestay rig I fear may be incorrect. Right now I have the stay stropped to a double block and the crows feet splitting there. I am starting to see that this may be wrong and that the stay may have been two separate ropes leading to the crows feet and then to the shrouds. I do not yet know if this is true for La Couronne or not so I do not think I will change that unless I get confirmation. Let me know if you have any more questions. The 17th century rigging is definitely a challenge to interpret what should and should not be there.
  23. EJ_L
    Cedric, after hearing about what you attempting to do over on Marc's log I had to come here and pull up my seat right away. This should prove to be a very interesting, educational and overall exciting project to watch come together! Good luck and I'm looking forward to sharing this adventure with you.
  24. EJ_L
    At least around here when you go crazy you have some great company!
  25. EJ_L
    Marc, You are faced with some tough decisions. With the amount of work you are putting into the design, where do you draw the line at what is acceptable? It would be easy to say do it all if this was a true scratch build where you had free reign to make those adjustments across the whole ship. Working with in the set confines though of a pre-formed hull restricts that ability to a point. Pat that point, you may as well go fully into the full scratch build. After many years of modeling in plastic and building several ships in it, I know the frustrations that it can create. While a lot can be changed you still reach limits on what is feasible to do. Seeing how you adapt to these challenges and work within the limitations set by the mold and your own plans is one of the things, (outside of the ship herself and the excellent research) that is truly fascinating about this build. Watching you work through the complicated decorations and make them work within those limits while staying true to the original ship is a view of model building that is not often seen. When you finally start the build phase, watching her come alive will be a sight to see I'm sure! If you are looking for a tie breaker on to straighten the ports or not to, I am on the side of straighten them. While yes, it is a lot of work, it is relatively easy enough to do and will make the overall appearance better. Also, if what you say is true and you are planning on remaking the port enhancements anyway, this would not be going far out of your way to correct something that may bug you later on. Either way, carry on!

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