stm

I understood the same thing about shellac, that it had an unlimited shelf life. Did have a small can of orange shellac that was decades old and used it for a small project with good results. Used it again a few years later to find that the can was no longer providing a proper seal. Poured the contains into a glass jar and used it five years later on and still worked fine. Unfortunately a few years again had passed and I tried to use it for one of my ships only to find that it refused to dry after several attempts and would remain tacky. May be not always an unlimited shelf life. 

Scott

I am having a similar problem. Was charged for book Vol III in early December and have not received it yet. I understood that there was a problem with shipping the wrong CD with the book that had to be corrected. Followed up with an email in January and received the following Jan 15th:

Hi,

I was going to give it another week before following up again.

I have ordered books from this company over many years and never had a any trouble and liked doing business with them.

Scott

I use ZAR Latex Wood Patch. It comes in tubes and in three different colors. Price depends what color you get. It dries pretty quick and is easy to sand. Can paint over it and one can glue sheathing to the hull with no problem. 

Scott

My understanding is that no actual plans, drawings, description, or pictures exist for the Mary Celest. Any models, photos, or drawings out there are merely conjecture and represent a typical brigantine of the period.

Excellent result. The plans by Erik Ronnberg, Jr. make this a learning experience.

Try this one, www.northeasternscalelumber.com. They have basswood, cherry, and mahogany among other stuff.  Have not used them in a long time, but I always received excellent service from them in the past. I only work with bass and purchase that through Model Expo presently that sells in large quantities yielding a lower unit cost. 

Scott

Depending on the size of the vessel, I prefer the scales between 1/8' and 3/16' since these best suit my work area and works best for a buyer if you are planning to sell. In addition, I am not the best at forging my own metal parts, belaying pins, guns, and anchors, and this allows for a greater selection of finding a suitable part with the kit manufactures.

Good question.

Scott

The success of the Model Shipways kit Rick mentioned above is due in part to the excellent modelmakers guide and plans developed by Erik A.R. Ronnberg, Jr. Parts of which can be seen in various photos contained in this thread. Highly recommended for anyone interested in this subject.

Scott

Thank you for sharing. Very thoughtful of you.

Scott

It cost a lot of time and money for firms to come up with a new kit that will possibly sell enough to allow them to recover their initial investment. Then the marketing kicks in in hopes that the kit becomes a profitable seller. There was a time when three dimensional artwork, in our case models, was the way for youth to keep themselves occupied by challenging them to create something they would be interested in. Now videos and the internet has changed all that and the demand for kits just isn't what it used to be. In fact you are witnessing it here with this reply. I probably spend more time on the internet researching/entertainment then actually building a ship I was looking forward to constructing. As Walter Cronkite would end each news broadcast, 'and that's the way it is".

Nothing more permanent then change.

Scott

Very impressive. Looks very professional. I gather your family must have an easy time trying to figure out what to get you for your birthday. There is always something missing or need in any work shop. I started out building plastic kits before I was a teenager in the 1960s. Would purchase them from the locale mom and pop hobby shop. They had a huge selection of aircraft kits from all over the world. Hundreds. It has changed hands since then and there are only a few kits now that they keep in stock. Talking old times with the present owners they indicated that they only keep a few on the shelves since they can't compete against the internet. In addition, the interest of todays youth switching from building models in the past to video games has had a major impact on the model building hobby.

Scott 

I think it is fascinating the way artist can take a plastic kit and with the use of a brush and airbrush turn it into a work of art. It's very interesting to see how some modelers remove part of the fuselage, wing, etc... and proceed to build engines, guns, etc... that are not included with the kit by using their own hands and materials.  WWW II aircraft are a great subject to pursue since there are so many designs from various companies you can spend nearly a lifetime trying to construct them all. Keep up the great work.

Scott

From the photos attached, I would say they are not reinforcements to the yards. They are called stunsail booms. Normally pronounced stuns'l. Your second diagram is closer to how the hardware securing them to the spar is correct. They were used mainly with the fore and main mast coarse, topsail, and topgallant yards. Ed Tosti's build of the Young America will show you how the hardware is constructed. 

Scott

I wouldn't be surprised if this topic has been approached before on this site some where some time in the past. Another source would be to GOOGLE various maritime art painters to see what they are using. Geoff Hunt would be a good one to start with. There are books out there that show painters art. One is The Tall Ship in Art by Alex A. Hurt. The colors don't always vary that much, but the patterns on how they are applied to the vessel do. 

Scott

Concerning your other question about the line you used on the rudder, I doubt that there was a standard dimension. More than likely whatever was available. On Sheet 3 of the plans Erik  Ronnberg did include a tricing line that should give you a good idea of the scale.

Scott

I am also in the market for an air brush and compressor. One artist I know recommended a Iwata air brush and Passche compressor. If anyone else has used these an input would helpful.

Scott

I always keep my stands simple in design so as not to take away from the ship itself. A lot of other artist prefer to put more into them since they are part of the art work. Including a diorama or having the whaleboat on davits attached to a bulwark similar to the plans.

The size of the base looks ok. You don't want a stand that is smaller then the hull since it looks like it is sailing off the stand. The pedestals are to large in my view. In the first photo you attached, Model Shipways is using heavy wire about the thickness of a hanger which I have seen quite often for boat models. You may want to down load other whale boats on-line and see what other artist are using. Model galleries would also be a good source.

From the photos it does look like you are doing a nice job on the whaleboat.

Scott

Very interesting. A different perspective taking into account the environment in which these vessels operated in present and past.  Also, furthers ones education on the background concerning the art subject being constructed.

Scott 

Jo if the gaps you are referring to are the seams between the individual planking, then you may want to force a touch of glue in them. Otherwise they are liable to continue to open up as the years go by.

Scott 

A very enjoyable and educational voyage indeed. You are a very intelligent and skillful individual Ed to present this to all your followers. Thank you very much for your efforts and to all that submitted additional detail and knowledge. William Crothers and William Webb would surely be impressed with the results.

Scott

I am in the minority. I have been using CA on rigging lines for decades and have never had a problem. PVA may be a better choice based on those who have tried both, which I have not. I use a very small amount so as not to change the color of the line.  

Scott

I Googled the USS Constitution and found several pictures of the actual ship and models of her. All had the lines black including the actual ship. I have seen three different types of netting over time used. Some with square, some diamond, and some with straight lines of rope. Never hexagon which some modelers use since it is available and at least close to the real thing.  I know that the present Constitution was rigged mainly with nylon dyed black due to the difficulty in finding proper sizes of hemp.  There is a good chance that ship board practice was to treat the netting with some type of preservative making them very dark drown or black in appearance. 

Scott

Very good. Thank you.

Scott

I googled "Brigantine Leon" and looked at the various ship models that surfaced. Some very intricate. Only one had the bell attached to the pawl bitt. I can't tell exactly how it is attached, but it is very similar to the photo above in post #5.  That would be your best bet. The book has Leon's port of registry as Porsgrund, but I guess that doesn't have to be the name on the bell. I didn't look through the book to see if Underhill made mention of it. From the photos, you are doing a very nice job on the model and wish you continued success with it. That calking of the deck planks looks very realistic.  I built mine in the early 1970s and it sailed away from a NYC gallery. Where it is today I have no idea.

Thanks for the picture of the bell from the museum. 

Scott