Overworked724

Ok. So decided to jump back into the ship yard. Attacked the first gallery roof.
 

if you recall, I’d made the shape of the roof using sculpy because…what the hell.
 

Then cut thin strips of boxwood for my shingles. Bundled them and cut them in manageable sizes enmasse.

Shaped the ends before trimming. 
 

Then individually chopped off the ends and clipped the edges with a straight razor into a teardrop shape.  I wasn’t going for perfect fit here. 
 

Then put them on one by one using a touch of gel CA. 
 

After the layers were on, I sanded a bit to smooth out the rough spots. And used a simple brass nail to finish. I’ll follow a similar approach for the bottom. 
 

The shingles are frigging TINY!!

Moving on the roof #2 for the port side. 
 

One last thought. When I’d completed my deck I had some ‘low’ areas, specifically between the frames which were further apart. You can’t see them, but I know they are there. 
 

If I was to repeat this part of the build, I would try laying the false deck in longer strips lengthwise (like planking).  The 0.4mm birch I used bends easily so  the deck camber wouldn’t be a problem.  
 

I keep going back to that part of the build trying to think what I’d do differently…but there really is no substitute for preparing filler blocks which create the false deck. It’s a bit of a pain…but this the hobby we love! 🤣

Amazon does show the 1/32” birch plywood sheets as available. I went as thin as possible in thickness (false deck plus decking) to be thin enough to allow placement of the swivel brackets along the interior bulkhead at the gun port sills. The thicker plywood may also be more resistant to laying down across the curvature (camber) from port to starboard. This may be a good reason to lay down individual sections between each set of frames. Just a thought. 
 

If you’ve taken that into account, that’s great. I’m sure your redo will be worth the time. 👍🏽 Watching with interest!

Just a quick note…if you look on my build starting from post #365, you can see exactly what I did and why.  The false deck was made from birch plywood sheets (0.4mm) which is cut to fit cleanly between each set of frames. Doesn’t have to be perfect…and it gave a very solid base.  However, I milled my own planks slightly thinner to compensate for the added width of the false deck.  
 

Hope that helps!

1 hour ago, SparrowHawk7 said:

Thank you both for the encouragement and ideas. I believe doing the deck again with a false deck would be the best thing to do. The deck is certainly going to show so getting that closer at this stage is necessary. I wrote to modeller's sawmill as suggested and am waiting for a response. It would be best if I could tear up what I have done and flatten things again before laying a false deck. To make it fit I probably could put in the margin planking after the false deck is placed to handle the bulwarks leaning inward. I feel quite a bit better after deciding this to be honest ...

 

Thank you for the compliments about my boxes. There is something really special about a hand made wooden box. I especially like the ability to use various species of material. Unfortunately I am unable to work in my woodworking shop any further due to the amputation of my left leg and being confined to a wheelchair now. Using full size power tools is now dangerous and has a great deal to do with my taking up model ship building in wood. The advantage I do have is that I know how to dimension wood and have nearly all the tools necessary on a model level with the exception of a thickness sander.

 

Anyway, thank you for replying with suggestions and encouragement. It is much appreciated.

 

Ken

Howdy! Back to my build and just catching up.  Yes, what I did was install some simple sections of plywood sheeting between each set of frames.  Not one single piece…much easier to install that way and deck curvature is maintained in both directions.  Having a surface beneath your planks will make a universe of difference and you will also be able to even out the surface (sand/scrape) for much better results if it is needed.  Damned good efforts thus far though!  And I also love the boxes….some crazy grain! 👍🏽

The long, cold winter of post surgery recovery has begun to thaw!!!!  I am out of the sling and past the post operative pain. I’m sleeping again!!!  Thank God!

Slowly figuring out where I left off with my build…🤔.

In the meantime…while I get my collective ‘ship’ together (pun intended), I decided on extra curly maple for my mounting board. I was able to get some on line (my buddy who is a luthier pointed me to a good piece when he saw one up for bid on eBay)!

Just a couple of baby pics…got the piece cut and planed…the grain is stunning, and runs cleanly perpendicular to the direction the Syren will be mounted. So, my hope is it gives a nice illusion of waves as one views the completed model once mounted). 

Moving on!!!  
 

Yeah. That paint bleed can be frustrating.  The yellow is a great as well as historic workaround. 👍🏽 Adapt!  Overcome!!!

looking great. 
 

I’m still here…icing my frickin’ shoulder…staring at my ship…wishing for the Love of God I was left handed…

Enjoying your build!  Very nice progress!  I think you have a very good eye for dimensions and perspective.  I’m sure whatever modifications you implement will be fine. Remember, it’s your model!  I think you’ve done brilliantly so far!

9 minutes ago, SparrowHawk7 said:

Thanks Patrick ... I fixed the problem correctly. I tore off 3 strakes from the bow to the gun port and just replaced them the right length. Wasn't near as hard as I had expected but it's drying now and looks much better.

 

I've been sanding up a storm with 80 grit but need some wood putty to fill in gaps. Getting there ...

 

Ken

Awesome!  I’d have done the same…I think you’ll be so much happier in the end. 👍🏽 Nice fix and looking forward to your next steps. 

I think it's really looking well so far. One thing you could try with regards to the gun port being installed a bit off-center would be to make another gun port midway between the two and maybe make it symmetrical across both sides.  I'm really not certain what the other side looks like, but another thing to consider will be that once you have all the deck furniture and rigging up, that your display direction will probably be the best fix unless you want to rip off the bulkheads and start over with the correct alignment of the gun ports. Frankly taking off the bulkheads at this stage above the whales shouldn't give you too much difficulty. In truth it might give you an opportunity to do an even better job since you've already had some practice putting in the bulkheads and carving out the gun ports. It's a lot of work though, and I think so far your build is looking marvelous! 

Outstanding!!!  Really nice detail!  You set the bar!!!

3 weeks post surgery and I have one thing to say about rotator cuff surgery…This Sucks. 
 

That’s coming along nicely!!!

We all have to occasionally request our Admiral’s permission(s) to maintain quality of life!  👍🏽
 

Nice job negotiating…what did you have to give up in return???  🤔

Nice clean result, Will!

OK ... I've been thinking about how to make the quarter gallery roof tiles, and have thought up a couple of different ways. But I think I want to stay with making individual tiles out of some material to make the roof look as real as possible. This is one thing I really liked about @WalrusGuy's handmade galleries for his build. So, I think I'm going to stay with using wood (rather than paper...my original approach) and staining the wood a darker color before cutting and placing on the roof tiles... The main challenge was how to make the tiles consistently same thickness. I think I have a good approach .

Now... I only have to wait 6 to 8 more weeks until I can use my right arm. Sigh...

Brilliant!!!!  

Hi Will.  Not quite clear on the steps you took to make your cleats.  Could you repost with a few more pics?  The pic of the linear holes you made in your pear sheet  isn't enough for me to grasp your process and I'm very curious!

Well…time to button up the shipyard for 4-6 weeks. Shoulder surgery tomorrow (☹️) and I’ve got no more time left to spare to plunk on the quarter badges. 
 

However…with the main parts made, and my ideas for the garlands, scroll work, roof details, etc. tested…I think I can take a pretty good run at finishing these up after I recover.  
 

Next steps are drilling pin holes (yes…pins for the win when mounting these things…I’m not bloody guessing), painting the windows, staining, putting on the shingles and detail work…yada yada. 
 

Gratuitous photo of the unglued bits (mounted on some Tamiya tape) before I put the shipyard to sleep for a while. 
 

I’m still not done…but I’m feeling pretty good about my progress so far on this little side trip. 
 

Moving on…

Someone slap me.  That actually worked. 😳

5 minutes ago, abelson said:

Excellent work on the quarter badges. You obviously can see three dimensionally - not everyone can.

Especially after a tin of ship’s grog!

Ok….a couple things….the little lower portion pieces of the quarter badge build (see above post) floating in water look like oysters. 
 

Second…I’ve decided on my mounting method and mounting wood. Going with flamed maple using brass pedestals. Already have my mounting holes and embedded screws…now I can measure out my case height/width/length and place the order. 
 

The wood figuring should give a nice illusion of waves while the traditional pedestals should show off the copper plating. 
 

That’s my current idea…but I might change my mind later. We’ll see. 😎

Moving on…

Quarter badge bashing continued. 
 

1.  Decided to use some translucent sculpy for the roof base. Had plenty of templates handy so just shaped and formed with my fingers and the edge of a flat razor.  
 

Looks weird but after baking is nice and solid. Holds super glue well…tried gluing my wood shingles on it and held them like iron. That part will come later. 
 

2. Bases/undersides were a problem. Making them individually is beyond me. So measured out the thickness, and made a wood sandwich block. Then drew out the general shape. 
 

3. Used my rotary tool with barrel sander to knock out the basic shape. Then fine tuned with sanding pads. 
 

You can almost see the layers…but the roof and base sections are all curves. 
 

4.  Now I’m soaking the little pieces in water to separate them. I will remake the middle section a bit wider to etch in the detail and provide the visual separation seen in the plans. 
 

Still a long way to go.  I’m not doing replicates of these as they are too much work. But working in sections and experimenting before putting in practice helps. 
 

Long way to go, but happy with the progress so far…moving on. 
 

Decided on the overall plan of attack on the quarter badges. 👍🏽 
 

We’ll see…proof is in the pudding.