Jump to content
MORE HANDBOOKS ARE ON THEIR WAY! We will let you know when they get here. ×
Model Machines LLC – Byrnes Model Machines - machines to be back in production soon. ×

Ian_Grant

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,088

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Ian_Grant

  1. Ian_Grant
    HaHa! 😃 I read quite a bit of Polybius at the cottage on the weekend. Haven't yet reached the attack on Syracuse in the 2nd Punic war, but there was an interesting story about a battle between two of the restive Greek states between the Punic wars, not involving Rome. One side lashed their ships together in fours and put many marines on board. They then allowed them to go broadside on to tempt the enemy fleet. When the enemy ships rammed the outer ships of the lashed sets and became stuck in them, they were overwhelmed by marines boarding while the inner ships of the lashed sets held all afloat. Many quinquiremes were captured. Polybius has a good opinion of himself. He considered himself a "serious" historian and did research (and was actually present at some engagements) but he decries some other historians who recorded, in today's parlance, misinformation. Reporting on previous "historians'" discussions of a Roman senate meeting, he says, "All of this is as implausible as it is untrue - unless, of course, one of the gifts with which Fortune has blessed the Romans is that every one of them is born wise. But I need say no more about the work of writers such as Chaereas and Sosylus. Their work seems to me to have the status and importance of the common gossip of the barber's shop. It is not history." ...... LOL
  2. Ian_Grant
    To carry on a little more with this distraction: My wife really wanted to see the marine iguanas; she is a vet who looks after exotic animals (birds, reptiles, and plain old cats and dogs too) and this species is unique. I on the other hand really wanted to see blue-footed boobies, which we did, literally walking right by them. In fact, you are only allowed to walk on a designated path but some of the boobies, which nest on the ground, were sitting on their eggs in the middle of the path and you had to tip-toe around them as they stared at you. I can now say, to quote Dr. Maturin, "I have beheld the blue-footed boobie!". Mike, did you leave a postcard at Post Office Bay? Background for the uninitiated: in the 19th century whalers had a mail barrel on the beach here hence the name. Newly arrived whalers from Nantucket would bring mail for all the crews already in the Pacific and drop it in the barrel. When a whaler watered in the islands, they dropped mail for home into the barrel and picked up any incoming mail for them. When a whaler was leaving for home, they picked up all the mail for home and took it with them. Nowadays you buy a postcard, address it to yourself, and leave it unstamped in the barrel. While there you search through all the postcards to see if you can find one addressed to somewhere very close to your house. If so, you are to take it home and go to the peoples' house, knock on their door, and hand it over "special delivery". I was amazed to find a card from people a few streets over. We've been over a couple of times but they weren't home. Unfortunately, we recently received OUR postcard in the mail; someone brought it back to somewhere in Canada, stamped it, and mailed it to us. 😒 Idiots. It would have been a great surprise and pleasure to have someone come to our door with it instead, someday.
  3. Ian_Grant
    Glen, the hull looks great, and amazing job drilling so many tiny holes consistently! I wondered how you were getting the angles right; bending the brass oars is another great idea. I'm certain this will end up being my favourite among your builds so far. 👍
  4. Ian_Grant
    As I read it, after 1650 (and probably before) the deadeyes were stropped in iron, "probably" (he says) with iron "puttocks"/"futtocks" hooked into them (much the usual way for topmast futtocks) and the bottom ends of the puttocks bolted near the bottom of the bowsprit. The first way with deadeyes stropped in rope and puttocks above the bowsprit seems to me like a mechanically inept way of doing it, with all the sprit topmast strain taken by the knee of the top instead of the bowsprit; probably why Mr. Andersen is unsure of the scheme.
  5. Ian_Grant
    HaHa!! Well, at least our cat is easier to move!
  6. Ian_Grant
    Thanks! The blades are from cherry cutoff I had around; looking forward to them getting redder and darker over time. Thanks Marc! All due to jigs...😉
  7. Ian_Grant
    Speaking of penguins ... 🫢... here are a couple of crappy pictures I took of a Galapagos penguin during one of our snorkels on our recent trip. My camera was one of those cheap "rentals" made of a roll of Fuji film encased in a plastic enclosure. I'm quite proud I managed to capture this little torpedo while peering through the tiny viewfinder with a snorkel mask on. Not too impressed with the film though; back in the day I used ASA400 for u/w shots. Not sure what this was. Should have bought a go-pro for this once-in-a-lifetime trip. I did get some better pics, a couple of which I added below. A couple of marine iguanas (the only iguanas in the world that swim and eat underwater), and a nice one of a sea turtle which shows improved quality when camera is pointing more horizontal as opposed to towards the bottom. By the way these iguanas get rid of excess salt intake by sneezing it out when lying in the sun on black volcanic rock on land to warm up again. On one of our walks we passed by hundreds/thousands of them with someone sneezing out white salt particles every few seconds. Oh, and my wife shot about 1800 pics on land with her digital SLR. Trip of a lifetime!!!! If you are at all interested in wildlife, I highly recommend the Galapagos. Glen, sorry to hijack your log! Carry on.....
  8. Ian_Grant
    Got the oars covered with three coats of Varathane exterior satin "Diamond Finish". Cured to a nice soft satin, surprising me with how nice the shafts look - the dowels were very pale. Here's a shot of the oars drying; just the 44 lower oars, I still have to make and finish 42 upper oars. Also went to the shooting range and bought a bag of #6 lead shot. Was interesting watching people skeet shoot while I was there. What is it with cats wanting to lie on all your stuff?
  9. Ian_Grant
    Interesting discussion. It prompted me to dig out my old CS instructions from the 70's, and look at the (sad state) of my CS. I see I rigged mine according to the instructions. I'll just say a few things, noting that I have no CS-specific books either. Revell shows a kink in the backstays where they meet the spreaders which is utter nonsense. As far as I've read, the spreaders should not disturb the straight run of the backstays; there should not be a bend in them at the spreaders. Revell's instructions are quite clear that the mizzen topmast has no backstays at all. This is surprising to me, unless just maybe it gives the driver gaff more space to pivot? I see I rigged mine faithful to this. Revell's "backstay #3" to the topmasts is very vague as to what happens to it at the topmast. As George says they should loop around the topmast immediately above the crosstrees but it doesn't look like that on the drawing. I see I did topmast backstays two different ways on my CS; what did the teenaged me know? Underhill shows that iron lower masts often had a pair of backstays attached to eyes welded to the lower mast's cap. Revell's "backstay #2" could be a lazy way to rig them.
  10. Ian_Grant
    Bill, those aren't supports for gammoning, they are a series of sheaves for future rigging threads which pass through them on the way to the fore rail. Make sure you have the openings through the assemblies clear of glue etc. To attach them? I would lash them, along with a little bit of CA to hold them while lashing.
  11. Ian_Grant
    The main mast is the only one that goes to the keel, for some reason, in this kit.
  12. Ian_Grant
    Thanks Steven, you mentioned this near the start of this log 😄 but it was so long ago now I guess you forgot........ 🙄 I saw that video before too. Interesting that the oars have that little pause; makes me think they aren't motor-driven. Wonder if he has a servo scheme too? Don't worry, my oars won't be going near as high as that. In fact, my galley will be calm water only, or the oars might be striking wavetops on the return stroke. I'm sure there will be a lot of software tuning once this boat is operational. Thanks, Ian
  13. Ian_Grant
    Thanks! That's a good idea.....will look into it. Don't know how big these balls of shot are......
  14. Ian_Grant
    Problem solved. Port side mechanism mounted in the hull. Checking the new oar geometry will work in the hull cavity without hitting deck beams etc when blades are in the water (pic). Upper oars will be 1/2" longer than lower oars, will need to make 42 of them. Existing 44 oars will be the lowers. Found out I can buy lead shot at a nearby shooting range. Planning to buy plastic film-roll canisters to fill with shot as opposed to pouring loose shot into the hull. Snag is I must buy 25 lbs of shot 🤨, will sell the remainder on. Pic shows extra blades taped to upper oars to depict their new length. Need to sand and varnish at least 22 oars; complete the mechanism install; install the 1/4 scale sweep servo; get the shot and ballast hull; try it in the pool with just lower oars on one side to see if they get traction. If so I will spend the money and time to mechanize the starboard side and complete hull decoration and painting. Not sure if I will get the deck built this year - our summers are short and should be enjoyed.
  15. Ian_Grant
    Actually, that looks great!
  16. Ian_Grant
    By the way Glen, I think standard tile grout may be better as your wall mortar than caulk. The caulk will be hard to smooth out when dry, but grout is always just wiped smooth once partially set. No muss, no fuss.
  17. Ian_Grant
    Glen, I realized I had forgotten your intentions for this SIB.......that last post of mine shows a Greek ship not a Roman one. There are a few drawings of Roman types at the following: https://naval-encyclopedia.com/antique-ships/roman-ships
  18. Ian_Grant
    That's a very fancy impression of a trireme, perhaps envisioned as an Emperor's personal ship. A more workaday impression is the trireme "Olympias" which was built around 1990-2000, was tested with 170 volunteer rowers, and is now on display near Athens. Here is the general arrangement drawing. There are several videos on youtube. I have many more detailed drawings of her if you are interested, but for SIB this might suffice.
  19. Ian_Grant
    I seem to have caused a fruitless digression, again. Sorry. I wasn't sure which half of the century SR was from; Andersen states that in the latter half everyone did indeed have chains. BIll, that 4th part is called the "preventer plate".
  20. Ian_Grant
    A plate is (was?) a single piece of metal with a hook at one end for the deadeye strop and a hole (sometimes two) at the other end to bolt to the hull. I know Dafi's SR had single plates in the form of straight bars, I've seen the photos. But he made that a long time ago; maybe he would differ now. In later centuries chains ie the 3-piece link you are used to, were used by all. But Andersen is quite definite that from 1600 to 1640 all ships used plates as he shows in the diagrams. What year is this SR supposed to be? Marc would know. As to your soldering, is the tip dirty? It needs to be cleaned and tinned for effective use.
  21. Ian_Grant
    Does the copper have a coating on it that you need to sand off maybe? Is that tube some kind of liquid flux? Bill, chain plates were not always like the ones on Victory. According to Andersen, all nations used plates, not chains, at least for the first forty years of the 17th century. Then everyone switched to chains for 15 years, then English ships switched back to plates. I'm not even sure what year SR purports to be from. I remember seeing Dafi's SR with plates. Take everything I say here with a grain of salt, I haven't done any research. Andersen states (twice) that chains/plates is a difficult matter.
  22. Ian_Grant
    It came yesterday. It's a pretty dense book, no illustrations at all except for a couple of maps of the ancient Mediterrenean. Thank goodness, it's not like reading the Iliad with all its repetition; "he fell, and his armour crashed around him". I guess because Polybius is a historian not a poet. I'll see if he mentions twin hulls. Even if he does, I'm not building one. 🙄
  23. Ian_Grant
    My all-time favourite back cover work was from a guy who carves animal skulls out of burls, with the darker lines inherent in the burls looking like fused bones.....
  24. Ian_Grant
    HaHa! I thought it was on the actual magazine's web site.....your work could well be on the back cover...........
  25. Ian_Grant
    Marc, you're a dark horse..........featured in the Fine Woodworking gallery !!!!!! ...... Beautiful pieces.......Respect......

About us

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

SSL Secured

Your security is important for us so this Website is SSL-Secured

NRG Mailing Address

Nautical Research Guild
237 South Lincoln Street
Westmont IL, 60559-1917

Model Ship World ® and the MSW logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,929,264 & No. 6,929,274, registered Dec. 20, 2022)

Helpful Links

About the NRG

If you enjoy building ship models that are historically accurate as well as beautiful, then The Nautical Research Guild (NRG) is just right for you.

The Guild is a non-profit educational organization whose mission is to “Advance Ship Modeling Through Research”. We provide support to our members in their efforts to raise the quality of their model ships.

The Nautical Research Guild has published our world-renowned quarterly magazine, The Nautical Research Journal, since 1955. The pages of the Journal are full of articles by accomplished ship modelers who show you how they create those exquisite details on their models, and by maritime historians who show you the correct details to build. The Journal is available in both print and digital editions. Go to the NRG web site (www.thenrg.org) to download a complimentary digital copy of the Journal. The NRG also publishes plan sets, books and compilations of back issues of the Journal and the former Ships in Scale and Model Ship Builder magazines.

Our Emblem ®

Modelshipworld - Advancing Ship Modeling through Research

Nautical Research Guild ® and the NRG logo are Registered Trademarks, and belong to the Nautical Research Guild (United States Patent and Trademark Office: No. 6,999,236 & No. 6,999,237, registered March 14, 2023)

×
×
  • Create New...