Ian_Grant

woodrat, you wouldn't happen to have a picture of what such a mast step might have looked like?

Me too.

Eugene, thanks for the link to the Nave Roman build video which I just watched. It's great! I could never get good looks at the model in the video I cited whose lighting is a bit dim. There are a couple of shots in this new video which show the "boarding bridge" lying across the foredeck in line with the gaps in the bulwarks. I was going to do the same as my target is after the corvus was obsoleted. Was hoping to get a good look at the fixture at the base of the mainmast allowing it presumably to be tilted down when unrigging which is something I will need to make. I also really like his colour scheme. Think I will do the same. Except for the planked natural areas. I'd love to get this kit.

Superb! Marvellous! Outstanding! Great job, Glen!

Eugene, they're the wrong scale for your model, but if a reader is considering buying the Zvezda 1/72 scale model they may be interested in these plastic figures I bought for mine:

Actually there are two clubs in Ottawa, one for static builds and one for RC. Sad to say I had never been to a single meeting of either (I spent 37 years NOT doing models until 2014) until just last week, when I received an invite from someone who I guess saw my location in MSW.

Eugene, wonderful models you have there. Seriously, you live in Ottawa too? I'm in Nepean near Greenbank and Baseline.

Hi Eugene; yes, my log is in the "Scratch Builds up to and including 1500" section, as is yours (see below). Pitassi shows early quinquiremes with no bow bulwarks at all, like a Greek trireme, to accommodate banging the corvus downward. Part of the reason they were un-seaworthy and so many sank in storms in the 1st Punic war. Interestingly, he mentions that uncovered wall paintings in Herculaneum, apparently depicting quadriremes across the bay at the naval base, have a central archery tower which would obviate a mast. I needed to limit my remes to two for RC, so I'm building a "quadrireme" which nonetheless will have a mast and a forward tower because they are so visually compelling. I've barely started on the hull; spent months devising and improving an oar mechanism for RC. I was tracing out my stern sections today before laser cutting (I hope) and I think I have a problem with the stern bulwarks - I didn't include them in my stern half hull carving and they're flaring out a lot if I continue my hull curves.....blah....blah......you can skip to page 6 in my log to catch up on the hull "progress" if not interested in the rowing.

Speaking as a scuba diver, those extracts gave me shivers. Wow! And going down on pure oxygen? Gadz!

Welcome Eugene! I'm excited to see this new build - same ship as I'm doing but at a different scale. Looking forward to see how yours evolves. Scorpion, ballista, maybe Greek fire? Also the archery tower. Here's an awesome model someone made; I contacted "Cast Your Anchor" to ask about where the builder got the crewmen but they knew nothing about the model. https://m.facebook.com/Cast-Your-Anchor-Hobby-246287451905/videos/roman-navy-galley-warship-model-boat-awesome-cast-your-anchor-specializes-in-sta/325854628861004/ You may already have it but I recommend Michael Pitassi's excellent book "Roman Warships". It contains a corvus description according to the historian Polybius: ( units converted to modern usage). " A round pole about 24 feet high and 10 inches in diameter was erected on the prow of the ship. At the top of this pole was a pulley and at its base a gangway four feet in width and 36 ft in length made of planks which were nailed across each other. Twelve feet from one end of the gangway an oblong slot was cut, into which the base of the pole was fitted and each of the long sides of the gangway was protected by a rail as high as a man's knee. At the outboard end of the gangway was fixed an iron spike shaped like a pestle; this was pointed at one end and had an iron ring at the other and looked like the appliance which is used for pounding corn. A rope was passed through the ring and thence through the pulley at the top of the pole. When the ship charged an opponent, the "raven" would be hauled up by means of the pulley and then dropped onto the deck of the enemy vessel: this could be done either over the bows, or the gangway could be swivelled round if the two ships collided broadside-on. A soon as the "raven" was embedded in the planks of the deck and fastened the ships together, the soldiers would leap down onto the enemy vessel. If the two ships were alongside, they could board all the way down the hull, but if they had collided bows on, the men stayed on the gangway and advanced down it two abreast. The leading pair then protected their front by holding their shield before them, while the files who followed guarded their sides by resting the bottom of their shields on the top of the railing." Mr. Pitassi mentions that attaching the rope direct to the ring would mean an awkward moment as the marines tried to get past the rope just as they step down to the enemy deck; it would make more sense to have a yoke overhead from which two ropes attach to the sides of the gangway. Also, would not the gangway be wobbly supported by the single spike? He also puzzles over the lengthy slot in the gangway. Who knows? Polybius lived from c.200-118BC and was present at naval operations in the 3rd punic war; nearly a century after the corvus was obsoleted. Meaning neither he nor anyone he could have met could have actually seen one. Here's an image of the box art of the Zvezda Roman Galley model with a corvus interpretation. I have one in my stash; it's very nicely molded with perfect fit of parts.

George, I didn't know there was a naval museum in Chania! Too bad we were so focused on hiking the Samaria gorge. Next time! Our local Greek restaurant has a lovely framed poster of Chania harbour with the lighthouse and all the restaurants along the quay; fond memories!

Bill, the u-shaped thing is a kevel to belay lines with large pull, for example a main sheet. I have the old instruction sheets.

Yes, if their presence was suspected, an explosive charge dropped into the water would be very bad news for him.

Yes, the Ottawa Library and the US Embassy (??!) collaborated to open a makerspace which is a room called the "Imagine Space" which has two laser cutters and I think three 3D printers. It just so happens to be at the branch nearest us. The laser cutters handle max sheets of 12"x 24" and 18"x 24" respectively. I also saw someone using a pressing machine to make buttons ie the type with a metal back and a plasticized picture on the front that you pin to your clothes. Someone else appeared to be doing something with cloth material; wasn't paying attention. Clarification: the galley keel was manually jigsawed from my 1/4" plywood scrap.

Thanks Glen for the fly tying information. And your sails are great!

Glen, that ship is outstanding! Would fly-tying thread work for ratlines on a 1/150 ship or is it too thin? Asking for a friend. He knows nothing about fly fishing - is it easily tied into compact knots? What kind of glue to lock them?

Bless you!!

I decided to slice up my carved half hulls anyway. Traced those for the bow onto paper, scanned it, and imported into InkScape with the plan being to copy each trace then mirror and add as the other side (to guarantee symmetry), and then draw in the notches for stringers. But I got lost in all the intricacies of path and node editing (don't ask!). Decidedly not my cup of tea. I went to the library with a couple of basic questions for the people there in the "Imagine Space"; a girl showed me a bunch of stuff with fingers just flying over function keys and mouse buttons. Whew! I think she could probably do what I want to do in half an hour but on returning home I found I was just getting angry at it. Even with a large book about InkScape at hand which I borrowed from the library, but the author just dives right in. It's more like a reminder for experienced users of functions and keys, than a beginner's primer. Plus I'm a computer idiot. So I'm just going to draw my bulkheads the old fashioned manual way, and scan them in for the laser cutter, which will at least save me the trouble of jigsawing them all out and carefully sanding the contours. The laser will very accurately render any wobbly drawn lines of mine 🙄. Here's a pic of the two-piece keel moments after gluing with some gussets, with the oar mechanism just sat beside it to enhance imagining the final ship. I'm putting lots of ribs at the bow and stern to allow skinning these compound curves in pieces of 1/32" plywood. The sliced-up bow and stern sections are in the background. Note that the oars are sitting far lower than in the finished hull. I didn't pile enough wood scraps under them to raise them to design position. Oops I see I also missed cutting a little bit at the stem. She'll be a big beast - just over 53" from the business end of the ram to the stern extremity - I'm getting excited now!!!

What about a frogman alongside it? Or am I thinking of midget subs?

Bill, regarding filling the hole in the knee of the head I would think that although filling after gluing these parts to the hull might be slightly awkward, it would otherwise be difficult to cut and glue in whatever you have in mind for the opening while maintaining the upper and lower parts of the stem in the correct position relative to each other. If your shaped fill was a little off, then the resulting one-piece "complete stem" might not then properly attach to the hull. In other words, you'd need a jig to hold the upper and lower parts of the stem in the correct orientation while you fit the filling. Might as well glue them onto the hull, then they are really and truly "jigged" for you. That's what I'd do.

For my Preussen's pedestals I used brass "insert knobs" from Lee Valley. They don't have a "bulbous" knob that you show. They're meant to accept a wood disc in the centre of the knob end that you provide but you can omit and just stand upside down. Smallest is 3/8" DIA, not sure how that compares to yours. https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/hardware/knobs/cabinet/40277-veritas-smooth-rimmed-brass-insert-knobs

Boy, Bill, you're not letting any grass grow under your feet.............!

Bob, yes your Transmitter is the TTX300 but what is your Receiver? Are you certain that the Transmitter has power? Do you have a volt meter? It would be worth checking the output of the ESC's BEC (battery eliminator circuit) to verify that the Rcvr is actually being powered. By the way, which ESC were you sent......7320....7325? Also, are you certain you are connecting the 7.2V batteries in series, not just y-harnessing in parallel, for your 12V motors? Again a voltmeter would be useful. You can buy a multimeter for as little as $17USD at your Home Depot. Lastly, I'd call Big Rich and have a helpful chat.

Bob, I looked at a video about binding your Tactic Transmitter to the Receiver. Is your Receiver a TR325? At any rate all he did was turn both on; should see a red LED on the Tx but nothing on the Rx. Then use a small screwdriver, for example, to press down on the recessed binding button within the Receiver and hold it down for about a full second until it beeps and a solid red LED comes on. Pretty simple; used to be you had to use a "binding plug" which temporarily plugged in to the Rx to indicate to it that you wanted it to attempt to bind. If no joy, check polarity of your three-pin ESC connection to the Rx: black or brown to the outside of the Rx. It's the ESC which supplies power to the Rx via this connection, and in return the Rx sends the speed control signal back through the signal wire. Looking forward to seeing your electrics run!

So I've seen several people who cut out those panels without damaging them, for re-use. Does it go quite easily?