Baker

Thank you druxey!
 
Well, Augsburg is now over and all buyers of my block collection have received a free update that includes the Steel specifications. I hope I haven't forgotten anyone, if not please let me kno 🙂

And after all those blocks, time for a chang 🙂

A long time ago I had already presented the built Brodie stove. Cooking place for 800 men.

First mishap - I had actually misplaced it for almost a year ...

Second mishap - space test and the stove turned out to be 2 mm too high ...

In the meantime, because of the unavailability of the original, I had made it again in print ...



... on the right the recovered stove, in the centre the first print - also too high - and on the left the right-scaled version, here the printing technique actually helped to quickly define the correct size, as I had scaled the stove in 2 % steps and could therefore simply place the results on my deck and select the appropriate size.





And the winner is:













XXXDAn

I printed some parts with my new machine. Turned out nice.
SPG 62, Phalanx and barrel rafts

Then I installed them

Hello, shipwrights. Those of you that are left. It's long past time for an update. I think my last one was in November. 


 
The hull of my Heller 1:100 Soliel was mostly complete last fall. With the advice of other modelers I respected, I had decided to forego the kit's rigging instructions, which I judged to be too impenetrable anyway, and just go line-by-line using three sources of reference: R.C. Anderson's The Rigging of Ships in the Days of the Spritsail Topmast, 1600–1720, Karl Heinz Marquardt's Eighteenth-Century Rigs & Rigging, Jean Boudriot's The Three-Decker of the Chevalier De Tourville, and Lennarth Petersson's Rigging Period Ship Models, AKA Model Ship Rigging for Dummies—which fit my (lack of) aptitude nicely. The intent was to use these to make a custom rigging diagram and obtain prototypical specs for belaying points, line weights, block sizes, etc.
 


Once past that point, I soon realized that, while the source materials specified what the lines did and where the lines should run, they didn't say much about how and in what order a modeler like me should handle the ropes. I figured—logically, I thought—to begin at the bow and work aft. Simple, right? Oops.

Nnnnnnnope. Without writing a boring screed about all my misadventures and re-dos, suffice to say that I learned you had to be much more subtle about this process. Rigging is like a chess game, you have to plan things several moves in advance. My present inclination is that If you're belaying lines behind shrouds and ratlines, DON'T put the shrouds and ratlines on first. A better plan is to take care of things from the masts, outboard. Lines close to the centerline of the ship should be dealt with before anything running to the rails.
 
So, after several months of mistakes and nonsense, I've more or less completed the standing rigging. I intend on completing the chain-plates and building a display stand before coping with the running rigging.

I'm going to show photos rather than make lengthy descriptions. There are SO MANY better rigging jobs to be seen on other build logs. If you want a thorough how-to, I commend you to those.
 
Here's the current work area. My foam-core clamshell protection box has done a good job of keeping my clumsy hands from dislodging the artillery.
 
 

 
I made an attempt to plan ahead. Bought the rigging supplies I thought I needed and organized everything with labels. Painted a lot of rope and sorted it according to size, with the sizes written on the spools. I felt like my dog, with her well-curated collection of tennis balls.


 
Prepared the lower masts and tops. Since everything else about the kit dimensions was exaggerated, I decided to go with the flow and keep the kit's styrene masts without much modification. They did get turned wooden dowels inside to straighten and stiffen them. The tops got their sides and ribs built up with styrene strips. Too late, I read in Boudriot that masts in this period did not have fish, unless the masts were damaged in battle. So—oops again—my masts have fish. I decided my model had to represent the Soliel as it was refit AFTER the Battle of Malaga, not BEFORE, as planned. Sigh.


 
I figured the spritsail topmast was a good place to try tying shrouds and ratlines. I didn't like the result. The thread was too stiff. ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO SOFTEN THREAD AND MAKE IT DROOP?
 

 
The kit had the main and fore channels placed one deck too high. As shown in the Jerome Helyot drawing above, the channels on the prototype were placed BELOW the upper gun deck. No problem, right? Just make the shrouds longer, right?


 
But the kit had very little tumblehome. In order to keep the longer shrouds from hitting the rails, you had to make sure the new channels were wide enough. Also, you had to place the shrouds so that they didn't come down right over a gunport. I made diagrams, in the process realizing that my deadeyes were too big. Got new ones.



I ended up using the kit's channels, widening them with sheet styrene where needed. Filled in the slots for the kit's chain deadeyes and filed new ones at the channels' edges. This was closer to prototype practice anyway. The deadeyes got stained a uniform dark color. 

This began about three months of frustration trying different ways to make the lower mast shrouds and ratlines. I tried sewing them on because I had used that technique on another ship model years ago. Tried it three times. Disliked each try. Ran out of thread the size needed for foremast shrouds. Got more. Re-used deadeyes. Sobered up from the pity party. Tried again. Wash, rinse repeat.


 
I began to wonder if I was ever going to finish. I thought about different things I could do with this model. Like burn it.
 

 
But I finally settled on doing shrouds the old, time-consuming, uninventive way. Tied every knot. Accepted that the lines weren't going to droop the way I wanted.


 
The new channels were mounted on brass posts with epoxy for strength. Even then, when tightening the shrouds later on, one popped loose and I had to perform a do-over. I don't know what would have happened if I had just tried gluing on the channels styrene to styrene.



There was a lot of running rigging that was supposed to belay behind the shrouds. I decided that I'd better take care of those lines before the shrouds went on. To this day, I don't know if it was a good decision or not. I'll find out when I tackle the running rigging. For the time being, I tell people that my model has grown a beard and joined a Texas hard-rock band. 


 
Finally, I had shrouds and ratlines on the foremast. Managed to repeat the process on the other two lower masts without much further nonsense. 


 

 
The upper masts went up in a surprisingly short amount of time—within a month or so. This was very encouraging. I assembled them on my workbench and simply tied the deadeye lanyards after they were up.


 
Then came stays, backstays, bobstay, tackles, futtocks, crowsfeet—all the stuff that seems easy after fighting for months with the shrouds. 
 

 

 

 
One thing I forgot to mention is all the touchup paint on the ropes. I tried to soften the contrast between the tarred and un-tarred lines. It produced a nice variety of shades to the rope. Not being much of a tall ships sailor, I don't know how realistic that is, but to my eye, it helps the job look authentic. 
 
So—yeah. There's the standing rigging. By the time you're reading this post (it took me since April to decide to upload it), I'll hopefully be busy trying to figure out the best technique for making chain plates. 


 
I'll post more when I make progress with the running rigging. My hope is to have a finished model by the end of the year. I had originally planned for this project to take a year. I think now I'll be fortunate if it only takes two.  I'm still optimistic I'll have a mantlepiece-worthy model when I finish.

Thanks much for looking in. Gardez la poudre au sec. Or else.
 

Planking the bow.
Purely speculative. As mentioned earlier, the planking here is horizontal, on many carracks it is curved vertical, but at the time of the sinking of Mary Rose this seems to have become somewhat old-fashioned. most drawings then show horizontal planking.
 
First, a clean up on the inside

Then the bow is built up step by step.

The bow is planked. Not clearly visible in the photos, but there are still depths and heights in the shape here and there. But the planks are thick enough to sand away these imperfections.
 
And. Not happy with the errors on the right, but we don't see anything about this later. Needs further sanding (left)

With the cardboard fore castle. In this setup the height is already 1.5cm lower.
Next, sanding, applying treenails, etc. to be done.

Thanks for following

So this is the two of them and I’m quite happy that I re did it without the shield 

Thank you for the nice comments.
 
The planking at the bow has been further sanded and fitted with treenails.

Back to the rear castle.
Smaller wales (4) are placed on the clinker planking. Of course, none of the four have the same dimensions.
The drawings and photos are partly used to determine the "right" location. The dimensions between the wales are also taken into account for future painting works.
According to Mary's remains, the Wales certainly continue as far as sector 10 (the penultimate cannon port)
 
"penultimate"  A new English word for me (hopefully Mr. Google translate is correct 😳)

After applying these wales I have to read my books and think first.
The "frames" of the rear castle are much too thick. And the clinker planking on the transom also feels wrong.
This means extra sanding and cutting, probably a redo and a   smiley.
 
Thanks for following
 

Thank you for the nice comments.
 
The planking at the bow has been further sanded and fitted with treenails.

Back to the rear castle.
Smaller wales (4) are placed on the clinker planking. Of course, none of the four have the same dimensions.
The drawings and photos are partly used to determine the "right" location. The dimensions between the wales are also taken into account for future painting works.
According to Mary's remains, the Wales certainly continue as far as sector 10 (the penultimate cannon port)
 
"penultimate"  A new English word for me (hopefully Mr. Google translate is correct 😳)

After applying these wales I have to read my books and think first.
The "frames" of the rear castle are much too thick. And the clinker planking on the transom also feels wrong.
This means extra sanding and cutting, probably a redo and a   smiley.
 
Thanks for following
 

Nice bit of kit, Simon. The ship's boat would look good stained but paint is more correct.   

Ready for some paint. 
Simon

Thank you for the nice comments.
 
The planking at the bow has been further sanded and fitted with treenails.

Back to the rear castle.
Smaller wales (4) are placed on the clinker planking. Of course, none of the four have the same dimensions.
The drawings and photos are partly used to determine the "right" location. The dimensions between the wales are also taken into account for future painting works.
According to Mary's remains, the Wales certainly continue as far as sector 10 (the penultimate cannon port)
 
"penultimate"  A new English word for me (hopefully Mr. Google translate is correct 😳)

After applying these wales I have to read my books and think first.
The "frames" of the rear castle are much too thick. And the clinker planking on the transom also feels wrong.
This means extra sanding and cutting, probably a redo and a   smiley.
 
Thanks for following
 

Thank you for the nice comments.
 
The planking at the bow has been further sanded and fitted with treenails.

Back to the rear castle.
Smaller wales (4) are placed on the clinker planking. Of course, none of the four have the same dimensions.
The drawings and photos are partly used to determine the "right" location. The dimensions between the wales are also taken into account for future painting works.
According to Mary's remains, the Wales certainly continue as far as sector 10 (the penultimate cannon port)
 
"penultimate"  A new English word for me (hopefully Mr. Google translate is correct 😳)

After applying these wales I have to read my books and think first.
The "frames" of the rear castle are much too thick. And the clinker planking on the transom also feels wrong.
This means extra sanding and cutting, probably a redo and a   smiley.
 
Thanks for following
 

indeed.
There was also a VW kubelwagen and an NSU kettenkrad.
They were fun to build.

Thank you for the nice comments.
 
The planking at the bow has been further sanded and fitted with treenails.

Back to the rear castle.
Smaller wales (4) are placed on the clinker planking. Of course, none of the four have the same dimensions.
The drawings and photos are partly used to determine the "right" location. The dimensions between the wales are also taken into account for future painting works.
According to Mary's remains, the Wales certainly continue as far as sector 10 (the penultimate cannon port)
 
"penultimate"  A new English word for me (hopefully Mr. Google translate is correct 😳)

After applying these wales I have to read my books and think first.
The "frames" of the rear castle are much too thick. And the clinker planking on the transom also feels wrong.
This means extra sanding and cutting, probably a redo and a   smiley.
 
Thanks for following
 

indeed.
There was also a VW kubelwagen and an NSU kettenkrad.
They were fun to build.

While the work continues on the beakhead bulkhead the scale chain arrived I had ordered for the rudder. The preliminary mockup is looking good with the pendant still left to do, the chain will be cut and a ring installed at the midway point to accept the hook of the pendant and the other end will be hooked below the gallery, whether or not chain was used, who knows?, but it looks like it belongs.
 
Michael D.
 
 

Slow, but beautiful  👍

Thank you for the nice comments.
 
The planking at the bow has been further sanded and fitted with treenails.

Back to the rear castle.
Smaller wales (4) are placed on the clinker planking. Of course, none of the four have the same dimensions.
The drawings and photos are partly used to determine the "right" location. The dimensions between the wales are also taken into account for future painting works.
According to Mary's remains, the Wales certainly continue as far as sector 10 (the penultimate cannon port)
 
"penultimate"  A new English word for me (hopefully Mr. Google translate is correct 😳)

After applying these wales I have to read my books and think first.
The "frames" of the rear castle are much too thick. And the clinker planking on the transom also feels wrong.
This means extra sanding and cutting, probably a redo and a   smiley.
 
Thanks for following
 

Thank you for the nice comments.
 
The planking at the bow has been further sanded and fitted with treenails.

Back to the rear castle.
Smaller wales (4) are placed on the clinker planking. Of course, none of the four have the same dimensions.
The drawings and photos are partly used to determine the "right" location. The dimensions between the wales are also taken into account for future painting works.
According to Mary's remains, the Wales certainly continue as far as sector 10 (the penultimate cannon port)
 
"penultimate"  A new English word for me (hopefully Mr. Google translate is correct 😳)

After applying these wales I have to read my books and think first.
The "frames" of the rear castle are much too thick. And the clinker planking on the transom also feels wrong.
This means extra sanding and cutting, probably a redo and a   smiley.
 
Thanks for following
 

Exemplary miniature work as usual, Daniel! Looks like it was a great exhibition and meeting as well.

It was nice again and my little one with the black and yellow stripes really enjoyed the trip 🙂

As every 2 years there was a big meeting in Augsburg, around 70 modellers, some with their partners, met, chatted with each other, had a nice evening together and many even had a great Sunday breakfast together.

Here are a few pictures of my little one with her accessories.











I was also able to take part in and witness a Guinness of World Record attempt: Matthias registered his ship in a bottle as the largest free-hanging ship in a bottle. Now we're just waiting for the certification 🙂



Well then, a nice greeting from both of us, DAniel and Vicky

Sooner you than me, mate 
 
"Penultimate" = second last - the one before the last one.
 
"Antepenultimate" - third last - the one before the one before the last one. As in "her antepenultimate breath" at 2:04 in the Flanders and Swann song "Have Some Madiera M'dear"
 
 

Ah! Flanders and Swann, those were witty entertainers, worth revisiting. But we digress.... Penultimate is a good word, Patrick.