Robin Lous

Clever troubleshooting...it's a huge improvement! Robin

Thanks Patrick...and I agree about losing the inside view. So I plan to do them stowed to the railing. A nice example of a trireme without a top deck with the canvas cover... Triremes with a top deck (like the Olympias) only needed the curtains of course. Robin

I like to buy from his own website. He's a really nice guy to deal with. http://www.dusekshipkits.com/ Robin

Finished making the new batch of blocks... ..so I can now start with the rigging. There's one more modification I like to do... The sun roof and battle curtains. The roof was used to protect the oarsmen from the sun. The curtains were lowered during battle and bad weather. Likely also used as a tent during the night when beached...supported by some top oars. Not read anything about this, but it makes perfect sense. Robin

Yep...I remember that. It's been...and still is...a long wait. Hope it will be good. I'm still making up my mind about my next build. The Dusek trireme or the Kolderstok Duyfken. 170 oars or rigging I'm not ready for yet...tough choise, but this book might push me towards the trireme. To be decided. Robin

convinced

Really sorry to hear your dad passed away, my sincere condolences. About the Camel...one thing you might consider: It will look really nice when you drill open the gun muzzles a bit. These things are such a focal point and it's a small effort to do. Robin

At first some good news for people with a masochistic fetish for oars... The Anatomy of the ship book - The Athenian Trireme..will finally be released in December. Pre ordered my copy! And on the shipyard... These blocks... The "ancient version of a heart block shaped one eyed deadeye". Long story short (for those who missed it). I made them and shortly after...someone threw them away thinking they were grape pips. So I'm now making a new batch. Nothing like this is readily available, so I need to make them myself. Will keep me busy for the rest of the week, mainly because I don't have much shipyard time this week. About 30 minutes per block...meh! More...next week. Robin

Thanks John! The steering oars... And the bronze green... I think this is enough. I don't want it to be completely toxic green Again...it's just 3cm long. Next? Those darn blocks I guess. Robin

I love these french fishing boats...instant holiday feeling! Maybe I should build something like this after what I do now...and before I start on something I can't handle yet. I look forward to see this come together! Robin

Above and beyond gorgeous! Robin

omg! don't go there...it's a haunted place!

To get back to why I made a simple 2 dimensional ram instead of a highly ornate 3 dimensional cast ram. The main reason I don't believe in cast rams on biremes is the weight of such rams. Biremes were very light ships, heavy rams will reduce the speed immensely. Additional reasons are the cost of such rams. Surely a very expensive gadget. Also...rams are hardly visible, because the point of the ram is below the waterline or skimming the waterline, so why bother? Last but not least...no archaeological find other than the trireme ram Messis showed (replicated on the Olympias) and the very basic Black Sea bireme ram. So, what about the images of rams on Greek vases? When we look at the vases there a couple of things to notice. One thing is...they're not scale drawings. Note how eyecatching items are blown up or stretched out. The crew...the steering oars and...the rams. These are artist impressions with exaggerated parts and details. But what about the decorations we see? Yes...I see them also, but that still doesn't mean the rams are cast bronze statues. I think some rams might have been painted, clad with additional sheet, or had hammered decorations, but fairly simple. The eyes we see on them are probably painted on the bow instead of on the ram...above the waterline for sure. One more issue...the size of the ram. I think many wrongly think the pine tar painted bow (like on my build) is part of the ram...it isn't. Clearly out of proportion, the ram is far too long, like the steering oars. The eye is the ship's eye low on the bow. Furthermore..a fairly good shape. The ram looks 2 dimensional. The ram here follows the shape of the vase, but even when straightened there is a waterline issue. Again...ram is oversized here also. Despite the decorations, the ram still looks 2 dimensional and has a good shape. This is the image many use to make a sculptured cast ram (the weight of such a thing?). Well okey, but another waterline issue. Good oar placement btw. Also note the second bireme with a plain ram and good placement of the eye. Imho Daniel Dusek did it right. Shape, size and placement make sense. Note how the black bow can be mistaken for being part of the ram...specially with a low placed ship's eye. This is probably the best image I've seen on a vase. Apart from the oversized helmsman and steering oars, very good proportions and layout. The only image where the waterline seems right. In the water instead of on top of the water. This shows how pointless it is to put a lot of effort in decorating the ram with eyes and what more. I don't say what I did is the right way to do it...it's what I think makes most sense...after some study and added common sense. It's something people will never agree about until we find at least half a dozen of bireme rams on the bottom of the sea. I thought about my construction of the ram and I think it's a plausible solution. Back to my bench to make some steering oars, Robin

Thanks guys. Good to be back. Robin

Thanks Martyn! @Messis...yes I do, it's the trieres ram found in the Mediterranean Sea near Israel. The ladder.. A Greek bireme without a ladder is like a Swiss cow without a cow bell. 1x2mm basswood and thinned down cocktail sticks. Ladder was used when the ship was beached. Attached to the railing when sailing. Steering oars are next. Robin

So beautiful and so crisp and clean. Robin

I think Kolderstok deserves to be on the list. http://www.kolderstok-models.com/index.en.html

Hammertime! Oh...that wasn't difficult. I made cuts on the corners with the PE micro saw (mentioned before) and started to fold with a wooden popsicle stick (also mentioned before somewhere). Finished the folding with my old X-Acto hammer with the round bit. Finished the ram...ex bronze green patina, but I do that later. When I do it now the patina will wear off, because the ram is a safe place to hold, without doing any damage. Keep in mind the ram is only 3 cm long. What's next? The steering oars and the ladder. More soon, Robin

More ramming... Finished both sides and cut, filed and sanded into the shape of the ram. Made a wider strip to go over. Fixed the strip to the ram. I now must cut the corners of the strip to be able to fold the edges. Not sure how to fold it yet...I probably need to "micro hammer" it. We'll see. Robin

Thanks Don! Started with cutting and filing the side of the ram.. Not finished, but it gives an idea about what I'm doing. Maybe this is interesting for those who like to use bronze, brass or copper... How to get the bronze green finish? Ammonium Chloride (NH4CL)...now that sounds toxic doesn't it? But you can actually eat it...sort of...at your own risk of course. It's used ...in the Netherlands...to make "salmiak"...some sort of wicked salty liquorice. But...to the point...it's fantastic stuff to get the bronze green patina. Mix with water until you get a muddy paste. cover the copper surface with it and let it rest for a couple of hours. Rinse with water, let it dry and voila...bronze green. When the effect is too much...you can rub it with a wet or dry tissue. Some testing and you'll see what can be done. I'll do that after I finished the construction.. Robin

And...the template was a bad idea after all, because the root of the ram need to follow the shape of the bow. Forgot about that. So, a different approach... An oversized sheet of copper and shape it to match the bow...one side at the time. Glued in place...when the glue is set, I'll cut off the excess material and do the other side. This will take several hours, so I have the evening off. So far so good...and by the way... since the copper is so easy to bend and shape (0,15 mm thick), I'll make a new...wider...strip that goes over top and fold the edges after all. Robin

Yesterday the admiral picked up the bronze sheet for me, but I sadly can't use it. Only 0,2 mm thick, but it's way to stiff too work with, so I'll use copper sheet. I cut the strip that goes over the ram and made a rough template to cut the sides. I make the ram slightly longer and give it a square tip. More soon! Robin

These are made to fly, so I plan to do that. These planes are made of foam, not highly detailed models, but they look pretty good also. Robin

I love this build!...and this plane...and biplanes in general! I'm seriously thinking about this (RC ultralite) one.... Micro Aces D.VII Robin

Welcome aboard! I look forward to your building adventures. Robin