Jump to content

Hubac's Historian

NRG Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    3,174

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Hubac's Historian

  1. Hubac's Historian
    I’m not sure what language that is, but not French. ”Ventre de biche” is a French name for this particular color that they painted between the boot topping and the upper main wale. It resembles the tawny color of a deer hide. My “deadworks” (another funny French-ism associated with ships: the underhull below the waterline is the “liveworks” because that is the part of the ship that is engaged with the sea, its kinetic medium. Everything above the waterline is the “deadworks.”) started out more ventre-de-biche: But, then, I overdid the distressing: I was forced to darken the port side (lighter, above) to match the starboard (darker, behind).
  2. Hubac's Historian
    Without the black boot-topping, the waterline issue is not a problem, but you’re still gonna want to scrape away the moulded waterline, cuz it’ll definitely show up as a distraction. This is if you opt for the natural wood bottom. If you look closely, you’ll see that this builder scraped it away. I’ll also mention that this person made pretty good and convincing cloth sails. AND, the so-called “ventre-de-biche” color (belly of the doe) is a pretty close approximation of historical accuracy.
  3. Hubac's Historian
    Thanks for the extra pics of that model, Bill!
  4. Hubac's Historian
    At the end of the day, Bill, it is your model and you should build it according to your preferences. I have seen most Heller SR builds in the public domain, but that one above, I haven’t seen before. The natural wood bottom is interesting. Main thing you definitely want to do, as others have said, is to raise the water line to just below where the lower main wale sits lowest, at mid-ships. Without that modification, the model just looks top-heavy.
  5. Hubac's Historian
    I think it’s a solid move to upgrade the kit railings with extra styrene - it really helps to mitigate the plastic shell effect, by giving these details better scale. I noticed that you cut away the vertical carvings above the poop cap railing. Was this in consideration of installing the fighting-cloth rail that runs above the cap railings?
  6. Hubac's Historian
    I did the same, Bill. It really makes a huge difference in perception. Totally worth the effort.
  7. Hubac's Historian
    Frankly, Bill, I just haven’t gotten around to figuring out anything with regard to blocks and line. I still have a fair amount of structure to build before I’m really there, at the upper main deck, where I have to figure that out. I thought Henry mentioned his deadeye sizes in an earlier post. You should take a close look at his log. He has a broad knowledge of rigging and how it is supposed to function.
  8. Hubac's Historian
    Thank you very much, GranpaPhil!
  9. Hubac's Historian
    The build originated under Michael’s old screen name: SafeMaster. He recently changed his screen name to 72Nova.
  10. Hubac's Historian
    This whole build is a treat for the eyes. Not only is the decorative work superlative, his natural wood effects are some of the best I’ve seen.
  11. Hubac's Historian
    Since you are planning to actually gold leaf the ornament, I would take a look at Michael’s (72Nova) Reale build. He did such an amazing and convincing job of it.
  12. Hubac's Historian
    Hi Bill - I recommend you take a look at this section of Popeye2Sea’s log, to get a better sense of materials and process. 4 Gauge is going to be much too heavy. I haven’t really figured this out yet, myself, but I think 28 gauge is the biggest I would go.
  13. Hubac's Historian
    What Ian said 😀
  14. Hubac's Historian
    Often the best approach, Vic. The eye is more sure than the hand - every time
  15. Hubac's Historian
    Thank you, Kevin. Despite this incident, I still love loving in a big city. I grew up in the suburbs, and that was great until it wasn’t anymore. Still a nice place to visit, though. As for astronomy, it seems as though astrophysicists are making quantum optical strides all the time. I’d hold onto those telescopes, too, but then I’m loath to throw anything away! So, I’ve spent the past few nights mapping and templating card patterns for these headrail support structures. Anyone who has been following this build can attest to my love for lamination, and these parts will be no exception; each station is made up of three layers of .030 styrene card stock. The method will become clearer in subsequent postings, but the primary challenge - once again - is coping with a similar trapezoidal asymmetry in the bow, as in the stern; the starboard side of the beakhead bulkhead projects further forward than port. Co-incidentally, it is also the starboard side, at the stern, that projects further aft. How the starboard side ended up so considerably longer than port, when the mid-ships ladders were my alignment point of reference - I will never understand. Anyway, as any good field carpenter must do, this will be about making the installation appear correct and seamless. A few pictures: With a centerline drawn on the cardboard, as a visual check against the center of the stem, I found the distance to each headrail, working one side of patterns at a time. I also marked the bottom of the lowest headrail, and just above the midpoint of the middle headrail on each pattern. This enabled me to map the scalloped pattern on the undersides of these supporting timbers (as well as the cambered uppers) so that they ultimately extend out beneath the underside of the lowest headrail. As I first drew the interior scanting of these structures, they were much too heavy and there was no reasonable transition from rising timber to vertical timber. I wish I had taken pictures to show the difference, but I did not. I consulted JCL’s St. Philippe monograph and was rewarded with a much better impression of what these structures should look like. It bears mentioning that these structures are still oversize, so that I can fair to final form after lamination. Keen eyes will observe that one side rises higher (about a 1/16”) than the other. This is one result of the asymmetry that I am referring to. It can’t be fixed; only mitigated. Fortunately, from any viewing angle on the finished model, the combination of gratings camber and consistent alignment with the middle rail on both sides will mask this deficiency. Proof of concept may prove me wrong, but I’m pretty confident that if I weren’t pointing this all out - it would not be obvious to even trained eyes. For the time being, though, I am pleased that my patterns are glued and ready for wasting: In other works, these fair maidens are rounding into form: They’ll have to see a podiatrist, but then - don’t we all? As always, I appreciate the support of everyone who comes to visit this page. Thank you all very much! More to follow.
  16. Hubac's Historian
    This all looks so perfectly good, Kevin!
  17. Hubac's Historian
    Michael, this is a really fresh approach to an old, old kit! I love the modifications, and you have really nailed the tone on the PEG-preserved timbers. I'm really going to enjoy watching this one take shape!
  18. Hubac's Historian
    I’ll be making up my own chains. What you are aiming for is what you see on the Frolich model of L’Ambiteaux: photo courtesy of Marc Yeu
  19. Hubac's Historian
    According to Puget, round deadeyes are right-on!
  20. Hubac's Historian
    The sheer of your wales runs very true to the times, which is a detail that not many builders of this kit pay close attention to. It all looks superb to my eyes!
  21. Hubac's Historian
    Thank you, Marc! My jaw has made a full recovery and suspect posters are now posted in the subways, which is good. I don’t really expect anything to come of it, but one never knows. I’ve begun patterning the headrail supports structures and the cambered head grating. This will be a fun and interesting component of the build.
  22. Hubac's Historian
    I’m not really sure why Heller opted for triangular deadeyes, but round would certainly be appropriate for a French ship of this period.
  23. Hubac's Historian
    She’s a remarkable achievement, Bill! I hope you’ve cracked into a bottle of Papi Van Winkel, or something similarly rarified to celebrate the occasion. I’ll be looking for your SR log. The main thing on that build will be to take your time. My recommendation would be to sand away all of the raised grain with 50 grit paper; the resulting scratches in the surface of the plastic will give you a much better sense of grain structure that shows well with wash coats. I’ll see you there in a beat or two!
  24. Hubac's Historian
    Fantastic finish, and an exceptionally beautiful model, B.E.! As always, I look forward to your next project with great anticiption.
  25. Hubac's Historian
    Congratulations, Chuck, on a very fine build. This is inspiring stuff!

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...