Beckmann

As the historical model was only used to show the stern decorations, I am focussing on that too. The hull segment itself will not be fitted with fittings, and other details but only built as correctly as possible in 1:32 scale in terms of shape, planking and gun ports. This will be the first step in finding a way to build the decorations and figures on the basis of the drawings and with the hull on the table. In order to be able to build the hull segment effectively, I prepared the plans so that the parts can be laser-cut, actually like a kit. I built a kind of height-adjustable plug-in parts for the stern, which form the framework for the lower gallery. I can adjust the height and, if necessary, the depth by widening the slots a little. The angle in relation to the vertical should be fine. The plank division was based on a comparable Orlog ship in a simplified form (one thickness, not the planking thickness decreasing from bottom to top) for the hull segment. And here the side-view of the model-section. Matthias

Hello everybody, First of all I want to start with some background information on my new model project, the Transom-Model of the Danish ship of the Line TRE KRONER, built in 1742. The scale will be 3"/8', 1/32. I have read some literature (source: Danske Orlogsskibe 1690-1860) about the sculptor and the shipbuilder of the TRE KRONER from 1742, which is interesting, as the ship sculptors are often unknown and the creators of the models anyway. This impressive relief by Johannes Wiedewelt depicts his father, Just Wiedewelt, who was master carver of the royal shipyards on Holmen between 1734 and 1757 and who is the subject of this work. Unlike many of his predecessors and successors, he was a true master of his trade. There are marvellous marble busts by him of the Danish royal couple Frederick IV and Louise from 1719. Incidentally, the Wiedewelt family immigrated to Denmark from the Thuringian Vogtland, more precisely from Schleitz, in his father's generation. Wiedewelt prevailed against several competitors in a competition for the post on Holmen and held the post until his death. The 1:32 scale model of the stern of the TRE KRONER in the Danish Krigsmuseet is by his hand. The sculptures are made of wax, the hull of the ship of wood. (Source: War Museum staff by email) The master shipbuilder who designed and built the TRE KRONER as a 70-gun liner was a Frenchman named Laurent Barbé (1696-1754). As far as I know, no illustration of him has survived. He was called to Denmark by the Admiral-General and head of the naval administration Friedrich Danneskiold-Samsøe, as after several scandals, confidence in the local forces was apparently so low that an Englishman or Frenchman was needed to fix it. He was appointed chief designer on 6 May 1740. Barbé seemed to have been a somewhat obscure person. Nobody knows where he came from in France or where he had learnt the art of shipbuilding. Interestingly, French naval historians have never been able to find any information about him in his home country. From the very beginning, there were difficulties in the co-operation between Barbé and the Danish design commission, which had to supervise the shipyard's operations. Barbé had accepted his appointment on the condition that he would not pass on his design methods. When he was finally asked to explain his construction method, Barbé explained that he had been promised that he did not have to reveal his method and that knowledge of this method was not necessary in order to build according to his drawings, and that he "did not want to publicise what is precisely my science and art, because if it became known, every shipbuilder could do the same as me, which would be one of the most miserable events as a foreigner in a country". It is well known that in several cases he used French drawings, which he could hardly have made himself; he apparently simply tried to adapt French designs, which he had at his disposal, to Danish conditions. In 1744, for example, he was asked to draw a galley. He then submitted drawings that had to be changed, partly because the benches for the rowers were designed for southern Europeans, whose average height was smaller than that of northern Europeans. He was finally dismissed in 1747. He had married in Copenhagen and therefore remained in the city, where he died in 1754.

Hi Everybody, my display case is still not finished, but I managed to make some progress with the stand. I saw, that many displays have the model parallel to the keel, my model will be sitting parallel to the waterline. There will be two collumns, one at the bow, one at the stern wich have a different length to get the balance. Here are some pictures: Matthias

Hi Chuck, one question: Did you make the Winchelsea display-stand parallel to the waterline or parallel to the keel? The Amazon display is obviously made parallel to the waterline, the bow column is longer than the one at the stern. Thanks Matthias

Wow increadible. Congratulation!!!

Thanks Frank

Thank you all for the comments and likes. at the moment I am working on the dispay case. As I showed above, I want to make a case for three models. My Queen Anne-barge 1"/2' scale and my bone model of the azorean whaleboat wich I showed in my other build log on MSW, also 1"/2' scale. They will be together in the "ground floor" and above them the Winchelsea. Last year I cut a pear tree and so I have some nice pearwood for the case. by now it is dry enough and I started on the table of the case. I started with the legs for the table, dimension 40/40/400 mm Then the table was put together... some parts to stiffen the construction in the corners... Some strips to cover up the top... Here ist one of the models for the ground floor, the mirror-basement will come into the display case as well. Matthias

Thanks druxey, here my inspiration for the crew: nowaday they still build these boats for touristic and sport events. They sail regattas and row them. There are lovely photos on the internet I am married and we have 5 daughters, so guess, what I am dreaming of... Matthias That

Hello Everybody, my little whaleboat-project continues. First of all I had to repair a broken thole. I repaired it by replacing the pin with a new one I made from bone. Here we go... After this litte work, the boat is ready for being rowed by a crew of 6 oarsmen and led by the master on the rudder or the steeringoar. I asked my daughter to help me out with a crew, so I can get an imagination of the whole thing in action. That was fun for the both of us. The model is actually very sturdy. No fragile parts. It has much of a toy, perhaps it once was made to play with? I don't know. I proceeded with the rigging. It is a very simple rig. Once the mast stands upright in his bracket, you only have to fix one shroud to each side and thats it. I renewed the mast-rings, becaus they were from plastic and looked very cheap. I made new ones from ivory. After having washed and ironed the sails, the whol rig came together. A very elegant model, I must say. Matthias

Hi Chuck, in my opinion, the costs of a single chapter are more important than the total cost of the whole model. I never counted together, what I payed for all the chapters of the Winchelsea, because it does not matter. But I always had a look on the price of the next chapter + tax + delivery. So for most of the people it is probably best to not make a chapter more expensive than 250 to 300 $. You probably need 750 to 850 $ for the framing, so you better make 3 chapters for the framing and there will be many folk able to afford it. I am shure, everybody wants to build this model. Matthias

After being busy with other projects, I now want to continue with the restoration of the bone model I already showed you back in 2021. I found a couple of similar models in auctions around the world, several of them made by the same builder Albertino Sousa Luz. In fact, almost all of the models seem to be signed by A.S.Luz. So it is propably a retired (and very talented) whaler who made them rather then a local tradition. I dismantled my model, becaus it was a dirty mess and started to clean it first with a dry brush and then with a wet ear stick. I am happy to say, that no parts are missing. All of the long oars, the steering oar, the paddles, the rudder, the rowing oarlocks and the hunting tools are still there. Some of them were fixed to the model with rope. I removed these ropes, because they were very dirty and partly unraveled, I will replace them. Here you can see the harpune rope-drum. I also cleaned the sails. The mast-rings are made from plastic and don't look very nice. I will propably replace them by rings made from bone. Matthias

Hi Everybody, still no progress with my display case, but I mounted the stern lantern on the model. Matthias

Thank you! This weekend I made the stern lantern, as I said from ivory agein, like some of the other features. I did not use laser cut, like I did for the galery-windows, but cut the parts with a jigsaw. I must say, this is better than laser cut, because the heat of the laser somehow affects the material and makes it a bit yellow and more fragile. After cutting out all the parts I made the bottom and the roof, wich are assemblied from several parts. The windows needed a careful sanding, to not look too crooked. Then I glued the parts together... ...added the candle and the glazing... and here we go, everything finished for being mounted on the model. I will add the lantern to the model, once the display case is completed. Otherwise I will break it of for shure, while carrying the model around. Matthias

Hi Don, I will make a display-case similar to the one I made for my HMS-Unicorn model. I have got same pear-wood for this wich I plan to use. Here you can see the case I made and the drawing for the new one. I will post pictures, when I build it. Matthias

Thank you all for the kind words and the likes. What's next? Well, the stern lantern and display case of course. And then I circle around a special project of a danish ship. Designed by a french shipbuilder in 1742 and decorated by a german master-carver. It is a bit early to show something here. A contemporary model survived in Copenhagen and a few quite detailed plans. Matthias

Hello everybody and thank you for the kind words and the likes. At the moment I am working on finishing the last parts of equipment. Guns, swivel-guns and the stern lantern. The model is a bit dusty, but here are some photos. The stern lantern will be the last step. I will make it from ivory again. Matthias

Congratulation. That looks superbe! Matthias

Can you already tell something about the release of the first chapter? This is so tempting.

Hi Greg, I actually don't know. I used all the laser cut parts and did not alter anything. But when I put the figurehead on the model, it somehow did not fit properly. The position was too far forward. So the only posibility was to cut the scrollwork or to cut away a part of the arm of the figurehead. I took the scrollwork. Matthias

Thank you, I continued with the gratings between the rails. The triangular gratings in the corners of the bow-area, I made separately with a template. I glued the parts on the template, assembled everything, cleaned it, painted it again an glued it to the model. Then the facilities and false rails were added, and finally the figure-head. I have been waiting long for this point. What a lovely figure. I actually like it, that it is not a warrior or something like that, but a musician. Remembering, that securing the peace should alway be the goal for every army or navy. Matthias

Thank you, I continued with the head-rails of the gallion. I must say, this is by far the most challenging part of the whole model. I messed up the first pair of headrails and had to ask for a new set, wich Chuck immediately sent to me. Thanks for that!! I started all over again. Every part here is important for the whole appearance of the construction. Ther are plenty of graceful curves and angles. If any of them are out of place, the whole construction looks weird. Here are the new headrails, I tried to remove most of the laser-char. First parts are in position now. Matthias

This is a lovely project. I like it very much. And these little working boats should not be forgotten. So many folk earned their daily bread on them.

So well executed!! You can be very proud of this beautiful model. I look forward to your display case. I still have no idea about a suitable stand and display case for my Winnie-model, wich is about to be finished very soon as well. Matthias

Hello Everybody, thank you very much for your nice comments! I continued chapter 11 with the deadeyes and chainplates. It is all so well explained in Chucks instructions, there is not much to say about it. It all worked very well. The only bigger problem was to not stretch the acrylic chains too much, so they remain close. I tried the position in advance and made a hole with a needle, where the brass-nail is supposed to be. That worked quite well, I hope you know, what I mean. So here are some photos of the result. I also installed all the guns on the lower gundeck. I followed stuntflyers method and pinned them onto the deck with brass-nails, so they cannot get lost. I will now proceed to the next chapter and think about, if I will add the swifel guns or not. They are a nice feature, but somehow interrupt the lovely flow of the quarterdeck-rail. Matthias

Is the model above HMS Endymion from the science-museum? Matthias