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rwiederrich

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Everything posted by rwiederrich

  1. We’ll giving it a try may pay off. Use stick glue first to see how it looks. A little while glue or Shellac will due. Rob
  2. I have real gold foil, but it leaves small wrinkles. No good. Gold is actually edible and my wife has some expensive gold powder used in cake decorating. You dilute it in alcohol (Vadka). Then paint it on. Bright shiny gold that when the alcohol evaporates, leaves a bright gold finish. Can be fragile if handled roughly. But still works well. I then got nervous and removed it and painted it with Testers extreme gold. What can I say…..I like to try different and unorthodox ways. Rob
  3. Just so you know...the rail cap IS the pin rail on CS. Her fancy rail could use the white paper trick....if at all possible. Your model is looking sharp.
  4. Make the white portion out of paper. Simply find a piece of copper tubing...bend it to the appropriate dimensions, by squishing it down to make the form.....then using a Dremel sanding disk/drum...bevel the edge into a nice sharp edge. Place your small stack of paper on a soft wood surface...then using a small hammer *punch* out all the paper imprints you need. Just glue em on. Your problem is solved. Task may vary, and is dependent on the skill of the fabricator and hammer user.....☺️ Rob
  5. On a single vessel there may be a dozen different colored lines. All dependent on the life of the line. Newer lines are darker.....and older lines fade and become grey. Still functionable, but discolored. I try to use at least 3 colors of line on my models to represent this phenomenon. Rob
  6. Well...I wouldn't say it is not historical. At any point in time a vessels rigging changes for various reasons......all being historical...but not necessarily historical to all points in a vessels history. In most cases...to protect the public and to preserve and provide for adequate maintenance...some items have to be altered from their original condition. A minor detail the general public is totally unaware of. Rob
  7. I was just reading your reply over on Ships..... And my next question was....how do you keep water out? Possibly the length of 5ft and the proximity of *Just* under the rail, behind the pin rail, protected the entrance as a hood would, from encroaching water? Told you, this was going to be an issue to solve. A lot doesn't make sense currently. Rob
  8. Ask yourself....it is a fact they tarred or oiled the shrouds and backstays...no issue there...so what makes the ratlines any less susceptible to weather and decay then these other structures? When they rerigged the Constitution several years ago, they used all black line to simulate the actual tarred line of the original rig. Lanyards too, are part of the standing rigging...susceptible to the same elements and decay. Though they are used to sinch up the shrouds...they are NOT part of the running rigging. Tarr-em. Cutty Sark is no longer a working ship....she is set up for tourist, and many such details have been slightly altered for maintenance purposes. Rob
  9. A ball float valve. Right. Makes sense. Pretty complex valve system to manufacture for 1850 ships that used wooden bitts till 1869. Im working through it all………….. Rob
  10. One minute I’m making great sense, then the next minute I’m making no sense. I’m not talking about the ventilators you referenced, but the ones atop the plank sheet, between the bulwark stanchions. These guys can become submerged in heavy seas. Here’s some examples from Campbell and Rick’s Flying Fish.
  11. I don't mean to stand boldly in the face of those who are more experienced than myself on such matters, but history shows us that McKay was terribly dedicated to his workers and from that it is not a far stretch to gather that, that dedication extended to those who would use/sail his creations. As clearly as you have pointed out the failure of the most competent replicators, to recognize the *secret* of McKay's genius ..his now famous... Naval Hood. It is not a far stretch to see that these simple winches must have been omitted out of the same neglect. How could they have missed it....was your battle cry. I believe the same can be said about these lever winches. They are extremely plausible. Rob
  12. This would suggest....she had ventilators similar to those found on Flying fish. Tucked within the stanchions of her bulwarks. I've never been a fan of these kind of ventilators. When the bulwark goes under green water, and the decks are awash....the ventilators get submerged and most likely are flooded with water....which, subsequently spills into living spaces. Rob
  13. Personally, I think the addition of a third deck while under construction,...truly a modification from her designed two decks, isn't enough reason to assume that was the sole reason she had lever winches. We have to assume....because McKay was sucha stickler for having the most modern, technical advances built into his clippers...that he would overlook the seriously advantageous application of any kind of a winch to assist in working heavy loads aboard his vessels. 3 years later he clearly added many monkey winches to his largest design....Great Republic. It just makes no sense to me that McKay's ships were produced with no winches of any kind. It flies in the face of logic. Why would Staffordshire require them and no other vessel....just because somebody failed to mention them? McKay truly cared about his workers...and I can assume, he also cared about those who would work his vessels... Not to provide them the ease and advantage of a winch...appears idiotic. The jury's still out on this.... Rob
  14. Mike said he doesn’t believe they were on it…..but since McKay just started his clipper run and his preferences had not yet been fully realized…..I think it is possible, since at this point McKay was simply copying known practice. He had a strong opinion on the hull design, but I would guess not on all the deck furniture. You depicted large knees supporting the bitts…..that is not an issue. I think the bitts were vertical, had the side and fore pin rail …..AND the side lever winch beneath. If it is on top, it interferes with the lines being belayed. Rob
  15. You didn’t bring the right tools for the job(a very sharp pencil)…….🧐 sheeeesh . Hey…I talked to Mike , and he had a lot to say about Chapelle. He said he didn’t have a peer review to check his work. But further research shows that the kind of winch I’m referring to was found on clippers of the period. Campbell has a good drawing of one…..and this matches that of Chapelle. Mike wasn’t definitive, but was sure no such winch was on Staghound. I’m hoping to stop by and visit him this week….an discuss it further Rob
  16. 1/32”. That’s a small drop of paint. If you’re any good at spilling paint. Now draw up a schematic where they’d be on the poop deck. Rob
  17. Well Campbell calls them bollards. One thing different from Glory. Duncan McLean said Staghound had patent ventilation bollards/bitts. That means she had metal(brass) bitts. Like this.
  18. I contacted Mike....lets wait and see what he says about the bitt winches. Rob
  19. I got the same info. The reason the glass was green is because it was made from *Float* glass. Typical because of the higher mineral content. The reason I purposefully chose the design I did, was because at the scale I'm modeling them in, the hexagonal shape nearly takes on a round appearance...being less then 1/16" in size. You want to make dozens of hexagon prism lights smaller than a 1/16 of an inch in size? And keep your sanity? I didn't think so......😁 Rob(I'll talk to the chief and see what I can do)
  20. True....good point. Lets ask Mikey....😄 He'll ea....., I mean, .....Knows everything. Not to be a rivet counter😜...but the iron ones are called Bitts my friend. Rob(truth seeker)
  21. One thing we can be sure of. McKay's secret *Naval Hood* was present on all of his clippers.....but nobody ever caught the *CLUE*. This fact is beyond contestation at this point. However.....Deck furniture between all of McKay's clipper changed with every model. McKay.....never built the same model...always trying to improve. He did return to some aspects and repeat himself....such as the hull design between the Great Republic and the Lightning. Though different in size, quite similar in design. Lightning and Donald McKay with their unique catwalk access across the mid decks from forecastle to poop. What CAN be speculative, is deck furniture....ie....houses, porticos, carriage houses, access ways...and the like. McKay seamed to experiment with many approaches....trying to satisfy crew and passengers comfort. As far as the working equipment on board....little is known about what, if any deck winches McKay used on his clippers...(Apart from the Great Republic, which had more then 6 spider winches on her decks). There has got to be some reason why Champelle drew them on his rendering of Staghound. Logic dictates their necessity....though some drawers of model plans thought otherwise. I have a bit to go before I get to that point...but I'm still pressed to avoid them all together. Rob
  22. I was considering the round design with metal flush mount flange. Rob
  23. Ceiling prism lights were in use for many years prior to 1850's. They were flush mounted and caulked. I'm truly considering them on Staghound. Maybe with a little location help from Clipperfan...I can be assured of a good representation. They were only about 4~6" in circumference. Side note: The underground city in Seattle used them in the streets above...and you can still walk the streets and see the prisms on the sidewalks and in the underground, they actually work pretty well. Rob
  24. Rick...the winches I am referencing are seen on Champelle's drawing of Staghound. they are mounted on the fore and main fife rail bitts. This would account for the ability for heavy lifting.....without the large iron winches the Brits used on their smaller clippers. I posted this earlier....but I'll post it again for clarity of idea. This winch system is mounted on a 3 master coastal schooner. But the principal is sound. Rob
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