texxn5

Ahhhh. The cat's out of the bag, now, Piet!!!

I'm definitely looking forward to this build. Talk about mega teeny tiny! What a challenge, but, no doubt you'll trump it.

Luckily I reserved my chair early.

Cheers Patrick

I found you!

Well.. I blew it and didn't realize you had two logs for this.  I'll kill my post to the other one so you can delete it.  
 
I'm still pulling up a chair... somewhere... here or there.... 

Hello all,
 
A few months ago I got the urge to try something I have been thinking about of doing for a long time.  I have always been very intrigued with dioramas.  It adds to the realism of our models but making a diorama with large models is not an option for me, space wise.  
So, what size should my diorama be and how to protect the diorama from dust and possible mishaps while on display.  What subject should I choose?  
In my frequent visits to the Dutch website "Maritiem Digitaal" I found a few paintings of ships in a shipyard.  Being also an artist I love to accumulate copies of art, just to look at.  So, the idea is basically making a diorama of a small shipyard like they used to have in the cities around the former Zuider Zee, now Ijsel Meer.  In one of my many books about the Netherlands I came across a photo of just one of those real small shipyards.  Ah, Pieter thought, that would look great.
 
Well, as time went by and I felt a strong urge to start with this project the subject was changed from a Dutch fishing boat to an American build topsail schooner.  Oh, the Dutch fishing boat is still in the back of my mind but I'll reserve that for later and hope to actually make a diorama in a bottle.
 
After I saw JesseLee's ship in a Christmas ornament globe I thought that would really be a challenge making something that small as a diorama.  But alas, that idea was promptly rejected because of the difficulties involved, i.e. improbabilities.
 
Then I read about small dioramas under a wine glass.  So, did a Google search and they looked very nice with real probabilities.  Problem was that Gwen would not part with one pf her crystal glassware, her wedding gift.  A good thing though because in retrospect the stem would be too distracting.
A further search for ideas got me to those "snow globes."  Eureka! Pieter shouted.  That would work and also look nice.
 
These snow globes are rather small and can be held in the palm of your hand, just what I had in mind.  Okay, what do I use for a globe?  Christmas tree ornaments are too delicate for this purpose.  So my dear wive Gwen why not use a lamp?  I rejected that idea already at the beginning because I did not see any way doing all this through that small opening after you remove the filament.  But then the light went on - - - I'll just cut the lamp to fit on my diorama.
 
I now had the subject, the diorama globe and the material to use (wood).  Next was to determine how big that schooner should be to fit nicely inside a 75 Watt lamp that's cut down to have a 5 inch opening.  The schooner is supposed to be 90 to 95 feet long or 27,432 mm or 28, 956 mm.  My diorama can only have a model of about 14 to 15 mm length on deck.  Well, that works out to a scale of 1:2000.
 
This is the reason for me wanting to try it first to see if I can actually make a 90 foot two masted ship at 14 or 15 mm.  The masts and spars should close to scale rather than clunky.  The rest would follow easier, me thought   
 
Okay then, here are a few pics of everything that preceded the actual build process. 
 

Old ship's warf of Dirk Pauw at Durgerfam
 

Original idea for shipyard diorama
 

Bird's eye view of original idea
 

Cordial glass that came closest to the size I wanted, 5 inches
 

 

 

A 75 watt lamp that will eventually be cut to the 5 inch diameter point.
 
Cheers,
 
 
 

Great progress Tim and thanks for the tip on the Bondo Glazing and Spot putty.  Have done my share of body filling, cars as well as on aircraft but this stuff was not available then.  Hey, I'm talking 40 years plus ago.
 
Cheers,

Sanding the main deck
 
It’s time to start making sawdust.
 The first step is to sand the main deck smooth. I’m no fan of sanding so I do it in 10 minute increments or I get careless and sloppy - those who don’t mind it would make much quicker progress.
After using a sanding block and getting what looked and felt like a nice smooth surface I sprayed some primer on to see if if everything was good to go - it wasn’t. There were still low spots and some machine marks so it was time to break out the Bondo auto body filler which is my preferred wood filler since it dries quickly and sands well. My only problem with regular Bondo is the cost since so much of it is wasted. It comes in quart cans but has only 2 small “pills “ of the hardener mix so you really can only mix it twice and a half a can is far more than you can use on an entire model and it can’t be saved because it hardens quickly. Fortunately somebody on this site mentioned Bondo’s Glazing and Spot Putty, which is also sold in auto part stores. It works just like regular Bondo but you can mix just as much or as little as you need since the hardener is in it’s own resealable tube - pretty neat. 

 
After applying the filler it will just be a matter of getting a smooth deck then it will be time to play with glue and scissors when I cut out the hull form templates and get ready to bring the deck to it’s prescribed dimensions.

Baltimore is much closer for you, glad you have a reference.

Hi Tim, looks like a good project. Don't know if you are aware or not, but the real Jeremiah O'Brien is moored in San Francisco Bay and you can take rides on her out into the bay. Good place for a photo op. You can tour all over it. If I recall when James Cameron filmed the Titanic, he used the engine room from the O'Brien to film since it is one of the few engines of an era and they were somewhat similar in function. The O'Brien uses an Ajax Iron Works 3 cylinder engine so the effects worked out for him. You can probably pull photographs from the O'Brien website.
John

What is the program extension or how did you run it.  I tried on Windows 10 and can't get it to work.  This looks like an incredibly nice tool to have when working with Metrics.
Thanks,
John

Baltimore is much closer for you, glad you have a reference.

Hi Tim, looks like a good project. Don't know if you are aware or not, but the real Jeremiah O'Brien is moored in San Francisco Bay and you can take rides on her out into the bay. Good place for a photo op. You can tour all over it. If I recall when James Cameron filmed the Titanic, he used the engine room from the O'Brien to film since it is one of the few engines of an era and they were somewhat similar in function. The O'Brien uses an Ajax Iron Works 3 cylinder engine so the effects worked out for him. You can probably pull photographs from the O'Brien website.
John

Fun tool, wish I had one. Not sure what I'd do with it right now since I don't have a project, but dang, it'd be fun anyways!
John

Hi Larry, sorry to hear you're under the weather. Hope to see you back soon. Thanks for letting us all know, we've all been there at least once I think. Take care, my friend,
John

Thanks John. Your pictures are a big help.
I'm on a bit of a hiatus right now. Maybe you can pre-select sections of work that's more conducive to travel, ie launches, deck furniture, etc.. I've thought about the same dilemma for our trips, "what can I take with me to work on during idle time?" My biggest hurtle is the risk of taking sharp items, glue, pointy needle files etc in luggage for aircraft or on cruise ships and then risk damage to what I'm working on. In the long run its probably best if I leave it all at home since most travel is a few weeks or less at a time. 

Hey, Larry. Y'all okay? I know you said you're on a hiatus, but not knowing what that means exactly, one gets concerned. Not that the bulk of us where spring chickens decades ago!

Augie's passing took a lot of us by surprise.   safe to say for all that we were fortunate to have had the pleasure of his company while he was here.  he will be missed.
 
                "take care of those you call your own....and keep good company."
 
 
looking forward for your return............make sawdust,  not war!  

Fun tool, wish I had one. Not sure what I'd do with it right now since I don't have a project, but dang, it'd be fun anyways!
John

Fun tool, wish I had one. Not sure what I'd do with it right now since I don't have a project, but dang, it'd be fun anyways!
John

Been looking at those combo  Shear, Break an roller presses. Harbor freight has one for less than $400 that will shear and bend 30" wide 20 Gage steel, rollers are 1 1/2" so that is as smallest size you can roll anything, be it wire or sheet. Do know where one is that was never used. The owner passed on, but I have been avoiding descending on his widow like a vulture, but boy, he had a lot of nice tools and machine shop equipment.
jud

I removed the forward spar deck supports today and it looks like I caused no damage other than a gun port lid being knocked off (already glued on again). I will paint the bulwark when I mix the same color for the underside of the beams. As expected - I lost 1 pound of sweat carefully guiding the Dremel cutter blade so close to the gun deck and its rigging. With this step behind me I am now free to finalize fitting the partially completed beams to the model and then place the beam side supports (knees), paint the structure, and then work on securing them to the underside of the spar deck waterway lip. I hope to get the camboose and the manger finished as these other elements are taking shape. I will be adding a cable messenger as well.
 

Thanks Chris and John and for all the likes everyone. At this point I am still looking over the Revel gun deck, the furniture I added, and the best way to fit the beams. I have a plan to secure them better and we will see if it pans out. I have started to think about the color. Although I would love to give this a wood grain look  I believe it will contrast too much with the rest of the build which is chocolate brown. So 2-tone is now my first choice - off white sides and under beams to match the bulwark and brown to match the build on the top of the beams. I am cautiously approaching the need for surgery to remove the Revell spar deck supports as mentioned above. I do not want to rush THIS step and trade it for a MISSTEP.
 
@Chris
Have you continued to progress on your build? You had a great start and I would love to see some of your solutions to this model. "One piece at a time, sweet Jesus" (he sang to the tune of One Day at a Time... 

Well I went and bought me a rolling mill so I would not have to pester a friend who had a bead roller I have used. Used for what you ask?  A rolling mill purpose is to flatten soft wire, brass, copper, soft mild steel, even aluminium. The rolls are adjustable so one can get different widths and thicknesses for each gauge of wire. The flattened wire can then be used for a number of things like, mast bands, straps. hinges and more.
The rolling mill I purchased is one of their economy models (lowest cost ) and weighs 50 plus pounds. It is about 8.5 x 8.5 x 12" with handle.Granted you can make alot of flatten wire in a short time and will not have to use this tool often. But hey you know how us model builders like "Toys=Tools " Here is a sample of flattened wire. Here are some bands I have made for a project.

My old ship the USS John F Kennedy CVA-67 is to be a museum in Newport, RI within the next year or so. I was stationed for her 2nd cruise in 69 to the Med. At the time, the newest and the biggest. She was retired in 2007 as the last oil burner. She was supposed to be nuke, but McNamara cut the funds so she was converted to an oil burner. She never was right, always had a list to stbd and had to keep enough fuel on board for ballast to keep her level. Museum is a better option than our sister ship the USS America CVA-66 she was sunk and is now a reef off of Florida.
 
John (EM2)

Hello Bob, Sherline tools especially in the machine lathes and mills are fantastic products. I learned how to do machine work on them. The DB250 Wood Lathe on the other hand is superior to any small wood lathes I've seen on the market. If I had to do any machine work I would definitely use a Sherline Lathe, the Mill is about equal to the Proxxon FF230 MIll. Sherline of course has many more accessories for both machines and many are compatible with Proxxon. But for woodwork the DB 250 is superior.
John

Baltimore is much closer for you, glad you have a reference.