DSiemens

Thanks Patrick.  Those stairs were no joke.  I think I put them in three different versions before I got to this one.  They really do add to the ship though.  

Thanks Mark.  I'll let you in on a little secret on this one.  The cannon on deck in the second picture down is actually 3D printed.  That photo was actually for a comparison of my usual method using wire, rectangular pieces of wood and bamboo skewers as compared to what could be done on a printer at this scale.  None of the final cannons will be 3D printed on this ship but I plan to use them on future builds.  I contacted a 3D printer just to see what could be done.  I pushed them to their limits with this job.  They had to use a $20,000 machine and special material to print it.  At one process they need to wash off the wax filler user to keep the shape.  To do that with these cannons they had to wash them in a coffee filter to be sure they didn't lose any.  To paint it I dipped a needle in paint and just tapped the cannon.  Here's a picture of the unpainted cannon.  The measurement shown is millimeters.    

Oh yeah.  If your wondering how it's hanging in mid air I ran the fore stay up through the top of the mast instead of through the bow like I usually do.  It goes to show how thin the thread I used is.  

Bottling didn't go quiet as well as planned.  The sail came loose and I had to try to get it back together in the bottle. It didn't quiet make it but after messing with it for three hours I figured it was as good as I could get it.  I contemplated taking it out and redoing it but with such a tight deadline I left it as is.  I know what I'll do differently with the next one when ever I get around to it.  

I got creative on the painting.  I went with a mixture of the London 2012 olympic look updated to Rio 2016.  At this point I don't know what the Rio boats will look like.  

Boat ready for bottling.  I used some real thin thread for the stay lines.  The cables on the real boats are very thin.  Also the lines used in the boats are all sorts of different colors.  I assume it's so the can quickly know which line is which.  This added some fun contrast to the boat.   

Painted Hull.

Here's a shot with some more details and the signed sail plan.  

I carved this hull two or three times trying to get it right.  It's got some interesting curves.  I couldn't find any rel plans for it so I had to rely on a lot of photos and make my best guesses.  

Behind this is my original sail plan.  It was scrapped when actual sail plan came in as was this carved boat.  The plans I received with the signature were a tad smaller.  Enough though that I had to start over.  

This is a quick little build I had to do in a hurry.  Eventually I plan on doing another one.  Any way here's the story.  A member of the European Ship in Bottle association reached out to ship in bottle builders in another forum and asked for help with a special project.  The Royal Yacht Association was holding a ball to raise money for the British sailing team.  The ball included an auction.  The association wanted memorabilia signed by the athletes that could be auctioned off.  Some one had the idea of getting a bunch of ships in bottles together and having the sailors sign the sails.  So the association reached out looking for modelers who could quickly put some ships in bottles together.  They got plans together and sent out sails for the boats we were to build.  I had originally thought about doing a star class since I think they are great looking boats but since those were no longer in the Olympics I went with the 470 which is pretty close to the star.  The sails I received were signed by Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark.  Both incredible athletes and great sailors.  

Got quite a lot of work done since the last post.

Incredible work. That's looking great.

Great work Igor. Your really catching the fine details on this build. Both the technical and artistic.

Beautiful work as always Igor.  You have so many builds it's hard to keep up.  They are all incredible.  

Excellent work she looks great!  I like the way you colored the sails.  She looks like a hard working ship.  

Well done Igor. She looks great. I like what you've done with the split hull method.

Well done Kieth. She looks great.

I think doing a quick small side projects can keep you going on the big ones.

Thanks CWboland!

I forgot to put in what I did for the windows. I used plastic from packaging for the actual windows. I painted the back a dark grey color. When I looked at real photos of ships online the windows seem to be more dark grey then anything. I used wood and string to get the window panes.

Mike - no groove. Just carefully placed.

Some work done on the stern.

Thanks!

A little more work don eon this one.  She's coming along slowly.  

Thanks!  I've been learning from another miniature builder in my local club.  His work is incredible.  I did use a really old ship in bottle trick on this updated one though.  I wanted the gold lines on the bulwarks to be thinner but it's impossible to cut the wood any thinner and painting that thins is very hard.  So I painted some thread and glued it to the side.  It creates a very thin and very clean line.  I've seen that done on old clipper ship's in bottles and I think Don Hubbard mentions it in his book.  

Well I've had a bit of a redo. On a periodic test fit I found the ship is to tall for the bottle. I found another bottle but the clarity isn't what I want it to be for a commission build. I'll still bottle the old one but I started over. Here's the new one that is almost to the same point. It is nice doing it over I fixed a lot of mistakes.

Great work Jeff. She's looking great. I like how you accomplished the ships line on the stern. Very smooth and precise.

Is that a Dremel bit I see on the side? Is that what you use to carve such intricate parts? If not what do you use and where do you get it. This style of carving would be really useful at the scale I'm used to.

Thank you Popeye!

I debate whether I want them or not Popeye. I'm missing so many parts to the masts and spars I have nothing to compare them to. On the other hand if I really want to learn how ships were built maybe that's not a bad thing.

Just glancing over your build again. Been a while since I looked at it. Your a mad genius Dennis. Your ships are turning out awesome.

Thanks Michael I'll look into those. Also thanks Popeye she is a tough kit. I remember the pieces didn't go together very well and mine is full of flaws. I'm fixing a few and working around the rest. As a whole though she's a beautiful ship and despite the flaws well worth the build. If this project goes well I may consider getting a wood kit of the LA Flore which is what this ship actually is.