shipmodel

I trust that there is an open chair in the front row. I have always been interested in ship types that are not the usual British, American and European line of battle ships. This should be a very fascinating build. The lateen rig is one that I know very little about. Looking forward with great anticipation to learning new things and watching your talented construction techniques. Dan

Hi Nils - Just saw that you are thinking of building a Chebec for your next project. If memory serves, Frederick af Chapman has a wonderful plate of drawings in Architectura Navalis Mercatoria on the Chebec. Probably where Amati derived theirs, but I would trust a marine architect like Chapman before I would trust a kit maker to be accurate. I am sure that they did their best, but they probably made some changes to accommodate the limitations of kit manufacturing. You could get both, compare them, then decide for yourself. I will pull up a chair for a ringside seat whenever you start. Be well, Dan

Hi Marc - I used a very similar technique when I did the Heller Sovereign of the Seas. First a primer, then a base coat of buff yellow flat acrylic. The difference is that I then used a wash of brown wood stain rather than a full opaque layer of brown paint which has to be partially removed. The issue I found with an opaque coat is that it is difficult to remove equally, especially around protrusions. Thus you get dark patches, like the lines across the stern of the Hollandia. You may have similar problems with the bolt heads on your wales. I completely agree with Herbert that you should do a lot of testing before committing to the final model. I know that your artistic talents are up to the job. Dan

Superb, Nils. A museum in your home. How wonderful and inspiring. Dan

Hi again - When you get the second kit, it will give you lots of test pieces to work out solutions to issues like the grain. As to that, I am sure that you have already worked out how you are going to simulate wood on the plastic surface. Once you have that base layer on which should fill the grain a bit, you might consider a 'filter' wash of very dilute darker color. It should settle into grooves of the grain to make them visible without overemphasizing them. Just a technique that I read in FineScale Modeler. Looking forward to seeing how you work it out. Puzzle problems like this are the best part of ship modeling for me. Dan

Hi Marc - You are welcome to store stuff in my locker in the basement of my building. Not really convenient, since you are in Manhattan, but better than PA Dan

Hi Chuck - Looking forward to watching your artistic and engineering talents on display once again. If those stem pieces fit together as well as you describe, you have taken laser cutting and kit making to the next level. Thank you. Dan

Hi Ken - I'm always interested in an unusual build, and this promises to be a good one. Add me to the audience. 1:376 is an odd scale, but, if you haven't already, you can find 1:350 scale railings, ladders, doors, etc. which should work for you. Try Gold Medal Models and Tom's Modelworks. Are you building it hollow because you will be detailing the interior spaces, or because it will be R/C powered? Best of success with the project Dan

Hi Marc - Very nice work on the bolts. Looking forward to seeing how the hull halves will join up. Dan

Dick - I see what you mean. It makes more sense than having the sail chafe against the mainstay. I am no sailor, and did not realize that spinnaker type sails billow so far upward. Thanks for adding to my knowledge. Looking forward to the completion of this lovely work. Dan

Hi Bill, Marc - I think you are talking apples and oranges. Bill is right that when a structural member, like a rib, frame or beam, is fastened with a scarf joint to the next structural member the fasteners go across the joint and hold the scarf together. But for the skin of the ship, the planks and wales, the fasteners go as Marc has shown them, around the joint so they hold the skin to the structural members beneath. Different purpose, different direction. Dan

Hi Dick - I am thoroughly enjoying your build and especially your solution to the problem of the billowed mainsail and bonnets. I think you have done about as well as possible in the scale that you are using. However, I think you may have mounted it a bit too low. Using the colored illustration that you provided, doesn't it seem that the vertical trench in the mainsail is caused by it billowing against the mainstay? This is what I have seen in other illustrations. You could lift the yard up the mast until you get this configuration, which would also give the bonnets more room. Or I could be completely off base on this . . . LOL Whatever you decide, it is a beautiful model. Dan

Hi Marc - Lookin' good. I like how you are scribing the scarf joints in the wales. Seems to be coming out perfectly. One suggestion, which might speed up the bolting process a bit - drill shallow holes with an 0.022" bit, dip the end of your 0.020" rod into some glue and insert into the hole, clip close with cuticle nippers. No need to cut such small discs off the rod and try to apply them individually. Also, for the treenails, they would have been flush with the surface of the plans. So don't drill or melt holes. After you have painted the planks take a mechanical pencil or micro-tip pen and draw in the treenails. Much easier than holes, and easier to correct if you misplace one. Finally, an offer. I am upgrading my digital camera. The old one still works well, and you are welcome to it if you want. Just let me know, or I will give it to one of my grandchildren. Dan

Hi Nils - Beautiful, beautiful work. I love how the figures bring life and action to the model. Congratulations. It has been a privelege to follow along these last two years. Thank you. Dan

I'm having similar issues with my computer. Others in the family are also. Is this a concerted effort to disrupt the internet by Russian oligarchs? Arab terrorists? Space aliens? Or is it just the people who market those thumb drives that are supposed to fix the problem? Welcome to the Brave, but Confused New World. LOL

Hi Marc - Here is another illustration of what I think happened to the Berain drawing of the quarter gallery - and how it most probably was originally drawn from an angle off the starboard stern. This first is a photo posted elsewhere on MSW of an excellent build of HMS Sussex. You can see how the aftmost gunports are situated just in front of the QG, but they are complete. While here is a view of the same model from a slight angle on the stern. Notice how closely it matches the Berain drawing with the two ports occluded. I think this optical issue has to be taken into account by anyone who wants to draft a plan that is closer to the working ship. Have a great summer. Dan

Hi John - Truly magnificent carvings and interior framing. I am enjoying reading your build log very much. I agree with Druxey and Jan that the carvings should be set back against the hull. Other decorative moldings can be cut around the wreaths, but the wales and other structural members should not be cut. The wreaths should have channels cut into their backs so they set back against the hull. The only other thing that catches my eye are the deck beams of the poop deck. I think they may have too much camber (round up). They look much more arched than I see in Dr. McCardle's book. Hopefully they can be carefully removed and replaced. Otherwise, just wonderful work. Dan

Hi again. A short segment this time. More when I have the time to write things down. Before moving up to the Boat deck, the forward end of the Promenade deck had to be detailed and the deck secured down to the lower hull. In this photo the deck is the lowest of the three layers of the forward superstructure. There are some doors, one of which is open, and some supports for the cargo booms, which will be added later. The interesting feature is the upper edge of the bulwark railing. This feature can be seen across the top of the railings on the upper superstructure and on both bridge wings (ignore the man kneeling on the bow companionway - I have no idea why he is there). From the side it is clear that these must be wind deflectors, a detail that was explained by Andy (realworkingsailor) during the Andrea Doria build. Unfortunately, his photo of the feature has disappeared from my log. He described them as “a concave (when viewed from fwd) shaped piece of steel attached by brackets about 3" ahead of the bulwark.” On the Michelangelo they appear to be flat, not concave, but angled back to direct the wind. This matches the feature as best as can be derived from the plans. Note that the bulwark is shown to be cut back to give the deflector some space. With all that in mind, an area was marked out on the front of the Promenade deck railing and shallow cuts were made at each end. The top edge was reduced in thickness from 0.02” to less than 0.010”, as seen in the insert. The rest of the angled area was sanded to this edge. A piece of styrene strip 0.010” x 0.040” was cut to length and installed at an angle along the top edge of the railing. The shadow line that this created looks very much like what is seen in the photos, so I was happy with the result. Six photoetched outer doors were painted and installed, then the Promenade deck layer was glued and set in place. The first of several pipe clamps can be seen doing its job, with wooden pads protecting the model surface both top and bottom. So here is the model with the Promenade deck finished and installed and the Boat deck set in place to judge the various sizes and relationships. More soon. Be well Dan

Hi Marc - I found a photo that shows the kind of doors that I think we are discussing. It is of similar ones at the stern, but you get the idea. Unfortunately, any doors along the side cannot be seen due to the angle of the photo. What do you think? Dan

Hi Pat - No, the lifeboats are all much further forward. But if there were inflatable or broken down life rafts on the Promenade deck, I guess these doorways could be used for emergencies. I am not enough of an ocean liner expert to know this detail. Dan

Hi Marc - All very good questions, to which I don't have a lot of answers. Here is what I think I know - There are, in fact, doors in the bulwark rail. There are two outlines drawn under the openings on the plans profile that fit the locations of the door symbols, and would make sense as access points for crew and light cargo, or emergency exits. None of my photographs are of sufficient resolution to be sure, but I can't think of another way to justify the plans to each other. Yes, they should be symmetrical. My speculation is that the reason is either 1) the doors swing both ways, like a restaurant kitchen, so they are drawn correctly, or 2) they are not drawn correctly. But since they are interior doors i didn't worry about it. Certainly a possibility. I couldn't make any feature fit both the dots and the dashes at the same time. Fortunately, as you say, they are mostly interior and covered. Yes there is a sister ship, the SS Raffaello, which is almost the same, but not quite. Most of the differences are cosmetic, so am using photos of her for structural details where I don't have a sufficiently detailed photo from Michelangelo. None of the photos of her show this area in any detail. Dan

Hi all, and many thanks for the comments and likes. This model is turning into an exploration of a number of different solutions to problems which do not come up in a sailing ship model. I hope my experiments can shorten the learning curve for others, the way that all my reading has shortened mine. Druxey – although I cannot claim any direct relationship with the family shown, I have to confess that during my college years I often bore an embarrassing resemblance to the young man on the right. Thank god that phase of my life is over. LOL I hope all my American friends had a good 4th of July, and everyone else just had a great weekend. The Admiral got away from work for a week and we spent it with the family upstate. I managed to sneak away to the workshop, and made some good progress. I will post several segments in the near future. Here is the first: I was installing the window segments on the promenade deck when I left off. Here is how they came out after gluing. Above them you can see the Boat deck cabins after initial shaping and sheathing, with one of the inset doorways. On top is the rough unsheathed layer for the Upper deck. The seams between the segments were filled and overpainted with gloss white. The upper and lower edges were sanded so they fair into each other. At the forward end they butt and fair into the sheathing of the forward face of the Promenade deck. This is pretty simple. But at the stern the Promenade deck ends with three and a half openings that fair at the lower edge into the bulwark rails leading around the fantail. Their upper pieces form the bulwark rails of the Upper deck that surround the pool area. From overhead and aft you can see that this upper deck creates a large overhang that cradles the lower pool with access by a pair of angled staircases. The outer corners of the deck and bulwark rails are rounded and are the continuations of those bulwarks above the windows. An expanded section of the plans shows the structure of this area. Unfortunately, some details are still unclear. For example, in the enlarged insert you can see how the stairway comes down to what looks, for all the world, like an enclosed area. There are no doors indicated, as there are everywhere else. How is the staircase accessed from the lower deck? Also, is there a difference indicated by the dotted line versus the dashed line which both seem to indicate the shape of the upper deck? What is the small triangular area labeled “dep.” with a door into it? The side view in the plans does not help. There is not much detail, and it raises more questions than it answers. For instance, the area above the Promenade deck windows is drawn in to indicate a break in the line of the bulwark rail. Without going into all the photos that were examined, it turns out that this is a narrow setback that houses the boat winches. But there are no plans that show this feature from the top, so its depth could not be taken off as drawn. More on this later. In any event, paper patterns were made up based on my best guesses as to the answers to these and other questions, then tested before being used to lay out the styrene piece. This piece was set in place and the upper extension was wrapped around the Upper deck layer. This creates a semi-enclosed passageway leading to an entry door to the Promenade deck. I opted to semi-enclose the stairs with an L-shaped wall that is open to the inside of the deck area, as can be seen in the port side wing. A few windows were laid out along the inner wall of the passageway as seen in some of the photos. They were done by making up custom water-slide decals on my computer and printing out onto decal film. The line of windows that can be seen below the Promenade deck were done in this fashion as well. And here is the view from aft with the starboard and center bulwark rail pieces installed. The port side piece was shaped and installed, then all of the joints and seams were sanded fair and even. Looking closely you can see that the fantail curve has a dark handrail above the bulwark. It was my first attempt at this feature and turned out not to be acceptable. It has since been removed and future segments of the log will go into the various solutions that were tried. As of this writing I am still not satisfied with the results. Next I turned to the boat winch setback. It had to be made up of an unsupported bulwark railing that was perfectly straight and attached only at the bottom. I estimated that it would be about 4 feet wide to give enough room for the machinery. I cut a strip of wood just over 1/8” wide and clamped it to the top of the Promenade deck. A strip of styrene 3mm high was cut and clipped to the wood strip. The styrene was spot glued with cyano from the inside. When it could support itself the clips were removed and a bead of white glue was painted along the base. The railing came out just as I hoped. Here is how she looked. Unfortunately, the depth was wrong. With a 4 foot setback, when I placed the Boat deck on top, there was not enough room for the passengers to walk past each other between the railing and the deck house. After agonizing for a bit, I gritted my teeth and removed the railing as carefully as possible. It wasn’t carefully enough, and some sections of the decking came up with it. But after sanding away any glue residue, the decking sections were replaced and the bulwark rails relocated to form a 1/16” (2 foot) setback. Now when the Boat deck house is set in place, the walkway is much better sized for passenger use. As you can see, the Boat deck house is being sheathed and its deck and bulwark railings are being set up. This is where I will pick it up in the next posting. As always, comments and alternate solutions are very welcome. Be well Dan

Hi Nils - Just back from a week away and catching up. Nice work on the case, and some new construction ideas. Thanks. Be well Dan

Hi Marc - Not sure how the windows would come out in 3-D printing. Probably pretty well. But the laser was the first thing I thought of. Not much more to it than that. Dan

Thanks, Keith - Even where the laser did not completely cut, the channels that it made were invaluable in guiding my knife blade. After that it was just a matter of magnification. The first thing I do when starting to work is to put on my optivisor. The last thing I do is take it off. Dan