hollowneck

Nice job, Tom

Wow! She is beautiful! Your work has been an inspiration. Looking forward to seeing your building of the Charles W Morgan. Congratulations on finishing. 👍

Beautiful and precise work, Tom.   Do post a picture when have in a case.    BTW, 4-1/2 years isn't bad considering research, problem solving, etc., not to mention real life getting in the way.

Well the light at the end of the tunnel is shining brightly. After putting a lot of hours in the past couple of weeks I am ready to call my Leopard complete.  🍾. 
 
The journey was a bit long but was worth it in the end. Being my 2nd model and first scratch I expected it to be long but 4 1/2 years?  I would say a third of that was spent thumbing through reference books and a few breaks for weeks at a time.  Thanks again to all my MSW friends and my fellow club members at Connecticut Marine Modelers Society for all the help and advice. 
 
Here are a few pics of her all completed. Now I just have to build a base and case for her. After that I plan on taking some time to complete the 9000 piece puzzle I started but stored away a year ago. My next modeling adventure will be the Charles W Morgan whaler which is docked only about an hour away from me at Mystic. I hope to start that when the cold weather sets in. 
 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Thanks again to all,
Tom
 
 
 

This looks really terrific, Tom.  I look forward to seeing this in person, in New London!

Overwhelmingly beautiful...Moab

Made a little more progress this weekend with the mizzenmast staysails, top gallant and top sails. I need to mount the crossjack then finally the mizzen sail. 



 

Currently debating whether I will put up the mizzen staysail or not. I left off the lowest staysails at the main and foremast so as not to cover up the deck detail. The gap from the deck to the bottom mizzen top mast staysail is higher than the other masts so it kind of seems out of balance.  Maybe it will even out when the crossjack is put up. Problem is it will be very difficult to get in there to install all the necessary blocks for the rigging now. 
 
Finally I need to go back and tie up the braces and make what seems like a thousand rope coils for the belaying pins and various odds and ends… all by mid September so it is ready for the Northeast conference 
 
Tom

For those who ever have doubts about silk span for sails, your model is a great testament to how well sails can be done, to scale, with that material,
especially compared to the out-of-scale  sails we usually see because they are made of cloth.   It is a shame to see so many otherwise beautifully done models ruined when rigged with cloth sails.  
Allan

Me too! Clare...
 
Excellent. This source continues to be an interesting modeling option. Thanks for posting the photo and details for ordering; I'm tempted to spend the ¥38,000 and put this on my stash shelf. What a kool "artifact" from Japan's maritime history. It resembles European warships of the Middle Ages with castles at the stem and stern because warfare was still bows n' arrows mostly. Apparently there was also plenty of rowing labor😂 then... I agree that with some good detailing and better coloration on the woodwork it would improve the look.
 
When this kit hits your doorstep, please take a few pics of the box contents and the all-important instructions/plans. I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd love to see these as well as your build log - should you do one.
 
My apologies for what appears to be my hijacking of your thread about this model's availability. I will remove the posted pics here if you'd like (by going to edit I think I can do this) - or you can since I've now posted these photos in the Gallery. I have yet to learn how to contain my enthusiasm; that's my excuse, for now...
 
Ron
 
 
 

Focus stacking is a lot of work, both in taking the series of images and in combining them into one image. But it yields images you can't get any other way. I use it often when photographing wildflowers and in photographing ship models.
 
Here is an example:
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Note that you can see the grain in the end of the bowsprit dowel, and in the masts, and in the planks in the transom. The distance from the tip of the bowsprit dowel to the end of the boat davits on the stern is 22 1/2 inches! The camera lens was about 6 inches in front of the end of the bowsprit dowel.
 
I took a series of 12 photos, each focused upon parts of the model at successively greater distances. I was careful to ensure that each photo's depth of field overlapped the previous photo so there were no blurred ranges in between. I used an excellent macro lens for the pictures - a Nikon 105 mm  f/2.8 macro lens designed especially for close up images with a great depth of field.
 
The 12 photos were taken into Photoshop and placed as layers in a single file. Then I used the "Auto-Blend Layers" function to combine them into a single image. The program selected the sharpest parts of each layer and cut out the blurry parts too close or too distant to be in the focus range.  Then they were all combined into a single layer.
 
It is a pretty good picture, but the process isn't perfect. Notice on the lower left that near the edge the planks are blurred. I have see similar blurring near the edges of many stacked photos where the program can't decide what parts are the sharpest. But still the image is far better than what you can get with a single exposure, no matter what camera and lens you are using.
 
It took about an hour to take the pictures and edit them in Photoshop.

Me too! Clare...
 
Excellent. This source continues to be an interesting modeling option. Thanks for posting the photo and details for ordering; I'm tempted to spend the ¥38,000 and put this on my stash shelf. What a kool "artifact" from Japan's maritime history. It resembles European warships of the Middle Ages with castles at the stem and stern because warfare was still bows n' arrows mostly. Apparently there was also plenty of rowing labor😂 then... I agree that with some good detailing and better coloration on the woodwork it would improve the look.
 
When this kit hits your doorstep, please take a few pics of the box contents and the all-important instructions/plans. I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd love to see these as well as your build log - should you do one.
 
My apologies for what appears to be my hijacking of your thread about this model's availability. I will remove the posted pics here if you'd like (by going to edit I think I can do this) - or you can since I've now posted these photos in the Gallery. I have yet to learn how to contain my enthusiasm; that's my excuse, for now...
 
Ron
 
 
 

Great photos Ron, but since this thread is about the Woody Joe Atakebune kit, I want to make sure that people get the word that Woody Joe officially announced the release of their new Atakebune kit today, and it will begin shipping starting this Sunday. 
 
I've contacted Zootoyz, where I think most of us here get our Woody Joe products, and began arrangements to get my kit.
 
The price is actually better than I expected at ¥38,000 (currently about $335). The prototype model looks a bit simplistic in the photos, but with some wood stain or dye, and a little bit of detailing, I think it will make for a pretty nice model. Again, it's a 1/100 scale kit with an overall length of just under half a meter, that's just over 19".
 
Mr. Kazunori Morikawa, who runs Zootoyz.jp, visited the museum model and took a lot of photos. I think they're all posted on the shop's Facebook page, so those should help anyone who wants to add some more detail to the model.
 
For those interested in buying the kit, I went and tried to search for it on the two Zootoyz web shops, but I don't think it's listed in the sites menus, or at least I couldn't find it. But, here's a direct link to the product where it can be ordered: https://www.japan-wooden-model-kits-zootoyz.shop/contents/en-us/p25066.html.
 
 

 
 
 

HMS SPHINX Build Comments & Observations
 
Note:
This post is not specifically a “What’s In The Box” Kit Review. The photos and comments have been prepared by ship modeler, Ron Neilson, in lieu of a full Build Log.
 
A Quick Summary by one modeler:
 
Although I am only about halfway through my build of the latest Vanguard Models kit, HMS Sphinx, and while I have made some of my own modifications (as any builder does), the process thus far has been excellent, thanks to the high-quality of this kit.
Many precisely cut pieces of mostly MDF and decent quality Swiss Pear have been provided. As I was building up the basic and extensive hull forms, I constantly referenced my calipers to double-check the fitting of parts. At first, I couldn’t believe the precision of these elements. In many cases, I measured +/- .005 – which is quite extraordinary. The construction in some areas is “Lego-like,” that is, “plug ‘n’ play.” This aspect of the fundamental hull “skeleton” also helps maintain precision tolerances across the entire length and breadth of the 1/64 ( 3/16” = 1 foot) model. The kit’s provided building jigs - which you assemble separately - are also very useful.
As witness to the unique design innovations embodied in the kit, what is shown in these photos was completed in less than forty-five days. I’d estimate that in the recent past, a model of similar complexity and scale would have taken me nearly twice the time. Vanguard has created a stunningly high-quality kit that can be crafted by any journeyman ship modeler with a moderate level of perseverance.
 
Precise, laser cut pear wood is employed throughout the build. The delicate “rails” along the hull are provided as pre-cut patterns which is a very interesting approach to creating these necessary elements. All gunports (22 including the bridle ports) align nicely with the layered approach to building up the bulwarks to faithful thickness. A single piece gundeck is delicately and precision-etched to indicate the tapered planking, trunnels included. The deck furniture pieces are all in pear and because they are lasered from similar stock, all match, beautifully. Although slightly tricky to align properly, the design of the amidships chain pump handle mechanism is brilliant. The same applies to the über-detailed hand pumps. Both are P.E mini-masterpieces that will be fun to build.
 
There is nice detail on the ironwork components. The deck coamings, hatches, bitts and various support stanchions lend themselves to nice extra detailing. The quarter galleries are always a challenge to fabricate, but the design in this kit is the best I’ve encountered thus far in years of building this era of sailing ships. The detail of the tiered P/E roof tiling is especially nice.
The severe stern tuck was worth the effort, the built-up rudder and cleverly-designed ironwork for the gudgeons and pintles is evident on close inspection.
 
The headworks are exquisitely designed and detailed with a combination of precision laser-etched pear pieces. I was impressed once more at the close tolerances of all these items that fit together like a glove. The single-piece upper stern cabin resin cast decoration is very clever and a definite showpiece of the model.
 
The extensive, decorative elements of this model are what will draw many modelers to make the investment in both time and treasure to build it. The sweep of the ship’s lines is very appealing; I can imagine that in real life, this was a gorgeous ship to behold, indeed. The clever design engineering, the fastidious manufacturing, excellent materials and comprehensive guidance provided in this high-calorie kit (the build manual and extensive, full-size plans) is exemplary; cleverness and ingenuity abounds throughout.  Did I mention the large, full-color, clearly photographed, 144-page Build Manual accompanied by twenty-three (count ’em!) extensive, full-size, actual scale (1:64) large plans? It boggles the mind initially when one opens the heavy (insert weight in pounds- 15lbs?) and sturdy box of goodies. The manual and plans alone must weigh 3 pounds. What kit manufacturer does this? Vanguard Models does. And there will be countless builders who want, need and can afford the exemplary challenges this kit provides. Regarding money, this kit’s ultimate value is that it can potentially deliver a museum-quality model and thus, in my world, it’s a bargain at twice the price.
 
The HMS Sphinx kit stands as the current pinnacle of Vanguard Models’ superb and innovative work over the last many years by the U.K.’s dedicated and well-regarded ship model kit designer, Chris Watton.
———-
The photos aren't in a chronological sequence, only random shots I've taken during my build to the date of this post. There will be more commentary and photos to come as I make more progress with my fun build. And why spend many solitary hours at this challenging hobby if it isn’t fun?

Clare,
I opened P'Shop and re-rezzed some of my photos for my Takes A Village and I think this fixed the upload interpolation problem!...enjoy.
I'm going to post these now to MSW gallery since I've figured out the problem which has been preventing me from contributing these to the MSW forum.
You get an early peek!!🤩
 
Thanks for the incentive!!
Best,
Ron
PS there's only one in this batch that didn't take on my fix...sorry

Post Twenty-six
 
Sand fill and sand again.
There are the usual (for me) strake ridges to attend to, I didn’t pay much attention to variations in plank thickness during planking, and there was a fair variation across the plank supply. Several of the planks were below 0.7mm and effectively unusable, being too soft to span the bulkheads without flexing.
Only minimum filling was required in small areas. For this I use Deluxe Wonderfill a lightweight filler that dries quickly and sands well.
It works well for small indentations and hollows in planking runs.

0742(2)
I take photos under harsh lighting to reveal irregularities, along with the blind feel test.
 
At the point I think ‘That’ll do’ I take more photos and faff around some more.

0753
With the model on my desk I can compare with macro photos where areas need a little more attention.
 
After a day of sanding, filling, and feeling, I reach the point of enough is enough and move onto the Pearwood keel, stem, and sternpost.
 
The fit of the stern post to keel was excellent, but the stem to keel at the bow needed some fettlin’ to get a nice tight fit between keel and stem.
 
This is important if the option to not paint the lower hull is to be retained.
I didn’t need to mess with the stem piece, just clean the false keel up.
 
Keeping the stem piece hard down against the keel piece proved quite tricky using pva.

0760(2)
This is the only clamp that had sufficient bite to secure it in position until the glue grabbed.
Might have proved easier to use cyano for this joint.

0770

0772
At the stern area I have reduced the planks to a feather edge where they meet the stern post, not difficult with a soft wood like Lime.

0779

0777
The white filler generally indicates where the planking strip was undersize in thickness.

0780(2)

0800

0789(2)

0786

0791(2)

0790(2)
After eight weeks work, I have the basic hull completed, and something that is recognisable as a bijou Frigate.
 
Moving on…
 
B.E. 20/10/21
 
 

Glennard has a good point: you'll need to adjust where the trim (trails) meet-up on the galleries (from the counters). The upper rails-to- gallery shouldn't be an issue- with the notable exception of a "gap" from the gallery roof to the drift rail. I fixed this eyesore with a tiny "extra" piece of rail inserted to fill the gap.
It appears you've fixed the problem. Good recovery, Sir.
 
Cheers!
Ron

Thanks Bob, much appreciated.
When posting and reading comments from others the last few days, I am consistently reminded that MSW is also a Very Good Village -  for all of us!
We're 40,000 Plus members now (and still growing), but, importantly still "human scale."
 
Ron

Clare,
I opened P'Shop and re-rezzed some of my photos for my Takes A Village and I think this fixed the upload interpolation problem!...enjoy.
I'm going to post these now to MSW gallery since I've figured out the problem which has been preventing me from contributing these to the MSW forum.
You get an early peek!!🤩
 
Thanks for the incentive!!
Best,
Ron
PS there's only one in this batch that didn't take on my fix...sorry

Clare,
Thank you - I love yours too.
Long time, no speak! Covid layed us all pretty low...but, on the East Coast earlier this month we had our joint clubs annual Northeast Conference in New London and it was very good; lots of old friends, many models, an all-around good experience. This conference is being reinstated in its regular slot in April (last Saturday of that month) in 2022. My new club (Philadelphia Ship Model Society) will be the host so I'm one of the lead guys to organize this event since I've worked on two previous Conferences with the Connecticut club.
 
My wife and I moved to PA from CT this summer: a really long story with all kinds of problems (getting a new home, selling wasn't the issue) but things are settling in for us now. Our principal reasons for a major life change (at 75, trust me, it's a major change) were to be closer to family and the outrageously expensive living costs in Connecticut. The family part is the most important however, a daughter/son-in-law with 4 chilluns: an entire family we're very fond of.
 
Yeah, sometimes the site flips uploads in weird orientations. I tried this earlier post a couple times and it kept doing it. Grrrrrrrrr. But I'm glad you took my suggestion to pick your monitor up and turn it...🤣 Actually, if you have an iPad you can turn off the auto-rotation and flipping it around is quite manageable!!
 
I'm building Vanguard's HMS Sphinx kit now: I'm not doing a Build Log but I have posted some pics and a narrative on the Kit Review thread. Check it out if you'd like. I'll put my model (built as HMS Camilla, a sister ship of the era-1775) into a diorama. I'm hooked now and love to place my models in these dramatic settings.
 
Here's a few more of my Ongakuka "Takes A Village"diorama; no guarantees on picture orientation...in fact, only two uploaded correctly this time, plus some of the figures I used which were wonderful. They came unpainted from the U.K.
 
Please PM me when you get the new WoodyJoe Atakebune.
 
Hope You and Yours are well and have stayed safe during the plague year (and a half).
Cheers and Best Regards,
 
Ron
PS You may not know that I'm now a Director of the NRG. Mostly Good News. I'm very involved with new initiatives for the organization. Some tasking with MSW, but mainly with the quarterly Journal and other new things, like the yearly calendar, webinars, the 2021 Photo Contest, etc. ALso writing some feature articles that will be forthcoming next year.
 

Clare,
Thank you - I love yours too.
Long time, no speak! Covid layed us all pretty low...but, on the East Coast earlier this month we had our joint clubs annual Northeast Conference in New London and it was very good; lots of old friends, many models, an all-around good experience. This conference is being reinstated in its regular slot in April (last Saturday of that month) in 2022. My new club (Philadelphia Ship Model Society) will be the host so I'm one of the lead guys to organize this event since I've worked on two previous Conferences with the Connecticut club.
 
My wife and I moved to PA from CT this summer: a really long story with all kinds of problems (getting a new home, selling wasn't the issue) but things are settling in for us now. Our principal reasons for a major life change (at 75, trust me, it's a major change) were to be closer to family and the outrageously expensive living costs in Connecticut. The family part is the most important however, a daughter/son-in-law with 4 chilluns: an entire family we're very fond of.
 
Yeah, sometimes the site flips uploads in weird orientations. I tried this earlier post a couple times and it kept doing it. Grrrrrrrrr. But I'm glad you took my suggestion to pick your monitor up and turn it...🤣 Actually, if you have an iPad you can turn off the auto-rotation and flipping it around is quite manageable!!
 
I'm building Vanguard's HMS Sphinx kit now: I'm not doing a Build Log but I have posted some pics and a narrative on the Kit Review thread. Check it out if you'd like. I'll put my model (built as HMS Camilla, a sister ship of the era-1775) into a diorama. I'm hooked now and love to place my models in these dramatic settings.
 
Here's a few more of my Ongakuka "Takes A Village"diorama; no guarantees on picture orientation...in fact, only two uploaded correctly this time, plus some of the figures I used which were wonderful. They came unpainted from the U.K.
 
Please PM me when you get the new WoodyJoe Atakebune.
 
Hope You and Yours are well and have stayed safe during the plague year (and a half).
Cheers and Best Regards,
 
Ron
PS You may not know that I'm now a Director of the NRG. Mostly Good News. I'm very involved with new initiatives for the organization. Some tasking with MSW, but mainly with the quarterly Journal and other new things, like the yearly calendar, webinars, the 2021 Photo Contest, etc. ALso writing some feature articles that will be forthcoming next year.
 

Oops. I forgot to caption the pic of the lens: this is an 85mm, f1.28 Nikon PC/E micro Tilt/Shift lens. This lens is great for composing tight close-up shots that have crisp DOF (depth-of-field). By definition it also demands to be used with a full frame Nikon digital camera. Normally, I'll choose the 45mm TS lens version for most photo work with my models - when I choose to use my full frame camera and spend the additional time required with these specialized lenses. Both are fiddly, but create near view camera excellence. Needless to say, there is no auto focus with these lenses; manual only. In practice, the most efficient way to check one's focus is to snap a pic, enlarge it (in camera software) and make sure your focus is tack sharp across the frame.
 
The above adds more "tech talk" detail, but some members may want to try this lens for their models if they're not inclined to spend hours in post-production computer jockeying and rather get back to their benches...😁
Ron

Focus stacking is a lot of work, even with Nikon's "Focus Shift." The Helicon software is sweet...but...as Glenn has explained earlier in this thread, the overhead is also substantial (especially with a full frame camera); one will end up with multiple huge data files to process in order to obtain a single shot. It's a similar scenario with "non-automated" focus shifting (multiple shots, blended together).
 
The basic consideration in this thread is to take high-quality shots of ship models, attempting to achieve good depth-of-field where most of the subject is in good if not, critical focus.
 
I use an old school system that gets a decent photo of my models in a single exposure - no post-production overhead with having to diddle with software, just a clean single frame. I can shoot a couple dozen photos with only one lighting set-up and get good quality results pretty quickly.
 
Here's the specs for my model photography (see the photo here): I use my old Nikon D5100 with an AFS-DX 40mm (prime) lens. I shoot at f22 typically with long exposures with a low ISO setting (100 usually). The photo here was taken this way with no post-production Photoshop. This arrangement gives me a decent-sized file of about 10 Mb; I've been able to enlarge this base file to a 20" X 40" canvas image and it holds up reasonably well.
---------
There is another route to excellent "single shot" results. I have also taken photos with a TS (tilt/shift) lens on a newer Nikon D620 (full frame) which allows me to shift the focal plane of the lens thus allowing me to capture a sharp image over a deep focal plane. With good tabletop lighting (3 sources- hot or strobe), I can stop down to f32 (the TS lens approaches large format camera lens capability) and then I let the magic (good depth-of-field) hit the camera's sensor on a much longer 2-3 second exposure typically. A long exposure also permits me also to "paint with light" in some circumstances for achieving good lighting effects. In this case, I shoot most of my studio photos of my models with either the 45mm or 85mm TS depending on the shot composition. TS lens' are also available for Canon. The TS range for Nikon (or Canon) can be rented by the day at reasonable prices since they are indeed, pricey ($1,500- $2,200). I am not aware of TS lenses for other digital camera models.
 
For those on the thread who are not professional photographers, a TS lens mimics the movements of large view cameras. There are still view cameras (and high-quality, large image circle lenses) being used in photo studios that simultaneously employ large sensor arrays mounted to the rear of these "old school" view cameras where large format film holders used to go. The digital sensor array feeds its signal to a video monitor and a tethered computer.
 
I hope some of this (inexpensive) technique and tech info can help non-pro shooters in our hobby shoot better photos,
 
Ron
 

Thanks Bob, much appreciated.
When posting and reading comments from others the last few days, I am consistently reminded that MSW is also a Very Good Village -  for all of us!
We're 40,000 Plus members now (and still growing), but, importantly still "human scale."
 
Ron

Thanks Ryland!
What did you do to fix my earlier post on this thread? I did some P'Shop rezzing and re-saved and then posted which now appears to have fixed the problem uploading to the forum...but I'd really like to know how you did this!
 
Best,
Ron

Clare,
I opened P'Shop and re-rezzed some of my photos for my Takes A Village and I think this fixed the upload interpolation problem!...enjoy.
I'm going to post these now to MSW gallery since I've figured out the problem which has been preventing me from contributing these to the MSW forum.
You get an early peek!!🤩
 
Thanks for the incentive!!
Best,
Ron
PS there's only one in this batch that didn't take on my fix...sorry