capnharv2

I have started work on the dreaded figurehead.  I decided to make her out of clay rather than attempt carving.  I felt sorry for the wood that I would butcher.  Thank you to Chuck for his clay sculpting lesson and thank you to David Antscherl for carving a figurehead of Atalanta for Chuck.  The photos he took and posted on MSW were a godsend.  Here is the link to those photos.  
 
This is a copy of one of Chuck's photos of Atalanta.  She is holding a golden apple in her right hand.  The first thing I did was make a wire armature.  This provided more strength to the arms and legs.  I mounted the armature over a mock-up of the stem.
 




 
The first layer of clay was applied.  I was not too careful with this as it was simply a base to build upon.  I used white Sculpey clay with a few drops of softener added.  After every significant addition I baked the clay per the instructions to harden that section.  I think the biggest piece of advise that I can give is be careful with your proportions.  Stand in front of a mirror.  Your wrists hit the femoral head.  Measure a female hand for the correct length (mine is 6").    How long is your torso in relation to your legs, etc.  The breasts are not cones, as you can see in the picture above.   

 
I decided to add the clothing and hair after I had the proportions correct, leaving the details of the hands, feet and face for last.
 




 
After the other details were completed I test-fit the figurehead to the actual stem.  I discovered that I had forgotten to incorporate the taper of the stem on my mock-up and had to add extra clay to the medial thighs.  Obviously there is still some finesse work remaining.  I have a question for the members.  Should I paint it white to minimize losing detail or in natural colors (white robe, dark brown hair, tanned skin).  The apple will be gold, either way. 



 
 

Greg had drawn it to my attention that when I rebuilt the rudder head cover I had forgotten to add the sill.  Greg, this one's for you!  You can also see the gunport tackle and tubes.  The tubes are made of leather which I simulated with rolled paper dyed with brown Rit.

 
The rudder chain has been installed.  It attaches onto the spectacle plate with a U-shaped tackle.  The last things on my punch list are the figurehead, cleaning and paint touch-up.  After my experience with the upper quarter carving the figurehead has me terrified.  
 

Karl, thanks for the tip.  Some beautiful carving on those models.  As my punch list has gotten smaller, I could not put off the upper quarter carving any longer.  On both the plan and the contemporary model I could not tell for certain what the creature was.  Because of the tail, I had to choose between a dragon and a lioness.  I decided upon a lioness because that is what Atalanta was turned into after she had sex in a temple.  The first thing I did was make an oversized mock-up of the carving out of Sculptey.  Then, I made a second mock-up that fit into the space.  Once I was satisfied with that I drew the outline on to a block of English boxwood.  The color was a good match for the costello boxwood and I wanted the extra strength because of the tail. 

 

 

 
After a few failed attempts, the lioness slowly came out of the wood.  The hardest part was the head, both the direction and appearance.  Although in the pictures the face looks more like a bear than a lioness, it was the best I could do.  
 

 

 

 

Thank you Grant .
 
The Screws (propellors) are of similar construction to those in my Amatsukaze kit, also by Halinski - lots of petals, which means lots of careful cutting. I shaped the central piece using a rounded stick on high-density foam :

 
Four hours later :

 
And finally the completed units. I used a thin wash of acrylic to soften the dark colour of the seams :

 
I've started the main deck railings, and also made and fitted the port side entry ladders. The railings were designed for a plastic (Tamiya) kit and don't fit perfectly in regard to positions of the ladders, bollards etc, so some fudging is needed :


 
Danny

The Rigging only took a day to do, and it's turned out the best of any Card model I've done to date :





 
Danny

Okay, I understand. Thanks!
 
Harvey

But they'll get lost a lot faster.

But they'll get lost a lot faster.

But they'll get lost a lot faster.

But they'll get lost a lot faster.

Okay, I understand. Thanks!
 
Harvey

But they'll get lost a lot faster.

Also made the boarding steps 

I'm confused. Is this last pic before spraying with the Model Master Black, or did you take all the black off?
 
Nice build I always wanted to build the plastic model as a kid.
 
Harvey

I'm confused. Is this last pic before spraying with the Model Master Black, or did you take all the black off?
 
Nice build I always wanted to build the plastic model as a kid.
 
Harvey

Moving on I lightly sanded the hull several times, filling holes with CA glue and putty and sanding. I went to Home Depot and bought filler primer. I primed the hull with two coats and sanded it when it was dry with 220 grit sandpaper. I filled some more holes and primed it again after sanding the putty patches and CA glue. I wiped it with a damp paper towel since I forgot to buy a sticky cloth. After drying I primed it again. Sanded with 220 sandpaper when primer was dry. Wiped the dust off with a damp paper towel and sprayed it with Model Master semi gloss black spray can. I may have to mix some flattener and black paint to get the level of flatness I want for the effect I want and spray it with my airbrush.  Just like a black car it has already collected some dust.
 
Bob

......... continued.
 
All the boats, with the exception of the one already fitted to the deck :

 
The boats fitted to the deck :


 
I'm going to re-fit this launch. For some reason I missed the marks when gluing it down :



 
Danny

Roger,
 
His follow on book "Easy on the Helm" is also fun reading. I'm not sure of it's applicability to gaff cutter modeling, but it's interesting and insightful. I need to dig it out again.
 
Never sailed a gaffer? If you're ever in Seattle, drop me a line (I know a guy . . . .).
 
Seriously, one of the joys of sailing traditional rigs and building models of traditional rigs is the synergy it brings to both hobbies. I've had countless experiences on Amie that helped me build a better model, and countless times my (limited) ship model experience has helped me become a better sailor.
 
That's why I strongly recommend going aboard and (if possible) take a short sail on a traditional boat. I believe you can build and rig a better model because of it.
 
Thanks!
Harvey

Thanks for the comments and thank you for your explanation wefalck.  Measuring rope by circumference is as old a ships, I believe.  Certainly all the rigging tables from earliest times adopt the method, so that one becomes used to it.  I believe it would have been most convenient for early riggers and others to measure a rope with a length of string - perhaps knotted at intervals.  The use of even crude calipers would be unusual and certainly not as convenient as a length of string in one's pocket.  I measure rope diameter using digital calipers over a length of 10 tightly wrapped turns of rope on a dowel, then divide by 10 and multiply by 3.14 and then 72 to get rope size - or reverse the process to get the desired model size..  A calculator is a frequently used tool in the shop for this and many other tasks.
 
Pat, I have not found - or looked very hard - for actual real life specs for the number of seizings.  Based on various diagrams and drawings, my made-up rule seems reasonable.  I wanted some guideline to follow for this - and to provide for future readers - and this seemed reasonable - and hopefully not controversial.  So, the big 11" stays have four, the 8" stays in the post three, and for small lines a minimum of two - or perhaps an overhand slip knot with one.
 
Ed

PROGRESS..... Sometimes one step aft, two steps fore!
Happy to be back to where I was when my "fore progress" was interrupted.
Too many improvements to be of interest, so we will just move on from here.
Note, the production of rings and hearts to be used in the rigging of the Fore and Mizzen masts.
Also note that the addition of the starboard side futtock shrouds and ratlines.
Now ready to rotate the model and resume the exciting process of tying the port side clove hitches, etc. etc.....
 

 

You can also compare the bow of Royal Katherine with my older card model - Sovereign of the Seas.
And, of course, my feathered assistant is also presented there....

Hello dear friends, 
thank you for your feedback and "likes", I appreciate your support a lot.
Now I am working on decoration at the bow; mainly caryatides and decorative moldings. Sometimes it is not easy to adapt all parts together, so I have to create new ones and try again.

Best regards,
Doris

Thank you for your comments and "likes", dear friends.
 
To Tecko: You are welcome, Peter. I try to find suitable solution from available information to achieve more realistic result, but I have to admit, it is often very difficult.
 
To archjofo: Thank you Johann, your praise means a lot for me. The same to your magnificent work.
 
Yesterday I finished last few pieces of decoration for the bow sculptures and here is the result:
 

Soon I will start with new decoration for the bow section and bulkhead.
 
Best regards and enjoy the pics
Doris

Due to the structure of ropes - three or four more or less round strands winding around each other, it is difficult to measure a diameter. On a three-strand rope a caliper would touch on one side a strand and on the other side the space between two strands. This is why traditionally the size of ropes is given by the circumference, which can be measured by laying a thinner rope around it. In addition, direct measurement instruments, such as the vernier caliper, though known in principle for quite a while, did not come into common use until well into the 19th century.
 
This is, indeed, rather inconvenient from a modellers point of view, as the circumference of our 'ropes' would be very difficult to measure. However, as pocket calculators are common and virtually every mobile phone has a calculator, it should not be a big deal today to convert circumferences into diameter or vice versa. In many case a division/multiplication by 3 should be good enough.

Roger,
 
His follow on book "Easy on the Helm" is also fun reading. I'm not sure of it's applicability to gaff cutter modeling, but it's interesting and insightful. I need to dig it out again.
 
Never sailed a gaffer? If you're ever in Seattle, drop me a line (I know a guy . . . .).
 
Seriously, one of the joys of sailing traditional rigs and building models of traditional rigs is the synergy it brings to both hobbies. I've had countless experiences on Amie that helped me build a better model, and countless times my (limited) ship model experience has helped me become a better sailor.
 
That's why I strongly recommend going aboard and (if possible) take a short sail on a traditional boat. I believe you can build and rig a better model because of it.
 
Thanks!
Harvey