AnobiumPunctatum

absolut fantastic and stunning. I hope that my cutter will somedays looks also so nice. 

That's the cherry on top! 

Ram fixed to the model with 0.6mm "Tiny nails" from www.drydocksidemodelsandparts.com.
 

Attaching the lower subassembly:
I've been gearing myself up for this one. The last of the major joints and the final confirmation of whether I can make this fabrication accurately enough to fit my model.
The upper image shows the two subassemblies to be joined and the collection of items Ive made to try to keep them aligned during the soldering operation.
the next image shows a dry assembly of the pieces. A lot of going backwards and forwards from the model to adjust the taps on my fore and aft jigs so that the two assemblies are aligned.
The lower image shows the ram assembly after is bath in "Picklean"
The good news and huge relief is that it actually fits!
It was the right decision to go for fabrication rather than lost wax casting. Although I could probably have made a accurate 3D model by photogrametry and modelling in blender all the uncertainties over shrinkage during the casting process would have been a real problem. Also the minimum casting wall thickness of 0.6mm was a show stopper for me.
There is still quite a lot of work to do, shaping the ram plates and fitting various decorative pieces, but the basic structure is there (and hopefully survives the rest of the work!).
And then the cleaning...All that copper discoloration to remove and all that silver solder (next time I should use that yellow ochre powder Kurt refers to above...)

Mid part of the ram in construction (Part 1)
 
Image 1: Shows the mid cladding plate being formed around a 5mm drill to fit the radius at the front of the wooden ram substructure.
 
Image 2:  The Mid Ram plate (the fork shape piece at the lower right hand corner of image 2) is shaped to fit the wooden ram substructure and the slotted plate is shaped to fit inside this with a clearance of 0.2mm all round to allow for the thickness of the cladding plate. The drilled bend plate in the middle of image 2 is designed to hold the mid ram plate firmly while the slotted plate can be pushed forward to force the cladding plate to the right profile. I have soldered (using medium silver solder) the two bolts that hold the slotted plate as I found that it was over fiddly having these loose).
 
Image 3: The silver solder (medium solder/flux paste) is applied to both the cladding piece and the ram plate and then the cladding plate is lowered into the jig and the slotted piece pushed forward to force the two parts together in the required alignment.
 
Image 4: Shows the result with the silver solder paste applied.
 
Image 5: Shows all the distortion that takes place with the 0.2mm plate when you heat it up high enough for the medium solder to melt!
 
Image 6:  shows it after cleaning with picklean and roughly straightened out. 
 
Clear as mud?
 
Ive left a couple of mm of "green" each side of the cladding sheet which I now need to shape to fit the space between the upper and lower ram assemblies...

Here is my ram with the extra "decorative" bits added (on the left) with Olympias's ram on the right. John Coates is the man in the middle modelling their new fabrication...
Its not perfect but I'm reasonably pleased as its my first go at a complex fabrication like this with silver solder.
Interestingly it wasnt the long welds that were the most difficult. All the tiny decorative bits were surprisingly tricky. I used extra easy silver solder to reduce the risk of melting previous joints and plenty of Thermal gel plastered over everything away from the actual joint I was making at the time. I thought I wouldnt need as much heat input so started off with my smaller blowtorch, but couldn't get a melt. In fact it took a lot of effort with the large torch to get the solder to flow. I guess that is because the thick plating around the joints was sucking the heat up. In fact one of the issues of this fabrication is getting enough heat into the 1mm plate without melting/distorting the 0.2mm plate its attaching to...
 
Ive been trying out a couple of patination options (ammonia vapor and liver of sulphur), but I'm thinking I may just let it tarnish naturally...

Here is an image of the Athlit ram that John based his design on:
 

Fore and aft frames are setted and the first planks were installed.

Using the christmas holidays to make further work on the Lanveoc boat.
 
More frames are installed and the keel with stem and sterm is attached.

The Lanveoc boat is a typical proponent of the "little navy" of the French Ancien Regime. It was heavily used as a ferry or transport vessel in the Brest area during several centuries. This little vessel has only one mast and one square sail. 
 
The monograph and plans from Ancre declare the vessel as follows: 
 
"The little navy in the XVII and XVIIIth centuries Relics of the Middle Ages with five plates at 1:36 scale and one plate at 1:40 scale Including all plans of the timber works
This monograph presents the "little navy" in France during the Ancien Régime. We owe this knowledge to a modest little craft, called the Bateau de Lanvéoc, which devoted itself to ferry traffic in the broad roadstead of Brest. The monograph of this small ferry boat also represents the full extent of its activities in the harbor, illustrated by Pierre Ozanne's drawings done in the last decade of the XVIIIth century which we have collected for you in this volume.
Thanks to the builders' manuscripts by B. Ollivier and especially Morineau, the shape of the hull is known and P.-A.-L. Forfait's tables establish its rigging rules. With this knowledge of the "primitive formula" for the ship - a single mast and square sail - we are able to describe the progressive evolution of the ship into the Breton two-master.
In turn this allows us to understand the value of the Album of 1679 (also called the Jouve Album) which is devoted to the little navy of the Atlantic seaboard from Bayonne to Nantes.
We offer the most significant information from this album which is preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale (the French National Library).
Lastly, samples of medieval iconography are proof that it is possible to undertake a study of the ships of that period based on the information garnered on the Lanvéoc ferry, an exceptional relic that survived from the Middle Ages into the first half of the XIXth century in the harbor of Brest."
 
The scale of the project is 1/72, for several reasons. First, it´s my preferred scale, many other of my modeling projects are made in this scale. Second, a wide range of modelling stuff is avaiable in this scale, especially figures. Third, most of the plans fröm Ancre are made in 1/36 scale, which is exactly double of 1/72, so the only thing to do is to reduce the original size to 50 percent.
 
Well, that´s enough history. Let´s go back to the shop. (Tom Lauria)
 

After two weeks of hard work - here are the results.  Learning to sharpen and using the card scrapers proved invaluable as this hull was very tricky to shape with its tumblehome. I did use a proxxon angle grinder very sparingly for a few high spots - not recommended for the faint of heart.

Hello,
and many thanks for all your likes and comments. Because I unfortunately have a serious cold, we decided to prefer the Christmas party and then close the ship yard first.
 
                                    So we all from the ship yard wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2026

Well, I managed one of the two upper cheek finishing bits. It is presently soaking to be removed from the baseboard.

I also installed the trail boards and decided on the figure, a griffon or gryphon if you prefer. The drawing has been mounted to some bass wood (linden) and that glued to a baseboard in readiness for carving.

As I am getting tired of looking at my mistake at the stern, I've cut out the transom taffrail board in black walnut, steamed it, and it is presently clamped and drying. The clamp piece is a scrap 2x4 piece of lumber cut to the curve of the present stern taken with my profile gauge. I will not unclamp it until after Christmas. I intend to remove the offending counter timber tops sometime soon (in the new year) and will replace them with the taffrail board.

Now that is an interesting challenge, Giampiero! Looks great so far.

Final photos. Please excuse the dust particles!

Season's greetings, Kevin, and enjoy family time in NYC! Aren't capstans fun to make? You needed to take a break from them, right?

Finial fitting of the lower Capstan. I had to fit the last two beams which are slightly wider than the rest to be able to get the finial height of the barrel. . Then added the partner and adjusted the Barrel so it is just above the level of the partner. That is it for the year as I am off to NY to cut down a christmas tree and role in the snow. Thank goodness for alcohol.

Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for all the likes and comments on this new project.
Work has continued on the counter keel, the sternpost with its false sternpost, and the fillet chord with the upper transom. The rabbet joint has been cut and milled. Further work will then be done on the frames.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Here is a size comparison to the Venus model at a scale of 1:72.

 
Best regards 
Andreas

A long overdue update.....
 
I added the bowsprit step, finished the riding bitt standard, the stove was finally put in place. I made the stove a long time ago, based on the NNM plans I decided not to use the Brodie stove but a brick stove. The Brodie stove I have made too, eons ago, but it will stay in the parts drawer. Also the forecastle bulkhead was build and added. The Breastbeam (the aft most beam on the Forecastle deck) took some extra care because it has a molding. This was carefully added with a custom scraper
 
Remco
 
 
 










 

This  will be an open source project.  You can download stl files for 3d printing and dfx and pdf files for laser cutting.  
 
This group will have 3 sections…
 
1. I will create a build log of the step by step construction of the capstan.
 
2. I will create a build log of sorts for the laser cutting…materials and techniques. 
 
3.  Lastly a brief chat about the 3d printing…what resin I use …dyeing the pieces…i will provide pre supported stl files as well as those without supports.
 
With these technologies becoming more common,  we should have projects like this one.
 
But if you dont have these machines...thats OK too.
 
JJ will begin production of this kit in December 2025 so folks can buy them.   If you buy a kit there is no fee to join and you can start a build log at any time.
 

 
People are sending me requests to join the group.  Dont do this ever.  This is just a quirk of the software.  
 
This is the way it will work.  
 
Once I finish setting up the tutorial topics.  I will announce it is ready for folks to join.  Its just about all done.
 
The NRG will add a store item to its online shop.  You will have to go there and buy your access to the group for five bucks.  We are still setting that up now.  
 
Mary will contact me with your information and I will send you an invitation.  You will see your the invation and will be able to click a link to accept it and join.  
 
Basically its the same way it works for the Winchelsea group build.  Thats when you will gain access to download the files.
 
If you are not 3d printing or laser cutting your parts,  its free to look at and participate in the build logs area of the group as you will be able to buy a kit and start a build log without paying $5.
 
You only have to pay the five bucks  for access to the files if you are making the parts yourself.
 
The group area looks like this...when you enter it the default is set to the build logs tab.  You will see everyones logs here.  Right now there is only mine.  But there are several more tabs above the build logs.  See the yellow circled area.   If you pay your 5 bucks you will access to these two tabs where you can download your laser cutting and 3D printting files.  It is here where all of the tutorials are as well.   You can also ask questions related to laser cutting and 3D printing here.
 

 
If you clicked on the laser cutting tab....this is what you would currently see.  
 

 
Its almost completed and I will announce you can buy your access to the files shortly.   JJ will have kits ready for all others in December I believe.
 
If you have any questions about this group dont hesitate to ask.
 
You can check out the build log and instructions for the prototype right here
 
https://modelshipworld.com/forum/175-project-build-logs/
 
Chuck

Nice analysis of the problems involved, Mark. Years ago, before the wonders of laser cutting, I had the same issues with the balcony on Polyphemus. I had to resort to using polystyrene sheet, drilled and scalpel blade cut. At least the rail was solid behind the fretwork! However, the ribbonwork was dimensional as well. I remember a lot of card and paper pattern cutting!
 
Your work on this area so far is exemplary.

Time for an update, even though things are in flux. I have finally tackled the balcony and the fretwork on the quarter galleries that correspond to the fretwork in the balcony. First a bit of a re-visit on this detail that I knew was going to be the most challenging part of this build so far.
 
In the images below I am showing the first Bellona model built ca. 1760 followed by the second Bellona model representing the ship after its major refit 20 years later. My project is reconstructing the Bellona as she was originally designed, as shown in the original admiralty drawings and in this first model.
 
However, the first model did not show the quarter galleries, and so I have had to interpolate what the original quarter galleries might have looked like, related to the original balcony and then to the quarter galleries shown on the second model.

So let's look at these more carefully to see what is the same and what is not.
 
The original model shows a very distinctive fretwork on the face of the balcony, which we can assume was meant to be open as seen on the second model. The vertical stanchions in the original model are painted red, with a covering filigree subtly projected out forward of the fretwork within the rectangular panels.
 
Note also that the first model balcony sweeps in a gorgeous serpentine curve from one side to the other. the second model, on the other hand, curves the balcony into a sharp corner one panel in from each side. It took me a long time also to realize that the first model is wider outboard of the outermost rectangular panels, with a more substantial bracket between the panel and the carved female figures.
 
I saw the necessity of this extra width when I tried to reconcile the stern design with the original admiralty plans. The extra width was needed to make the quarter galleries big enough at their after ends. This then had a knock-on effect for the windows below. which also needed the extra width. You can see my interpretation of how this might have worked in the line drawing below, a little bust on a pedestal.
 
Final thing to note before leaving the balcony. The original model has this beautiful filigree detail over the red stanchions. The second model did not even attempt to recreate this, choosing instead to drill crudely arranged holes in white panels. I had sympathy for their plight, attempting to cut these exceptionally fine filigrees. My own efforts at this failed spectacularly. Then I thought, I'll bet Chuck and his laser cutter can accomplish what the 18th century model builders had failed to do. Before looking at this in more detail, I'll turn to an overview of the quarter galleries themselves.
 
 

 
Following are the quarter galleries on the second model. The model builder continued his scheme from the balcony, with stanchions represented as crude drilled holes in white panels.
 


I decided in contrast that I would continue the first model scheme of fine filigree over red stanchions, keeping the dark blue paint behind the rectangular patterns. I drew up the quarter gallery pattern with this idea, and it is shown here as a colored pencil paper pattern:
 

While working on this, I began to realize that this entire panel was a different shape compared to the one on the second model. You can see that the second model panels are much more rectangular with more upright sides, mine were turning out with more extreme sloping sides. And mine had a much stronger sweeping backward curve at the fore edge. What was going on?
 
It took me some time finally to realize that the first Bellona model and admiralty drawings show a much smaller upper quarter gallery off the quarterdeck. Here is the original admiralty drawing immediately below. Note the more extremely curved forward edge of the panel between the lower and upper windows, needed to reconcile the larger windows below with the much smaller windows above. Compare this to the quarter galleries in the second model shown above; the windows above and below in the second model are almost the same size, needing a less extreme slope from the one to the other in the fretwork panel between them.
 

I think we can assume that when the first captain saw that the quarter gallery of his brand new ship was substantially smaller than the one below shared by his officers, he strongly suggested that this would need to be rectified in any subsequent re-build!
 
Pressing on, I worked up the drawings of the panels and sent them to Chuck, who returned the most beautiful fretwork panels and delicate filigree stanchion covers. I am showing them here loosely located; they still need to be glued down to the concave surface to pull them in more tightly. And I still need to paint the blue backgrounds behind the fretwork panels:
 

These needed sanding down in thickness from the thinnest plastic Chuck could provide. I did this by trapping the plastic in a frame as thick as the final desired thickness, giving me a gauge for sanding down to the frame:
 

Meanwhile, I started work on the balcony itself, so I can draw these final panels and stanchions for Chuck's laser magic.
 
It frankly took a great deal of trial and error to craft the geometry of the serpentine curve. It needs to fair into the curved side panels and then reverse its curve twice. Also, the upper balcony railing is narrower in athwartship width but still needs to slope back enough in its narrower space to maintain at the center of the balcony the backward slope of the side panels.
 
I could not visualize how this would work. I tried carving a blank out of basswood, which helped, and then built a card blank multiple times to keep refining the curves until they seemed right.
 
Then I worked out the actual geometry in plan:
 

This gave me the patterns for roughing out the  lower and upper moldings, shown here. the blocks are spacers to keep the two moldings parallel to each other while I refine their fit against the side panels. These are still much oversized, until I get all of the parts to talk to each other handsomely.
 

I intend to trap the laser cut fretwork in rabbets as shown here:
 

I now need to create an accurate pattern of the shape between the two railings, to draw the fretwork and filigrees for Chuck. The saga continues!
 
Mark
 
 

Thanks a lot, Mike.
Believe me, that really annoyed me too. Especially since you spend a lot of money on these aftermarket kits, which makes it even more frustrating.
I would be very happy to see a little twin of my ship in one of your build reports.
 
Preparing the interior of the wheelhouses proved to be a real challenge. After a few setbacks and starting over, it finally worked.
And the many helpful tips from users in all the forums where I post my build logs contributed greatly to the success.
But now, on to the forward wheelhouse.
There was much more space here than at the stern, and I could really let my creativity flow.
You probably know how it is. Making and preparing repetitive parts is often a tedious and boring task. But when it comes to arranging them on the model, it’s like Christmas and Easter all rolled into one. That’s when I really enjoy it.
That’s exactly what happened in the Mikasa’s wheelhouse. I arranged the individual parts as shown in the pictures of the museum ship. Again, I positioned them a little further away from the base of the compass mast to save space.
 

 
Officer and sailor on deck and full speed ahead.
 

 
In room two, a sailor I had modified sits in front of the desk. The officer is shouting instructions.
 

 
Let’s put the lid on and see what else is visible of the whole scene.
 

 
It’s very difficult to get a proper exposure with the camera. Because I have to get the lens very close to the wheelhouse, I’m blocking the light from the work lamp.
 

 
However, I think you can see enough to guess what is going on in the room.
 

Finished the planking below the channel wales, now for the “black” strake ( which on this model happens to be black according to the paintings ) and then the Main wales.
 



 

I was able to attach a lot of the upper
carvings yesterday as well as some trim. All the laser files are dialed in and ready to go. The Taffrail was a bit tricky, made up of two layers of very thin boxwood, it requires a lot of patience.
 
The carvings required some clearance work against the trim as expected, otherwise they fit absolutely perfect.

I have to return to work on Friday so this will probably be the last update on the model for 6 weeks. Will be finishing the stern and lower windows when I return and the rest of chapter 3. Then on to the gun deck!