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Glen McGuire

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Everything posted by Glen McGuire

  1. Glen McGuire
    I made a couple of bamboo skewer "way back tools" as in tools that will reach way back into the bottle. It took a while, but I finally got the gaff and mizzen sail delicately positioned in a reasonable spot where much of the sail's top edge was touching the gaff. Holding my breath, I put a dab of epoxy on the tip of one of the way back tools and managed to apply it to the sail and gaff without disturbing the position of either. Whew! As with so many things, it's not perfect, but I think it looks passable. Of course I will see it every time I look at the ship, but like Mark said, there's a lot of other stuff going on so it's doubtful anyone else will notice.
  2. Glen McGuire
    Thanks, Pat. Yes, definitely frustrating but always expected. If the insertion process ever went perfectly smooth, I think I'd have a stroke!! By the way, I just noticed your profile picture and realized that's very similar to what I'm doing for this display base. I went and reviewed your Battle Station gallery images. Well done! Very impressive work!!
  3. Glen McGuire
    Thank you, Mark! You make a good point. Here's what it looks like from a normal view. Not too bad. I will try and do some kind of fix but if I cannot your point is well taken.
  4. Glen McGuire
    Thank you, Grant! I appreciate your confidence in my repair skills. Just wish I didn't have to use them so often! Thank you, Keith. Same comment as above to Grant! Thank you, Grandpa Phil!
  5. Glen McGuire
    What an awesome build! Congrats on a really superb job!!
  6. Glen McGuire
    WOOHOO! I got the wadded up mess of a ship in the bottle and epoxied in place. Actually, it should be a muted woohoo since there are a couple of issues to work out before calling it a win. Somehow I snapped a pull thread that was attached the fore mast. By a stroke of luck, the end of the thread was lying in the neck of the bottle and not buried in some unreachable place on the ship or water (2nd pic). So I carefully CA glue-spliced another thread to it using wax paper on top and bottom to keep it from sticking to anything else. Whew! The next hour was spent carefully untangling the turmoil of threads, yards, and sails so I could begin raising the masts. After finally raising the masts I spotted problem #2 - the thread securing the top corner of the mizzen sail to the gaff was broken (see last pic). That one is hard to reach (and hard to hide) so I'm not sure yet how I'll fix it. I spent another hour working all the braces to position the yards and sails where I wanted them. Next up is sealing all the threads running the the bowsprit and then cutting them off. I gotta do that without cutting all the bowsprit rigging, which is always a problem for me.
  7. Glen McGuire
    Great work with the paint scheme. What is that thimble-looking thing you are using to hold the ship?
  8. Glen McGuire
    How the sausage is made is never pretty, but it's so good when it's done! I'm still in love with that base! Just a perfect complement.
  9. Glen McGuire
    After the epoxy resin finally hardened, I added some texture with acrylic paint and then some whitecaps. This 2-step process for adding water to the bottle was easy and clean. Plus, I like the results. So I believe this will be my technique going forward. All of this means the moment of truth is now at hand. My test smash was extremely tight. It took me 30 minutes to work everything into a position where it would fit, which is about 10 minutes more than I've got before the epoxy sets. Hopefully I'll be faster the 2nd time around. So the next post will either be a thrill of victory of agony of defeat. Time to steady the nerves and git r done!
  10. Glen McGuire
    Also while waiting for the water to dry (that sounds weird doesn't it?), I worked on the base which is supposed to look like a deck with a partial bulwark where the cannon barrel will protrude.
  11. Glen McGuire
    Oh my gosh, Keith. I am so sorry to hear this news. That is definitely not the way life is supposed to happen. I will be praying for you and your family. May your faith in God carry you through this unthinkable tragedy.
  12. Glen McGuire
    Hey Joe - this is the 2nd time I'm trying the epoxy resin. The 1st was the Aurora and I did not have any bubble problems. I have no idea why. I didn't do anything but pour it slowly and carefully into the bottle and let it sit for 4-5 days in a well-ventilated room (it takes a long time to get anything to dry inside the bottle). Looking at it right now, I don't see any bubbles with this one either. Maybe because it's really shallow or my surface area is pretty small? Or maybe just beginner's luck? Wish I had a secret method to share!
  13. Glen McGuire
    Got the epoxy resin water added to the bottle. I include the 1st picture below for just for @Joe100 since he said he also uses pieces of railroad rail to hold things in place. When the resin dries, I will try and add some texture to the flat water by swishing around a little bit of acrylic paint. Hopefully I can do that without making a big freakin mess inside the bottle. While waiting for the resin to dry I made some grappling hooks for the cannon carriage tackle. 12 gauge copper wire bent into shape and spray painted.
  14. Glen McGuire
    Hey Gregg, a warm welcome from about 700 miles south on I35 from you.
  15. Glen McGuire
    Hey Deep Diver, welcome to MSW!
  16. Glen McGuire
    Well, when I posted above that the ship build was complete, that was fake news. Somehow, I forgot to attach the stay sails. I discovered them this morning, sitting in a small bin next to some misc scraps waiting to be discarded. Lucky I had not started any real cleanup yet. Anyway, they are in place now.
  17. Glen McGuire
    I hope that penguin has been on a diet, Keith!! As usual, it's going to be a very tight squeeze.
  18. Glen McGuire
    Since the last post, I added the bowsprit and split dolphin striker rigging. Next was attaching the all the sails to the yards (with my attempt at doing a semi-furl for the lower sails on the main and fore masts like the painting in post #112). And finally, I added all the braces and ran their lines thru the lowest hole in the bowsprit. That should allow me to adjust the yards/sails to their final positions once I raise the masts inside the bottle. So the ship build is now complete! WOOHOO! But that also means the always nerve-wracking moment of truth is near. I'll start work on the water inside the bottle next. Then do a test smash.
  19. Glen McGuire
    What they said!!!
  20. Glen McGuire
    I appreciate that! And I appreciate all tips/suggestions/critiques/etc! I may not use every one of them but they all make me think of different approaches or techniques and that helps me get better at this stuff!
  21. Glen McGuire
    Thanks, Keith! For cutting the ratlines, I do have a pair of those diagonal wire cutters which I used to use. But I also read a while back about someone who was using cuticle trimmers for tiny, tight spaces. I got a pair, tried them, and found they work even better on the super-thin fly tying thread. They cut sharp and clean, even at the very tip, so they are easy to maneuver in the tiny spaces between the ratlines. I know my ratlines extend beyond the shrouds a hair, but that's my margin of error to make sure I don't screw up and snip the shrouds, which would lead to loud shouting/cursing/throwing things and probably a call from the neighbors!
  22. Glen McGuire
    OMG! That is funny! I'd hand carve a herd of .5mm penguins before I'd try to rig those deck cannons!!!
  23. Glen McGuire
    While impatiently waiting for the glue on the ratlines to dry, I went back to the cannon carriage and made a couple of single and double sheave blocks. I'm trying to replicate the blocks in the first pic.
  24. Glen McGuire
    Spent the last few days making the channels, stringing the lower shrouds, and attaching the lower ratlines. Also, if you get close enough to your computer screen and squint hard enough, you can see 2 middle stanchions I added to the hammock netting on each side.
  25. Glen McGuire
    Seriously? Wow. I would have never imagined that. Based on the quality of the build, I assumed you had been doing this for many, many years. I was impressed before, now I am in awe!!

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