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Good morning.

Rob
    I don't know how Doris cuts them, but a simple method that I employ is the use of an inexpensive rotary cutter.  If you look in my build log in the plastic kits under the whaler Wanderer dated June 8, I illustrated how it is easily accomplished with this tool. 
    As to the hair dryer, according to Doris, it helps improve the adhesion of the foils.  From my experience with her methods, this does seem to be the case.

That is one fiddly piece of trim to make!  Not only does it have to follow the double curve of the hull, but also had to have notches cut to match.  Did you wrap it with three separate pieces of foil or just one?  If it was one piece, how did you avoid having the foil on the two sides bunch up when making the foil go over the curved surface of the trim? 

Of course, all of us do realize that paper is merely a by product of wood anyway, right?  

Doris, while you do have some good sculpting technique, I feel that you must have more than that.  You seem to have a very artistic flair when it comes to making these figures.  Did you ever have any formal artistic schooling or is this a skill that you come by naturally? 
    In either case you are very accomplished at it.  While your ship models themselves are excellent, your skill at sculpting is really exceptional!   Personally, I have had a bit of art schooling, but it is more of the two dimensional variety, while your work in three dimensions is another thing entirely.  I think one has to have some natural talent to see and shape things in 3 rather than 2 dimensions.  Sadly I don't, but none the less I can see by your work that you do.
    Keep up the good work, I really enjoy seeing your progress on your ship, as I'm sure the rest of us at MSW would agree.

Hi Johann. Out standing job sir and the scissor lift looks good. I built mine a few years ago and the only item that I purchase to build it was the electrical actuators and power supply which were less then 75 dollars I believe. You can find good ones on ebay and amazon. I used the wood that I had in the shop and I believe that was plywood. Has come in real handy and am always moving it up or down to just to get the right height. I wanted to buy one but like JD said, they are very expensive.  Since then I have put wheel's on it that fold up when am not moving it around which came from Rockler.  Gary

I am currently researching methods of making sails from paper (since any cloth would be much to heavy for this small scale) for my 1:96 MS Phantom.  To date I have experimented with several different methods, but am not entirely satisfied with the results. 
    As I was looking at your "harbor", I realized that quite a few of your ships have sails.  Since I assume that you make your sails with some type of paper and that you are a very skilled at modeler in this medium, I wondered if you have any info available for the method that you use.    

As intricate as your models are, and the fact that you have so many of them, how do you manage to keep them all from collecting dust? Is this room off limits from your feathered friends? (We only have one bird and he can put out a lot of dander, especially when he is molting .)

Was looking back at your Royal Caroline build log and can see that your current build is just more of the same exquisite workmanship!  You really pay attention to the smallest details, as can be seen by the flag at the stern of the Royal Caroline where you even detailed the truck of the flag pole.  Now, that is one detail that I have very seldom seen addressed in such a small scale!
    I showed the video at the end of that build to my wife (who seems to think I'm kind of nuts  to put in all the small details that I try to incorporate into my ships) and she was astonished to see the level of detail that you included.  She was particularly impressed by all of the interior details down to the paintings on the walls and the watermelon slices on the table!
   I still have a hard time believing that these are built with card stock!  Anyone should be able to see now that this build of the Katherine is just a continuation of your skills that frankly tell me that your ships deserve to be in a museum!  

Hi Doris
    What is your source for these foil strips?  Are these part of your card ship kit or can they be ordered separately?  The reason I ask is, on my current build log for my hybrid (as Jesse calls it) whaling bark Wanderer,  the inside of the bulwarks as you can see here are just smooth plastic. 
 

I was thinking of lining them with a wood veneer to give it the impression of wood but am unable to get anything nearly thin enough to not bring the facing beyond the inside edge of the main rail.  These strips that you are using could maybe do the job.
Thanks

Did I hear someone mention paper?
 
 

That's not too surprising when you stop and think about it.  Basically they're taking out all of the voids in the wood cells, adding a binder and putting it under tremendous pressure when it's rolled out, making it much denser.  While one sheet of paper seems to weigh nothing by itself,  just try lifting a ream of 500 sheets!  
      Your ship is very well detailed for being a card model.  The wood graining varies enough to make it look like individual wood planks.  That's one reason that I like to build solid or built up hulls with individual planks applied to them. 
       Hopefully your two feathered assistants don't get too interested in your ship and try to add their own touches to it.  Our Parrotlet would like nothing more than to gnaw that paper up a bit.  Hope you're feeling better soon.

North Link Ferry 'Hrossey' passing The Old Man of Hoy. We sailed to and returned from Shetland aboard this ship a few weeks ago. W/C 16.5” X 11..74”
 

@shipman
Thank you very much for the appreciation, 
and all ohters für the LIKES.
With unwavering perseverance and joy, here we go:
 
Continuation: Main topgallant stay - Étai grand mât de perroquet
Analogous to the mizzen topgallant stay, the main topgallant stay (ø 0.58 mm in 1:48 scale) is made and fixed, but it is not guided to the main top by a single block, but by a guide collar with integrated thimble.
The guide collar, consisting of a leg strop (ø 0.35 mm in model scale 1:48) with eye splices at the ends, was completely served. The following picture shows the serving machine with the finished stropp, into which the thimble was subsequently bound.

 
The next picture shows the finished arrangement of the main topgallant stay.

 
The leading collar is attached with a lashing around the main topgallant mast.
Before I could attach the main topgallant stay to the model, however, a small area had to be served where the lead-through is through the thimble of the guide collar. The main topgallant stay did not need this serving, because it was led through a block disk and therefore there was less danger of falling into the pubic.
 
Source: Atlas du Génie Maritime, Annexe Pl. 1
 
Finally, the lashing was made and the main topgallant stay was fixed to the two-legged strop in the top.

 

 

 
See you soon 

'Runic' with Schooner w/c 16.5” X11.75”

A fantastic model project, but the first thought I had upon seeing it was, keeping that gun in ammunition must have been a back-breaker.

John
    Seeing your build log on this war canoe reminded me of a model that I saw while vacationing on Maui many years ago.  My wife was occupied in a jewelry kiosk in a small mall just outside of Lahaina.  I continued wandering around until I noticed a model of an old ship in a store window that the Polynesians used to get to Hawaii.
    It was in a shop window so I could only view it thru the glass, but I thought it looked interesting enough to take a few photos of it anyway.  I could not tell exactly how large the actual ship was or what scale was used to model it.  I talked to the store owner but he only seemed to know that it apparently was made by some local craftsman who claimed that his ancestors sailed there in just such a vessel and he built it as described to him by his grandfather.  Who can say for sure, as there were so few written records and most of their history was handed down in stories handed down from their ancestors.
    I remembered taking the photos, but it took quite a bit of searching to find them again. (no digital cameras back then) Perhaps it would be something to inspire you to build since you do seem to have an interest in such vessels. It appears to be constructed of lashed logs rather that dug out tree trunks like your war canoe. Here are the photos that I took back in November 1985. (Our second of 10 trips to our favorite destination)
Dave

Done yesterday and this afternoon , based on HMCS Montreal and HMCS Skeena 16.5” X 11.75”

How about this paperback book that was put out when the Constitution was celebrating her 200th anniversary from her launching in 1797.

 
This book covers her from her design to her present state of preservation, including all the major and minor reconstructions.

It includes detail drawings like this throughout.

    There are also several color prints of her in action including her living room sized main fighting top.
     At a cost of only $22 I found the 239 page book to be a very informative guide when I built the Revell version that's currently still in drydock after a fall that pretty much dismasted her when impacting the floor of my garage.   I've never repaired her, but didn't have the heart to throw it out as I still may fix her up.  Maybe someday.......

I made some progress on the bowsprit assembly. I turned bowsprit, jibboom and flying jibboom out of bass wood, which was especially selected for very little grain. As all pieces are pretty fragile the shaping on the lathe was done with sand paper held between two fingers to apply equal pressure from both sides (image 1). The result is shown in image 2. The details like sheaves, bee blocks, cleats were done following the Syren instruction book. The lead plate for the sling saddle (image 3) was simulated with a piece of photo paper painted lead gray and ‘metalized’ by buffing it with ‘Grimy Black’ from ‘Doc O’Brian’s’ weathering powders (Micro-Mark). Image 4 shows most of the details in place as well as the dolphin striker. The latter was made out of box wood for stability. Image 5 shows the dolphin striker and the Jack staff mounted and painted. I used the staples for both parts to fix them in their place. I also made the bowsprit cap out of box wood. The holes in the bass wood version included in the kit were too large for my jibboom, and they did not take the angle of about 20° into account. Image 6 presents how I simulated the leather lining for the jibboom. A piece of paper was painted with several coats of enamel leather color and fixed around a wooden dowel turned to the diameter of the jibboom at the location where it crossed the bowsprit cap. This arrangement was sanded to an angle of 20° on both sides, slotted on both ends with an Exacto knife, and mounted on the jibboom at the appropriate location.  This of course was a bit tricky 😉. Once the jibboom was glued in place, the little pieces resulting from the slotting were bent upwards and glued to the bowsprit cap with white glue, which could be cleaned up with water (hence the enamel leather color in order to prevent the paper from dissolving). The result is shown in images 7 and 8.
 
Thomas
 

Image 1
 

Image 2
 

Image 3
 

Image 4
 

Image 5
 

Image 6
 

Image 7
 

Image 8
 
 

Hello,
I am very happy about the extremely nice comments from all of you and the many LIKES.
That of course motivates me a lot and gives me the feeling of being part of a really great community that pursues the same interests. Thanks again for that.
 
Continuation: Mizzen topgallant stay - Étai mât de perruche 
As already reported on this topic some time ago (LINK), the monograph by J. Boudriot does not reveal in detail how the mizzen topgallant stay was attached. In this respect, I orientated myself on examples from relevant literature.
Before attaching the stay (model rope ø 0.46 mm), its length must be determined on the model, as it is guided over a single block (length 4 mm) and integrating the thimble on the model is not necessarily recommended.

 
The next picture shows the finished mizzen topgallant stay and the two-legged sling (counterpart for the lanyard lashing), which is attached to the trestle trees.

 
The lanyard for the lashing to fix the mizzen topgallant stay was set up with a simplified splice or fake splice (unfortunately I don't know the English name).

 

 
In the last picture you can see the finished lanyard lashing. A corresponding enlargement in the cut-out at the top left.

 
Sequel follows … 

Good morning.

Thank you all for commenting . Haven’t been doin much lately. Did this book cover for a friend. The original was taken to Canada by RCN Minesweeper along with a rare Corvette's skiff , discovered in the boat shed in Portsmouth Dock yard 

HMS Gentian

Good morning.