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Ferrus Manus

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Everything posted by Ferrus Manus

  1. Ferrus Manus
    But hey, at least it doesn't give you cancer as well. Oh wait, it might. Quitting the behavior that's killing you is always a smart decision. Just keep up the fight.
  2. Ferrus Manus
    I've gotten all of the deck fittings and rope work done in the past few days.
  3. Ferrus Manus
    Keith, I am immensely proud of you for your decision to give up smoking. It will vastly improve your quality of life and your overall health as well. Keep up the good work.
  4. Ferrus Manus
    Today, the railings went in. Tomorrow I will work on the miscellaneous fittings. So far, I have been able to keep the "white and black" color scheme pretty spot on for how I wanted it to look. This scheme is based on @Keith Black's Lula.
  5. Ferrus Manus
    I have found that the wood model ship scene (as a more challenging medium for a total beginner, but easier than advanced-level plastic modeling) has far more and far better beginner kits than the plastic scene. A great example that comes to mind is Model Shipways' beginner set, with the Dory, Pram and Lobster Smack.
  6. Ferrus Manus
    I wanted to start him off with plastic kits, as that is the skill set I have and can help him with. I am aware of some of Heller's smaller boats, the ones that come to mind right now are the Sinagot and the Kurun. I have never managed to find a place where the Kurun was available online, for one thing. That leaves us with the Sinagot. I have seen several build logs for the Sinagot, and there are multiple listings on eBay. I have also done some research on French working luggers, and I can say that Heller's Sinagot would need a considerable amount of modification/scratchbuilding to look halfway decent. I am searching for something that he could build relatively easily out of the box. I have found that some of the modern-ish cruising yacht models made by Japanese manufacturers like Otaki are available, and they are extremely varied. They seem to be of a decent quality and relatively easy to build. I may at some point buy myself one of the more complex ones for a fun little project, who knows.
  7. Ferrus Manus
    Keith, I am glad that your doctor is not worried about your condition. Moving forward on the steamboat. I have gotten the upper works painted and glued into place, with the painted deck resting atop it. I have taken all of the railing stanchions and dry-fitted them into their supports in the deck. They will be painted and put in place tomorrow. After that will be either the miscellaneous fittings or the wheelhouse, I have not decided.
  8. Ferrus Manus
    Keith, I'm glad your doctor is not worried. Google has a habit of telling you that you have hours to live, regardless of what symptoms may actually be. I hope and pray for your swift and complete recovery.
  9. Ferrus Manus
    I recently had a conversation with a coworker about model ships. I showed him my current and past projects, and he decided he wanted to at least give scale model shipbuilding a try. He has zero experience with scale modeling or anything close to it. I did my best to explain the core tenets of scale model shipbuilding with the time I had. What are some plastic scale model sailboats/sailing ships that would be good for the complete beginner? Preferably a small subject at a large scale. Any information would be useful.
  10. Ferrus Manus
    I fully expect the unabridged report when it becomes available, as do many of your other shipmates. Take it easy, and rest well.
  11. Ferrus Manus
    Keith, another point- I hope your April 30th went well, and no drastic action was needed.
  12. Ferrus Manus
    Keith, that thing is the work boat to end all work boats. While my interest lies mostly in the 1890's-1900's British sailing work boats, this is also incredibly interesting. It seems to be made from wood and cast parts. For something not much larger than my steamboat, it seems pretty expensive. I have done some significant work on my steamboat, with the middle deck in and some of the upper works partially painted and dry-fitted into place.
  13. Ferrus Manus
    Today, I finished painting the upper works. These are in the characteristic French style of gold-on-blue. It is slightly more subtle than could be expected from French ships of previous decades, but still extremely prominent and would serve a very important purpose. As an anti-piracy vessel, this style of scrollwork and filigree detail would effectively scream "I'm from the French navy, halt in the name of the law!" from large distances. US Coast Guard vessels also have prominent livery for similar reasons.
  14. Ferrus Manus
  15. Ferrus Manus
    In hindsight, tearing the whole beahkead section of the Requin and starting over was absolutely the right thing to do. After repairing and repainting all of the affected pieces, I reglued them onto the ship and filled, sanded and painted over the joint between the beakhead and the hull. The timbers need to be repainted again as the constant handling of the parts has worn down the paint. The next job will probably be painting the stern transom and fixing some of the paintwork on the hull, perhaps followed by the installation of the bowsprit.
  16. Ferrus Manus
    One step forward, two steps back. Something many of you probably don't know is that scale modeling, on rare occasions, makes me angry enough to throw things. This time, after about five failed attempts to get the bow timbers mounted onto the beakhead, I tore the whole thing off of the model and threw it across the room. Here is the result: I am currently attempting to glue one of the timbers back onto the beakhead. Once all four timbers are on and painted, and the paint has been sufficiently cleaned up, I will attempt to mount the whole thing back onto the ship. This is probably what I should have done in the first place. The contact surfaces of all parts are caked in glue residue from nearly half a dozen failed attempts.
  17. Ferrus Manus
    I promise you I haven't given up on this model, I've just temporarily transitioned toward another small model. I have gotten the gratings and hatch painted, with the larger grating modified to accept the anchor cables. Now, I have made an executive decision on this model. This model is being made for and is intended to be viewed by a non-expert. He is a personal friend who is also a college professor. I am a full-time college student (soon to be full-time university student this fall) and I also have a job. Hence, I do not have a ton of time or energy left for modeling. I am well aware of my capabilities as far as scale modeling is concerned. I do not think I will go all out on this model, but instead build it mostly out-of-box until we get to the rigging. That means no (or abridged) gun rigging, no gunport lids outhauls/inhauls, etc. The ship, however, will have a full and complete rig. I know this may come as a shock considering my modus operandi, but I feel like making this model a perfect replica of the real Requin, while possible, is not in the cards this time around. I know fully well that if I wanted to make this Requin a completely accurate model, I could. I choose to be happy with that.
  18. Ferrus Manus
    #616 is now most of the way to being complete, minus the reconsideration of the oar positions and the stand. You see, when I built this little skiff, I encountered a problem I am all too familiar with when building at such a small size- the lesser the size of the contact area, the much less effective most adhesives become. When gluing a plastic (painted) oar to a metal oarlock, one of the only things that works is CA. Having broken off the oars from the oarlocks and the oarlocks from the hull several times, the CA began piling up into an unsightly mess that can be seen in the first few pictures. So, I took the oars off of the oarlocks, sanded and repainted the affected areas, and replaced the oarlocks. Here is the result of my efforts from yesterday and today:
  19. Ferrus Manus
    I'm not quite done with 616, Eric. I plan to give the hull some disgust and abuse, give the bottom of the hull some gloss paint, and a little something special as well.
  20. Ferrus Manus
    The ship's boat is now finished, having gotten oarlocks, oars, and an exterior paint job:
  21. Ferrus Manus
    The boat's ring bolts have been added:
  22. Ferrus Manus
    I made an executive decision regarding the thwarts, and painted the interior.
  23. Ferrus Manus
    I have now made and added the inwales to the boat, and shaved down the frames to the correct height. Afterwards, I made the two thwarts for the boat. The forward thwart is the thwart from which rowing will be done, and its position has been decided on. However, the aft thwart can occupy one of two positions, as shown. Any input would be appreciated. Input regarding the thwarts would be appreciated. I know the boat looks terrible up close and personal, but it's naught but 2 and a half inches long and all inadequacies will disappear when painted. From what I understand, plastic is a much less forgiving medium than wood.
  24. Ferrus Manus
    The vertical portions of the frames have been installed (I don't know the names) which must now be sanded down to the level of the gunwale. The inwales will be added afterwards, and then the boat will be painted. The thwarts will rest upon the inwales. I will fill and sand any ugly portions of the frames before any of this happens.
  25. Ferrus Manus
    The boat's internal framing structure so far:

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