rtropp

nicely done,
Richard

Hi Jessie,
You cannons look good. I think that the suggestions about sanding or using steel wool should help greatly.  Your cannons are carved nicely and have a great appearance.  Much nicer that the ones supplied.  It is especially nice to see them to scale and happily they still work with the sled supplied. 
 
I am working on turning my own out of boxwood.  I tried a few different ways to paint but was not happy with any of them. At my skill level they looked painted.  So, to try and get a smoother look that kept the detail, I decided to try wood dye.  As I experiment I liked the way it is turning out.  If I look really closely I can see it is wood not brass. 
 
Actually, after a coat of poly it is beginning to look better.  Just for a comparison, I may go back and try painting using the suggestions listed here.  I am experimenting on cannon rejects. The good news is that I have lot to experiment on.  The bad news is that... I have a lot to experiment on :-) 
 
I will be posting the pictures on my build log. Your work has been great to watch and since I am only a bit behind it is very helpful.  
 
Thanks,
Richard

Hello,
 
thank you all for your nice comments and likes. Here now the latest update, I finished the inboard planking with the carvings. Next would be the back of the captains seat.
I'm sorry, but I did't know all these special names. But I hope you could follow me 
 

 

 

Hello,
 
today only a small update. The seat for the captain. 
 

 

 

 

 
Next come the inside planks. With the carvings over two planks, I really do not know how to manage that. At least I have to make the carvings after the planks are installed 
 
But that I left for the next week. 

lovely work siggi

Hi Jessie,
You cannons look good. I think that the suggestions about sanding or using steel wool should help greatly.  Your cannons are carved nicely and have a great appearance.  Much nicer that the ones supplied.  It is especially nice to see them to scale and happily they still work with the sled supplied. 
 
I am working on turning my own out of boxwood.  I tried a few different ways to paint but was not happy with any of them. At my skill level they looked painted.  So, to try and get a smoother look that kept the detail, I decided to try wood dye.  As I experiment I liked the way it is turning out.  If I look really closely I can see it is wood not brass. 
 
Actually, after a coat of poly it is beginning to look better.  Just for a comparison, I may go back and try painting using the suggestions listed here.  I am experimenting on cannon rejects. The good news is that I have lot to experiment on.  The bad news is that... I have a lot to experiment on :-) 
 
I will be posting the pictures on my build log. Your work has been great to watch and since I am only a bit behind it is very helpful.  
 
Thanks,
Richard

Hi Jessie,
You cannons look good. I think that the suggestions about sanding or using steel wool should help greatly.  Your cannons are carved nicely and have a great appearance.  Much nicer that the ones supplied.  It is especially nice to see them to scale and happily they still work with the sled supplied. 
 
I am working on turning my own out of boxwood.  I tried a few different ways to paint but was not happy with any of them. At my skill level they looked painted.  So, to try and get a smoother look that kept the detail, I decided to try wood dye.  As I experiment I liked the way it is turning out.  If I look really closely I can see it is wood not brass. 
 
Actually, after a coat of poly it is beginning to look better.  Just for a comparison, I may go back and try painting using the suggestions listed here.  I am experimenting on cannon rejects. The good news is that I have lot to experiment on.  The bad news is that... I have a lot to experiment on :-) 
 
I will be posting the pictures on my build log. Your work has been great to watch and since I am only a bit behind it is very helpful.  
 
Thanks,
Richard

Hi Jessie,
You cannons look good. I think that the suggestions about sanding or using steel wool should help greatly.  Your cannons are carved nicely and have a great appearance.  Much nicer that the ones supplied.  It is especially nice to see them to scale and happily they still work with the sled supplied. 
 
I am working on turning my own out of boxwood.  I tried a few different ways to paint but was not happy with any of them. At my skill level they looked painted.  So, to try and get a smoother look that kept the detail, I decided to try wood dye.  As I experiment I liked the way it is turning out.  If I look really closely I can see it is wood not brass. 
 
Actually, after a coat of poly it is beginning to look better.  Just for a comparison, I may go back and try painting using the suggestions listed here.  I am experimenting on cannon rejects. The good news is that I have lot to experiment on.  The bad news is that... I have a lot to experiment on :-) 
 
I will be posting the pictures on my build log. Your work has been great to watch and since I am only a bit behind it is very helpful.  
 
Thanks,
Richard

Hi Jessie,
You cannons look good. I think that the suggestions about sanding or using steel wool should help greatly.  Your cannons are carved nicely and have a great appearance.  Much nicer that the ones supplied.  It is especially nice to see them to scale and happily they still work with the sled supplied. 
 
I am working on turning my own out of boxwood.  I tried a few different ways to paint but was not happy with any of them. At my skill level they looked painted.  So, to try and get a smoother look that kept the detail, I decided to try wood dye.  As I experiment I liked the way it is turning out.  If I look really closely I can see it is wood not brass. 
 
Actually, after a coat of poly it is beginning to look better.  Just for a comparison, I may go back and try painting using the suggestions listed here.  I am experimenting on cannon rejects. The good news is that I have lot to experiment on.  The bad news is that... I have a lot to experiment on :-) 
 
I will be posting the pictures on my build log. Your work has been great to watch and since I am only a bit behind it is very helpful.  
 
Thanks,
Richard

Hi Jessie,
You cannons look good. I think that the suggestions about sanding or using steel wool should help greatly.  Your cannons are carved nicely and have a great appearance.  Much nicer that the ones supplied.  It is especially nice to see them to scale and happily they still work with the sled supplied. 
 
I am working on turning my own out of boxwood.  I tried a few different ways to paint but was not happy with any of them. At my skill level they looked painted.  So, to try and get a smoother look that kept the detail, I decided to try wood dye.  As I experiment I liked the way it is turning out.  If I look really closely I can see it is wood not brass. 
 
Actually, after a coat of poly it is beginning to look better.  Just for a comparison, I may go back and try painting using the suggestions listed here.  I am experimenting on cannon rejects. The good news is that I have lot to experiment on.  The bad news is that... I have a lot to experiment on :-) 
 
I will be posting the pictures on my build log. Your work has been great to watch and since I am only a bit behind it is very helpful.  
 
Thanks,
Richard

Hi Jessie,
You cannons look good. I think that the suggestions about sanding or using steel wool should help greatly.  Your cannons are carved nicely and have a great appearance.  Much nicer that the ones supplied.  It is especially nice to see them to scale and happily they still work with the sled supplied. 
 
I am working on turning my own out of boxwood.  I tried a few different ways to paint but was not happy with any of them. At my skill level they looked painted.  So, to try and get a smoother look that kept the detail, I decided to try wood dye.  As I experiment I liked the way it is turning out.  If I look really closely I can see it is wood not brass. 
 
Actually, after a coat of poly it is beginning to look better.  Just for a comparison, I may go back and try painting using the suggestions listed here.  I am experimenting on cannon rejects. The good news is that I have lot to experiment on.  The bad news is that... I have a lot to experiment on :-) 
 
I will be posting the pictures on my build log. Your work has been great to watch and since I am only a bit behind it is very helpful.  
 
Thanks,
Richard

Hi Jessie,
You cannons look good. I think that the suggestions about sanding or using steel wool should help greatly.  Your cannons are carved nicely and have a great appearance.  Much nicer that the ones supplied.  It is especially nice to see them to scale and happily they still work with the sled supplied. 
 
I am working on turning my own out of boxwood.  I tried a few different ways to paint but was not happy with any of them. At my skill level they looked painted.  So, to try and get a smoother look that kept the detail, I decided to try wood dye.  As I experiment I liked the way it is turning out.  If I look really closely I can see it is wood not brass. 
 
Actually, after a coat of poly it is beginning to look better.  Just for a comparison, I may go back and try painting using the suggestions listed here.  I am experimenting on cannon rejects. The good news is that I have lot to experiment on.  The bad news is that... I have a lot to experiment on :-) 
 
I will be posting the pictures on my build log. Your work has been great to watch and since I am only a bit behind it is very helpful.  
 
Thanks,
Richard

Thanks for all the supportive comments and Likes!
 
When I started on the sleds he parts did not get cut through very good & most of them broke in the process. Made a template to keep all the eye bolts in the same place on all of them. Got them all done & ready for the carronades.
 
Jesse

And here is the re-worked scroll.
 

 
 
 
 

Thank you Albert and Druxey.  And also thanks for all the likes.  
 
The next thing to attack was the drift rail and their scrolls.  This is the topmost decorative rail and runs on the top edge of the frieze.  It is interrupted by the channel brackets and swivel gun mounts.  It is made in the usual fashion with the pattern carved into a razor blade.  Now it gets interesting. The rail drops down between the fifth and sixth gunports.  A rounded corner was needed to accommodate this drop.  There is nothing terribly difficult about this or the scrolls.  It is time consuming and fiddly but not hard to accomplish.  I traced the shape on a wood blank and scraped the straight section with the razor.  Then I carved the corner piece with tiny chisels and needle files.  I would suggest to anyone doing this to make the vertical limb over-long at this point as it is prone to tear-out.  One the shape was correct I fit it to the lower section of rail already in place with a 45 degree miter. 
 
The scrolls were approached similarly.  The shape was traced out on a blank and roughly shaped with chisels and an eleven blade.  This blank was glued onto the back of a piece of sandpaper.  The sandpaper helped prevent slippage on my cutting board during the shaping process.  The straight section was scraped and the scroll was cut in.  The thickness of the scroll diminishes as it drops down and increases again at the "ball".  For the aft scroll this means that from 11:00 to 6:00 the thickness tapers in and from 6:00 to 3:00 it tapers out to the original thickness.  Sorry about the picture quality.  They actually look better than the pictures suggest.
 

 

 

Drilling out and shaping the rings that the elevation screws will be in. Sanding toothpicks down to make the elevation screws. Drilling small holes & gluing metal eyebolts for the breech line rings. Haven't completed these steps on all the carronades yet but showed the pics for the few that I have so far.
 
Making & painting the sleds, pics coming......   Also have to make lugs & add them to the bottom of each carronade.
 
Jesse
 
 

This part that I'm working on now is probably one of the most relaxing parts I've done.  I think I've chilled out on things.  
 
The drops... they not only have their shape when viewed from the side, but also have to sit flush to the hull and also have to be rounded to match the gallery.  Then there's the outside shape from top to bottom which I can only describe as a rounded bevel.  Thick at the top, thin at the bottom.
 
Here's some pics of the work in progress.  I'm making both at the same time to shoot for uniformity  I started with blanks cut to the shape when viewed from the side. I then set up the scroll saw with sanding blades instead of cutting blades and did the fit to the hull.   I'm currently doing the shape from side to side to match the gallery.
 
Here's pictures of the process (not complete as I forgot to fire up the camera in between tossing some in the scrap box and starting over.  
 
First.. rear view to show the fit to the hull.

 
Side view to show the shape and fit to the gallery.

 
Lastly, the rounding to match the gallery.   Being cheap frugal, I have some 120 grit Olsen Sanding Blades that I've turned around and stuck a strip of 100 grit stickyback to.  Works like a charm.

 
More when I get the final shape done and after finessing the final fit.

It's taken longer than I thought to get to this point.  I had a minor issue with wood that had defects unseen from the surface, but that goes with the territory and then also quite a bit going on in "life".   There will be another pause coming up for Janet's surgeries, but for the most part, that will just entail my keeping an eye on things during the recovery process.
 
The first drop is essentially finished except for some minor touch up (and the carvings...).  I've finessed it to fit the hull and the molding and it just needs a bit of touch up on the sweeping curve from top to bottom before gluing into place.  The other side is finessed into place and just needs the final shaping to get the curve and then any touch up work.
 
Once these are done, I'll post both sides and a stern shot. I'll need stern shot anyway for my records and to check for uniformity.
 
I won't be applying any finish for now until the wood has a chance to age and regain some of it's patina.  
 
Here's the photos...
 

 

I forgot to add the picture of the corner.  Here it is.
 

 
 

Not too much has gotten accomplished on Atalanta these last few weeks.  Two weeks ago she took a trip to the Midwest Model Ship Show in Manitowoc Wisconsin.  Bill Maxwell's magnificent Fly and Atalanta were displayed next to each other as works in progress.  Last week was spent in the garden.  This week it rained so much I was able to put in a little quality modeling time. Next week all the weeds will have grown like...weeds!
 

 
The standards and most of the eyebolts have been added to the main and mizzen channels.  The iron supports for the main studding sail boom are fixed to the main channel.  These are a gooseneck and an eyestrap.  My apologies for lack of photos-in-progress but the camera was not available until after completion.  These are straightforward pieces to fabricate.  The straps taper in thickness outboard to in.  The "neck" on the gooseneck is a piece of brass tubing cut in half and silver soldered to the strap.  There is a step on the eyestrap which was made by soldering an extra piece of brass to the undersurface and filing down the top to form the step. They are bolted to the channel.
 

 

 
There are eight swivel gun mounts, three on the forecastle and five on the quarterdeck. Although identical in configuration, each one is different in length.  I started with a 9" square stock and milled the top part into an octagon.  Then, based on the plan, the final length of the octagonal section was determined and cut by hand.  There is a shoulder transitioning between the square and octagonal sections and this was made with a file.  The square section tapers at the foot except where it abuts the hull.  It is installed perpendicular to the waterline and secured with two bolts.
 
There is a reinforcing strap and socket which accepts the mount for the swivel gun.  In real life, this is recessed into the gun mount.  In 1:48 life, this was made of acid free paper which was dyed with a archival black pen.  I attempted to make a decent appearing hoop but decided the only way to get an octagonal hoop was to also use paper, wrapped three times around the gun mount to get the correct thickness (0.5").  I have also finally cut off the top timbers flush with the rail.  I left them long to protect the top of the ship.  Now, on the port side, the gun mounts will perform the same duty.  They have temporarily been kept long on the starboard side.
 

 

This tung oil  has not been heated to promote partial polymerization to cure faster. What happens if I open the bottle which lasted a couple of years?

The previous set of picture was taken with a small web camera.

Second deck

Good Luck,
Richard

Finally after a longer than expected delay for multiple reasons I have got my carronades turned. They still look messy at this point. I tried putting a coat of paint on some before they were sanded down to the right thickness so some of them show traces of paint. The earlier ones I cut off without thinking about the big ring on the back. After a few of these I made sure I left enough wood sticking out to file out the rings.
 
Two of the kit supplied metal ones are laying beside them as a comparison. The ones without them I shaped out a ring plug in wood, drilled a hole & glued it in.
 
The holes still need to be drilled out of the rings and the lugs still need to be added. The barrel holes still need to be drilled out too but they are moving along now!
 
Jesse