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Der Alte Rentner

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About Der Alte Rentner

  • Birthday December 7

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Green Oaks, Illinois
  • Interests
    Woodworking, piano/keyboards, motorcycling, bicycling, swimming, and not outliving my savings...

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  1.    Cleat reacted to a post in a topic: Chris-Craft 1938 27’ Triple Cockpit Barrel Back by usedtosail - FINISHED - Dumas - 1/24
  2.    GGibson reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  3. Der Alte Rentner
    Eyebrows fabricated. Belaying pin decision made.
  4.    Der Alte Rentner reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  5.    Geoff Matson reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  6.    mtbediz reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  7.    Der Alte Rentner reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by GGibson - Model Shipways - 1:76.8
  8.    Der Alte Rentner reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  9.    Stevenleehills reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  10.    Stevenleehills reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  11.    Stevenleehills reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  12. Der Alte Rentner
    I was wondering if I should try to emulate the concave curves on the bottoms of the eyebrows. That's how the parts in the kit are shaped, as is the curtain in the bottom photo you supplied, Jon. However, the top photo suggests that I can leave well enough alone, as that curtain bottom is quite straight. P.S. I was glad to see that the gun deck cannons are protruding well out of the closed lids. I was thinking perhaps they looked odd that way on my build. Now I'm considering producing red plugs with stars in the center. Geez, do I have too much time on my hands? 🤔 Lastly, I didn't include the first photo you provided above, but that one shows the chain plate, deadeye, and channel details quite nicely. These are on the to do list for the coming weeks.
  13.    Unegawahya reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  14.    Unegawahya reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  15.    Unegawahya reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  16.    Der Alte Rentner reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  17. Der Alte Rentner
    The experiment with the paint was a complete failure. I'm not going to bother with photographs on that.. I revisited the Boxwood curtains (meaning I fabricated another 30 plus blanks, this time 1/16" (1.6mm) thick) and got almost spot on to the dimensions of the Britannia pieces. The bit was perilously close to the vise on the final cut, but production begins after I post this entry. They will be stained to match the planking behind them. Thanks again to Mustafa for sharing his technique.
  18. Der Alte Rentner
    Gregg, I agree with you about KISS principle. (..and with Jon, about consistency of color.) My problem is, I think my wooden eyebrows are still too thick. I don't know if I can get them down to 1.4 mm in total thickness. So, I'm going to the paint store now to see about getting the exact same brown as the stain, and painting the Britannia parts that color as my final test. It might actually be quicker for me to deal with metal then mess around with 30 wooden curtains on the milling machine. P.S. had I known that my choice of going with a "natural" finish was going to pose this many problems, I might have opted for the black/white theme, like everyone else. Oh well..
  19. Der Alte Rentner
    Sorry to interrupt your summer hiatus, Mustafa, but, can you tell me roughly the thickness of this curtain? I tried pounding 1 mm wire and ended up with something like 1.25mm. I'm just trying to decide if my "eye brows" are oversized at 2mm. BTW, The Britannia castings provided by Model Shipways are 1.38 mm. Yours Mine
  20.    Der Alte Rentner reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  21.    Der Alte Rentner reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  22. Der Alte Rentner
    🤔 eyebrows? If so, which ones? Or pass? This one is a definite fail. I used the same stain that's on the planking behind the curtain, but it doesn't take well to the primed metal. I don't like the black underneath the gold rim. Maybe if I switch to the brown paint on the one below? Chocolate brown spray paint. Not half bad actually.. But brass paint looks better. Gold paint. Borrowing a technique from Mustafa, this is Boxwood stained the same as the planking behind the curtain. Unstained.. None of the above. (To be honest, I'm leaning towards this option.) I'll think about it on my ride back home..
  23. Der Alte Rentner
    Purely in terms of scale, I have to agree.
  24. Der Alte Rentner
    Not being able to focus on tasks at hand at the shipyard today, I saw this in your list of finished models and popped over to have a look-see. Quite the accomplishment to knock the entire build off in 10 days. Or did you just post after the fact? Beautiful work, either way.
  25.    Der Alte Rentner reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  26.    Der Alte Rentner reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  27. Der Alte Rentner
    One more decision to make. Which belaying pins to use? I spent some money and got delaying pins from Syren. Here's a close-up of the Model Shipways version up against the Syren pin. In the close up, Syren pins looks more realistic. But to the naked eye, the Model Swipways pins shine (pun intended). If I go for the latter, I'll have to order more, since I hit the supply pretty hard for the quion handles.
  28. Der Alte Rentner
    Now, why didn't I catch this last month? XKen may have an absolutely brilliant approach to stropping blocks! In my idle time, I'm going to try this myself to see if it's as clever as it looks.. I'm researching how best to make chainplates. Since I won't be painting them black, I'll need an approach that keeps the brass looking good. Anyone with links to methods that might fit the bill, please chime in.. .. and as long as I'm soliciting opinions, thoughts? I think I like it. But I'm not 100% sure. Plan B would be to paint the wrinkled part of the eyebrow flat black, leaving the brass colored arch. Plan C would be to try to use the same stain I used for the dark planking.
  29. Der Alte Rentner
    Thank you Gregg. Any thoughts on whether to put a couple of coats of poly on all the brass? Or let them age?
  30.    Der Alte Rentner reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  31.    Der Alte Rentner reacted to a post in a topic: USS Constitution by Der Alte Rentner - Model Shipways - 1/76
  32. Der Alte Rentner
    Another decision made - pin rails before tackles and breech lines. It seemed to me I would have a difficult time positioning the rails once the carronades were glued into place. So, after I completed fabricating the breech lines, I fabricated and installed the pin rails. I finished the tackles and breech lines lines, but I think I'll have to hold off on rigging the guns until I get the cleats installed and make sure I haven't overlooked any eye bolts that need to be placed somewhere on the bulwarks.
  33. Der Alte Rentner
    In your leaving the spa deck open to permit viewing the the gun deck below, is the intention to leave the planking, and I apologize for not having a better word for this, ragged? As far as the carronades are concerned, the beauty of the selection you made is that you bypass the obstacle of the overly wide waterways. Unlike mine, your guns will actually poke through the gun ports. Good choice!
  34. Der Alte Rentner
    You are correct, Haiko, the answer is in my build log. And you don't even have to look that far, just scroll back towards the top of this very page - Posts 759 and 762. The answer is, Ropes of Scale and Syren. For what it's worth, I chose .6 mm beige from Ropes of Scale for the breech line. It's a tight squeeze through the eye bolts, so I treated the tips of the line with C/A glue, let it dry, then sliced at a 45° angle to facilitate a pointy end to pass through the eye in the eye bolt. For the tackles I used .45 mm.
  35. Der Alte Rentner
    As nice as your first planking looks, I don't really think you need much by way of advice to deal with the second planking. I too have sought books on planking techniques and downloaded several articles from the MSW site. In the final analysis, I ended up incorporating techniques gleaned from other build logs. I devoted a lot of space in my build log to planking, as you know because you've seen these. I'm not necessarily holding myself up as the expert in the field, but I think I managed fairly well. Have a second look, and see if that gets you started. You will need a proportional divider and some variation of a spreadsheet, if you want to do proper job of tapering.

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