Jump to content
New Banner Ad Sponsor - Epic Engravers - Great plank bending machine (also bends thin metal sheets) and unique engraved coins to label your model displays! ×

dvm27

NRG Member
  • Posts

    2,407
  • Joined

  • Last visited

About dvm27

  • Birthday 04/05/1954

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Baltimore, MD
  • Interests
    17th and 18th century naval architecture

Recent Profile Visitors

9,840 profile views
  1. I know what you mean Mike. Looking over the framing, knees, etc of Constitution and Constellation I am awed by both the size and fit of the massive timbers. That they were able to piece these timbers together with hand tools and simple rigging makes me marvel at their craftsmenship.
  2. That's a flawless collaberation between you and Chuck. If you were going for that contemporary ivory look you nailed it!
  3. Beautiful work fellow Greg. The oscillating spindle sander is one of my favorite tools. I also make extensive use of a mini light box to show the low spots when mating these curved surfaces.
  4. Great job Chris! It looks like those frames should fair in nicely. Your photograph reminds me of the famous Egmont model by John Franklin (Model Shipwright series) in which he assembles, fairs then separates the solid hull and reduces the frames to achieve the Navy Board appearance. His method is not commonly used (except by miniaturists) but seems to have many advantages over the way we currently build them.
  5. Very nice rudder! I'm always surprised how small the French rudders were compared to English warships of the era. I wonder how much (if any) the steering capabilities were affected?
  6. It's looking great Clare. I found her sister, Speedwell, very easy to rig. As I recall the Wolf rigging plan provided was very good. As well, you can find excellent rigging instructions in our Speedwell, Vol. 2. She does have a rather nice lofty rig so your display space will need to double perhaps.
  7. I think silk rigging looks beautiful and I know many of the Navy Board models were rigged this way. I have also seen silken robes from previous centuries and they look fine (perhaps because they are preserved in a museum). But I now read that while silk can survive decades they start to deteriorate through a process called "shattering" (the short cross threads become unwoven) at around 60 years. Perhaps this appears in garments only and not laid up rope? But I am fairly certain that no restorer in 2300 will be able to replicate Johann's magnificent work here if the rigging starts to deteriorate.
  8. Spot on Chris. The rabbet transition is particularly well executed!
  9. What a delight it was for David Antscherl and myself to stumble upon this model after the NE Ship Modelers Conference. I have his books but the model in person is even more impressive. I wonder what Ed is up to now?
  10. I had a similar problem with the decade long build of my Swan class model. My earlier work was not as good as later on and some of those came rookie inaccuracies came back to haunt me as the project progressed. Have a great holiday. Oh, to be 60 again!
  11. Nice video on blackening Kevin. Some random thoughts - I use either alcohol or acetone as a degreaser. Also, keep in mind that brass is an alloy and, depending on the composition, some brass is much more difficult to blacken. For large groups of pieces I find that pickling first makes a difference in the blackening and uniformity of the finish. For small pieces you can use a paint brush to polish them in a deep tupperware piece so they don't fly away. Polishing prevents the finish from transfering to surrounding pieces and evens out the finish. Finally, while it's easier to blacken the Swan PE sheet whole don't you find that you still have to blacken the cut edges after removal from the sheet?
  12. In our office pharmacy we use a pill counting app on our cell phones. It works great for similar sized pills (or objects). You obviously wouldn't use it for small groups but for packages of >10 it might be a useful app.
  13. Here's a jig that can be made out of heavy card or aircraft ply. It's not my design but solves the spacing problem between the deadeyes.
×
×
  • Create New...