dvm27

It's been awhile but progress has been made!  Jeppe and I are reasonably sure now that we have the bulk of primary material that exists.  So, now I'm in the process of incorporating the new material into the model itself.  The first was to model the doubled frames of the original.   This is important because of the 6 viewing windows which clearly show the framing.  It took me awhile to figure out how to do this.  The problem is that the model has 44 single frames sided at 12" while the original had 56 doubled frames sided (combined) at 18".  What I finally decided to do was to match the portion of the original's 22" center to center which was wood (i.e 82% = 18" / 22").  Thus, the model's 30" center to center needs 24.6" of wood (= 30" x 82%).  I actually achieved slightly less (24") by just doubling the 12" frames already in the model.  The 5 doubled frames an be seen in the photo below.  I still have to insert about 60 little stubs to mimic doubled framing where the frame cuts are visible.
 
The two mast steps can also be seen.  Sources were Crother's American Built ... in the 1850s, Tosti's Young America Vol 1 and numerous postings of Bob Cleek (thanks for the extended 'conversation', Bob).
 
The fresh water tank is shown in the second picture.  Sized at 750 gals, it will rise up just below the deck.  I followed Tosti in modeling the tank and used both Tosti and Crothers to position it.  There is almost no info on these tanks.  As a result, I do not even know how they accessed the fresh water (plumbing pipes? pump with a hose?  buckets?)
 
Lastly, I've gone from flat varnish to low luster.  The response from people who have seen both is very positive. I like it better too!  Detail seems to stand out more clearly.
 
Till next time,
 
Doug

Seriously, Doris? Broad arrow and proof marks on your cannons? I've never seen them on a model before. I believe you just gave Mark S. a heart attack. Truly you are a wonder!

Small world, John. I didn’t recall your MSW connection when I visited the museum last week. That is a very fine model you’re building with only hand tools in plain view of the public!

Bye, thank you luponero and thank you all, more photos.
 





Un Saluto.

External Planking
You will remember from an earlier post that I had raised the question of how long the external planks would have been. A number of sources have shown that originally there would have been about three planks of 12ft for each strake, with normal butt sequencing. I could have tried to do this, but with the frames at only 2mm wide it would have been tricky to get the butts and fixing done well. Also I could have simply scribed where the butt joints would have been. I might try to do this at some time, but for the moment I am following what others have done with this model and just lined the hull with full length planks. This itself has implications for the preparation of the planks.
 
We can now get back to the fact that I had not ordered wide sheets of 1mm pear wood for the planking, but instead had bought strips 6.2mm wide. This meant that I could not practice spiling, as I was not going to waste all that wood and pay another £15 for delivery. And so I had to experiment a lot in order to find the best method of shaping and fitting the planks.
 
Of course, whether I would spile or not, I had to get the marking out correct. I used the time-honoured method with paper tick strips 5mm wide, along with the Chuck’s planking fan diagram that is available on the forum at http://modelshipworldforum.com/ship-model-framing-and-planking-articles.php for lining off the hull. The tick strips were used for all those frames that reached the keel after the stem, notably frames 6.5 backwards. To find the forward edges where the planks meet the stem I first used 1mm finger nail striping that you can find for about £1 on eBay. However, I found quickly that the more traditional method of using sewing cotton worked even better.
Each plank was then shaped before bending using a miniature plane and filing sticks.
The garboard planks were laid first, with their tapered edges at the top (to meet the untapered edges of subsequent planks). This is as shown in the file SIMPLE HULL PLANKING TECHNIQUES FOR BEGINNERS also available in the downloads section on planking in this site.
 

Finding the shape of the planks
I used Chuck’s idea of low-tack transparent tape to find the shape of the planks. This worked better than standard tape because it takes pencil marks far better.

Dry heat versus soaking
I tried very hard to bend the planks just using a hair dryer and a variety of jigs. However, the planks are very long (340mm) and the complexity of the curvatures made it very tricky to do this. In the end I decided (as many others have done, and as is recommended in the booklet for this model) to use a combination of soaking and heating with the hair dryer.
 
First, the soaking. For these long planks, I followed the example of others in using a section of 35mm diameter PVC waste pipe, using a milk bottle top sealed at the bottom end with an epoxy adhesive (JBWeld).
 
I then soaked the planks overnight, and laid each one flat over the shape of the plank on low tack tape on some particle board using panel pins to follow the shape. I helped them to dry with the hair dryer, but waited a while until they had fully dried out.
To bend the planks horizontally, I then used dry heat.

After laying three planks in this fashion, I thought I’d experiment with soaking the planks and then fixing them straight to the frames, letting them dry fully to ensure they shrank back to their dry sizes, and then gluing the dried planks to the frames. This worked very well indeed, and much better than going through the palaver of trying to shape them before fixing to the frames.
Fixing the planks to the frames
I had thought to use ordinary mapping pins to fix the planks to the frames and the mould underneath, but found that the pins were too short for the combined thickness of planks and frames. For a while I looked at the possibility of making framing clamps with screw threads, but in the end opted for making my own panel pins with 8mm dowel and standard metal panel pins with the heads taken off using a cutting disk.

I then added strips of wood to ensure the even spread of pressure on the planks across their width and to prevent indentation of the planks (which was only partially successful, as will be seen).

Inevitably there were some hairline gaps in some areas between the planks. Initially I used a syringe to fill these with woodworkers glue (the white, not the yellow variety) followed by a sprinkling of pear wood sanding dust to make a similarly coloured filler. However I found that it was just as effective to add the glue by itself for the very finest of gaps.

With all the planks in place I then sanded with a combination of sanding blocks, sanding sticks, and a Proxxon pen sander. This was followed by scraping using a Stanley blade, and finally steel wool.
 
As you will see, there were still a few blemishes and indentations, and certainly not up to the standard of others who have built this model, but as I’m using this model to learn I am not going to start all over again.
 
As the walnut inadvertently crept into the picture, I might as well explain it. I had made a small gaff-rigged cutter for the grandchildren with half a walnut shell providing the hull. It had sails that could be raised and lowered, but no rudder. This proved very successful, especially as it floated, so I am about to build a few more of these miniature cutters for them.

Varnishing
As with my previous build, I made my own Danish oil from a mixture of linseed oil, white spirit and polyurethane varnish mixed in proportions of one third for each.

The results with the varnish are:




Some of the imperfections you see are due to irregularities in the framing which are entirely due to my failing to align them correctly. I put this down to learning for future builds.
 
Next I’ll be going to the inside and working my way deeper into the dark side.
 
Tony
 
 
 
 

Happy New year to everyone!  First off my apologies for not being on the site as much as usual and checking in on everyone's progress, something I hope to rectify soon. 
 
My progress has been limited, some small steps have been taken, and problems encountered that stopped me in my tracks for a while.
 
Channel Brackets:
The kit supplies PE channel support brackets, unfortunately I found this unworkable as is as the profile impinged on the decorative molding, they're also a little wider than indicated on the plan.  The PE parts are scored pretty heavily at the bending points so trying to tweak these was not really an option.  The problem also identified by others is that there are not enough provided in the kit (per the AOTS there are 3 shown on the mizzen, 6 for main and 4 for the fore channel) and only 11 provided, so the kit is 2 short.  Further analysis suggests its likely 3 short as there are 2 brackets used between ports, and it appears that one is simply hidden behind the stock of the anchor on page 69.  I'm going to reflect 5 brackets on the fore channel.  Another slight complication is that the mizzen brackets need to be smaller to account for the lower position of the channel in the open rail configuration I'm following.  Basically I needed to make my own, and without any really good photos to follow went with my gut.
 

 
Not having any other suitable materials handy, my eye turned to one of the spare sets of PE from other CC kits I had purchased a while back.  Not sure which kit, but a little filing and cutting to length allowed the chains to be workable.  These also appear to be almost exactly the same narrower width as shown in the AOTS profiles.  The center portion of the Diana PE part was re-purposed to attach to the channel.  Exactly the same approach was taken for the mizzen, except that the top of the Diana PE part was used and different dimensions for the bracket supporter.  This was all rather fiddly and took rather longer than I'd care to admit... 🙂
 

 

 
Cannons....finally:
Once the channel supporters were in place I could then proceed with installation of the cannons.  These are now glued in place (using CA), I didn't pin these in place as this would have been a little problematic at this stage, and they seem quite secure as is.  Breeching ropes were attached off the ship prior to installation.  Another self imposed delay was decision to go with 'light brown' Syren line rather than the 'tan' used previously - this seems to have a tone that blends better with the colour palette.  The Syren line is very nice to work with and the usual trick of using dilute PVA was used to fine tune the final profile.  For these more obscured cannons, I used a simple eyebolt to secure the breach rope, for the more visible ones in the waist, I want to explore using ringbolt as per practice, but even using a simple eyebolt gives a satisfactory result to my eye at this scale.
 

 
And finally, the exterior shot...in retrospect I'm happy with the decision to install the channels and brackets first as I'm pretty sure there would have been collateral damage to cannons during installation.  5 down, 23 to go.

Lower deck framing completed, have to make both main and mizzenmast partners to finish off.

Preparation of parts for frame production - it was necessary to cut approximately 700 pcs of individual parts.

Thank you very much for yours comments and like, cant frame.

Kurt you would not like the winters here!
I had a chunk of Teak salvaged from a friends Columbia 8.6 meter sailboat. So decided that the seats needed to be teak so stipped up a little and thicknesses it with the block plane thickness jig down to 1/8th.
 but as I was loading the pictures into the cockpit folder noticed this picture from 2013
 

 
The cockpit has gone through a number of iterations since then but I think I am on the home stretch now.
 

 

 

 
I am wondering about bleaching it......or using some teak oil.
 
Michael
 

Good question Johann. Navy Board models (when rigged) used silk. Some of these models have survived to today with original rigging. Silk has been around for ages. There were questions about the effects of UV light on silk but a recent study does not seem to consider it is a major factor (see article below). Perhaps one of our ship readers here who have attended the ship model conservators conference in England could comment.  On the Navy Board models in the Naval Academy Museum the silk rigging does have a lovely catenary. Does your silk line assume natural curves Joann?
 
Preserving silk: Reassessing deterioration factors for historic silk artefacts N. LUXFORD1,2 , D. THICKETT2 AND P. WYETH1 1 Textile Conservation Centre, Park Avenue, Winchester SO23 8DL, UK 2 English Heritage, 1 Waterhouse Square, 138-142 Holborn, London, EC1N 2ST, UK nl1@soton.ac.uk
 
Silk can be found in numerous examples of costume, flags and banners, tapestries, upholstery, etc., in collections worldwide. These objects are unique records, offering invaluable evidence of political, economic, and social histories. However, silk is susceptible to ageing, and the preservation of such artefacts is of significant concern. The deterioration of silk causes embrittlement of the textile leading to splits and tears, and eventually a powdery and very friable fabric. Interventive conservation treatments, to consolidate silks, may radically alter their appearance, dramatically affecting the way in which visitors see and interpret the objects. Alternative preventive conservation methods are being sought to improve the longevity of silks in cultural heritage collections, by optimising the display parameters. Light has long been considered the major cause of damage to silk objects, which has lead to lower light levels for displays. However, recent research on medieval tapestries casts doubt on this. Unfaded silks on the reverse were found to be in a similar deteriorated condition to the faded silks on the front. Other environmental factors are important, and circumstantial evidence implicates raised humidity (RH), although there has been little research on this factor. Here we report the results of preliminary experiments in which we have investigated the effects of RH, as well as light, on the deterioration of new silk; relative humidities were chosen to reflect a variety of typical display conditions. The temperature and RH dependent kinetics of silk ageing were determined, by assessing the changes in mechanical properties and silk fibroin molecular weight. Initial results confirm that light (with the UV component excluded) is not necessarily the critical factor causing damage to silk objects. This has implications for the collections management and display of historic silks, leading to a reassessment of the most appropriate environmental parameters for the preservation of silk objects.
 
And, from another source:
 
Silk has been with us for a long time. Records indicate that silk has been in production before 6803 BC. Silk is archival. There are examples of still brightly colored silk found in China from the third and fourth century BC. Silk was alsothe painting support of choice long before canvas or paper was ever used. 
Protecting Fine Art Silk Paintings
Dirt - When the silk painting is steamed, the dyes are bound in the fiber. The painting is hand washable using a mild soap and can be ironed with high heat. 
Light - more specifically, UV light can fade the colors in a textile. The best way to protect a silk painting is to keep it out of direct sunlight. Framing the artwork under UV-protected glass such as museum glass can eliminate the impact of fading.
Moisture - silk resists mildew and most other bacteria and fungi. Moisture and humidity can make the silk fiber brittle over time. So it is especially critical, if framing under glass, to make sure that there is air flow around the painting to reduce the possibility of moisture build up.
__
 
Reference - You can find more information on the history or biochemistry of silk and silk painting in the book "Silk" by Mary Schoeser, Yale University Press, 2007
 

Hello Michael, Paul,
@deadbrotherbear,
and @aviaamator,
thank you for your interest and the nice comment. Also thanks to all for the LIKES.

Here is a little update:
I had completely forgotten the coppering of the mizzen mast in the upper area as protection for the jaw of the gaff. I remembered how I made the leather for the gaff.
 

Another detail for the mizzen mast is a fitting for the topping lifts of the davits.

🤣🤣thankyou Mark's and to everyone for the likes
Two costs of sanding sealer, false rails fitted, seats of ease to do
Question- normally there are two more seats at the back corners, however these aren't shown in the aots Diana and when I measured up they would be directly under the chase ports above which are an addition on my profile plan, would they have been omitted from this position because of the guns above?? Any suggestions?

Regards
Paul

You have insanely high standards, Johann. Which is why your model is amongst the tops!

Love that PE work, Johann. Did you use all 18 weather vanes until you got one right or do you have 17 extras to sell? I'll have to research into British practice regarding lightning strikes.

Final preparation.....😎
 

 
 
Done:
 


 
 
The smaller cannon (demi-culverin drake) is from the upper deck of my Sovereign of the Seas  -  also a scratch-build and made out of card, but in a scale 1/90:
 
 
Kind regards
 
 

We (Admiralty Models) will conduct a workshop on carving sometime this year (mid-year we think). We are open to conducting it on either side of the border but past logistics seem to indicate that the easiest venue is in Baltimore. Our expenses are the least there, hence we can keep the workshop fee at a reasonable level. Further details will be posted on MSW and our website www.admiraltymodels.com, soon.

Its happening all over....They are pretty much stopping production all around for the smooth all-cotton Corrodonant threads.  Most people are buying the acrylic and poly stuff now for crochet.  Its a shame.  Its too expensive to make and fewer and fewer people are enjoying that hobby now.  The remaining companies who do sell it have a poor quality product as well.   Lizbeths and Aunt Lidias are a fuzzy lumpy mess.   Valadini is very fuzzy with limited sizes etc.  The remaining stuff from DMC is too soft and loosely laid up.  The most promising 100% cotton product I found was Aurifil.  If you insist on an all natural product give this a try.  
 
Use the size 50 wt, 40wt, and 28 wt.   Stay away from the 12wt thread.  Its expensive and is too fuzzy.  But the other smaller sizes are pretty good.
 
Over the last few months I have bought and tried every commercial source because my current supplier has raised their prices by 40%.  So the market at least in the US is getting tough.  Import taxes have killed this cotton/linen non-synthetic product.  Its mostly made in Europe.  You can buy Anchor crochet thread in Europe however.   It used to be very good.   Dont know if they also stopped making some sizes.  Its put out by DMC as well, but not available in the US.
 
I have contracted with another custom MFG of threads, this time in Upsate NY.  You tell them what you want and they make it.   Core spun..Mercerized.....what percentage of cotton.....what percentage of poly ....what color pantone swatch to dye it, etc.
 
Unfortunately you must order a ton of it as usual.   They said their straight up cotton or linen will be fuzzy too!!!  Samples proved this was the case.  So I have ordered a cotton/poly test run in four sizes.  So far the results are excellent.  Here is an example of my first test with the stuff where I developed the recipes to make all the rope sizes I need to offer.  No fuzz.....it feels more natural than pure POLY like Gutterman.  It doesnt unravel at all.   So I may switch to using this "Syren" Brand thread or at least offer both in the near future.   I sent Rusty some to test on his Longboat project.  We shall see.
 

So for the time being I am sticking with my current supplier.
 
 
 

Can you be a bit more specific? Did you inherit a model kit? Who was it made by? Or is it a built model. In that case photos would be helpful.

Seriously, Doris? Broad arrow and proof marks on your cannons? I've never seen them on a model before. I believe you just gave Mark S. a heart attack. Truly you are a wonder!

Seriously, Doris? Broad arrow and proof marks on your cannons? I've never seen them on a model before. I believe you just gave Mark S. a heart attack. Truly you are a wonder!

Seriously, Doris? Broad arrow and proof marks on your cannons? I've never seen them on a model before. I believe you just gave Mark S. a heart attack. Truly you are a wonder!

What I really love is the scale of the guns in their ports;  they really convey the mass and heft of the artillery, as often seen in Van De Velde portraits.  Beautiful, though these ships are, the guns are what make them terrible and terrifying.  It’s hard to imagine what the men who fought in these ships were feeling, as they anticipated the first broadside.

Doris, truly amazing!! Don't listen to Druxey he is just jealous.😉
 
Michael

Incredible, Doris. But you cheated with wooden trunnions. However, we forgive you!