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Here are some more references to Indonesian boat-building. Some of them may be digitalised by now, but I didn't check, as I have most them in hard-copy: Dijkstra, G., Kampa, T. (1984): De traditionele zeilvaart in de maritieme ontwikkeling van Indonesië.- Spiegel der Zeilvaart, 1984(5 and 7) HAWKINS, C.W. (1982): Praus of Indonesia.- 134 S., London (Macmillan Books). HORRIDGE, G.A. (1979): The Kongo Boatbuilders and the Bugis Praus of South Sulawesi.- p., London (). HORRIDGE, G.A. (1979): The Lambo or Prahu Bot - a western ship in an eastern setting.- Maritime Monographs and Reports, 39: 41 p., Greenwich (National Maritime Museum). HORRIDGE, G.A.; SNOEK, C. (1985): The Prahu. Traditional Sailing Boat of Indonesia.- 112 p., Singapore (Oxford University Press). HORRIDGE, A. (1987): Outrigger Canoes of Bali and Madura, Indonesia.- 178 p., Honolulu (Bishop Museum Press). NEYRET, J. (1976): Pirogues Océaniennes, Tome II – II. Polynésie, III. Micronésie, IV. Indonésie, V. Inde, VI. Autres Continents.- 315 p., Paris (Assoc. des Amis des Muséés de la Marine). NOOTEBOOM, C. (1932): De boomstamkano in Indonesië.- 240 p., 101 photographs & 25 ills., Leiden (N.V. Boekhandel en Drukkerij). Zimmer, H.-J. (1993): Beschrijving van de modelbau van een Pinisi, een Indonesisch zeilshchip.- Modelbouwer, 1993(1).

Mark, I have raided indeed all major art materials stores here in Paris and the huge art and architecture materials department store in Berlin. Thin and very smooth seem to be two demands that are not so easy to satisfy at the same time. As I will apply sanding filler either before or after cutting, I might get away with a somewhat rougher material. There are many 80 g/m2 coloured papers for fancy letter writing. As the parts are going to be painted anyway, the colour-fastness of the paper per se is not of relevance. Logically, less glued papers are easier to cut with the laser, as the pulp burns away quickly, while the glues may require more energy and any refactory additives such as baryte or TiO2 are counterproductive. That is why the shiny magazine papers don't work so well.

Pat, that's just ordinary 'invisible', i.e. mat, cello-tape. Plus, as I had put the pattern onto the bakelite paper using thermo-transfer (ironing-on a laser-printer printout), alignment was easy.

That's actually a good idea, glueing/clamping another piece of material over the rod and then to mill or saw away everything. In this way the rod will be always securely fixed. Have to remember that. When doing such thing in my usual micros-scale, I embeded the wires into CA or epoxi.

Thanks, Keith. These boats were designed to have a very low profile, as kind of difficult to spot and hit mobile gun-platform particularly in the wadden seas off the German coast. The main deck was only about 1 m above the CWL, so they had a very low freeboard. They must have been very wet in anything but calm weather. I guess that's it, why there are so many freeing-ports.

Thank you ! Trying to do my best to keep up with you guys *************************************************************** Freeing Ports Originally I had planned to surface-etch the lids and the frames on the inside of the bulwark. The drawings for the masks were ready, but I never got around to actually etch or have the parts etched. Since I now have the laser-cutter, these parts were cut from printer-paper (80 g/m2 = 0.1 mm thick). With a width of the frames of only 0.5 mm, the surface-etched rivets may not have come out anyway. The same for the rivets on the hinges of the lids. At least not with my somewhat primitve home-etching arrangement. If I had etched the parts from 0.1 mm nickel-brass, the overall thickness would have been reduced to a more correct 0.05 mm (= 8 mm for the prototype). The lids have no latches to lock them and the ports no bars across them to prevent items or people being washed over board. This makes their construction simpler. Papers, even the smoothest ones, alway have a certain surface-roughness, at least compared to the bakelite of the bulwark. Therefore, the chosen paper was soaked in wood filler and spread to dry on a thick glass-plate that was covered in cling-film. The latter allowed to remove the paper without it rolling up. The surface was then smoothed with very fine steel-wool. The lids were cut from the thus prepared paper, but it needed several trials to find the right cutting parameters in order to arrive at parts of the correct dimensions. This is a disadvantage of such simple laser-cutters and their software. As the material is practically free, this is only a nuisance, but no other loss. Also the etching may not work out right in the first go, which may mean a considerable loss of money and time, if the process had been outsourced. Laser-cut lids for the freeing-ports Unfortunately, it does not work for very small parts with the paper prepared as above. It turned out to better for the very small parts, including the frames, to cut them from unprepared paper. Perhaps I should switch to dark paper. Due to its lower albedo (reflectivity) it absorbs more energy from the laser. Unfortunately, all the coloured papers I have come by so far are quite rough on the surface. I cheated somewhat for the freeing-ports. As I was afraid that I would not been able to cut them out cleanly and evenly, I abstained from it. Also, the bakelite-paper used for the bulwark for reasons of stability would have had a scale-thickness of 64 mm, when looked on from the side. Therefore, frames and lids were glued flat onto the inside and outside of the bulwark respectively. I hope one will not notice this too much, once the stanchions are in as well. Frames and lids were glued on with zapon-lacquer. Little laser-cut rectangles of 0.3 mm x 0.5 mm were stuck onto lids to simulate the hinges. Installation of frames and lids To be continued ...

The storm is chafing past us now ... In spite of the storm, you managed to produce quality as usual ! Are you going to leave the brackt in brass ? I am using self-tinning solution to make such parts look silvery. BTW, I checked my tool-drawer and the smallest dove-tail cutters I have are 4.5 mm in diameter. Got them some years ago on ebay, but they may well be kind of shop-made. Very small dove-tail cutters seem to be used in gun-smithing to machine the seats for gun sights. However, when you look a the prices in gun-smithing supply houses, they blow you off your feet like Ciara ...

How are you going to fix bracket on the hoop, the latter being aluminium ? Glueing ? Rivetting a spigot down from the inside ? I might have taken out one of my miniature dovetail-cutters ...

I always used cotton-sticks for the purpose, but now that I got a set of those silicon 'brushes' a while ago - mainly for modelling water in acrylic gel and figure modelling, I should remember trying them, when the need arises next time. I have a 0.3 mm die for threading, but I would rather not use it on phosphor bronze. However, 0.3 mm diameter in 1:48 would be just under 15 mm on the prototype. This looks a bit weak to me actually. P.S., thank you for reminding me of those silicone thingies - they were just the tool for an unrelated job and I didn't think of them ...

I am about to hit the 'ignore this topic' button, it makes me ache ... Brass and silver were traditionally given a thin coat of zapon-lacquer to prevent tarnishing. On the other hand, it seems that the handles and taps on the SEA CLOUD were gold-plated, because it was cheaper this way to keep them bright. Jewellery makers supply shops sell tampon-plating sets, in case you consider.

Never for models that disappear in their display case immediately after completion. I do not build working models, but in such a case it may be needed.

Well, a good paint surface begins with the preparation of the surface you are painting. You are right, gloss paints are much less forgiving than flat paints. So sanding, filling, sanding, ... and finally fine steel-wool until you have an almost polished surface that is also geometrically correct. Most acrylics dry up quite flat, which is due to the pigment-content and sometimes also fillers and matting agents. There are acrylic gloss varnishes that you can spray all over. Some manufacturers also have pure acrylic emulsions, without any pigment or filler, which dry up to a gloss. Gloss surfaces, such as those on the gondola, are normally produced in a somewhat lengthy procedure of applying lacquer to the surface, rubbing it down and repeating this several times. This is something that is difficult to do with acrylic paints or varnishes, because they do not harden sufficiently to allow this rubbing down e.g. with steel-wool. It is, however, possible to apply say nitrocellulose-based varnishes to surfaces painted with acrylics. The varnish then can be rubbed down, more varnish applied, rubbed down with steel-wool and then polished with a polishing compound and a mop or polishing wool (automotive suppliers). You may also want to have a look on the Internet at the processes used by those doing decorative painting on cars or motorbikes.

Well, what can I say ..., just this 👍 For the next project or more wire-rope here, you can also try to source tinned copper wire and make your own rope from it. Sometime in older cables the copper wires are tinned. Highlighting with a soft pencil is indeed a very effective method to add body and definition to parts. Rubbing a 6B pencil onto flat black paint gives a very good representation of cast-iron. Are the brake handles getting some threads at the end ? Not sure what the diameter of an USD-cent is, I gues around 1/2" ? Well, that would be real challenge to get it threaded ...

Thank you very much, gentlemen 😇 ******************************************* Steering-stands The steering-stands consists of two pillars supporting a pair of wheels. These pillars were somehow bolted to the deck, but drawings and photographs do not show how it was done. On the model this detail will be barely visible, as the lower part of the columns will be hidden by the gratings platform. The grating actually were photo-etched a long time ago. However, I did not like the rounded-out corners, which are due to my somewhat primitive etching process. Therefore, I cut the gratings also with the laser from Canson-paper. By playing around with the settings of the laser-cutter, I managed to produce reasonably square field and sharp corners. The fields resp. the ‘laths’ are only 0.3 mm wide and the grating is 0.3 mm thick (0.3 mm in 1:160 scale is equivalent to just under 50 mm for the prototype). I would have found it impossible to produce a grating in these dimensions prototype fashion. Steering-stand gratings: JPG-image as input for the laser-cutter The gratings are made up from two layers of paper 0.15 mm thick each. Imitating the prototype to some degree the lower layer only had transversal laths. Both layers were glued together with lacquer. The transversal reenforcing bars are built up from three layers of paper and glued to the gratings again with lacquer. The platforms are raised above the deck by four short columns that were turned from brass rod. They were slotted for the reenforcing bars on the micro-mill. The steering-wheel pillars were designed on the basis of the photographie showen earlier and what can be deducted from the lithographs. There is a pole protruding from the front pillar of the stand on the bridge, the function of which is unclear to me. It may have supported an indicator for the rudder or just the lanyard for the steam-pipe. The only known photograph that shows a boat before the armoured command tower was installed is too grainy from the printing grid (it is only known from a publication) to allow to discern such details. Steering-wheel pillars: JPG-image as input for the laser-cutter The pillars where built up from three layers of Canson-paer, which allowed to represent the cannelures. The pillar appears to be rather thin, but this is how it is drawn on the lithograph. The axle of the steering-wheel rests in bearings that are clad in brass or bronze. A piece of 2 mm brass rod was bored out for the round heads of the pillars and then a thin disc was parted off. For further machining the discs were held in special insert collets with a low recess turned into the front (so-calle jewelling collets, used by watchmakers to machine watch jewels or bushings). Machining the bearing caps in a 'jewelling' collet The profile on the front was turned with a small boring tool and the dome-shaped cap over the axle was formed with a cup burr, as used by jewellery-makers to round off wires. Shaping the covering cap of the wheel-axle using a cup burr The caps are actually only segments of a disc and were milled of on the micro-mill accordingly. Milling of the segment-shaped caps All parts were glued together using lacquer The individual parts of the steering-stands Steering-stand on the bridge loosely assembled (a 1 €-cent coin for reference) To be continued ...

Well, what can one say ... a lock-smith apprentice could have done this as his test-piece (in German we have a much more impressive word: Gesellenstück) I understand that knobs are preferred on boats and ships over handles, as lines or clothing can easily get caught in handles - which kind of shows the pervasive maritime tradition in Britain, where doors usually have knobs.

Multi-talent ....

The materials and techniques used would also depend on the scale, the period, the absolute size of the panes, and whether the windows could be seen from the outside only or also from the inside. There are numerous options.

Of course, the archive of the Danish naval yard is an on-line treasure trove of period details ...

Not sure we can still get solderof this composition - the use of lead and cadmium is being phased out at least in the EU.

Perhaps of interest: https://catalogs.marinersmuseum.org/media/Media/00002/Design of Winches00636165427321700621.pdf

"... if in shape" is perhaps the keyword. Very few of us, including the old-time sailors, would be in such shape. The idea is not to work with your muscles - and break your back, but to use your own weight. There are alway several palls, so if one breaks that is bad, but not an immediate disaster.

I started with a cookie-tin full of tools ... now it's several removal boxes and two made-to-measure crates for the milling machines. Will be moving in three to four years time and then hopefully into the well-designed (small) workshop. Admiral's company is a consideration. However, all the computerised drawing-work will be done in the living-room - if she is there herself

It also depends on what one wants to achieve, for instance a realistic, prototype look, or to reproduce certain historic practices (or fashions) of model building.

Masts were usually made from pine or fir, coming in Europe from Scandinavia or Russia, but also from domestic forests tended for the purpose, e.g. in France. In North America also pine and fir were used. Mahagony was not used for masts because of its price and also its weight. Pine and fir were also available in long straight lengths and is quite elastic. I don't know what wood species were used in Asia. For models commonly used wood species for masts and spars are pine, beech and ramin. For small yards or in small models for masts and yards also boxwood is used. Mahagony and walnut are too dark for masts in most cases.

I like these modifications to the movement holder, particularly the downhold fingers.