wefalck

Sorry for the bad joke, but it looks like a goose in the oven ...

I am always somewhat suspicious of single-purpose tools. The question would be what do you use it for: to drive headless pins without flattening them on the top, to avoid the impact of a hammer, to avoid hitting something else, if you are not sure with the hammer, to get it straight down, etc. I think the only really valid reason would be the first one from the above list. There are also tweezers with V-grooves across to hold small nails and pins, e.g. when nailing.

I was talking about nitrocellulose varnish/lacquer with pumice mixed in. Some people call it sealer, but its function is actually a filler - kind of 'french polish' in one go. On wood I use the ordinary, slightly orange variety, because it is this what you get in DIY stores. It imparts also a warm 'depth' to the wood. However, I would not use this type on rigging, as it changes the colour of the material. For rigging purposes I prefer 'zapon' lacquer, as it is less brittle than shellac. The brittleness on rigging also depends on how concentrated you apply it. I rather dilute shellac solution would be sufficient, that just soaks into the thread without covering it visibly. Then the brittleness might be less of a problem. Shellac was traditionally used to stiffen fabrics, for instance the felt used in bowler hats.

Well I have used shellac as the only wood varnish on my models for over 40 years now. In order to avoid the laboursome procedure of 'french polishing' I use it over nitrocellulose wood-filler (which I sometimes use as the only treatment). Due its fast drying properties, shellac is a very versatile product and one may not be aware of its many everyday uses. Have a look at the bottom of the Wikipedia-page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shellac I am just reading a book on art materials, art techniques and conservation techniques. In this context long-term stability is of utmost importance and shellac is preferred varnish to protect oil paintings and pastels. On oil paintings this varnishing is reversible due to it alcohol solubility. Mixed with fillers, shellac also make a good thermo-setting 'bio-plastic' - remember those 'shellacs' before vinyl records were introduced in the 1960s ? You can also create your own compound materials by soaking e.g. paper in shellac. Most shellacs are slightly yellow in tint, at least those sold for DIY purposes. Artist supply stores also sell a more expensive bleached variety. If you need a colourless and very fast (faster than shellac) drying lacquer you can use zapon lacquer. This is nitrocellulose dissolved in a mixture of ethyl acetate, ethanol, and amyl acetate. The ethyl acetate has a higher vapour pressure than ethanol, which is the reason why it evaporates faster. You can get it in many DIY and also good art supply stores. Tradtional nail varnish is essentially the same, but typically more viscous due to higher nitrocellulose content and has a lower vapour pressure, i.e. it dries fast, but slower than shellac. In addition, the ladies seem to be prepared to pay a much higher price for their beauty

Kind of reveals my age, but here is a PDF of an article I published in 1980 in German ship modelling magazine. Note sketches 13 and 14 on the second page: https://www.maritima-et-mechanika.org/maritime/tips/FALCK-SM-5-80.pdf

Once modelling has been done, it should be possible to print them in all sorts of scales ... it's more a problem of managing the Web-shop than a technical one, I would think.

I discovered this kind of splice in a textbook on knots and splices that I got around 1970. There it is named something like 'yarn splice'. I have used it since on my models to simulate splices. I prefer solvent-based fast-drying 'zapon' lacquer for securing splices and knots, as it can be loosened with aceton, if needed.

Carpenteria molto pulita e fresca 👍

I had completely missed out on this one and thought there hadn't been a new 'Baron' for while ... very atmospheric as usual !

Quality work and quality tools !

Un lavoro fantastico !

Another master of rotting artefacts is the Swiss Marcel Ackle: http://www.feldbahn-modellbau.ch/

On very small models I just turned a soft (6B) pencil in the respective holes.

Not very cost effective, but these paints that are pre-thinned for airbrushing also make very good washes, particularly also because their pigment is finely ground.

Jaager, I think you are talking about freeing ports, not scuppers ?

When you discussed the chipping paint, I was just thinking of the 'chipping' technique some modellers use by applying some humid salt onto the basecoat before spray-painting the actual colour-coat(s). The top-coat then easily rubs off, where the salt is. I have never done this myself, but the 3D-effect on the edges of the paint layers looks quite convincing. But I think you are aware of this technique.

Somehow it is a pity, that all this wonderful carpentry will be almost invisible at the end ...

I have used the Vallejo Model Air and the Schmincke AeroColor series of paints and some others without any problems in my retouching airbrush with a 0,2 mm nozzle (I believe, as I don't remember exactly, having had it now for close to 40 years). I normally use them straight from the bottle.

Any idea, why they are called 'Copenhagen' curves ? As they are also called Burmester-Curves in Gemany, I first thought this had to do with the Copenhagen yard of Burmester & Waine, but it actually refers to the mathematician Ludwig Burmester (1840-1927), who seems to have invented at least one type of these templates based on third order splines. In Germany they are also called French Curves, which may reflect the fact that they were also used in the fashion industry to create continuous flowing curves when designing patterns. Not sure, whether the mathematical rules for each of the individual templates have been preserved. Otherwise one could scan them from a catalogue or a set of originals, clean the files up and produce from them digitised versions as a basis for a laser-cutting project. I bought a classical 3-piece set in acrylics some forty years ago, which has a recessed edge on each side to be used with ink drawing pens. I inherited another simple set in pear(?) wood inherited from my father. At that time I think people glued cardboard bits onto the sides to raise the templates off the paper for drawing with the ink pens. When drawing lines plans, I found the 3-piece set mostly sufficient, but even the long template too curved for spars and similar. It also depends on the absolute size of your drawings, of course.

Using fly-fishing fly-tying thread might get you closer in dimension and colour to the original, when seizing sails to the hoops etc. Otherwise, I have used exactly this method for many years myself ...

If you are talking about those lead pipes that lead from the inside of the waterways outboard, you may consider using hollow soldering tin. Dissolved the resin in aceton and shabe it to your needs.

Ab, I gather you read German ? I think you have been in touch with the German colleague who sails as 'Schmidt' in various fora ? He has experimented quite successfully with a lamination method for sails: https://www.segelschiffsmodellbau.com/t7592f815-Laminatsegel-fuer-Modelle-im-kleinen-Massstab.html. Essentially, Japan silk is laminated between two layers of Filmoplast R. Filmoplast R is an extremely thin paper with a thermo-setting glue on one side. It is being used by book-restorers to stabilise nearly invisibly torn pages. This laminate can be wetted and pulled into shape, but does not tear, as plain paper might do. It probably can also be tinted with washes of acrylic paint. I have not tried this method yet myself, however, as I have not been able to obtain Filmoplast R here in Paris. The art-shop that normally stocks it, had run out of supplies, when I tried a couple of months or so ago. I gather with your connections to the museums and restorer, it should be easy to obtain. Here is a link to the manufacturer's Web-site: https://www.neschen.de/product/filmoplast-r/#pdetails. I was always fascinated by the way sails hang down limp and in folds, when half set for drying. So different from the belowing sails one usually sees on models. I will try to reproduce such effect in my next project ... one day.

Did some canoeing on Ontario river with friends in Deep River, but completely missed out on the museum in Peterborough on my way down to Toronto. Did it exist already in 2007 ?. The classical book on canoes is btw: ADNEY, E.T.; CHAPPELLE, H.I. (1964): The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America.- XV+240 p., Washington, DC, U.S.A. (Smithsonian Institution Press; reprint 2007 by Skyhorse Publishing Co., New York). And a superbly illustrated book about Adney's canoe models: JENNINGS, J. (2004): Bark Canoes. The Art and Obsession of Tappan Adney.- 152 p., Richmond Hill, Ont. (Firefly Books).

Mica is a layered silicate. There are two varieties the light coloured muscovite and the dark biotite. The silicone dioxide molecules are sort of arranged in tretraeders that form layers along which the mineral cleaves very well. To the contrary, the layers hold together very well and are rather stiff. Hence one cannot bend the mineral and it break easily. Traditionally, muscovite was used in some parts of the world, including Russia and notably Moscow, hence the name, to glaze windows. As it breaks less easily than glass it was used on ships. It still is used due to its temperature resistance to cover peeping holes in furnaces. I don't think it would be very suitable for modelling except for glazing windows and lamps.

I use a cardboardbox to catch overspray, but then I am working so slowly that I need to paint perhaps once a year or so. Rattle can spraying is done outside against the box to catch overspray too.