wefalck

Yes, in many harbours they have an area set aside for this purpose. Two beacons are set up to align with true North. The ships can turn in a full 360° circle in this area while taking simultaneously compass readings and observing the beacons. On this basis a deviation table for the ship with its current load will be established. There is also specific flag signal for ships undergoing this procedure to give the right of way.

Whether right or wrong - nice piece of miniature shipwright's work 👍

In these years, before compass compensation arrangements were introduced in the 1880s, it was common practice to put one or more binnacle onto a high pedestal. I wonder, where they put the binnacle after the aft observation bridge was constructed. This metal structure certainly would have not been helpful for reliable compass readings. Many ships of that period would have had also an emergency steering wheel somewhere there, above the tiller. I didn't go through my pictures of the SOLFERINO, but wondered where the main steering position was. The main command position moved forward, close to the engine, when ships were expected to engange in battle mainly under steam. It became important to effectively control the engine. Some ships had the steering position inside the conning tower. However, the relatively large mass of iron, would have made compass readings rather unreliable. Not sure how they handled that problem in the times before compensation for declination and inclination.

As a weapon they were used at least since the Middle Age. There were meant to poke between armour plates and to pull knights off their horses. So, I would assume that their civilian use has been around also for a long time.

I love those little details. Laudable ambition ! I would have thought that the seawater tank would serve the toilets, the freshwater would only be used as drinking and cooking water. What pumps would have supplied the stand-pipe ?

When cutting something with a knife, a chisel, or something like that, while holding the piece in my hand, I always visualise first the possible trajectory of the tool, should it slip ... it may then not always the most convenient and strongest holding position, but the blade certainly will not end up in some valued body part The relative resistance of your two hands, the material, and the blade may not be easy to judge. Also the trajectory of the blade in the material may be controlled by a varying strength of the wood (man-made materials normally have a homogeneous distribution of strength).

Love those old trams, but find these kits rather large - creating display space problems ... As to cutting the clear plastic-sheet: I don't know what material was supplied, but one can get on certain materials cleaner cuts by scoring it with a scalpel and then breaking it off over a sharp edge, e.g. a steel-ruler at the table edge. For small adjustments I use diamond nail-files. They are cheap, have two grades of diamonds, and can be easily obtained in various sizes. Are you painting the acrylics onto the unprepared wood ? You will get a smoother surface by applying one or two coats of sanding filler first and then rubbing it lightly down with fine sandpaper. This prevents the wood from swelling, when the acrylics are applied. Looking forward to further steps ...

Ahh, a monoposto - from a time, when racing cars sounded like racing cars and not like sick and excited VW Beetles ...

These boats had indeed a very lofty rig. There is not a loft of wind here in the Paris region and in addition the Bassin d'Argenteuil is surrounded by high trees (e.g. poplars as can be seen on many of the Impressionists' paintings). Plus, the main westerly wind direction is blanketed by the range of wills to the South and West of the river. I gather that these hills also make the winds blowing downwards with eddies forming in the valley. The Northern side is mostly flat, but the Seine has cut into the old flood-plain a few metres. Overall not a good sailing range, but it was easily accessible from Paris. While in later years 'real' yachts with quite deep keel were sailed on the Bassin, a boat with a drop-keel and 'live' ballast is more appropriate for a river, such as the Seine. This limits how high you can make the rig in order to not create a too big fulcrum - although a high rig might catch more wind in the valley. I gather that is is why they extended the length of the rig, in order to be able to set more sail. During races these boats needed quite a bit of live ballast. I seem to remember seeing photographs that showed four people on board, but I don't remember, whether sandbags were still used on the Clippers. Nice 'iron'-work on the bowsprit, btw 👍

I have not done any military modelling since my early 20s back in the mid-1970s, but I do recognise and appreciate a good paint-job 👍 Techniques have come a long way since, when 'dry-brushing' was all the rage among modellers. I always wondered, whether all these speciality products are really worth the money ? In many cases they just seem to be diluted paints or specially packaged and labelled pastels. I didn't have the time to sit through the videos - how did you the excellent wood effect, what paints (I don't mean brands) did you use for it ?

Yep, cast-iron is the thing. Makes it difficult to move things around, but that's a good point also. I have seen this brand of tools/files around, but can't really say anything on their quality from personal experience. The manufacturer NIQUA (https://en.niqua-shop.de) caters for the jewellery industry, so for a professional market. One has to pay attention though, as many manufacturers have different tool lines for markets with different purchasing power.

As a confirmed tool-junkie I like the ancient planer in the background

The usual high-quality work 👍

Coming on nicely ! I quite admire the designers of such kits. Doing a one-off and tweaking things to fit is one thing, but here you have to get it completely right so that the customers do not complain about poor fit etc. I remember those folding seats along the corridors from the old days. Today there are mostly open-plan coaches with no corridors.

Depends on what material you want to part and what diameter. BTW, small lathes don't have a lot of torque. A good old-time method for larger diameters (say > 5 mm), albeit today frowned upon by the HSE, is to to make a first cut with a parting tool and then to finish off the parting with a fretsaw at low speed. It also saves you material as otherwise you will have to make stepping cuts to prevent the parting tool from becoming jammed.

It seems that prototype practices varied over time and region (as always). However, if anything was gilded than it may have been only certain details or elements, to provide highlights on otherwise decorations painted in ochre. Conversely, contemporary models often show a more liberal use of gold, being decorative objects already in their time. I gather, the question is, do you want to show the ship as she appeared in real life or do you want to create a decorative object ?

Lovely little boat. Would like to have one in full size Only now discovered this project and will follow with interest ...

I would strongly advice against using 'highest speed' in an electric drill, when the outboard end is unsupported. A slight bend or imbalance in the material can result in a serious whip-lash effect and inflict injuries in you ... 😲 BTW, once you have a lathe, you will find hundreds of uses besides just turning spars.

As usual, it would be helpful to state what nation and period the ship is from. Practices have changed over time and were different in different parts of the world. It is generally safe to paint over almost anything with acrylics, as their main solvent is water with some alcohol added in some cases. The solvent in enamels may attack the varnish or whatever has been put onto the cast gun carriages. However, it may be difficult to get acrylics to stick on certain surfaces when painting with a brush due to their hydrophobic properties. When using an airbrush, this tends to be less of a problem.

Good to see that the crew will not slip under the table - at least not from the heeling of the boat ...

It depends on the material used for the foam. There are, for instance, acrylic foams (essentially foamed-up Plexiglas) that are longer stable than styrofoam. The reason is that they do not contain plasticers. On the other hand, a German kit company sold for a while hulls made from styrene foam extruded into a mould. I got one when I was around 6 or 7, built a crude model from it (my first 'semi'-scratch project) and eventually discarded it in my late 20s I think, when I cleared out some storage space in my parents' garage - if I remember correctly, it did not show appreciable signs of degradation, also because it had not been exposed to daylight really (being painted). I would consider the foam not as a structural element per se, but rather something that helps you building up the hull around some structural members. That then you would cover in some sort of skin, that would remain stable, even if the foam degraded.

@Bedford, you are absolutely right, the battens were tightend by shallow wedges driven in from opposite sides under the clamps. Apologies for not having modelled them, but I believe they are stored below deck, when not in use @Pat, thanks for your kind offer, however, it seems that we are able to generate a fairly steady supply to my toolbox 🍷

Can't help you with the Port, could also have been a Sherry though - accumulated many of these corks for painting such small items and figures over the years.

Thanks, gentlemen ! Keith, I need a glass of port afterwards to calm my nerves down, so I accumulated quite a few corks 🥴 *********************** Completing the skylights 3 The skylight above the officers’ mess in the rear of the ship is the only one for which a close-up photograph exists, so the details can be reproduced with reasonable confidence: The skylight above the officers’ mess (Laverrenz) The basic structure, again, had been built a long time ago and now it was painted as per prototype. The top of the skylight was removable and presumably could be replaced with a more solid hatch-cover in bad weather – the main deck is only a couple of feet above the CWL ! The tarpaulin to cover the hatch would be held down with battens for which clamps were provided on all sides. The battens and the clamps are laser-cut from 0.2 mm Canson-paper and were then soaked in zapon-varnish to harden them. The battens were built up from two layers. Battens and clamps were assembled and then the assemblies cemented to the skylight using satin acrylic varnish. Painted skylight, battens and protective grille before assembly As opposed to the others, this skylight has outside protective grilles, that are fastened with hinges. The frame had been etched from 0.1 mm thick nickel-silver (I couldn’t get brass sheet that thin at the time). Etched-in notches on the underside ensured that the bars would be equally spaced. The bars are made from 0.1 mm brass-coloured copper-wire glued in place with varnish. This assembly then was cemented to the skylight using acrylic varnish. The officers’ mess skylight ready to be fitted to the model To be continued ....

👍 I always found that patience and perseverance are the most important skill of a modeller