wefalck

Thanks again, gentlemen, for your favourable comments.
 
A fishing boats needs some fish-baskets to store the sorted catch in.
 

Fish-baskets on the Marker botter in the Zuiderzeemuseum
 
I could not think a convincing method to fake such baskets and dropped ideas of using fabric or wire mesh – there would always be an unrealistic seam. If you have a closed or filled basket, you may sculpt it from something and imprint the woven pattern, but this does not work for empty ones. In the end, I decided to weave real baskets, well almost.
 

Tool for making (fish-)baskets
 
For this I needed a tool that would give the basket its shape and allow me to handle it while weaving. So I turned the little implement above from a piece of 5 mm diameter aluminium and drilled a 2 mm hole all the way through it. It will allow me make two baskets simultaneously. The material for weaving is another issue. I would have like to use wire, but it would have been difficult to actually weave with wire. So I used some thin cotton thread for the stakes and fly-tying yarn for the weave.
 

Weaving fish-baskets
 
First the ‚stakes’ were put into place by wind the thread around the form tool in a continuous series of loops, passing the return part through the middle of the center bore of the tool. This then was woven out with the fly-tying yarn using a sewing needle. The rim is a bit of a fake: normally the stakes would be bent back one over each other to produce a stable and decorative finishing. Here I made a double row of half-hitches with the weave, i.e. the fly-tying thread. Once this was finished, the ‚basket’ was soaked in wood stain and then a few dabs of matt varnish were applied to secure the weaving. The stakes with the exception of two on each side then were cut off flush with the rim. The remaining stakes were twisted into looped handles. Finally the stakes were cut around the hole in the bottom of tool. A bottom of the basket was faked by closing the hole with a good drop of white glue.
 

The finished fish-baskets
 
The baskets then were weathered using acrylics paint (umbra). After looking at the museum-picture, I noticed that I should paint onto the baskets the registration number of the boat - so that catch can be identified at the fish auction.
 
One may notice on the above photograph that in the meantime also the anchor, a grab, has been installed. Finding such small chain is a challenge, but I got something suitable from a Bavarian model railway supplier. While the links were nicely soldered and blackend, they were actually round. Anchor chains, however, have oval links. With a pair of pliers I slightly squashed the links into an oval shape.
 
wefalck

You will probably find that most of the 'modelling products' are just overpriced items you can find in other realms as well. I tend to use what is easily available everywhere.
 
Way back in the 1960s my grandfather, who was a regional director in a big insurance company, had Faller as a client and once he took me with him to visit them … great for a little boy
 
wefalck

Thanks again, gentlemen, for your favourable comments.
 
A fishing boats needs some fish-baskets to store the sorted catch in.
 

Fish-baskets on the Marker botter in the Zuiderzeemuseum
 
I could not think a convincing method to fake such baskets and dropped ideas of using fabric or wire mesh – there would always be an unrealistic seam. If you have a closed or filled basket, you may sculpt it from something and imprint the woven pattern, but this does not work for empty ones. In the end, I decided to weave real baskets, well almost.
 

Tool for making (fish-)baskets
 
For this I needed a tool that would give the basket its shape and allow me to handle it while weaving. So I turned the little implement above from a piece of 5 mm diameter aluminium and drilled a 2 mm hole all the way through it. It will allow me make two baskets simultaneously. The material for weaving is another issue. I would have like to use wire, but it would have been difficult to actually weave with wire. So I used some thin cotton thread for the stakes and fly-tying yarn for the weave.
 

Weaving fish-baskets
 
First the ‚stakes’ were put into place by wind the thread around the form tool in a continuous series of loops, passing the return part through the middle of the center bore of the tool. This then was woven out with the fly-tying yarn using a sewing needle. The rim is a bit of a fake: normally the stakes would be bent back one over each other to produce a stable and decorative finishing. Here I made a double row of half-hitches with the weave, i.e. the fly-tying thread. Once this was finished, the ‚basket’ was soaked in wood stain and then a few dabs of matt varnish were applied to secure the weaving. The stakes with the exception of two on each side then were cut off flush with the rim. The remaining stakes were twisted into looped handles. Finally the stakes were cut around the hole in the bottom of tool. A bottom of the basket was faked by closing the hole with a good drop of white glue.
 

The finished fish-baskets
 
The baskets then were weathered using acrylics paint (umbra). After looking at the museum-picture, I noticed that I should paint onto the baskets the registration number of the boat - so that catch can be identified at the fish auction.
 
One may notice on the above photograph that in the meantime also the anchor, a grab, has been installed. Finding such small chain is a challenge, but I got something suitable from a Bavarian model railway supplier. While the links were nicely soldered and blackend, they were actually round. Anchor chains, however, have oval links. With a pair of pliers I slightly squashed the links into an oval shape.
 
wefalck

Thanks again, gentlemen, for your favourable comments.
 
A fishing boats needs some fish-baskets to store the sorted catch in.
 

Fish-baskets on the Marker botter in the Zuiderzeemuseum
 
I could not think a convincing method to fake such baskets and dropped ideas of using fabric or wire mesh – there would always be an unrealistic seam. If you have a closed or filled basket, you may sculpt it from something and imprint the woven pattern, but this does not work for empty ones. In the end, I decided to weave real baskets, well almost.
 

Tool for making (fish-)baskets
 
For this I needed a tool that would give the basket its shape and allow me to handle it while weaving. So I turned the little implement above from a piece of 5 mm diameter aluminium and drilled a 2 mm hole all the way through it. It will allow me make two baskets simultaneously. The material for weaving is another issue. I would have like to use wire, but it would have been difficult to actually weave with wire. So I used some thin cotton thread for the stakes and fly-tying yarn for the weave.
 

Weaving fish-baskets
 
First the ‚stakes’ were put into place by wind the thread around the form tool in a continuous series of loops, passing the return part through the middle of the center bore of the tool. This then was woven out with the fly-tying yarn using a sewing needle. The rim is a bit of a fake: normally the stakes would be bent back one over each other to produce a stable and decorative finishing. Here I made a double row of half-hitches with the weave, i.e. the fly-tying thread. Once this was finished, the ‚basket’ was soaked in wood stain and then a few dabs of matt varnish were applied to secure the weaving. The stakes with the exception of two on each side then were cut off flush with the rim. The remaining stakes were twisted into looped handles. Finally the stakes were cut around the hole in the bottom of tool. A bottom of the basket was faked by closing the hole with a good drop of white glue.
 

The finished fish-baskets
 
The baskets then were weathered using acrylics paint (umbra). After looking at the museum-picture, I noticed that I should paint onto the baskets the registration number of the boat - so that catch can be identified at the fish auction.
 
One may notice on the above photograph that in the meantime also the anchor, a grab, has been installed. Finding such small chain is a challenge, but I got something suitable from a Bavarian model railway supplier. While the links were nicely soldered and blackend, they were actually round. Anchor chains, however, have oval links. With a pair of pliers I slightly squashed the links into an oval shape.
 
wefalck

Thanks again, gentlemen, for your favourable comments.
 
A fishing boats needs some fish-baskets to store the sorted catch in.
 

Fish-baskets on the Marker botter in the Zuiderzeemuseum
 
I could not think a convincing method to fake such baskets and dropped ideas of using fabric or wire mesh – there would always be an unrealistic seam. If you have a closed or filled basket, you may sculpt it from something and imprint the woven pattern, but this does not work for empty ones. In the end, I decided to weave real baskets, well almost.
 

Tool for making (fish-)baskets
 
For this I needed a tool that would give the basket its shape and allow me to handle it while weaving. So I turned the little implement above from a piece of 5 mm diameter aluminium and drilled a 2 mm hole all the way through it. It will allow me make two baskets simultaneously. The material for weaving is another issue. I would have like to use wire, but it would have been difficult to actually weave with wire. So I used some thin cotton thread for the stakes and fly-tying yarn for the weave.
 

Weaving fish-baskets
 
First the ‚stakes’ were put into place by wind the thread around the form tool in a continuous series of loops, passing the return part through the middle of the center bore of the tool. This then was woven out with the fly-tying yarn using a sewing needle. The rim is a bit of a fake: normally the stakes would be bent back one over each other to produce a stable and decorative finishing. Here I made a double row of half-hitches with the weave, i.e. the fly-tying thread. Once this was finished, the ‚basket’ was soaked in wood stain and then a few dabs of matt varnish were applied to secure the weaving. The stakes with the exception of two on each side then were cut off flush with the rim. The remaining stakes were twisted into looped handles. Finally the stakes were cut around the hole in the bottom of tool. A bottom of the basket was faked by closing the hole with a good drop of white glue.
 

The finished fish-baskets
 
The baskets then were weathered using acrylics paint (umbra). After looking at the museum-picture, I noticed that I should paint onto the baskets the registration number of the boat - so that catch can be identified at the fish auction.
 
One may notice on the above photograph that in the meantime also the anchor, a grab, has been installed. Finding such small chain is a challenge, but I got something suitable from a Bavarian model railway supplier. While the links were nicely soldered and blackend, they were actually round. Anchor chains, however, have oval links. With a pair of pliers I slightly squashed the links into an oval shape.
 
wefalck

Got some about a year ago, but haven't realy used them (yet).
 
What you are calling the 'depth of field' presumably is the 'working distance', i.e. the distance between the lense and the object you are looking at. The dentist ones seem to be designed for working standing up and hovering over the patient. I found the distance of 400 mm uncomfortable, it means that I have to sit rather upright and with arms nearly stretched out at my work table to keep the objects in focus.
 
I also found that the actual depth of field, i.e. the range over which objects appear in focus, is rather small at the large magnification.
 
In addition, I had problems adjusting the two microscopes for stereo-vision. Somehow the optical axes never seem to aligne with those of my eyes.
 
Not sure, whether all these problems are related to the fact that it is 'cheapish' (still 120 Euro) one. You can get branded ones for 400+ Euro ...
 
wefalck

Scale is not so important, rather than the actual size of the threads/ropes. One can also using 'false' splices, i.e. pulling the whole thread end through the standing part with the help of needle. Somewhere on the forum this old method has been discussed in some detail.
 
Check out 'dafi's' thread on his HMS VICTORY in 1:96 scale for rigging the guns in a small scale !
 
wefalck

Well, the 'Currywurst' was not 'invented' until after the WWII in Berlin … and normally we don't eat Bratwurst with Sauerkraut, but rather 'Eisbein' (i.e. salted porc knuckle) or fresh liver and blood sausage. The beer, however, was available everywhere at all times for probably a 1000 years or so
 
wefalck

SCOTTISH MAID seems to have been one of the first 'clipper' style schooners with a closed gallion and very sharp lines for and aft. The fine lines mean that she wouldn't have had a lot of buyonancy there, resulting her dipping deep in when the sea was heavy. So it may have been vital to make provisions for shedding water fast, so that she would rise fast out of any waves. Partially open bulwarks seem to have been quite common (on smaller vessels) before swinging ports were introduced.
 
A vaguely remember having seen the half-model of her in the museum in Aberdeen some 15 years ago.
 
wefalck

SCOTTISH MAID seems to have been one of the first 'clipper' style schooners with a closed gallion and very sharp lines for and aft. The fine lines mean that she wouldn't have had a lot of buyonancy there, resulting her dipping deep in when the sea was heavy. So it may have been vital to make provisions for shedding water fast, so that she would rise fast out of any waves. Partially open bulwarks seem to have been quite common (on smaller vessels) before swinging ports were introduced.
 
A vaguely remember having seen the half-model of her in the museum in Aberdeen some 15 years ago.
 
wefalck

Thanks, gentlemen ...
 
Slowly the work on the Botter itself draws to a close. Small and unspectacular steps in which the previously made parts are assembled to give the ‚whole’. The rigging work is rather difficult to photograph – one’s three hands are already busy and there is no free hand for the camera.
 

Net hauled out up the mast for drying
 
The Botter is a fishing boat and a fishing boat needs a net. But just this caused me some headache. In accordance with the ‚story’ that is to be told in this scene, the net will be shown hauled out up the mast for drying. This can be seen on many old photographs.
 

Detail of the net hauled out up the mast
 
In these old photographs one also notes the fineness of the yarn from which such nets were made. There is not really any material that can convincingly represent a fishing net in the 1:87 scale. The second best solution are the finest ladies tights one can put one’s hand on. Unfortunately, these don’t have quite the reddish-brown colour of a tanned fishing net. In order to improve their resistance against the elements, fishing nets were ‚tanned’, i.e. they were boiled in a brew made from oak bark.
 

Tanning of nets (in the Zuiderzeemuseum, Enkhuizen)
 
An additional problem was, that I didn’t have any detail information on what kind of nets a Botter would have used in the winter fisheries on the Zuiderzee and how these nets were constructed – Van Beylen just devotes half a page to the subject. There is a book by Pieter Dorleijn, that apparently treats the subject in some detail, but I found it too expensive to buy this book, just for the one net I had to make. Therefore, I cheated a bit.
 

Detail of the net hauled out up the mast
 
As the tights didn’t have quite the right colour, I somehow had to dye them, which turned out rather difficult to do. First I pulled the tight over a round-bellied bottle to open the meshes. A try with mahagoni-coloured woood-stain failed, the material just didn’t take up the stain. In the end I stabilised the tight with thinned matt acrylic varnish applied with the airbrush. After cutting it out, the ‚net’ was coloured using Sepia-ink, again applied with the airbrush. The acrylic varnish allows the net to be draped in an acceptably realistic way. The net then was glued with solvent-based matt varnish onto the fore-deck. A few drops of this fast-drying varnish also kept the draping in shape.
 

The net draped on the fore-deck
 
The lee-boards were brought on board too. They are fastened with small round-headed nails. In reality the lee-board would have been secured on the pin with a wedge in a rectangular slot in its outboard end. As on the model this pin has a diameter of only 0.4 mm, I gave up on the idea to recreated this arrangement   The lee-boards are raised by a simple tackle. A block with a hole, fastened to the rail, redirects the pulling force and acts as a stop. The lee-board halliard is belayed on the aftermost half-cleat.
 

The raised lee-boards
 
Also the various belaying pins found their right places. The pins, turned from steel, were heated using a hot-air soldering gun until they changed their colour to brown and almost blue. This, in my opinion, looks quite like forged iron that is slightly rusted.
 

An overall view of the model
 
Other fittings will follow suit ...
 
wefalck

I don't think they do a fixed steady. However, it is not so difficult to make one yourself. In order not to leave marks on the wood, I would use a thick and stiff cardboard disc into which a close-fitting hole has been drilled/punched. This cardboard can be held by three scews with washers against a piece of plywood into which a larger hole, say of 1 cm diameter, has been drilled. The three-screw-plus-washers-arrangement allows you to center the steady on the work. The plywood can be held upright on the bed of the lathe with a small angle iron that is clamped down onto the T-slot.
 
wefalck

I think there are couple of technical and stylistic reasons for not showing the caulking on the hulls of models.
 
Technically, the caulking is done a bit different on the hull and on the decks. The most visible feature on deck caulking is the sealing with pitch and this is what most people model. The seams outboard would not be sealed in the same way, but worked over together with the surface treatment of the hull, being it painting or oiling or varnishing, e.g. with harpeus. The result is that the caulking is not very visible, even when the surface treatment is not pigmented. On old ships' photographs, when taken at a glancing angle, one can sometimes see the caulking. On shots taken perpendicular to the hull, the caulking normally is not visible.
 
The stylistic reason is that many (if not most) shipmodellers actually do not build models of ships, but rather models of shipmodels. What I mean is, that they try to recreate an antique model as seen in museums and these not normally show the caulking, but rather have nice smooth and shiny wood walls.
 
wefalck

I don't think they do a fixed steady. However, it is not so difficult to make one yourself. In order not to leave marks on the wood, I would use a thick and stiff cardboard disc into which a close-fitting hole has been drilled/punched. This cardboard can be held by three scews with washers against a piece of plywood into which a larger hole, say of 1 cm diameter, has been drilled. The three-screw-plus-washers-arrangement allows you to center the steady on the work. The plywood can be held upright on the bed of the lathe with a small angle iron that is clamped down onto the T-slot.
 
wefalck

One can mark the centre of square stock by drawing diagonals from one corner to the opposite one; then you punch-mark the centre and put it against the tailstock centre; now you put the tool-rest close to the chucked-up material and observe the gap between the tool-rest und the material (close one eye and look down onto the lathe bed); adjust the jaws until the gaps are equal on the edges of your stock. Voilà you material is centred.
 
wefalck

Since about the 1840s virtually all iron-work that is exposed to the elements, as well as iron fastenings, was hot-dip zinc-plated. In addition, the iron-work could be painted to suit the decorative scheme of a boat. While this anti-corrosion treatment is quite efficient, when not done very carefully, the plating can be porous, so that the iron can rust underneath. The corrosion products, iron(hydr)oxides, can diffuse into the zinc layer tarnishing it into a yellowish tint. Vice versa, a porous zinc layer can soak up e.g. tar-based paints, making it look yellowish, even when the paint has been removed.
 
Seawater-resistant bronce would normally not be painted and is indeed not easy to paint, as paint does not very well adhere to this material.
 
wefalck

One can mark the centre of square stock by drawing diagonals from one corner to the opposite one; then you punch-mark the centre and put it against the tailstock centre; now you put the tool-rest close to the chucked-up material and observe the gap between the tool-rest und the material (close one eye and look down onto the lathe bed); adjust the jaws until the gaps are equal on the edges of your stock. Voilà you material is centred.
 
wefalck

Thanks, gentlemen ...
 
Slowly the work on the Botter itself draws to a close. Small and unspectacular steps in which the previously made parts are assembled to give the ‚whole’. The rigging work is rather difficult to photograph – one’s three hands are already busy and there is no free hand for the camera.
 

Net hauled out up the mast for drying
 
The Botter is a fishing boat and a fishing boat needs a net. But just this caused me some headache. In accordance with the ‚story’ that is to be told in this scene, the net will be shown hauled out up the mast for drying. This can be seen on many old photographs.
 

Detail of the net hauled out up the mast
 
In these old photographs one also notes the fineness of the yarn from which such nets were made. There is not really any material that can convincingly represent a fishing net in the 1:87 scale. The second best solution are the finest ladies tights one can put one’s hand on. Unfortunately, these don’t have quite the reddish-brown colour of a tanned fishing net. In order to improve their resistance against the elements, fishing nets were ‚tanned’, i.e. they were boiled in a brew made from oak bark.
 

Tanning of nets (in the Zuiderzeemuseum, Enkhuizen)
 
An additional problem was, that I didn’t have any detail information on what kind of nets a Botter would have used in the winter fisheries on the Zuiderzee and how these nets were constructed – Van Beylen just devotes half a page to the subject. There is a book by Pieter Dorleijn, that apparently treats the subject in some detail, but I found it too expensive to buy this book, just for the one net I had to make. Therefore, I cheated a bit.
 

Detail of the net hauled out up the mast
 
As the tights didn’t have quite the right colour, I somehow had to dye them, which turned out rather difficult to do. First I pulled the tight over a round-bellied bottle to open the meshes. A try with mahagoni-coloured woood-stain failed, the material just didn’t take up the stain. In the end I stabilised the tight with thinned matt acrylic varnish applied with the airbrush. After cutting it out, the ‚net’ was coloured using Sepia-ink, again applied with the airbrush. The acrylic varnish allows the net to be draped in an acceptably realistic way. The net then was glued with solvent-based matt varnish onto the fore-deck. A few drops of this fast-drying varnish also kept the draping in shape.
 

The net draped on the fore-deck
 
The lee-boards were brought on board too. They are fastened with small round-headed nails. In reality the lee-board would have been secured on the pin with a wedge in a rectangular slot in its outboard end. As on the model this pin has a diameter of only 0.4 mm, I gave up on the idea to recreated this arrangement   The lee-boards are raised by a simple tackle. A block with a hole, fastened to the rail, redirects the pulling force and acts as a stop. The lee-board halliard is belayed on the aftermost half-cleat.
 

The raised lee-boards
 
Also the various belaying pins found their right places. The pins, turned from steel, were heated using a hot-air soldering gun until they changed their colour to brown and almost blue. This, in my opinion, looks quite like forged iron that is slightly rusted.
 

An overall view of the model
 
Other fittings will follow suit ...
 
wefalck

Thanks, gentlemen ...
 
Slowly the work on the Botter itself draws to a close. Small and unspectacular steps in which the previously made parts are assembled to give the ‚whole’. The rigging work is rather difficult to photograph – one’s three hands are already busy and there is no free hand for the camera.
 

Net hauled out up the mast for drying
 
The Botter is a fishing boat and a fishing boat needs a net. But just this caused me some headache. In accordance with the ‚story’ that is to be told in this scene, the net will be shown hauled out up the mast for drying. This can be seen on many old photographs.
 

Detail of the net hauled out up the mast
 
In these old photographs one also notes the fineness of the yarn from which such nets were made. There is not really any material that can convincingly represent a fishing net in the 1:87 scale. The second best solution are the finest ladies tights one can put one’s hand on. Unfortunately, these don’t have quite the reddish-brown colour of a tanned fishing net. In order to improve their resistance against the elements, fishing nets were ‚tanned’, i.e. they were boiled in a brew made from oak bark.
 

Tanning of nets (in the Zuiderzeemuseum, Enkhuizen)
 
An additional problem was, that I didn’t have any detail information on what kind of nets a Botter would have used in the winter fisheries on the Zuiderzee and how these nets were constructed – Van Beylen just devotes half a page to the subject. There is a book by Pieter Dorleijn, that apparently treats the subject in some detail, but I found it too expensive to buy this book, just for the one net I had to make. Therefore, I cheated a bit.
 

Detail of the net hauled out up the mast
 
As the tights didn’t have quite the right colour, I somehow had to dye them, which turned out rather difficult to do. First I pulled the tight over a round-bellied bottle to open the meshes. A try with mahagoni-coloured woood-stain failed, the material just didn’t take up the stain. In the end I stabilised the tight with thinned matt acrylic varnish applied with the airbrush. After cutting it out, the ‚net’ was coloured using Sepia-ink, again applied with the airbrush. The acrylic varnish allows the net to be draped in an acceptably realistic way. The net then was glued with solvent-based matt varnish onto the fore-deck. A few drops of this fast-drying varnish also kept the draping in shape.
 

The net draped on the fore-deck
 
The lee-boards were brought on board too. They are fastened with small round-headed nails. In reality the lee-board would have been secured on the pin with a wedge in a rectangular slot in its outboard end. As on the model this pin has a diameter of only 0.4 mm, I gave up on the idea to recreated this arrangement   The lee-boards are raised by a simple tackle. A block with a hole, fastened to the rail, redirects the pulling force and acts as a stop. The lee-board halliard is belayed on the aftermost half-cleat.
 

The raised lee-boards
 
Also the various belaying pins found their right places. The pins, turned from steel, were heated using a hot-air soldering gun until they changed their colour to brown and almost blue. This, in my opinion, looks quite like forged iron that is slightly rusted.
 

An overall view of the model
 
Other fittings will follow suit ...
 
wefalck

It is high time to report on some progress. The work progressed slowly, interrupted by various business travels and also a short hospital-stay.
 

Head of the main sail from starboard
 
The main sail was fitted out with the halliard and the throat-halliard and then attached. The imagined szenario is that the sails are set for drying. The shore of Volendam is exposed to the East, so that the sails are slightly filled by a light easterly breeze. The cold easterly breeze, that comes across from Germany and the Baltic was a winterstorm a couple of days ago and forced the botter to seek shelter in Volendam. The easterly wind brought with it the frost that is responsible for the Marker botter to be locked in the ice. The main boom has been topped a bit to provide better clearance in the workspace underneath.
 

Head of the main sail from port
 
In the meantime various ropes of different size were made from fly-tying thread. Then I also noticed that I forgot to make that special block with a half-cleat that forms the lower part of the main sheet tackle. This block was carved in the classical way from a strip of Pertinax and fitted out with an ‚iron’ band etc.
 

Running rigging at the mast
 

Running rigging at the mast
 
The running rigging was attached by fake eye-splices. On the prototype, all blocks are attached to eye-bolts by hooks, which are secured by musings. The pictures do not show this detail yet. Owing to this way of rigging, all tackles could be prepared in advance and just hooked into their respective eye-bolts. The throat-halliard is made up from a short length of chain with an S-hook at its end. The S-hook is attached to the eye in the bolt-rope. The throat-halliard is hauled taught with a tackle that hooks into an eye-bolt in the mast. The S-hook was made from a short length of wire that was flattenend and provided with a hole in the middle for a chain-link.
 

Stern with boom-sheet
 

Stern with boom-sheet
 
The halliards etc. were belayed prototype-fashion on half-cleats, which is rather difficult to do at this small scale in comparison to the same process on normal cleats. The rest was coiled up and stored at suitable places. I am not sure how this was done really on the prototype, as the half-cleat do not allow to suspend the coils in the usual way. The rope made from fly-tying yarn is relatively stiff. However, with a drop of flat varnish it can be persuaded to form more or less orderly coils. Hanging coils have to be loaded while the varnish dries in order to attain a natural shape.
 

Shaping of the coils while the varnish dries
 
In order to facilitate the work on the rigging the model was fixed on a small cast-iron stand. This stand can be turned and pushed around on the work-table at one’s convenience, yet is stable and safe.
 

Model on the work-stand
 
To be continued ...
 
wefalck

I own a couple of milling machines, but I wouldn't probably use them for bevelling planks. One needs a stable, inclineable (to set the bvelling angle) jig that can hold the narrow planks securely - a lot of work to make one to fit your milling machine and then to adjust it. The other problem is that the usual model-maker's machines may have a too short x-travel to be useful. And another problem can be that the bevelling angle is not uniform over the whole length of the plank.
 
I would probably use a simple bulldog clip. The edges may need to be filed down to ensure that it closes nicely. You hold the plank with it and work your way along it with a sanding stick, offering the plank from time to time to the hull to check, whether the angle is correct.
 

wefalck

Thanks, gentlemen ...
 
Slowly the work on the Botter itself draws to a close. Small and unspectacular steps in which the previously made parts are assembled to give the ‚whole’. The rigging work is rather difficult to photograph – one’s three hands are already busy and there is no free hand for the camera.
 

Net hauled out up the mast for drying
 
The Botter is a fishing boat and a fishing boat needs a net. But just this caused me some headache. In accordance with the ‚story’ that is to be told in this scene, the net will be shown hauled out up the mast for drying. This can be seen on many old photographs.
 

Detail of the net hauled out up the mast
 
In these old photographs one also notes the fineness of the yarn from which such nets were made. There is not really any material that can convincingly represent a fishing net in the 1:87 scale. The second best solution are the finest ladies tights one can put one’s hand on. Unfortunately, these don’t have quite the reddish-brown colour of a tanned fishing net. In order to improve their resistance against the elements, fishing nets were ‚tanned’, i.e. they were boiled in a brew made from oak bark.
 

Tanning of nets (in the Zuiderzeemuseum, Enkhuizen)
 
An additional problem was, that I didn’t have any detail information on what kind of nets a Botter would have used in the winter fisheries on the Zuiderzee and how these nets were constructed – Van Beylen just devotes half a page to the subject. There is a book by Pieter Dorleijn, that apparently treats the subject in some detail, but I found it too expensive to buy this book, just for the one net I had to make. Therefore, I cheated a bit.
 

Detail of the net hauled out up the mast
 
As the tights didn’t have quite the right colour, I somehow had to dye them, which turned out rather difficult to do. First I pulled the tight over a round-bellied bottle to open the meshes. A try with mahagoni-coloured woood-stain failed, the material just didn’t take up the stain. In the end I stabilised the tight with thinned matt acrylic varnish applied with the airbrush. After cutting it out, the ‚net’ was coloured using Sepia-ink, again applied with the airbrush. The acrylic varnish allows the net to be draped in an acceptably realistic way. The net then was glued with solvent-based matt varnish onto the fore-deck. A few drops of this fast-drying varnish also kept the draping in shape.
 

The net draped on the fore-deck
 
The lee-boards were brought on board too. They are fastened with small round-headed nails. In reality the lee-board would have been secured on the pin with a wedge in a rectangular slot in its outboard end. As on the model this pin has a diameter of only 0.4 mm, I gave up on the idea to recreated this arrangement   The lee-boards are raised by a simple tackle. A block with a hole, fastened to the rail, redirects the pulling force and acts as a stop. The lee-board halliard is belayed on the aftermost half-cleat.
 

The raised lee-boards
 
Also the various belaying pins found their right places. The pins, turned from steel, were heated using a hot-air soldering gun until they changed their colour to brown and almost blue. This, in my opinion, looks quite like forged iron that is slightly rusted.
 

An overall view of the model
 
Other fittings will follow suit ...
 
wefalck

Thanks, gentlemen ...
 
Slowly the work on the Botter itself draws to a close. Small and unspectacular steps in which the previously made parts are assembled to give the ‚whole’. The rigging work is rather difficult to photograph – one’s three hands are already busy and there is no free hand for the camera.
 

Net hauled out up the mast for drying
 
The Botter is a fishing boat and a fishing boat needs a net. But just this caused me some headache. In accordance with the ‚story’ that is to be told in this scene, the net will be shown hauled out up the mast for drying. This can be seen on many old photographs.
 

Detail of the net hauled out up the mast
 
In these old photographs one also notes the fineness of the yarn from which such nets were made. There is not really any material that can convincingly represent a fishing net in the 1:87 scale. The second best solution are the finest ladies tights one can put one’s hand on. Unfortunately, these don’t have quite the reddish-brown colour of a tanned fishing net. In order to improve their resistance against the elements, fishing nets were ‚tanned’, i.e. they were boiled in a brew made from oak bark.
 

Tanning of nets (in the Zuiderzeemuseum, Enkhuizen)
 
An additional problem was, that I didn’t have any detail information on what kind of nets a Botter would have used in the winter fisheries on the Zuiderzee and how these nets were constructed – Van Beylen just devotes half a page to the subject. There is a book by Pieter Dorleijn, that apparently treats the subject in some detail, but I found it too expensive to buy this book, just for the one net I had to make. Therefore, I cheated a bit.
 

Detail of the net hauled out up the mast
 
As the tights didn’t have quite the right colour, I somehow had to dye them, which turned out rather difficult to do. First I pulled the tight over a round-bellied bottle to open the meshes. A try with mahagoni-coloured woood-stain failed, the material just didn’t take up the stain. In the end I stabilised the tight with thinned matt acrylic varnish applied with the airbrush. After cutting it out, the ‚net’ was coloured using Sepia-ink, again applied with the airbrush. The acrylic varnish allows the net to be draped in an acceptably realistic way. The net then was glued with solvent-based matt varnish onto the fore-deck. A few drops of this fast-drying varnish also kept the draping in shape.
 

The net draped on the fore-deck
 
The lee-boards were brought on board too. They are fastened with small round-headed nails. In reality the lee-board would have been secured on the pin with a wedge in a rectangular slot in its outboard end. As on the model this pin has a diameter of only 0.4 mm, I gave up on the idea to recreated this arrangement   The lee-boards are raised by a simple tackle. A block with a hole, fastened to the rail, redirects the pulling force and acts as a stop. The lee-board halliard is belayed on the aftermost half-cleat.
 

The raised lee-boards
 
Also the various belaying pins found their right places. The pins, turned from steel, were heated using a hot-air soldering gun until they changed their colour to brown and almost blue. This, in my opinion, looks quite like forged iron that is slightly rusted.
 

An overall view of the model
 
Other fittings will follow suit ...
 
wefalck

Thanks. I have been collecting (and restoring) these machines for about 25 years now. The machines themselves are between 50 and 100 years old (I guess).
 
Next installment will come soon.
 
wefalck

Given the problems with the spill, it was cut completely from the moulded hull in order to be rebuilt as a separate item. Square holes and recessions cannot be easily machined from the solid. Therefore the spill was built up from a number of parts that would allow machining, The
0.5 mm x 0.5 mm holes for the handle bars were cut as slots into a section of 4 mm round brass bar.
 

 
 
The ratchet wheel was cut on the milling machine with a dividing attachment:
 


 
All parts had a 1 mm hole drilled through to take up a 1 mm brass rod. Brass was chosen in order to be able to soft-solder all parts together for the subsequent machining operations and to provide an axle.



 
The cigar-shape of the spill was turned with the Lorch free-hand turning device:



 
The piece was then transfered back to the dividing attachment (http://www.wefalck.eu/mm/tools/dividingapparatus/dividingapparatus.html)
on the mill and the eight sides of the winding drum were milled on.



 
Here the completed spill stem:



 
And installed in the hull:



to be continued ...


Wefalck