glbarlow

Looking forward to the Master special edition of Flirt.

Just a quick update. The Zulu is complete, and just waiting for the printers now. I have attached a pic of the box label, which I finished yesterday. Fifie will not be too far behind, thanks to Jim Hatch, and also thanks to Jim for helping with the Flirt development, which I anticipate will be ready July/August, with a very, very special Master Shipwright limited edition. And while Jim works on Flirt, I can work on another development.
 
I had my new 'pin bed' arrive this morning from the US. The pins are magnetic and they raise the material from the bed to reduce/stop blowback on the underside of the material. Looking forward to trying it out..
 
Hope you're all keeping safe!
 
Cheers,
 
Chris
 
ETA - I put in a large order for Master-Korabel stuff this week, but was told Russia is in complete lockdown for the next few weeks, so I cannot get any new stock until the world opens for business again...


 

OK Glenn,
 
 First of al I have to say that mine are not as good as some others on this site. Probably everybody is going to find their own way to do this.  First, I suggest you practice on some scrap.  I didn't do this but I should have as I started to run out of timber!  Chuck outlines the pattern in his log so I first drew up what looked like a symmetrical scarph on card and then scribed that on the timber. Then I cut outside the lines with an Exacto blade and then filed up to the line with a needle file. It is important that each of the long sides is really flat. If it is even slightly curved you will never match that curve when you cut. the matching scarph.  So for the matching one I put the first plank (with its scarph cut) on top of the next plank and scribed its pattern on that plank.  Then cut the next scarph in the same way. As I say this is only one way.  You have to really find a way which works for you.  I think the main thing is to use the same method for each scaph otherwise they are unlikely to match.
 
I hope this helps.
 
Incidentally, years ago a watched a guy who built wooden fishing  trawlers do this.  He left a gap in the center.  Then he drove wedges into that gap to tighten the scarph.  No glue!!
 
 
 
John

Your patient pace is admirable 👍🏻

Welcome to the Speedy club. Mine is still in the box waiting until my current project completes. 
 
We all learn and share on this forum, some might be better than others but that doesn’t matter. I’ve built 8, almost 9, pretty nice models. I’m not too bad at it, but then I look at work by Blue Ensign, Chuck, and lots of others. I learn new things seeing their work and strive to get better at mine. Be proud to share and willing to ask for help. I’m sure I’ll learn something following your log. 

I think we’ve divided ourselves into CA and non-CA people, I’m sorry to see the non-CA people have a new member 🤣😂
 
Great start!
 
A small suggestion. I glue strips of felt to the building cradle after the second planking to protect it from scratching. I work from it more than the vise once I’m done planking.  Just a thought. 

No problems at all, it at the very least gives me a chance to explain certain aspects of design/material choices.
 
ETA - I did the top of the ship's pumps for the same reason. I designed them initially in 3-D CAD, but the people who do the casting for me told me the parts were too fine to be cast correctly, they would need 'beefing up'. I preferred to keep the scale appearance, so opted for PE parts instead, as they look better, more 'delicate' when in place and painted. Again, commercial choices were out of the question.

Didn’t mean to create a problem, I guess like you said I’d grown use to the comically sized fat ones. 
 
I have a similar issue with Amati and my current model, the swivel guns are bigger than the cannon. 

I know that for the Amati 64th scale Victory, I had to choose the smallest belaying pins Amati did. Up until then, they were hardly ever used, as most 'chubby' wooden ones went into the kits or shiny turned brass pins. What I used for Victory I just about got away with, scale wise, as the model is so large anyway. I just about managed to add every belaying pin that the full size ship had. If you look at most commercial models, there are a lot less pins than the real thing, this is because what is used in the kits are comically over size.

If they are painted (or sprayed), the paint gives them a more rounded appearance, kind of like those little Tamiya PE figures for the warship kits.

Thanks for the explanation Chris, if you'd explained it before I missed it.  I certainly understand about the scale and fat pin issue, that makes sense.  I think my issue will be the two dimensional aspect of a PE pin, but I'll give them a try when I reach that point. Working at 1:64 does present it's challenges. Again thanks for taking the time to explain - and for the record I didn't ever think it was a cost issue.

Hi
 
I am sure I explained my decision to go for PE belaying pins. Top be honest, I have no problem buying standard belaying pins, cost is definitely not an issue, they are so cheap.
 
The problem was one of size, the smallest belaying pin I could buy was a lot larger than the actual scale size pin. Perhaps we are all too used to seeing oversize pins on model kits, and  think it is the norm. When drawing the pins from scale drawings, I was initially surprised at just how small these were in 64th scale (As I too am too used the standard fare). This is when I took the decision to make them in PE, for true scale appearance. What is the point of endeavouring to design all parts as accurate as possible, scale-wise, and then using big fat oversize belaying pins. Cost doesn't enter into the equation, as far as I am concerned, I just was as much scale accuracy as my budgets will allow - and costs for standard belaying pins doesn't even come into the equation, so please do not think for a second they are in PE due to cost. In fact, the PE is one of the most expensive materials that go into kits.

I do use both glues as well and agree both are needed. The discussion mostly hovers around planking I think, all in fun. 

Thanks Glenn. The second planking was all CA. I just didn't want to use CA close to the deck as it's a bit unforgiving! To my mind, both glues have their place. 
 
Thanks for that tip. I was thinking that when I start the coppering I was going to place the bubble wrap from the box in the cradle first for that reason, but I like your idea better 🙂 I might give that a go. Thank you.

Welcome to the Speedy club. Mine is still in the box waiting until my current project completes. 
 
We all learn and share on this forum, some might be better than others but that doesn’t matter. I’ve built 8, almost 9, pretty nice models. I’m not too bad at it, but then I look at work by Blue Ensign, Chuck, and lots of others. I learn new things seeing their work and strive to get better at mine. Be proud to share and willing to ask for help. I’m sure I’ll learn something following your log. 

I think we’ve divided ourselves into CA and non-CA people, I’m sorry to see the non-CA people have a new member 🤣😂
 
Great start!
 
A small suggestion. I glue strips of felt to the building cradle after the second planking to protect it from scratching. I work from it more than the vise once I’m done planking.  Just a thought. 

Welcome to the Speedy club. Mine is still in the box waiting until my current project completes. 
 
We all learn and share on this forum, some might be better than others but that doesn’t matter. I’ve built 8, almost 9, pretty nice models. I’m not too bad at it, but then I look at work by Blue Ensign, Chuck, and lots of others. I learn new things seeing their work and strive to get better at mine. Be proud to share and willing to ask for help. I’m sure I’ll learn something following your log. 

I think we’ve divided ourselves into CA and non-CA people, I’m sorry to see the non-CA people have a new member 🤣😂
 
Great start!
 
A small suggestion. I glue strips of felt to the building cradle after the second planking to protect it from scratching. I work from it more than the vise once I’m done planking.  Just a thought. 

Chris's 1577 Revenge kit from Victory/Amati provides extensive printed paper decorations. In my build of this superb kit and after testing this appliqué approach, I didn't like the appearance and I decided to paint over these printed patterns. I've included one photo here to show the results of my solution. Looking closely, one can see that my "over-painting" isn't perfect. In fact, slight brush marks and tiny "wobblies" in the application of acrylic paint accomplished exactly what I intended: the appearance of precisely-hand-painted, decorative friezes. It is important to note that the scale of this kit is 1:64; the large, geometric patterns weren't that difficult to execute by hand.
 
However....
 
For models of latter era ships, whether kit or scratch-built (mainly English and French Navy warships of the 17-18th centuries), accomplishing accurately painted embellishments (mostly on outer bulwarks, sometime on sterns) is extraordinarily challenging  - at any scale - but especially so at scales smaller than 1/48 (I" = 1ft.). This style of ship decorative painting is called trompe-d'loeil ("fool-the-eye"). This painting style was popular in contemporary European art of the late 17th and early 18th centuries and adopted by ship owners and builders. The themes are very detailed and typically featured floral and ornate tapestry designs which mimicked the decorative interior trends of the period. I have seen numerous (legacy) ship models in museums and in various publications with this painting technique and believe the vast majority of these models are at scales of at least 1:48. Modeler's attempts to accurately portray this embellishment at scales of 1/64 or 1/72 (for example) are rare precisely because it is extremely challenging to do well.
 
To the point: Paper appliqués, whether printed or hand-painted off the model, are a reasonable "best solution" for period ship models at scales smaller than 1:48.
 
Members here will note that Chuck Passaro's HMS Winchelsea model has beautifully rendered the trompe-d'loeil style paintings on both the bulwarks and stern with excellent painting by hand: As most would agree, Chuck is a trained and accomplished artist  — and, importantly, this impressive model is 1:48 scale.
 
It will be interesting to see what Chris decides to offer for his kits of ships featuring these 2-dimensional ornate embellishments. I'm certain it will be clever!
 
Ron
 
 
 

Thank you Edward, Chris, Glenn (X 2!), Eric and SpyGlass for your kind comments, and thanks as always for the 'likes'.
Good recommendation Glenn. Amazon don't sell this exact set in the UK but I managed to get something similar. I tried out the scraper that looks closest to the one you use and it worked perfectly for getting excess glue from the angle between the batten and the hull. It made it a lot easier getting the port batten fitted as I was comfortable using CA this time.
 
Thanks again Eric for suggesting brass sheet for scraping excess glue. I particularly like this method as I can easily cut a piece of brass to the exact size and profile I need, and I've used a couple of these scrapers to tidy up the hull.
 
Derek

I did a few mistakes with my coppering but i am overall happy with the result. Its the 2nd ship i do this on so i am still learning but now i feel comfortable for the next time (Diana). The kit included two sheets of copper and its plenty of metal over.  These sheets are way better than the Caldercraft version so i might have to upgrade for my future builds....

I'd like to see some of your work Bob, I recommend your adding links to galleries or build logs to your signature line so we can see how you do it.

Post 18
 
I have now completed the planking. Not in Chuck's league by any means - there are a few places where the planks could be tighter but on the whole it looks OK. Its all a learning exercise for me.

 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Time to move on to the treenails now
 

Paper prints work just fine....they look great and its how the contemporary models were done.   You can buy some self-adhesive paper which is very thin by the way, and print them on that.  It would be very easy to paint right on top in a few areas only to fake that you actually painted it.  But if the original design is done in a painterly style, it isnt needed.  They are not easy to do however so they look good.  Trust me.  Chris has his work cut out for him.  I have seen the decal friezes by other kit companies.  The water/slide off kind.  They look just awful in my opinion.   
 
But there will be trade-offs no matter what is selected.
 
Chuck

I'd like to see some of your work Bob, I recommend your adding links to galleries or build logs to your signature line so we can see how you do it.

That is a great idea! (Which I will steal!!)

I have several dentist tools that come in handy for a lot of tasks - the scraper shown in this amazon listing (the one on the left in the photo) is one of my most used tools. It works great for scraping away extra glue. The other tools come in handy from time to time, like putting a drop of CA in a hard to reach place.
 
https://www.amazon.com/Dental-Scraper-Stainless-Remover-Cleaning/dp/B07XF4KQTL/ref=sr_1_19?crid=32L1T8YIOC1DH&dchild=1&keywords=dental+scraper+tool&qid=1586277043&sprefix=dental+scraper+tool%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-19
 

I have several dentist tools that come in handy for a lot of tasks - the scraper shown in this amazon listing (the one on the left in the photo) is one of my most used tools. It works great for scraping away extra glue. The other tools come in handy from time to time, like putting a drop of CA in a hard to reach place.
 
https://www.amazon.com/Dental-Scraper-Stainless-Remover-Cleaning/dp/B07XF4KQTL/ref=sr_1_19?crid=32L1T8YIOC1DH&dchild=1&keywords=dental+scraper+tool&qid=1586277043&sprefix=dental+scraper+tool%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-19