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druxey

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Everything posted by druxey

  1. Painting or staining items before adding them to a model is a good strategy! She's looking very nice indeed.
  2. There is much work yet to do, Eberhard. I'm going as fast as I can while still maintaining quality! The transom is still overheight at this point. All will become clear in time. There is a wash strake yet to go on, interrupted by tholes. It is supported by separate stub toptimbers. However, that is a long way off yet.
  3. If it's a half model...no discussion!
  4. The futtocks are now complete. The S-curved timbers aft were very challenging to bend and fit. Next are the floors. You can see the first midship floor already installed. Floors are in two parts for convenience, as the joints will be covered by the keelson.
  5. Congratulations, Clare. She looks terrific. Nice wind-blown flags as well!
  6. If the waterline marking in post #1 is accurate, then the old girl has hogged quite a bit. She'll need some major structural work done before cosmetic surgery.
  7. Progress continues. I'm improving my ability to bend frames freehand to fit the hull. As there are no cant frames, the most forward ones have to be twisted as well as curved to shape. An interesting experience! Only four more pairs to make and fit at the stern. Next will be making and fitting floors that abut the futtocks.
  8. Unfortunately brute strength is not helpful in model-making. But you know that already. If you wet the wood sufficiently, it should obey you with minimum of fuss. Another model maker had a bad break in a plank and he was successful in repairing it. Perhaps you can do the same. It's all part of the learning curve - fixing 'oopsies'.
  9. I suspect the beeswax thing is another of those passed down tales. I believe that heavy thread was waxed years ago to make sewing by hand easier. Some ship model maker saw this and thought "Hey, it makes my coarse thread less hairy," and used it. Word spread and every ship modeler started waxing their thread, whether it needed it or not. Somehow the idea of preservation got into the mix, in spite of the fact that beeswax is slightly acidic. That's my theory, anyway!
  10. Maury: There are floors that will go in that butt against the futtocks. The keelson runs above the floors in this case. You'll see all this - eventually! The jig just give a me basic bend. After that, each frame has to be free-hand bent to fit. That is why this takes so much time. In previous models all I had to do was wet the holly stock and bend it in place, quick and easy. Progress to this point:
  11. Very neatly done. Those radiating gratings are difficult to do so evenly, and you've succeeded nicely.
  12. Carriage looks great, but he trunnions should end flush to the outside of the cheeks. Picky, aren't I? But it will look so much better, Kevin.
  13. Thank you, Toni! Forming and bending in of frames is now under way. I made a small jig to heat and moisture bend the stock on. I still need to fine-tune the spacing of a couple of installed frames. Another 18 of 27 frames to go, then the floors need to be added after that. So the next update will be a while. Thanks for dropping by.
  14. Turning cannon is tricky, but you have done it well. I might comment, though, that the flare at the end of the muzzle is little exaggerated.
  15. Bending in frames has now begun. Again, bending Castello is a very different experience to bending in holly. With the latter, all I had to do was wet it and in it went. Castello has to be soaked and heat bent off-model. This is going to be a long and drawn out procedure. I'm beginning to regret my decision to build an open boat in this specie of wood! The model has spread a little and will be cinched in when the risers and thwarts are added.
  16. Keith: The planks are 1/64" thick or a scale 3/4". I haven't yet measured an eggshell! Not much gluing surface, so I was not surprised by things giving way, other than the 'welded' areas. Maury: In hindsight holly would have been a better choice, but I wanted to try for an unpainted single-color model. I had not tried using Castello for planking on a boat this size before. Live and learn! If I were to repeat the exercise, I would not gesso the plug but go with plain waxed wood instead. Yes, after some fine-tuning the shell, the frames will be the next step. There are still some doubtful seams needing attention first. Thank you for looking in and commenting, ladies and gentlemen all.
  17. And for those who doubted that this was salvageable, after a few hours work: It still needs finessing before I can begin to install the rest of the framing.
  18. This post should be labelled 'Snatching victory from the jaws of disaster'. The removal of the model from the plug was more difficult than usual. I now realize why. In the past I've used holly for planking open boats. It bends easily and almost no moisture or heat was required. Castello is a different story. It needed a lot moisture and heat to form. In the process the planks welded in spots to the gesso layer on the plug. The photo tells the story. Repairs are under way, as you can also see. This will take a little time.
  19. First rate work! The bowsing in of laniards is an interesting detail.
  20. Not really, Eberhard, as the stem and frame tops are secured to the plug. Certainly I do this with clinker style hulls where no internal frames are needed when constructing the shell.
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