druxey

I had my new laser machine delivered and set up yesterday, a few teething problems, but to be sorted. I now have 2 large machines, with the new one picked specifically for the larger kits I have in mind in the future. This is by far the largest investment yet.
 
Damn, I need more space....
 
Pics are a little too bright, shutter doors were open and sun was shining in!

The next issue on the Mary is to fix the positioning of these fittings that work like cleats or kevels. Does anybody know the proper term for these Dutch belaying points?

These fittings were mounted so low on the bulwarks that there was no room to wrap lines around them. I had to debond the glue that was used on them, which was some kind of rubbery adhesive. It made them easy to remove, but left a lot of rubbery glue spots and some hard to remove residue on the model. I did what I could and re-attached the fittings with thick CA glue.
 
This allowed me to finally rig the lines for hauling up the lee boards. Rope coils to come later.

Looking ahead at rigging the vangs, I noted that an image of the Utrecht reconstruction showed small pin rails at the bulwarks, aft. So, I added those to the Mary. I didn't have a whole lot of room to do this, as the forward wall of the stern cabin is about an 1/8" further forward than the plans show. This was an adjustment made by the original modeler. Made the spacing a little tighter, but I think the new pin rails should be okay.

 

(Jealous)  😶

Would be a pleasure, but have to see, whether I am around. Even during the summer I seem to have a lot of business travels this year. We should get in touch via PM a bit closer to the time.
 
Sometimes I see the river cruises pass up or down the Seine from the kitchen window, but now the trees are gettting leaves again and begin to obscur the view ... 

We will be in Paris for a brief time in August... a Viking river cruise. not a lot of free time, but if you are available perhaps we could meet?
 

Wow! Very impressive!
You set a high bar, one I will strive for!
Regards,
Bruce
 

I love making such mechanical things. Here my take in 1:60 scale, done some 30 years ago:
 

Feeling ambitious, so I got the lower frame of the bay window together... it is test fit in place so the corners will be accurate once the glue dries.

O yeah... I made and installed the ship's clock...
It is from a picture I took of St. Roch's clock, that I reduced to 3/16" (9 scale inches). Our printer does a very good job of retaining details, even at that size. The face is glued to a short piece of styrene tube that I coloured with a Sharpie (no drying time required)!
Here is the picture of the actual clock...

The compass card was an on line photo that reduced to 1/8", and I was surprised the details of the rose remained!
Good night all!
 

Too true. I'm actually writing a novel on time travel using a steam powered machine. Definitely dangerous! 
 
On a more serious note, the 'blank' panel of the lower gallery is logical, as it balances another blank one on the foremost panel. 

Wonderful cleats !

They not go right through

Made a of set of cleat.  

I beg you to listen carefully to me ; as I'm trying now my best to persuade you (for your own safety) that Time travel isn't possible, simply because the place you arrive at (after your Time travel) is a “normal” place where air molecules "normally"are (and maybe mosquitoes too and microbs) ... 
 
How are you going to (are you really able to) push-away those air molecules, mosquitos and microbs (which are taking your new body's emplacement) out of the way ?  
 
To avoid this, all you should have to do is travel back in Time, taking care to arrive in an 100 % free and empty place where there are NO other air molecules, NOR mosquitoes and NOR microbs ... i.e. in the absolute vacuum ... then you wouldn't have to “dislodge” all this stuff, while they wouldn't be present in such a perfect vacuum place ...
 
... but traveling through Time to find yourself into a perfect vacuum environment ... that's hardly an interesting hobby !
 
I HOPE IT HELPS !
 
Important notice :
 
Time travel is a dangerous business, so don't leave your kids alone when they're tinkering with weird machines without telling you what they'll be used for !
 
 
 
 

I like your analogy with the Jules Verne's Nautilus ; with this fantastic decor made by Disney, including extra large glass portholes ... and even an organ ! ... but maybe should we stick a little more to historic reality as per the number of pierced portholes :
 
- We know that the Fulminant was pierced @ 14 for the lower deck ... there is no problem about it and this doesn't concern the port windows.
 
- For the mid deck, it was pierced @ 15 (for it's 18 pdrs guns) as the best reference historic study by Demerliac indicates ...
 
... anyhow, some other information indicates "pierced @ 14" ... but I am quite certain that "15" is more correct because the Orgueilleux and the Formidable, which were 1st rank vessels launched earlier (in 1690), were already pierced @15 for the 2nd battery, whilst their dimensions being a little bit shorter than the Fulminant (and the same is for the Ambitieux pierced @ 15 portholes for the 2nd battery).
 
Moreover, the Ambitieux, Fulminant's sister ship, had the (bad) reputation of being overgunned ... which was not good for its inner sailing maneuverability.
 
Honestly, this point (14 or 15 portholes for the 2nd battery) can be fairly discussed as there are as many "pro" examples" than "against" example (please refer to the attached files).   
 
(a) Then, PRACTICALLY, your model should (I suppose) show 15 portholes for the 2nd battery. 
 
In a logical point of view (and I rejoin here your conclusions), all the windows N°s 2 ; 3 and 4 should be false, because a real window with glasses would explose due to the blast of your own cannons when firing. 
 
Moreover, your idea for 4 windows instead of 3 may be interesting, as far as you can increment the 15 portholes REGULARLY along the hull of the vessel ; then, the question is : are the 15 portholes equally and regularly balanced with 3 or 4 false windows ?     
 
(b) Another alternative is to pierce it @ 14, if it appears that the implementation of the extra portholes (one or two) into the rear castle appears too inadequate or aesthetically disastrous.   
 
 

Ouch! I've already heard that the labeling of emotions differs from country to country. And in America they don't understand the way Russians draw emoticons. So I'll explain, I wanted to depict unrestrained laughter. This does not mean that I read chat and cut my nails ). I hope the meaning of the joke is clear and I didn't make my posts even weirder. (emoticon that is embarrassed)

Oh, yes, you're right! A thousand times right! I'd give a lot if I could go back to that time for one minute and see the ships with my own eyes. The only thing that reassures me is that science fiction is not on my side. And as soon as I get my hands on a time machine, I'm going to regret it. ))))).

Mark, thank you for sharing your explorations and conclusions. In a way, I have encountered a very similar situation. However, while you decided to reduce the number of windows to achieve a more harmonious composition, I am considering increasing the number of windows from three to four. And the fact that my solution is turning out to be rather unsuccessful is precisely what is causing my confusion.
I don’t like the original three-window version by Beren, mainly because of the very long second window. But the alternative of splitting it into two doesn’t satisfy me either. I realize that over time, the concept of aesthetic taste has changed significantly, and what was not an issue for Beren now causes discomfort for me. But how do I determine where to stop and say, "This is the ideal solution"? For example, I used to perceive some of his other decisions differently. But now the time has come to examine them more closely.
Previously, when I looked at the eagles beneath the windows, I somehow thought that Beren was illustrating different levels of protrusions and that the oddly halved eagle was actually the figure placed in the central segment of the stern, where the wreath with the ship’s name is located. From the side, it is partially visible, and I believed this was what the artist intended to depict.
 

 
But now I see that it is something else entirely. It is actually positioned on the side castle. L'Ambitieux uses the same approach, but instead of a bird, there is an ornamental scroll. Budriot depicted it in the same manner, as if it were an accidental misalignment. To me, it looks like a clear mistake or a flaw. I cannot call such a composition a successful design. However, neither Beren nor Budriot seemed to have any issue with it. And if that was considered acceptable, how should I perceive my own discomfort with the elongated window?
 

 
There are many conflicting elements here that raise questions for me. If we compare the design of the transom and the side castle, we can notice discrepancies. For example, the upper frieze below the windows, where the lion heads are depicted, maintains roughly the same visual rhythm. From both the transom and the side projection, this line is executed in a fairly consistent manner.
 

 
However, at the lower level, where the eagles are located, the situation is completely different. The space between the eagles on the transom is filled with ornamental decoration. But as soon as this same strip transitions onto the ship’s side, everything changes. There is no decorative embellishment between the eagles—just emptiness.
 

 
Why? I could continue further, but that would take our discussion too far. I am trying to determine the best way to resolve these emerging questions, but so far, I have not found an answer that satisfies me.

Not looking after this now could develop into a 'knock on' one of cumulative error. I've had that happen, which is most annoying!

You are correct about the bitt but not sure how i would get that measurement. Its not stuck yet and i will see how i can figure that out. The slope on the main deck is very slight.

So sorry to hear about Sierra. It is unbearable to have to say goodbye to a companion, but it does get easier over time.
 
Sebastian is fortunate to have found such a good home.
 
Trevor

Regards from Felix

Thank you, Patrick. Her death has been really hard to take, we were very close. 
 
Two weeks ago, I was going crazy and decided that while I could never replace her, I needed to do find someone to take over her job at least. So, I adopted this little boy kitty from the animal shelter to serve as my new ship modeling supervisor and kitty overlord. I named him Sebastian, and he's been helping out a lot. It's taken him this long to get used to me, but we're managing pretty well now.
 

 
 

Nice work.
Sorry to hear about Sierra 😪

I've been having a really hard time working on my ship modeling projects. I started this topic a few days after my dearest kitty cat, Sierra, passed away. She'd been seriously sick for a couple weeks and couldn't hang on. I ended up having to work a lot extra to pay for her vet bills, plus had a hard time concentrating at home. So, things progressed very slowly, even though at times I thought things were getting better.
 
Now, maybe they are getting better. I don't know. But, I did compile some of the work I've managed to accomplish over the last two-and-a-half weeks...
 
I set the sails aside and started working on the main hold-up on this model, which is the making of chainplates. Once these are made, the shrouds can then be dealt with. It’s been a long time since I’ve made decent chainplates. On the Charles yacht model, they are simple wires that wrap around the deadeye and the bottom ends are inserted straight into the hull. I wanted something a little more sophisticated. So, I created chainplates from brass wire that are soldered to form flat plates with a loop at the bottom end for a nail.
 
Took me a while to consistently form brass wire into the right shape. For this, I had to make a little fixture with a piece of brass rod for the big loop (for stropping the deadeye) and a hard, stainless steel pin for forming the small loop for the nail.


It’s also been a long time since I’ve done much silver solder work, and I couldn’t find my silver solder and flux, so I had to buy more. I was sure I had some somewhere, but I guess it was hidden away somewhere some time ago. The soldering process turned out pretty well as you can see below. After soldering and cleaning up the new chainplates, I blacked them, starting by soaking them in vinegar (acetic acid) solution, rinsing them off, and them soaking them in a dilute solution of BlueJacket’s Brass Black solution. I find that BlueJacket’s metal toners work the best of any metal toners I’ve used over the past 30 years.


Deadeyes are 5mm, 3D printed resin deadeyes sold by Syren Ship Model Company.
 

Your attention to detail is fantastic.