BLACK VIKING

From Popular Mechanics for Young America, published 1905:

... But if the gas is on too long before the lad works up enough static charge, there could be quite a flash when the fuel-air mixture ignites - hair singeing, to be sure !
 

Extraordinary work David

Time to have a crack at the upper capstan. For the lower capstan I has resorted to 3D printing. I was never that happy with the look and finish but it was not really a problem as it is not possible to see it once the quarterdeck is in place. I may has well have used a block of cheddar cheese and no one would have been the wiser. For the upper one the temptation was there just to press the print button and save myself the trauma but I initially thought that I could construct it out of timber. The kit parts are the dreaded walnut ply and it is missing the upper chocks. The kit piece consists of eight whelps each with a width of 1.6mm rather than the six shown in the AOTSD drawings that are 3.4mm wide so I will have to scratch build it I guess.
 

I started off as usual by transposing the AOTSD drawings into a 3D CAD model so I could get an idea of what I was attempting. The drawings are fairly concise but a tad ambiguous and lacking detail in places so I had to resort to other sources and photographs of extant examples to fill in the gaps. I then created a kit of parts that I printed out so that I could assemble a rough prototype. The idea being that I would then use some of these parts as templates to construct timber pieces for the final model. Once I had printed out the pieces, I realised that they are quite small and the tolerances required to achieve an adequate product are quite narrow. I then decided that it would be less stressful to go down the 3D printed route. I figured that if I spent more time filling, sanding and using individual pieces rather than printing it out pre-assembled then I could potentially achieve an acceptable product.



I reworked the CAD model to make some minor adjustments suggested by the mock-up. This was then printed out and I proceeded to work on cleaning up the pieces.

I painted the barrel black to disguise the lumpiness and to give some additional definition to highlight that it is assembled using several distinct parts rather than printed out in one go. The whelps were then painted red and glued on. The whole structure was designed to be threaded onto a 3.2mm diameter styrene rod with a centre hole left in all the parts to ensure that they could be easily aligned. 
 

 

The chocks were deliberately printed larger than they had to be so that they could be hand shaped to their final dimensions to make it look a bit more artisanal. I included a slew of wire bolts as per drawings from the NMM using 0.44mm diameter wire with the end filed down nearly flush.
 



While test fitting it on the deck I accidentally knocked the captain headfirst down the ladderway and he got wedged under the chain pump brake. At one point I thought that I would have to perform a double amputation below the knees but I eventually managed to extricate him in one piece.
 

For the drum head I decided to include the circular iron plate on top. Most of the contemporary drawings show this on the top of the trundle head for the bottom capstan and below the drum head for the upper capstan. I would speculate that this is for weatherproofing reasons. Having this extra detail on the top does allow some distraction from the finish of the piece and I did see a contemporary model in the NMM that had this detail. Once assembled I loaded it into the dividing attachment and drilled twelve 0.5mm holes to accept some of the 0.44mm diameter wire which then received the same trimming and filing treatment. Once I had completed this I decided that it looked a lot flatter than I had envisaged. I went back to the drawings and realised that I had lazily copied the trundle head for the lower capstan which has a much flatter profile and a smaller diameter so back to the computer to make a new drum head and into the bin with the old one.
 




The new profile was drawn and printed out and this highlighted the limitations of my 3D printing setup. As the curve of the cap is fairly shallow the individual layers that are laid down by the printer are quite visible in a series of steps. I decided I could lathe a central cap out of timber to be inserted into the 3D printed drum head. This was fairly easy to accomplish and it made me realise that I might as well construct the whole assembly out of timber. I Fortunately had a beech dowel that was exactly the same diameter as the drum head so it was just a pedestrian series of operations on the lathe and the milling machine to finish. Looking at the picture it is apparent that I had not centred the lower part of the drum head in the dividing attachment but it is good enough for my purposes.
 

 

 



 I added the iron plate and bolts and then glued it all together. It took five versions to arrive at the final one but I like the timber version far more than the 3D printed efforts.
 


 
I never bothered to assemble the kit capstan for comparison but I think this one is more in keeping with the details shown in the AOTSD and NMM drawings.




 

I now have lots of little fiddly bits to complete before tackling the dreaded cannon rigging.
 
 
 

oh i just added some access ladders......maybe not correct...maybe not logical...but for me...better than nothing..........now, rigging...for me....painful.......but it's gotta be done 🙃...and still lots of cleaning up, touchup painting, and glue removal to do.....

Happy New Year to you all. Back working on the Victory.
Painted the hull and Cannon carriages and started the copper plating. Have to touch up some spots on the hull and paint the gunports. The instruction says that the outside edges should be yellow, but the real Victory has everything painted red. Didn't make a decision yet what to do. The cannons take a lot of time, same as the copper plating. I will find some other things to do on the Victory in between so I will have a break from it. 

Greetings:
 
Its been awhile since my last update.  Work on the ship is pretty much complete with all the sails now up.  I decided to leave the bonaventure sail set in order to show one sail not furled or drawn up.  Gaskets were added on the square sails. Here are 2 photos:
 

Still on the to do list:  anchors, flags and the base with simulated water.  This next pic shows the kit anchors and stock.  The anchor stock was pretty bad so it got tossed.  New stocks were made using some leftover boxwood.

Here is the complete stock, compared to the kit stock.  The anchors were also lightly brushed with some paint to give it slightly rusted look.

Anchor buoys were constructed next.  Rather than carve an egg shape, I used small slices of various diameter dowels and glued them together.  They were then covered in wood filler and sanded to shape.  Next,, the buoys were wrapped in black rope and harnesses attached.  Here are 2 photos. 

One anchor will be stowed along the channel with the buoy tied up to the shrouds.  The other will be on the seafloor with the buoy "floating" above on the simulated sea.  The photo below shows the base of the ships case.  The vertical dowels are plexiglass which will hold the plexiglass sea (eventually screwed in at the corners).  

And this photo shows my simulated sea floor - large and small stones, sand and lichen.  If you look closely, one anchor can be seen in the foreground.  I also has 2 leftover cannons from this kit.  Although they were assembled there was no place to put them so they became detritus on the seafloor (after smashing them with a hammer).  see if you can spot them.

One of the last items are the flags.  Material supplied by the kit is really too thick and inflexible.  I've imported the flags into Lightroom and I am planning to print them on silkspan or tissue paper.  Still a work in progress getting the colors correct and printing them.

I'll post some pics of the stowed anchor and buoy and the ship in the sea soon.  
 
Jeff

I added the figures. They are a bit sparse possibly but they are all I can glean from the sets I bought and I didn't really want to have a display loaded with figures. A couple more for the howitzer team would have been nice though. That officer might have to get his hands out of his pockets and get them dirty!
I muddied boots and added some splashes on some of the puttees
So the photos









This was the image that inspired the whole production. Hopefully I got the general impression



This is a bit self indulgent but it looks good to me
 



I think that concludes this build apart from building the usual case. A lot of new ideas, techniques and experiments here but I think it came out OK. At some point I would like to try a Mark V tank on a base depicting it crossing a trench so lessons learnt will be useful.
Having already broken two resolutions before the New Year reaches double figures (no more new books, no more new kits) I'm trying to hang onto the third and complete the part built projects and bits before starting anything else.
Many Thanks for all the support, helpful information, likes and views
Alan
 
 
 
 
 

I just got the Japanese junk by Disar and, like Janelle, have found the kit institutions a lot to be desired.  
 
While I can appreciate the instructions being in several different languages translating to English is terrible.  Maybe if they had a few better photos, that would help.
 
I did email Disar but do not expect to hear back.

Greetings Fellow Modelers,
 
Dan, Edward and Andy - thanks so much for the kind words and for stopping to take a look.  And thanks to all for the likes.  
 
 
This mess below is the backside of the rear wall.  After having the wall break apart at the styrene columns, I reasoned it was time to reinforce the thing with some strips of wood and absurd amounts of PVA.  I mixed the PVA with black acrylic paint so it can serve double duty and act as a light barrier as well.  The “exterior” lighting to be used on this model will be very bright, and without the black PVA, it will peek through all the cracks and eliminate the hope of a convincing scene.  I have also learned that the styrene has to be back-painted with the black goo to keep it from emitting a low translucent glow.
 

 
 
The display needs a point of interest in the right corner of the building – something attached to the building.  So, I added an electrical distribution panel.  Commonly, these panels have a face cover with an attached door that is larger than the metal box behind it.  This allows the panel to be flush mounted in a finished wall as well as surface mounted.  To represent this detail, a rectangular block of styrene is front faced with .005” (.127 mm) material.  A cover door of the same material is placed on top of that, and a piece of fine brass wire is glued to its edge pretending to be a piano hinge.
 

 
 
Conduits feeding and leaving the panel are brass wire and a few are styrene.
 

 
 
A piece of 3/32” basswood sheet is cut for the base and the walls are stood up and glued together.  Here on the left end of the display, the recessed wall section for the upper staircase is seen.
 

 
 
The end wall on the right side has been capped with a “steel” I-beam.  I placed a larger header over the doorway than I did on the windows not because the structure requires it, but because the visual weight of the smaller header just looked wrong.
 

 

 
With this post, I have caught up to the current state of progress on the model.
 
Thanks for stopping by.
 
Be safe and stay well.
 
Gary

I got back to her on the 29th..........sanded the corners off the struts and added more CA to fill in the gaps.  a supprt strut for the main cabane struts needs to be added.  I cut them from the harder balsa and added them to the model.


the next step is to finish sanding the struts to blend the joints in better and get them painted.  from there I can cut the rear struts and put on the wing.  

more to come  

Hello Fellow Modelers.
 
Thank you Egilman, Jack, Paul, Keith, Roger, OC., Dan, Mark and Ken for your warm reception and comments.  I'm very pleased to have you following along.  And thanks to all for the likes and for stopping to take a look.
 
 
The model display is built as a separate module and simply fits into a rabbeted cutout in the face frame of the shadow box. The box and how the module fits into it looks like this.
 

 
The box is made from 1/2” poplar which is glued and clamped together. All pieces are mitered, and the only fastenings are a few beech biscuits that hold the face frame to the body. Poplar is soft enough to work easily, yet hard enough to maintain crisp edges. After sanding to the point where my fingers would no longer bend, a coating of pre-stain wood conditioner was applied to help promote uniform stain absorption and avoid a splotchy finish. Some furniture stain and few coats of semi-gloss poly complete the box.
 

 

 
 
Having lived with myself for quite some time, I know that if I build the vehicle first and it turns out all wrong, I might just be tempted to drop the whole project. Therefore, I'll outsmart myself and build the stage first.
 
Here's a top down view of the stage, just a rectangular room. The main lighting for the display will be “outside” lighting coming through the open door on the right, and from the windows along the back wall. The stairway provides some visual interest in the back corner, but it will also serve as a way to illuminate that end of the display. Light will shine down from the top of the staircase (where it penetrates the ceiling) and cast shadows through and across the stairs. Fill light will also be needed in the form a few ceiling pendants.
 

 
 
In the back wall drawing, the rectangular blue line represents the front opening of the shadowbox. There will be no front view of the upper stairs because it's located behind the face frame. Having only a partial side view of the upper staircase means the light source at the top won't be seen directly.
 

 
 
The walls are a steel frame structure with brick infill. The “steel” is Evergreen columns and I-beams.
 

 
 
It is assembled with solvent cement and primed with Badger Stynylrez gray. After the primer dried, small amounts of rust colored pigment powders were applied. Finally, graphite powder was scraped off a #2 pencil and rubbed on with a small silicone color shaper to give select areas an uneven metallic look.
 

 
 
The wall sections are cut (razor saw) from blank panels of Hydrocal brick material. Cutting the window openings was a tedious file and fit operation because it had to be exact in order to accept the injected molded windows. Masonry window frames fit into the wall and they don't have jambs or outer casing trim to cover gaps.
 
I'm using up some older HO brick stock from C.C. Crow which I'm not sure is even sold anymore. Typically, I use material from New England Brownstone.
 

 
 
Because I'll be using indirect lighting, I think dark walls would suck all the light out of it, so I decided on painting the brick white.  But I want to be able to pull some of that white layer off to reveal the red brick underneath.  I always use gouache to color hydrocal/plaster because it is dead flat, blends color easily, and I like the results.
 

 
 
But I can't use gouache here because the slightest bit of moisture reactivates it, so washes and over painting are not possible.  A different approach was required, and I ran into some unexpected difficulties.  First, was the tendency of both layers of paint to pull off together, when I all wanted was the top layer to chip off.  Sometimes it took plaster with it.  Also, I only want the white layer to pull off the face of the bricks and leave the paint behind in the grout lines.  Using the old hairspray standby to release the upper layer wasn't the answer because that method is unpredictable, and the paint chipped wherever it wanted and not just off the face of the individual bricks.  I'm not in love with the result, but here's what I ended up doing.
 
First, I pre-wet the hydrocal with straight water, lots of it. Then I applied a heavy, soupy layer of burnt sienna acrylic and let it soak in and dry overnight. The idea is to penetrate the surface of the hydrocal with color so it can't pull off easily.
 

 
 
I then applied white acrylic primer as a topcoat because it clung tenaciously in the grout lines. Using straight acrylic paint simply pulled off in sheets, which I'll remember if I ever want that look.
 

 
 
Then using cellophane tape, I pulled the primer off in controllable chunks by burnishing the tape down with my thumbnail wherever I wanted it removed.  As a bonus, the primer pulled at the lower layer of paint unevenly leaving the sienna darker in some spots than others.
 
Although it took some time to get to, the process is easy, and the result is passable.  Batteries not included and your mileage may vary.
 

 
 
Continuing on, I plowed out cavities for the I-beam headers.
 

 
Windows from Tichy Train Group were set into the opening.  The window is only 3/8” away from the back of the shadowbox, so I want obscure what will be seen through it.  To that end, I dirtied up a piece of acetate with PVA and powders for the glazing.  Also, on top of that is a blackened brass “security grate”.  The grating material is from Clover House.
 

 
 
The completed wall section shown backlit.
 

 
 
Three sections make up the back wall.  I bricked up the single window because I decided against any additional back lighting for the vehicle, the one double window will be enough.
 

 
 
The left wall gets a man door beneath the stairway.  A gap under the door allows space for the floorboards.
 

 
 
And the main open doorway occupies most of the right wall.
 

 
 
Thanks for taking a look and I wish everyone a healthy and happy new year.
 
Be safe and stay well.
 
Gary

The Master at it again, I'm down for this....

Greetings Fellow Modelers,
 
I've begun work on a new shadowbox display and have decided to bore you with the details of its construction.  This will be the fourth shadowbox model that I've built, and because it's easier to show than to describe what these shadowbox displays are all about, here's a few photos of the three I've already made.
 
This was my first and simplest design.  The model insert itself is 4-7/8” wide (124mm) by 2-1/4” high (57mm) and 2-1/2” deep (64mm).
 

 
 
That was followed by this more complicated boat shop.  Same physical size as the first one.
 

 
 
And finally, a 1940 garage scene that I built last year.  It is the same height and depth as the other two, but half again as wide to accommodate the details I wanted it to include. 
 
A build log for the garage display can be found here.
 

 

 
This new display will differ from the others in the sense that its only purpose is to provide a display stage for interchangeable 1:87 truck models and other vehicles.  When I tire of looking at one vehicle, I can replace it with something else.
 
The “stage” will be the interior of an empty old building.  There will be no “things” in the building to visually compete with the subject.  What the vehicle is doing in the building is ambiguous and no real story is being offered.  Maybe it's just being stored there, away from the weather and out of the reach of vandals.  I don't know.  My goal is simply to provide an atmospheric backdrop for whatever vehicle is placed in there.
 
Initially, a 1938-1941 Mack FK truck tractor will be displayed.  I haven't built it yet, so that too will be part of this build log.  It's a resin kit from Ralph Ratcliffe Models and I found it on eBay quite a few years ago.  I bought it because it looked interesting, was out of production and very few people were bidding on it, so I ended up getting it cheap.  RR Models is once again producing these kits (at a steep price) and their castings are characteristically clean and crisp, especially considering the scale.  I've never built a resin kit before, so if it turns out badly, I'll have to build something else to take its place.  But eventually, something will be going in there, even if it's the toy out of a Happy Meal.
 
Here's a photo from their website.  The model is just under 3” long.  I'll be putting some wear on my build of the kit.
 

Ralph Ratcliffe Models
 
 
I've already begun work this project and in the next few posts, I'll bring things up to date.
 
Thanks for stopping in and taking a look.  Be safe and stay well.
 
Gary

Post Twenty-eight
Completion and thoughts about the kit
This two-month mini project is complete.

9953
The barge kit provided me with a filler while I thought about a more substantial project. I have taken it further than I had originally intended, and it would have been nice to have had properly moulded crew figures of the standard of those produced by Vanguard.

9951
The kit is quite a challenge particularly if some of the simplifications are to be addressed. It is rightly classified at the ‘experienced’ level of modelling, as are all the small boat kits in the Vanguard range.

9944
Although I have enjoyed addressing the challenges presented, I would have preferred not to have had to make the hull modification which during the build is risky because of the delicate nature of the construction.
Having built an example of each boat type in the Vanguard range I experienced a small sense of disappointment in the design of this kit, not felt about the others.

9945
Still, the exercise has provided me with a heady mix of entertainment/frustration over the past two months, and overall, I am happier at the finish than I was at the start, which must count as some sort of result.

9942
These kits were perhaps not designed with standalone display in mind, there are larger scale boat models more suited for that purpose. Nevertheless, we are lucky to have Chris providing this boat range at 1:64 scale, the level of detail and realism compared with what went before is a major step forward.

9940
As far as I know no one else has attempted to produce a Barge kit at this scale, and for this Chris is to be commended.

9938
I have discussed the kit with Chris, and I understand that he is to re-visit the design in conjunction with his HMS Bristol kit development.
I hope that at least some of the modifications and changes I have made will be taken into consideration in any revisions.

9956
Tricky business slipping the cover over the base, only just enough room, I had visions of those delicate oars snapping!
 

9958
Always tricky taking photos of models thro' acrylic.

9961
The diminutive barge now joins the 1:24 Pinnace, and 1:48 Longboat atop Victory.
 
Thank you to those who have shown interest in this build, if nothing else I hope it has provided some ideas of what can be done at this scale.
 
Time to move on…
 
 
B.E.
04/01/2023
 

I love the look and feel of the model!
Very nice.
 
Frank

I finally completed all the decks with the gluing in of the poop deck, up next will the stern and modifying the rudder. As always thank you for stopping by and looking at my unorthodox build sequence. 
 
Michael D.

Thanks  OC.
 
The anchor cable :  part 2. or better, plan B
 
Looking in my Mary Rose books I found this.
Thinner cables are ok 👍

And ... Cotton rope of a reasonably correct diameter

This flexible thinner rope gives me the opportunity to do this way of tying

 
Testing. Still needs to be treated and wheatered.
Looks better to me.

 

I thought I would start a new thread, as the original was getting a little too big.
 
OK, for at least the next 5 years, I have my developments more or less already mapped out. The subjects cover a wide range of vessels from the 17th to early 19th Century.
 
For 2023, I have three confirmed. The first is Indy (of course). I may add as an optional extra cistern/chain pump housings. This has been my largest development to date, taking well over a year of full time work, and having Jim make the prototype and taking the manual photo pics and text. If I were to do this, then Indy would have been a 2 year development.
 
After Indy, I will have the American schooner Grecian (1812) almost ready, which I anticipate releasing in April/May. I have almost finished the mast and rig drawings, and profiles, so this may come together pretty quickly once Indy is released. 
From Wiki:
 
Thomas Kemp of Baltimore designed Grecian with several innovations. She was pierced for 20 guns, though she never carried that many, and her gunports were unique, designed perhaps to save weight. She had a long, curving stem, and a shallow, less convex bow. Grecian's first captain was James Phillips, and under him she had made one voyage to France. She received letter of marque No. 944 in December 1813, under Captain Knapp.
 
Not sure how much of that can be trusted, though, as she was not pierced for 20 guns, she has 18, with the fore-most being next to useless due to the distance between port and starboard (very sharp bow, so 7 per side being usable, in my opinion). It seems she had a mix of guns, being more standardised when in the British navy. What I have done is give enough guns for carronades, 6 and 4 pounders. I am sure the 4 pounders were used at the front, due to space issues, with the 6 pounders being nearer the middle and rear - so the modeller will have a choice of what to fit where.
 
After this, I will start on HMS Surprise, and this should be released this year, assuming all goes well.
 
And that's it for now....
 
ETA - My real love is frigates, as I have said before. If I had my way completely, the next five or six releases would be frigates from 32 guns upwards! But I cannot....

Happy New  Year  Everyone,    start  as  I mean  to go on  so it was  back  on the bench  -  I sorted an   answer out  to  my  dismounted  cuirassier  situation  -  make  another  one  Sword  waving   to  go  with  him,   I also  found  another  Three  French  54/55th  that  I could  make up  -  same  as  the  others  but it  adds  to  the  head count.
 
OC.

First, a happy 2023 for everyone.
 
The anchor cable.
I made this about 2 years ago.
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/14188-pelican-later-renamed-as-golden-hind-by-baker-scale-145-galleon-late-16th-century/?do=findComment&comment=787113

Lesson learned. Never treat a rope with diluted PVA glue before using it, as the rope will become stiff and unmanageable. But,too late to change now.
 
The anchors are in place and secured to the cable as best as possible.

The anchor David is on deck. The crew still has to store it in the hold (after the New Year's party 😉)

next flags (still experimenting for now)

Happy New Year    to  everyone,   hope  everyone has a  Peaceful  Healthy   2023.
 
Thank You All  for  all  the  input  and  likes   on my build  -   there  will  be  more  Next Year.
 
OC.

Well, the Corsair is called finished and I'd like to thank you for your input and your encouragement. I could have done more weathering and finishing in the end, but I got a bit worn out. Not because of the build or the painting, which was especially fun, but with the latest steps of the build, like clear coating, adding bits and pieces, ... tried my patience, as a lot went wrong, in a phase of the build, where I hated it most, after painting. 
I want to end the modeling year on a good term though and have to say, I'm more or less pleased with the result. The planned painting scheme including double layer chipping and masking for markings and stencils all went well. The build itself was a no brainer, with the Tamiya quality and was more a time consuming obstacle to get to the painting stage.
I have to raise my hat to the Tamiya engineers. This is maybe the best kit, ever made in plastic, being complex and full of innovative design ideas. The level of detail you get out of the box is impressive, except maybe for the rubber wheels.

The non painted pilot next to the Corsair is a symbol for the ambivalent ending this build took and that's why he's there. Maybe I paint him later, but first I have to clean my workbench and get some distance.
 
Cheers Rob
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Painted on the insignia and the numbers.  The Montex set of stencils worked really nicely.  I was a bit worried about the numbers but they came out great with minimal touchup needed.  Was hoping to get this one wrapped up before the end of the year, but don't want to rush the clear coating, weathering, etc.
 




Thanks for looking in, and happy new year!

Did this a long time ago. I think it was a 'J' class and a QE class Battleship.
acrylic on Mountboard about 16" X 11"ish.