BLACK VIKING

Bowsprit assembly complete and installed. Missing a few blocks still but those will install when the rigging commences. Foremast up next. 

I've been working on various aspects of this build, in no particular logical order. This morning I turned my attention to the kevels.
 
There are eight kevels on this ship and I don't really care for the cast kit-supplied ones, so I set out to make some wooden ones. Here's how I approached it.
 

I could see that there are two ways to do this. One would be to create two holes or slots in the cross member at the right angle and then slide the uprights through. Since I don't have a mill or a drill press and I'm working with basswood, I knew that would be an exercise in frustration, so I decided to try a second method, which is to laminate the cross member on the uprights.
 
I drew some lines establishing the dimensions on a piece of paper and covered them with double-sided tape.
 

I placed the first upright in position and trimmed the bottom of it along the pencil line -
 

I then added the second upright and the three pieces of the cross member. There's no glue at this point; only the tape is holding everything in place.
These pieces are all 1/32" x 1/16".
 

I then glued a piece across the cross member (1/16" x 1/16")
 

Peeling the assembly off of the tape. It's quite rigid by this point.
 

Then I added a second piece across the back of the cross member -
 

After some trimming and sanding. There may be some more sanding yet to do. I'm not sure if the cross member is still a bit too thick.
 

 
I think this method is going to work. Once they are all completely covered with rope coils, they should look just fine.😁
 
Thanks for checking in, much appreciated.
 
David
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

This little gem was recently sold by Sotheby's. Unfortunately, my bid came in at just slightly under the auction realization of 5,500,000 pounds. But, there is an amazing book on the Van de Veldes for the rest of us losers.

Brig passing Seven Stones Light Vessel
w/c 16.5" X11.5"

I hope she carried on painting!
Jim

I took some time today to read the first 50 pages and other pertinent sections of this dissertation on the development of the naval carriage.
 
It does appear to be true that, in the early days of arming ships, navies sometimes employed a mixture of field carriages and purpose-built naval carriages.  These field pieces, as noted by Druxey would be shod in Iron.
 
By the 17th C., however, this practice had ceased and the trucks were made from alternating grain layers.  I sometimes wonder whether the authors of these dissertations ever imagine their research making the rounds on modeling forums.  I imagine they’d be heartened to know that someone other than the dissertation committee is paying attention.
 
In other news, while fitting my port headrail last night, I have come to the conclusion that the only way forward is to remove these roundhouses.  I guess we’ll see how sound a welded bond is, after all.

Four masted barque 'Pamir' and another. 
watercolour 16.5" X 11.5"

My daughter painted this for me when she was 9 years old. I know it isn't museum worthy, but it is priceless to me and I have it proudly displayed in my workshop(s) for the past 30 years.  When ever she stops by, she says "I can't believe you kept that old thing after all these years" I tell her, it can't be bought with money marbles or chaulk.

And another update... I've found that the plastic this kit is molded in is a bit soft, not really a big issue with building... But the plastic formulation does react a bit differently from regular polystyrene... Usually when I'm gluing plastic from most kits or Evergreen stock with Testors brand MEK glue, the joint is cured within ten minutes of application, the plastic this kit has been molded in takes about 4 hours to cure sufficiently to hold and overnight to completely cure...
 
I found this out during the fuselage assembly portion... There is a part...

D-13 on the drawing, (circled above) that is too big, 1/16th inch too big... When installed, it spreads the upper joint of the rear fuselage half wide open...... The fix is simple, cut the part down so it fits properly without spreading the joint... The initial installation exposed the glue/plastic problem by pushing the joint out... Thankfully there is an insert panel that creates a break in the joint and stops the spread before it ruins the entire upper joint...
 
The fix is to cut a 1/16th inch section out of the part at the top to either side of the joint and snap it back in place so it doesn't put any pressure on the joint itself...

When snapped into place it becomes a trapped part that doesn't require any glue at all...

But I'm still going to glue it cause it will act to hold the fuselage separation joint together as a reinforcement maintaining it's shape....
 
As you can see below, makes for a much tighter and smoother joint....

This is a beautiful kit, but it does have some idiosyncrasies unique to it...
 
Anyway, Onwards...

Unfortunately, I did not manage to put the second layer in accordance with the art. Maybe I don't have the skills. This is my current progress.

Hello,
A long time ago, I posted an idea about using heat transfer paper that is commonly used for T-shirts. 
 
 

I've tested some heat transfer papers and related techniques, but I would like to summarize my only successful result here rather than upload many trials and errors in the old post. Also, there are only limited resources to meet the high expectations of this forum.
 
* Requirements
- Common digital temperature controlled irons, such as Tefal steam irons: I won't use the steam.
- Flat and durable table or a MDF panel an half inch thick: I'll press it really hard.
- Clean paper foil for kitchen
- (Color) Laser printer 
- Forever's laser transparent transfer paper (Made in Germany): Make sure the background is clear or nothing. White or black isn't what we need.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M7YDHTG
 
 
 
* Official guides
As you see from Amazon's worst review score, the transfer paper is very sensitive and hard to use if you don't know how to take care of it. 
 
https://youtu.be/N1CAx5KrfJ4
https://youtu.be/qXsZ3wWA6sk
 
There are some useful video tutorials, but you still need some trials and errors before use. Here is a cheat sheet from the manufacture.

There are 2 choices on the paper because I used cotton fabric, and I already wasted lots of transfer paper and fabric to test the first trap. 🤪 Forget it and follow my guide. 
 
 
 

Step 1. Printing the heat transfer paper carefully.
 
(1-1) Check your laser printer. If your laser toner printer is a popular type, it shouldn't have a bypass printing mode. In that case, hold and pull the printing off the paper by hand. Otherwise, the expensive and thick transfer paper will be jammed and become useless.
 
 
Step 2. Setting a flat ground
 
(2-1) To iron, place at least a half-inch thick MDF panel or secure a flat table.
(2-2) Cover the surface with a silicon coated paper foil to protect cotton fiber from dusts.
 
 
Step 3. Preheat an iron to 180℃ or 355℉
 
(3-1) Use a noncontact thermometer or set it between wool and cotton.
 
 
Step 4. Riding on the iron
 
(4-1) Position the transfer on the fabric and press it with all your might and weight for 30 seconds. The youtube video explains it as 3~5 bar pressure. Don't cover the paper foil on the back of the transfer.
(4-2) After 30 seconds, remove the transfer carefully and immediately. Be careful of burns!
 

The transferred image is quite durable and doesn't dissolve in water. It also works well with PVA glue. All the progress is very fast and fun to compare with brush painting or stencil spraying I tested. I guess this technique may be good for beginners and those who want complex and unique flags.
 
 
------------------------
 
This method increases the success rate up to 90%. 
 
(1) Increase the temperature by 10℃ (or 16 ℉).
(2) Press the transfer paper for 25 sec, and gently rub the paper with the iron for 5~10 sec. Almost all commercial steam iron have holes, so they don't have a flat surface, which causes imbalanced force. 
(3) If you removed the transfer paper without any residue, you are good to go.  

Evening all,   finished my  4th  Cuirassier  Bugler  - he is  glued  to the horse aswell   - so he's  finished.
 
OC.

Evening all,   I decided  to add a few more thin white layers  over the horses  body, as going by  description  for the Cuirassier horses  -  the  Cavalry  rode  Blacks or Bays  and the  Bugler  rode on Greys  (basically  Whites  but named Grays)  these were  Boulonnais horses  - big strong  horses.
 
OC.

Nice mod. And the gun panels look close to boresighted.

Ammo Bay installed....
 
Hole cut..

Installed....

Now the door doesn't fit perfectly, it's a few tenths of a mm off, but that was expected.... Besides it will be open functioning as the initial step into the aircraft and no one will see it...
 
That went a lot easier than I though it was going to....
 
Almost ready to assemble the fuselage....
 
Onwards....
 
 

Some work on the bowsprit mast. As with all masts and yards, I’m trying to attach as many blocks and other components as possible before securing to the ship.
 
This is made trickier as I intend to have sails but of course the rigging plans do not include that information. To figure out what is needed, a lot of consulting other books and examples is taking place for each sail to try to find all the components needed. Even more fun is that I am used to building ships with spritsail topmasts, and this one has a jib boom and sail. My accumulated knowledge of the former is not helping right now… 

Next, the entire model is given a light wash/filter of light rust.
 
 

Next is a light coat of a lighter shade of Russian Base Green. All my finishing paints will be ZMig Ammo acrylics. My local dealer has been running a sale price. Nice discount and great supply-selection.
 
 

Very good, love the squabbling Seagulls in the foreground 😀and the light effects on the waves and sky. 👍

New York. Troop Ship George Washington served in both WWs 
w/c 16" X11"

Thank you kindly Ken,   I am quite pleased  with the Satin  top coat on the Two horses  I  re did, I will do the same  to the others  after I flat coat  them with my airbrush.
 
OC.

Looks like you captured the appearances quite nicely. The horse and tack look very good. And all the riders are up to your usual standards.

Evening all,    Firstly can I say a Huge Thank You  for all the Likes and comments,    right  I made some good progress  today,   I finished off  both Major Baring's  second in command  and  my Third Hussar,   they both just need  flat top coating.
 
My  Satin top coat arrived  this morning , so  I tried it out on my Two  Cuirassier  horses  -  I did a good job of  creating a natural horse  coat sheen, but left the other  details nice and flat.
 
OC.

Evening all,  my Third 10th Hussar  is  mainly finished  minus a wee bit of details and wash and  dusting.
 
OC.

I apologize in advance that didn't start this blog sooner of this project. 
 
While I continue doing research around my work schedule as well as cutting pieces at a pace slower than evolution to make the laminate frames for Brig Eagle,  I am undertaking a fighter-jet kit of interest I found online. This jet is the N/AW A-10B Warthog by Trumpeter, the experimental two-seat model that enabled the warthog to excel in night aviation attacks as well as adverse weather. This plane was launched in 1979, the same year that I was born. I have largely found in my personal opinions that the two-seat models of many American fighters are way more attractive than the single-seat usually in service in the military. Unfortunately only one model of this aircraft ever came off of the assembly line and never saw squadron service.
 
Overall, my opinion of this kit is good quality of parts except for cockpit details considering that this kit was made in China. There are these lame decals suggested that don't even resemble the real planes cockpits at all. For a kit of this scale I have come to expect better details especially of cockpits. Thankfully, after conducting research, I was able to come across quality photo-etch brass detailing of front cockpit and will kit-bash the back-seat. Also purchasable are fuselage detail pieces as well as a kit for detailing the weapons. Included are two pictures that someone took of the back-seat of real jet when it got downgraded from test aircraft at Edwards Airforce Base to museum exhibit status. The instruction manual has good illustrations of the construction and even included a short history of real plane with some pictures.  Also of interest with this kit are metal landing gears  as well as two high-detail resin engines.
 
Again, even though the real jet never saw active service in any squadrons,  I plan to take artistic license and display her with a squadron. The chosen group is Eielson's Ice Hawgs stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska. Fully armed, this plane is definitely a bad-*** bird wouldn't want to mess around with. 
 
The wing, tail assembly, and engine casings are not currently glued to the fuselage, I just have them placed to show how big this kit is.