CaptainSteve

As always, David, your perceptions are right on!  For one, the following pic is more representative of the space available to me:

I would like to have more space, but then I’m compressing the width of the three headrails, between the upper cheek and the beakhead grating.  The three headrails also require interspaces; slightly less than a half inch at the forward end (after revision) isn’t a lot to work with.
 
The fact remains, though, that this design process remains fluid, because I haven’t even gone to the vellum, yet, to delineate the rails and position the stiles and figure out what to do with the aft medallion.
 
As always, this kind of feedback is welcome!

KITCHEN SCOURER
The following is from MSW member, Thanasis, where he has used a kitchen scourer to make baggiwrinkles on his ship. This will work in any scale whatsoever.
 
Over to you, Thanasis ….
Baggiwrinkes in 5 minutes
 
I think you all know of those green kitchen sponges ... 

1.    Take an unused one. Usually they are in green colour, but you might find some in the colour you like.
 
2.    Cut a small piece close to the dimensions you want your baggiwrinkle to be.
 
3.    Gently twist the ends between your fingers and your workbench (or between the palm of one hand and two fingers of the other hand) to trim down the corners, and you are almost ready.
 
4.    If you cannot find the scourers in any other colour than the standard green, then you can use some paint to show the threads on the surface (I used a gray in spray form).
 
Finally, place it on your model, using a needle at the edge of a strand of your standing rigging before you fasten both edges permanently. If you don’t glue it, it will slide up and down the rigging line.

On the plus-side, at least you discovered all four problems at the one time. Rather than fixing one, then discovering the next etc etc.
 
If it helps at all, before I abandoned my Connie, I was actually planning on NOT cutting the two chase-ports. This might help with scaling your stern cap-rail somewhat. From reading Theodore Roosevelt's book "The Naval War of 1812", I learned that these two ports were actually cut by Cpt Hull (well, maybe not him personally, but under his instruction) during the Great Chase. Since you have gone with the 5 window arrangement, I think it would be perfectly logical for you to argue that the chase ports did not exist at the time of your Connie.
 

Another "Gotcha !!"
You had me dashing for my copy of AOTS again, KMart. I see what you mean. They definitely do appear to be more uniform in Marquardt's book, as opposed to the MS plans. A cursory flick thru a Google Images search seems to bear this out, but hard to tell precisely with most of the pics I found online.
                                                                                                     
 
Personally, I think even-spacing would look better on the overall model. The next question is: Will this be possible, given the positioning of the bulkheads ??

Great start there, Kmart. I recall the issue that Markku mentions being raised back when I was starting my Connie build. The plans do show a difference between port and starboard sides on the bulkheads ... however, I took these to mean that the fairing line was shown on one side, and the full-size of the bulkhead shown on the other side. You'd need to trace/transfer those fairing lines to each bulkhead, although there's minimal difference as you move closer to the middle.
Looking forward to following along with the newer members of the Connie Club (Yes, I plan to get back to work on mine again very soon). 

Post Forty-eight
 
Completion
I decided I would keep the display simple using the keel support stands supplied in the kit.

2972(2)
These were glued to a strip of ⅛” Castello Boxwood 3” x 24” left over from my Cheerful Build.

2973(2)
This was dyed Jacobean Dark Oak. I normally baulk at dyeing Boxwood but the piece was handy and in its natural colour was too pale for the scheme.

3009(2)
For space saving I have gone with the oar racks arrangement and the whole model fits in a space of 5½” wide by 24” long by 10” high.
Not sure whether I will get an acrylic cover to fit over the model at this stage as it is relatively easy to dust.

3007

2975

2983(2)
 
I have re-visited the Oarsman and adjusted his dress.

3012
I recall that Jason (Beef Wellington) suggested:-
 Think if you can get a little more 'flounce' to the bottom of the jacket to differentiate from the breeches they'll look great.
I took his advice and I think the figure does indeed look better.
It was also necessary to tweak the arm/hands position to accommodate the loom of the oar.

3014(2)

3030(2)

3020
 

3021
Not sure I can face the making of another nine oarsmen, but I think I will keep the one with the display.

3003(2)

2995(2)

2998(2)
 
As always there are areas I feel I could have done better but overall I am pleased with the result and have something very nice to add to my collection.
 
Thoughts about the kit
This Royal Barge offering from Syren is a very fine thing indeed. An interesting and rather unique subject at a scale that allows for clear detail.
This is a kit with many pre spiled laser cut parts, but it doesn’t feel like a kit, and any thoughts of a simple assembly job should be dismissed.
Chuck has produced a design that allows the modeller to experience a futtock and frame assembly and offers an introduction to carving decoration.
Great care and thought is required throughout and the end result is a model that clearly echoes the splendid admiralty style models displayed partly in-frame.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this build and the challenges presented, and have no hesitation in commending this kit to the membership.
Thank you, Chuck, for five months of concentration, joy, and a little frustration.
 
 
B.E
26/07/21
 

Ever thought about making a naval battle-ground diorama ??
I figure you're more than half-way there.

 
(Personally, I think it is sad that someone could take all that hard-work, put it in the back of a shed and pile junk on top of it.)

Mr Pig !!
My apologies for not discovering your build earlier.
Anything further that I could possibly add to what has already been said about your work would probably be censored.
That is abso-f%#$-lutely beautiful !!!

Good idea .... and try taking slightly fuzzy photos next time you notice a problem with this beautiful ship !!
   

UV,
I may be wrong - it may just be the camera playing tricks with my eyes after a hard day at work - but, it looks as though the planking has progressed inwards from the bulkheads the further astern they go.
 
Here's what I mean: 
 


 
The green arrows indicate planks that meet the bulkheads, but a bit further down the same strakes, the planks appear to be a bit closer to the centre of the deck.
However, this could be because the deck grows wider between the two sets of arrows, thus the bulkheads would be wider.
 
Of course, I probably never would have noticed - and certainly never would have counted your planks - if you hadn't pointed out the problem.
 
Anyway, as you said, it is not going to be noticeable seeing as how this is a lower deck. If it were me, I would've just taken a slightly fuzzy photo and tried to pretend it was all perfect.
   

KITCHEN SCOURER
The following is from MSW member, Thanasis, where he has used a kitchen scourer to make baggiwrinkles on his ship. This will work in any scale whatsoever.
 
Over to you, Thanasis ….
Baggiwrinkes in 5 minutes
 
I think you all know of those green kitchen sponges ... 

1.    Take an unused one. Usually they are in green colour, but you might find some in the colour you like.
 
2.    Cut a small piece close to the dimensions you want your baggiwrinkle to be.
 
3.    Gently twist the ends between your fingers and your workbench (or between the palm of one hand and two fingers of the other hand) to trim down the corners, and you are almost ready.
 
4.    If you cannot find the scourers in any other colour than the standard green, then you can use some paint to show the threads on the surface (I used a gray in spray form).
 
Finally, place it on your model, using a needle at the edge of a strand of your standing rigging before you fasten both edges permanently. If you don’t glue it, it will slide up and down the rigging line.

Let's see if we can get this thread back on track ...
 
CHALK
Perhaps the best method of recreating small, carved details can be found in XKen’s USS Constitution build log. Wood carving is a skill-set that can take years to master. One slip-up can mean having to re-do hours of work. But Ken has found an easier way.

 
Here, he shows us how to use a piece of ordinary black-board chalk to carve the detail ends for his catheads. With Ken’s permission, I have lifted a few pictures from his log. I’m sure that his explanations speak for themselves …

 

 

 
And here's the final result, in position on Ken's Constitution build.

 
 
 

Much has already been written on the subject of the Mutiny on the Bounty, the events & causes leading up to it, the fallout after the fact, and the perilous journey thrust upon Capt Bligh and the loyalists cast adrift.
 
Whilst working on a build of the HMS Bounty Launch recently, one of the questions which arose was what additional items could a builder put into their Launch to add a little touch of historical authenticity.
 
As such, the following has been produced from a dissertation of William Bligh's meticulously kept logs.
 
This is not intended to be a historical study or scholarly review to be added to the already impressive collection of writings on the Mutiny event. My main purpose is to allow modellers of HMS Bounty and/or the Bounty Launch to have a quick reference point whereby they can see what was taken on-board at the outset, and what was collected, found or traded along the way. In this way, I would hope you can select and model any additional equipment for your Launch build.
 
Resources used for this compilation were:
                              "The Bounty Mutiny" - William Bligh and Edward Christian (brother of Fletcher)
                              "A Narrative of the Mutiny, On Board HMS Bounty" - William Bligh
                              "In Bligh's Hand" - Jennifer Gall
 
(Any errors or omissions of fact are mine entirely.)
 
Mutiny Spreadsheet.xml

Much has already been written on the subject of the Mutiny on the Bounty, the events & causes leading up to it, the fallout after the fact, and the perilous journey thrust upon Capt Bligh and the loyalists cast adrift.
 
Whilst working on a build of the HMS Bounty Launch recently, one of the questions which arose was what additional items could a builder put into their Launch to add a little touch of historical authenticity.
 
As such, the following has been produced from a dissertation of William Bligh's meticulously kept logs.
 
This is not intended to be a historical study or scholarly review to be added to the already impressive collection of writings on the Mutiny event. My main purpose is to allow modellers of HMS Bounty and/or the Bounty Launch to have a quick reference point whereby they can see what was taken on-board at the outset, and what was collected, found or traded along the way. In this way, I would hope you can select and model any additional equipment for your Launch build.
 
Resources used for this compilation were:
                              "The Bounty Mutiny" - William Bligh and Edward Christian (brother of Fletcher)
                              "A Narrative of the Mutiny, On Board HMS Bounty" - William Bligh
                              "In Bligh's Hand" - Jennifer Gall
 
(Any errors or omissions of fact are mine entirely.)
 
Mutiny Spreadsheet.xml

Much has already been written on the subject of the Mutiny on the Bounty, the events & causes leading up to it, the fallout after the fact, and the perilous journey thrust upon Capt Bligh and the loyalists cast adrift.
 
Whilst working on a build of the HMS Bounty Launch recently, one of the questions which arose was what additional items could a builder put into their Launch to add a little touch of historical authenticity.
 
As such, the following has been produced from a dissertation of William Bligh's meticulously kept logs.
 
This is not intended to be a historical study or scholarly review to be added to the already impressive collection of writings on the Mutiny event. My main purpose is to allow modellers of HMS Bounty and/or the Bounty Launch to have a quick reference point whereby they can see what was taken on-board at the outset, and what was collected, found or traded along the way. In this way, I would hope you can select and model any additional equipment for your Launch build.
 
Resources used for this compilation were:
                              "The Bounty Mutiny" - William Bligh and Edward Christian (brother of Fletcher)
                              "A Narrative of the Mutiny, On Board HMS Bounty" - William Bligh
                              "In Bligh's Hand" - Jennifer Gall
 
(Any errors or omissions of fact are mine entirely.)
 
Mutiny Spreadsheet.xml

Much has already been written on the subject of the Mutiny on the Bounty, the events & causes leading up to it, the fallout after the fact, and the perilous journey thrust upon Capt Bligh and the loyalists cast adrift.
 
Whilst working on a build of the HMS Bounty Launch recently, one of the questions which arose was what additional items could a builder put into their Launch to add a little touch of historical authenticity.
 
As such, the following has been produced from a dissertation of William Bligh's meticulously kept logs.
 
This is not intended to be a historical study or scholarly review to be added to the already impressive collection of writings on the Mutiny event. My main purpose is to allow modellers of HMS Bounty and/or the Bounty Launch to have a quick reference point whereby they can see what was taken on-board at the outset, and what was collected, found or traded along the way. In this way, I would hope you can select and model any additional equipment for your Launch build.
 
Resources used for this compilation were:
                              "The Bounty Mutiny" - William Bligh and Edward Christian (brother of Fletcher)
                              "A Narrative of the Mutiny, On Board HMS Bounty" - William Bligh
                              "In Bligh's Hand" - Jennifer Gall
 
(Any errors or omissions of fact are mine entirely.)
 
Mutiny Spreadsheet.xml

WATCH PARTS - Search E-Bay for this phrase: "steam punk". A 30g packet containing hundreds of miniscule cogs, gear-wheels, coils and springs cost me less than A$20.00 (including shipping). Watch-spring coils will, I imagine, make excellent mast-bands!!
 

Here's mine ...
 
TOOTHPICKS - Round toothpicks were used as handles for the oars on my USS Constitution's boats (1/76 scale).
 
These have been sanded down to reduce their size from approx 2mm to 0.8mm. Some scrap stock was used for the oar-blades, cut to size and then grooved to take the handles.
 

JEWELLERY - Cheap lengths of chain are ideal for numerous uses, depending on the size of the links and your model's scale.
Here, I have taken links from the chain on the left, cut them in half using nail-clippers, and used them as oar-locks on my
Captain's Gig (1/76 scale).
 
(Incidentally, be VERY careful not to cut up the Admiral's necklaces without checking with her first - note my eye-patch!!) 
 

WATCH PARTS - Search E-Bay for this phrase: "steam punk". A 30g packet containing hundreds of miniscule cogs, gear-wheels, coils and springs cost me less than A$20.00 (including shipping). Watch-spring coils will, I imagine, make excellent mast-bands!!
 

XMAS TREE LIGHTS - Recently, a string of about-to-be-installed Christmas lights caught my eye. These were only a cheap variety, but my immediate thought was: Cut the tips from each globe, drill holes of corresponding size in a strip of wood, insert former Xmas light, and you have a perfectly round porthole with a domed window pane.
 
(Observant viewers may have noticed the complete lack of snow in my part of Australia at Christmas time - it was 38 degrees Celsius today!!)
 

CHOPSTICKS - To create winches for my whale-boats (1/76 scale), I cut the tips from a pair of take-away chopsticks. Minor sanding and shaping produced the final result. Some holes were drilled through the tips (0.2mm bit). Paint inside of holes black.

BEADS - There are thousands of different beads available. I strongly recommend spending a few hours browsing through the shelves of a good bead store, if you can find one. Otherwise, settle for a raid on the Admiral's sewing table. Try imagining each bead cut in half/sanded/sliced.
 
This pic shows a whale-boat (1/76th scale) I am currently working on. The central drum is a bead, with the wooden ends being former chopsticks.
 

Arr !!!
 
CaptainSteve 'ere. Recently promoted to Apprentice Wood-Hacker (3rdClass), aboard the USS Constitution (under Cap'n 'ull, 'is ownself, no less).
 
Most all of us as ship-modellers, I suspect, strive to create as much realism as we possibly can with our models. Whether you class yourself as a kit-builder, scratch-builder (seriously, you guys truly are the Jedi-Masters of the model-ship universe!!), or something in-between; surely we look to make our models correct - aesthetically, technically and historically.
 
Myself, I have discovered that I am a kit-basher ... a term I had never heard of prior to my discovering MSW.
I unashamedly accept the title.
 
As such, I often find myself looking at everyday objects through the eyes of a modeller.
 
Fortunately, my job often sees me waiting in stores and various businesses, giving me golden opportunities to browse through their display stocks, whilst considering how some items could be trimmed/chopped/painted to become the perfect capstan/smoke-stack/cannon-ball or whatever.
 
As such, I would like to start a new forum based upon everyday items which could be tailored into ship parts to enhance our models.
 
 
[Please note that, with the recent change of name for this forum, I am familiar with the works of Douglas Adams AND have read his entire, brilliant "HHGTTG: A Trilogy in Four Parts"]

Ken. I re-soaked and re-used many of the frame pieces with no problems whatsoever.
 
Also, if they are breaking, then check the grain of the wood. After many, many "whoopsies", the method that worked for me was:
(i) take length of cherry wood which has been soaking (at least an hour, though some were 30 hours in the water-bath). 
(ii) holding between fingers, pull the wood lengthwise (as though you are trying to stretch it).
(iii) whilst stretching, begin to gently (yeah, I had to look that word up in the dictionary, too) bend while still stretching.
(iv) if the grain is resisting, then turn the piece latitudinally (ie: roll it 90 degrees).
(v) if the grain is running the right way, you will meet little resistance. If so, then continue to form the bend (I used a curling iron for this part).