catopower
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catopower reacted to a post in a topic:
La Belle Poule 1765 by MTaylor - Scale 1:64 - POB- French Frigate from ANCRE plans
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Hozugawa Downriver Boat - 1/40 scale
catopower added images to a gallery album in Gallery of COMPLETED Scratch-built models
In Japanese, this is a 保津川下り舟 or Hozugawa kudari bune. It is a "downriver" boat, because these boats were traditionally run down the Hozu river and through the rapids to carry goods down from the mountains to the old capital city of Kyōto. In the old days, the nearly 40-foot long boats were then hauled back up the river, manually, by the boatmen wearing cloth harnesses attached to long ropes. They would hike the rocky shores of the river, 3 at a time, while a fourth boatman would stay on the boat or on the shore, pushing the boat away from the rocks with a heavy pole. This is how it was done for centuries on the Hozu river as well as many other rivers. You can see many Japanese woodblock prints where boatmen are depicted walked along a river, hauling on ropes to pull boats upriver. This models is made from Japanese cypress, Hinoki, and is based on some drawings provided by boat builder Douglas Brooks. The last wooden kudari boat was specially built in 2009, the first wooden boat of its type built in 60 years. The boat still exists, but is not in use. Today, the tour boat company that operates on the Hozu river, uses fiberglass boats based on this design. These old wooden boats were particularly interesting in that the planking was not symmetrical. The bottom planks are made relatively short, and the floor planks closer to the bow are tapered. The planking arrangement is said to allow damaged planks to be more easily replaced. My own model is something of a hybrid of old and new. I had to base construction on photos of the wooden boat, but some changes had been made since its construction to make it more easily used as a tour boat. I tried to avoid adding the more modern touches, but I had few references to guide me at the time. I've since found photos of the boat when it was first put in the water in 2009. Plus, I now think I have a better understanding now of what was traditional and what was not. Edit: Just discovered this interesting (soundless) footage on Youtube that shows a boat being hauled up river and run down the river: -
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I've been wondering if this might be a privateer? These guns, not being run in and out, wouldn't need large crews, so you could easily man them all. And, that many guns might be intimidating enough that an enemy merchant ship might just heave-to rather than be hit by a large broadside and they might not need to be fired at all. And if they are fired, it might be enough to fire once. They obviously aren't for protracted broadside exchanges, for reasons you are all describing.
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Ha! I knew I'd seen it somewhere. I looked through my copy of Chapman when I posted originally, but didn't spot it. Well done!
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A drawing of it MIGHT be in Le Souvenirs de Marine by Adm. Paris. I thought I'd seen it before, but I may be wrong.
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Look up La Marseille. Mamoli made a 1/64 kit by that name. I don't know how authentic, but I knew I'd seen this kind of configuration before. Supposedly a French gunnery training schooner built in 1764, equipped with a bunch of 3pdr guns. This was the best image I could find. Hard to see the cannon configuration here, but I'm pretty sure it's the same ship as above. Clare
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Be careful when using cherry. Over time, it darkens quite a bit with UV exposure. I scratch-built a model using cherry and it is a LOT darker that when I built it 15(?) years ago. It looks nice, but not what I'd expected when I started. Clare
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Maybe it's because it was like fighting on the ocean, a lack of terrain and all, that I liked the game so much? I also like rolling the die to determine armor penetration based on hit location and vehicle facing (I seem to remember feeling lucky when hitting an enemy tank's turret ring). For a long time, I always wanted to play Wooden Ships and Iron Men, but didn't have the game. I remember being interested in it before it was an AH game. I believe it was originally called Beat to Quarters, but I don't remember the publisher. Those were the days...
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I'm clearly very late to this conversation, but I have to admit I used to be an avid wargamer. And, do I mean AVID. I still have my AH games on a shelf: Panzer Blitz, Panzer Leader, Squad Leader and I think the first supplement Iron Cross. I know I've got Midway around too, but I don't know what happened to my copy of Wooden Ships and Iron Men. One of my favorites, one that actually got played a lot(!), was Tobruk. I was also a subscriber to Strategy & Tactics, and even a lesser known magazine that folded a few months after I first subscribed. I think it might have been called Conflict magazine. Came with my first ever wargame, a simple, very playable, but kind of abstract representation of the battle of the Alamo. Later, I got into all sorts of the super complex games from Simulations Publications like Foxbat and Phantom, Firefight, Air War, and Nato Division Commander. I even owned the Game Designers' Workshop mega-game Drang Nach Osten, but it was too massive to ever play. Now that I think of it, I do believe I still have a copy of their modern company-level games Assault and Boots & Saddles (Air Assault) somewhere. It all tapered off after I delved more into sci-fi RPG stuff – even ended up writing some material for GDW and others. But, that was all in another life – I'm all about ship and boat modeling now!
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I've been told that Artesania Latina is closing their business. I've been in a "wait and see" mode up until now, but it was from a very reliable source.
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Keep in mind that this is a kit from Billing Boats 600 series, so it's made to be built in two halves. The planking you're expected to do is very simple strip planking. The shape of the hull allows for that very easily. You could try to get fancy and spile/taper planks, but if you're painting the hull anyway, you can get away with just laying the planks down as is, the way the instruction book shows. Still, you should soak the planks before bending. A little heat always helps too. The hull of the Bluenose II is very easy to plank this way. But, of course, it's up to the builder. Once the planks are down, you can sand and use filler where needed to smooth out the hull and deal with any gaps.
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Photo Etching - do it yourself
catopower replied to Dziadeczek's topic in Metal Work, Soldering and Metal Fittings
I have a book by these same authors – probably the same thing, but under a slightly different title: Photo Etching for Modellers. Dances around the subject without actually telling you how to photo etch. I have the Micromark set. The hardware might not be useful to your project, but you can experiment with it pretty simply and might be able to make use of the chemicals and photo-resist material, etc. In So. Cal, you should be able to find chemical suppliers very easily and avoid shipping. I found a place in Sacramento, but it was a while back. I assume you'll be using Ferric Chloride for the etchant and Sodium Hydroxide (Lye - nasty stuff) to strip the photo-resist. Those are what are included in the Micromark set. Micromark also sells those chemicals separately. 🤞 -
Heads up for those who are expecting this to be a 1/65-scale kit. I've been using info from Matthew Betts' excellent blog regarding his work on researching and building a 1/48-scale model of Terror. After I got the kit, I started doing some measurement comparisons and found that the stated scale of the kit is wrong. I exchanged a few emails with OcCre, however, and got them to see that they had made a scale error. This doesn't really affect the build, unless you are adding your own details. They have since changed the stated scale on their website, which is now correctly stating 1/75-scale. I expect it will be a while before we see kits with the updated labeling out there. There were a lot of these shipped out. I see that OcCre lists the kits as out of stock on their website. Perhaps they're repackaging them with an updated label(?).
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Vanda-Lay Industries
catopower replied to BETAQDAVE's topic in Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment
I have their Acra-Mill Plus and also bought the parts for their drill press attachment. I bought these several years ago and they worked great with the Dremel. I milled small pieces of wood, made my own blocks and more. They're great for those with limited space in their workshop, as you can just set up your Dremel with the attachments you need. However, I found that as I accumulated dedicated equipment, the Vanda-Lay stuff got used less and less. The main problem with the Dremel attachments is that you have to reconfigure your setup when your needs change. For the drill press, I'm much happier with a very inexpensive, dedicated unit. It is much more convenient to use, solid, and with no setup required. -
If the wood you are using to line the gun ports is deep enough, you can leave a small amount sticking out from the gun port. This will help you control the positioning and keep it from falling inside. Trim off the excess after the glue dries.
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Pat, A great discussion you started here. I appreciate it very much since I've been studying the Kanrin Maru (ex-Japan). I missed the discussion on coal preservation, but I'll add that the Kanrin Maru only carried enough coal for 6 full days of steaming. Presumably, the engines were intended for use primarily for travelling into and out of port. For the most part, the fledgeling Japanese Navy (all trainees) used it primarily under steam – I guess they kept close to port. When she crossed the Pacific, she was under sail the whole time. The USS Saginaw, a topsail schooner rigged side-paddlewheel steamer of 1859, spent a year operating only under sail. I can't remember which year was referred to. I believe Perry's mission to open Japan was in part to secure safe harbors with supplies of coal. As for sail names. Lt. John M. Brooke kept a detailed log of his journey aboard the Kanrin Maru from Edo (Tokyo) to San Francisco. As I mentioned earlier, the Kanrin Maru has the same sail rig as you've been discussing and was referred commonly referred to as a bark. Brooke specifically mentions the gaff rigged sails, calling them "trysails".
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