catopower

Thanks for your comments Druxey. I couldn't play it though because it was out of tune. And to answer your question... No... No, there is no end! So playing catch-up just a little, here the rough text for step 22: 22 Assembling the sides of the boat cabin • Install the vertical columns • Cut and install part 36 to fit. • The left and right cabin sides should be symmetrical. • Add sliding shoji-A panels into the door frames. Do not glue! • Install the lintels. My Notes: This is pretty straight forward. Part 36 is a pre-milled strip that the shoji panels fit into and it allows them to slide open and closed. The screens are supposed to fit so that the paper is on the outside. That means that you just have to pay attention to the fact that one cabin side has the panels facing one way and the other cabin side is the reverse. The illustrations in the instructions are pretty clear there. Note the two sides of the cabin are mirror images. Note that when cutting the parts 36 and 37, you'll have to measure to make sure they fit properly. Here's what part 36 looks like. Before the era of laser cutting, Woody Joe kits used to use a lot of milled wood parts, so it's not uncommon to still see a few pieces like these in their kits. 23 Attach Shoji • Assemble the sills and attach the sides. • Insert sliding Shoji Panel B • Add the lintels After completing steps 22 and 23, the cabin looks something like this... Oh, and if you want to minimize light leakage from the kit or other internal lighting you may add, make sure that the lintels, that's the upper piece above the panels, is flush with the tops of the vertical posts. I wasn't too careful with that, so I may have to add some kind of very thin shim or something. Clare

Ed, congratulations! I didn't know it was going to be out so soon. I've really been looking forward to this. Unfortunately, Bob and his publishing company is a serious drain on my bank account! Okay, let me see... if I cut back on the grocery budget, put off the cable bill until next month, and get a garage sale organized, I should be okay... Clare

I too have been using Illustrator for many years. I'd actually stopped using it for some time. Then, when I needed to create some drawings, I realized that I could do them in Illustrator, so I started up with it again. Had to relearn a few techniques along the way. Among the uses for ship modeling, besides technical drawings, I've used it to create artwork for photo etching metal and I also used a laser cutting service that took my *.ai files directly and used them directly in the cutting process. Very handy! Clare

Daniel, I don't know which kit's you're referring to exactly when you say that you don't think they sell very well. But, I can tell you that Ages of Sail, as a retailer and distributor, sells a lot of the Amati Ship in Bottle kits, both the Hannah and the Golden Yacht kits. It's probably the most popular class of kits there is. I'm sure you're correct about being inexpensive to build from scratch, but I think the kits are great at introducing people to the hobby. Of course, many of these sell as novelty gifts, but there are people who want to try their hand at the hobby. Clare

I don't know anyone who has built one, but unlike the Amati ship in bottle kits, I think you have to provide your own bottle. Better get started drinking early! Clare

Beautiful work Richard! That's turned out to be a really nice looking model. I have one unstarted on the shelf. Seeing how wonderful yours looks is making me think I'm going to have to take it down and build it. Problem is that I can think of at least 4 people that I'd like to build one for... By the way, I think leaving the laser char on this model actually works to your advantage. It's such a natural looking color that it makes a nice contrast with the very light colored wood, making the details stand out better. Funny that the instructions don't mention the ropes for the rudder. Good catch. Clare

Thanks Mark. I would have tuned it, but the bachi (plectrum) is only paper and kept bending when I tried to pluck the strings. Otherwise, I absolute would have...

On a roll with the Yakatabune, I need to figure out if I'm going to want to paint it or leave it completely natural with shiny copper plates. To help me decide, I took some blue painter's tape and painted it black. When dry, I stuck some on the model to see what kind of effect it would give. One thing I've noticed is that as they say with clothes, black has a slimming effect. It makes the boat seem sharper and trim, which I like. I think it's getting a paint job... Meanwhile, just in case I come up with a different lighting plan, I thought I'd copy the lanterns by making a mold of them. One possibility is to cast them in clear resin or using opaque white stuff and just hollowing them out a bit and then paint the outer surface. I'm in no big rush to light the model. I don't expect it to help in a the window display, where it's well lit. Given that there is no rigging to get in the way, the model design is such that the deck house is easily removable and I can make the roof removable too, so I can actually add that feature in later on. Anyway, I have some concerns about light leakage and a glow showing through the thin wood roof. If I am planning on making a roof removable so that you can more easily view the interior, I won't want to coat the inside of the roof with something that blocks the light. Anyway, we'll see how things go. Clare

But, I just have to hold myself back from the desire to hand tint them...

I appreciate everyone's comments and faith in my mini (micro?) shamisen making skills. Well, I had to push forward and see if I could a halfway decent job on it. I found some drawings on the Internet and resized them down to proper scale. For the wood, I have a nice piece of Peruvian walnut that seemed perfect for the job. I can't really explain what I did beyond that. It was just a matter of making it. Final shamisen is about 2-3/4" long. The tuning pegs are called Itomaki (ee-toe-mah-key) and I just made them from blackened sewing pins. The fan shaped object is a plectrum called a bachi (bah-chee) that's used to strike or pluck the strings. Oh, and those are 3 strings you see in the photo. I had some tan monofilament thread I used for that. The entertainer's shamisen set aside in the Yakatabune's Tatami Room. The entertainer's shamisen set down between songs. Since we're looking at probably 19th century life, I thought a couple black and white photos seemed appropriate. I think the only other detail items I may make are sake cups and bottle. One could go crazy making small plates of food, hashi (chopsticks), and so on, so I'll have to stop myself before I go overboard. I still have to think about lighting, wiring, and maybe some painting. The kit calls for only a tiny amount of black paint on the tip of the stem and that's about it. I'm thinking about painting the lower hull black and also the metal plating that covers nails, beam ends and such. This would make the boat look a little more like those boats pictured in Ukiyo-e paintings. The only thing holding me back on the painting is that those boats are mostly different from the boat represented in the Woody Joe kit. Clare

Small update, I worked a little bit on the sail set I bought for the Alert. It was a separate purchase I made from Shipyard shortly after I got the kit. The sails are nicely printed on one side, but the back sides are blank, so I just traced out the lines on the back using colored pencil. Afterwards, I took some .4mm model rope and used it for the bolt ropes. At this scale, it makes sense to simply glue the bolt ropes into place without sewing, which is all the kit instructions call for as well. Personally, I've had good results doing this at 1/4" scale as well. I also received the swivel guns from Syren Ship Model Company, so I quickly went to work adding the trunnions and blackening them all using BlueJacket's Brass Black. Interestingly enough, the swivel guns' short trunnions were a perfect fit for the small cannon carriages. These are beautifully turned barrels. I haven't made a final decision on using paper or pear wood blocks yet, but I just ordered some more pear wood blocks from Chuck just in case. Clare

Since I was already on a roll looking at detail of the tatami mats, I started thinking about the table and some decor. The table is included in the kit. I'm not positive about this, but I believe the table is called a zataku (zah-tah-koo). I was steered wrong when I was describing the table to a relative and they came up with a name that I don't recall at the moment, but it referred to a kind of individual tray/table, which this is not. I'm planning on finishing it in a dark brown color. For people sitting around the table, there were individual cushions called zabuton (zah-boo-tone). These are kind of flat cushions about 2' square. I guess they're several cm thick when new and probably flatten out over time. I started playing around with making these out of sculpey to see how they'd turn out. Before I knew it, I made 6 of them. I figured these would be a mix of colors, and I chose colors that were mostly subdued. I think these kinds of colors are more traditional natural Japanese dye colors. The cloth used for making these might have had some kind of small repetitive pattern on it, but that would be too small to discern, so I just used solid colors. I have yet to give the pillows a coat of some kind of matte finish, so they're a bit shiny right now. In the meantime, I'm messing around with trying to model a shamisen to place inside. The shamisen is a 3-stringed fretless lute that sounds a lot like a banjo. It is played with a fan-shaped plectrum. I myself have been playing the shamisen for about 10 years now and I'm with a group that performs traditional Japanese folk music. So, it seems only right for me to try to include one here. We'll see how successful I am at that. Here's a picture of a full-sized one that I'm using to help me model one in 1/24 scale. Wish me luck! Clare

Thanks everyone for the nice comments. This is a fun build and I'm learning quite a bit from it. When I look at those close-up photo form inside the deck house, I imagine being inside and drinking tea or sake, maybe listening to music played by a geisha, feeling the gentle rocking as the boatman sculls us along the river on a warm Summer's evening. Of course, everyone's invited along – good company is mandatory! Tatami Room The floor of the cabin is covered with Tatami mats, roughly 2" thick straw-filled mats, so I did some reading up on the Internet. Tatami were originally a luxury item used by nobility, but they became popular among common households by the 18th century. Tatami mats are made in standard sizes. A full sized Tatami is twice as long as it is wide, and there are half-sized, square Tatami. While standard sized, apparently, sizes varied a little depending on region. Assuming this boat is from the Tokyo (Edo) area, Tatami are 0.88m x 1.76m. Found this image on the Internet of a full-size mat. This is from oriental-decor.com The layout of the Tatami determined the dimensions of rooms. The yakatabune's cabin is a 4-Tatami room, since 4 mats, laid side by side, exactly cover the floor. From this, I determined that the actual scale of the model has to be 1/25-scale, rather than 1/24-scale. At the top of the image attached below, I show the layout of the Tatami as described in the kit. I'm considering using a different layout for better visual interest (see the bottom layout in the attached image below). Also, there will be a small table that will straddle the seam in the middle of the alternate layout I'm considering, and I think the layout means that fewer guests will be seated on top of a seam. After I came up with my alternative layout, I found another image on the Internet that showed some room layouts. Notice that there is only one layout that is the same dimensions as the yakatabune's cabin, and it is the same as my alternate layout. Found this image on the Internet of some room layouts. This is from store.zentai.com.au An interesting note from the source for the above image indicates that Tatami are never placed in such a way that the corners form a "+", as it is considered to bring bad fortune. I think the Chinese would call it bad "Feng Shui". I guess this means that the kit's proposed layout is okay. To me, seating guests on the seams of Tatami also seems like it's not great Feng Shui. Yeah, I'm kind of jumping ahead here, but it's all part of research! Clare

Got on a bit of a roll and finished steps 21 through 23. I'll come back and fill in some of the details later, but here are some progress pics for now. Clare

Thanks Mario, Woody Joe doesn't do direct sales anyway. I recommend ordering from my friend Kazunori Morikawa at Zootoyz.jp. His site is in english and service is very good and prices are reasonable. Here's a direct link to the Woody Joe ship model kits: http://www.zootoyz.jp/contents/en-us/d67_Woody_JOE_Wooden_Sailing_Ship_Model.html. The Yakatabune kit is about halfway down the first page. Clare

Before going one with my build, first things first. Took the model to a ship model meeting last month and by the end of the meeting, found the tiller broken off, lying on the deck. It was a simple, clean glue break, but I left it for a few weeks and didn't do much on the model. Then this past Saturday, I needed to take something over to work on our model workshop on Hyde Street Pier, so I took the Yakatabune. I was really glad I did because nobody else showed up and I got a bit of work done. Anyway, the tiller was a simple glue attachment, so this time, I drilled it out and peg it this time, using a piece of 1/32" stiff brass wire. At the workshop, I continued with the next step, Step 21, which deals with the sliding screen panels. The instructional text: 21 Assembly of Sliding Doors • Sliding Doors A, make 12 pieces. • Use Shoji paper A, printed side up. The last line was hard to translate correctly, but the gist is that part 11 should stick out 1mm on each end when it is glued to part 12. It makes more sense when looking at the instructions. This line refers to the image at the very left side. There is a second half to these instructions that is almost identical to the first, except that it refers to another set of sliding doors... • Sliding Doors B, make 8 pieces. • Use Shoji paper B, printed side up. i didn't add the paper yet screens yet. That's coming up next. Clare Edit: The 1mm ends of part 11 form tabs that fit into slots, allowing the screen to slide. Part 11 is on the FRONT side of the doors. If the shoji screen paper is going to fit securely, the door pieces need to all be flush on the front side. Problem is that the other pieces are a different thickness than the 11/12 assembly. So, you just have to be aware. I didn't catch this initially and had to adjust, re-gluing some pieces part way through.

Looking nice Bob! You did a much better job that I did on those tapered bow planks. Clare

Thanks Chris, Mark, Slog, for the advice. I'm moving ahead with the turned brass cannon barrels. Regarding blocks and such, I needed to work on something fairly mindless, so I started working on the paper blocks. I figured I'd see how they turn out. If they're not so good in the end, I'll switch to purchased wooden blocks. The paper blocks have one advantage over the Syren blocks in that this is a small model and with the paper blocks are available in 3.5mm size, which I can't get in pear wood. So, in paper blocks, I now have 2.5mm, 3mm, and 3.5mm sizes. 2mm blocks are available from Shipyard too, and rigging calculations would normally call for them, but that's awfully small to assemble. Anyway, I don't have any of the 2mm paper blocks on hand, and the kit itself calls for these sizes I do have. Here is a sample of the unassembled blocks. These are the same kits that come in the boxed kits. A nice, cool but sunny Sunday morning, cup of coffee and ship modeling project – A perfect day! Here's a close-up of painted, CA reinforced and touched up blocks Sorted by size and cleaned up a little more. This certainly took a bit of effort to pre the blocks. I painted them while still in their sheets, I also glued them up in batches, which is easiest to do on the sheets. The process of assembling is exactly the same as the Syren built-up blocks, except that because they have to be painted, they need touch up. Also, cardboard isn't a very strong material, so I made sure to wick in some thin CA glue. I have yet to see how well these hold up when rigged, but at least their ready when I need them. Clare

Hi Slog, A good question. Shipyard has 4 main product lines and two of those product lines include ship model kits. One product line is their "Laser Cardboard Kits," which includes this HMS Wolf kit, and the other are their "Paper Models." The Paper Models are all 1/96-scale and have parts you have to cut out yourself and they are printed in color. The Laser Cardboard Kits are boxed edition kits in 1/72-scale. The parts are all laser cut from plain white card stock, and the necessary paints are included in the box (as well as paint brushes). Some items like decorative friezes are not laser cut, but are printed in color. Hope that helps! Clare

Hi Mark, Ah, I get your meaning now. Okay, I'm not really trying to be a salesman here... But, what about the non laser-cut 1:96 scale paper model? You should easily be able to scale it up by 100% to get a 1/4" scale model and it's less than $40. It's all the same parts, just not laser cut. Of course, you don't get to use the cast resin figurehead that's included in the boxed kit, if that was your intent. Ages of Sail should has them (I'm sure I've seen them on the shelves), the staff is just really bad about getting products online where people can actually buy them... Clare

Hi Mark, Thanks for the quick reply! I appreciate the input, even if it is to tell me that I have to make the call myself! On HMS Wolf, not sure what you mean about a small fortune for the plans. The plans package is on Ages of Sail for just under $50. I have a set myself. They're beautiful plans. They don't have any "Model Details", but they have all the plan drawings in 1:72 and 1:48 scale to easily build in wood. Clare

Okay you ship modelers out there, paper or otherwise, here's a question. The basic model is all paper: hull skeleton, hull planking, deck planking, deck furniture, etc. I know this is a "Card Model", but how much of it really has to be paper? Already, the masts, gaffs, boom, yards, bowsprit on this model are all wooden dowels, and I'm already going down the path of using commercially available brass cannons. The reason for this is that I just don't think I can do a good job making such small cannon barrels, especially in paper. Now, I'm starting to look at the blocks, deadeyes and such and now wondering if I should just use Syren blocks and such, or if I should make them from paper. It's not difficult to make the paper blocks using the laser cut sets that Shipyard sells and I have enough on hand for this model. My initial plan was to make a paper model using the Shipyard kit as much as possible. But, I want the model to look nice too. Still, I feel like I'm taking the easy way out to some degree here. I certainly don't have any qualms about using commercially available metal cannons on a wooden ship model, or metal blocks and deadeyes if they served the model well. Any thoughts? Clare

Mark has the link posted. With the latest shipment that Ages of Sail received, there are 5 of them in stock. At the moment, the sixth one is in my hot little hands here... I want it badly, but it's actually inspiring me to push along on my Alert build. Also, making me thing about taking on one of the smaller Laser Cardboard Kits, like the French lugger Le Coureur or schooner Berbice. Too much cool stuff out there... Clare

Here are some more pics... Clare

Just thought I'd share some photos I took of the new kit from Shipyard. This is a nice looking kit that's more expensive than many of their other kits, but a lot less than their HMS Mercury kit. HMS Wolf is a 10-gun brig of war. She's actually "Snow Rigged" meaning that she carries a small mast immediate aft of the main mast, which carries the spanker sail, boom and gaff. The ship is small, and while the Laser Cardboard Kits are all of a larger scale than their Paper Model kits, it's still only 1:72-scale, so the model measure about 20.5" long complete. As with all the Laser Cardboard kits, this one contains all the paints, spars, blocks, rigging line, sails, turned brass cannons and swivel guns. It also includes resin castings for the figurehead and some of the carvings. Other flat carvings are laser-etched cardboard. The Laser Cardboard kits also include instruction books, far better than the instructions provided in their less expensive Paper Model kits. For other information, you'll just have to take a look for yourselves... Clare