Dziadeczek

Andrew Kudin is showing it here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/20825-le-fleuron-1729-by-kudin-148-scale-kudin-andrey-youtube/page/5/?tab=comments#comment-753014 Except, his is making them from pear wood, as I understand.

I don't know, what the "general consensus" is on the treenail topic, so I will post my own opinion here. It all depends on the scale of your model - the smaller the model, the smaller and less visible the treenails should be. Perhaps no treenails at all, since they were practically invisible from ~15, 20 ft. on a full size ship. Calculate, what 15 feet would be in your scale and try to reproduce the same on your model. If your model is in the scale 1:64 and you want to show them, but at the same time you are concerned about overdoing it (don't want your model to look like it has measles), you can do it, using the same wood you used for planking (boxwood). End on, it will be a bit darker than your planks, especially after you oil it. You can entertain the idea of cutting your treenails with a special treenail cutter from Vanda Lay Ind. here: https://www.vanda-layindustries.com/html/treenail_maker.html I have this gadget for many years - it works well with many species of hardwood, will work with boxwood as well, but not so well with bamboo (too fibrotic for this cutter). If you want to use bamboo skewers, go with Jim Byrnes draw plate (he is a member here). The process of drawing treenails from bamboo through his plate is a bit tedious and bamboo tends to break while you push it through, so go easy - after a few trials you'll figure out the mechanics, pulling steady, no yanking, just steady pull, gently grasping the skewer with tongs or pliers. Andrew Kudin is showing it here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/20825-le-fleuron-1729-by-kudin-148-scale-kudin-andrey-youtube/page/5/?tab=comments#comment-753014 If that scares you too much, I would recommend just marking your treenails with a cut off sharp end of your medical needle. with a gentle circular motion. Just enough to make a mark of a tiny circle - after you oil the hull, those circles will be a bit more accentuated, just enough to show them. You don't want to show them too much, or make them too large, so figure out before how big they shoul be in your scale. If you are the beginner, I would in fact recommend you to do just this. Less work, less chances to mess it up, and the end result may be the best. Happy modeling! Thomas

As far as I understand, some kits are designed for double planking, especially intended for beginners, with the idea to learn how to plank on the first layer and do the second layer properly. But, if you do the first layer properly (observing spiling and shaping of your planks) it will look beautifully, so there will be no purpose for the second layer to cover up mistakes. If however, you don't properly spill and shape the first layer, you won't learn the process and repeat it with the second layer also. What's the point? If you read and understand the process, you should be able to do it properly. Don't get too intimidated, the explaining it in words is harder than actually doing it. I too was anxious before my first attempt on planking, but plunged in it, and it turned out OK. Use a good pair of proportional dividers, or paper strip technique, be precise in measurements, check everything twice before cutting and glueing and you should be fine! I too recommend reading those tutorials here, but perhaps also a brochure "Planking the build up ship models" by the late Jim Roberts. In fact, I learnt the process based on this brochure, before the time the above mentioned tutorials first appeared on the MSW website.

You might obtain ebony in exotic hardwoods outlets, if you are lucky. It is harder and harder to locate it though. Also, it is stinky expensive! I once managed to find it in my local exotic hardware lumber yard (this place doesn't exist anymore), but luckily I then snatched two quite large boards of it. I still have most of it and use it very carefully and sparingly. It is a very dense and heavy wood. Ebony also is difficult to work with, it is very stiff, springly and hard to bend. Some people are allergic to its dust, so wear a face mask while cutting it and sanding it. Other than that, it is quite similar to boxwood as far as its texture. It cuts, carves and turns nicely, leaves a sharp edge and glues well. I once used it for some railings and decorative ornate elements on my French 74 guns. I also turned some deadeyes from it. But for triple wales on my Frenchie I used cherry instead. Cherry heat bends much better than ebony. After preshaping the wales and glueing them onto the frames, I stained them with ebony stain by Varathane. When looking at them and comparing with genuine ebony railings and other details, the wales are virtually indistinguishable as far as color and texture. I am not sure about other ebony stains from different manufacturers, like Minwax and such... It is therefore always a good idea to first test them on a piece of scrap hardwood and see if it meets your expectations. So, as far as making some details from ebony, that don't have to be bent too much, it is a nice wood to work with, but if you have to significantly bend ebony strips, use other hardwoods instead and stain them, rather than struggling with ebony, provided that you can first locate it locally in your area. Regards, Thomas

I place a drop of PVA white glue, or Titebond glue on top of my index finger and run the edge of a plank along it, making sure it gets just barely enough glue on its entire length. Any excess can be wiped off, if necessary, by repeating the above. If some small amount of glue still oozes out from the joint, I wipe it off with a wet rug. Generally it is enough to be able later on to apply a layer of oil or stain. If however there are some small spots where oil/stain did not penetrate, I take an edge of a small chisel or a one sided (industrial) razor blade and carefully scrape off this area to the bare wood.

Splendid! Why not glueing them to the shrouds with, say, a drop of white glue to keep them there, and then wrapping them around the shrouds with a thread?

I just received a large spool of Irish Barbour's linen thread (expensive!), from England: https://www.etsy.com/listing/748849724/large-spool-of-353-cord-barbours-irish?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_a-craft_supplies_and_tools-fabric_and_notions-notions-thread&utm_custom1=9d7531cf-7f2a-412d-b984-d1b7bf71b7f2&utm_content=go_1843970764_76535548264_346429178309_pla-295462060547_c__748849724&utm_custom2=1843970764&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqInt_8GP6wIVEdbACh3wIABpEAkYAiABEgLLFfD_BwE My order for this item was placed about a month ago and supposedly sent to me from London right after. But since I wasn't receiving anything, for some time already I started to suspect, that my ordered parcel was stuck somewhere in my "end of the road". All of a sudden they officially anounced yesterday and reported locally, that one of our mail men dumped the entire contents of his US Mail truck onto a remote parking lot instead of troubling himself to properly deliver the mail to its recipients. (I don't think I need to describe here my feelings about the qualities of recent mail deliveries and was ready to write an appropriate message to the sender). If someone instead just dumped this spool in the ocean, it would float freely and reach me on this side of the Pond sooner than the air mail service between these two countries... But, it finally arrived here ..! Never mind the above... What I wanted to write is that I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life! All my previous experiences with linen thread were less than satisfactory (to say it mildly). This however is a different story. The thread is nr. 35, quite thin, so one can twist various thicknesses of ropes from it. It is a right handed twist, so you can make a left handed rope from it, or using your left handed ropes, twist subsequently a thicker right handed one on your ropewalk. It has a very uniform structure, no bumps or lumps of any sort. It is slightly stiffer than a good quality cotton, which in turn is a bit stiffer than silk (I have some surgical silk - marvellous stuff to make ropes from!). My new linen thread is of white/egg shell color, so I will have to stain my ropes in various colors. This spool is quite large, - a life time supply of linen for a modeler like me! Supposedly it is antique, made sometime in the 1950ties. I am, God forbid, not trying to advertise this particular business on this forum, just to encourage everyone to try a good linen thread for your ropes. Soon I will try to twist some ropes from it and see how it goes... Regards, Thomas Edited by Moderator to remove Political Comment.

Don't know much about whaling but I found this one online. Perhaps it will be helpful for your project. I would be careful with bleaching the rope - if it is made from natural fibres, you might damage it and make it brittle. Test it on a short piece before. As for the color, I would think that the brand new rope would be light colored, anything older would be progressively darker...

Here is a handful more pics from this place (HMS Royal George and HMS Royal Katherine by Mr. Marple) (It is difficult to photograph through glass panes, even with a polarising filter!)

Here is some museum info on him.

As far as I know. They used beef bones from their food rations. Except, of course, for the rigging. I was told, that some of those prisoners used their own long hair and twisted it into ropes for their models. Hard to believe...

Sorry for this omission - I corrected it plus added some more pics from one of my earlier visits... Regards, Thomas

I uploaded a handful of pics from that museum, I took during my last visit there in May 2019. They are here:

Over a period of ~ 25 years, I visited this museum probably about a dozen of times, or so. And each time I took a handful of photographs. So, today I have quite a collection of pics from there. It is not nearly as big as, let's say, The US Navy Museum in Annapolis, but It is a very interesting little maritime museum, with an exceptionally friendly staff, mostly of volunteers, passionate individuals, who fondly greet every visitor and are willing to help him/her. This is the museum, the next NRG conference will be held next year. Their collection of ship models includes, among the others, about half a dozen ship models by the late Edward Marple, who was a dental technician, so he was quite handy with his dental drill and was using it quite skillfully for carving the ornamentation for his models. Among those especially interesting ones, are his Sovereign of the Seas, the Royal George and the Royal Katherine... The museum also has quite an interesting collection of maritime paintings, among them a large format painting of the Royal Sovereign by Van de Velde the Younger. I also like very much their paintings by John Stobart. Here is a handful of my pics from my last visit in June 2019. (Hopefully I will be able to attend the upcoming Conference and revisit their models again). Sovereign of the Seas by Edward Marple Sovereign of the Seas by Edward Marple Sovereign of the Seas by Edward Marple Sovereign of the Seas by Edward Marple Vasa by William Siegfried Xebec L'Indiscret by Unknown galley La Reale de France Frigate Seahorse by James Cutler Royal George by Edward Marple Royal George by Edward Marple Royal Katherine by Edward Marple John Bentham Dinsdale "English King Charles II receiving the fleet after the Battle of Solebay 1672" prisoner of war bone model Royal Katherine by Edward Marple Mars HMS Serapis Charles Martin Powell "British Man-O- War with Dutch Sailing Vessels in a Choppy Sea" 1805 Chinese Exhibit Steam Yacht "Mayflower" Steam Yacht "Mayflower" John Stobart "Vallejo Street Wharf, San Francisco 1863" Montague Dawson "The Atlantic sailing packet Daniel Webster" Jonn Stobart "Clipper Ship 'Nightingale' Towing Out Past Greenwich in 1852" John Stobart "Nantucket Sunrise" Edward Marple's workplace (museum reconstruction) E. Marple's workplace E. Marple's workplace E. Marple's workplace HMS "Prince" Edward Marple's last model (unfinished) E. Marple's workplace with unfinished HMS "Prince" E. Marple's workplace & unfinished HMS 'Prince' E. Marple's workplace - detail Roy Cross "Robert E. Lee in New Orleans 1870s" Roy Cross "Steamer Adelaide Passing Fort McHenry" Roy Cross "The Devonshire" John Wilson Carmichel "Squadron of Frigates and Fishing Vessels in a Choppy See off Holy Island" And the last pic here is a general view of Mr. Marple's workshop (reconstructed) again

Very handsome looking rope! When staining a rope made on a ropewalk, which way is better, first stain the thread and than twist a rope from it, or stain a twisted rope after making it? Also, what stain/colour brand do you recommend for this purpose? I recently located and ordered a big spool of old antique Irish linen #35 thread by Barbour and currently am awaiting its arrival. I want to try making a rope from this (I was told) superior matherial, but unfortunately it only comes in white. Previously I used to use factory coloured cotton from DMC for my ropes - black and ECRU (and even various polyesther brands), so I didn't have a problem with staining my ropes. I wonder how much difference I will encounter with this linen thread? Regards, Thomas

I just thoroughly clean the brass/copper with fine steel wool to the bare metal and dip it in acetone trying not to touch it with my fingers. Afterwards I dip it in Birchwood Casey Brass Black for a few minutes. I noticed that if I keep it there for too long, the efect is undesireable, blotchy and uneven. I then wipe it with a cotton rug and dip in water.

Hi Mike, I just sent you a PM. Thomas

Hi Mike, Generally, the Proxxon tools are of good quality, so I assume that this one is also good, if the price is good too. I don't own one, but for many years I have and used a 2-speed Delta and have been quite satisfied with it. I use it quite often. It is not nearly as good as the Hegner or the Sacura saws, but pricewise it was v. competitive too. Don't forget to get yourself some good blades for it, like Olsson blades sold by Rockler in Pasadena, for example. Good luck with your Sovereign. It is an awesome model! Did you see the one by Ed Marple in the Maritime museum in Oxnard? Regards, Thomas PS: I noticed that you are out in Santa Monica. I live in Glendale. Currently scratchbuilding the 74 gun ship by J. Boudriot in 1:48. A beast!

Hi Karl, I did not post here any reports and pics of my model build. Alltogether I lagged behind with taking photos of the progress of my work, rather concentrating on the build itself (which is going exceedingly slowly). Here you can find some older pictures: http://www.koga.net.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=523&t=46424 It is a Polish ship modeling forum, but the pictures are in English! :-) Be sure to see all 4 pages. There has been some progress since then (photoetched elements and other). One day I will have to snap a couple of new pics and post them. Thanks for asking. Regards, Thomas

You can stitch large (upwards of 10 or more pics) distant panoramas (landscapes) quite easily, just snap individual pics (vertically) overlapping them about 1/3 and stitch them together on one of the panorama programs, like Hugin (free), Photoshop or PTGUi (purchase license), but taking panoramas of close up objects (macrophotography) involves the so called, parallax error, which makes stitching difficult or even impossible. To remedy this, you have to use a special panorama arm (head) that eliminates this error, like this one: http://www.rosaurophotography.com/html/panoramas/vr_review/nn3/nn3_review.html or similar It all involves determining the so called nodal point of your lens, which is sort of a complex concept, so I won't even try here to explain it. Such panorama arms (heads) are quite expensive, unless you want to build one by yourself (which drastically lowers the cost, total ~ 20-30 US dollars). Some time ago I built one from hardwood scraps + purchased a few extra inexpensive parts, following a short tutorial online, and determined my nodal points for my Nikon D200. I still use it occasionally. It works quite well. PS: Your model is spectacular and mind boggling! I am building the same one, but in 1:48 scale. Still, it is a monster!

Holy cow! You are practically in Hamburg! 15 nanometres? :-)

I have some steel shot balls left from my previous project (2,10; 2,54 and 3,05 mm) I could send them to you, if you wanted them. How many do you need? ( I purchased those three boxes of steel shot cartridges and opened them up and dissasembled, so it turned out to be a lifetime supply of shot for me :-) ) Thomas

You can also buy steel shot.

I have a Sherline lathe (longer bed) and a Sherline mill - for decades already and they are still going strong, like new. Recently I had to replace a toggle switch on my lathe, because the old one got contaminated with some fine dust, either wood or brass and stopped working. I also installed a rubber seal cap around the new switch - to prevent it from clogging again. Otherwise I have no problems and no regrets owning them. Good machines. Good selection of parts and accessories, too.