Dziadeczek

There’s a lot of excellent advice on MSW for the first-time builder, much of which I read carefully before embarking on this hobby.  As I slowly worked through my second build though, I had some thoughts and insights that had not occurred to me previously and that I thought might be useful to the second-time builder.  They may not apply for everyone, but they did for me.  Here are my lessons learned from my second kit, from the sublime (at least to me!) to the ridiculous:
 
1.       You’re first kit may well have been an entry-level kit to get your feet wet, as mine was.  For the second one, pick something that appeals to you personally on an aesthetic or historic level.  Make sure it’s something you can actually tackle successfully, but don’t be afraid to stretch just a bit.
2.       Find a build log for your kit by someone light years ahead of you in skill level.  Print out the pages for the steps you’re working on (after running them through Google translate if they’re in a different language).  You won’t be able to replicate what they have done, but they will give you ideas on specific techniques to use and ways you can improve your own build.
3.       The finished product is really cool and fun to look at, but by far the real joy is in the lengthy, painstaking process of building it.  Don’t worry about how long it’s taking – revel in it.
4.       It’s not so much a kit that you’re building, as it is a series of problems that you’re solving.  Thoroughly research, ponder over, and test EVERYTHING before committing anything to glue.  I love that aspect of this hobby – problem solver’s paradise.
5.       It’s impossible to have too much workspace or too much lighting.
6.       Invest in the right tools, and don’t go cheap on these.  They will sometimes cost more than the kit, but pay off many times over in terms of a better result and much less frustration.
7.       Annealing brass strips before bending is a thing.  Who knew?  (I actually had to look up the word “anneal”)  Highly recommend getting one of those little butane torches for culinary use.  Better ship modeling AND a crispy topping for your crème brulee – it’s a win-win!
8.       CA glue is the worst thing ever invented by humankind.  You have to use it anyway, because it’s impossible to clamp everything that’s been glued with PVA.  Your fingers will get stuck together with the CA, and there will be unsightly glue stains where you least want them.  But it works.  When it absolutely, positively can’t be clamped, reach for the CA.  Get the gel variety, and apply with a needle tip.  I hate the stuff.  I love the stuff.

I see that you actually darned your mouses (mice?) Very good! EXCELLENT!
Congratulations!

I see that you actually darned your mouses (mice?) Very good! EXCELLENT!
Congratulations!

I see that you actually darned your mouses (mice?) Very good! EXCELLENT!
Congratulations!

Thank you giampieroricci, I try to match your model at least a little .
I continue with catharpins and bowsprit horses.

I completed the bumpkins which were the last of the parts which needed to be made.  I decided not to drill the hole through the hull moulding and frieze. It felt that it was a little to risky at his stage of the build. Of course I never thought of it, but if it were possible I would have done so earlier in the build. Instead I simulated as best I could the look of doing so.
 
Its been nearly five years since I switched from the 3/16" to the 1/4" scale version in April of 2018. With the ship now finished, I just want to say thank you for sharing this journey with me. Every kind word, comment and "Like" inspired me to do my best and keep moving ahead.
 
I would be remiss if I didn't give a special thank you to Chuck for being a huge help to me from the very start as well as putting up with all of my nuttiness. Thank you, Chuck!




 

See ya soon, Mike

You can do oils on top of acrylics, but you cannot do acrylics on top of oils!  According to an old artists/painters' principle: "fat on lean OK, but NEVER lean on fat! " (meaning oil paints are fat, but acrylics are lean (thinned with water).

Hi, all Winnie group build, I have not been part of the group build before, but I have been building her from the start.
I thought I would put some photos of where I am now and how I am making her mine. Hope you enjoy.

Hello and my name is Joe, I recently turned 60 and due to some personal injuries, I've had to slow down some on some of my hobbies. I build and fly remote control giant scale aircraft most of the time. but due to job position changes and personal injuries not allowing me to lift heavy objects. Ever since I was a little boy, I was fascinated with sailing ships, along with WW2 airplanes. I've built many plastic models over the years.  When I was 10 years old, I built and fully rigged with sails the REVELL USS CONSTITUTION. I was very proud of that ship. the family had to move across country from New York to California and I had to leave the models behind. 
Back in the 90's I had purchased the Swift double POF kit along with the solid hull phantom kit. I have started both kits back then but never finished them. I also purchased the Mamoli USS CONSTITUTION kit back then but looked but have not attempted to build it yet. So, on my 60th birthday this past January I purchased the Model Shipways 3 in one starter kit and built the Grand Banks Dory, and almost finished with the Norwegian sailing pram. My reasoning for this is I want to warm up my skills so to speak so eventually I can build a quality USS CONSTITUTION, something I can be proud of. I have posted my latest boats, once finished with the 3rd boat in the kit I'll finish the Swift and Phantom. Then I'll move on to the recently purchased "Fair American" then on to the USS CONSTITUTION. I'm enjoying the peacefulness of the hobby, it's not as stressful as building a 1/5 scale WW2 warbird with retracts and gas engine and have something go wrong and crash a 2–3-thousand-dollar investment. Another benefit i enjoy is the history behind the ships they have lives of their own and the history of the men that crewed and commanded them. Like Horatio Nelson I have learned so much about him and the British Naval history. maybe one day there's a HMS VICORY in my future.    

Everyone has his own tricks up his/her sleeves on how to photograph models, but over the years I noticed that it actually is quite simple and doesn't require any expensive equipment or a studio setup. All you'll need is a camera (preferably a digital SLR type, so you can exactly see what you are photographing, which in macrophotography is more important than in, for instance, a landscape photography, because here we are dealing with a parallax error).
Also the second piece of equipment you need is a tripod. And, off course, a model!    😁
 
You can use a standard lens, if it'll allow you to come and focus close enough to the subject, say min. about a foot, or so. Anything closer - you'll need a macro lens (might be expensive!) or a special (cheaper) macro ring which you'll mount between your standard lens and a camera body. This ring will allow you to focus much closer than the lens alone, a few inches or even closer, depending on the ring.
When I photograph models, I NEVER use any artificial lighting, e.g. a flash or any studio lamps. This type of lighting will give you sharp contrasts and ugly shadows, which might obscure details of the model. I  photograph preferably on the outside and only when the day is cloudy or overcast. Never in the full sun!  If I want to use a neutral background, I place the model in front of a sheet of lightly colored (blue or green) paper, but if the model is too big, I use natural background. On the inside, I use ambient light only, sufficiently diffused.
I place the camera on the tripod and set it on APERTURE PRIORITY and then select the smallest possible in my camera opening, say F. stop 22. The smaller the opening (bigger number), the deeper the depth of field will be, in other words, sharpness of all the planes. Macrophotography has notoriously shallow depth of field and you want to extend it maximally. This small aperture will allow equally small amount of light through the lens and the picture will turn out too dark. So, you want to extend the time of exposure accordingly to compensate for it. In the setting Aperture Priority, the camera will do it for you automatically. Typically, the time of exposure will be way too long (for ISO 100) to keep the camera steady in the hands and result in a blurred pic, hence the need for a tripod.
Also, set the camera on SELFTIMER, say about 5 seconds delay, in order to avoid shaking the camera during the pressing of the shutter button. If your camera doesn't have a selftimer, use a cable release.
 
Next thing is a composition. Before you take the pic, you should briefly think what exactly you want to show in it and compose the pic. Don't be afraid to frame as much as possible the details you want to show. Remember to focus first on the detail which is located about 1/3rd closer to the camera - that way everything closer to this distance as well as further away will still be in focus. In the first pic I attached, I focused on the capstan. The camera sometimes will select automatically another detail not necessarily at that distance, so in order to convince it, PRESS THE SHUTTER HALF WAY while focusing on that detail (in the middle of the frame) and KEEPING IT HALF DEPRESSED simultaneously recompose your pic and finally press the shutter all the way to take the pic. 
 
I always photograph with the setting RAW. The so called, post production tweaking is as important as the actual picture taking - with RAW you can manipulate sharpness, contrast, brightness, color saturation and many other parameters, which JPEGs don't allow you. Only after all manipulations, convert it into a final JPEG.
 
If the depth of field (focus) doesn't satisfy you with this technique, try the Focus Stacking technique. Use a tripod here too, take at least 10 or 15 pictures of the subject (with Aperture Priority again),  don't move the camera on the tripod, but with each picture manually change a bit its focus, focusing every time slightly further away. Get the entire operation covered with pics of varying focus. On the Photoshop or other similar software, place (stack) all your pictures, one on top of the other, and electronically merge them together. In the end, EVERYTHING will be in perfect focus. Save this final pic.
The second attachment shows one of my Focus Stacking experiments with my model of the MS Rattlesnake (not just finished there).
 
Oh, I almost forgot. When you photograph models in their glass cases, say in a museum, to reduce those ugly light reflexions, use a polarizing filter. Depending on how good it is, these glares might get significantly reduced or even eliminated.
 
Off course, there is also a way of panoramas picture taking, and/or a 3D pictures (yes, for macro objects too). But, this is another matter...

Perhaps you should have preheated your brass strip to make it more pliable.

Perhaps you should have preheated your brass strip to make it more pliable.

Perhaps you should have preheated your brass strip to make it more pliable.

You can use white glue (Elmer's) or Titebond for wood. I wouldn't use contact cement - messy and smelly! CA glue sparingly, only in places where you cannot hold pieces in your hands and wait until wood glue dries.

I would first pre bend the bulwarks OFF the model so that their general shape follows the shape of the hull. Than I would use wood glue (either Titebond or Elmer's Glue All) placed on the edge of the deck and attach the lower edge of the bulwarks to this edge of the deck. To speed up the drying process, I would use a couple of drops of fast drying (gel) CA glue in the forward edge (on the bow) of both bulwarks, as well as in the stern area.
Also, I would use strategically placed rubber bands to keep everything together while the glue dries.

You can easily adapt an ordinary soldering iron for plank bending (if you have difficulties locating such a specialty tool).
Than yu can build a heat control from a household dimmer (not the digital one!). I learnt this one from my old stained glass class ages ago.

Mixing your paints with powder sugar will increase the adhesion to smooth surfaces like glass or metal. Try it!

And here are the Rattlesnake instructions from Model Shipways:
MS2028_Rattlesnake instructions.pdf

Years ago I built my French 74 gun ship upside down, mounted in H. Hahn's building base, following his method (sort of). I remember, I had to add (draw) the remaining frames, since J. Boudriot only has shown in his books the so called, station frames. The hull turned out OK, not perfect though, but - for the first scratch built, Admiralty type model, - acceptable.
Right now I am starting to install the running rigging on it.
Thomas

I found it for you here.  Post # 4:
 

It all depends on what species of wood are we talking about? Certain species are less and other more difficult to bend, eg. ebony is very springy and  extremely difficult to bend, whether heat bending and/or moisture bending are applied. Also, the size of planks is important; the thicker your wood is, the more difficult it is to bend. Sometimes you have to do it several times, repeatedly water soaking and heat bending, and so on. In some cases, especially if you want to bend it sideways (edge bending) it will be impossible - in such cases perhaps it is better to laminate the strips and, before the glue dries, bend them into desired curve clamping them in some sort of a form. Or cut the entire element from a bigger piece of wood.
Generally, for typical wood and plank dimensions, found in most kits, it is sufficient to pre-wet the planks in lukewarm water for several minutes, perhaps even for half hour and heat bend them with a typical tool (I use an ordinary soldering iron with a heat control I made from a common household dimmer to prevent the wood from being burnt). If the curve is supposed to be quite tight, I repeat the process wetting the plank again, until I get the appropriate bend. In most cases, it is sufficient. It is not recommended to boil wood (damage of fibres) or soak them in ammonia or bleach (discoloration).
 
For soaking the planks, I use a piece (about 2 feet long) of a white pvc pipe with one end permanently closed by a plug  glued there, and suspended from an edge of my table, filled with water. I immerse my planks there and after a while they are ready for heat bending.
I grasp my soldering iron with one hand, and a wet plank with the other, place it on a block of wood, and while gently rubbing it back and forth with the hot tip, I try to gradually lift it from the block. When I achieve desired curve, I stop. If I cannot bend it sufficiently without the risk of breaking the plank, I resoak it and repeat the tretment. If I overbend it, I correct it (underbend it) using the same method.
 
A while ago there was an interesting article on the topic in now long-defunct magazine "Ships in Scale". This was, in fact, an interview by Email Klein with a German modeler Gebhard Kammerlander, who in detail explained the entire process. If you want it, I can find out the specific issue and let you know.
 
Also, I attached a link to a short video tutorial on You Tube, of Gebhard demonstrating, what can be achieved with this technique named Biedesystem 3000 (he speaks there in German, but the video is 'in English'  😁 ) - search the archives here for this link, if you are interested.
 
Greetings,
Thomas

Butaprem is a Polish equivalent of a common contact cement glue. Messy... I wouldn't use it for card modeling...

Congratulations Mark.
I know what it's like to have less time - one of our grandchildren is with us 2-3 times a week because our daughter is a single parent. In the meantime, our grandson visits me regularly in the workshop.

 

It all depends on what species of wood are we talking about? Certain species are less and other more difficult to bend, eg. ebony is very springy and  extremely difficult to bend, whether heat bending and/or moisture bending are applied. Also, the size of planks is important; the thicker your wood is, the more difficult it is to bend. Sometimes you have to do it several times, repeatedly water soaking and heat bending, and so on. In some cases, especially if you want to bend it sideways (edge bending) it will be impossible - in such cases perhaps it is better to laminate the strips and, before the glue dries, bend them into desired curve clamping them in some sort of a form. Or cut the entire element from a bigger piece of wood.
Generally, for typical wood and plank dimensions, found in most kits, it is sufficient to pre-wet the planks in lukewarm water for several minutes, perhaps even for half hour and heat bend them with a typical tool (I use an ordinary soldering iron with a heat control I made from a common household dimmer to prevent the wood from being burnt). If the curve is supposed to be quite tight, I repeat the process wetting the plank again, until I get the appropriate bend. In most cases, it is sufficient. It is not recommended to boil wood (damage of fibres) or soak them in ammonia or bleach (discoloration).
 
For soaking the planks, I use a piece (about 2 feet long) of a white pvc pipe with one end permanently closed by a plug  glued there, and suspended from an edge of my table, filled with water. I immerse my planks there and after a while they are ready for heat bending.
I grasp my soldering iron with one hand, and a wet plank with the other, place it on a block of wood, and while gently rubbing it back and forth with the hot tip, I try to gradually lift it from the block. When I achieve desired curve, I stop. If I cannot bend it sufficiently without the risk of breaking the plank, I resoak it and repeat the tretment. If I overbend it, I correct it (underbend it) using the same method.
 
A while ago there was an interesting article on the topic in now long-defunct magazine "Ships in Scale". This was, in fact, an interview by Email Klein with a German modeler Gebhard Kammerlander, who in detail explained the entire process. If you want it, I can find out the specific issue and let you know.
 
Also, I attached a link to a short video tutorial on You Tube, of Gebhard demonstrating, what can be achieved with this technique named Biedesystem 3000 (he speaks there in German, but the video is 'in English'  😁 ) - search the archives here for this link, if you are interested.
 
Greetings,
Thomas

I found it for you here.  Post # 4: