olliechristo

Hi Ollie
I'm just about to start this process - there are a few logs here with good advice - have a look at Ray's Diana and Pegasus and RMC's Vanguard - these go into a lot of detail. I agree with most of the above. One piece of advice I'm following is to place a styrene bead at the waterline to dress the plates to. Ray reckons fix this first rather than after cutting the tiles to the line.
 
For a cheap, cheerful and very effective waterline marker have a look at my log. I only went very slightly lower for drag at the stern on Fly but it depends on the ship. The AVS for instance is dramatically lower at the stern.
 
I'm not going to do overlaps excepting where I'm doing stealers. I think the overlaps would be out of scale. The FFM for Swan Class sloops argues that even at 1:48 scale the rivets would be nearly invisible. It is a bit like caulking and tree nailing I guess - you can emphasise a detail which in fact would not be realistically apparent at reduced scale but it gives the model a certain definition. Personal choice prevails.
 
Cheers
Alistair

Hi all..    Thanks John, Bindy and tom..
 
Another 5 hours doing my fake tree nail detail on hull..
 
I have three different shades of putty i have made up.. I try many shades till i am satisfied.. I thank everyone here for the tips, to think i wasn't even going to do tree nails.. They certainly help the viewer understand the underlying construction of this tye of ship.. I am happy with it that;s for sure.. .
 
I managed to achieve the effect i wanted.. Visible but not standing out obviously... Click on images to see closer up//
regards Ollie

Ollie,
  Do you know the thickness of the copper you are using.  If it too thick you can buy copper tape form a stain glass supply.
David B

Material of the plates might be too thick to overlap in a proper way ...I don't know if you have enough to try it out with.  Top plates always over the bottom plates and forward over the after is the standard. Check it out... Underhill, Davis and Longridge are some of my info.
 
Tom

That is what we are here for. David B

Hi all, started my copper on hull today.. Being a mosaic artist and tiler, i think i have this one sorted...
 
I am very happy with how it is going and much like a mosaic or intricate tiling you just have to get into that meditative rhythm and hand cut most pieces.. .
 
i got some gel CA in a very easy to use applicator.. Works well but will need a bit of cleaning up on some spots..
 
One thing i am wondering with marking of waterline.. Do you level referencing deck or the keel to mark it?  Or does it depend on ship.?
 
 I have leveled the deck from bow to stern.. .. I think that seems logical.. Regards Ollie
 
 

Thanks all.. John I did not know they should overlap..  Could be too late to change that,,, These instructions from kit are not helping much really..   Thanks all..

Hi all, started my copper on hull today.. Being a mosaic artist and tiler, i think i have this one sorted...
 
I am very happy with how it is going and much like a mosaic or intricate tiling you just have to get into that meditative rhythm and hand cut most pieces.. .
 
i got some gel CA in a very easy to use applicator.. Works well but will need a bit of cleaning up on some spots..
 
One thing i am wondering with marking of waterline.. Do you level referencing deck or the keel to mark it?  Or does it depend on ship.?
 
 I have leveled the deck from bow to stern.. .. I think that seems logical.. Regards Ollie
 
 

Lower deck is in place with beams for the next deck

Very nice look....makes for a good "feel" as one looks at the hull!!   I am imprest with the entire finish!!  Very professional!!
 
Tom

Hi all..    Thanks John, Bindy and tom..
 
Another 5 hours doing my fake tree nail detail on hull..
 
I have three different shades of putty i have made up.. I try many shades till i am satisfied.. I thank everyone here for the tips, to think i wasn't even going to do tree nails.. They certainly help the viewer understand the underlying construction of this tye of ship.. I am happy with it that;s for sure.. .
 
I managed to achieve the effect i wanted.. Visible but not standing out obviously... Click on images to see closer up//
regards Ollie

Hey all!
 
Making the cannons are more work then I thought. The wheels and axels are brass and I'm no fan of metal parts as they make painting and shaping much harder. So there is a lot of time just to sand them to make the paint bite.
 
Anyway the carriages are made of a total of 20 parts each (I still have to add the two locking parts that holds the cannon).
 
Painting them black was quite tricky as it's hard to get a realistic look with the details noticeable. It's a mixture with gray/black. Then highlighting edges and details with gray and finally blending them with brown/black washes. I wanted the wheels to look like they where rolled in dust/being worned so they are painted like the carriages. 
 
A few pics of the real cannons and carriages:




 
And here are mine so far:




 
Still some painting left to do, and also there are some baking soda I need to clean off.
 
 
/Matti

Hi All, 
 
This is my second model, I hope you will like my log and do not hesitate to say your opinion and suggestions.. 
 
 

All Righty Then latest photos hot from the camera:
 
The Bow & the Keel are epoxied in place, the extended part of the Keel at the stern matches up nicely with the Rudder Post, to be fitted later, make sure that this does match up particularly if going the route I took with putting a thin strip down the False Keel at the bow to assist with the Rabbet, else thinks may not sit flush at the stern!
 
Take Care Folks
 
Eamonn
PS Still no Timber, though Parcel Delivery continues for an hour or 2 yet (it is a morning service over here) but the good news is that The Period Ship Handbook 3 arrived with the regular post this morning.. Edge of the seat updates eh ? :mellow:    Here's a nice calming photo!
 

 
 

Brilliant stuff Ollie, those little details just make things 'Pop' !
 
Hmmmm I might just have to steal this method of different subtle colour 'treenails' ! (and pretend it was my idea over on Ballahoo..  )
 
All The Best
 
Eamonn

Hi all..    Thanks John, Bindy and tom..
 
Another 5 hours doing my fake tree nail detail on hull..
 
I have three different shades of putty i have made up.. I try many shades till i am satisfied.. I thank everyone here for the tips, to think i wasn't even going to do tree nails.. They certainly help the viewer understand the underlying construction of this tye of ship.. I am happy with it that;s for sure.. .
 
I managed to achieve the effect i wanted.. Visible but not standing out obviously... Click on images to see closer up//
regards Ollie

Hi all..    Thanks John, Bindy and tom..
 
Another 5 hours doing my fake tree nail detail on hull..
 
I have three different shades of putty i have made up.. I try many shades till i am satisfied.. I thank everyone here for the tips, to think i wasn't even going to do tree nails.. They certainly help the viewer understand the underlying construction of this tye of ship.. I am happy with it that;s for sure.. .
 
I managed to achieve the effect i wanted.. Visible but not standing out obviously... Click on images to see closer up//
regards Ollie

Hi all..    Thanks John, Bindy and tom..
 
Another 5 hours doing my fake tree nail detail on hull..
 
I have three different shades of putty i have made up.. I try many shades till i am satisfied.. I thank everyone here for the tips, to think i wasn't even going to do tree nails.. They certainly help the viewer understand the underlying construction of this tye of ship.. I am happy with it that;s for sure.. .
 
I managed to achieve the effect i wanted.. Visible but not standing out obviously... Click on images to see closer up//
regards Ollie

Forgot to add.. its going to be 900mm long when finished - so my biggest yet.

Taking a break from Syren (awaiting some supplies) so decided to get two of the kits I have stashed away up to the decking part. I thought it might be a good idea while it was fresh in my mind all the mistakes I made with Syren - and hopefully improve.One step at a time
 
Originally I didn't like the ply that came with the kits - it was bent - so I spend a morning building a keel clamp to straighten it up - worked a treat.
 
I used angle brakets and drilled holes through the keel to hold it straight - and now its great - AND solid. I can lean on it and it doesn't budge. Should do this more often.
 
I planked with pear - but unfortunately I didn't have any stock wide enough to cut the margin planks - so they are from basswood and lime wood. The will need sanding down as they are much thicker than the pear stock for the deck planks. Not sure yet how I will treat them - leave natural or stain.. time will tell.
 
I am happier with the but joints - seem to be more in line and straighter than previous attempts.  I will caulk as per Syren - so that has happened yet. Still have 8 more rows of planks to lay.l But all in all everything went well.
 
The keel clamp thingie....
 

 
To keep the bulkheads square - I used aluminium square (hollow) tube - worked great - easy to clamp at opposite corners of each bulkhead. I forgot to take pics - I will take some with the Supply build I have also started.
 
Onto the planking...
 

 
The margin plank is not glued - just clamped so I can take it off to easily cut the joggles...

 

 

 
I dint joggle the back end of the planks - maybe next time... thought I was pushing it a bit and might not end up very happy with it - so left well enough alone. I will cover these bits with lots of deck stuff anyway... cant have too many ropes
 
 

 
Clamping the next bit of the margin plank to shape...
 

 
No too worried about the dents from the clamps - the margin planks need to be sanded a lot down to height size anyway...
 

 
One half done... only 8 rows of planks o go - up to the joggling on the second side now..
 

 
All glued....
down to the last 8 rows.. and that's all there is so far folks...
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Dave,
 
You might find this drawing helpful.  It's from "Plank on Frame Models Vol.1"  by Harold Underhill - an excellent book, by the way!
 
John
 

Hiya Ollie,
 
I don't know much about the historical accuracies sorry but I do know the gun ports look great!

The frame looks good to me and I agree it will look nicer then the metal.  I wonder though are you planning on making them bigger than the metal fittings?

Tom,
 
The Mermaid was a Government survey cutter working on coastal surveys in what was then a very remote corner of the world.  They only needed weapons to protect themselves against possible attacks from people in canoes or lightly built coastal sailing craft. 
 
John

Here is how it looks.. Please tell me if i could have done my ports a better way.
 
The side shown here is to be the painted and coppering side so some changes still could be made.. You may notice i was provided with one length of walnut that is considerably darker...
 
The natural wood finish side i am yet to fix the top wale trim.. Regards ollie