Bob Cleek

Thread and scale rope storage solved for now. I’m sure it might evolve as I get deeper into the hobby.
 

My thread stays on the spools it came on and stored in a closed box. Laid up line is coiled in 4"-5" coils in the same fashion as full-size rope, with a half turn twist in each coil so it lays perfectly flat without kinks or hockles. This is stored in a zip-lock sandwich bag which contains a piece of card stock cut to the size of the inside of the sandwich bag which gives the bag rigidity. On the card stock is written the type of thread used in the lay up, the number of strands and direction of the lay and any other information necessary to duplicate the line stored in the bag. The bags are kept in a box similar to a large index card box, so they can be "flipped through" and the one desired easily selected. The plastic bags keep the line clean and dust-free. Easy and cheap solution.

My thread stays on the spools it came on and stored in a closed box. Laid up line is coiled in 4"-5" coils in the same fashion as full-size rope, with a half turn twist in each coil so it lays perfectly flat without kinks or hockles. This is stored in a zip-lock sandwich bag which contains a piece of card stock cut to the size of the inside of the sandwich bag which gives the bag rigidity. On the card stock is written the type of thread used in the lay up, the number of strands and direction of the lay and any other information necessary to duplicate the line stored in the bag. The bags are kept in a box similar to a large index card box, so they can be "flipped through" and the one desired easily selected. The plastic bags keep the line clean and dust-free. Easy and cheap solution.

My thread stays on the spools it came on and stored in a closed box. Laid up line is coiled in 4"-5" coils in the same fashion as full-size rope, with a half turn twist in each coil so it lays perfectly flat without kinks or hockles. This is stored in a zip-lock sandwich bag which contains a piece of card stock cut to the size of the inside of the sandwich bag which gives the bag rigidity. On the card stock is written the type of thread used in the lay up, the number of strands and direction of the lay and any other information necessary to duplicate the line stored in the bag. The bags are kept in a box similar to a large index card box, so they can be "flipped through" and the one desired easily selected. The plastic bags keep the line clean and dust-free. Easy and cheap solution.

My thread stays on the spools it came on and stored in a closed box. Laid up line is coiled in 4"-5" coils in the same fashion as full-size rope, with a half turn twist in each coil so it lays perfectly flat without kinks or hockles. This is stored in a zip-lock sandwich bag which contains a piece of card stock cut to the size of the inside of the sandwich bag which gives the bag rigidity. On the card stock is written the type of thread used in the lay up, the number of strands and direction of the lay and any other information necessary to duplicate the line stored in the bag. The bags are kept in a box similar to a large index card box, so they can be "flipped through" and the one desired easily selected. The plastic bags keep the line clean and dust-free. Easy and cheap solution.

My thread stays on the spools it came on and stored in a closed box. Laid up line is coiled in 4"-5" coils in the same fashion as full-size rope, with a half turn twist in each coil so it lays perfectly flat without kinks or hockles. This is stored in a zip-lock sandwich bag which contains a piece of card stock cut to the size of the inside of the sandwich bag which gives the bag rigidity. On the card stock is written the type of thread used in the lay up, the number of strands and direction of the lay and any other information necessary to duplicate the line stored in the bag. The bags are kept in a box similar to a large index card box, so they can be "flipped through" and the one desired easily selected. The plastic bags keep the line clean and dust-free. Easy and cheap solution.

She's certainly coming along nicely, Rob! Great work at such a small scale. I've never seen a better job on a coppered bottom at this scale. You've achieved a compellingly realistic effect. Anybody who undertakes to copper a bottom at this scale should take a close look at your work.
 

Interesting discussion, but I think you are looking at the wrong picture. Acidity or lack of it, i.e., going either side of Ph7 which is neutral will invite some kind of degradation. You also need to add in the factors of airborne pollutants. Then factor in the time period that it takes before any noticeable effects become seen. It takes a long time for this to occur. Everything we use to construct our models off gases. It is just how things work. What these gases are and how they affect the materials we use to construct our models is an unknown, and we really need not concern ourselves over it. The reason a case for our finished models should not be airtight is like a house, some circulation is required. Without it certain gases build up and the air also become stale and retains unwanted odors. Use whatever wax product you wish, it all evens out in the end, and eliminates those fuzzies .

I think this is one instance where the maxim "You get what you pay for." really applies. Your mileage may vary.
 
Use the forum search engine and look at build logs of each brand and draw your own conclusions as to the relative qualities of the two kit options.

I think this is one instance where the maxim "You get what you pay for." really applies. Your mileage may vary.
 
Use the forum search engine and look at build logs of each brand and draw your own conclusions as to the relative qualities of the two kit options.

Just an observation on kits in general...  including Victory.   As time goes on and new kits are released, you'll find more accuracy (per market demand) and also better designs.   So, sometimes, if you the "best" kit of a given ship is going to be released, it's often worth waiting for as designs and technology improve.

I think this is one instance where the maxim "You get what you pay for." really applies. Your mileage may vary.
 
Use the forum search engine and look at build logs of each brand and draw your own conclusions as to the relative qualities of the two kit options.

I agree, most if not all Victory kits or builds require 2-5 years to complete. Now with that out of the way, back to your question, which I hate and which pops up every now and again whether it be a victory, constitution or what ever. A boat or ship model kit is a kit is a kit is a kit, no more no less. I have built well over 100 kits of various subjects over the years by many manufactures and have found that all kits no matter of the manufacture are good quality kits. Now whether the subject model builds into an acceptable representation of the subject is totally up to you AND NOT THE KIT. A kit is only a starting point of the journey you choose to take, but the quality of the build will be all on you as the builder. To me, the research of the subject is far more important than the quality of the kit, which can be changed, manipulated into what ever you want it to be. My point is, if you find something not historically accurate about the model per the kit, change it and make it so.
 
You will never get a museum quality model from a kit even though the manufactures touts it as such. I rarely ever build a model based on the kit. To me the kit is only the starting point. So to answer your question, all of them and none of them.

Just to throw a bit of snark in: given what Ive seen of Victory as a model kit, I would say the best one is the one you think you can complete.   

A super warm welcome to MSW Nate.  Maybe also post a little intro on the new member forum here at MSW.
 
Are you saying you want to build a model similar to one of those in the photos or of a higher quality?  The ones in the photos look to be mass produced very low quality decorator models out of China. 
 
It sounds like this is a new endeavor for you.  If it is, go slow and easy.  You have 42,000 helpers here at MSW! 
 
Fortunately there are a  couple high quality kits makers to choose from.   IF you are indeed a beginner, look at the David Antscherl series at Model Shipways as they will take you from beginner to experienced in a reasonable amount of time.   There are also excellent kits from two other kit makers,  Syren and Vanguard,  that will suit your needs as you progress and gain experience.   
 
Allan
 
 
 
 

I'm not sure there's any coating you can put on the outside to keep the second layer on.   It might be a better option to add treenails to the planks.  
 
I know others will answer so wait and see what they say.

Rubber cement is not, alas a permanent adhesive. It may last several years, but.... There are a range of options, but I use white (polyvinyl acetate) glue for most wood applications in model-making. Others may have other preferences, but I'd also avoid cyanoacrylate (crazy) glues.

There's nothing wrong that I can see in using India ink to blacken rigging thread. That said, an inadvertent drop or splatter of India ink landing on the model could ruin your whole day, no? I'd suggest applying the ink off the model, rather than applying it with a paintbrush directly above your bright finished decks. The common technique is to put the India ink in a small straight-sided bottle, like a pill bottle, for example, containing the India ink and sliding a piece of wood the width of the inside of the bottle with a slight "U" notch cut into it down into the bottle just short of the bottom with the string to be colored run around the bottom of the wooden piece and held in the center of the wooden piece by the "U" notch. The wooden piece holds the thread down in the India ink as the length of thread is pulled up out of the bottle. The "dry" uncolored thread is drawn into the bottle by pulling the "wet" side of the length of thread. You can devise your own method of wiping the excess India ink as the "wet" thread comes out of the bottle, if need be. The length of string can then be hung up to dry. India ink is very useful, but wicked stuff. When the bottle says "Permanent," they mean it. You want to be careful to keep it where you want it and nowhere else. 

Yes, you are right Wefalck - my bad.
 

 
Gary

It's Portia Takakjian, "Tah-kok-gee-in." 
 
Her AOTS book was on Essex. HMS Fubbs may have been one of the three builds addressed in her Ship Modeling Techniques book. I fortunately found a great deal on a used copy that's coming in the mail. I've had my eye out for this title at a reasonable price for some time.
 
AOTS: The 32 Gun Frigate Essex   https://www.amazon.com/32-Gun-Frigate-Essex-Anatomy-Ship/dp/0851775411
     (Hardcover: 3 used from $154.84 - 1 new from 97.75)
     (Paperback: 3 used from $565.99 - 1 new from $919.00)
 
Ship Modeling Techniques   https://www.amazon.com/Modeling-Techniques-Portia-Takakjian-1990-04-06/dp/B01HCADDZ4
     (Paperback: "3 Used from $183.87 - 2 new from $768.57"
 
I really don't know what's with Amazon's book pricing. Perhaps they need to revise their algorithms. It seems like some sort of digital "monkey see - monkey do" issue is operative. Somebody sees a price on line and asks more for theirs, and that gets repeated over and over again and the prices just keep getting inflated automatically like Bitcoins. I can't imagine why anybody would pay $919.00 for a new paperback copy of an AOTS book when a lot of 27 new hardcover copies were just remaindered for $150.00 at an online auction. I can't imagine anybody's paying the kind of prices that some of the books on Amazon are listed for. it's certain that poor Portia, who died too young, never saw the kind of money her two books are bringing these days. She was working on an AOTS volume on the 32 gun frigate Raleigh at the time of her death. She was a fascinating maritime historian and ship modeler about whom not a lot seems to have been written.  A classically trained illustrator, her "day job" was as an academic scientific illustrator, her maritime interests were an avocation and she only modeled ships later in her life. Her papers were left to the G.W. Blunt White Library at Mystic Seaport.  What I found particularly fascinating was that while raising two boys as a single mom, she managed to build what her Mystic Seaport biography calls " one of the best, privately held, period shipbuilding and naval architecture book collections in the USA." Wouldn't we all give our eye teeth for something like that!
 
 
Here's her bio from the Mystic Seaport website: https://research.mysticseaport.org/coll/coll289/
 
Biography of Portia Takakjian
Shortly after Portia Takakjian’s death on February 17, 1992, Scottie Dayton, friend and associate, commented in the May/June issue of Seaways as follows: “On 17 February noted ship modeler, researcher and author, Portia Takakjian lost her battle with emphysema. True to her nature, Portia was busy helping others right to the end. She was an extraordinary lady, as anyone who knew her will tell you. Her capacity for caring and giving was boundless.
She was born in Los Angles in 1930, but spent most of her time in the villages of Tarrytown and Piermont on the Hudson River just above New York City. After completing high school she worked as a fashion model for the Ford Agency while attending Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and later the Art Students League.
Portia’s art career originally focused on illustrating children’s books. Her reputation in this field earned a listing in Gale’s “Authors and Illustrators”, while some of her work became part of the Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota. Besides illustrating books, Takakjian rose to the level of senior illustrator and draftsperson at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory.
Her interest in ship modeling surfaced while raising sons Kyle and Erik. Takakjian understood how vital a quality reference library was and set about establishing one of the best, privately held, period shipbuilding and naval architecture book collections in the USA. As her knowledge and skills increased, her studio also evolved into a first-class model shop.
When the Hudson River Museum invited Portia to exhibit her models, the interest in how they were constructed led to teaching a weekly class in her workshop. She realized early on that there was little published material to help the beginner, so she began imparting what she’d learned by writing magazine articles.
Portia had much to be proud of, but the publication of the “32-Gun Frigate Essex” by Conway Maritime Press was a crowning achievement. “Essex” was the first title ever produced on an early American vessel for their esteemed Anatomy of the Ship series. Conway’s editors were so impressed with the quality of her plans and the accuracy of her modeling that they permitted her to choose the vessel and deadline for another title. Portia selected the 32-gun frigate Raleigh (1778). Her obsession to finish Raleigh “before it finishes me” drove her over each physical obstacle.
Portia left behind an impressive legacy in her models and writings, but more importantly, she touched and forever enriched the lives of those she met.”

Try this.  Lay a piece of paper over the previous plank and gently rub a pencil along the edge.  This will give you the exact shape of the previous row and you can use that as a template for the next plank.

It looks Australian.
 
   

If your going to stay with this hobby don't buy tools till you need them and then buy the best you can afford. 
This is the advice I got years ago and it's done well by me.

As mentioned, There are 56 curves in the standard Copenhagen curves set. There are many other types of curves, sometimes called "French" curves. These can be found in the old K&E catalogs, one of the more recent ones from the 1930's is found at http://archive.org/stream/pricelistcatalog00keuf#page/231/mode/1up  The curves begin at page 231. The Copenhagen curves are at page 234 and following.
 
The short answer is that, yes, you just have to "try and fit" to get the right curve. The method of use is illustrated below. A curve is defined by a series of "points" (dots) which would in the case of a ship's lines, come from the Table of Offsets, or from measurements from original plans, if one were copying those (usually when changing the scale of the drawing, generally using a pair of proportional dividers.) When the points are laid out, the curves are selected so that they coincide with as many points as possible. sometimes points will be out of position slightly and this indicates that the curve defined by the points is not fair, in which case, the curve will define the fair curve. The curve should "touch" at least three points and preferably more. A French curve is being used to draw the curve in the illustration below. The illustration is of the use of a single French curve. There is no rule against using multiple curves. They are designed to be used that way, such that if they touch at least three points in common, the two curves will define a fair curve when joined at such an overlap. It can be seen that in "A" below, the curve is touching points one through 4. The line would be drawn that far and then, in the illustration, another curve section of the French cure is used to draw points 3, 4, and 5, and in "C" has been manipulated again to draw from point 5 to point 6, and in "D" to draw between 6 and 7, in "E," using the inside of the curve, to draw from point 7 to point 9 and finally in "F" moving the curve again to draw the line from point 9 to point 11, thus drawing the shape intended with a fair curve. In each instance, the curve was moved to see if it fit a number of points. The "eyeballing" to fit the curve isn't as complicated as one might imagine, except in complex curves like the one illustrated below which required six segments to be drawn from six positionings of the curve. Working with lines drawings, it's not too difficult to find a curve, or collection of curves, to meet your needs.
 
 
 

 
When inking drawings, which in the old days was done with India ink and a "ruling pen," the draftsmen would tape coins or washers to the face of the curves being used so that the edge of the curve was raised slightly above the paper or drafting linen. This space prevented ink "wicking" beneath the edge of the curve and ruining the drawing.  Curved lines were drawn using curves with a "curve pen," which had an offset nib which swiveled on a rod running through the center of the handle. This feature kept the pen point always "trailing" and oriented parallel to the edge being used. In this fashion, the width of the curved line would always be the same, being the distance set by adjusting the space between the nibs. The pen on the left in the picture below is a single point curve pen. The two middle pens pictured below are "railroad" curve pens which, by means of a double pointed head, will draw two curved lines simultaneously and as wide and as far apart as the user wishes to adjust them. All three curve pens can be used as regular ruling pens by tightening the knob at the end of their handles. This prevents the heads from swiveling when its tightened down. The third pen pictured is a drop point compass pen which is designed to ink very small circles. The needle point plunges down the center tube and the pen point rotates around the needle point on the tube. These were also called "rivet pens," because they were originally designed and used for drawing rivets in iron construction drawings. 

 
 
 

You and me both! I've also got complete sets of K&E French curves, engineers' curves, and "railroad" and "highway" radius curves. I've got a fair number of "doubles" to the ship's and French curve sets. I had to buy "odds and ends" in lots before I got all of them. I built them up over a period of three years or so when the stuff started appearing on eBay and before collecting it got really popular. I built quite a collection of top-of-the-line K&E Paragon drafting instruments. It started when I first bought a K&E Paragon planimeter to calculate displacement and I went downhill from there.  I finally "admitted I had a problem" and "got into rehab" when the prices started climbing exponentially.