Bob Cleek

Good news and good luck!  

Good news and good luck!  

Good news and good luck!  

Good news and good luck!  

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. 
 

I'm sure somebody on the MSW forum would be thrilled to obtain a set of Copenhagen ship's curves. Don't let the 25 post requirement scare you off. The moderators may hate me for saying this, but all you have to do is take a look at the completed build logs and post "Beautiful!" twenty-four times!  (You've already done your first post here.) You'll enjoy the beautiful pictures, too, for sure!  
 
Like Druxey, I already have my set of K&E Copenhagen ships curves in a wooden box, together with another wooden boxed set of K&E "radius curves," sometimes called "railroad" or "highway" curves, these being two different measuring systems for fixed radius curves, one based on the distance of the curve across the segment and the other based on the chord across the segment. (The K&E radius curves are marked for both "highway" and "railroad" use.) I also have all the "French" and "Engineering" curves that were produced and sold by K&E. (Yes, I'm both a "user" and a "collector." "He who dies with the most tools wins!") I mention this because there are different types of drafting curve sets for different purposes. The one most sought after by ship modelers and naval architects, which has not been produced for some time in its complete form, is the "Copenhagen ship's curve" set. (There are other types of "ship's curves," as well, but not sold by K&E.) Thus, it will be important for you to note which boxed set of K&E curves you have.
 
There was a complete set of K&K Copenhagen ship's curves offered on US eBay which has just expired: VINTAGE DRAFTING WOOD TOOL BOX W/ COPENHAGEN SHIPS CURVES 50+ | eBay   This eBay listing will make it possible to identify the curves you have, if you are not certain already which type they are. If your set contains curves that are all regularly shaped segments of variously sized circles, it's the radius curve set, also useful for some modeling tasks (e.g. determining deck cambers) but the radius curve sets are more commonly seen than the now somewhat rare Copenhagen ship's curves sets, which are selling on the second hand market for much more money. (Yes, a full boxed set of Copenhagen ship's curves currently sell in the hundreds of dollars, but they have a history of very reliable appreciation in the marketplace.) Their shapes are mathematically generated so that when used as designed in conjunction with each other, perfectly fair curves of any shape can be drawn with them. If one needs to draw frame shapes and sheer curves from incomplete lines drawings or a table of offsets, these are the tools you need, short of a sophisticated CAD program and the skill to run it. (And using curves is much faster than CAD programming, too!) 
 

 
See the eBay listing for photos of all the variously shaped ship's curves.
 
This is the boxed set of radius curves:
 

RADIUS RAILROAD CURVES METRIC COMPLETE SET 55 PCS EXCELLENT L@@K!!!!!!!! | eBay
 
Pity those who aren't old enough to have taken drafting, or "mechanical drawing," in high school. It's really an essential skill for serious scratch-building ship models. CAD has replaced manual drafting in most industrial applications, but it's beyond me how anybody can really master CAD without understanding the basics of manual drafting. It seems sort of like learning to type without knowing how to spell, if not read! If anybody wonders how to use drafting curves, this YouTube video shows how: 
 
Drafting Tools 101 - Learn How to Use French Curves - Bing video

I'm sure somebody on the MSW forum would be thrilled to obtain a set of Copenhagen ship's curves. Don't let the 25 post requirement scare you off. The moderators may hate me for saying this, but all you have to do is take a look at the completed build logs and post "Beautiful!" twenty-four times!  (You've already done your first post here.) You'll enjoy the beautiful pictures, too, for sure!  
 
Like Druxey, I already have my set of K&E Copenhagen ships curves in a wooden box, together with another wooden boxed set of K&E "radius curves," sometimes called "railroad" or "highway" curves, these being two different measuring systems for fixed radius curves, one based on the distance of the curve across the segment and the other based on the chord across the segment. (The K&E radius curves are marked for both "highway" and "railroad" use.) I also have all the "French" and "Engineering" curves that were produced and sold by K&E. (Yes, I'm both a "user" and a "collector." "He who dies with the most tools wins!") I mention this because there are different types of drafting curve sets for different purposes. The one most sought after by ship modelers and naval architects, which has not been produced for some time in its complete form, is the "Copenhagen ship's curve" set. (There are other types of "ship's curves," as well, but not sold by K&E.) Thus, it will be important for you to note which boxed set of K&E curves you have.
 
There was a complete set of K&K Copenhagen ship's curves offered on US eBay which has just expired: VINTAGE DRAFTING WOOD TOOL BOX W/ COPENHAGEN SHIPS CURVES 50+ | eBay   This eBay listing will make it possible to identify the curves you have, if you are not certain already which type they are. If your set contains curves that are all regularly shaped segments of variously sized circles, it's the radius curve set, also useful for some modeling tasks (e.g. determining deck cambers) but the radius curve sets are more commonly seen than the now somewhat rare Copenhagen ship's curves sets, which are selling on the second hand market for much more money. (Yes, a full boxed set of Copenhagen ship's curves currently sell in the hundreds of dollars, but they have a history of very reliable appreciation in the marketplace.) Their shapes are mathematically generated so that when used as designed in conjunction with each other, perfectly fair curves of any shape can be drawn with them. If one needs to draw frame shapes and sheer curves from incomplete lines drawings or a table of offsets, these are the tools you need, short of a sophisticated CAD program and the skill to run it. (And using curves is much faster than CAD programming, too!) 
 

 
See the eBay listing for photos of all the variously shaped ship's curves.
 
This is the boxed set of radius curves:
 

RADIUS RAILROAD CURVES METRIC COMPLETE SET 55 PCS EXCELLENT L@@K!!!!!!!! | eBay
 
Pity those who aren't old enough to have taken drafting, or "mechanical drawing," in high school. It's really an essential skill for serious scratch-building ship models. CAD has replaced manual drafting in most industrial applications, but it's beyond me how anybody can really master CAD without understanding the basics of manual drafting. It seems sort of like learning to type without knowing how to spell, if not read! If anybody wonders how to use drafting curves, this YouTube video shows how: 
 
Drafting Tools 101 - Learn How to Use French Curves - Bing video

I'd suggest you check out the subject on YouTube where you will find a lot of instructional videos addressing full-sized boat building. If you can understand that, modeling construction becomes quite simple. Look for videos that address "carvel planking" and "lining off." 
 
"The marks, the planking fan, the tape" are all about how you must develop the shape of the cut piece of planking stock that will fill the space on the frames that you want that particular plank to cover when bent around the shape of the hull. Chuck's planking method cleverly uses heat to radically "edge set" (bend the plank stock across it's wide dimension) the plank. That can't be done in full-size boat building because the full-size plank stock cannot be bent that way. Fortunately for modelers, the thin stock we use can be bent with heat. The curve of the edge of the plank still much be cut to match the curves of planks above and below it before it is bent overall to lay fair where that plank is supposed to be.
 
If you have specific questions, please ask them in detail. I'm sure a lot of forumites can answer them and walk you through a plank or three until you get the hang of it.
 
 

Do you have a Quad Hands or something similar? It’s essential to have an “assistant” or third hand when rigging.  You mentioned the fishing lure knot, with the third hand you can strop or seize the block and the hook and do other the knots required to do a complete job of rigging. 
 
Click Here to see options for Quad Hands on Amazon, for me it’s an essential tool. 

I think you’re going to have to decide if model building is something you want to do. There are ways to do things that are done by lots of modelers, there are good and bad ways, simple and overly complex ones, but mostly just different ways to accomplish the same thing. Some posters get defensive thinking only their way is the right way, others just offer an opinion forgetting it is just their opinion and not gospel.  Bottom line is through all of that you need to find what works for you and practice it until you’re comfortable doing it. A first model is just that, a first model.
 

Some of use learn in different ways from others. Have you checked out the other planking tutorials on this site? Perhaps reading them might make things clearer for you as well.

You divide the hull into sections using tape or strung. Then you make a tick strip the width of the gap between the string on each bulkhead and place it on the planking fan such that it equally divides your strip into the appropriate amount of planks. It is just an easy way of getting getting equal widths for the planks you need to fit in that gap.
 
He decided on his plank width at scale and then divided the bulkhead size at midships by that width to get how many planks he would need.
 
This is something you just need to eyeball. At midships you line it up with the appropriate tick mark, but then you adjust the lines to make them look like they should. As the article suggests look at the run of planks on pictures of models to get the idea.
 
See my first answer. If you are still confused you can check out my build log, I detail some of the process there.
 
Maybe the best thing is to just re-articulate the steps for you.
 
1) Measure the bulkhead at midships to determine how much space you need to cover.
 
2) Determine the width of your planks. If you are using a kit this will be done for you already as you will use whatever you were provided with. For example on my alert build the limewood strips for the first planking were 4.9 mm wide.
 
3) Divide your midship bulkhead size by the width of your planks to determine the number of planks and divide it into equal sections (as many as you want to line off)
 
4) using tape or a string with a bit of glue on it determine the sections of your hull. Once you are happy mark on each bulkhead where the string crosses it. You can then mark this width for each bulkhead on a strip of paper.
 
5) use the planking fan to split each section on each bulkhead into the appropriate number of planks. Let's say for example you determined you need 20 planks at midships and you divide it into two sections using one string. Then each section on each bulkhead will need 10 planks. Move your strip of paper along the planking fan until the marks you made to denote the section widths line up with 10 planks. Then mark the planking fan lines in your strip and transfer them to the bulkhead. Repeat this for each bulkhead section on each bulkhead.
 

Chuck has videos here:       
 

AYC isn't always devoid of visible figuring. Sometimes, it also will have knots. What if frequently seen in the context of modeling is highly select AYC. Great stuff for a lot of purposes, but for modeling, specific pieces should be selected for modeling use.  See: https://www.wood-database.com/alaskan-yellow-cedar/
 
 

 

AYC isn't always devoid of visible figuring. Sometimes, it also will have knots. What if frequently seen in the context of modeling is highly select AYC. Great stuff for a lot of purposes, but for modeling, specific pieces should be selected for modeling use.  See: https://www.wood-database.com/alaskan-yellow-cedar/
 
 

 

See: 
  
 
The forum search engine is your friend... sort of.  

For other woods for framing instead of boxwood which is pretty pricey, there's maple, cherry, pear, and other fruit woods.  They have the tight grain we need and the hardness.   

I have limited use of AYC to date but much more experience with boxwood. What I would say about the AYC in comparison is that it is obviously softer i.e. less dense, it produces a machined edge reasonably well in comparison but I find it takes more care keeping it. In terms of sanding it is easier to sand than boxwood. If you are using laser cutting it's char is easier to remove. I find you have to be more attentive to keeping it clean compared to box as it seems to smudge much easier. It has almost no grain evident but I can't say that it is characteristicaly so as I have not bought large billets. I understand it bends well in comparison owing to its density and fiber construct. In terms of price I believe you will find it considerably less expensive.
 
I have even less experience with Beech so others should be able to help.
 
Joe

The kit is a very well done perfect recreation of the contemporary model, but the contemporary model has some issues with its rigging, or so it would appear to a sailor's eye.. 

The kit is a very well done perfect recreation of the contemporary model, but the contemporary model has some issues with its rigging, or so it would appear to a sailor's eye.. 

I would recommend to ignore instructions in kits - sometimes they are good, sometimes they are bad, but in most cases they provide simple solutions that are often far from what the real thing would have looked like.
 
The guys of old knew what they were doing and their methods have been tested and refined over the centuries. So, within the limits of materials availability and your own capabilities, it is always a good idea to follow prototype practice as closely as possible.
 
Perhaps also a word of clarification: 'seizing' means to attach something with a thin rope, similar to sewing. This is not normally done with blocks at all ! What you are interested in is 'stropping', which consists of making a loop of rope and putting it closely around items such as blocks or also spars. These strops are usually tightened with the help of 'seizing', but the seizings go around the rope, not around blocks or spars.
 
I am not an expert on 18th century rigging, but have the strong feeling that the kit instructions are not quite correct. The masts on such 'long-boats' are rigged only temporarily and were easy to strike. In the 18th century wrought-iron bands with eye-bolts were not very commong and I would not expect such fitting on a relatively thin mast as that of the long-boat. It would have been more likely that the mast was provided with shoulders at the locations, where the standing rigging would attach and where any blocks would attach. A spliced strop would fit tighly around the mast and block forming a figure of eight, being tied down in the middle with a seizing.
 
It is quite easy to form such strops from rigging thread (or better real 'rope') using a fake splice, i.e. pushing the ends through each other with the help of a sewing needle. The fake splice then is secured with a drop of varnish. With a much thinner thread you tie the strop to a figure of eight going around the block and the mast. The whole thing then is secured again with a drop of varnish.
 
Such an arrangement would also prevent the eye sticking too far out as in the kit instructions.
 
 

"Rolling and tipping" is for sissies!    Real painters brush or spray. But that's a story for another night. We're not talking about painting acres of topsides here.
 
Seriously, though, the key to a good finish is conditioning the paint. This is much more than just thinning it, although the addition of thinners (paint thinner or turpentine, acetone, etc.) can go a long way to improving consistency of what comes out of the can. Proper conditioning is dictated by interrelated environmental variables such as temperature and humidity. Perhaps the most important consideration is the speed of drying. If the paint dries too fast, brush strokes (and roller stipple) will not have time to "lay down" sufficiently and yield a uniform thickness on the painted surface and "maintaining a wet edge" will consequentially be much more difficult, leading to even more dried brush strokes on the dried surface. Penetrol (which is now difficult to source in environmentally "woke" jurisdictions that have outlawed it due to its VOC content,) is basically raw linseed oil. (Not "boiled" linseed oil, which isn't boiled at all, but rather contains added heavy metal driers that accelerate the polymerization of the oil binder in the paint, causing it to "dry" faster. A dried coat of paint is simply pigment bound by polymerized oil following the evaporation of the solvent thinners.) Along with the temperature of paint when applied to the surface, the proportion of driers to oil in the applied paint dictates how fast it "dries" and a greater proportion of oil to driers increases the drying time and, thus permits brush strokes to "level" and disappear. Ideally, the object of conditioning is to yield paint that levels adequately before drying and dries as soon after leveling as possible. Many manufacturers of modeling paint offer proprietary "retarders" that slow their paints' drying time, "accelerators" that speed it up, and "thinners" that thin their paint. If that's true in your case, use the paint manufacturer's proprietary conditioning products and follow their product instructions for best results.
 
Thinners (volatile solvents that thin the oil,) on the other hand, primarily regulate the viscosity of the paint, making it easier to spread. Over-thinning, however, will reduce the gloss of the coating (not a problem with models so much) and dilute the pigment load of the paint, thereby reducing its ability to "cover" differing underlying colors (which can be a problem in modeling.) Moreover, the volatility of solvents varies. "Hot" solvents are more volatile and evaporate quickly, such as acetone, while other solvents are less volatile and evaporate less quickly, such as mineral spirits. (And one must beware of modern "green" and "ordor-free" substitute thinners which may be incompatible with some oil-based enamels! Just because they may work for cleaning brushes doesn't mean they will work for thinning paint properly. Testing is always advisable before diving into painting the workpiece.)
 
Conditioning paint is one of those things that's easy to teach by the "show and tell" method, but not so easy to teach with written instructions. It's not  all that complicated, though. It's like baking a cake. A half hour of instruction by a knowledgeable  painter would be time well spent for anybody who wants to achieve good painted finishes, particularly with oil-based enamels.
 
While a good brush is a joy to use, (and remember: natural bristles are for oil-based paints, synthetic bristles are for water-based paints) a poor finish is far more often the fault of the paint and the painter than it is the fault of the brush. Within reasonable limits, it's generally more the skill of the craftsman rather than the quality of his tools that determines the quality of the finished product.
 
Multiple thin coats produce the best finishes. Don't expect to get the perfect finish with a single finish coat. Generally, a properly prepared (smooth) and primed and base-coated surface will require a minimum of three rather thin finish coats to "cover" sufficiently. Sand those brush strokes "smooth as a baby's bottom" and give it another coat. Repeat until perfect.  

Some use either high quality oil or acrylic tubed artist's paints, conditioning these for brush or airbrush application. These are far less expensive in the long run and generally don't dry up. You do have to sometimes mix your own colors, of course. Many prefer pre-mixed bottled colors, of course.

Thanks to everyone for the fine comments and suggestions - it is always so appreciated.
 
And thanks for the likes and to those watching quietly.
 
 
Not a bunch accomplished on the diorama in the last several weeks, but here's an update on what I have done.
 
More Garage Equipment - Acetylene Torch
 
I don't have any in-process photos to share with you on this torch.  It was one of those constructions where I spent most of my time tossing things in the trash with nothing of value to show.  In the end, I was happy just to get the thing finished, such as it is.
 
I began by gathering materials - .005” brass shim stock, phosphor/bronze wire (.012” and .02” dia), assorted styrene rods, a scrap stick of white-metal that scaled to 9” dia., some chain, some insulated wire and a couple of injection molded wheels.
 

 
 
The white-metal stick was cut into two lengths, chucked into my hand drill and worked with needle files until they resembled a pair of tanks. The cart is mostly brass and bronze soldered together.  A brass wire axle was inserted through the cart and the wheels glued on.  The tanks are colored with permanent markers for a translucent effect.  Green oxygen and red acetylene are modern tank colors and probably not the standard in 1940. Conspicuous by its absence is the torch/nozzle itself, which I'm pretending is hanging behind the cart.
 
So you may be wondering why I chose chain large enough to anchor a steamship for the tanks' safety chain.  Actually, this chain is 40 LPI and I haven't found anything finer than this that still resembles actual link chain.  Fine chain is so useful in modeling and if anyone knows a source please share.  The hoses are also on the large side, but it's one of those strange eye/mind things where the proper size looked flimsy and wrong.
 


 
Drill Press
 
I need a piece of equipment to be positioned against the left wall and up front towards the shadowbox glass.  Because it's right up front, it needs to be fairly detailed.  I had originally intended for the arbor press to be placed there, but I now feel that in profile it isn't that interesting visually.  And I wonder how many non-mechanical people would know what it is or what it's used for.  So I decided on a floor drill press to fill the slot.  It has an interesting shape and recognizable by most people.  The arbor press will be stationed elsewhere.
 
As a reference to build from I chose model #71 from Atlas Manufacturing that dates to 1933-36. 
 
 
 
Although it isn't mechanically complicated, it is of course the size that provides the challenge in making it.  In 1:87 it is less that 7/8” (22mm) in height.  It is a delicate little thing and a tad exasperating.
 
I began with the spindle head which is simply two short sections of brass tubing wrapped in paper.  The paper is the sticky part of a Post-It note and it holds things together long enough to saturate it with thin CA.  You wouldn't know it by looking at the photo below, but the brass tube on the right is slightly larger than the one on the left as it accepts the main post.
 

 
 
The lower part of the spindle is glued in and also the main post.  The spindle is tapered to mimic a chuck and a thin wall brass tube is slid on over the top.  I have a decent collection of fine brass and phosphor/bronze wire as well as a good selection of ultra fine tubing in brass, nickel and stainless. These materials proved to be very handy in making this drill press.
 

 
 
I then made up the table/bracket from styrene and attached it to another section of tubing that will slide fit onto the main post.
 

 
 
The base.
 

 
 
I decided to leave out the spindle head pulley guard for two reasons.  First, I wanted to show the pulleys and belt as a visual detail, and secondly (the honest reason) is that making a multi-dimensional cowl guard that is less than 1/8” in size would cause permanent psychological scarring.
 
The pulleys are made by slide fitting brass tubing into one another and leaving an equal reveal between them.  I soldered them together and cut off the pulley.
 

 
 
The motor is made up and pulley added.  This was simple to make because it's just pieces of round things fitting into other round things.  The “bearings” are a single brass tube with a wire run through it which in turn slide fits into a piece of styrene tube.  I added a band of paper around the center of the motor to suggest separate bearing bell housings.
 

 
 
A second pulley was pushed onto a brass rod and glued into the spindle top.  In the image below you can see a depth gauge has been added and a short horizontal tube that along with an identical one on the opposite side will hold the motor.
 
 
Front view.
 

 
 
Pushing two dress maker's pins through paper and into the motor mountings gave me the distance between the mounting rods which was then transferred to the motor base.
 

 
 

 
 
The three spokes on the feed wheel are .008” phosphor/bronze chemically colored with Jax Flemish Gray.  The ends of the wire were dipped into a craft product called Gallery Glass to create the knobs.  The knobs will be painted black.  The wheel center is styrene stretched to the diameter I wanted.
 

 
 
Adjustment handles of different sizes were also made up. 
 

 
 
All that was left is to glue it together and add some paint.  Touch ups are still needed as seen in the photo below, but I used enamel – silver, steel, gray and black.  I added a styrene table face to the base.  The belt is 8 lb. ice fishing jigging line and it has a sort of oval/flat cross section. 
 

 
 
Done.
 

 
 
And both items are glued into place on the dio.
 

 
Thanks for taking a look. 
 
Be safe and stay well.
 
Gary

A bit of work today on the port channels.
 
Rob

Some use either high quality oil or acrylic tubed artist's paints, conditioning these for brush or airbrush application. These are far less expensive in the long run and generally don't dry up. You do have to sometimes mix your own colors, of course. Many prefer pre-mixed bottled colors, of course.