Bob Cleek

If the model is going to remain indoors and is plywood, you don't have to use a strand matrix for strength at all. No need for fiberglass cloth. WEST System epoxy, thickened with sanding filler, can simply be trowelled on the surface and then sanded fair, much like auto body filler. In that instance, it is used like drywall "mud," but it cures to an epoxy, rather than a plaster.

WEST System has an extensive manual online. It contains all you need to know about their products. Be aware that epoxy is a material that demands close attention to the manufacturer's instructions for use, though. This is particularly so with measurements of resin and hardeners and application temperatures. Use in a well-ventilated area if indoors. Run fans to keep air circulating from inside to outside. Don't make yourself crazy about hazmat issues. Just follow the instructions. Wear nitrile gloves. Some folks are sensitive to contact with uncured resin and hardeners. Continued exposure can exacerbate sensitivity. 
 
WEST makes a selection of additives to control the properties of the resin mix. One you will find very useful is their sanding additive (essentially microballoons.) This will make a cured epoxy coat sand like butter for a perfectly smooth surface. (Don't let some dork talk you into using sawdust to save a few bucks!) 
 
If at all possible, I'd advise you find a professional boatbuilder or auto body and fender guy to do it for you. There is a learning curve and being in the middle of a glass layup isn't' the place to discover the curve is getting ahead of you! 

I had to go Byrnes (anything else and I would’ve kept window shopping the Byrnes 😁).

If the model is going to remain indoors and is plywood, you don't have to use a strand matrix for strength at all. No need for fiberglass cloth. WEST System epoxy, thickened with sanding filler, can simply be trowelled on the surface and then sanded fair, much like auto body filler. In that instance, it is used like drywall "mud," but it cures to an epoxy, rather than a plaster.

WEST System has an extensive manual online. It contains all you need to know about their products. Be aware that epoxy is a material that demands close attention to the manufacturer's instructions for use, though. This is particularly so with measurements of resin and hardeners and application temperatures. Use in a well-ventilated area if indoors. Run fans to keep air circulating from inside to outside. Don't make yourself crazy about hazmat issues. Just follow the instructions. Wear nitrile gloves. Some folks are sensitive to contact with uncured resin and hardeners. Continued exposure can exacerbate sensitivity. 
 
WEST makes a selection of additives to control the properties of the resin mix. One you will find very useful is their sanding additive (essentially microballoons.) This will make a cured epoxy coat sand like butter for a perfectly smooth surface. (Don't let some dork talk you into using sawdust to save a few bucks!) 
 
If at all possible, I'd advise you find a professional boatbuilder or auto body and fender guy to do it for you. There is a learning curve and being in the middle of a glass layup isn't' the place to discover the curve is getting ahead of you! 

Far be it from me to rain on anybody's parade, but...
 
There are a very few specialty suppliers that do sell finish-quality dimensioned scale lumber and they are becoming fewer every day. The economics of the business are such that the market really isn't sufficiently strong for anybody to be supplying dimensioned scale lumber in any species other than balsa or basswood and perhaps thin birch plywood, none of which are prime finish woods for modeling. Add to that problem the fact that there aren't a lot of straight lines on a ship and the reality becomes apparent: those who are working with fine woods aren't buying their wood pre-milled. If you're lucky, you may find some cherry stripwood, but that's about it. Everything you see used by the really good modelers on the forum is being milled from larger billets by the modelers themselves. The silver lining to this cloud is that there's a lot of very interesting and suitable wood out there that's going for amazingly inexpensive prices because nobody wants to mill it commercially. A modeler doesn't have to limit themselves to boxwood or pear, although it's very nice if one can afford caviar. The municipal dump piles are full of exotic species in sizes one can throw in the trunk of the car for free, if you mill it yourself.  That does require an investment in power tools. Sometimes a local cabinet shop will oblige on a custom order basis. Other times the local trade school wood shop ma be open for adult school projects and tools are available there. Bottom line, though, if you are looking for fine woodworking species suitable for modeling, you will have to mill it yourself these days and that will require more than a drill. 

Far be it from me to rain on anybody's parade, but...
 
There are a very few specialty suppliers that do sell finish-quality dimensioned scale lumber and they are becoming fewer every day. The economics of the business are such that the market really isn't sufficiently strong for anybody to be supplying dimensioned scale lumber in any species other than balsa or basswood and perhaps thin birch plywood, none of which are prime finish woods for modeling. Add to that problem the fact that there aren't a lot of straight lines on a ship and the reality becomes apparent: those who are working with fine woods aren't buying their wood pre-milled. If you're lucky, you may find some cherry stripwood, but that's about it. Everything you see used by the really good modelers on the forum is being milled from larger billets by the modelers themselves. The silver lining to this cloud is that there's a lot of very interesting and suitable wood out there that's going for amazingly inexpensive prices because nobody wants to mill it commercially. A modeler doesn't have to limit themselves to boxwood or pear, although it's very nice if one can afford caviar. The municipal dump piles are full of exotic species in sizes one can throw in the trunk of the car for free, if you mill it yourself.  That does require an investment in power tools. Sometimes a local cabinet shop will oblige on a custom order basis. Other times the local trade school wood shop ma be open for adult school projects and tools are available there. Bottom line, though, if you are looking for fine woodworking species suitable for modeling, you will have to mill it yourself these days and that will require more than a drill. 

Far be it from me to rain on anybody's parade, but...
 
There are a very few specialty suppliers that do sell finish-quality dimensioned scale lumber and they are becoming fewer every day. The economics of the business are such that the market really isn't sufficiently strong for anybody to be supplying dimensioned scale lumber in any species other than balsa or basswood and perhaps thin birch plywood, none of which are prime finish woods for modeling. Add to that problem the fact that there aren't a lot of straight lines on a ship and the reality becomes apparent: those who are working with fine woods aren't buying their wood pre-milled. If you're lucky, you may find some cherry stripwood, but that's about it. Everything you see used by the really good modelers on the forum is being milled from larger billets by the modelers themselves. The silver lining to this cloud is that there's a lot of very interesting and suitable wood out there that's going for amazingly inexpensive prices because nobody wants to mill it commercially. A modeler doesn't have to limit themselves to boxwood or pear, although it's very nice if one can afford caviar. The municipal dump piles are full of exotic species in sizes one can throw in the trunk of the car for free, if you mill it yourself.  That does require an investment in power tools. Sometimes a local cabinet shop will oblige on a custom order basis. Other times the local trade school wood shop ma be open for adult school projects and tools are available there. Bottom line, though, if you are looking for fine woodworking species suitable for modeling, you will have to mill it yourself these days and that will require more than a drill. 

Far be it from me to rain on anybody's parade, but...
 
There are a very few specialty suppliers that do sell finish-quality dimensioned scale lumber and they are becoming fewer every day. The economics of the business are such that the market really isn't sufficiently strong for anybody to be supplying dimensioned scale lumber in any species other than balsa or basswood and perhaps thin birch plywood, none of which are prime finish woods for modeling. Add to that problem the fact that there aren't a lot of straight lines on a ship and the reality becomes apparent: those who are working with fine woods aren't buying their wood pre-milled. If you're lucky, you may find some cherry stripwood, but that's about it. Everything you see used by the really good modelers on the forum is being milled from larger billets by the modelers themselves. The silver lining to this cloud is that there's a lot of very interesting and suitable wood out there that's going for amazingly inexpensive prices because nobody wants to mill it commercially. A modeler doesn't have to limit themselves to boxwood or pear, although it's very nice if one can afford caviar. The municipal dump piles are full of exotic species in sizes one can throw in the trunk of the car for free, if you mill it yourself.  That does require an investment in power tools. Sometimes a local cabinet shop will oblige on a custom order basis. Other times the local trade school wood shop ma be open for adult school projects and tools are available there. Bottom line, though, if you are looking for fine woodworking species suitable for modeling, you will have to mill it yourself these days and that will require more than a drill. 

Fiberglas used with epoxy resin will give a glass smooth surface.  Hardly any odor.  West System 105 epoxy resin and 206 hardener will work perfectly.  Check https://www.westsystem.com/
It's very versatile and their instructions are great - the website has a lot of tips.  Used for full size boats but works for models too.  They have some other combinations if you need extended work times.
 
I have used this and can recommend it.  A bit expensive but their pumps for the resin and hardener do the measuring - 1 pump of each = the correct mixture - not a 1:1 mix but the pumps are calibrated to deliver the right amount to the mix.  The containers are much different in size for the resin vs hardener.  Good shelf life too.

When I started on the Dallas Cutter (25 years ago) I wasn't aware enough to incorporate two captive nuts into the hull/keel area for the eventual mounting of pedestals.
 
This week I received a base and a pair of pedestals (29mm high, slot 8mm deep x 5mm wide, with a 4mm appx through hole).
The pedestals would need a means of fixing to the keel of the Dallas that didn't involve nuts inside the hull.
Also, the slope on the keel meant that using two pedestals of the same height caused the deck to slope unnaturally.
 
I turned a wooden 5mm thick spacer (on the right of the pic below) to lift up one of the pedestals to compensate for the keel slope, and stained it to match the wooden base.
 
As for fixing the base to the keel, I threaded the pedestal with a 2 BA tap (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Association_screw_threads) to match two suitably long, slotted head, countersunk machine screws.

 
With a 1mm drill in a hand-held Dremel (I don't have a small, high speed pillar drill) I drilled through the pedestals' rears (and partially into the fronts). These 1mm holes are for accepting 1mm dia brass attachment rods - see below.
 
As seen below, the Dallas was then mounted on the pedestals (now screwed onto the base) and using that same 1mm drill (now in a pin vice), I drilled into the keel using the existing pedestal holes as a drill guide. I then dry fitted the brass rod. The drill holes will aways be at the rear of the display so no one will see them. (Note: drill one hole first and then insert the brass rod in to it before drilling the second hole in the keel - to prevent the keel slipping out of position).
 
Although the pic below seems to show there is still a bit of a slope to the deck it's isn't that noticeable in reality. The Dallas deck slopes upwards to the bow and stern, being horizontal only in midships. And the the holes etc will be towards the wall so will not be visible.
 
I will also put a short 90 deg bend on the rods' external ends to give purchase if I ever need to extract the rods. I'll use a small dab of Evostick to hold the rods in position. 
 
I'll finish the base off by gluing green felt to the underside.
 
Richard
 
 
 
 
 

FINISHED= you have completed construction on it (as originally planned).  If your intent is to not have masts and rigging, then your model is finished.
 
In this case your VICTORY would NOT be finished, because it is missing a couple decks.  😁

All I can find are references to Kolbe's "forthcoming" book. I guess it hasn't come forth yet. His blog piece (link above) is widely cited, however, and I found it pretty comprehensive. 

All I can find are references to Kolbe's "forthcoming" book. I guess it hasn't come forth yet. His blog piece (link above) is widely cited, however, and I found it pretty comprehensive. 

I'd tend to think it wouldn't work because, even if you ground up the hardened paint very finely, you'd have a bunch of dried binder mixed in with the pigment and when you tried to reconstitute that,  you'd run into problems. Once an oil binder polymerizes, or an acrylic binder cures, I don't think that process can be reversed.

Free yourselves from the tyranny of "model paints." They are a huge rip-off when you consider what the paint costs to make, package, and ship. In most instances, I expect the manufacturer's cost of the bottle is more than the cost of the paint and, yes, those partially used little bottles dry out before you get around to using them up.
 
There's a radical alternative. It takes a bit of a learning curve to master, but the basics are easily acquired and, for ship modeling purposes, the basics are pretty much all you need to know unless you want to get into really sophisticated weathering techniques which are, themselves, easier this "old fashioned" way. Do as the fine artists of old did. Mix your own paints. You will have complete flexibility in terms of consistency, flow, drying time, color and hue and save a considerable amount of money otherwise wasted on dried up little jars of what they pass off as paint these days. You won't have to grind your own pigments and mull them, though. That's done for us when commercially produced artists' oils, turpentine, and a bit of Japan drier are used. With the limited pallete we use in ship modeling, you won't need to buy a lot of different colors, either.
 
Here's all you need to know: https://figurementors.com/limitted-palette/the-science-of-oil-paints-with-kyle-kolbe/

Normally, there would be two drain pipe holes in a cockpit like that one, placed at opposite corners port and starboard. Below, the drain pipes would be crossed, so that the port hole pipe drained to the starboard side and the starboard pipe ran to the port side. This permitted the cockpit to drain completely on either tack. With a single drain in the middle of the cockpit, when the vessel heeled, the lower side of the cockpit would not drain below the center hole. 
 
Also, the run of the deck planking is very unusual. Was this as portrayed in the plans? Usually, deck planking will never butt adjacent to another butt. There will not be straight lines of butts across the deck from port to starboard. That is a structurally weak assembly and also difficult to caulk and keep watertight. 
 
These are minor notes, but perhaps of help for future reference.
 
Very nice, crisp work! Excellent detail work on the hinged skylight.  Thanks for sharing it with us.

Oh my God! I've just spent the better part of a Saturday morning completely enthralled with your website: www.shipphotographer.com  I can't recommend it highly enough to the forum members. The photography is fantastic. I've see a lot of ship model photographs in my day, but always too few taken by a photographer who was a master of both photography and ship modeling at the same time. Your series on the Ukrainian ship modeling competition entries was humbling. I've never seen so much spectacularly fine work in one place outside of a museum. It would be so helpful to the ship modeling hobby here if more of us were multilingual. There seems to be so much ship modeling going on in Eastern Europe that we miss here because of the language differences. (Google translate is my friend, but our English language search engines seem to often pass over foreign websites.)
 
I'm sure I haven't yet seen a quarter of what you have posted on your website and I have to get on with today's chores, but I've got it bookmarked for later study. Your blog is really informative, as well, and your YouTube videos are wonderful.
 
I'm not the sort to gush over things, but I really have to say that your contributions are a remarkable addition to our craft. Thank you so much for sharing them. I can't imagine how one person could manage to have the time to put together such a great collection of ship modeling information and photographs and also hold down a full-time job as a highway engineer! Perhaps it's the synergy of having a marine archaeologist for a husband. What a great combination. You're both very lucky people!
 
I suggest the moderators consider some way to introduce and highlight your website and videos to the forumites. There's so much there of such great beauty and value and I fear many might overlook your complete body of work when all we have of it on MSW at present is one kit-build log, which is wonderful, but hardly representative of the scope and complexity of your total body of work to date.  You're unquestionably right up there with the finest modelers posting on this site, none of which, I might add, are anywhere near you when it comes to photographing their work.   

Free yourselves from the tyranny of "model paints." They are a huge rip-off when you consider what the paint costs to make, package, and ship. In most instances, I expect the manufacturer's cost of the bottle is more than the cost of the paint and, yes, those partially used little bottles dry out before you get around to using them up.
 
There's a radical alternative. It takes a bit of a learning curve to master, but the basics are easily acquired and, for ship modeling purposes, the basics are pretty much all you need to know unless you want to get into really sophisticated weathering techniques which are, themselves, easier this "old fashioned" way. Do as the fine artists of old did. Mix your own paints. You will have complete flexibility in terms of consistency, flow, drying time, color and hue and save a considerable amount of money otherwise wasted on dried up little jars of what they pass off as paint these days. You won't have to grind your own pigments and mull them, though. That's done for us when commercially produced artists' oils, turpentine, and a bit of Japan drier are used. With the limited pallete we use in ship modeling, you won't need to buy a lot of different colors, either.
 
Here's all you need to know: https://figurementors.com/limitted-palette/the-science-of-oil-paints-with-kyle-kolbe/

After finishing the futtock shrouds for the main mast I need some motivational work in between. 
Therefore I prepare the fixing of the anchors, which were stowed away in front of the channels of the main mast.


But the wooden anchor stocks made many years ago no longer meet my expectations.


Therefore, they have been rebuilt as in the original. The hoops are made of brass sheet 0.3 mm, no longer of black paper.

 

 


The anchor ring had to be equipped with puddening and seizing. I decided to use the Petrejus version, which can be seen on many contemporary models of the Musee de la Marine.

Source: E.W. Petrejus „Das Modell der Brigg Irene“                 

Source: Manuel Du Gabier, 1866
 

 

 

It's like heroin. It takes very little to get started, but before you know it, you'll be like the rest of us, totally strung out and looking for money to buy more.

Joe,
 
If negotiations fail, declare eminent domain.  Cite Covid19 emergency.  No one is welcoming house guests these days.
 
Roger

I had a feeling that you're right, Bob.  But I thought I'd ask anyway.

I'd tend to think it wouldn't work because, even if you ground up the hardened paint very finely, you'd have a bunch of dried binder mixed in with the pigment and when you tried to reconstitute that,  you'd run into problems. Once an oil binder polymerizes, or an acrylic binder cures, I don't think that process can be reversed.

I have a copy of Steele's Elements and it's on line for free, as well. (It may even be on the MSW "more" section of the forum.) My copy is rather small, as I recall. (I haven't looked at it in a while and I've got a rather large library and an ever-smaller memory!) It's definitely worth buying. David's edition may be an "elephant folio" (large size pages), though. that would be nice for seeing the detail.
 
I'm lusting after David's editions of C.P. Kunhardt and Dixon Kemp's classics. These are never around on the used market and when a rare one comes up, it's super expensive. There are several reprints that have been published, but all of these are only excerpts of the original, not the entire original volume. Only Shellback's Library has the "real deal." 
 
If you are inclined to scratch building and particularly building small craft and yachts, The Shellback's Library has lots and lots of books full of plans of such boats.