overdale

Very good point Jaxboat,
if complex fittings are currently keeping manufacturers from providing modelers with the subjects they want due to cost, why not use the technology to broaden the subject matter and perhaps expand the number of people in the hobby?
 
If a figurehead takes a week to carve, why not get it made by 3d printer and free up that week for other work?
 
The choice is largely whether you want to spend your time on increasing your skill level or your output.  Neither is a bad thing.

Does it have to be 18th century..?
 
There are some truly beautiful mid to late17th century small warships and that period seems to be seriously neglected by manufacturers.

Kimberly,
If you aren't having much luck with the knots, Here is an alternative for ratlines. On a smaller scale model like yours, real knots can look a little over scale so I run a line of super glue across the shrouds and hold the ratlines against them for a few seconds until the super glue takes hold. then I touch each point where the lines cross with a blob of superglue which makes the 'knot' look bigger then move up to the next row. Use a nail clippers to trim the overhanging lines at the sides and then paint the whole thing with flat black paint. I know some will regard not tying knots as heresy,   and it does't work for larger scale models but it is very effective (and quick) on smaller models.
 
Welcome aboard,
 
Dan.

Another way is to use thin thread and the smallest (thinnest) needle that will work with the thread.  Run the needle through the shrouds and then knot the ends to the end shrouds (or just glue them). 

I saw this headline and thought it referred to the old practice of placing an actual message inside a ship model by the builder. Quite a few messages have been discovered in 17th and 18th century ship models since the advent of fibre optic cameras allowed conservators to probe the depths of models without disturbing anything. I've seen them myself  several times over the years in my work with museums. The messages are mostly greetings from the builder describing the date, the weather, his family, all sorts of things, and is a charming link across the centuries. 
 
In fact I've done it myself on most of my ship models in the last 20 years since I first found out about the practice.  It's a great way of injecting just a tiny part of your personality into your work. It may never be seen by anyone,  but then again.... it might!

I saw this headline and thought it referred to the old practice of placing an actual message inside a ship model by the builder. Quite a few messages have been discovered in 17th and 18th century ship models since the advent of fibre optic cameras allowed conservators to probe the depths of models without disturbing anything. I've seen them myself  several times over the years in my work with museums. The messages are mostly greetings from the builder describing the date, the weather, his family, all sorts of things, and is a charming link across the centuries. 
 
In fact I've done it myself on most of my ship models in the last 20 years since I first found out about the practice.  It's a great way of injecting just a tiny part of your personality into your work. It may never be seen by anyone,  but then again.... it might!

Chris, my ten pence worth,
how about HMS Sussex 1693. for an Amati subject.?   Not a period that's well covered, and it's a beautiful ship.
 
Dan.

Chris, my ten pence worth,
how about HMS Sussex 1693. for an Amati subject.?   Not a period that's well covered, and it's a beautiful ship.
 
Dan.

I use a combination of oil based washes (thinned wood stains) and pastels. A great many things on a ship are subject to the same kind of wear and tear as a locomotive so I find the railway weathering kits ideal.Steel chains rust, wood gets grimy from smoke, grease and soot, and parts get crusty and white from sea salt so if you want to weather a ship a set of railway pastel powders will be very useful.
Wash the decks and other wooden parts you want to age with thinned wood stain and allow to dry. Seal everything with a matt spray varnish and then apply the pastels. You can't seal them as the varnish darkens them too much and the effect is lost.
I have attached a couple of pictures of a small (1/80) slave schooner shipwreck model I'm building. This is to be set in a large seascape with a lot of figures so the amount of weathering and distress have to be quite high. Weathering is a very personal decision, there's no hard rule about it. I consider it a similar argument as to whether to show all the woodwork 'naturally' on a model, or paint the model as it would have looked in reality. It's up to you.
 
The beauty of pastels is that if you put too much on, you can wash it off with a damp brush. Left alone and not handled excessively, they also stay put retain their color for many many years.

I'm glad you enjoyed the excerpt. I'll see what I can do about posting some more. It's fascinating stuff. I think the officer was quite young as I detect a little homesickness here and there in the letter.
 
 A model of HMS Lively would be a nice companion for the letter but I have so much work lined up that I don't know when could fit it in.

I use a combination of oil based washes (thinned wood stains) and pastels. A great many things on a ship are subject to the same kind of wear and tear as a locomotive so I find the railway weathering kits ideal.Steel chains rust, wood gets grimy from smoke, grease and soot, and parts get crusty and white from sea salt so if you want to weather a ship a set of railway pastel powders will be very useful.
Wash the decks and other wooden parts you want to age with thinned wood stain and allow to dry. Seal everything with a matt spray varnish and then apply the pastels. You can't seal them as the varnish darkens them too much and the effect is lost.
I have attached a couple of pictures of a small (1/80) slave schooner shipwreck model I'm building. This is to be set in a large seascape with a lot of figures so the amount of weathering and distress have to be quite high. Weathering is a very personal decision, there's no hard rule about it. I consider it a similar argument as to whether to show all the woodwork 'naturally' on a model, or paint the model as it would have looked in reality. It's up to you.
 
The beauty of pastels is that if you put too much on, you can wash it off with a damp brush. Left alone and not handled excessively, they also stay put retain their color for many many years.

I read the O'Brian series over a period of 5 years. Dragged out to last as long as possible. I gave them to my wife and she read them all finishing the last one a year ago with much regret that there were no more. We decided to put them all in a box and hide them away for five years and then start again..Only four more years to go..!
 
I am particularly impressed with O'Brian's grasp of the period. I'm a bit of a collector and I have a letter written in 1808 by a Royal Navy officer on the 38 gun 5th rate HMS Lively (which was briefly one of Aubrey's ships in the series.) The letter was written to the man's father in Scotland while the ship was docked in Lisbon. It's a long handwritten letter and amongst many other things, mentions politics, prize money, pirates and even a fire in the coal hold. I understand O'Brian used a lot of contemporary ship's logs and letters to frame his stories, reading this letter one could certainly see why.
 
Here's exactly what's written about the fire. 
 
"On Friday last, a dinner and ball were given on board, a day a little remarkable also on account of the risk we ran of being blown up: for as we were at breakfast the drum beat to quarters and we understood there was a fire forward. It was discovered by the smoke bursting from the coal hole and was immediately messaged to the 1st Lt. and was soon extinguished, having burned through the thickness of one stanchion. The coal hole is divided from the fore magazine only by a thin partition. After flogging the man who had been down there last and thro whose carelessness the accident had happened, the captain expressed his satisfaction at the general reliance and alertship with which every man attended to his duty and provided against accidents of the sort happening again by forbidding any man going down without a midshipman present."   
 
 
It's a fascinating read and sometime when I'm not so busy I'll do some research into the writer.
 
Dan.

I read the O'Brian series over a period of 5 years. Dragged out to last as long as possible. I gave them to my wife and she read them all finishing the last one a year ago with much regret that there were no more. We decided to put them all in a box and hide them away for five years and then start again..Only four more years to go..!
 
I am particularly impressed with O'Brian's grasp of the period. I'm a bit of a collector and I have a letter written in 1808 by a Royal Navy officer on the 38 gun 5th rate HMS Lively (which was briefly one of Aubrey's ships in the series.) The letter was written to the man's father in Scotland while the ship was docked in Lisbon. It's a long handwritten letter and amongst many other things, mentions politics, prize money, pirates and even a fire in the coal hold. I understand O'Brian used a lot of contemporary ship's logs and letters to frame his stories, reading this letter one could certainly see why.
 
Here's exactly what's written about the fire. 
 
"On Friday last, a dinner and ball were given on board, a day a little remarkable also on account of the risk we ran of being blown up: for as we were at breakfast the drum beat to quarters and we understood there was a fire forward. It was discovered by the smoke bursting from the coal hole and was immediately messaged to the 1st Lt. and was soon extinguished, having burned through the thickness of one stanchion. The coal hole is divided from the fore magazine only by a thin partition. After flogging the man who had been down there last and thro whose carelessness the accident had happened, the captain expressed his satisfaction at the general reliance and alertship with which every man attended to his duty and provided against accidents of the sort happening again by forbidding any man going down without a midshipman present."   
 
 
It's a fascinating read and sometime when I'm not so busy I'll do some research into the writer.
 
Dan.

I read the O'Brian series over a period of 5 years. Dragged out to last as long as possible. I gave them to my wife and she read them all finishing the last one a year ago with much regret that there were no more. We decided to put them all in a box and hide them away for five years and then start again..Only four more years to go..!
 
I am particularly impressed with O'Brian's grasp of the period. I'm a bit of a collector and I have a letter written in 1808 by a Royal Navy officer on the 38 gun 5th rate HMS Lively (which was briefly one of Aubrey's ships in the series.) The letter was written to the man's father in Scotland while the ship was docked in Lisbon. It's a long handwritten letter and amongst many other things, mentions politics, prize money, pirates and even a fire in the coal hold. I understand O'Brian used a lot of contemporary ship's logs and letters to frame his stories, reading this letter one could certainly see why.
 
Here's exactly what's written about the fire. 
 
"On Friday last, a dinner and ball were given on board, a day a little remarkable also on account of the risk we ran of being blown up: for as we were at breakfast the drum beat to quarters and we understood there was a fire forward. It was discovered by the smoke bursting from the coal hole and was immediately messaged to the 1st Lt. and was soon extinguished, having burned through the thickness of one stanchion. The coal hole is divided from the fore magazine only by a thin partition. After flogging the man who had been down there last and thro whose carelessness the accident had happened, the captain expressed his satisfaction at the general reliance and alertship with which every man attended to his duty and provided against accidents of the sort happening again by forbidding any man going down without a midshipman present."   
 
 
It's a fascinating read and sometime when I'm not so busy I'll do some research into the writer.
 
Dan.

a whole week has gone by - and i feel like i have been shot as the messenger - i was trying to reflect the point taken that the one off craftmanship item will become extinct faster - thats all - but it is always my quote that is being posted- oh well - that life, - and now i dont remember the original question 
 
i dont see that this tech will help - how can it - someone makes a good original - someone copies it just by a 3d scan (oh such a lot of skill in that is'nt there) and sell the data to china to produce the mass market - only this will happen faster now - rant over

that may be the case - but the point i think they are trying to make is - the work only has to be done once, and once only, then you have mass production of the same thing, no individuality

Very good point Jaxboat,
if complex fittings are currently keeping manufacturers from providing modelers with the subjects they want due to cost, why not use the technology to broaden the subject matter and perhaps expand the number of people in the hobby?
 
If a figurehead takes a week to carve, why not get it made by 3d printer and free up that week for other work?
 
The choice is largely whether you want to spend your time on increasing your skill level or your output.  Neither is a bad thing.

Very good point Jaxboat,
if complex fittings are currently keeping manufacturers from providing modelers with the subjects they want due to cost, why not use the technology to broaden the subject matter and perhaps expand the number of people in the hobby?
 
If a figurehead takes a week to carve, why not get it made by 3d printer and free up that week for other work?
 
The choice is largely whether you want to spend your time on increasing your skill level or your output.  Neither is a bad thing.

Very good point Jaxboat,
if complex fittings are currently keeping manufacturers from providing modelers with the subjects they want due to cost, why not use the technology to broaden the subject matter and perhaps expand the number of people in the hobby?
 
If a figurehead takes a week to carve, why not get it made by 3d printer and free up that week for other work?
 
The choice is largely whether you want to spend your time on increasing your skill level or your output.  Neither is a bad thing.

Does it have to be 18th century..?
 
There are some truly beautiful mid to late17th century small warships and that period seems to be seriously neglected by manufacturers.

Wefalk has it right.
 
I would just add that I tend to give the whole area a coat of gloss paint before I add the decals. if you just put gloss where the decals are, it can sometimes darken the area behind the decals and make it look worse.  Spray a light coat of gloss then apply decals with a decal 'setting solution' When dry, spray over with matt or satin or whatever you want your finish to be. The decals should blend pretty much completely.

Starting the final assembly.
 
 
 

Starting the final assembly.
 
 
 

Starting the final assembly.
 
 
 

This subject is the next in a series for a client who buys and restores old speedboats and cruisers.
It's a 1929 33 foot Baby Gar speedboat which will measure 33 inches (hopefully) when complete. I'm afraid it's all rather rough at the moment but I have reached the staining phase and with some time and a  lot of coats of varnish it might finish up ok!
 

 
Basic frames and first planking.
 

 
Plywood skin for the decks.
 

 
Mahogany outer planking.
 
How it should look when finished. A similar boat.