Bill Hime

Cool - a front row seat! Take your time and enjoy!

Wow that is some set up - although her that must be obeyed might not agree. My Admiral doesn't mind the hobby just the space it takes up!
 
I was banished to the spare room from the dinning room. Apparently it upset the balance in the house. Mind you I think I have the last laugh as the second cable TV box is also in the spare room. So I can watch the football (soccer) and watch the glue dry
 
Good luck with your build(s)

I've made wooden masters, used RTV (room temperature vulcanizing) rubber and cast using lead-free pewter. The molds were made as two-piece ones with all the details (vent field, trunnions) and reinforced by a two-piece dental plaster outer 'jacket'. This was for safety and because the rubber was quite soft and easily deformed. With a little experience, the results are great.

There are some 1;48's available here...
http://www.shipmodels.com.ua/eng/accessories/artillery/cannon/index.htm
 
I saw some at 80mm and 85mm,,, so might have what you are looking for

Thank you Danny for the warm welcome!
We are truly enjoying this journey together! What wealth of knowledge and new friends MSW has already provided. We are on board for the long hall!
 
Warm Regards,
 
Bill & Sateash

Hi Bill and Sateash, and a (belated) warm welcome to MSW to you both. Great to see a couple that are so motivated in this hobby together .
 
I don't know if you've done a Search for all the other Confederacy Build Logs on this site, but there are quite a few, both in Kit Builds and Scratchbuilds. There will no doubt be a few tips you can pick up from them.
 
Happy Modelling.
 
  Danny

The bow Section continued
 
I then taped the two parts of the grating together to see how it fitted in the space between the rails and the head timbers, it sat rather high so I cut and ground down the tops of the head timbers so that the gratings sat below the top of the main side rail.
I then made the cat-heads as per the instructions, the cast decorative rails were then shaped and added, after painting, and I cut them off where they turned flat onto the hull. The cat-heads and their support timber were glued together and fixed to the hull using cyno, and a couple of pins, the second part of the cast strip was then shaped and joined to the cat-head support and the strip on the hull. I then made a pair off second support timbers as shown in The Anatomy of ships Diana and added them, and to finish off fitted the timber covers over the side of the timber heads where the cast rails run through them, the sides of the timber heads did need a bit of fettling to allow a neat finish to the covers. Lastly the whole job was painted and touched up where necessary.
 

 
Decorative rail and timber covers fitted

 

 
The grating was finished next, I made a frame to fit inside the space which did not match the plan, but the space, I added the seat`s of ease ( the use of these  must have a bit tricky at night in a gale )and then fixed the assembly in place. I added a gold lines down the covering timbers (it looks much better in real life than the photos) a final paint touch up, and the gold painted decorations were added, the only thing left is the stanchion rail and netting which I will add later.
 
The grating

 
Ready for finishing off

 
Bows finished

 

 

 

 
 

Bill,
 
You can cast in metal or resin.  I've done a little resin casting and found it quite simple, but I've never cast in metal.
 
John

Bill check out the arts departments of your local Universities and Collages, many teach bronze casting, along with having a lab equipped to do small runs. They usually will work with people needing castings and because your ship building can be considered an art they should be friendly. Might even work out some trading, offer to make some presentations of your work and techniques.
jud

If you cast them, cast them with trunnions. You could make the patterns and take them to a foundry that will cast in brass or a malleable bronze. The foundry castings would allow you to, after drilling the bores, to load and fire the things, a filament ignition device should be easy to make. Why have guns, if you can't shoot the things?
jud

Hi Bill
 
let me to know the details, cnc or casting is all workable.
 
best wishes
sy

Bill,
 
I think Druxey's method is the way to go.
 
Make one master for each size and then cast them.  That way you'll still have the masters for future builds, and you'll have done it yourself.
 
John

83mm?  That's about 3.5 inches.  I'm not finding anything that big at all the normal places.. like BJ, ME, Cornwall, etc.  Those might have to be total scratch made which means a master and casting would be the best way.

Hmmm...good luck with that, Bill!  I am continually amazed at how many books (both the printed and the digital variety) I am accumulating to understand this hobby!
 
Rigging - I have about 10 purchased (print) and more than 75 digital downloads.  I have more than 40 print related to hulls and construction with well over 100 digital downloaded documents on construction.  I do not have very much on armaments - only 8 or 10 digital and 3 that I would love to buy if I can save up the funds!
 
You may want to take a look at The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea (Peter Kemp, editor - ISBN 978-0192820846) currently available on Amazon for $29.93 (new, paperback) and starting at under $1 for used.

If it's British naval armament history and extreme detail you want, and have deep pockets, the two volumes by Adrian Caruana are the ultimate in this field.

I've found that zu Mondfeld's  Historic Ship Models gives a pretty good overview.  However, for many details, it's not error-free.  Still, it's a rather inexpensive reference work for those getting started.
 
Also, Lavery's Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War is very definitive.

George,
What a beautiful journey your taking with this build! Hope you don't mind if I jump on board and go the rest of the way with!
What a massive and beautiful ship!
 
Warm Regards,
 
Bill

Hello:
 
 I had no real place to keep the plans of the ship I was working on other than on the wall behind the work bench and that presented a lot of problems let alone measuring anything.
 
  Steeling the idea of the PC key board shelf. 
I had a set of 18" full extended drawer guides doing nothing, they fit perfectly under the work bench.(Home Depot)
The shelf is 3/4" mdf.  Surrounded by 1/4" X 1 1/4 pine and that left 1/2" above to keep things from rolling off. It ended up with a working area of 17 1/2" X 47 1/2".  I think this ended up too small, 24" guides or as large as you can get would be better.
In my hast I for got to bring it down for book storage, for the working ship, maybe I'll lower it later.  No front right now that's a trip to the hardware store didn't have anything. I will just levee it wide so the bottom will hang down below the shelf for a grip to pull on.
 
Hopefully this will work. We will see. Keeps them handy and out of the way.
 
TJ
 
 

Sam, Thank you for asking the question!
 
Mobbsie,
Great timing for me! My first kit arrives Thurday. I've thinking about ideas for a jig of some sort. I don't like recreating wheels, thanks!
 
Warm Regards,
 
Bill
 
 

Alright, update time:
 
Ordered, Pride of Baltimore II, last night. Suppose to be here by Thursday, 14th of November. I wanted to buy it from Model Expo but it is on back order :/!
So I went to Ebay. Found it there from a wholesale hobby dealer that appears after some scrutiny to have a good reputation. showed box open, all parts still in their separate packages, instructions, etc.. I paid $174 and some change that included shipping.
I pray it will arrive in tact and as advertised.
When she gets here, I will start a separate build log for the Pride of Baltimore!
 
Status Confed: Waiting to see what happens if anything with sale prices for the upcoming holidays. Either way, it will be purchased no later than January.
(Wisconsin winters are long )
 
Warm Regards,
 
Bill

Boyd,  
Thank you so much for your kind words!
 
JPett,
I started drawing pictures of tall ships when I was in the 4th-5th grade. I think my interest was sparked by my teacher reading Moby Dick to us everyday in class. She would turn the lights down, it was quiet time, and she would read. Later that same year, I saw the movie Moby Dick with Gregory Peck in black and white.
I grew up in a family of artisans. One grandfather a wood carver. The other a carpenter in the winter and a lumberjack in the summer. My father, a true genius. Not well suited for the world around him. He was a master mechanic, machinist and carpenter. He scratch-built HO gauge brass steam locomotives that belonged in museums.
 
I've never built a piece of furniture or cabinet, house or barn that I didn't develop a relationship with. I feel like I'm finally home. This is that piece that was missing. I was always meant to build ships, whether the scale be 1:1 or 1:64, this brings peace to my heart.
And now I have a wonderful wife and many new friends to share this journey with...!
 
Warm Regards,
 
Bill

Alright, update time:
 
Ordered, Pride of Baltimore II, last night. Suppose to be here by Thursday, 14th of November. I wanted to buy it from Model Expo but it is on back order :/!
So I went to Ebay. Found it there from a wholesale hobby dealer that appears after some scrutiny to have a good reputation. showed box open, all parts still in their separate packages, instructions, etc.. I paid $174 and some change that included shipping.
I pray it will arrive in tact and as advertised.
When she gets here, I will start a separate build log for the Pride of Baltimore!
 
Status Confed: Waiting to see what happens if anything with sale prices for the upcoming holidays. Either way, it will be purchased no later than January.
(Wisconsin winters are long )
 
Warm Regards,
 
Bill

A few pics of the starboard waterway and plankshear.



 
 

My plank bending jig. The inner piece prevents clamps from gouging into the face of the strip. With basswood this is easy to do.

 

Boyd,  
Thank you so much for your kind words!
 
JPett,
I started drawing pictures of tall ships when I was in the 4th-5th grade. I think my interest was sparked by my teacher reading Moby Dick to us everyday in class. She would turn the lights down, it was quiet time, and she would read. Later that same year, I saw the movie Moby Dick with Gregory Peck in black and white.
I grew up in a family of artisans. One grandfather a wood carver. The other a carpenter in the winter and a lumberjack in the summer. My father, a true genius. Not well suited for the world around him. He was a master mechanic, machinist and carpenter. He scratch-built HO gauge brass steam locomotives that belonged in museums.
 
I've never built a piece of furniture or cabinet, house or barn that I didn't develop a relationship with. I feel like I'm finally home. This is that piece that was missing. I was always meant to build ships, whether the scale be 1:1 or 1:64, this brings peace to my heart.
And now I have a wonderful wife and many new friends to share this journey with...!
 
Warm Regards,
 
Bill