jablackwell

Mike,
 
Yep - I had to resort to using epoxy for the engine parts. CA didn't work well on the large cylinder heads nor attaching them to the hub. The rest of the small parts, I used CA.  Looking forward to hearing how your build goes!
 
~john
 

Mike, I think you are replying to Scott, not me ;-)  I was also interested in "pinking"..... Maybe "planking?  Not sure. Maybe he meant this:  https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2013/05/seam-series-serger-and-pinking-seam-finishing/  
 
Scott?
~john
 

Yep - exactly!  SilkSpan and dope are what I was thinking. Then layers of dope with added paint until the desired level of darkness is reached. Some things I was thinking about:  What to cover? Top of the wings, but not the bottoms? One whole half of a wing, top and bottom? Half the fuselage, like just the left side?  So many options. I have lost it now, but someone had done this kit with top covered and bottom uncovered.... then had it displayed on a mirrored base.
 
~john

Mike,
Thanks for the kind words.
I think you are in for a nice treat: the Sopwith is a nice build.  Feel free to reach out if you need anything. I am still thinking about a half covering for it... I have a pile of SilkSpan, so it is calling me.... 

That is most helpful, L.H.  Thank you!
~john

All,
 
Here is the completed build, sans diorama for now. I'm now in the middle of cleaning out the workspace, ordering new drill bits (and other tools) and getting ready to sink my teeth into building the Syren. I think I am ready for a ship, haven gotten the plane out of my system.  
 
~john

L.H.,
 
That was very helpful to note the 120mm scale.... I hadn't searched for that specific term, but was looking more for "1:16" or 1/16.  A lot of figures have popped up, so I should be all set.   
 
Something about scales does seem a little odd.... a 120mm tall individual (if that is what this means) would be some 6'4" tall.... a pretty tall pilot. Perhaps the 120mm is referring to something else? 
 
Build status: wheels on. Engine on. I am working on the cockpit coaming. Eventually this will be on a diorama for display.
 
~john
 
 
 

Agreed Scott. Rigging is a little tricky in a biplane: all of the cables have to be taught. No slack allowed anywhere. Nothing "moves" as yardarms on ships... so, the angles all matter, and the tensions all matter. I struggled a bit with the Camel's tension settings a lot. The toughest part were the ailerons. They now move and correctly, but the thread is stretchy, so the motions are not realistic in the end. Still, I am content. How often are these going to be moved back and forth anyway while on display? Not much, I bet.
 
Right now I am looking for a scale pilot: WWI British 1:16 scale. Anyone know where I will find one of these?  I have found a lot of other scales...  I'd like to get this into a case in diorama format, grass, pilot, etc.  
 
~john
 

Scott,
The Ludwigs with the Black Beauty make a fine set.... combined with the Zidjians of old, and it just hums right along.  A lot of good music happens in the basement ;-)  
Jigs: I used jigs for the fuselage final assembly. That was the only way to keep things straight and normal. The wings were build right onto the plans using pins to hold the wood onto the plans at precise locations until the glue set. The plans are mounted onto a flat building board, this one from planed balsa. 
The ailerons to actually work as of late last night!  I am somewhat surprised actually.  A larger scale, like the 1/6 or 1/4 that you are planning would be optimal for all the details.  This would be something in the right ballpark:  
  
 
 

All,
 
Thank you so much for such kind words and thoughts.  You make this the wonderful community that it is. 
 
Specifics to the build: Yes, the gun barrels, are definitely on the list of things to complete. They need boring and they need blackening. Concerning the ailerons: In theory they will work as they should. The cables are rigged in such a way so that they should work when the stick is moved side to side. The rudder works with the motion of the pedals, and the elevator works with the stick. I have yet to permanently connect the aileron cables. Getting there ;-)
 
~john
 

Hello Siggi,
a nice model!
I have not decided yet what kind of material I will use.
Here's a first try for the shrouds. In this case, I used a linen rope. I'll do more experiments.

Thanks everyone for the likes 😊 
now the syren is looking as a brig, all the corronades is finish, not glued to dekk yet.
Its time to make hooks and rope, or......
I may have to order the rope from chuck for the rigging do to I havent got the tread or I dont no wat costumer to used
so I can make my own rope (later later)
 
Svein.erik 

Looking good.

All,
 
Still working on the Syren - I haven't given up, honest!   I hope y'all have had a marvelous season and enjoyed the holidays.  With some of that luscious time off, I got back to planking the ship. It's slow going, but I am enjoying the pace, taking my time and slowly seeing it all come together. Some images of the current progress. The boxwood has been making this a real pleasure:
 
~john
 
 

All,
 
Still working on the Syren - I haven't given up, honest!   I hope y'all have had a marvelous season and enjoyed the holidays.  With some of that luscious time off, I got back to planking the ship. It's slow going, but I am enjoying the pace, taking my time and slowly seeing it all come together. Some images of the current progress. The boxwood has been making this a real pleasure:
 
~john
 
 

All,
 
Still working on the Syren - I haven't given up, honest!   I hope y'all have had a marvelous season and enjoyed the holidays.  With some of that luscious time off, I got back to planking the ship. It's slow going, but I am enjoying the pace, taking my time and slowly seeing it all come together. Some images of the current progress. The boxwood has been making this a real pleasure:
 
~john
 
 

All,
 
Still working on the Syren - I haven't given up, honest!   I hope y'all have had a marvelous season and enjoyed the holidays.  With some of that luscious time off, I got back to planking the ship. It's slow going, but I am enjoying the pace, taking my time and slowly seeing it all come together. Some images of the current progress. The boxwood has been making this a real pleasure:
 
~john
 
 

I hope everyone is having a great holiday period.
 
I used some of the spare time to work on the funnels, and they are now all up.  She's beginning to look like a real steamship now.
 
The stays won't go up until some of the deck detail is finished, as they would be in the way.
 
Regards,
David

Dear friends, 
I am very pleased you like my models, I do appreciate your kind words and "likes". Sovereign of the Seas and Royal Katherine will be anchored side by side, after finishing the RK. Here are some pics from our home port and illuminated ships:
 

 
Best regards,
Doris
 

For interest I bring some pictures of the Royal Katherine with my (meanwhile) best card model - Sovereign of the Seas. Please enjoy them:

 
Best regards,
Doris

Hello dear friends,
thank you very much for your feedback, kind words and all the "likes". I do appreciate it a lot and it is a great honour and motivation for me.
 
 
People often ask me about this and I have already answered many times.   In fact, there is not a problem with a dust in this room, cause there is limited movement of persons. My pets are not allowed to enter this room.  My husband and me usually sit in the armchairs, listen to music and enjoy the beauty of the ships.... Some of them are illuminated which creates a special atmosphere in the dark. Only once in a few years I take the models out and gently clean them using a soft brush...
 
About making sails...
I mainly use stiff thin fabric (named batiste) dyed in tea but for the Royal Katherine I have new ideas and will use better technology. Of course, I am going to share here with you.
 
Great tutorial, thank you for sharing. The result looks very nice.
 
 
Well, dear friends, it's time to bring new pics from my project....
I continue with decoration on QG, there are quite plenty of gilded pieces and also larger sculptures in the roofs. I had to create the decoration according to other ships from this period (I find inspiration at museum models, historical paintings and drawings - mainly by Van de Velde) cause in Vale´s painting there are no exact details at this area.
 

Quick-Find Indexes to Build Logs from Kits
 
 
Up to 1500 May 2024.pdf1501-1750 May 2024.pdf
 
1751-1800 May 2024.pdf1801-1850 May 2024.pdf
 
1851-1900 May 2024.pdf1901-Present May 2024.pdf
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Links above take you to a number of "Quick Find" Indexes to the Build Logs for vessels made from Kits on this Site. They are alphabetically entered by Ship Name and Builder, as well as showing the Kit Manufacturer and whether the model has reached completion. NOTE - these Indexes do not contain those models that are Scratch-built with the exception of "Ships in Bottles", "Radio Control Models" and "Restorations".
 
The Indexes are grouped in the various Building Types we have on this site - Wooden Ships, Small Craft, Plastic Models, Card, Radio Control, etc so you can easily find the type of build you are looking for.
 
They are in PDF files, so you will need to have a PDF Reader installed in your computer to open them. These are available as free Downloads from various sources on-line, such as Adobe Reader:  https://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/
 
When you click on the Link to open your Index of choice you will be asked to Download the file. Select a Folder to download to (optional - the Default is your "Downloads" folder). Any time you open that file from this page it will overwrite the previous file, and paste the new one in.
 
The Indexes will be updated as new Build Logs are started, usually within a few days of them appearing, so it's advisable to update your Indexes periodically. You can view the downloaded Indexes from your computer without having to download them every time, but new ones may have been added since then.
 
In the Index Click on the blue Ship's Name for the Build Log you want to view and it will open the Log. If you want to return to this page there is a Link at the top of the Index marked "Return to Model Ship World" that will bring you back here.
 
To find a particular model quickly in the PDF Index - Click on the Edit Menu and select "Search", which will drop down a Dialog Window. You can type in the ship's name or the Builder (or even the Kit Manufacturer) and it will go to the first one in the list. Keep pressing the "Next" button to find the one you want and then Click on the blue Ship's Name to open the Build Log. This feature is particularly useful in the larger Indexes which have many pages. The pages have a Scroll Bar on the right which you can also use, or if your Mouse has a wheel you can turn that to also go down quickly. Pressing the "Page Down" key on your keyboard also goes down a page at a time.
 
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Good Morning,
I've spent the last little while working on the tryworks and it's now finished. I used the method described by Gerald Spargo and which is available in the resources section on the NRG main site.
 
It was a pretty straightforward endeavour. The only really difficult aspect is once you get to the top, it appears as though there will not be enough room for the pots, chimneys, trim etc. So it takes a bit of tweaking to get it all to fit. It's also a bit tricky to keep the walls plumb.
 
Gerald advised strongly to use emamel paint for the bricks and not acrylic. (Perhaps it's difficult to wipe the joint filler off acrylic paint cleanly, I'm not sure.) So I used some Humbrol flat enamel. I understand that the top surface and chimneys are copper that has blackened over time. So I painted them with Humbrol copper enamel and then dry brushed flat black over top. I'm not sure how clearly it shows up in the pictures, but you can just see bits of copper showing through. I did the same thing for the cooling tank.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
So that's it for now. Many thanks for looking in.
David

She's starting to look like an ocean liner now.
 
Regards,
David

All better, now just airbrush it again and re attach.