Surabaya by Piet - 1/80 - Mid 17th-Century VOC ship

[Piet]

Thank you all for the "likes," it's really appreciated !

 

@ Sjors, yes, mine are also 12 X 12 mm on the outside part and 10 X 10 mm on the inside part.

 

Well, here is a picture of the ship with Danish oil, lightly stained with a little cherry, enhancing the slightly bleached cherry to a more lustrous glow, at least that was the intend 

She begins to look like my avatar    slightly aged, like me.

Sure hope all yuns approve.

 

Danish oiled port-side with a touch of cherry stain.

 

Cheers, 

[Sjors]

That looks great Piet!

 

I'm proud of you   

 

Edited June 9, 2013 by Sjors

[Piet]

Thanks again fellows for all the likes, I do appreciate it very much.

 

@ Sjors, af shucks, you make  me blush     but -- - - - I love the compliments 

 

Just to let all yuns know that the Admiral and I will be driving up to Pittsburgh, PA next Tuesday morning at oh dark thirty.  We are attending our grandson's High School graduation.

It's 900 miles and it'll take us 13 hours, about, depending on traffic and road construction.  I may not post any new stuff but will be visiting MSW to look at what all yuns are doing.

 

I'm also going to drive to Cleveland with the grandson next week to visit the USS Cod that is docked there.  That's the sub that rescued the crew of my father's sub, the O 19, when it ran on Ladd Reef in the South China Sea in July 1945.

I'm exited and will chat with the curator and get the grand tour.  Many pics will be taken, for sure. 

 

Cheers to all and keep modeling.

 

 

[mtaylor]

Piet,

 

Have a great trip and a safe one.  I can't tell which you're more excited about, the graduation or seeing the USS Cod. 

[Piet]

Well, the Admiral and I are back from our visit with the daughter and our grandson.  The graduation ceremony was awesome, so gad to witness this fine lad achieving this milestone and now on to college.  He's going to Slippery Rock, PA to study for Physical Therapist in sports.

The drive both ways was uneventful, good weather both ways an very little delays due to road work, unusual.

 

I did manage to make a few dozen eye bolts for the gunport lids while in PA but had to wait with working on the model when we got back due to much catch-up work on the yard and other things around the house.  Two weeks being away from home in the Florida rainy season makes the grass grow like mad.

I started last Monday with making the pintle parts of the lid hinges and finished them up for the port side this afternoon.  I can hopefully finish them tomorrow, i. e. painting the "iron work" flat black and the backside red. 

 

I realize that they are not to scale but I could not locate brass tubing small enough to do the job adequately.  The overall effect is satisfactory to me and that's what counts.

Hmmm, now comes the task to install them to the ship 

 

All port side gunport lids with their associated hardware are lined up for their intended location. I used 1.5 mm brass tubing and 1 mm brass rod for the pintle part with the tubing filed to 1 mm wide, which was soldered to the tubing.  I first soldered the brass rod to a length of tubing and then cut the tubing off next to the rod, then filed the small piece of tubing to the same size of the rod and shaped the top.  The pin is from .6 mm diameter brass nails cut to the proper length and then secured in the hinge assy with CA glue on one side only so the hinge can still operate. 

 

Cheers,

 

Edited September 27, 2015 by Piet

[Sjors]

Welcome home Piet 

 

Nice lids (gun ports ! )

 

[Piet]

Hello all,   

 

@ Anthony, thanks my friend, I also begin to like it   Remember it's a fictitious ship and a hybrid to boot     How's your health holding up?  How's your ship coming along?  

 

@ Sjors: thanks Sjors, it's always good to be in your own house even though we love our kids.  Had a great time with the grandson, taught him to parallel park the car, he caught on quick!  5 out of ten perfect.

Yeah, the lids, doors, shutters or whatever,came out okay.

 

Today was the day for a trial fit of the lids.  Seems to be working okay.  I did all of them on the port side except for the four in the waste.  I have a dilemma in that area and am not sure how to proceed there.  What I should have done was to make round holes in the hull planking instead of the square holes with lids.  I have been pondering this now for quite some time and am too far into the build to do anything drastic.  Not paying attention to paintings and drawings and making notes. 

 

There are several options.

1. The most drastic move would be to replace the planking in that area and make the round holes.  Problem is that the new planking will never match, which will show and is distracting.  Remember that this is a single planked model.  Oh, I guess that with a lot of patience and care it could be accomplished but then again - - - - there is always Murphy - - - - - hiding somewhere.  

2. Leave the square holes and install the lids.  As far as I can determine this is not usually done.  Why install gun port lids in an open area.

3. Leave the square holes as is and don't install the lids.  This seems to be the easy way out and I'll most likely follow my gut feeling.  Not many will notice as long as none of you will tell 

 

Most of the lids will be shown in the open position but will show a few closed.  That'll show the "iron works" better and is also more realistic. The lids will be unevenly placed in the open position, not evenly lined up.

 

Any thoughts on all of this?

 

The hinges hinge and the pull open rope holds them in place, what else do I want, I'm happy. 

I'm thinking to keep the third one from the rear closed.  The towels over the top of the ship is to keep the dust off.

 

This shows the inside of the lids painted red.

 

This shows all the "ironwork" painted flat black.

 

Here you can see what I have been pondering on.  It would really not be a total disaster to leave it the way as is with the guns poking through it.

 

Cheers,  

[mtaylor]

Piet,

 

Good to see that you have returned and all is well.   As for the ports... leave them square and lid-less.   I agree with #1 opening the door and inviting Murphy into the workshop.  #2... seldom done. 

[Piet]

Hey Anthony, when I started to read your comment my first thought was, man, that guy is old, at least 300 years and with experience in sailing to to the East Indies too.  But then I read the end, what a downer    - - - - -  you quoted from an article     Yes indeed, the tropics can be hot, tell me about it, I lived there for 13 years, born there.  The city of Surabaya is on the north east coast and in a low area, a harbor city.  Just before the monsoon hits it could get rather hot to the point that the tar on the roads would get soft and stick to your shoes.  Over 110 F in the shade, mind you    That was the time when schools are out and we would rent a house in the mountains, nice!  My father would rent a small house in Batu, near Malang.  Batu is a town in a valley between a bunch of volcanos, awesome sights.  Our rental was on the slopes of the volcano Anjasmoro.  Look it up in Google earth.  Of course at that time Batu was just a small village.

 

I'll probably leave one gunport closed or partially closed though.

 

@ Mark, thanks for your input and agreeing with my gut feeling.

[amateur]

With respect to your gunports:

Take a look at these pictures. It's Padmos/Blijdorp, both heavily armed early 18th century VOC-ships.

No gunlids at all on the upper deck, but square gunports, lined with some fancy sroll-work,

 

http://maritiemdigitaal.nl/index.cfm?event=search.getdetail&id=100085352

 

The same setup is found on e.g. Valkenisse and some others from the period.

http://www.seawatchbooks.com/107001

(not to let you buy the book, but because of the picture over there)

 

You may go forth with filling in the gunport rabets with some painted scrollwerk, and end up with something perfectly fitting in with the period, and at the same time, minimizing the probability Mr M. doing some great harm to your ship.

 

Jan

Edited July 1, 2013 by amateur

[Piet]

Hoi Jan,

 

Now I know for sure that I need a second lifetime   What, with all the fancy scroll work 

Thanks Jan for reminding me to look at pictures first before I start pounding my poor head on my work bench    I'm glad that you keep checking in and for your much appreciated advice.

 

Some time ago you suggested to look at these ships, Padmos and Blijdorp, for another problem I was "pondering" on.  I downloaded the pics of these two ships as well as many others.  

I should put a large sign over my work bench, "LOOK AT PICTURES FIRST."

Okay, no gunport lids on the upper deck, hurray!

 

Well, that solves a few problems, but creates one heck of a lot more work, fancy scroll work 

 

I wish I could afford all the books about shipbuilding, specially the Dutch ships, but alas, such is life, we can't have everything we want.  We need to be extra careful now with our budget with an eye on the political situation here in the US.

 

Hartelijk dank and cheers,

 

[amateur]

Actually, the scrollwork around those square ports is not too fancy.

Given the fact that your stern is more in the basic 16th century style, you should not overdo the lining of the gunports

 

Jan

[Piet]

Hoi Jan,  thanks for the advice.  Here I envisioned dolphins, palm trees, roses, cupids and dancing girls        

 

No really, just something simple like a twisted rope kinda idea.  I'll draw something up and post it for y'all to see and comment or anyone can submit some ideas   

Yes, she is just a plain Jane as far as ornamentation is concerned. 

 

Cheers,   

[amateur]

The pic is terrible, as the lighting conditions were bad, and flash wasn't allowed.....

But this is one of the gunportframes on Padmos.

It has not even a twisted rope, it is just plain. (especially when compared to her very elaborate stern)

 

Jan

 

[Piet]

Hoi Jan,

 

Ah, pic is wonderful!   Very clear and that's PLAIN !   I think I can do that, a lot of cutting and gluing but it'll look marvelous in fake gold paint 

That'll make the other gun ports jealous 

 

You must live close to the museum to take these shots just for little old me 

Thanks Jan, that's what I'll do, seems like a nice little project.

 

Cheers,

 

[amateur]

Hi Piet,

 

The model was on display last year when I was in Rotterdam. So the fact that I have it, is just coincidence.

By the way: Padmos's scrollwork is not painted in fake gold or real gold, but in yellow ochre (and the inside of the gunports is the usual red).

 

Jan

[Piet]

Hoi amateur Jan, yeah, I was kidding with the fake gold for the gunport moulding.  My fake gold paint is yellow ochre, but one can always dream    I know, I know, the frugal VOC or maybe just practical.  No expensive stuff on a working ship.  

I did buy some "gold" paint at the hobby shop and see how it looks compared to yellow ochre.  I have been busy with my O 19 model but took some time this p m to make a start at the upper gunport "scroll work."  On my model the bottom of the gun ports are at one of the wales so they'll look like the ones on Patmos but in reverse 

I like to make the step looking frames also in reverse as shown on the Patmos model, like one would make a mat for a picture or a frame for a painting.  Just to be different.

 

& Lawrence: Thank you for the compliments    The thing I'm missing is more knowledge about these old ships.  Have been doing a lot of reading and looking at paintings and drawings of them but still come up short.  That's why it's great to have folks here who know a lot about them and can help, even when not asked.  Amateur Jan has been invaluable with his advice and direction.

As far as skill?   My training is all technical, first as ship machinist with certificates in about 13 different trades.  Then switched over to aircraft design technology and repair.  Consequently I'm quite familiar with all kinds of tools and can visualize structures as they should be.  I'm also not unfamiliar with working with wood.  Ships in bottles, model railroad stuff, marquetry, remodeling houses and etc.

 

As far as scratch building is concerned, not much different then kits.  You just have to make your own parts and can use drawings and guidance manuals that are available.  Now that you know how your kit parts have been made it's not that difficult to make them yourself from drawings.  You will need some (power) tools though, at least that is nice to have.

All I have that's useful is a bandsaw, a sanding disc/belt and a Proxxon jigsaw.  My DB 200 Unimat is helpful but I can do with an electric drill     The rest are hand tools.  A lot on the VOC ship is done with just the hand tools and yes, it takes a little longer but so what, I'm retired and have the time.

 

After your Vic is finished you should take the plunge and start a simple project, POB ship.  You seem to be doing alright with your Vic, so why not.  It certainly is a very rewarding experience and there is plenty of advice here on MSW.  Go for it!

 

Okay, below is one picture of my gunport frame project.  It's just in the beginning stage so it still looks very crude.

 

I sanded down a plank of boxwood to 1 mm thick and drew the outline on it and the 10 mm inside opening of the gunport.  The thin strips of cherry wood are to be reduced in size to fill the gunport rabbets under the moulding.  They'll be about .5 mm.  I'm not quite sure how wide I'll be making them, as narrow as possible but still wide enough for a nice looking frame or moulding.

Stay tuned for the end result 

 

Cheers,

[Adrieke]

tuning into station Surabaya

[Piet]

Hello every one,

 

Andriaan, I'm baaaaack 

 

This afternoon I made one of the gunport frames.  I don't know, it looks kinda bulky to me.  I made it out of three pieces glued together with CA.  The wood strips are very thing but even with them at about .75 mm each it still adds up to a rather thick hole.  Perhaps if I make them with the steps reversed like shown on the Padmos model it mat appear less bulky.  The pictures below don't show what I see close up.

Ill make one like the Padmos model and see how that one looks.  Part of the apparent problem may be that my wales are rather thin making the outer layer of the molding fall outside the wale.

 

I'll make one with the steps reversed like the ones shown on the Padmos model and perhaps one with only two layers.   

 

As a note of interest, looking at several of van de Velde's drawings the upper gundeck portholes have all lids.  This doesn't mean I'll be going back to lids on the upper deck but it's just an observation.

 

This shows the frame head-on.  It's perhaps not noticeable to see what I see even with a side view, see next pic.

 

This show the frame from the side and even here it's hardly noticeable what I'm talking about.  They could also be made a little narrower.

 

I think I begin to like the idea of some color on the sides of this ship.  It'll also match with the future railing ends that I still need to make and install, also painted in yellow ocher/fake gold 

 

Cheers, 

[Adrieke]

looks good to me Piet but do try the other method to compare

[mtaylor]

Piet,

 

I think two thicknesses instead of three and maybe painting it. Or maybe even just bevel one that's one thickness.  The white wood jumps out when looking at it.

[Piet]

Thank you all for your likes and suggestions.

 

@ Lawrence: to me, to make a model of the Victory must be one of the most ambitious projects anyone can undertake, regardless if it's kit build or scratch from plans.  If I would ever attempt to do that I'd definitely need another lifetime    I'll be happy to complete all my current and planned projects before Davy Jones calls 

 

@ Mark: hmmmm beveled eh?  I didn't think about that possibility.  A thought and see how it looks like now that I'm experimenting anyway.  Yes, I intend to paint these frames in yellow ocher as Jan suggests.

 

I have removed the outer layer of the first attempt but didn't paint it yet.  Then I made two other frames with the layered steps as done on the Padmos model.  I also made the layers thinner to make them come out even with the wale above it.

The picture below doesn't show the steps too well and I will have to increase the thickness just a tad  to show the steps in the frame and also somewhat narrower.  When visually looking at them the steps are clearly visible though.

I'll have to do some more experimenting to arrive at a satisfactory looking frame.  With a scale of 1:80 things do get kinda small.

 

The most right one, just to the left of the steps, is the original with the last layer removed and the step inside.  My thinking on having the steps inside is to enlarge the gun aiming window of sight.  However, I guess that the left / right sighting was not really that important, it was rather the up / down sighting.  The two on its left are the two layered frames with the steps on the outside.  Either way they look all right to me but could be somewhat narrower with the steps more pronounced.

Okay, a little more experimental work and let the Admiral make a call 

She does have an eye for things like that.

 

Cheers 

 

Edited September 27, 2015 by Piet

[mtaylor]

Piet,

 

I work the same way on some judgment calls. Boy, that is a tough one. 

[Piet]

Thank you all for the likes, appreciate it very much.

 

Mark, yeah, tough shot on this.  I do like the idea of a frame around the gun ports and preferably in three layers but unfortunately the wales are just a little too thin.  But in this scale probably just about right.  I think the 2 layer approach is gonna work and a little narrower.  The yellow ocher will really offset it nicely and compliment the cherry hull.  

 

Today was spend in mowing the front yard before the rain showers hit and then I spend a few hours at my colored pencil society chapter meeting drawing a picture of some small lilies.   The ship and boat yard was closed for today.

I also had to do some research for our daughter and give her some advice in finishing miniature furniture.  She is taking up this hobby again.  Oh, this brought back some fine memories where I kinda helped her with assembling and finishing miniature furniture when she was 12 years old.  I was not telling her how to do it but just asking questions how she was going to do it.  We were going to build a doll house in a 5 gallon water bottle!  Time well spend overall.

 

Cheers 

 

[Piet]

After my dentist visit of this morning I proceeded with my gun port frame project.  We finally got around to fix the disintegrating bridge anchor.  He had to use a slide hammer to get the bridge off.  After many hammer blows it finally came off, my poor brain is still shaking.  After some surgery and removal of the disintegrating tooth root he temporarily replaced the bridge so i can eat.  Next Thursday back again for the same treatment, more hammering and grafting some bone material into the jaw.  Sewing things back up and putting the bridge back permanently      

I got some yellow ocher oil paint out of my artist paint supplies and painted them to see how they look and just placed them over the ports.

I then asked the Admiral which form she likes best.  She preferred the ones like shown on the Padmos.  So, we'll make the frames with the steps facing to the outside. 

After I made the pics shown below I completed four new frames but have not painted or installed them.  I made them a little skinnier and they look very nice.  I also fitted the lower gun port doors on.  I still need to secure the hinge pins and the pull ropes.

We are progressing 

 

This is a head-on shot of the experimental frames.  The admiral (Gwen) likes the two on the left.  The yellow ocher looks very yellow in these pics but they are truly yellow ocher.  Here you can see the steps in the frame clearly.  They will be made a little narrower.

Even with the cloths draped over the ship dust still gets on the ship.

 

This pic is taken from the bow to show the steps in the frames more clearly.

 

Cheers  

Edited September 27, 2015 by Piet

[mtaylor]

Ouch.... dentists... ouch...

 

Good idea to follow the wisdom, Piet.  And as we all know, Admirals are very wise. 

[amateur]

Compliments to the admiral (and the carpenter who made them)

 

Jan

[Piet]

@ Mark:  ah yes, we should all listen more to our admirals, difficult to do for a stubborn Dutchman 

 

@ Jan:  Thank you Jan and I have relayed your compliments to the admiral.  She said that you must be a very wise individual 

I have made seven new frames and these are really looking very nice, even if I say so myself, the carpenter.  Perhaps I can paint and glue them to the hull tomorrow.  I'm also trying to complete the lower gun deck port lids.  They are already mounted but need to be secured yet.

Pictures are forthcoming and please let me know what you think.

 

Cheers 

 

[Piet]

G'day to all y'all,

 

I completed all seven top deck gun port frames, painted them and glued them to the fuselage, uhm, I mean hull 

I had to stiffen the gun port lid ropes so that I can push them through the guide holes.  They'll have to remain loose for now till I have made and installed the shroud deadeye chains.  Not much room to work around them.

I am leaving one gun port closed.

 

The first two pics are of the unpainted frames just loosely stuck to the hull.  The rest are the painted frames glued to the hull with a few drops of CA glue.

 

Head on view of the completed and unpainted frames, port side.

 

View from the port bow of the completed, unpainted frames.

 

Head on view of the port side painted frames.

 

View from the port bow of the completed and painted gun port frames

 

Stern view of port side painted frames.

 

Cheers 

Edited September 27, 2015 by Piet

[mtaylor]

Piet,

 

The port moldings (or mouldings  ) look sharp.   Well done.