US Brig Niagara by mainstay - Model Shipways - 1:64

[mainstay]

More Green, also  Black.

[mainstay]

 

After removing the masking. There was a lot of bleed-through in some places.

 

After extensive touching up with a brush. Brushed did not match Airbrushed, probably because I had added Airbrush Medium which is white.

 

 

Starting to add the decking.  I am using black paint to simulate Oakum. Clamp 10 pieces of decking together on their sides, paint, flip, paint.  Still have to sand off a little, but it's working.  I am spacing the boards with card stock.

 

 

[Rich_engr]

Wow- amazing what an airbrush can do!  Looks good- did you use the ME paints, or something else?  

 

Decking looks good too- are you going to taper and/or add butts to the planks?  For the caulking on mine, I just used a dark brown colored pencil.  

 

Great to see yours coming along there!  

[lb0190]

Good morning Joseph,

 

Your painting turned out great! I do not understand the use of card stock. Are you leaving a gap between the deck planks?

[mainstay]

Wow- amazing what an airbrush can do!  Looks good- did you use the ME paints, or something else?  

 

Decking looks good too- are you going to taper and/or add butts to the planks?

I did use ME paints. It took a while to get them thinned correctly, and as I said, the airbrush medium made the colors lighter so the yellow especially that I brushed on to touch up did not match.  Also, Model Expo sent me two regular green and no light green so I mixed the waterline color myself.

 

The first six decking runs on either side of the centerline are full width from bow to stern. The rest taper to the stern.  I will not use a nibbing strake, but may  simulate it with a thin strip glued over the bow ends.

[mainstay]

I do not understand the use of card stock. Are you leaving a gap between the deck planks?

Yes I am. I may be making my simulated caulking too wide, probably because the Brilliant's deck had such beautiful, thick caulking runs and I liked that.  Nice thing is that I will have to glue in fewer planks...

[texxn5]

Hi Joseph, she's shaping up nicely.  I like the airbrushing.  I have one, but have been afraid to use it because of overspraying and tape leakage.   

[mainstay]

Hi Joseph, she's shaping up nicely.  I like the airbrushing.  I have one, but have been afraid to use it because of overspraying and tape leakage.   

Hi John,

 

Overspray can be handled with masking, although the thought process can get quite involved. Spraying over the tape with the color under it is supposed to solve the leakage problem.  As you can see in my yellow areas, the green made it in.  However, green was coming from inside the gunports, blowing the tape away from the wood. And I had not thought that far ahead when I masked. So that problem may be solvable.

 

I ended up repainting nearly all the airbrushed red with a brush. I did not glue 1/32" wood inside the gunports to cover endgrain. I just decided to accept my chewed up (really rough!) surfaces as they were.  I did experiment with painting a piece of file folder red and cutting that to fit the edges of one port, but decided that was too much work.

 

Joe

[rfolsom]

Joe:

 

Your paint job is looking great!  Can't wait to get to the stage you're at..  I'll be watching closely!

 

-Bob

[mainstay]

Finally I understand why I have stopped working on Niagara.

 

I have been looking at it under a microscope. Literally.  I take such good photographs (as we all do) that I can see tiny, tiny imperfections, ones 99% of people won't notice.

 

I have very high standards for my own work (as we all do). In my day job I restore antique keyboard instruments and I take real pride in how they look when I am done.  A hand-rubbed finish puts me briefly into an altered state when I see it and touch it.

 

I don't have the tools or the technique to work to that level at 1:64.  So I am reconsidering how to approach this and enjoy it.  Perhaps I shall post pictures taken from across the room .

 

Showing my work to other craftsmen, who also have high standards causes me to work much harder, at a higher stress level than I want for a hobby.. Wasn't this supposed to be fun? .

 

I think I may just let some of the hyper detailled  things slide and not post close-ups for a while. 

 

Has anyone else experienced this?  Are there any threads in the forums?

 

Joseph Osborne

Carlisle, PA USA

[patrickmil]

Joesph, I definitely know what you're talking about. It is very intimidating to post pictures of your work and hold them to pictures of other's work. I decided long ago however, that my skill at this stage of this hobby wasn't going to be at the same level as others. It has helped me considerably. I know where each and every fault is with my Niagara and for the most part I'm not going to go back on them. I will keep them in place to remind myself of the learning curve in this hobby. I'm sure I'm not speaking alone when I say that we are all looking forward to seeing some progress soon with your build.

[scott larkins]

I hear what you're saying on critiqueing your own work. I too have high expectations for myself and cringe when I put a couple pieces of wook on only to notice, after the glue has dried that there is a small gap or valley between two boards because the board edge was not perfectly cut.  I have had to say, oh well, it is what it is, I can't see light through the gap, move on.  As so many people here have told me, have fun with it.  I don't make my livelyhood out of making these.  Not that I'm slappying wood on any which way, just not sweating the small stuff I have no control over.  Keep building, it's looking good.

[dgbot]

Your Niagara looks good.  I like your technique with the airbrush.  If you use ME paints what are you thinning them with and what is your ratio.  I have always had trouble.

David B

[pythagoras]

Hi Joseph,

 I'm new to MSW and just found your build log. The Niagara was my sixth venture into shipbuilding and there are mistakes on it, but, like Patricks' post, I'm not going to dwell on them. Years ago I built Constructos' Enterprise which is displayed at my home. Many visitors have commented on its appearance, but not one has mentioned that the pintles and gudgeons are on upside down and yet the rudder has never fallen off. I'm leaving them that way to remind me to not judge myself to harshly. It IS fun and I just can't stop it. You have done a great job so far and I will look forward to more of your posts.

   Please continue your build.

           Pythagoras

[mainstay]

Hi Patrick, Scott, Pythagoras,

 

Thank you for those nice posts.  I am much too critical of myself and I know it.  There are many people in this hobby who are incredible craftsmen and I have to accept that I will not be one of them any time soon.

 

I have to remember that a model is a simulation of the real thing, not the thing itself.

 

Joseph Osborne

Carlisle, PA USA

[mainstay]

Your Niagara looks good.  I like your technique with the airbrush.  If you use ME paints what are you thinning them with and what is your ratio.  I have always had trouble.

David B

I'm not sure of the exact ratios. What I did was to put perhaps 1/4" of ME paint in an airbrush jar, then add 3 squirts or so of airbrush medium, then probably the same amount of water.  That makes the ratio perhaps 40:60, paint to other stuff.  I used the largest orifice and needle, taped up a piece of newspaper and experimented until I could spray evenly without runs.  I know I started much thicker before I learned how to do it and spent a lot of time cleaning out the airbrush.  Cranky little thing.  Just a tiny bit too thick and it chokes and says 'hey, cut it out'.

 

The key is to experiment until you find a ratio that works on newspaper and then, unlike me, write it down.  I just try to mix all the paint I need at once because I never do record how I got there. A bit like cooking.

 

Joseph Osborne

Carlisle, PA USA

[pythagoras]

Joseph,

   Just one more thing I forgot to say----Don't give up the ship!!

  Pythagoras

[texxn5]

Hi Joseph, good to see your posts. My camera does the same thing....brings out the flaws and actually pronounces them. I go back to try and correct them and can't find them. The naked eye is not as critical as a magnified camera lense. So rather than pull out the few remaining hairs left on my head, I have grown to accept that it won't be perfect. There are some incredible craftsmen on this forum, so there is a very high standard for us to compare ours to. After visiting the Mystic Seaport Research Center back in October, one of the main disappointments was that in their "vault", about a 10,000 square foot area which is only available to limited people (I got lucky and got permission from the Man in charge of the restoration project of the Morgan for entry and a private tour)that there are probably 700+ ship models stored on racked shelves. No one is allowed to see these and they are not displayed. Some are hundreds of years old. Didn't mean to get on a soapbox here. Anyway, we are our biggest critics. Your ship looks wonderful, keep it up.