New England Stonington Dragger by FriedClams - FINISHED - 1:48 - POB

[mtaylor]

Beautiful work, Gary.

[KORTES]

Amazing work.

Among everything else I would like to point out a mastery work with paint and the skills in making material loook vintage. It looks very authentical.

My best regards,

Alexander.

[DBorgens]

Hi Gary. I just came across your build an am intrigued by your weathering. Far beyond my skill and ambition. This is a very nice project and turning out to be a beautiful model. I’ll happily pull up a chair and watch your progress.

 

Dave B

[FriedClams]

Keith, John, Druxey, Mark and Alexander - That you for your kind words and for looking in on my build.  I appreciate it.

 

Dave B - Glad that you find my log of interest, and thanks for the compliments.  Happy to have you following along.

 

And thanks to everyone looking in and hitting the like button.

 

 

Some Deck Details

 

This is a small update showing the addition of a couple of minor deck details:

 

   - Trim around the base of the fish and ice hatches

   - Two fish hold deck plates

   - Added rail to the port side

 

The added rail shown prominently in the following 2 photos is a mystery to me.  I don’t know what it’s called or what its purpose is.  It is shown in nearly every photo of every Stonington style dragger I have seen.  It is always on the port side directly in front of the sorting pens.

 

   -  Is it to keep fisherman from flipping backwards over the rail when sorting fish on a slimy deck?  It doesn’t seem high enough to prevent that.

   -  Or does some kind of cleaning table set on or hook over it?    I have not seen a single image that would even suggest this.

 

If someone knows or has a theory – I’d love to hear it.

 Here are a few more photos.

 

 

 In this final photo a faint deck wear pattern is beginning to emerge.  I don’t want to commit until the winch and gallous frame are built and placed.

 

Next I'll be starting in on the pilothouse.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Gary

Edited April 22, 2019 by FriedClams
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[FriedClams]

 

 This post is unrelated to my Stonington dragger build and is just something I wanted to share.  I hope this isn’t bending forum rules too far.

 

I’m in the process of building a series of small shadow box dioramas in 1:87 scale.  Each diorama is 2.25” x 4.75” with a maximum depth of 2.5”.  The exterior dimensions of the shadow box is 8” x 5.25” x 3” deep.  It is made from poplar and assembled with biscuits.  This is the second diorama I’ve completed and depicts the interior of a small fictitious boat building shop.  It is completely scratch built with the exception of the following items:

 

The brick wall material is from New England Brownstone Co. in Massachusetts.  It is made in white Hyrocal slabs that you cut and color as needed.

 

The window frames, truss rod queen posts, turnbuckles and the 55 gallon drum are unpainted injection molded styrene from Tichy Train Group in North Carolina.

 

And the two human figures are from Preiser in Germany.

 

I apologize for the quality of these images as they were shot through the glass using a polarizer and only diorama LEDs for lighting.

 

The exterior photographs visible through the windows were scaled and affixed to the inside of a PVC pipe that was split lengthwise creating a concave image plane.  This means there is no upper or lower edge of the photo that can be observed.  And because the photo sits back away from the window, the image shifts as the observer moves and their visual perspective changes.

 

I installed two pushbuttons into the bottom of the case that control interior and “exterior” LED lighting.  Being able to control them separately allows for day/night display scenarios and changes the mood - much more than I expected.  Compare the “nighttime” shot below to the “daytime” (with interior lights on) shot above.

 

And then exterior lights only.

Interior lights only.

Exterior lights only.

 

And a couple of other shots.

Thanks for taking a look – now back to the fishing dragger.

 

Gary

[Tim Murphy]

Looking at this Photos quickly they look real.

Great Job! Tim Murphy 

[kurtvd19]

Very nice work.  Great scene.

Kurt

[KeithAug]

41 minutes ago, FriedClams said:

is just something I wanted to share

Wonderful Gary - really enjoyed seeing it - Until I studied the post I thought I was looking at some old photos of a real workshop.

 

 

[Jim Lad]

Absolutely delightful work, Gary!

 

John

[druxey]

Very impressive work! Thanks for posting these. I don't think it's bending forum rules at all: there's a boat in the diorama, isn't there?

[ccoyle]

THAT -- is super cool!

[Keith Black]

A damper in the stove pipe?! Are you kidding me? I am blown away by the realism, utterly fantastic. Gary, thank you for sharing.

[mtaylor]

Absolutely incredible.   I've had look, and look again to see all the details.

[G.L.]

That was really a very enriching intermezzo.

When you make another diorama in the future, please post a log of it on this forum I will be the first to follow.

[Mirabell61]

Hi Gary,

beautiful work, both fishing trawler and boat workshop diorama...   

 

Nils

[Chuck]

Really nice work......what a charming diorama!!!

[FriedClams]

I just wanted to thank everyone for all the positive and supportive comments on my small diorama.  You folks are very kind and I’m pleased you found it of interest.  And as always, thanks to everyone hitting the like button.

 

Work on the fishing dragger is moving forward, but the pace has slowed due to - you know - yard work.

 

Gary

[DBorgens]

Your dioramas would be excellent at three times the size, impressive to say the least. 

 

Dave B

[KORTES]

Gary, your diorama is so realistic, that studying the photos I wanted to visit this cozy building shop very much, then I realised how small it is. A great work of the True Master. Thank you so much for showing us your work.

My best regards.

[FriedClams]

Dave and Alexander - Thank you very much - I truly appreciate it.

And thanks to everyone hitting the like button.

 

Pilothouse Frame

Here’s a profile drawing of a typical pilothouse for this boat.

 

 I used the above image and a similar one of another boat to produce the pilothouse drawings for this model.

The mast on this boat is perpendicular to the water line and the aft facing wall of the pilothouse is parallel to the mast.  The roof and floor have a 4-degree pitch upward as it extends forward, so the sidewall framing forms a parallelogram rather than a rectangle.  The small front angled walls are less steeply pitched because they point away from the sidewalls at 45 degrees.  They have a pitch rise of only 2.9 degrees.

 

All six walls are drawn up.

 

Cutting templates and part locating drawings are printed for all walls.

  

Basswood is cut and assembled into wall sections.

 

Then the wall sections are combined.

  

 Strip wood is cut and mitered for use as wall top plates.  They extend a tad into the interior beyond the wall frame.  This serves as a termination point for the vertical interior wall boards when they are placed and it also provides a wider landing spot for the roof beams.

 

 

Holes are drilled through the framing to hide the wiring for the P/S running lights, interior lighting and a pair of exterior rear facing floodlights.  Notice in the photo below that the middle cross support in the angled wall has been replaced with two parallel facing boards.  The windows slide down into pockets and this one window will be shown partially open.

 

When the forward deck was installed, the opening for the pilothouse was purposely left too small.  With the frame completed, I now filed the opening to fit.  Then the frame was placed just to see how it looked so far.  The pilothouse will be detailed and totally completed before it is glued into place.

Thanks for taking a look.

 

Gary

 

[Jim Lad]

Very nice, Gary!

 

John

[KeithAug]

Nicely done Gary.

[FriedClams]

Thank you John and Keith.  And thanks to everyone looking in and hitting the like button. 

 

 

Pilothouse Interior #1

With the frame for the pilothouse done, it’s time for the interior wall covering.

 

But first I need to install the jambs on the six windows and the door.  The jambs protrude from the frame both inside and out because they need to be flush with the outer surface of the wall covering.  They are cut from 1/32” basswood sheet.  This material is out of scale, but once the trim casings go on, only the face of the jambs will show with a reveal on the edges.  

 

The openings of the frame were cleaned in the corners before the jambs went in to remove any adhesive squeeze out.

 

 Next I added a band of wall frame cross supports that will serve as a landing spot for the lower edge of the exterior siding. 

  

This is necessary because the pilothouse floor is lower than the forward deck as shown below.

  

The interior vertical wall boards are about 3.5” wide.  I begin by staining a trial batch of wood.  I stick the wood down to a sheet of paper using double-sided tape.  Chalk is scraped off the side of sticks directly onto the wood and alcohol is used to liquefy and spread it.  I want color variation so several chalks are unevenly applied in loosely defined mini piles.  If the colors are evenly distributed it simply blends into a homogeneous color and that is not what I’m after here. 

  

The color is darker when wet and certain colors will not fully emerge until it has completely dried.

  

I didn’t care for the reddish oxide tone of the trial batch, so I changed colors and found something closer to what I had in mind.  In the end a scattered mix of  burnt umber, raw umber and burnt sienna was used.  The raw umber has a subtle green tint that I like.  When it was dry, I went over the surface with fine sandpaper.  To bring up a slight sheen, I lightly polished the wood with a little beeswax on the tip of my finger – more like burnishing really.

  

Then the floor of the cabin was constructed by gluing 6” wide floorboards directly to the template and cutting away the waste.

  

It was stained and a foot traffic pattern worn in.  The floor is reinforced on the bottom side.

 

Next I made up the interior window casings.  I first drew up the six window cutting templates.  Only the fore and aft facing windows have square corners.

  

Then with the aid of double-sided tape, I cut and glued the casings together.

  

I painted the casings, window jambs and material for the shoe base an off-white acrylic.  I then glued the vertical wall boards and all the trim into place.   

 

Sitting on the floor section.  The floor will not be glued on just yet.

 Thanks for stopping by.

 

Gary

[Keith Black]

Beautiful work. 

[KORTES]

 

This is an outstanding work on toning the wood.

[KeithAug]

Gary - I continue to be impressed your staining techniques. Maybe you should write a guide some day.

[vaddoc]

How very nice! Your weathering skills are fantastic. A very enjoyable and educational journey.

[FriedClams]

Keith Black and Alexander - Thank you so much for kind comments - I appreciate it.

 

On ‎5‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 4:41 PM, KeithAug said:

Maybe you should write a guide some day.

Thanks for the supportive comments Keith.  Perhaps I may post a compilation of techniques in the forum "Tips & Tricks" once this build is complete,  but I'm not sure how much overall interest there would be in it.  

 

On ‎5‎/‎19‎/‎2019 at 5:23 PM, vaddoc said:

A very enjoyable and educational journey.

Thanks, I'm pleased you're enjoying the log and happy to have you looking in.

 

And thanks to everyone stopping by and hitting the like button.

 

 

Pilothouse Interior #2

The navigation and control area on this boat is compact and simple.  Besides the ship’s wheel, there is a compass, throttle/clutch control and a couple of instrument gauges.

 

I begin with the wheel which is 36” in diameter including handles.  Photos of these boats show both traditional wooden wheels and simpler steel wheels.  I chose to go with steel because in all honesty, it is much easier to make.  It is put together from styrene and brass wire.  The styrene is painted with enamel and the brass is blackened.

 

 

 

 The compass is made from ¼” O.D. brass tube.  A styrene plug was inserted to hold a printed image of a compass rose at a point just below the rim of the compass.  A couple of drops of Gallery Glass are placed on the surface which when dry will provide a clear “lens” for the compass. 

 

If you’re unfamiliar with Gallery Glass, it is a craft store available product that has a number of modeling uses.  It comes in different colors and dries clear like stained glass.  It doesn’t dry hard like epoxy, but more like hard rubber.  The colors can be mixed and typically leave no air bubbles - but it does shrink and more than one application is often required.  It is non-conductive so you can encapsulate LEDs to insulate the solder joints and produce the color output you want at the same time.  If you repeatedly dip the end of a fiber-optic into white or clear and each time letting it dry in the vertical, you end up with a scale light bulb.

 The two gauges are produced in a similar way by placing a thin slice of 1/8” brass tubing over an image and adding a drop of Gallery Glass to the center.   The Gallery Glass adheres to the paper and brass and all that needs to be done is cut the paper away from around it.

 

A throttle/clutch control is made up from styrene and brass.

The gauges, compass and throttle are attached to a console top.

 A console bottom is made...

  

… along with a bolt-on access panel.  The nut/washers are styrene.

  

Everything is combined and glued into the pilothouse.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Gary

Edited May 23, 2019 by FriedClams
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[druxey]

Outstanding result using Gallery Glass, Gary! I was not aware of this material or the uses it can be put to. Very impressive.

[vaddoc]

Indeed, very impressive and innovative work.