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

[ccoyle]

10 minutes ago, KenW said:

Really impressive.

Yup -- the thumbs-up button is insufficient to express the amount of jaw-droppage that happens when I catch up with this log.

[Roger Pellett]

Gary, great job on the boat in general and the winch in particular.  Your subtle use of colors, and simulation of wear really adds interest.  The winch looks like a piece of equipment used by men who depended on it to make a living - used but not abused.

 

Roger

Edited February 5, 2020 by Roger Pellett

[TOM G]

It look's like a real working winch !      Your an ACE at scratch building👍

[wefalck]

Well, what can I say ..., just this

👍

 

For the next project or more wire-rope here, you can also try to source tinned copper wire and make your own rope from it. Sometime in older cables the copper wires are tinned.

 

Highlighting with a soft pencil is indeed a very effective method to add body and definition to parts. Rubbing a 6B pencil onto flat black paint gives a very good representation of cast-iron.

 

Are the brake handles getting some threads at the end ? Not sure what the diameter of an USD-cent is, I gues around 1/2" ? Well, that would be real challenge to get it threaded ...

Edited February 5, 2020 by wefalck

[Jim Lad]

Now that's a winch! 

 

John

[druxey]

Amazing. I love your descriptions of distressing the finishes!

[michael mott]

Gary that winch is really impressive, clever solution for the cable on the drums.

 

Michael

[mtaylor]

Beyond incredible. It does look like what one would see on the real ship.

 

[FriedClams]

I want to thank everyone for the wonderful and generous comments on the winch.  It's so nice to be able to share a hobby with like minded folks on such an amazing forum.  And thanks to all for the likes and looking in.

 

On 2/5/2020 at 1:58 PM, wefalck said:

Are the brake handles getting some threads at the end ?

Hello Wefalck

 

No threads for the hand wheel rods.  I did try, but it's beyond my skill.  The “rods” are .012” (.30mm) phosphor bronze and the closest I got to success was by giving the blackened wire a 180-degree twist inside a fold of 220 Emory cloth.  But it looked - deliberately created rather than realistic.  I always leave out what I can’t convincingly replicate if the detail isn't absolutely necessary.  One negative can destroy the entire illusion.  If this model was say - 1:24 instead of 1:48 then I would be compelled to try harder.

 

On 2/5/2020 at 1:58 PM, wefalck said:

Rubbing a 6B pencil onto flat black paint gives a very good representation of cast-iron.

I haven’t tried the 6B pencil for cast iron, although I will now - thanks for the tip.  Highlighting “metal" with graphite is one of those techniques in modeling that never fails to impress me in how well it works.  Using your finger to polish it works great, but have you tried one of these soft silicone brushes for tight areas and tiny work?  It's magic and they are dirt cheap.

 

And thanks for the suggestion of creating wire-rope by twisting small tinned copper wires togeather.  A good idea.

Thanks

 

Gary

[wefalck]

I always used cotton-sticks for the purpose, but now that I got a set of those silicon 'brushes' a while ago - mainly for modelling water in acrylic gel and figure modelling, I should remember trying them, when the need arises next time.

 

I have a 0.3 mm die for threading, but I would rather not use it on phosphor bronze. However, 0.3 mm diameter in 1:48 would be just under 15 mm on the prototype. This looks a bit weak to me actually.

 

P.S., thank you for reminding me of those silicone thingies - they were just the tool for an unrelated job and I didn't think of them ...

Edited February 7, 2020 by wefalck

[KeithAug]

Very impressive winch Gary. I have to agree it looks just like the real thing.

[Bedford]

I've only just found this build because it was featured on facebook, wish I'd seen it sooner, exceptional work!

 

I only add this because of your obvious drive for aged realism, as someone who is also from an electrical background the colour of the masthead LED really stands out as not fitting with the boat, it seems to be of the 5000 to 6000K colour range (daylight). It would look so much more authentic if you could get those LED chips in 3300K (warm white) because that is much closer to the old incandescent lamps.

 

 

[FriedClams]

On 2/7/2020 at 2:44 PM, wefalck said:

0.3 mm diameter in 1:48 would be just under 15 mm on the prototype. This looks a bit weak to me actually.

Hmmm…   The brake rods scale to just over ½” (.57”) in 1:48, and now that I look at them more critically, they do look  -  scrawny.  So I pulled them off, drilled out the hand wheels, brackets, etc. and installed .02” rod as replacements.  This represents a rod with a diameter just under 1” (.96” or 24.38mm) which is more appropriate and I do like the looks of that much better.  Good spot Wefalck and thanks for bringing it to my attention.

 

Here is a before and after:

 

Before

 

And After.   Also I added the clutch control levers.

  

On 2/10/2020 at 10:56 PM, Bedford said:

I've only just found this build because it was featured on facebook

Facebook ?  -  I didn't know that.  I'm one of the few people that doesn't have a Facebook account, so I don't get over there very often.  But I'm glad you found my build log, welcome and thanks for the kind words.

 

On 2/10/2020 at 10:56 PM, Bedford said:

the colour of the masthead LED really stands out as not fitting with the boat, it seems to be of the 5000 to 6000K colour range (daylight). It would look so much more authentic if you could get those LED chips in 3300K

 I don’t recall the actual Kelvin value of that LED but 4800k rings a bell.  I usually end up color tinting the LEDs so I like to start with a color that is quite white.  I have found it easier to tint a bright white LED warmer than the other way around.  I color LEDs by applying thinned acrylic paint directly onto the LED lense or by changing the tint of the "glass" that surrounds it.  For this mast light, I painted the LED directly, leaving the fixture glass clear.

 

I agree with you that the color temperature in the photo is too cool - it's also too bright.  For the photo I simply drove the LED at max forward voltage and the intensity of it totally overpowered the tinting I had applied.  On the finished model the LED will be much dimmer and the tinting will be able to reassert its influence - I hope.

 

Thanks for your comment Bedford and for the observation.

 

Gary

 

[wefalck]

Looks more balanced now, the brake, indeed !

[the learner]

Beautiful build! Love your attention to detail....esp the babbit bearings for your winch

Edited February 12, 2020 by the learner
Sp

[Keith Black]

On 2/7/2020 at 1:39 PM, FriedClams said:

I always leave out what I can’t convincingly replicate if the detail isn't absolutely necessary.  One negative can destroy the entire illusion.

At very small scale impressionism becomes absolutely necessary. In some cases a model transcends mere replication and becomes art, Gary's work is one of those cases. The great Impressionist allowed the viewer's eyes and brain to fill in the finer detail that they had intentionally left blank. 

[ccoyle]

2 hours ago, FriedClams said:

Facebook ?  -  I didn't know that.  I'm one of the few people that doesn't have a Facebook account, so I don't get over there very often.  But I'm glad you found my build log, welcome and thanks for the kind words.

One of the things we try to feature regularly at the MSW Facebook page is build logs that showcase noteworthy builds or particular skill sets. Your build tics both of those of those boxes. And the post drew extra sets of eyeballs to your content, which is of course one of the reasons why we make such posts.

 

Cheers!

[Bedford]

Ah, I suppose I should have realised that you'd have the LED colour under control given your attention to detail.

[Kevin]

What a fantastic build, sorry i missed it, and yes i found it through the Facebook page

[FriedClams]

Thanks to all for the wonderful comments and input on the trawl winch - I very much appreciate it.  And thanks for the likes and stopping by.

 

Trawl Winch Chain Guard and Aux Winch Head

 

The trawl winch has an auxiliary gypsy head that is smaller than the main head.  It is driven off the main winch shaft via sprocket and roller chain as shown in the plan view drawing.  The chain and sprocket will not be modeled, only the outer guard.

 

The guard that encloses the chain is made up of two sections of sheet metal as shown below.  The drawing will be used as a template for the two sections.

 

I begin by cutting a pattern for the guard from basswood.  The “sheet metal" sections will be glued to this wood pattern.

 

I’m using aluminum cut from the sidewall of a beverage can for the guard.  The material calipers to about .004" or .192” in 1:48.  That is pretty stout and equivalent to about #6 gauge sheet steel, but it will have to do.  I only care about material thickness because one section folds over the other and will reveal an edge being held down by sheet metal screws.  I choose aluminum over something like foil because there are several places where the material is unsupported by the wood pattern and has to be stiff enough to stand on its own.  Here is the aft side glued to the pattern.  The aluminum had to be sanded to remove the coating that is sprayed to the inside of the can.

 

Then the other side is glued on and the edge is wrapped over the top and sides.

 

The thick edge is filed to a thinner profile and cap head style sheet screws with washers are placed along the edge.  The injection-molded screws have a 1/8” long shank, so holes are drilled through the metal and glued into the wood pattern.  The screws are actually holding the aluminum down and the material tends to behave like real sheet metal – tight down under the screws and lifting slightly between them.

 

The color of most machine guards today is yellow – “Safety Yellow" to be exact.  But in the 1920s, decades before OSHA, any color was acceptable if there was in fact a guard in place to paint.  Having worked in industrial environments most of my life, I cringe to think of the working conditions of an earlier time with exposed whirling gears and spinning shafts right out in the open.   How many poor workers just trying to make a living were entangled and maimed due to a single brief moment of inattention?  Heartbreaking.

 

Anyway, this chain guard will be green.

 

Coloring the guard has a couple of steps, but each step is simple.  To begin, the aluminum is sanded for tooth and then cleaned with alcohol.  It is then painted with a rust colored enamel as a base and allowed to thoroughly dry over night.  This base is smooth and I'll explain why I think that is important in a moment.  Next, a coat of uninspiring dull green acrylic paint is applied..  A toothpick is used as a handle.

 

Rather than using a brush or an airbrush, I used a cosmetic sponge for an uneven textured surface.  These sponges have a pretty tight cellular structure and can be bought where women’s makeup is sold.

 

After the acrylic has dried for about an hour, I wet small areas of the paint with water and give it a minute or two to soften the surface.  I then start picking at it with a toothpick to remove chips of the acrylic paint, which reveals the rust colored enamel underneath.  I then apply three different rust colored pigment powders that are mixed with water and brush applied individually to simulate general rusting/streaking.  Black is also applied around the shaft slots to suggest grease sling.

 

Finally, I scrub and blend the pigments (which has already been done in the image above) with one or several of the items shown below - a toothpick, artist stump or one of the excellent modeling swabs from Tamiya.  The pigments I use (Bragdon) have a pressure activated adhesive component that sticks quite tenaciously when scrubbed on and doesn’t require a binder.  So I didn’t apply a clear topcoat.

 

Never sneeze into an open container of pigment.

 

The reason I stated that the enamel base should be smooth is because it provides a textural contrast to the dabbed on acrylic overcoat.  Once the acrylic is chipped off, not only does it leave a slight depression, but it also exposes a different texture layer, which emphasizes that the paint is actually missing and is not just a color illusion.  Glancing sidelight shows this detail to great effect.  And the uneven textured acrylic paint suggests rust might be forming just under the paint surface.  These effects are not that noticeable at 1:48 but in larger scales with thicker paint and greater surface area being covered, they can be quite dramatic.

 

The main idea is to have a base color that will not be affected by modifying a water-soluble upper layer.  There are many techniques for model “paint chipping" and everyone seems to have a favorite.  YouTube has videos on most of them.

 

But if in the end the weathering turns out nasty, I can simply strip off the acrylic paint with water (and the pigments along with it) and leave the basecoat behind - ready for another go.

 

 

 

 

The guard brackets are made from 1.5mm per side styrene angle with glued on injection molded nuts/washers from Grandt Line Products.  Paint and pigment are applied.

 

The aux winch head is made from 3/16” dowel, profiled with needle files, painted and penciled.

 

Glued together.

 

The shaft bearing drool is oil art paint.  The good thing about oil is that it’s still workable days after it is put on  - the bad thing is that it's still workable days after it is put on.

 

The guard isn't glued to the winch yet so double-sided tape is used to hold it in place for the photos.  The crown of the deck will dictate the final placement.

 

I put in some brake shoe attachment point details and brackets to the underside which is impossible to see and therefore rather pointless.  But they are there.

 

I’ve left out a number of details.  The most significant omission is the pinion gear and shaft that would be located a tad to one side and directly below the main shaft.  It connects the bull gear to a drive source.   It would be a challenge at this scale to include and would never be seen. 

 

There are a few things I don’t like about the trawl winch, but they go away when I stop looking at these close-up photos.  So the winch is done and I’m anxious to move on.

 Thanks for looking in.

 

Gary

[wefalck]

When you discussed the chipping paint, I was just thinking of the 'chipping' technique some modellers use by applying some humid salt onto the basecoat before spray-painting the actual colour-coat(s). The top-coat then easily rubs off, where the salt is. I have never done this myself, but the 3D-effect on the edges of the paint layers looks quite convincing. But I think you are aware of this technique.

[druxey]

Lovely grungy effect, Gary! Sponges of varying textures are great for creating texture in full size as well, such as stage sets.

[Moab]

Gary; If I wasn't 76 I'd ask to be your apprentice at $00.00 salary. Your work, craft, planning and explanations are very clear and helpful. Thank you...Moab

[KenW]

What you do, especially at that scale, is truly amazing!

[jgodsey]

It is so hard to keep the perspective in mind.  All your work is so realistic that without a scale reference, it all looks full size.  Amazing.
Jim

[FriedClams]

Thanks to all for the "likes" and for stopping by.

 

On 2/25/2020 at 11:56 AM, wefalck said:

When you discussed the chipping paint, I was just thinking of the 'chipping' technique some modellers use by applying some humid salt onto the basecoat before spray-painting the actual colour-coat(s). The top-coat then easily rubs off, where the salt is. I have never done this myself, but the 3D-effect on the edges of the paint layers looks quite convincing. But I think you are aware of this technique.

Yes I know of the salt masking method, but I too have never tried it.  I've seen it used often especially on 1:24 auto/truck hoods, roofs and the like to great effect.  It seems like a method that would work best on larger areas.  Another popular method and one that I have tried involves the use of hairspray as a soluble layer between non-soluble paint layers.  This method has many variations and I have seen modelers apply it very convincingly indeed.  I like using the glass cleaner method  - it is effective and I feel in control of the final result.  Here is a link to a forum thread (non shipbuilding) that describes the process.

 

https://www.finescalerr.com/smf/index.php?topic=2165.0

 

Thanks for the comment Wefalck.

 

 

 

And while I’m on the subject of rust I want to share a link to the website of Martin Heukeshoven.  He builds rusty, derelict autos totally from scratch and as I understand, mostly from junk.  They are large models – in the 60 to 130cm range and they are absolutely extraordinary.  Click on the "Museum" link to access the individual models.  The Ferrari sitting on the flat bed wrecker is my favorite. 

 

 http://www.martin-heukeshoven.de/

 

I’m providing this second link directly to his galleries page.  For some inexplicable reason the link to the "Museum” (gallery) does not appear on the home page when using my tablet.

 

http://www.martin-heukeshoven.de/galerie

 

On 2/25/2020 at 12:29 PM, druxey said:

Lovely grungy effect, Gary!

A finer compliment can't be made.  Thank you Druxey.

On 2/25/2020 at 3:23 PM, Moab said:

Gary; If I wasn't 76 I'd ask to be your apprentice at $00.00 salary

You wouldn’t stay with me long Moab, I’m a ruthless and unbending taskmaster.  Not really.  Thanks for the kind words and I’m glad you’re finding something helpful here.

 

On 2/25/2020 at 10:13 PM, KenW said:

What you do, especially at that scale, is truly amazing!

 

On 2/26/2020 at 7:53 AM, jgodsey said:

It is so hard to keep the perspective in mind.  All your work is so realistic that without a scale reference, it all looks full size.

Thanks Ken, thanks Jim.  1:48 is a pretty nice scale to work in.  It’s large enough to allow for some detail, but not so large that you feel compelled to add a lot more.  So I can fudge and omit details here that I couldn't at 1:24 or 1:12.  The larger you go then more is expected.  Thanks for your comments and I hope you are finding something useful here. 

 

Gary   

 

[wefalck]

Another master of rotting artefacts is the Swiss Marcel Ackle: http://www.feldbahn-modellbau.ch/

[TOM G]

Try out ( sea salt ) you can find it at the grocery store, where they have the sesoning's........... the crystal's are all diferent sizes..... makes a nice effect.

[Moab]

Checkout the Westlake Publishing Forum to get some ideas about "aging" etc...Moab

[KeithAug]

Incredible work on the chain guard Gary. It is impossible to tell it isn't real.