Glory of the Seas 1869 by rwiederrich - FINISHED - 1/96 - medium clipper

[rwiederrich]

1 hour ago, ClipperFan said:

Rob, when I view your incredible productivity, honestly 'lazy' is the last word that comes to my mind. I think, you, as usual are too hard on yourself. After all I don't see Michael Mjelde or his daughter knocking on anyone else's door....

I use the term lazy as a loose description of my modeling mental prowess.    I can do it...but if I can find an easier way then I'm all over it

[rwiederrich]

13 minutes ago, Vladimir_Wairoa said:

I didnt move on Rob. I scouted for planks to gather for hull.actually im thinking of wideness of planks, observing model shipways flying fish i will widen palnks according to ratio margin. so i elan to set on ( metric here 4 or 5 mm wide and 1.5 mm thick european basswood as it prvoee ne the best material cutwise and bending wise so i can taper down to 2 mm at the bow..... i like it enormously. and its fairly cheap . ( by the way Lime as it is called in my country is national tree of country so it has very long carving tradition as its perfect for sculpting and violin work. ) 

I will have to get it sawn to my liking. if i count  it should be smaller based on original Planks dimensions 6" - 2 mm is pretty much unusable by modeling standards in case i want to taper and bend towards bow and aftwards as well. 

i dont have window to dive into it properly and focus on her at the moment or anytime soon. 

i made a promis to myself that i will start with the autmun rains  so 4 months till than  but when there is a window i will work small bits. sanding bulkheads... and i want to put wooden blocks as suports for bulkheads as those are not so near to withstand sanding...so these are my actual doings...

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the update.....it's so exciting...

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

I finished up the first name board in 1/96 scale.......

 

Compare to my first work-up in a bit larger scale.

 

My second and final attempt is the keeper.

 

Rob

[ClipperFan]

2 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

I use the term lazy as a loose description of my modeling mental prowess.    I can do it...but if I can find an easier way then I'm all over it

Rob, where I come from, that's usually referred to as "Yankee Ingenuity." By Yankee I'm referring to as universally American, not just limited to New England States.

[ClipperFan]

6 minutes ago, rwiederrich said:

I finished up the first name board in 1/96 scale.......

 

Compare to my first work-up in a bit larger scale.

 

My second and final attempt is the keeper.

 

Rob

Rob, these are absolutely beautiful. You even improved on the smaller size and grouping of the lowercase letters. Congratulations!

[rwiederrich]

1 hour ago, ClipperFan said:

Rob, where I come from, that's usually referred to as "Yankee Ingenuity." By Yankee I'm referring to as universally American, not just limited to New England States.

I like that.  Yankee ingenuity 

[rwiederrich]

1 hour ago, ClipperFan said:

Rob, these are absolutely beautiful. You even improved on the smaller size and grouping of the lowercase letters. Congratulations!

I think the 1/96 version are well improved and will be the bee’s knees. Being cast makes them uniform.   Which is critical. 

[BANYAN]

Wow Rob, what a great job, especially at the sizes you are working with - impressed.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[rwiederrich]

12 hours ago, BANYAN said:

Wow Rob, what a great job, especially at the sizes you are working with - impressed.

 

cheers

 

Pat

Thanks Pat.....I actually like 1/96...it gives me a challenge because of its size and ...relief.... because ..... I can avoid real carpentry and joinery.  I just admitted to my laziness.

Edited May 4, 2021 by rwiederrich

[rwiederrich]

Today I begin the manufacture of the 100 or so custom stanchions that will guard her poop cabin roof and her quarter deck...round about her stern.

 

No after market stanchion will do...because hers are carved a bit differently.....

So this means I will fashion a cutter blade that I will use in the lathe to cut each individual stanchion.  It will be long arduous work...but I have time and I will post images of the process as I proceed.

 

Rob

[ClipperFan]

6 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

Today I begin the manufacture of the 100 or so custom stanchions that will guard her poop cabin roof and her quarter deck...round about her stern.

 

No after market stanchion will do...because hers are carved a bit differently.....

So this means I will fashion a cutter blade that I will use in the lathe to cut each individual stanchion.  It will be long arduous work...but I have time and I will post images of the process as I proceed.

 

Rob

Rob, delicate work for this next step of your project is an understatement. At 3' height for the rear carriage house railings, they are a mere 3/8s of an inch to scale. Figuring the smaller stockier turned railings which surround the entire poop deck also come up to 3', when accounting for the 18" monkeyrail height upon which they sit, that leaves a mere 18" height for those. Again at 1:96th scale that's 3/16th of an inch! Curious as to what that actually looks like at scale, I sketched a few samples, which I'll share a little later. Tiny just doesn't even come close...

[ClipperFan]

2 hours ago, ClipperFan said:

Rob, delicate work for this next step of your project is an understatement. At 3' height for the rear carriage house railings, they are a mere 3/8s of an inch to scale. Figuring the smaller stockier turned railings which surround the entire poop deck also come up to 3', when accounting for the 18" monkeyrail height upon which they sit, that leaves a mere 18" height for those. Again at 1:96th scale that's 3/16th of an inch! Curious as to what that actually looks like at scale, I sketched a few samples, which I'll share a little later. Tiny just doesn't even come close...

Rob, as promised, here are my sketches of the turned rails as seen in the scene of her from the main deck. Note: the last teenie weenie two are to accurate scale. Good luck!

After posting my 1st sketch, I realized I hadn't done larger versions of the turned rails that surround the pop deck. Here they are up to 3/4ths of an inch, which is huge in comparison to true scale on the left. The iron bar at the front ends is visible in the busy scene of the main deck, which also shows that those rails cant inwards significantly towards the front, straightens up towards the middle of the peop and then cants just slightly outwards as it rounds the Stern. 

Even the Carriage House turned rails aren't verticle, they too cant just slightly inwards. What I also find fascinating is that the front has two turned rails about 2' apart at both outer ends, with 8 more at equal distance. While the poop deck rails are too small to count, I managed to count 18 of the larger ones per side. Including the front but not yet counting the rear, I get 46.

Edited May 5, 2021 by ClipperFan
additional information

[rwiederrich]

Yeah...reenie weenie  Is right...every attempt to make it as thin resulted in disaster....so I made a slight compromise.

 

Here we go...here is an image of one finished in my fingers

[rwiederrich]

They follow the general outline and detail but they keep separating if I make them any slimmer. 

Here are a row of them before I separate them from their stocks.

[rwiederrich]

Now compared to the scale version you can get after market...they do not look the same at all and are slightly shorter to match the scale better.

[rwiederrich]

Here are the completed ones in a pile.

 

And here is also the cutting tool I made to make them.  It needs to be sharpened.

 

Rob

[ClipperFan]

1 hour ago, rwiederrich said:

Now compared to the scale version you can get after market...they do not look the same at all and are slightly shorter to match the scale better.

Rob, after my simple exercise of scaling these rails down to where they're supposed to be, it gives me a greater appreciation for the challenging effort to replicate them. I see what you mean by them breaking as you try to make them skinnier and more accurate. Already yours are light years ahead of the mass produced ones.

Obviously you prefer wood. I wonder though, would sculpey (the material Doris sculpts with) be an easier solution? From what I've read, it starts larger and then shrinks when heated in the oven. Just a thought, especially for the poop deck ones.

[rwiederrich]

I plan on trying more ideas.  The tool dulls even cutting wood and to sharpen it changes its form.  Uniformity is key.  Thanks for you advice. 

[Vladimir_Wairoa]

5 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

I plan on trying more ideas.  The tool dulls even cutting wood and to sharpen it changes its form.  Uniformity is key.  Thanks for you advice. 

you are a Craftsman Rob, delicate stanchions at such scale , I watch with pleasure. youre giving us great ideas what to make in advance. 

[Vladimir_Wairoa]

8 hours ago, ClipperFan said:

Rob, as promised, here are my sketches of the turned rails as seen in the scene of her from the main deck. Note: the last teenie weenie two are to accurate scale. Good luck!

After posting my 1st sketch, I realized I hadn't done larger versions of the turned rails that surround the pop deck. Here they are up to 3/4ths of an inch, which is huge in comparison to true scale on the left. The iron bar at the front ends is visible in the busy scene of the main deck, which also shows that those rails cant inwards significantly towards the front, straightens up towards the middle of the peop and then cants just slightly outwards as it rounds the Stern. 

Even the Carriage House turned rails aren't verticle, they too cant just slightly inwards. What I also find fascinating is that the front has two turned rails about 2' apart at both outer ends, with 8 more at equal distance. While the poop deck rails are too small to count, I managed to count 18 of the larger ones per side. Including the front but not yet counting the rear, I get 46.

Lovely Richard, her decks are capter itself especially roof overhangs ...bit that will be dream of mine somewhere around next year. i think i will want to have stanchions laser cut and file rounded after. and draw them exact as original prior to that. V. 

[Vladimir_Wairoa]

8 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

Yeah...reenie weenie  Is right...every attempt to make it as thin resulted in disaster....so I made a slight compromise.

 

Here we go...here is an image of one finished in my fingers

exquisite

[rwiederrich]

2 hours ago, Vladimir_Wairoa said:

you are a Craftsman Rob, delicate stanchions at such scale , I watch with pleasure. youre giving us great ideas what to make in advance. 

Thanks Vlad.  I'm used to working in tiny scales....and if I can get as much of the tedious work out of the way first...it makes the rest go faster.

Waiting is great time to do these kinds of jobs.

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

11 hours ago, ClipperFan said:

Rob, as promised, here are my sketches of the turned rails as seen in the scene of her from the main deck. Note: the last teenie weenie two are to accurate scale. Good luck!

After posting my 1st sketch, I realized I hadn't done larger versions of the turned rails that surround the pop deck. Here they are up to 3/4ths of an inch, which is huge in comparison to true scale on the left. The iron bar at the front ends is visible in the busy scene of the main deck, which also shows that those rails cant inwards significantly towards the front, straightens up towards the middle of the peop and then cants just slightly outwards as it rounds the Stern. 

Even the Carriage House turned rails aren't verticle, they too cant just slightly inwards. What I also find fascinating is that the front has two turned rails about 2' apart at both outer ends, with 8 more at equal distance. While the poop deck rails are too small to count, I managed to count 18 of the larger ones per side. Including the front but not yet counting the rear, I get 46.

Great rendering Rich.

The poop rails stanchions look to be around 2ft in length and the Carriage house or poop house stanchions appear to be about 30" long.

 

Because the poop rails are resting on top of the shallow stern rail..elevating the entire finished railing system...where as the poop house rail is probably just as tall....but requires taller stanchions.

 

I always wondered why the railing systems around her decks and houses always appeared to me to be quite short.  I assume the strengthening structures and math only allowed a certain height when using wood alone as your structures.  Short is stronger.  Railing that catch you at just above  mid thigh seams a bit unsafe to me.

As evidenced by this picture with the man hunched down to the rail.

Edited May 5, 2021 by rwiederrich

[rwiederrich]

I will fashion carriage house stanchions separately from the poop stanchions.  The ones I made are more to the poop stanchions anyway.

I'll make some thinner stock...or small diameter wood and then make another cutter to make the taller thinner stanchions needed for that application.

 

They'll be like slivers......

 

Rob

[ClipperFan]

2 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

I will fashion carriage house stanchions separately from the poop stanchions.  The ones I made are more to the poop stanchions anyway.

I'll make some thinner stock...or small diameter wood and then make another cutter to make the taller thinner stanchions needed for that application.

 

They'll be like slivers......

 

Rob

Rob, I didn't realize your first turned rails were for around the poop. Structurally they look great but in comparison to height, they're a little tall. As for the carriage house rails, you know those round toothpicks that are everywhere at restaurant cashiers? I would look into those at least as a starting point for stock to work with.

[rwiederrich]

31 minutes ago, ClipperFan said:

Rob, I didn't realize your first turned rails were for around the poop. Structurally they look great but in comparison to height, they're a little tall. As for the carriage house rails, you know those round toothpicks that are everywhere at restaurant cashiers? I would look into those at least as a starting point for stock to work with.

The poop stanchions need to be cantered on the ends to accommodate the inclination of them....so leaving them a bit long is to provide material to be removed.  My assessment is the poop stanchions are 2ft.

 

Rob

[rwiederrich]

Interesting note Rich...I asked Mike about Glory's colors and he tells me of a gentleman who was on Glory as a youngster and played on her while she was being built and was there when she was burned.  He built a model of her in the late 20's or 30's....and claims she had blue waterways and was painted pearl white on her houses and gunwales.

 

I viewed his model at Mystic and he built a good model, however she is not to scale and he depicts her with only a single skylight fore the mizzen mast?

This is evidence that even first hand recollections cannot always be accepted as accurate.

 

Rob

[ClipperFan]

35 minutes ago, rwiederrich said:

Interesting note Rich...I asked Mike about Glory's colors and he tells me of a gentleman who was on Glory as a youngster and played on her while she was being built and was there when she was burned.  He built a model of her in the late 20's or 30's....and claims she had blue waterways and was painted pearl white on her houses and gunwales.

 

I viewed his model at Mystic and he built a good model, however she is not to scale and he depicts her with only a single skylight fore the mizzen mast?

This is evidence that even first hand recollections cannot always be accepted as accurate.

 

Rob

Rob, I've been inside Mystic the recreated Seaport years ago. They are one of my favorite destinations. Mainly due to the Mystic Maritime Art Gallery which routinely features impressive original artwork of today's modern nautical art masters. As you know from my past year's interaction with your group, I am a purist when it comest to authenticity. As a result, while I have great respect for the talent of these modelers, usually their accuracy in scale leaves much to be desired. Even the historic "Glory of the Seas" model in JFK's Library, while impressive and beautiful crafted disappoints me due to its inaccuracies. 

I strongly suspect that our group due primarily to Mike's impressive photos and our mutual commitment to constructing meticulously accurate plans, will contribute to the most accurate miniatures ever.

[ClipperFan]

4 hours ago, rwiederrich said:

Interesting note Rich...I asked Mike about Glory's colors and he tells me of a gentleman who was on Glory as a youngster and played on her while she was being built and was there when she was burned.  He built a model of her in the late 20's or 30's....and claims she had blue waterways and was painted pearl white on her houses and gunwales.

 

I viewed his model at Mystic and he built a good model, however she is not to scale and he depicts her with only a single skylight fore the mizzen mast?

This is evidence that even first hand recollections cannot always be accepted as accurate.

 

Rob

Rob, as for Glory's original paint scheme, Duncan MacLean is a bit light on his description. He states that all woodwork below the upper deck was bright and varnished. She was yellow metal plated up to 22' and above she was painted black. Inside her bulwarks were painted pearl color, relieved with white. While he makes no mention of her waterways, I would accept the firsthand description of a man who was there at her construction and actually played on her while under construction. More complex details like skylight numbers and locations can become confused but I believe colors are probably easier to remember, being more distinct. I've looked at Colonial pearl colors and they're very pretty pastel shades. Apparently McKay appreciated this shade a lot. As far back as his very first Extreme Clipper "Stag Hound" pearl is probably his most consistent color used. Likewise blue waterways were a very consistent paint scheme. I would consider painting the raised portions, bulwarks and carriage house railings white, the relief portion.  Oddly enough, in the Samuel Walters painting, the turned rails surrounding her poop appear to be varnished wood with white rails while the entire carriage house rails are entirely white. 

[rwiederrich]

25 minutes ago, ClipperFan said:

Oddly enough, in the Samuel Walters painting, the turned rails surrounding her poop appear to be varnished wood with white rails while the entire carriage house rails are entirely white. 

I read this somewhere else I believe.  I might do a bit more research concerning this if it can be found.  It might look super.

Remember she also have varnished main masts with white recesses and red bands......

 

What an eye catcher....

 

Rob