Roman Quadrireme Galley by Ian_Grant - 1/32 Scale - RADIO

[Ian_Grant]

2 hours ago, Louie da fly said:

Do you have a picture of how you want it to look? You might like to have a look at how I did the one on my dromon.

 

She's looking very good.

 

Steven

Thanks Steven! Yours looks great but it's far beyond my artistic ability.

 

Not sure how I want it to look. Or what they had if anything. In Pitassi's book some of the larger ships have what looks like a permanent structure, like the quinquireme in this video ( see time 0:46). I think a quadrireme would require something lighter due to reduced size and number of oarsmen. Pitassi indeed shows nothing in the quadrireme drawing but has an arched tent-like item in other drawings.

 

 

Something more like what is shown in the ships here. Most have a "tent" of some sort with, thankfully, one plain colour or at the most stripes. That's a relief.

 

https://naval-encyclopedia.com/antique-ships/roman-ships

 

A snag is that I was planning to attach the cubby to the rear hatch to serve as a handle (similar to the boarding bridge and the forward hatch) so it can't actually be soft. Maybe a "soft-top" arch with hidden wood in the lower sides for my big clumsy hands to grip?

 

 

Edited June 7 by Ian_Grant

[Ian_Grant]

Those not into RC can ignore this post. 😉

 

A little good news......I noticed at the RC club's indoor pool meetings this winter that if six or seven other boats were in use, my old FM 75 MHz two-channel set picked up some noise from them and the servos occasionally twitched. I have a 2.4 GHz 6-channel transmitter too, with "DSM" printed on it, which I bought with an airplane years ago but I wasn't sure if it was an old obsolete DSM1 unit or a newer DSM2 unit. I took it to Great Hobbies today along with a battery and a servo to experiment. It did actually bind to a modern DSM2/DSMX Receiver so it must be a DSM2 Transmitter. I bought a nice new 6-channel Receiver so now I too have an interference-free 2.4 GHz link. Nice!

 

Six channels are not needed for the galley, but my square-rigged RC ship will definitely need more than two as on my old FM set.

[Louie da fly]

I've just been looking for contemporary representations of these awnings - they're a bit few and far between - most are modern interpretations. But Trajan's column has this:

and these

And these frescoes are from Pompeii:

 

Not quadriremes admittedly, but certainly war galleys. And though other forms of awning are perhaps not unknown, these arched ones seem very common. 

 

I agree that if you want to use the awning as a "handle" you need something fairly robust. I suppose it depends how robust you want it. I've had success with the technique I showed above, but it probably isn't strong enough for your purposes. Perhaps turn a hollow cylinder on a lathe and then cut it lengthwise to act as the arched part. Or use a hollow metal or plastic cylinder the same way. Adding the vertical sides so the top doesn't pull away from them as you lift might be a problem. But certainly, something solid with a fake fabric top looks to be the way to go. And perhaps a bentwood fake framework (as shown on the pictures above) as well. Again, I've had success bending wood in quite tight arcs - see post #217 at 

Hope this helps,

 

Steven

 

 

 

[Ian_Grant]

Steven, thank you!  Those Pompeii frescoes are in Pitassi's book but somehow the b/w reproduction is nowhere near as clear as that. I see they really did use red and blue! 😊

 

That "Naval Encyclopedia" similarly shows some very tall awnings reaching the fantail but I don't think I want one like that; too much windage and I want to leave open the possibility of a flickering LED lantern dangling from it. I did drill a hole and glue in a copper eye before attaching it to the stern.

 

We're thinking of booking a trip to Italy which definitely will include time at Pompeii/Herculaneum.

[Louie da fly]

Glad you liked the Pompeii pics.

 

Naturally, go with the awning you want to have. You don't have to make it hard on yourself. I'm interested in seeing how you solve the problem of making it, but I'm sure you'll succeed.

 

Italy is an amazing place, chockablock with history. I've only been to Torino (Turin) and Rome, but even with just those two I was blown away. But make sure you include Venice in your itinerary, and spend time in San Marco (Saint Mark's) basilica. Apart from anything else, the mosaics are out of this world! (My wife's been there - I am so jealous!)

 

Steven

 

PS: I'd love a good picture of this mosaic, but unfortunately they don't allow photography.

 

[Ian_Grant]

Off topic but to continue about Italy; we spent some time in Venice and Florence on our 8 week (!) Europe-wandering honeymoon before departing for Corfu. Venice was good (we still remember the tour at the Doge's Palace, walking up to our ankles in water in St Mark's square,  and the ornate bed in our room) but I liked Florence better, apart from all the scooters zooming around. My wife chuckled at the reverent look on my face when I saw Galileo's tomb. 🙂 We didn't get to spend any time in Rome but next time we will go there and again to Florence, and obviously around Amalfi & Naples to hike Vesuvius and see Pompeii. Plus some time relaxing in Northern Italy.

Edited June 8 by Ian_Grant