Cutty Sark by Kevin-the-lubber - Revell - 1:96 - PLASTIC

[Veszett Roka]

16 hours ago, Ian_Grant said:

With age comes wisdom.............😏

 

Disagree. Pain in back comes with age.

Edited March 4, 2022 by Veszett Roka

[Kevin-the-lubber]

3 hours ago, Veszett Roka said:

Pain in back comes with age

And knees, hips, ankles and all the other bits you broke or damaged while having fun in your youth! Give me naivete any day, I'd rather still believe I'm immortal and there is no way on earth I'm going to fall off THAT. Wisdom says I might....

[Kevin-the-lubber]

I haven't had much time for doing the doing over the last week or two but picked up the brushes again last night to get going again. I'm happy enough with the re-painted deck colour, it's a bit darker than intended but I'll know next time. I still don't really have a handle on the varnishing-with-ink, all remains a bit hit and hope. It looks worse in a photo than real life so I'll probably settle with this for what's in the photo and keep on trying with the bucket rail etc. Though as nothing is glued I can revisit if I crack it. Perhaps try doing the staining effect with paint and just use inks to accentuate joins and mouldings. 

 

Along the way I picked up a second kit cheap on ebay the other day. No idea why as so far I've only used the hull, but I'm sure it'll come in handy sooner or later! Maybe a Thermopylae in waiting, or Glory of the Seas (ish) if I don't get anywhere with a bottom up approach.

 

 

 

[Hubac's Historian]

I think the teak effect came out quite convincingly on the deck housings, Kevin, and I really like the plank variation in the decking. 

[Ian_Grant]

I agree about the teak. Looks great!

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Thanks chaps. I also like the deck effect. Now that I understand better what happens with the ink wash and varnish I’ve got a baseline for next time, next model, and do more of mixing my own shades. I used the Vallejo wood kit more or less neat, but the variations in the kit are a little too strong for a deck.

 

The problem with the teak is that the ink puddles here and there and you have to try to catch that before it sets, which I’m not yet that good at. In part because what I like about the ink is that, if you leave it alone, it creates it’s own, very attractive random pattern. Notice the spottiness on the deck.  Anyway, all good fun and interesting for a man more used to using an emulsion roller.

[rwiederrich]

5 hours ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

In part because what I like about the ink is that, if you leave it alone, it creates it’s own, very attractive random pattern.

Indeed, that is why I like the ink in alcohol suspension.  It's randomness is very natural....accounting for angle and shadow.

 

I used it heavily when I was building my Cutty Sark conversion into the Ferriara.  Ferriera was extremely dirty and weathered and plus all the heavy additions and mods...it was an extremely fun build.  Here are some images of the deck and its furniture after heavy weathering with inks and chalks.

 

Rob

 

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Oh, I do like that Rob, very appealing. Another for the list... and you say you did this from a CS base... and I just happen to have one on it's way. Your deck is much more what I was aiming/hoping for, but cleaner, my crew would be slave-driven :-). What is that 'fabric' on the winch, is it a leather cover?

 

While you're here, I received my copy of Michael Mjelde's GoTS today but I don't see any plans within! Should there be any?

 

And back to teak, a moment of inspiration has me looking at our model train cousins, who do this a lot. Some good pointers there, including the obvious - just varnish it with ordinary teak colour varnish.

 

 

[rwiederrich]

1 hour ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

What is that 'fabric' on the winch, is it a leather cover?

It is a representation of a dirty tarpaulin, that was hastily placed over the winch.  The idea was taken from photos of Ferriera when she was tied up at some backwater port.

 

 

[rwiederrich]

1 hour ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

While you're here, I received my copy of Michael Mjelde's GoTS today but I don't see any plans within! Should there be any?

The plans are found in his second book, *Clipper ship Captain*.......Sorry.

 

Rob

[Kevin-the-lubber]

1 hour ago, rwiederrich said:

Clipper ship Captain

I’ve found that locally, is there anything I should look out for i.e. are there any bits that might be missing second hand?

[rwiederrich]

1 hour ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

are there any bits that might be missing second hand?

No...make sure you get the dust jacket with the book....they are usually provided...since the artwork is on it.   Some later copies of Glory of the Seas may provide photographic corrections, but that is usually not noticed unless you have both older and newer copies.  You shouldn't have any issues with this book...it is a great resource.

 

Good luck.

 

Rob

[Bill97]

You guys are going to have to explain this ink process you are discussing. I really like the results but have absolutely no idea what you are doing with ink to create it. 

[rwiederrich]

5 hours ago, Bill97 said:

You guys are going to have to explain this ink process you are discussing. I really like the results but have absolutely no idea what you are doing with ink to create it. 

I can’t speak for Kevin, but my process uses India ink diluted in 99%~100% isopropyl alcohol ,  then sprayed onto your deck/model.  When the alcohol evaporates it leaves the dark diluted ink.  Which finds the cracks and highlights detail.  Weathering the surface.   Then I highlight that with chalks 

 

Other similar techniques vary. 
 

Rob

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Process, me, hah! I’m like a toddler at nursery, splash splash splosh, sometimes it comes out nice, sometimes not :-). I think it’s a subliminal rebellion against the rigorous methodology of the day job! Seriously, I’m going to spend some of today doing a whole series of test cards from different primers up, as I’ve had some lovely results that just need tweaking to go with my deck tone. Here’s the general direction I’m going in for teak: yellow ochre base, raw sienna next, then an orangey ink wash, then varnish. I guess it’s no coincidence that the paints are earth colours, a wood look being the goal.
 

Bill, I borrowed Marc’s approach to use on my deck. I painted much the same as you, using the Vallejo wood kit, then instead of finishing with a grey wash as they suggest, I washed with peat brown artists ink, then Matt varnish. Originally I just wanted the ink to bring out the plank lines but learned that, if allowed, the pigment coalesces wherever there is a surface imperfection, giving a random pattern of very fine dots and tiny streaks, which I think adds texture. I also learned that, if allowed, the pigment can concentrate in big splotches, spoiling the whole thing - but you can easily take it off with a wet brush and start again. I can’t say I’ve mastered avoiding that; it’s easy on big things like the deck, harder on small parts like the pin rails, skylight etc.

 

Personally, I’m really enjoying learning how to paint and now think I understand why the 3D market is saturated with people who just buy ready-designed miniatures, print them and then spend weeks on the painting.

 

Another swerve - I bought a Revell 1:96 USS Kearsage on eBay this week, for later. I was the only bidder so got it at the quite modest starting price. As far as I can gather it’s long out of production and build logs seem thin on the ground. I know very little about it but it looks like it’ll be similar in complexity to the CS.

[Kevin-the-lubber]

This is what I'm talking about;

 

Beautiful colouring here but it's just a bit too dark for the deck colouring. I used burnt sienna here as I didnt have any raw sienna and dont really have the skill to reliably mix my own. and I am terrible at remembering what a colour should look like. (Off shopping in  a moment!).

 

Here, a much better colour match with the deck and, I think, close-ish to raw sienna, but I lost the 'graining/texture'. But here you can also see that 'spotting' effect from the ink. I think it's a bit like the wear and tear marks you get on any wood surface from being walked on for years and years.

[Hubac's Historian]

While you may not be satisfied with the color of the deck housing, the sense of faux graining is very good.  If I were doing this, that is exactly what I would be hoping to achieve.

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Thanks Marc, I liked it too, just wish I could do this with the same result time after time. In that instance I just got lucky (again) but, with it being acrylics I wasn’t able to keep the unused mix for later. I want to do all the varnished surfaces more or less the same, which is why I’ll spend a bit of time now nailing down mixtures and a process. One other thing I’d like to control is the degree of sheen. Gloss is a bit too sharp to my eye, satin too dull. I have some semi-gloss rattle can bodywork spray but it came out more like a mottled gloss. Any tips anyone?

[Bill97]

Guys this opens up a whole new world for me to explore!  Never knew about this. Will have to experiment with it before my next build. 

[Bill Morrison]

On 1/7/2022 at 5:47 PM, Bruma said:

Great to see another glorious revell kit coming to life! 

I also really like your 3d printed details! 

I agree!  I am modifying Revell's old CSS Alabama, making it very close to an accurate model.  Even Revell's smaller sailing ships can be made into decent models of the real ship.

 

Kevin is doing a great job on the Cutty Sark!

 

Bill

[Kevin-the-lubber]

5 hours ago, Bill97 said:

whole new world for me to explore

Victory Bill, I think you’ll have a lot of fun with this. I was absolutely hopeless at art in school but have always had a bit of the frustrated artist in me, and this is a good outlet - painting by numbers for grown-ups. I love learning the strange, romantic names of colours - phthalo blue - what the heck is that? Don’t know, but it sounds fabulous.

 

Alabama Bill, I think the Kearsage is quite similar to the Alabama isn’t it? I’ll need to have a look at your log when I’m ready to start on that (could be years!).

 

An observation - 3D printing is great but takes all the soul out of the model. I often think of the tale that the very best Persian rugs have one deliberate error in them, because it’s that tiny flaw that makes the whole work. For 3D modelling, I think it’s probably possible to put the soul back in through the painting, because that too will have (hopefully small) imperfections that give it that human touch.

[Bill97]

Kevin that was pretty profound your comments about putting the soul back in the model. I college my college degree many many years ago in art and photography.  Never was able to make a living with it so found other means to make a living. However, I still really love color and painting just as you said above. Have to give this ink process a try. 

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Let me digress and tell you a story. When it came to our final school exams (some 45 years ago now), for art it was part theory, part practical. For the practical I decided to draw an elegant, noble, thoroughbred racehorse standing still in field. I spent hours on it at home before taking it into school to finish off. At a certain point our very genial teacher came round to me, looked, looked again, asked me what I was aiming for, and as kindly as he could, suggested that perhaps I might be better altering just a few things and it would then be the best drawing of a moose he'd ever have seen. This included having said moose standing knee deep in a lake, to solve the legs problem.

 

It was indeed a very nice picture of a moose, albeit I've never seen one in the flesh. I wish I'd kept it.

 

I still failed the exam - I like to think it was the theory that did for me, but I suspect that isn't entirely true.

[Bill97]

Kevin that is a pretty funny story 😀. Wish you still had that horse turned moose picture. Maybe that is the inspiration you have when you take a model ship and customize it to be a different ship. 

[Ian_Grant]

To continue the digression:  we've seen many moose while on back-country canoe trips. They're impressive animals especially when standing on land - hugely tall.

 

One time we rounded a bend to find two just clambering out of the water. One paused, looking back at us, to let a veritable waterfall of urine flow into the river, which of course we would be drinking out of that evening. 🙄

 

Another time I came to the rather cramped end of a portage to find a moose standing there munching on plants. I talked to her for a minute or two, with a canoe over my head, until finally she edged over just enough to let me drop the canoe into the water. She calmly stood there six feet away, eating as we loaded our stuff and departed. I had for many years a photo of her pinned in my cubicle at work. An extreme close-up you might say.

 

We had a Duck Tolling Retriever, Penny, who loved to come on canoe trips. Darned if I was going to carry her food too, so from the first we got her "dog panniers" which we strapped on at portages. She carried her food and soft bowls, her first aid kit (porcupine quills anyone?), our first aid kit, and some TP. She would trot along ahead of us on portages, pausing to look back at each bend to check if we were still coming. One trip when she was very young I rounded a bend to find her in a staring contest with a moose who had been strolling our way on the portage trail. I stood there, talking to it, until finally it stepped off into the woods. Penny was glued to my legs for the rest of that portage, and glanced nervously into the woods as we passed the point where it had disappeared. 😄

 

Last story: on one trip we were paddling on a river and rounded a bend to find two moose calves enjoying themselves swimming around. Two ladies who had come in a canoe from the other direction had decided it was a great idea to get out to swim around with them! We stopped paddling and the breeze blew us to the shore. I remember saying to my wife, "Their mom must be nearby", then we heard snapping and crackling from the woods beside us. Mom emerged, heading directly at us. When they're walking toward you and you're sitting down, they are HUGE. But she swerved slightly and stepped past our stem into the water. Let me tell you, those ladies moved pretty fast too.

 

We have done many canoe trips and you never know what you might see. Some other time I might tell you some black bear stories. We've seen lots of them too.😬

 

Later Edit:  I dug out the old photo albums and found a couple of moose pictures.

First is the usual view you get, them standing knee-deep as Kevin mentioned, eating as you paddle past. You don't go too near bulls like this if you can help it.

Second is the one at the end of the portage I mentioned above.

 

 

Edited March 20, 2022 by Ian_Grant

[Hubac's Historian]

Awesome stories all!

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Ian, when I eventually saw a nature doc about them I was surprised at how big they are - they really are, aren't they. These sound like wonderful experiences. Even though I have had many of my own I'm still envious. There ought to be a forum just for these stories. I'd never heard of the duck tolling retriever breed - lovely looking dogs and I laughed out loud at one part of the description on the web "....easily distracted and easily bored, which can make training more difficult".  Sounds like this build log.

 

[Ian_Grant]

Kevin, yes they are beautiful; there's nothing cuter than a Toller puppy. They're easily bored because they have brains and to spare. Penny was very very smart; by the end of puppy socialization class she could do the "biscuit on the end of the nose" trick. She was a ball of fire at the dog park; loved to be chased. Not many could catch her.

 

Many Tollers have slightly sad expressions, until they have some work to do then they have an air of intense excitement and concentration.

 

LATER EDIT: I forgot to mention the key thing Tollers were bred to do; they "toll" which is lure ducks towards the hunter's blind. Something to do with their fox-like colouring and the way their bushy tails wave as they play around. It may sound unbelievable but we've seen it work on loons while on canoe trips. Penny loved to wade around looking for frogs in the evenings and time and time again we had loons hanging around off our campsite watching her (she was oblivious to them 😀). The record was 14 of them one night on a Killarney trip. One never sees more than two or three together normally, and I have no idea how they communicated the news. When Penny wandered away from the shore, the loons would bob around and be facing random directions but as soon as she reappeared they all pointed at her like compass needles. Fascinating to see!

 

Don't know if they mentioned it in what you read but they also have what is known as "The Toller Scream". The breeder used to have annual gatherings for all her customers' puppies. When Penny was two years old 42 dogs showed up. They had a fun retrieving trial in the lake; a guy in a rowboat fired a starter's pistol then tossed a dead duck into the water. Whichever dog whose turn it was was then released to see if it would retrieve it (these were mostly just pets, not working dogs). But each time, 42 dogs would scream to be allowed to go. Deafening. 😃

 

Penny used to sit on the cottage dock and watch me if I swam, worried about me. Sometimes I would fake drowning, splashing my arms and calling her name. Then I would duck under, at which point she would scream and dive off towards me. I loved that dog! Still miss her. Here she is in the canoe with my wife, still damp from a swim at the portage mouth, on I think the Nipissing River in Algonquin Park. Digital photo I just took of an album photo from the old days 😀.

 

Apologies for further digressing!

 

Edited March 17, 2022 by Ian_Grant

[Kevin-the-lubber]

The last 3 or 4 weeks have been a little fraught for various reasons, including me breaking the motherboard on the larger resin printer, and I've been more re-grouping than forging ahead. Lots of cussing but the manufacturers very kindly sent me a replacement, gratis, and I'm back in business. However, bit by bit I'm producing each part to the level I want and will soon start another long painting session using lessons learned through trial and error. Meanwhile, I remade the winches as I really didn't like the kit parts. I do still need to take the shine off the rollers as these are supposed to be blackened wood. As ever, there are about 20 parts and even though it wasn't intentional, it did actually work as a machine before I locked it up with glue! I also learned two useful things along the way;

- CA dries incredibly quickly on carbon fibre: the axles are 1mm CF and I had to do a dot of medium CA on the ends instead of shafts as it set almost instantly. Must be some kind of chemical reaction or that it soaks straight into the fibres.

- twisting wire really does straighten and stiffen it hugely. I read that tip on here somewhere and, for the tie-rods and handle I once again used the 0.5mm gunport lid wire from the Victory kit, put a pin vice on each end and gave it many turns while holding it straight. 

 

 

 

[Ian_Grant]

16 minutes ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

 

- twisting wire really does straighten and stiffen it hugely. I read that tip on here somewhere and, for the tie-rods and handle I once again used the 0.5mm gunport lid wire from the Victory kit, put a pin vice on each end and gave it many turns while holding it straight. 

 

Never heard that before. Interesting!  Will keep in mind in future. Thanks!