USF Independence 1814 by Glen McGuire – FINISHED - 1/500 - 1/500

[Glen McGuire]

8 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

just trying to make your life easier.

I appreciate that!  And I appreciate all tips/suggestions/critiques/etc!  I may not use every one of them but they all make me think of different approaches or techniques and that helps me get better at this stuff!

[Glen McGuire]

Since the last post, I added the bowsprit and split dolphin striker rigging.  Next was attaching the all the sails to the yards (with my attempt at doing a semi-furl for the lower sails on the main and fore masts like the painting in post #112).  And finally, I added all the braces and ran their lines thru the lowest hole in the bowsprit.  That should allow me to adjust the yards/sails to their final positions once I raise the masts inside the bottle. 

 

So the ship build is now complete!  WOOHOO!  But that also means the always nerve-wracking moment of truth is near.  I'll start work on the water inside the bottle next.  Then do a test smash.

Edited May 10, 2022 by Glen McGuire

[Keith Black]

 Glen, she turned out sweet. It's almost penguin time. 

[Glen McGuire]

11 hours ago, Keith Black said:

It's almost penguin time. 

I hope that penguin has been on a diet, Keith!!  As usual, it's going to be a very tight squeeze.

[Keith Black]

I've decided that when it's time for the water to go in to call it "penguin time". 

[Glen McGuire]

Well, when I posted above that the ship build was complete, that was fake news.  Somehow, I forgot to attach the stay sails.  I discovered them this morning, sitting in a small bin next to some misc scraps waiting to be discarded.  Lucky I had not started any real cleanup yet.  Anyway, they are in place now.

[Glen McGuire]

Got the epoxy resin water added to the bottle.  I include the 1st picture below for just for @Joe100 since he said he also uses pieces of railroad rail to hold things in place.  When the resin dries, I will try and add some texture to the flat water by swishing around a little bit of acrylic paint.  Hopefully I can do that without making a big freakin mess inside the bottle.

 

While waiting for the resin to dry I made some grappling hooks for the cannon carriage tackle.  12 gauge copper wire bent into shape and spray painted.

[Joe100]

Hey Glen, neat idea! However I don’t own any railroad rail, I use machinist blocks.

 

Are you putting the resin under vacuum? That was the whole reason I never used resin, I could never master the bubbles. There is a French artist who uses a large vacuum chamber to make these gorgeous dioramas, or more vignettes. It appears really hard to do!

[Glen McGuire]

2 hours ago, Joe100 said:

Are you putting the resin under vacuum?

Hey Joe - this is the 2nd time I'm trying the epoxy resin.  The 1st was the Aurora and I did not have any bubble problems.  I have no idea why.  I didn't do anything but pour it slowly and carefully into the bottle and let it sit for 4-5 days in a well-ventilated room (it takes a long time to get anything to dry inside the bottle).  Looking at it right now, I don't see any bubbles with this one either.  Maybe because it's really shallow or my surface area is pretty small?  Or maybe just beginner's luck?  Wish I had a secret method to share!        

[Glen McGuire]

Also while waiting for the water to dry (that sounds weird doesn't it?), I worked on the base which is supposed to look like a deck with a partial bulwark where the cannon barrel will protrude.  

[Glen McGuire]

After the epoxy resin finally hardened, I added some texture with acrylic paint and then some whitecaps.  This 2-step process for adding water to the bottle was easy and clean.  Plus, I like the results.  So I believe this will be my technique going forward.  

 

All of this means the moment of truth is now at hand.  My test smash was extremely tight.  It took me 30 minutes to work everything into a position where it would fit, which is about 10 minutes more than I've got before the epoxy sets.  Hopefully I'll be faster the 2nd time around.  So the next post will either be a thrill of victory of agony of defeat.  Time to steady the nerves and git r done!

[Glen McGuire]

WOOHOO!  I got the wadded up mess of a ship in the bottle and epoxied in place.  Actually, it should be a muted woohoo since there are a couple of issues to work out before calling it a win.  Somehow I snapped a pull thread that was attached the fore mast.  By a stroke of luck, the end of the thread was lying in the neck of the bottle and not buried in some unreachable place on the ship or water (2nd pic).  So I carefully CA glue-spliced another thread to it using wax paper on top and bottom to keep it from sticking to anything else.  Whew!

 

The next hour was spent carefully untangling the turmoil of threads, yards, and sails so I could begin raising the masts.  After finally raising the masts I spotted problem #2 - the thread securing the top corner of the mizzen sail to the gaff was broken (see last pic).  That one is hard to reach (and hard to hide) so I'm not sure yet how I'll fix it.   

 

I spent another hour working all the braces to position the yards and sails where I wanted them.  Next up is sealing all the threads running the the bowsprit and then cutting them off.  I gotta do that without cutting all the bowsprit rigging, which is always a problem for me.     

Edited May 18, 2022 by Glen McGuire

[gjdale]

WOOHOO!!!! Congratulations Glen. I know you’ll work out how to solve those remaining minor issues. I’ll get the champagne on ice in anticipation.

Edited May 18, 2022 by gjdale

[Keith Black]

Glen, congratulations. I'm sure you'll figure out a way to reattach the mizzen sail to the gaff. 

[GrandpaPhil]

Glen,

  Independence looks amazing!

[mtaylor]

Looking good, Glen.... really good.   As for that aft line for the mizzon sail.   I had a hard time seeing what was missing and this on an enlarged photo.  If you can't fix it, I'd say ignore it since at normal viewing distance it'll be overlooked as there is so much to look at.

[Glen McGuire]

9 hours ago, gjdale said:

WOOHOO!!!! Congratulations Glen. I know you’ll work out how to solve those remaining minor issues. I’ll get the champagne on ice in anticipation.

Thank you, Grant!  I appreciate your confidence in my repair skills.  Just wish I didn't have to use them so often!

 

7 hours ago, Keith Black said:

Glen, congratulations. I'm sure you'll figure out a way to reattach the mizzen sail to the gaff. 

Thank you, Keith.  Same comment as above to Grant!

 

6 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said:

  Independence looks amazing!

Thank you, Grandpa Phil!

 

[Glen McGuire]

1 hour ago, mtaylor said:

Looking good, Glen.... really good.   As for that aft line for the mizzon sail.   I had a hard time seeing what was missing and this on an enlarged photo.  If you can't fix it, I'd say ignore it since at normal viewing distance it'll be overlooked as there is so much to look at.

Thank you, Mark!  You make a good point.  Here's what it looks like from a normal view.  Not too bad.  I will try and do some kind of fix but if I cannot your point is well taken.

[BANYAN]

That must be so frustrating for you Glen; but, I am sure you will figure it out.  

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Glen McGuire]

3 hours ago, BANYAN said:

That must be so frustrating for you Glen; but, I am sure you will figure it out.  

Thanks, Pat.  Yes, definitely frustrating but always expected.  If the insertion process ever went perfectly smooth, I think I'd have a stroke!! 

 

By the way, I just noticed your profile picture and realized that's very similar to what I'm doing for this display base.  I went and reviewed your Battle Station gallery images.  Well done!  Very impressive work!!   

Edited May 19, 2022 by Glen McGuire

[Glen McGuire]

I made a couple of bamboo skewer "way back tools" as in tools that will reach way back into the bottle. It took a while, but I finally got the gaff and mizzen sail delicately positioned in a reasonable spot where much of the sail's top edge was touching the gaff.  Holding my breath, I put a dab of epoxy on the tip of one of the way back tools and managed to apply it to the sail and gaff without disturbing the position of either.  Whew! 

 

As with so many things, it's not perfect, but I think it looks passable.  Of course I will see it every time I look at the ship, but like Mark said, there's a lot of other stuff going on so it's doubtful anyone else will notice.

Edited May 19, 2022 by Glen McGuire

[Keith Black]

Great fix!

[mtaylor]

Ah.. the fix that doesn't look like a fix.   Perfect.

[Glen McGuire]

1 hour ago, mtaylor said:

Ah.. the fix that doesn't look like a fix.   Perfect.

Thanks, Mark.  I guess that's one of the advantages of working at this scale!

[gjdale]

Well done Glen - a great fix indeed. 

[Landlubber Mike]

So glad everything is working out on the install - looks fantastic!  I love the display, it's so creative.  That cascabel at the bottom of the bottle is such a cool touch!

[Glen McGuire]

49 minutes ago, Landlubber Mike said:

That cascabel at the bottom of the bottle is such a cool touch!

A new word - cascabel!  I'd seen it called a knob and a button before but not that.  I always learn things from you!

[Glen McGuire]

With the ship in the bottle and repairs completed, it's back to the display and finishing up the last few things.  Namely, stropping the carriage blocks and seizing the ropes.  Going from working at 1/500 to 1/12 is certainly a drastic change.  I can't just fudge my way thru stuff knowing it's too small to notice!

 

Only a couple of chores left - put the breech rope in place and string up the side tackle.  Soooo close!!! 

[Keith Black]

Glen, that tackle looks fantastic! 

[Glen McGuire]

2 hours ago, Keith Black said:

Glen, that tackle looks fantastic! 

Thanks, Keith.  I bet I spent an hour walking up and down every aisle of Joann Fabrics trying to find that breech rope.  The thickest cordage I could find online from modeling sites was 4mm and I wanted something that was 6mm.