ancre Le Fleuron by Gaetan Bordeleau - FINISHED - 1:24

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Inspirings words,thank you.

 

Ideally if I pass 1000hours to build a model ship, the last task  I would need to do to complete the presentation  would be to show some nice photos of the finished model.

 

To build a model, you need to work with wood and metal but you also need to work with a camera.

 

As evereybody knows, the subject of photography was never a success on this forum. I think the best way to begin this subject would have been  with this first methodology :

 

How to photograph a model ship and there would be also a space for equipment. The first thing I would buy would be a flash with a diffuser.

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Mark, here is the set up I used

[allanyed]

Gaetan,

 

You have far more invested in photographic equipment than most members have model building equipment.  Very impressive to most of us point and shoot folks.

 

Allan

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Allan,

 

for someone who would like more than point and shoot, the next step would be;

1 camera + 1 flash + 1 diffuser at $5 and it would be more than enough to take very nice photo of a model ship  at a scale of 1/48 and higher.

 

 

Gaetan

[Mirabell61]

In the category: What did you receive today? A new lens means trying new photos! In this set and the previous one, I tried a lens which theoretically is made for wildlife photos. First picture is a good example. Another lens was also used.

 

Wow !!

 

awesome work Gaetan...

 

Nils

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

The serach for the lighting continues.

 

In the last months I searched a way to synchronize 2 kinds of flash  lighting. There are few information on internet, each company makes his own transmitter and very few want to mix  with other companies. But it is possible synchronize the 2 different kinds of flash I use. 

 

3 speedlites flashes installed on or  separate from a camera  and  2 strobes lighting on a light stand. Each system has his own transmitter and the solution is to find a way to fire all the flashes at the same time. Finally the solution is very easy and there is no need to buy any additionnal transmitter like Pocket wizard and this event if they said so in a video sponsorised by Pocket wizard.

 

The Canon speedlites are all synchronized in 1 group to flash at the same time. The other kind of strobes from Profoto  have a cell that detects the flash from Canon:  so they all can fire at the same time.

 

Last week, I went in a photography equipement show and I brought back a continuous  LED lighting. I measured it to compare with the other  lighting I have. It is even better than the best Lamp I have: 25,000 lux at 12 inches. The best Lamp I have is a Xenon light 19,800 lux at 12 inches and the worst I have are 3 halogens with 500 lux.

 

So if you want a good lighting to see every thing, this is the way to go.

 

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

I needed a background  for the pen kit I bought and I turned a briar tube, sanded with fine paper and applied  pure bee wax while the tube was still on the lathe.

[aviaamator]

Very nice model! Really!

[albert]

Very nice work.

[Paul0367]

This model is the pinicle of model ship building, hats off to you, Its just absolutely beautiful. This skill level used is in a different league, and thats before I saw the carvings.... Jaw dropping stuff.

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Beginning the figure head. Here is an idea of the tools I use.

 

Tools; 2 knives and  burrs which are easier to work  in comparison with  knives. The danger to use knives is that it is harder to control the strenght required and it is easy to use too much of it and break parts. In comparison it is much more delicate to use burrs and you will not break any parts.

 

Half speed  of the rotary tool, at around 25000 tpm. At first look it seems too high, but the higher the speed the less vibrations. Also less strenght is needed and  you let the tool work

 

Some drawing books showing body parts to help to see the proportions.

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

How do I try to make easy the location of a part in the space.

 

 I trace a line in the middle of  the part. This line represent the high points and helps to lead the direction of the part.  This way it prevents the part to deviate too much on a side or the other side.

 

I repeat for the 4 sides : top, bottom and both sides.

 

Examples with the drawing and the front of the legs. Results would be as good if I would trace the line as the green arrow shows.

 

The exact same principle apply to relief carving which is more a 2D  parts, rather than  a 3D parts. In this case, only 1 line is required.

If we cut the carving and  look at one end, we see a square. A line is trace at the top, it represents once again the high point of the part. Then, to carve it is just a matter to knock out the 2 top corners.

 

In an easy way, 3D carving is just adding sides and bottom to the 2D.

[BANYAN]

Coming along very nicely Gaetan, and thanks for sharing your techniques.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Thank you Pat, if it helps 1 person, this is a good thing.

 

Figurehead, done with 4 components  : the figure head, 1 dolphin, the sixth one on this model, 1 flower on each side of the head and finally 1 stake to kill the dolphin.

 

Apple wood for a figure head is not  the best choice for the same reason this wood is not used very much  in furniture. Apple wood has a tendancy to crack. Plus if you look the wood under the microscope we can observe  what llok like cristallised sugar in the wood. There is a small color difference between apple and cherry wood. Before trying I would have thought that apple wood take s better the small details than cherry. The results show the contrary and cherry wood is more stable than apple wood.

 

The microscope is very helpfull  for the face. To keep a fix distance the figure is  straped on a wood block. The smaller the object, the more light is needed to see all the details.

 

The most important thing in carving human is to try to keep  proportions to all the parts in relation to each other. Without it results are less than convincing.

 

It is very helpfull to take photos to see details that we would not see  without it. For this figure head it helped me to ote that the left arm was too long and the lips too larges.

Edited January 29, 2017 by Gaetan Bordeleau

[WackoWolf]

Excellent work as always. You are the man.

[juzek]

Super work . Congratulates

[mtaylor]

Wow... Gaetan.  This is a tutorial of it's own and the result is stunning.

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Thank you, I added 1 picture in the last one that  I forgot.

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

This is called cornucopia.

[jose_b]

Excellent and detailed work as usual!

[BANYAN]

Beautiful decoration Gaetan; very good quality control as the pair look nigh identical.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Thank you Pat,

 

I asked myself the same question. All the other decorations on the model are identical. On the original drawing, apparently they are not!

[reklein]

I saw that and wondered,then thought "I like the assymetry. Nice work Gaetan !

[G. Delacroix]

Hello,

 

On the monograph drawings, the decoration is not symmetrical as in the original drawings.

Here is the realization of Jacques Maillière at 1/24.

 

 

 

 

Regards,

GD

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

We can observe on the drawings and on the original drawings that only these 2 parts are not symmetrical.

 

Are all the carvings on a model symmetrical, or there is no rule and the author can draw what he feels.

 

If we compare, as in home construction, all the details are often symmetrical for a greater harmony.

[G. Delacroix]

I agree with you that the whole of the decoration is generally symmetrical but we must be vigilant because some parts of the original drawing are not: they are those indicated with a red point on this extract of the plans.

 

[Jeronimo]

Hello Gaetan.

Beautiful work.

Karl

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Thank you very much Karl.

 

In the next message you will see the result of 5 years of work.

But first, let’s see what I learned  during the last 5 years.

 

If I would be a purist, I would have chosen pear wood  and boxwood for this build and to continue in the same direction to be or not to be  a real purist, I could not have use Electricity. Wake up, wake up, we are not based in 1637 but in 2017.

 

The first thing I learned is that I am a Cherry-ist. This wood suits perfectly my needs and as a bonus my nose too.

 

For the last months, I deeply asked myself what I  like about model ship building. Until I found the answer, I could not restart  the construction of the model (the truth My wife wanted a new kitchen). And I understood that the pleasure I get, comes  each time when a piece of cherry wood is modified and as a bonus, gets  part of a giant puzzle.

 

I tried new methods and new programs like Lightroom and Photoshop.  I followed 2 photography sessions and I restarted to take pictures. Do you know what was the first thing  I bought when I began to work almost 40 years ago : a Camera : Olympus OM-1.

 

In the category new tools, I got  tools  to make the life easier, a height adjustable table suited for my needs and the model. Over the years, I liked to  tried  all kinds of tools and I regrouped the scale modeling tools in  1 tool chest, and again Cherry wood was used.

Edited February 5, 2017 by Gaetan Bordeleau

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

Et voilà, c'est complété.

 

It was a nice  week end project to build.

 

For the next build, knowing that the better the plans, the better are the chance to produce better results.

What are the better set of plans available on the market?

 

I guess I could build the same  as the next project of a member of MSW.

 

There is also another important factor, the model must be nice to my eyes.

Edited February 7, 2017 by Gaetan Bordeleau

[druxey]

Congratulations, Gaetan! That is one magnificent model. The puzzle pieces fit perfectly. Now please protect her in a case.