Queen Anne Style Royal Barge by Chuck - FINISHED - Syren Ship Model Company - 1:24

[Tigersteve]

That looks much better!

Steve

[Stuntflyer]

More betterer!

 

Mike

[Jack12477]

WOW ! Love the friezes !  Nice !

[Ryland Craze]

I like the revision.  I cannot wait to see more.

 

[druxey]

The more neutralized blue-grey 'sits down' optically far better.

[Jaxboat]

Don't know what blue pigments were available in 18th century other than ground lapis lazuli (ultramarine). You could certainly tone that down with a little carbon black. Any comments, Druxey. The frieze is beautiful, Chuck!

Best

Jaxboat

 

 

[Chuck]

Thanks guys....this last iteration will do fine.  It takes a long time to create these friezes.  I am very happy with the latest results and dont wish to paint another set.

 

But for those who are thinking about buying the kit.....the possibilities are endless.   I am looking forward to finishing up the inboard details real soon.   Then its the home stretch.....for the hull anyway.

[Rustyj]

Looking great Chuck. I can't wait to add it to my " collection". 

[Chuck]

And just to let everyone know I am still working on models.....not just a hippie activist.

 

Today the step was built.  It has a laser etched slot to aid in its assembly.  Then at the bow there is what I would call a "standard" of sorts.   It has a hole in it to help secure the pole for the flag.   Another will be drilled through the platform below it but I figured it would be damn near impossible to laser cut the hole on the platform and then line them up so the pole is straight.  So I will be drilling with the bit running through the hole in the standard making sure that afterwards the pole will sit upward and straight.  

 

Except for a very few details inboard,  the inboard part of the project is complete.  NNow I will move outboard and begin to finish up the carvings.   Then after that its the home stretch.    Happy modeling everyone!!!!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Stuntflyer]

Beautiful!!

 

Mike

[popeye the sailor]

catching up with the barge Chuck......a beautiful model     love the panel frieze........nice touch of class  

[Chuck]

...Back to the barge.

 

I completed the sculpting for the two bow pieces.   Then I made a mold and some resin castings.  Resin castings will come with the kit.  In the photo below you can see two rows of resin castings.  The bottom row is the raw resin casting.  Rather than paint them as I typically do, trying to make them look like wood,  I thought I would try something new.

 

Rather than paint,  I used weathering powders.  I applied them directly to the resin castings with a brush.  The three colors are shown.  I continuously used differnt layers of the three colors and eventually it came out really well.  The color matches wonderfully  Its better than paint in my opinion as the powders dont build up and the detail remains crisp.   You cant really chip or scratch the paint ruining your piece.   Once done I sprayed with matte fixative.

 

Below are the pictures showing the castings test fit on the model.  I notched out the molding to accept them.  You can also see the laser cut iron strap that runs on the forward face of the stem.  It goes all the way under to the keel stopping just ahead of the scarf joint.  There are holes pre-drilled along the top of the strip which were later filled with 22 gauge black wire.  I pre-drilled the holes using the laser cut holes as a guide with a #71 bit.  Then I stuck the wire into each hole with no glue.  After snipping off the excess,  they were filed down but allowed to stand proud.  This creates the nice decorative detail you see on these barges.  The strip was put on the stem in three sections.  The top and aft side of the stem first as they were short pieces, then the long strip down the front.  The seams are almost noticeable.  You can get a tight fit between pieces and the laser board sands well.  I think it simulates a piece of metal quite nicely.

 

 

 

[xken]

Chuck, you may know already, but you can also tint resins with colorants to get the wood color as well or really close and then match with dusting.

Keep up the great work!

Ken

[Chuck]

Yes...the resin is already tan but very light.  The weathering powders really finishes and its a darn close match and much cleaner than painting.  Its also very quick.

[dvm27]

Those resin painted castings looks terrific Chuck. May I ask who makes those powders?

[Chuck]

I got them at Micromark years ago.  They were the earth tones set.   There is no writing on each container so that is teh best I can do.  Railroad guys use this set.

 

Chuck

[Chuck]

I continue to carve and sculpt the remaining decorations.  This will take some time.  I know you guys have seen these three carvings I did for the port side before.

 

 

 

But while carving the new ones I have been pouring molds of the ones I already made and making resin castings.   I will never paint a casting again.  One of the photos shows the boxwood carved masters and another shows the resin castings colored with weathering powders as described earlier

[Rustyj]

Hi Chuck,

 

Everything is looking so fine. I love it. The powders sure seem the way to go.

 

Guess it's time to get some! Thanks

[Nirvana]

So delicate and beautiful.

[alde]

Great work Chuck. I assume those are the weathering powders used by armor modelers. They has bunches of colors.

[Chuck]

Slowly moving aft and getting more carvings completed.   Actually I am concentrating on the sculpted parts now and I will finish the carvings once they are all completed.  Rather than use my master boxwood carvings for the model, I am using resin castings instead.  So all of the carving details you see below are resin. I will keep the original carvings as masters for when the molds wear out.

Chuck

 

 

 

[MEDDO]

Wonderful can't wait to see the kit in person. 

[Chuck]

Thank you very much guys...

Moving right along I added the syren figures at the stern.   You can see how I dont have the acanthus leaves carved for the port side yet.   Not enough time in teh day !!!  I am gonna try and get the bust of queen Anne done next which goes on the outside of the tombstone transom.  These two Syren figures were the smallest I have made to date.  I could only merely suggest the details and hopefully your imagination will fill in the blanks.  At least that is what I hear is supposed to happen.  

 

Almost forgot...these are once again resin castings.  I will keep my sculpted originals as masters.

 

Chuck

 

 

[alde]

They look to have plenty of detail to my eye Chuck. They are beautiful. 

[Chuck]

Thank You!!! 

[Chuck]

Progressing with carved details....

 

 

 

 

[druxey]

Nice work, Chuck!

[Maury S]

Beautifully done!

Maury

[Chuck]

The rudder ...the tiller and the thole pins are now complted.

 

The thole pins are made in two pieces as shown below.

 

This looks simple but these pieces are very small.  They were painted red after being glued into position.

 

The rudder is not a working rudder.  I mean its not done with working gudgeons/pintels etc.   I always find it works its way loose that way and I often pull it off and the parts are damaged.   So for simplicity the kit is designed with a non-working hinge that is simulated and the rudder doesnt work.  It is glued and fixed in position but you would never know.  Before starting on the pintles and gudgeons I cleaned up the rudder and tapered it towards the bottom of the rudder blade.  You can see the profile on the bottom of step 1.

 

This was possible because the rudder and stern post was designed with small tabs initially.  The simulated laserboard straps are simply glued onto the rudder and each side of the stern post.  Then the rudder is glued into position...

 

This drawing may help explain...

 

The tiller was turned from a 1/16" x 1/16" strip in my dremel rotary tool.

And finally the images of the model once the work was complete.  I am quite happy with how well the set up simulates pintels and gudgeons.  It made the process of installing the rudder easier since the flying transom makes it tough to work in such a confined location.  

 

 

[Stuntflyer]

Great stuff, Chuck! Always innovating. .

 

Mike