Bireme Greek Warship 480 B.C. by John E. - Auvergne - Amati - Scale 1:35

[Auvergne]

Nick, my friend...a BIG yes I would say.....I sure do want to give modelling a go but I think you are right, the Bireme is a beauty when constructed correctly....lol....I figured there was no hope for me once I saw Arthur's Bireme....excellent job he did.

 

Not giving up though. Just received 2 kits today...Fair American and a Sciabecco 1753 (Xebec), trying to figure which is less complicated....any suggestions friends....????

 

Appreciate the input, advice, and tutoring....from everyone....this one is headed for a Viking funeral.............

[ianmajor]

John,

 

My input - don't give it a Viking funeral. There are two ways that you can look at it. Carry on with it, make all the mistakes now so that when you do the other ships you will have much more experience to tackle them. Alternatively if you are frustrated with it put it aside for a few weeks. You may look on it more kindly then and carry on. Either way there is much to be gained from it - and it does look very nice to me.

[Auvergne]

Ian, thanks very much friend...wise words I believe, and, I shall give her a go.

 

Thanks so much Ian for the kind words and advice....

 

John

[Zeus-cat]

John E.

 

I am new to this forum, but I agree with the others here; you are being too hard on yourself.  There are two critical lessons one must learn when doing something artistic.  First, nothing will be perfect and second, when it is time to stop and move on to the next part of the project.  Most people pick up on the first one quickly, but the second one is a lot tougher to learn.   

 

Over the years I have done model and high power rocketry, oil painting, watercolor, scale modeling, wooden ship models, photography, stained glass, woodworking and even some writing.  I am a mathematician/engineer by profession so I can be a little obsessed with getting stuff right, but most of my hobbies have taught me to learn to put the paint brush, pen or glue down at a certain point and declare a project is done.  The same thing applies to individual steps in a project.  I could keep pouring time and effort into a particular part, but I really won't improve it significantly for the time spent.  I have learned to accept that it won't be perfect, but it will be good enough.

 

I have a stained glass project that amazes everyone who sees it.  Most of the mistakes I made in that project I have long since forgotten, but some I notice every time I look at it.  I don't let it bother me; I appreciate it for what it is. 

 

Even if you decide your ship isn't great I urge you to keep it around.  We all learn from our mistakes and keeping your bireme around will help you remember things that didn't go quite as you planned and maybe try something different the next time.  And it will give you a great reference point when you complete your next project.  You can look at your bireme and see how much you have improved.

[Auvergne]

Zeus Cat,

 

This was a very nice post you made and wonderful advice. My hat is off to you and I thank you, kindly. I have since moved on but the holidays have made me lazy. It is back off to school for me so the model making will be much slower. I have the Bireme in the paint facility in my shop and will not give her up...every project I have done does seem to have a way to resurrect itself so letting her sit for a while is surely a great idea.

 

Thanks Zeus!

 

John

[Auvergne]

Hi friends!

 

I had an accident with the Bireme....she is in the scrap pile now.....I recently relocated and in the process she was smashed to pieces.....I hope no one is disappointed but I must say I am an apprentice and I was trying an advanced level kit. Didn't do too bad but I discovered later on there were 2 triangular pieces I had no idea where they were to be placed, but, also discovered they were part of the bow's battering ram. I still have her plans and may make a scratch build from her one day. One never knows.....thank you all for continuing on this journey with me.

[Auvergne]

Thank you aew,

 

Please read previous post concerning my Bireme. I appreciate your advice but I will not give up. I just thank all the wonderful encouragement and advice I receive from all who have gone before me, such as yourself. Thanks again.