Red Dragon by UpstateNY - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - Scale 1:60

[UpstateNY]

Thanks for the support guys...really glad you like the sails as the learning curve here for me is pretty steep.

 

Getting the battens right is the hardest part. There seems to be a very fine line between pulling the sewing thread tight enough to hold the battens firmly, but not so tight the sail material pull in to hard against the batten and so distorts the sail.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

[mrangus]

Sails look good Nigel. Nice and uniform, and this ship really looks great with sails, the color adds a lot of pop. Almost there!

[lionfish]

awesome job, very clean, and just a great ship to look at

[Burroak]

Your ship is beautiful!

 

Greg H.

[CaptainSteve]

She's lookin' absolutely superb with the red sails fitted, Nigel !!

[UpstateNY]

Hi All,

 

Many thanks to all for the kind comments and of course the likes!

 

Things have been a bit slow in the shipyard as we enjoy the Christmas season, but I finally completed the mizzen sail and rigged the kit provided flag.  I also redid some of the foremast and mainmast lines to improve their runs. So, all the rigging items are now done!

 

Doing the sails has certainly been the hardest part of this first build for me. To make them look good you have to stitch very neatly and also make sure the tension is even across the entire sail so they hang correctly. You can see some pulling where I didn't get the tension right, but overall I am happy with how all they turned out. The learning will give me a good place to start for the future. I love the way the models look with sails, especially when rigged with a mix of furled and unfurled so you can still see all the decking features clearly. Perhaps next time!

 

So, all that is left now are a few final details like the lanterns and then my Red Dragon is done. A few images are below and as always, thanks for reading!

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jack12477]

Nigel, very nice job on the sails and lines.  I assume from your comments you are hand sewing the sails? Correct ?

[UpstateNY]

Hi Jack,

 

Many thanks...and yes...I am hand sewing the sails.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

[Dimitris71]

Hello Nigel, she is absolutely beautiful !!!   You know, if you don't mention that is your first build, i think nobody would think about it... :) Congrats mate!!

 

Regards

Dimitris
 

[SawdustDave]

Beautiful build Nigel. You have made this highly unusual model really come to life. Love the colors.

[Jparsley]

Nigel great job the dragon stirs

[_SalD_]

Great job Nigel, I love the sails, they really make her stand out.

[Omega1234]

Top stuff, Nigel! Really nicely done.

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[UpstateNY]

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments and the likes! 

[UpstateNY]

Hi All,

 

A small progress update as I've started on the Dragon bow carvings.  Process is the same as the tests I did back in post #68, but I am using 3mm thick Castillo Boxwood rather than basswood. I will have to thin it back to 1-2 mm before adding to the bow, but I wanted the extra rigidity as I carve out these small patterns.

 

Next steps are to clean up all the edges and start to carve in the line details...takes a long time, but really fun to do. There is also a carving to do for the stern, but I may find another design than the square one shown in the first image as I am thinking it is a bit small.

 

Finally, my best wishes for the holiday season and a Happy New Year to you all.

 

Thank you for all the support and encouragement over the past year.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

 

 

 

 

 

[Jparsley]

Nice looking lizards they will look spender on the dragon

[Dimitris71]

Your dragons looking good Nigel !!Excellent work mate!!

 

Best Regards

Dimitris

[UpstateNY]

Hi All,

 

Firstly, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

 

Over my holiday, I managed to complete the carvings for the bow and stern. For the bow carvings, I used my round, flat and triangular needle files to slowly round off the profiles and cut in the details.

 

For the stern, I found a dragon head pattern on the web that I liked better than the kit pattern. I initially used a fine drill to make a series of holes along each lines and then used the side of the drill as a file to join up the holes. You can see this in progress on the right side in the 3rd image. I then simply rounded off the edges and cut in the surface details as for the bow carvings. 

 

There is a lot more detail I know an expert could add to these, but I decided to quit before I broke off a tail or a fang! Next steps are to thin the carvings down a bit and then try to paint them. 

 

Images below and thanks for reading.....Happy New Year everyone! 

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[_SalD_]

Nigel the carvings look great and it's a wise man who knows when to step away from the piece.

 

Happy New Year

[UpstateNY]

Thanks Sal...appreciate the kind words.  

 

Happy New Year to you and your family as well!

 

Hope the weather in Connecticut is better than here...rain/ice over snow up here today!

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

[Dimitris71]

Great job on the carvings Nigel!! :)  Best wishes for the new Year to all of you!!

 

All the best

Dimitris

[Jparsley]

Looks great to Nigel Braver man than me to show carvings I've tried I've failed lol have a great New Years

[UpstateNY]

Hi Jeff and Dimitris,

 

Many thanks...glad you like them! Happy New Year to you both as well.

 

Jeff,

 

Like so many things in this hobby, the first tries are always hard as the learning curve is always so steep, but it is all part of the fun. These took me over 2 weeks to get them this far and I did a test a few months before that! Next try will hopefully be a little better as I get more experience.

 

I bet your carvings were really good given how great your Constellation is coming along!

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

[Jparsley]

Nigel I didn't actually have any carvings on my constellation It's not a very decorative ship In a good artist with a pencil but with wood I have yet to try carving Yours are turning out great Suggestions Try getting some scale texturing by tapping some fine wire mesh on the surface just enough to make a slight imprint think that would be awesome Try it out first on a scrap price just to see how it turns out

[SawdustDave]

Fantastic dragons Nigel.  Tedious work for sure, but rewarding in the end.

 

Very similar technique I have been using on the SOS .... hope I was able to help.

What is the material?  Looks like a vinyl.

 

Dave

[UpstateNY]

Hi Jeff,

 

Sorry for misunderstanding your earlier post and many thanks for your imprinting suggestion. Very interesting idea and I will have to try it out. I am a bit worried I would to use to much pressure especially I've just finished thinning down my carvings! I think it would work great if I'd used a modeling clay like Scuply rather than a hardwood as you could imprint a detailed pattern before curing.

 

Hi Dave,

 

Thanks for the kind word.  Material is Castillo Boxwood which is so much nicer to carve than the basswood I practiced on. From re-reading your recent carving posts, the techniques seem very similar other than I used a hand drill to make and then connect the holes. I don't have the control yet to use a Dremel. 

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

Edited December 30, 2015 by UpstateNY

[Omega1234]

Hi All,

 

Firstly, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

 

Over my holiday, I managed to complete the carvings for the bow and stern. For the bow carvings, I used my round, flat and triangular needle files to slowly round off the profiles and cut in the details.

 

For the stern, I found a dragon head pattern on the web that I liked better than the kit pattern. I initially used a fine drill to make a series of holes along each lines and then used the side of the drill as a file to join up the holes. You can see this in progress on the right side in the 3rd image. I then simply rounded off the edges and cut in the surface details as for the bow carvings. 

 

There is a lot more detail I know an expert could add to these, but I decided to quit before I broke off a tail or a fang! Next steps are to thin the carvings down a bit and then try to paint them. 

 

Images below and thanks for reading.....Happy New Year everyone! 

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

 

PC284597.jpg

 

PC284595.jpg

 

PC264579.jpg

 

PC284591.jpg

Hi Nigel

 

Wow!!! I'm very impressed and boy,those carvings look great. Nicely done.

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[cog]

Wounderful workmanship, Nigel ... she looks the vessel already ... your dragons will certainly contribute to her beauty

 

Cheers,

 

P.s. Happy New Year to you and your family too

[UpstateNY]

Thanks so much for kind words Patrick and Carl.  I certainly hope doing the carvings rather than using the kit stickers pays off. Just need a steady hand with the paintbrush now...so another skill to try and learn... .

 

I've been working on the Dragon for a few days shy of a year now...so time certainly flies! Finish line is in sight!

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel.

Edited December 30, 2015 by UpstateNY

[SawdustDave]

Hopefully, these postings will encourage more modelers to try their hand at mini-carvings. 

Look forward to seeing your carvings mounted on the Red Dragon.