What's on Your Workbench for July 2020
I am still working on the last ship for Gunner, the USS Constitution. Ares glued some funky looking boats to the quarters in the wrong position and in the way of both channels. So I pulled them off and installed davits to bracket the mizzen channels where they are supposed to be.
More pics coming as I get further along
Rob's frigate conversion has made me rethink my sloop conversion that I started on a while back. I never completely liked my new aft deck and now I have a new direction to take it.
First, the old one has to go (and my pointer finger recover from overly aggressive Xacto knife use - it's just a puncture wound).
Well I thought it looked pretty nice Dobbs!
I agree Vol. In fact I used it as the inspiration for my effort.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Well here we go again. New month new project.
Just started my Xebec Corvette today.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Now completed the second hull. Ready to start on sails tomorrow.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Pretty nice Rob. You're getting this process down, faster on the second one.
Not a lot of remod needed on this one Vol, and the sails are going to be plain.
It's the next one after the Xebecs with wich I'm going to be busy.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Number two Xebec done and dusted.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Here's a bit of blasphemy:
I had a damaged Victory and a Principe de Asturias that I just didn't like because of the scale difference. I did like the stern though.
Please tell us more Dobbs I do like the change. Will it fly the Spanish flag then?
I also have a spare Victory and have been debating what to do with it. Don't really need any more Spanish ships though.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Here is my work for today.
I managed to make a start on the third ship.
My Barque Lateen is on the stocks.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Today I guilded the transome and taff rails, painted the cannon and base coated the masts.
Tomorrow the sails.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Looking great Rob! You nailed the fine detail work.
Thanks Bryan.
Looking at the pictures blown up I can see a few places where the gilt work is a bit thin, and a couple of places where it touches the port lids, gut I can soon fix that. It is the one time when being extremely short sighted is an asset.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
The barque looks great Rob, just like my Langton barque. Which SOG model did you start with for this one?
Last night I finished the standing rigging for Gunner's last ship
Nice work there Vol! What kind of vice is that?
She really is a beauty Vol. He should be over the yardarm with that.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
My progress has been a bit slower today. I had to prime my sails after super gluing the yards to them. I now have a mask to filter out the gasses from the glue. So far no side effects. Whilst I waited I started a few towing boats and a nest of boats for my harbour quay. Sails now have their undercoat over the primer and await further ministrations tomorrow.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
This is the Langton one Vol. Well spotted.Originally Posted by Volunteer
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
No pic yet but the last component of my M4 just arrived. Starting to percolate ideas to start doing a line of Wings ground-targets for the Aerodrome Store... thought about shore batteries for Sails but several of our members have that task well in hand and even simple Martello Towers look way harder to do well than a green Sherman or gray Tiger.
--Diamondback
PMH, SME, TLA, BBB
Historical Consultant to Ares, Wings and Sails - Unless otherwise noted, all comments are strictly Personal Opinion ONLY and not to be taken as official Company Policy.
Thanks Bryan. A jeweler's vice I think it's called. I bought it from Micro Mark several years ago. It came with a wooden handle, but I built the steel stand for it on a lathe.
A very handy bit of kit Vol. Better than my small modelling vice. Must get one. You can never have too many vices!
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Decided to spruce up the starting kit models. Started with the French Courageuse.
Printed out some cannon smoke clouds. Added some detail via a sharpie.
Today I have been mostly painting stripes!
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Yesterday, the sails were on hold, whilst it was not so much what is onyour workbench as what is your workbench whilst I constructed a new work station for sharpening our workshop tools.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
That's some nice work there Rob! What is your sharpener of choice?
There you go Bryan.
Last edited by Bligh; 07-15-2020 at 13:09.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Very nice Rob!
It is actually shared with my son James. He does most of the precision sharpening since my eyesight went downhill.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Bryan, for some reason I can't see any of your pictures?Decided to spruce up the starting kit models. Started with the French Courageuse.
Printed out some cannon smoke clouds. Added some detail via a sharpie.
I finished Gunner's last ship, Constitution, on the 13th and intended to post it yesterday but unfortunately I had an altercation with a radial arm saw and nearly took off a finger. So five hours of my evening were spent in an urgent care center getting X-Rays and sewed up.
Fortunately no tendon or bone damage, but they said I probably will not regain feeling. So no more ship building for a while and this is going to make rigging more difficult for sure!
Last edited by Volunteer; 07-15-2020 at 11:28.
Constitution:
This one required a lot more modification of the plastic packaging to accommodate the new rigging and a 1st rate box I had stored.
I can commiserate with you Vol.
Here is my left index finger on a good day!
You can just about make out the scar where the surgeon stitched the flap over.
Not much sensation in the end, but very useful for tamping down the tobacco in my pipe.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
On a lighter note, that Constitution is another superb piece of workmanship Vol.
I can't fail to Rep it.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
And thirdly, another one comes off the stocks.
Last edited by Bligh; 07-16-2020 at 01:06.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
How about now?
Yikes Vol! Glad you didn't lose it! I hope you heal quickly! Old Ironsides looks amazing!
Rob, I couldn't help but laugh at the "Not much sensation in the end, but very useful for tamping down the tobacco in my pipe". The ship looks great! I love the color scheme and striping.
Nice work gentlemen!
Question for you all... do you clip the sails for ease of painting? What glue do you use to glue them back in?
I usually paint them in place, but have on occasion snipped them off then used a tiny drill bit (0.020"-0.030") and a piece of carbon fiber rod to reattach them with modelling CA. I also use the 0.020" carbon fiber rod to make extensions on my mastheads for pennants. I get it at RC hobby shops.
I've been pondering this rig, and am of a mind to stick with the conventional xebec card, or a variation of my brigantine card. The xebec card is patterned off of my schooner card and the brigantine is like a schooner but not quite able to point as high and slightly better off the wind.
The barque looks great Rob! Do you glue some kind of peg on the bottom to attach it to the SOG base?
And thanks for the rep. You wil have to tell me your thumb story some time.
Thank you for the rep Bryan, much appreciatedYikes Vol! Glad you didn't lose it! I hope you heal quickly! Old Ironsides looks amazing!
Rob, I couldn't help but laugh at the "Not much sensation in the end, but very useful for tamping down the tobacco in my pipe". The ship looks great! I love the color scheme and striping.
Nice work gentlemen!
A lot of post to deal with here shipmates.
Firstly Bryan, I can see your beautiful ship just fine . What an improvement on the Ares ships a good paint job makes. Second, when I camew on the Anchorage this morning my picture from last night had gone, just leaving the attatchment bar, and I have now reloaded it. This seems to be a problem I have in addition to my double posts. Keith and my tech support at this end have pondered on this and not come up with an answer as yet.
Yes on the matter of sails I do pretty much the same as Dobbs excepting that I use fine piano wire for the pinning of parts, and as you know if you read my bit on my alergic reaction to Superglue, that I have been using CA as well.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Secondly Dobbs.
Thank you for devoting time to my problem with the cards for my motley array of Algerine shipping. I am happy to go with whatever you deem to be best on the ship card front.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Also very good for poking sailors in the ribs to force home an argument Bryan! i hope Vol got a laugh as I was trying to lighten his day for him. He should be fine in a monthe or two.Yikes Vol! Glad you didn't lose it! I hope you heal quickly! Old Ironsides looks amazing!
Rob, I couldn't help but laugh at the "Not much sensation in the end, but very useful for tamping down the tobacco in my pipe". The ship looks great! I love the color scheme and striping.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Now Vol, just how long have you got to listen to my story about my finger saga? The story grows in the telling with the passing of the years, unlike the finger I'm afraid.
Once your splint comes off, I suggest you emulate what I did at the suggestion of an old sea dog who had lost fingers himself. He told me to rub baby oil on the finger at least twice a day, and flex the joint as often as you could during the day as well to get full mobility back in the remaining joint. It worked for me although it took several months to get full mobility back. So if you can stand going about smelling like a Chinese house of ill repute, and giving everyone the come on with your finger, I suggest it as a good therapy.
Now the bit about pegs. I have used a series of solutions, including turning my own from acrylic. You can get special machineable types as averse to the brittle stuff but it costs a bit more. I have also pinned on the pegs cut off the ships destined for wrecks. However, as these ships are one offs and not intended to have the cards changed, I will glue these directly to the base.
Hope your hand is back to snuff soonest.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Thanks for the Rep and nice comments Bryan. your rep has brought me up to the 800 mark, so the drinks are on me in the Wardroom tonight.
Rob.
The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.
Thank you all for the rep as well. I'm looking forward to getting the rest of the starter set painted soon. It did take longer than I anticipated for the one ship.
Any tips on using washes with the sails? I tried to water it down but it still looks a little splotchy instead of a uniform color.
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