Volunteer | 10 Apr 2015 10:53 p.m. PST |
Over a year ago there was a gentleman posting on the Sails of Glory Anchorage site a scratch build of the "Horrible Old Leopard" 50 gun ship. He only got so far and never finished. I was very intrigued and very disappointed as I really wanted to see how it turned out. I have been thinking about it ever since and decided to try it myself. I bought the book "The 50-Gun Ship" by Rif Winfield that includes plans for several 50 gun ships including the Leopard. The model is built out of balsa, paper, music wire, bits of old credit card, etc. The only thing not original is the GHQ anchors and ship's boat. Size comparison with GHQ 50-Gun Centurion:
The build log is on link |
Gunner Dunbar | 10 Apr 2015 11:40 p.m. PST |
Ships aren't my thing, but I deeply admire your skill, and you really make me want to take up ship building, I salute you sir. |
NappyBuff | 10 Apr 2015 11:40 p.m. PST |
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ScoobyDoom | 10 Apr 2015 11:46 p.m. PST |
She is a Thing Of Beauty… |
Markconz | 11 Apr 2015 3:48 a.m. PST |
Admiring your skill also! |
whitejamest | 11 Apr 2015 7:33 a.m. PST |
That's so cool Vol. Major kudos to you for turning out such a beautiful model from scratch!!! |
Volunteer | 11 Apr 2015 10:03 a.m. PST |
Thanks everyone. James, did you look at the blog? Any suggestions for improvements on the next one? |
Unlucky General | 11 Apr 2015 2:32 p.m. PST |
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devsdoc | 11 Apr 2015 2:54 p.m. PST |
You are the man! She is good, you are the best. Be safe Rory |
whitejamest | 11 Apr 2015 6:05 p.m. PST |
I did look the post Vol, and I think the idea of attaching scaled plans directly to the model is a brilliant one. I should be asking you for ideas for how to improve models. One thing you can do to make some of the beautiful details you've added pop out a bit is add a just slightly darker yellow wash to the hull, which will make the gun ports stand out more, or even touch them with a slightly lighter shade of yellow. But that's really just a stylistic choice. She's already quite a beauty! |
Volunteer | 11 Apr 2015 10:27 p.m. PST |
Good advice, thanks James. I did hit the hatches with a slightly lighter shade but I agree it wasn't enough. I need to dull down the bright hull some. |
Rockatansky | 15 Apr 2015 4:17 p.m. PST |
just when i was getting happy with my scratch-builts haha! i did my hulls in one piece from bass wood and had a similar idea to you in that i laid the scaled-down profile of the ship onto the wood and traced it. i thought about actually attaching it like you did but wasn't sure if it would work. you answered my question! one thing i'm curious about: the prow of the ship on the profile was long enough to curve around and glue together? or did you have to make a piece? because being a two dimensional profile i know the picture doesn't account for the curves of it. looks great though! you inspired me to add more detail work on the deck furniture! i'm happy with the shapes of my hulls but detail-wise theyre still sort of bare |
Sebastian Palmer | 17 Apr 2015 11:47 p.m. PST |
Wow, very cool! Liked the fuller version over at your blog as well. Great work! |
Volunteer | 19 Apr 2015 7:51 a.m. PST |
Rockatansky, When I scaled down the plans, I did the decks and profile exactly the same. The beak was sufficiently long enough to meet the opposite side profile to glue together without having to add anything. I'm guessing the designers accounted for the curve, or the builder cut demensions would have been off? Regards, Vol PS: If amyone happens to run into any plan sets with decks and outer profiles, please share.;-) |
Rockatansky | 13 May 2015 10:03 a.m. PST |
well so far the two that i have actually done like that are the constitution and hms lively, all i did was google image search the respective ship name plan, as in "hms lively plan". some are better resolution than others. then i saved the image and resized it in my print settings until the scale was correct. the constitution has plans online that include the masts and all to scale. if i can find the exact images i used ill post a link |
War Artisan | 13 May 2015 12:23 p.m. PST |
Vol, I'm sorry that I stopped following this thread earlier . . . I missed your postscript about plans. I find that my best resource is the Greenwich National Maritime Museum. The Admiralty collection alone has over 13,000 ships plans from many nations. Stuff like this:
You can use the alphabetical list under "Vessels", do a search, or just browse the ship plans under "Collections" for all kinds of treasures: link |
Volunteer | 13 May 2015 10:02 p.m. PST |
Thanks Jeff. I was given this link the beginning of this month by a SOG Anchorage member. You are correct, it is a treasurehouse of plans. Lots of merchants too. There were so many different merchant ship designs. Only a handful are a available through the 3 or 4 model manufacturers. I have downloaded around 30 plan sets and scaled 8 so far. Regards, Vol |
dantheman | 14 May 2015 11:15 a.m. PST |
I love seeing this stuff on TMP. War Artisan has great paper models, if it wasn't for that I would have considered this for Anglo Dutch. How much time did it take? Did you consider making hull masters for casting? you could do it in resin. |
Volunteer | 15 May 2015 10:38 p.m. PST |
Hi Dan, It took about 3 times longer than one of the Navwar ships to do. I didn't really keep track. I just worked on it whenever I had a chance over about two weeks. I started the 80 gun Tonant yesterday, cut the decks out and glued them together. Attached the stern gallery tonight. About 3 hours into this one so far. I need to get a few under my belt and improve a bit before thinking about casts. Regards, Vol |
Rockatansky | 28 May 2015 3:41 p.m. PST |
heres a page i found that may be of interest. i plan on trying some out, though i haven't tried viewing and saving any of the images yet link |
Volunteer | 28 May 2015 10:25 p.m. PST |
Yes this is Diamondback's site. He is the friend from the SOG Anchorage that gave me the link Jeff has above. All of the links he has on the site are to the Greenwich National Maritime Museum. |
paxx88 | 29 May 2015 8:35 a.m. PST |
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Volunteer | 29 May 2015 9:25 p.m. PST |
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Rockatansky | 03 Jun 2015 7:21 a.m. PST |
vol i just wanted you to know i stole your idea of attaching the actual ship plan to the side on my latest attempt. i'm still doing the actual hull of the ship in one solid bass wood block though instead of the multiple decks. i wish i had started step by step pics before i got too far along. i wish it was easier to post the pics right here! |
devsdoc | 03 Jun 2015 1:42 p.m. PST |
Oh! Rockatansky, I know too how hard it is to down-load photo's on this site. Vol has shown me a number of times. But to get my photo's to a cloud thing is one step to far for me. I think Vol is an under rated master at our game. I know he would be so pleased to know his work is being followed (rightly so). Good luck with your build. Be safe Rory |
Rockatansky | 03 Jun 2015 4:57 p.m. PST |
and i might at that cutting out those tiny squares is much easier said than done! |
Rockatansky | 03 Jun 2015 6:05 p.m. PST |
i have a thread with a link that hopefully will go to my pics. i won't post it here and hijack vol's thread (just advertise my own haha) |
Volunteer | 03 Jun 2015 10:25 p.m. PST |
Rockatansky, Ok so where's the link? I want to see! I am curently working on the French third rate 80-gun Tonnant. I just put the deck furniture and gun carriages on her tonight. I usually wait until my projects are finished before posting to my blog, so I can't post any photos here yet. It would be so convenient if the Editor would allow photos to be posted directly rather than through some on-line website. Folks like Rory and Rockatansky could post there wonderful work here for the enjoyment of all. |
Rockatansky | 04 Jun 2015 9:35 a.m. PST |
wonderful is a strong word haha! i'm totally new at this. wait until you see some before heaping praise on them lol |
Rockatansky | 27 Jun 2015 4:25 p.m. PST |
vol i have to ask: how do you attach your yards to the masts? is it really just with the rigging? or are they glued? i tried super glue like i use on everything else and it doesn't seem to bond the metal to metal very well. |
devsdoc | 27 Jun 2015 5:27 p.m. PST |
Rockatansky, Try super glue hardener/activator. it comes in a spray bottle. "The Army Painter"s one is called "Magic". It makes the glue go off very fast and helps bond. It's the waiting that can make the bond not work so well. Be safe Rory P.S. Vol is the master, I'm just the monkey! |
Rockatansky | 28 Jun 2015 3:53 a.m. PST |
haha well i was feeling like a monkey trying to put these pieces together only to have them pop back apart under the slightest pressure. thats been the hangup for a week now. the thing would have probably been finished already! ill take a look for the hardener. i was also thinking some sort of epoxy which i have but its really tough to work with in such a tiny amounts |
Volunteer | 28 Jun 2015 11:36 p.m. PST |
I use only Loctight superglue red or blue bottle reinforced with rigging. I run the clew line for the sail around the back of the mast above the yard, down the front of the sail on either side of center, under the sail and back up to the yard and tie both ends together in front of the mast. The clew lines are glued to thefront of the sail and around the mast. This locks the sail and yard in place plus adds accurate detail to the sails. Regards, Vol |
Rockatansky | 29 Jun 2015 6:50 a.m. PST |
ok good i have the same glue. i thought thats what you were using. ill try that with the rigging to hold it. as a side note, i went to philly yesterday for the tall ships and missed the tours of l'hermione! i didnt get on it! so bummed out |
devsdoc | 29 Jun 2015 9:28 a.m. PST |
See Rockatansky, I said, I was only the monkey! Be safe Rory |
Volunteer | 03 Jul 2015 10:00 p.m. PST |
Rockatanski, At least you got to see her! |
Rockatansky | 04 Jul 2015 11:05 a.m. PST |
i got on yesterday! worth the wait. it was really cool just to feel the ship under your feet and get to see things up close. |
Volunteer | 05 Jul 2015 11:30 p.m. PST |
Would they let you take pictures on board? |
Rockatansky | 06 Jul 2015 7:08 a.m. PST |
oh yeah pictures and you could talk to the crew an all. europeans are so much more laid back than us uptight americans haha. on an american ship there would be guides and everything would be roped off. on this ship there were little kids climbing all over the cannons and pulling on ropes and playing with the wheel and all. it was realy cool actually |
Volunteer | 06 Jul 2015 4:33 p.m. PST |
Sounds it. In my dreams I guess. You are a lucky man. I just finished my next scratch build, the 80 gun French Tonnant. I'm doing a separate post. |