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Post by Mike B on Mar 2, 2009 20:41:37 GMT 1
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Post by poulw on Mar 2, 2009 22:28:37 GMT 1
Great looking models, both of them. (Applause)
What scale is the Billing model?
How are you going to fit the boats onto the miniature ship inside the bottle?
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Post by Mark on Mar 2, 2009 22:42:40 GMT 1
That's a brilliant model, given the 'entertainment' that the Billings kit obviously provided. The minature hull looks too big for the neck of the bottle, but I'm sure it's a trick of the camera. Of course, once the masts are up you have to cut the bottle in half and re-join it carefully to get the ship in (I'm not going to spill the beans on how it's done if you're not !!)
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Post by Mike B on Mar 3, 2009 16:54:26 GMT 1
The main model is 1:60 scale and the miniature is approx. 1:400. Although I know the principles of a ship in a bottle, this is a complete learning curve for me as a first timer. The hull started out in 3 pieces (the hull would not fit the bottle neck in one piece) and the third piece was in order to get the red waterline. The three pieces were clamped together and 4 holes drilled right through them to take toothpicks for registration guides. The toothpicks were glued into the bottom section and the tops of them rounded. The assembly was then shaped to the hull profile. The top piece was shaped to the deck profile and then a step was sanded down both sides (similar to the armour step on Bissie), to take a strip of veneer to form the bulwarks of the main deck. The lifeboats and davits were assembled as separate units on the cabin roofs and will be glued in place onto the cabins once the hull is in the bottle (I hope)! I have made some long clamps by cutting and extending electronic test clips (kleps?) with thick copper wire (from twin & earth), using 4mm ID aluminium tube into which the body of the clips were a push fit. In a normal ship in bottle, the masts are hinged at the base and fitted and rigged outside the bottle. The masts are then folded down and the whole assembly inserted into the bottle and then the masts raised again. Due to the shape of the main deck with the Fore and Mizzen masts against the bulkheads, this is not possible so I have fitted 2mm ID copper tubes where the masts will step. I plan to build the masts and rig them outside the bottle, them remove them from the ship, place the hull in position inside the bottle and then insert the masts and step them into the tube sockets using 24 hour epoxy to allow positioning time. In a similar fashion, the yards will be glued into place after the masts are inserted. This is what I hope will work but as with all trial and error, it will be gloriously successful or an almighty c**kup! Time will tell!
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Post by Mark on Mar 3, 2009 17:02:50 GMT 1
Ingenious !!!! I'm really looking forward to seeing how it comes together !!
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Post by Robert on Mar 3, 2009 18:46:27 GMT 1
Ingenious indeed and what a superb alibi for our missus! "darling, er... may I have one more sip from the bottle? Or I'll never get that ship in!”BTW, gave a close look at the jug; was it rum or Irish whiskey? Robert
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Post by Mike B on Mar 3, 2009 20:40:17 GMT 1
BTW, gave a close look at the jug; was it rum or Irish whiskey? 1.5 litre cheap sparkling wine. The only bottle that I could find in the bottle store that was big enough for the model. ;D
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2009 10:19:07 GMT 1
Wow, Good luck Mike B.
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Post by Mike B on Mar 9, 2009 18:56:31 GMT 1
The masts were made from 2mm walnut dowel, sanded to shape. The upper bands where the mast sections are joined are cotton wound around the masts and superglued. The mast trees were too small to make out of wood so I experimented with cotton, winding it around a cocktail stick in a coil formation and gluing with CA glue as I went along. When it was to the right size, I soaked both sides with glue and then left it for 24 hours to cure. I then sanded the coil to shape. This came out quite well. This is the first mast done with the above method. The trees will be painted brown and black.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 9, 2009 23:43:37 GMT 1
Can't wait to see just how you get it all into that bottle.
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Post by Mike B on Mar 11, 2009 23:07:27 GMT 1
Can't wait to see just how you get it all into that bottle. Neither can I! ;D
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Post by Mike B on Mar 26, 2009 17:03:54 GMT 1
I am making the yards from 1mm brass rod. I have soldered 0.4mm brass wire to the centre of the yards. 0.5mm holes will be drilled into the masts at the relevant yard positions and the brass wire inserted and cut off at the rear of the mast. This will enable me to insert the masts into the bottle with the yards folded. The masts will then be stepped and the yards swivelled temporarily into place. The masts will then be glued into place with 24hr. epoxy. When the masts are glued and set, the yards will then be fine-tuned and glued.
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Post by nm on Mar 26, 2009 17:57:19 GMT 1
That should be easy - there's only fifteen of them!
nm
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Post by Mike B on Mar 31, 2009 22:44:17 GMT 1
Here are the masts and yards painted. By trial and error, I finally came up with a simple clamping arrangement on the jig for the ratlines. The black strips are sanding sticks glued to the baseboard. The cotton is wound over them and then another sanding stick clamped on top. I intend to glue the top of each ratline to its associated mast, splayed outward, before insertion into the bottle. After the mast is stepped and the glue dried, I will “spring” the bottom of the ratlines into place onto the side bulwarks. (Hopefully!)
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Post by nm on Mar 31, 2009 22:49:00 GMT 1
When we see pictures of the completed project, we'll forget how you got the ship into the bottle.
Going great.
nm
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