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Work in Progress February 20, 2013
Reporter: Dave Yotter
Just to revisit last month’s announcement about Randy Biddle partnering with Sam Manning to produce modeling plans for a 1763 merchant sloop derived from admiralty plans. These plans will be part of the result of Randy’s research into H.M. Armed Sloop Chaleur of 1764. The next part was confused by your reporter and should have read: “The Royal Navy purchased the sloop in 1764 at Boston and gave her the name Chaleur as one of a group of six Marblehead sloops and schooners bought in Boston and Halifax, NS. Randy has discovered that she started life as a merchant sloop of 90 tons (as claimed by the owner) and about 70 feet on deck.” Randy wants these plans to be the ultimate for ship model builders. Please contact him at: [email protected] if you have any suggestions, pet peeves or ideas that you have thought of to improve plans for ship model building. Paul Alkorn brought in a book to share: The Sailing Frigate: A History in Ship Models” by Robert Gardner. The book has lots of pictures using contemporary Admiralty ship models to illustrate many details of vessel construction that are not shown on contemporary plans. The photography looks excellent. Naval Institute Press sells this for about $48.00 but a quick look at Amazon shows a price of $30.26! John Simmons shared a marvelous painting he had commissioned by Patrick O’Brain of a cutter on patrol on Chesapeake Bay. John related the experience of working with the artist for his concept of the painting, receiving a proof for final approval. Don Dressel announced that his book that chronicles all of
Newsletter
Volume 40, Number 3, Mar. 2013
Contacts
President: John Simmons (626) 339-5151
E-Mail [email protected] Vice President: Larry Van Es
(714) 936-0389 E-Mail [email protected]
Secretary: Paul Payne (310) 544-1461
Treasurer: Mike DiCerbo (714) 523-2518
15320 Ocaso Ave, #DD204, La Mirada, CA. 90630
Editor, Don Dressel (909) 949-6931
908 W. 22nd Street Upland, CA 91784-1229
E-mail: [email protected] Web Manager: Doug Tolbert:
(949) 644-5416 Web Site
www.shipmodelersassociation.org
Meeting – Wed., Mar. 20, 7 PM, Red Cross Building, 1207 N.
Lemon, Fullerton, CA. 92832
Officers meeting – Wed., Apr. 3, 2012, 7 PM, Bob Beech’s house, 130 Clove Pl., Brea, CA. 92821 –
(714) 529-1481.
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the models that gathered for the 2011 Western Ship Model Conference & Exhibit will be available for sale the first of next month. If your model was in the exhibit it will be in the book. The title of the book is The Many Aspects of Ship Modeling. The price of the book is $32.95 and will be available from Sea Watch Books (www.seawatchbooks.com). Don is also offering a special deal for those who are local SMA club members as well as the San
Diego Ship Modelers Guild and the Channel Island Maritime Modelers. Those who contact Don in the Month of March will be able to purchase the book for the cost of the book with no shipping, as Don will order the books in bulk at the end of the month for all those who take advantage of this offer. Don can be contacted at [email protected] for more information. See the short write-up in this issue of the SMA Newsletter. San Felipe - Don Dressel Don Dressel brought in his scratch model of the 1:112 scale ship San Felipe. Don is continuing work on this model in preparation for the ROPE Exhibition in Tokyo this coming April. He had put a lot of effort into it this month, completing most of the deck furniture. The round stairs were built using pear wood for the siding, which was soaked in water and steam bent to shape. The treads for the stairs were made using pau marfim. The posts and railings are made from pau marfim. The fine gratings were made using Lloyd Warner Woods grating material, carefully assembled and sanded with boxwood moldings. The belfry was made using a number of woods including pink ivory and ebony. The ships bell was purchased from the local train hobby shop, the Whistle Stop, in Pasadena. The skylight was made from Pear wood, again bent to shape, carved out and fitted. The ships light was made from a round bar of brass, turned on Don’s Sherline lathe as was the plastic rod for the center of the light. The head rails
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were a major concern and much thought went into just how to make them out of boxwood. A good explanation of this effort is in the Mayflower Group report included with this newsletter. Further work to be done includes the flag poles, channels with deadeyes and chains, side entry ports and final case details. Don hopes that the model will be basically complete by the meeting next month. Bedford Dolphin Semisubmersible Oil Rig – Burt Goldstein
Burt Goldstein brought in a finished cardstock model of the Bedford Dolphin semisubmersible oil rig in 1:400 scale. The rig’s major dimensions are 355 ft. long by 220 ft. wide and it is manned by a crew of 97. Some of the interesting detail on this type of oil rig includes a helicopter-pad, anchors (4) on the pontoons and a local propulsion system for local maneuvering. A heavy lift ship, such as the Willlift Eagle, a model that
Burt completed earlier would accomplish major moves for the oil rig. The prototype is currently operating off the coast of Norway. The model was ordered from Poland for $20 – 25.00, is very detailed with thousands of parts and is very difficult to build. Burt said that he doubled up on his usual build time and it still took him two months to complete. Construction details include the use of spaghetti (painted gray) for drill pipe and bamboo toothpicks and wire from paper staples for other details. Both cardstock and printer paper, sometimes doubled up, were used in the model. One of the most difficult parts of completing this type of model is that the edges and sometimes the back of all the cut out paper parts need to be painted in a color that matches the printed face. Buzzard’s Bay Boy’s Boat – Cornelius Van Dorp Naval architect Captain Nathanael Greene Herreshoff and his Herreshoff Manufacturing Company were in the business of producing the world’s finest
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yachts from 1863 to 1945. He designed the 12 ½ footer in 1914 for yachtsmen who wanted a training sailboat for their children that would handle the strong wind and steep chop of Buzzards Bay. He built what he called the “Buzzard’s Bay Boy’s Boat” in his shop in Bristol Bay, Rhode Island until 1939. While the Herreshoffs were originally crafted in wood, today most of the Buzzards Yacht club boats are Doughdishes, built to the exact hull dimensions and rig of the wooden Herreshoffs, but constructed of foam, fiberglass and teak. The boat has a 15’10” overall length and 12’6” waterline length. There is a 735-pound lead keel, which gives great stability. According to the Herreshoff Museum, “this design has long since established itself as one of the foremost examples of yachting genius, for no other type of boat has acquired a more enduring popularity. The mere fact that, in 80 years, no significant modification has been made in the design testifies to its perfection.” Cornelius Van Dorp brought in a finished model of what appears to be a Buzzard’s Bay Boy’s Boat that he finished from a preformed bare hull. The material that the hull is made with is unknown, which is one reason why it is not a sailing model. The model appears to be about 1:12 scale. HMS Fly = Mike Lonnecker Mike Lonnecker reports: HMS Fly was a sixth rate ship rigged sloop of the 25-ship Swan class. She was launched 14 September 1776. The Swan class was of 14 to 16 guns, the Fly carrying 14 6-pounders and 16 swivel guns. The Swan class of sloops was unusually attractive for a sixth rate both for her hull lines and the amount of decoration. They were built just before the Admiralty issued orders for the reduction of decoration to save cost because of the continuing wars. The Swan class measured 97’7” on deck, displaced 300 tons and carried 125 officers and men. The Fly’s career was short as she foundered off Newfoundland in 1802. She performed primarily convoy escort duty and dispatch duty. She captured two French Privateers. The model is being built following plans from David Antscherl and using the four-volume set of books by David Antscherl and Greg Herbert. The scale is 1:48 and the model is being built using boxwood. I have shown the model several times in the past. Since the last showing I have completed the gun and sweep port framing. I have continued to fair the outside of the hull. I have had a lot of difficulty with breakage of
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the joints between the frames. My error was to make the spacers by cutting off the correct width pieces from a piece of strip wood. This resulted in spacers with the end grain as the glue surface resulting in very week joints. Next time I will cut them with the grain in the other direction so I am gluing edge to edge. All of this breakage has slowed the fairing a lot. I have also faired the stern. Because the stern is curved both horizontally and vertically, I cut battens on the vertical curve and then formed them horizontally to mark the location of the knuckles that form the edge of the upper and lower counters and check the fairness of the stern. I then sanded the upper counter. Even though the location of the counter is included in the patterns of the parts I felt it would be best to make this feature after the parts were installed. This way I could make sure everything could be faired properly. After I was satisfied with the curves of the stern I planked the lower counter. The wales overlap this planking so it must go on first. The planks had to be cut on the curve and formed over the athwart ship curve of the stern. The challenge here was to cut the curved planks to fit each other with no gaps. The planks of the upper counter overlap the topside planking so they will be installed after the completion of that planking. From here I intend to finish the exterior fairing and plank the wales and topsides before moving to completion of interior fairing. HMS Elephant – Robert Hewitt
HMS Elephant was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built by George Parsons in Bursledon, Hampshire. She was designed in 1758; the keel was laid in February 1783 and she was launched on 24 August 1786. The ship had a long history of needing fumigation from a foul bilge. In late November 1790 the ship narrowly avoided destruction when lightning struck her whilst she was in Portsmouth harbor.
The main topmast exploded but did not plunge through the quarterdeck as it was still held by the top rope. In 1801 Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson chose Elephant as his flagship during the Battle of Copenhagen due to its suitability for the shallow waters there. It was on this ship that he is said to have put his telescope to his blind eye and claimed not to be able to see a signal ordering him to withdraw. In mid-1803, the squadron under Captain Henry William Bayntun, consisting of Cumberland, Hercule,
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Bellerophon, Elephant, and Vanguard captured Poisson Volant and Superieure. The Royal Navy took both into service. Elephant was reduced to a 58-gun fourth-rate in 1818, and broken up in 1830. Robert Hewitt is building his 1:480 scale model of Elephant from pear, holly and ebony following the practice of Philip Reed. The model will be rigged with the yards made from bamboo. Other materials used include wire for rigging and suture silk. The base for the model is ebony with the stand made from holly. USS Constitution – Bob Riddoch
Bob Riddoch brought in his 1:76 model of USS Constitution that he is building using a Model Shipways kit as a starting point. Bob brought the model for show at the December meeting but it was damaged in transport, receiving a blow to the bow area. The entire stem broke away from the hull and the keel, carrying away the completed bow section with it. He managed to save the stem piece along with some of the knees an cheeks and
the seats-of-ease and now the battle damage has been repaired. The only things that need to be done are some trim painting to complete the repair. The next stage is coppering the lower hull. Bob did indicate that the repair of the bow area resulted in a better bow than the original, so it was not all a total loss of time.
Cargo Ketch Clara May – Paul Carter Paul Carter brought in his finished model of the English Ketch Clara May in 1:50 scale built using an Artesania Latina kit. The ketch was launched in Plymouth in 1891 with dimensions which were approximately; overall length 76 ft, depth 9 ft and 76 gross tons. She had a two-cylinder semi-diesel engine installed in 1926 and
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remained in service until 1953. Jerry Blair made the sails for this model. Paul just finished the case for the model. Construction of the case was done in popular and the case was made thin so it would fit on the mantel. Paul said he had previous experience with “lead disease” and so placed the model on a marble base to help keep the internal atmosphere model friendly.
John Simmon’s painting by Patrick O’Brien of a cutter
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Mike Lonnecker’s HMS Fly Bob Riddoch’s USS Constitution Cornelius Van Dorp’s Buzzards Bay Boy’s Boat
Robert Hewitt’s HMS Elephant
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Paul Carter’s Cargo Ketch Clara May in case Burt Goldstein’s Bedford Dolphin submersible Oil Rig Don Dressel’s San Felipe
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By Don Dressel
Old Salts in Port: John Bakker, Don Dressel, Don Leyman, Steve Jones.
Ship in Port: Dutch Gunboat, Mystique, HMS Bounty, San Felipe, Pegasus.There were few in attendance today at John’s house for the Mayflower Group meeting, but a great time was had and many things were discussed and explained. You author always learns something from every session of the Mayflower Group meetings, and today was no exception.
The meeting started off with John Bakker and his progress made on the Dutch Gunboat that he purchased at the recent SMA auction. He was having some difficulty understanding the plans provided and insisted that there were only two plans (Travolta). After much discussion it was finally realized that there were indeed THREE plans. John had thought that the third plan was just the sail plan, but it turned out to be much more than that. The third plan also provided the rigging details, such as they were, along with helping to answer his question on the railings that he had with the other two plans. John figures all these things out for each ship eventually, some taking longer than others.
A case in point is the MYSTIQUE that
John has been working on for quite some time. He finally decided to just rig it and finish it. John has completed his work on the MYSTIQUE, as I predicted last month, solving all his problems as he went. The sails are a beautiful work of art which John made himself and the rigging looks to be first class. Now all he has to do is put the completed model in a case.
John also briefly talked about his HMS Bounty kit he purchased from Model Expo, with the bulkheads in place.
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He did make the comment that the model was pretty small, so we will have to see how things turn out next month.
Don Leyman then talked about his work on the PEGASUS, which is one of the Swan Class sloops. He had done a beautiful job of making up the baseboard for the model and drawn the frames on the baseboard, which turns out to be very valuable when the actual installation of the frames takes
place. He explained the problems and difficulties he was having with the shaping and installation of the cant frame next to the bollard timber along with the installation of the cross‐chock between the bollard timbers. Don explained the use of the simple jig made to assist in installation of these timbers and how it works. Don is up to about page 100 of David Antscherl’s book on The Fully Framed Model, HMN SWAN CLASS SLOOPS, 1767‐1780. Volume 1. Don
indicated he enjoyed the challenge of the build and figuring out the many bevels and sides that these timbers have. He also commented that he is usually not successful the first time he makes the timber, resulting in a second effort – but he always learns something from each operation. It will be interesting to see what progress he has made at the next Mayflower Group meeting.
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The SAN FELIPE was the next model discussed. Don Dressel explained the difficulties he had with making the head rails and his ultimate solution to the problem. With help last month from Don Leyman, Don purchased some Bristol board and made a pattern of the headrail, since the plans were inadequate. Using the pattern, he first made a jig of the overhead view of the headrail by sawing a block of wood to the pattern. He then soaked 1/16 x 3 inch boxwood strips (the length of the headrail) in water for a couple of hours, then bent the boxwood using the jig with clamps. After setting in the jig for 24 hours, Don removed the boxwood, drew the side view of the headrail on the wood, and proceeded to cut the headrail out – very slowly and carefully, making it overlarge at first then trimming it down to fit. This was done for each of the six headrail’s,
one at a time. A grove was carved in the middle of each headrail for added decoration. The results are shown in the photograph.
The stern light was made using brass rod turned down with a lathe, the center of the lantern being a piece of plastic rod with indentations again cut into the rod using the lathe to install the brass strip. The curved stairs were made with pear wood and pau marfim, the pear again soaked and bent to shape. The flag poles were turned from lemon wood and just set into the model at this time. All of the deck furniture is completed and belaying pins installed. There remains the channels, deadeyes, chainplates, and port and starboard entry ports to be completed, then the model will be ready to case and prepare for the trip to Japan.
General discussions on ship related items then took place. Don’s new book was brought up and Don showed the first draft on John’s computer. A general discussion on plastic cases and where to obtain cases for ship models enlivened the conversation. An enjoyable time was had by all with coffee and cookies thrown in. There is some hope that more SMA members will take advantage of the opportunity to discuss models, modeling and techniques in the future.
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Recent Photo’s of HMS BEAGLE
By Kevin Hudson
Shown for the enjoyment of the SMA members is the model in progress being built by Australian Kevin Hudson from down under. He has excelled in the use of brass and fittings and this is only his second scratch built ship model. Deck Detail Bow shot
Starboard side of model Overhead shot of deck detail and mounting
The Editor would like to thank Kevin for sharing his model with us and also make a pitch for other SMA members to share their work even though they are unable for distance reasons to show the kind of work they are doing. The SMA now has members from all over the country and the world.
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Frigates of the Royal Navy HMS EURYALUS (36) 1803
A Plank on Frame Model Volume Ii
Text by Allan Yedlinsky Plans by Wayne Kempson
Florence, OR: SeaWatchBooks, LLC, 2011 9 ” X 12 ”, hardcover, 128 pages
Photographs, appendices, notes, references, ships plans, CD of frames Jacketed
ISBN: 978‐0‐9837532‐4‐7
The long awaited Volume II of this book is finally out after waiting for quite awhile, as Volume I came out in October of 2011. Volume ii starts off where Volume 1 finished, but there is ample reference to the first volume while reading and studying the second volume. Once again the text is very impressive with many hints, tips and suggestions on how a scratch modeler may continue and complete the model up to the rigging stages. There is even a section on the ships guns and how to fabricate them, although technically the ships guns were not installed on the ship until after she was launched. The saga continues with the completion of the stern framing and a lot of details like the bowsprit cross chock. This is followed by the detailed instructions on the planking of the hull of the model including making scrapers and moldings for the details on the hull, drop stakes and stealers, the wales, tuck molding and rails. The third chapter details the “rother” or rudder and gives a great, detailed description of how to construct this very interesting aspect of the model. The
pintles, gudgeons are detailed along with the tiller and sweep for the rudder, which includes a detail on the tensioning tackle for the tiller which I have never seen before. The details given in the written instructions are a great boost to the plans and offer a lot of scratch building insights into methods and techniques to use while building the ship. Also offered is a number of pitfalls to avoid while the model is under construction and it is strongly recommended to read the entire contents of both volumes before attempting to build this model to avoid pitfalls.
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This is also the first time I have seen reference to hammock battens, which are installed beside the beams on the ship. All the details of the deck framing are detailed, including the pillars, lodging knees, hanging knees, carlings, ledges, gratings, mast partners, coaming and head ledges and much more.
For me, installation of the manger, bowsprit step, Great cabin, bed place and lobby are of real interest. Chapter five deals with the chain pumps and is a detailed instruction on how to assemble these little items and where to install them on the ship. This is followed in chapter six with construction and installation of the capstans. Allan does indicate that it would be very nice to have a mill to make some of these items, but it can be done without one. The Brodie stove is discussed in chapter seven with a copy of the original patent for the stove in Appendix A. All the details for the stove are fully explained and the best method of construction is given. This is followed by the finishing of he galleries and completion of the details on the stern. The cannon makeup and construction is fully explained along with all the details of the cannon makeup including the cannon carriages and rigging, the gunport lids and rigging and the shot and racks installed on the ship. The forecastle deck and quarter deck details are then given along with instructions on what to avoid doing until a later stage of construction. This includes the ships wheel and carronades among other things. The head construction with the checks and rails are detailed followed by many outboard details including deadeyes, channels, anchors, stern lantern, figurehead.
The final chapter is on the ships boats, four of which are made for this model and installed amidships. Almost everything is there for the scratch ship modeler to be able to complete a first class model of a Royal Navy Frigate. Both volumes are highly recommended and are available from Sea Watch Books at www.seawatchbooks.com.
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The Many Aspects of Ship Modeling Western Ship Model Exhibition & Conference 2011
Text by Don Dressel Florence, OR: SeaWatchBooks, LLC, 2013
11” X 8 1/2 ”, soft cover, 128 pages 191 color photos
ISBN: 978‐0‐9837532‐3‐0
According to the web site information at www.seawatchbooks.com, “In 2011 the Ship Modelers Association hosted a ship modeling conference and display. The 191 models entered for display, from five different countries, represented a snapshot of the model ship building today. In this book, each model is presented with a photo and a caption. Here you will find models made from wood, resin, plastic, fiberglass, and card stock. They cover subjects from 1500 to today. They are scratch built, modified from kits, and kit built, in scales ranging from miniatures and up. Featured are static displays, dioramas, and R/C examples. It is a superb gallery of the current art and craft of ship modeling today.” In addition, there is a brief introduction followed by a chart of the 191 ship models by date, name of ship and ship model builder. The book concludes with a brief history of the WSMC&E. Cost for the book is $32.00 + $7 shipping and Handling US/$14 Canada/$20 All other locations – see web site above.
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SMA Meeting for March Please note that the SMA Meeting at the Red Cross Building this month will start again at the usual time of 7:00 PM. Please bring your latest models and other items you want to share with your fellow SMA members. I wonder if you will see John Simmon’s latest effort on his HMS Fly. 2013 Dues are Due This is a reminder that the SMA dues are due for next year. Any questions regarding dues can be addressed to any officer of the SMA. Treasurer Mike DiCerbo will be at the meeting to accept your cash or checks. The deadline is this coming March. Japanese trip to Tokyo set for April 12, 2013 Several members of the SMA are scheduled to again visit our friends the ROPE in Tokyo, our sister club. The ROPE Exhibition will take place between April 14 through April 20 this year and a number of models will represent the SMA including Don’s San Felipe, several models by Gus Agustin and also a few by Michel Mantin (France). Treasurer’s Report Our esteemed SMA Treasurer, Mike DiCerbo, indicates that the current balance in the SMA treasury is $2,187.05 as of the end of February 2012. Web Manager’s Report
Above is the chart of the hits experienced by our SMA web page through the end of January 2012. You should check out the web page as there will is great set of articles on the speakers who were at the recent WSMC&E, according to Doug. There are other potential additions to be added to the web site.
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Mike Lonnecker’s stern on HMS PEGASUS
Donald C. Dressel 908 W. 22nd Street, Upland, CA. 91784-1229
Next meeting Wednesday, March 20, 7:30 PM, Hillcrest Park Red Cross Building
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