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Minnie


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Hi Kev,

On the La Recouverance that is the foresail, the back mast is the mainmast! The sail is stowed that way because, as you say, there is no boom to stow it on.

Bob

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The model of the Minnie is now complete. The total building time came to 16.6 hours, spread over 9 days – an average of 1.84 hours per day. I still have to build the display case and carrying case, although that does not take very long in actual work. A lot of the time is used up waiting for glue and French Polish to dry.

Bob

Minnie_in_hand_Large.jpg

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Awesome miniature Bob !

" On the La Recouverance that is the foresail, the back mast is the mainmast! " Dooh! I'm going to have to work on my terminology !

As you said the two boats are similar apart from the rake of the masts on La Recouverance, I don't recall seeing that on the British boats.

32' to the 1" by my calculations comes out at 1/384 close to 1/350! Be interesting to see one of your boats against a 1/350 warship

Kev

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Yes, it is 1/384, but comparing a merchant ship with a warship as far as size goes does not mean anything. The Minnie was a tiny little vessel of about 87 tons, so it would appear insignificant. But put a battleship alongside something like the oil tanker Globtik Tokyo, and the merchant ship would dwarf the battleship! http://www.histarmar.com.ar/InfGral/Tanqueros/GlobtikTokyox8.jpg

Globtik Tokyo:

Bob

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If it wasnt for the pen I would have sworn this model was much bigger, brilliant work!!

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I have now started the display case for the Minnie. The quadrant is cheap 18mm pine, but I veneered it with Steamed Beech veneer. That does not mean that I steamed it. That is simply the name of it! I then cut the corner mitres, and glued the four pieces together forming the base. The green felt base was then made. That was a piece of cardboard glued on top of a piece of green felt, the sides of which are folded over and glued on top of the card.

The veneered quadrant was then painted with shellac sanding sealer. The whole process took 1 hour, 15 minutes. The next task will be to cut and fit the four sides. These will be made from 3mm clear acrylic. Whilst the top is still open, I will cut the inner base, and edge it with splayed Sapele wood moulding, working through the open top. Working through the open top ensures a perfect fit. The top will then be cut and glued on. After that, the edges will be bordered with more Steamed Beech veneer, and the woodwork French Polished.

Bob

Base_quadrant_Large.jpg

Edited by ShipbuilderMN
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Today, I assembled the display case without the top. I placed the topless case on a piece of wood and ran a pencil round the inside, and then cut it out. Working through the open top, I edged the base with splayed Sapele wood moulding. I then fitted the sea in it. The sea for this one is simply a piece of plywood with a piece of crepe paper glued on top and spray painted. I was fortunate in the fact that I found a piece of sea left over from an earlier model that was just the right size for this very small model. The next task is to fit the top on the display case and edge the joins with Steamed Beech veneer. All the woodwork must then be French Polished. I also need to assemble the carrying case. Today's working time was 2.6 hours!

Bob

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Thanks for going into detail on how you make your bases/cases for your wonderful models. Something that is applicable to all areas of modelling.

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Here is yesterday’s progress. The display case sides are white because they are covered with a plastic protective coating on both sides. This will be removed after the case has been veneered.

The base edging is fitted through the open top, each side in turn being cut to the exact size of the inside of the case. This ensures a perfect fit. The model is given a trial run in the sea. It will look a lot better when the edging is French Polished, and the junction between the sea and the wood is covered with a twisted wire edging.

Display_case_and_top_Large.jpg

The display case with the top left off.

Work_through_the_open_top_Large.jpg

Cut the inner base and fite the wood edging through the open top to ensure a perfect fit.

Trial_run_in_sea_Large.jpg

A trial run in the sea.

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Nice and clear - cases are still a problem for me...tend to be a bit clumsy with gluing! Also mitres.Getting really accurate mitre joints. It'd be nice to have one of those framing guillotines, or even a decent chop saw.

F

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I use a chop saw. It wasn't terribly expensive, less than £100. I have it permanently set at 45 degree angles and it results in very good mitres.

The case sides are glued together with contact adhesive, and the join is hidden by veneer edging.

Bob

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I have now completed veneering the display case. The final task is to French Polish it, and then I can remove the protective coating from the inside and outside. The total time from building the display case was six hours. It seems a long time, but spread over several days, it is not so bad. This one was made with offcuts of wood and acrylic left over from larger models.

Bob

Display_case_veneered_Large.jpg

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I use a chop saw. It wasn't terribly expensive, less than £100. I have it permanently set at 45 degree angles and it results in very good mitres.

The case sides are glued together with contact adhesive, and the join is hidden by veneer edging.

Bob

i need to start saving...or be very nice to Santa...

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