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Time To Move On...

Incredible diorama Refugee! The detail is very good and the realism of the water is unbelievable. I also got caught in the loss of the build logs over at MSW. I am not a modeler, but was living in an small seaside community known for ship building in the 1800's. The house I was renovating there was owned and built by a ship building family and I thought it would be fitting to scratch build a scale model replica of a ship produced by this family. My first model (and build log) was a practice model of the brig Eagle and with help from the MSW site (esp. Gene Bodnar's practicum) I was able to learn and produce a deceit model. The learning curve was tough and every step was new to me. I then started the second ship (and build log) which was going to of a ship built by this ship-building family and had the hull structure mostly completed when everything was lost on MSW. I never saved the build logs. I stopped the build. I was in a dead calm. I joined this forum in the hopes that it would renew my interest in building this ship. I just retired from work and we shall see. Thanks for your post as I am inspired.

I made a mistake on the website I referenced. It was MSB not MSW where I lost build logs.
 
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I was going to try to post this on the thread for the MSW outage. The Wayback Machine has an archive of MSW from the before time (before the epoxyclips):


I'm not sure if the MSW admins are aware of this or not...
 
Incredible model. But I don't understand how you keep that miniature water from overflowing! I swear I see mist at the bow - don't know how you accomplished it, but would love to see a "build" of the water. Perhaps a reference of MSW?

Where in PA? I grew up in Irwin and went to Pitt.
 
Do you have a build log somewhere of how you made the ocean ? It's very well done.
Yes. But not a "Build Log" per se. I presented a one hour "workshop" (online webinar) on "Diorama Water Crafting" when I was a Director of the NRG (2020-2025). My webinar (and many others) are available free to NRG members (www.thenrg.org). Go to their site, select "Events" from the top menu, then select "Online Workshops" from the drop-down menu. You should end-up on an NRG page listing a couple dozen webinars.

If you are not an NRG member, I would encourage you to consider joining since this "value-added" Workshop component of one's membership is a valuable perk aside from receiving the quarterly NRG Journal. I also authored an article on my water crafting in a back issue of the Journal for a minimal cost (if still available, pre-digital I believe).

Another option: the NRG also has a one-off publication entitled "Ship Modeler's Handbook." This excellent, 100 page, full-color magazine format reference was produced by FineScale Modeler under license from the NRG. I believe it is still available from the NRG in their online store. The cover features one of my ship dioramas and includes my article: "Zen and The Art of Creating the Ocean." This truncated article is a 6-page "How-To" on the rudiments of my approach; the previously mentioned NRG Webinar is a much deeper-dive (ignore the metaphor) into the methodology and materials, etc.

I hope the above information might be helpful to you. And, a sincere "Thank You" for your compliment.

COVER_720x.jpg
 
I was going to try to post this on the thread for the MSW outage. The Wayback Machine has an archive of MSW from the before time (before the epoxyclips):


I'm not sure if the MSW admins are aware of this or not...
Starcruiser: Thanks for this.

Indeed the Internet Archive "Wayback Machine" has a PARTIAL back-up dated quite close to the MSW demise (with partials back to 2020). Some of the site's links to various areas of the internet still work from this archived "glimpse" - for example, virtually all of the ad banners! However, the graphics (including photo file posts and all Build Logs) are kaputt. What's interesting is that SOME TEXT remains. I haven't spent more than just a few minutes checking. All my graphics and Build Logs are gone. Bottom Line: the remaining pieces don't appear to have much value for retrieving content. Basically: it's a nostalgic "Remember When?", sad snapshot.

I should mention that the host for MSW is/was in the U.K. and all admin was accomplished from there with moderators (access to some site levers) sprinkled around the U.S. I don't believe any of the moderators in the U.S. would have had access to backing-up the site, unfortunately. The NRG is NOT HOSTED in the UK and runs on a database platform (from Canada) and not served on a vulnerable forum.
 
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Incredible model. But I don't understand how you keep that miniature water from overflowing! I swear I see mist at the bow - don't know how you accomplished it, but would love to see a "build" of the water. Perhaps a reference of MSW?

Where in PA? I grew up in Irwin and went to Pitt.
Thank You, kindly. Some colleagues have joked that I have a responsibility to provide a nearby towel rack...

I discovered how to "make mist", a simulated, wind-induced water spray. AND...I've described the process in magazine articles and an NRG Webinar on water crafting. See my earlier post here to voncarlos for details.

I'm a relatively recent resident of Bucks County.
 
Incredible diorama Refugee! The detail is very good and the realism of the water is unbelievable. I also got caught in the loss of the build logs over at MSW. I am not a modeler, but was living in an small seaside community known for ship building in the 1800's. The house I was renovating there was owned and built by a ship building family and I thought it would be fitting to scratch build a scale model replica of a ship produced by this family. My first model (and build log) was a practice model of the brig Eagle and with help from the MSW site (esp. Gene Bodnar's practicum) I was able to learn and produce a deceit model. The learning curve was tough and every step was new to me. I then started the second ship (and build log) which was going to of a ship built by this ship-building family and had the hull structure mostly completed when everything was lost on MSW. I never saved the build logs. I stopped the build. I was in a dead calm. I joined this forum in the hopes that it would renew my interest in building this ship. I just retired from work and we shall see. Thanks for your post as I am inspired.
Thanks, Todd. I'm sorry that you too lost your work on the "epoxyclips" of MSW..o_O...I believe that you'll get the answers and support for your continuing efforts by members here. It's very humbling (but affirming) to know that I may have provided some inspiration for you to pick-up your shop tools and confidence and to get back to work on that diorama.
 
Welcome Ron,
We're here to learn from you.
Ab
Greetings Ab! And I'm now here to learn from You!

To SoS members: Ab kindly allowed me to interview him for an article I wrote for the NRG Journal, now a couple years ago - but a back issue may be still be available at the NRG website. Members here likely will know Ab's outstanding ship models, especially the beautifully-crafted paper ones, also presented now in überrealistic composited seascape dioramas.
 
Welcome Ron, it's nice to see you were able to make the transition.
Thank You, Daniel20.
A transition indeed. First: Shock :eek:... Then, the Five Stages of Griefdenial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. For me, all within 24 hours.

These factors are the emotional responses developed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross to help understand the complex process of loss. These stages are non-linear; individuals may not experience them in order, may skip stages, or may cycle back through them.

Your mileage may vary.
 
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