Le Saint Philippe 1693 after Jean-Claude Lemineur (Ancre) in scale 1:48

[dockattner]

Exquisite detailing on the brackets and the fit looks incredibly precise too!

Based on our week-long visit last summer, I'm going on the over for weight gain. Everywhere one turns, they find a new and scrumptious lobster-based dish!!! Enjoy!

We stayed on the Schoodic Peninsula and only ventured to the Bar Harbor Peninsula for a day of biking. We found the Schoodic area to be more relaxing and much less crowded. The Schoodic Institute is beautiful place, giving a second life to an old Navy communication and cryptology base. Worth the drive, if time permits.

Thanks for the travel tip, Brad. I'll look into it. We are staying in Hancock so we're midway between Bar Harbor and Schoodic and we can travel to either place with ease. I'm hoping September travel will avoid some of the summer crowds. Children should be back in school so maybe it won't be too bad?

 

[dockattner]

Very nice brackets, they fit right in.

Thanks, Daniel. The French were not shy about making everything just a bit 'extra.'

beautiful brackets, excellent work!!!

Thank you kindly, Shota.

Fantastic work!

Kind of you to stop by, Johann. You know I am a huge fan of your work!

Great bracket execution, mon ami! It is a really challenging and multidimensional task! Bravo!

Thanks, Jim! It was certainly more challenging than I was expecting.

 

[dockattner]

I am not the least bit surprised by the amount of time you invested in those brackets. It was time well spent!

Let me know whether you are planning to swing through NYC.

Flying direct to Portland this time around and then driving north up to Acadia all on day 1. One day I sure would like to visit your regional ship modeling show, though!

 

[dockattner]

Superb work, as time goes by your skills mature into Excellence. 'sadly Im still on Glue part A to part B and dont cut fingers'. Cheers Paul, awesome work

Too modest, my friend! Your work is superb.

 

[dockattner]

Thanks to everyone for the likes and comments. My habit of taking macro photos casts these brackets in a poor light. Absent of magnification they actually look pretty good - and they should look even better with a bit of finish on them.

Here I'll also add a simple truth: someone with CAD skills could have made these brackets look perfect. And as much as I have great respect for that skill set - it skips over the part of the hobby that I like: making my less-than-perfect parts by hand. Thanks for encouraging me even when you have seen better outcomes.

I've been thinking a bit about how this build report is progressing. I sort of feel bad when there are long lapses between substantive posts. We are all certainly aware of interesting scratch builds that fall silent for extended periods of time. What's the deal? How come you guys never post on the forum? Indeed, regular posts from scratch builders is the exception rather than the norm.

But whatever critical thoughts bubbled up in my head about these modelers were just silly. It turns out that scratch building doesn't just take longer - it takes way longer. As in: two weeks to make four brackets longer.

All of this to say - I am grateful for your patience and for your continued interest. I'll keep posting as long as you keep watching - even if it sometimes feels like progress is glacially slow.

 

[escabena]

Don't stop, Paul, keep showing us your progress. We all have your doubts. This isn't an exact science; the same piece can be made in different ways, so it's interesting to see and review the various logs. Keep it up and continue with this fantastic project!
Miguel

 

[Mirek]

Witaj
Paweł jesteś świetny pięknie wykonane elementy . Pozdrawiam Mirek

 

[Frank48]

Hi Paolo, maybe you haven't realized that you're not just making one model, but many, many models all in one. It's a pleasure to see your work, done with such passion. Keep up the good work. Frank

 

[Dubz Modelling World]

I wouldn't be able to do ONE of these nice brackets. Well done Paul!

 

[KMSvideo]

Paul, your carvings are textbook. I know what I'm talking about. I have the impression that your hands work like a powerful and precise CNC machine. A joy to look at your photos and your work. May it continue to be good and, most importantly, may you enjoy it more.

 

[GrantTyler]

I wouldn't be able to do ONE of these nice brackets. Well done Paul!

Ditto

Hello Friends!

Nearly two weeks has passed since I posted a construction report. In such a span of time you might expect some pretty impressive progress.

Well, I have managed to only fabricate four brackets. Of course, how long things take is a secondary matter, but it does speak to the unique challenge inherent in scratch building (and my somewhat limited modeling time).

I elected to fabricate these brackets from pear wood. I'm trying to limit my use of boxwood to the distinctly decorative elements. In hindsight, it might have been better to use box for the brackets as I ended up working at the limits of the pearwood.

Patterns were used to create the bracket blanks:

View attachment 631031

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The brackets then required detailing (recessed panels were carved in using chisels; the geometric base, swirly thing on the bottom, and the scrolly thing at the top were made with chisels and files).

View attachment 631034

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And now loosely fit on the model:

View attachment 631038

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On the stern face of these brackets I still need to carve some boxwood decorations - but that will need to wait as my wife and I are headed off to the state of Maine for some touring. One of the crown jewels of the American Park system is a place called Acadia National Park - we'll be there for an extended stay later this week and then make our way down the coast. The over/under for weight gained eating lobster rolls is 10 lbs if you want in on the action.

View attachment 631043

As always, I feel blessed that you would take the time to visit.

Boom.....totally owned Paul.. Besides the self-satisfaction of making parts by hand, it gives us "armchair" modellers way more appreciation for your skill set - especially when you detail your process as you do. I also enjoy making parts by hand however my outcomes "sort of look like" the real thing - still way more fun. Cheers Grant

 

[Jack Sparrow]

Thanks to everyone for the likes and comments. My habit of taking macro photos casts these brackets in a poor light. Absent of magnification they actually look pretty good - and they should look even better with a bit of finish on them.

Here I'll also add a simple truth: someone with CAD skills could have made these brackets look perfect. And as much as I have great respect for that skill set - it skips over the part of the hobby that I like: making my less-than-perfect parts by hand. Thanks for encouraging me even when you have seen better outcomes.

I've been thinking a bit about how this build report is progressing. I sort of feel bad when there are long lapses between substantive posts. We are all certainly aware of interesting scratch builds that fall silent for extended periods of time. What's the deal? How come you guys never post on the forum? Indeed, regular posts from scratch builders is the exception rather than the norm.

But whatever critical thoughts bubbled up in my head about these modelers were just silly. It turns out that scratch building doesn't just take longer - it takes way longer. As in: two weeks to make four brackets longer.

All of this to say - I am grateful for your patience and for your continued interest. I'll keep posting as long as you keep watching - even if it sometimes feels like progress is glacially slow.

I would love to scratch build, but at least in my case, the cost is prohibitive. Shipping costs are through the roof, and raw materials are difficult to obtain, if not impossible. That's the unfortunate truth. So I fall back on kit bashing which is sort of a hybrid between scratch and kit building. That is the best I can do.
As an example, I can get a complete set of blocks for one of the models I am building but it would cost me 300$, without shipping. 300$ for a set of blocks! It just isn't worth it.

 

[dockattner]

Don't stop, Paul, keep showing us your progress. We all have your doubts. This isn't an exact science; the same piece can be made in different ways, so it's interesting to see and review the various logs. Keep it up and continue with this fantastic project!
Miguel

Thanks, Miguel.

 

[dockattner]

Witaj
Paweł jesteś świetny pięknie wykonane elementy . Pozdrawiam Mirek

Thank you kindly, Mirek!

 

[dockattner]

Hi Paolo, maybe you haven't realized that you're not just making one model, but many, many models all in one. It's a pleasure to see your work, done with such passion. Keep up the good work. Frank

Thanks for posting, my friend. What you say is certainly true. Each element of a ship is a model unto itself. And unlike on a real (1:1) ship there is only one member on the construction team! And that one person has to have some level of expertise across the full range of materials. No wonder these models take so long!

 

[dockattner]

I wouldn't be able to do ONE of these nice brackets. Well done Paul!

Too modest, Dirk! Not only could you do this but you could do it at half the scale!

 

[dockattner]

Ditto

Boom.....totally owned Paul.. Besides the self-satisfaction of making parts by hand, it gives us "armchair" modellers way more appreciation for your skill set - especially when you detail your process as you do. I also enjoy making parts by hand however my outcomes "sort of look like" the real thing - still way more fun. Cheers Grant

Thanks, Grant. You are famously supportive across the forum. My sincere appreciation for your friendship!

 

[dockattner]

Paul, your carvings are textbook. I know what I'm talking about. I have the impression that your hands work like a powerful and precise CNC machine. A joy to look at your photos and your work. May it continue to be good and, most importantly, may you enjoy it more.

Thanks, Miro. There are still a few of us Luddites lurking the halls of the forum .

 

[dockattner]

I would love to scratch build, but at least in my case, the cost is prohibitive. Shipping costs are through the roof, and raw materials are difficult to obtain, if not impossible. That's the unfortunate truth. So I fall back on kit bashing which is sort of a hybrid between scratch and kit building. That is the best I can do.
As an example, I can get a complete set of blocks for one of the models I am building but it would cost me 300$, without shipping. 300$ for a set of blocks! It just isn't worth it.

Hi Mark. Well, the way I do scratch building is certainly expensive (I recently purchased a single plank of steamed pear for nearly $400). But I don't think it has to be that way if you select less expensive wood species and find a woodworking friend to assist with the processing in exchange for a case of beer.

As for aftermarket upgrades - your point is well-taken. Blocks and rope can be pricey. Of course you don't have to buy these things from vendors - each can be made by hand if you have the time and passion for it. As for me - I made all the rope for a three mast ship and I won't be doing it a second time. The repetition was agony for me. And there are a few people on the forum who can make their own blocks that rival the CNC ones in the marketplace - but that takes a really special skill set (and good eyes!). I ended up spending the $300, though today I'd consider making my own...

A word about cost that bears repeating... Let's use an extreme example. Let's say someone is building one of the new-age super-detailed POF kits: $2500 (a seemingly unthinkable cost). But that build takes two years - maybe three. Dollar-cost-average that over the build time and we are at $100 per month or less. Now it doesn't sound so bad. To be sure the hobby has a cost (most hobbies do) - it's a question of return on investment (in joy and satisfaction in the case of ship modeling).

To extend my argument. That $400 plank of pear is enough wood to make a 1:48 74-gun POF ship model that would take me five years to build. Money well-spent. Unless my children end up using it for firewood when I die and they find it sitting in the basement .

 

[RogerD]

Monday morning so it must be targeted icon/emoji day! Sorry to fill your Alert box Paul but your exceptional work deserves all the accolades.