Vasa - 1:65 DeAgostini [COMPLETED BUILD]

PGN said:
It looks really good Paul.

I'm getting really close to cutting down out pear tree.......
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Thank you Paul!

DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
Looks fantastic to me, considering the small scale. The only way to tackle delicate scratch work like this is one small piece at a time. That includes making cardboard patterns that help plan cutting the wooden parts, and changing techniques to make shapes from bending to stock removal, for example, on difficult curved parts. As for the grooves, you can use gouges, Dremel, and riffler files to carefully cut them. Luckily, tiny imperfections in cutting and joinery are hidden by paint on your rails.

As for joinery, having the posts go through first layer of rail is too delicate, you have good chance of snapping something. If you can hide the original joinery method by simpler methods of attaching the parts, like lap or butt joints reinforced by wire pins inside the posts, you won't breaking things as you are making things.

As for wood bending to make the curved parts, one idea is to switch woods. Use bending birch instead of pear. You're going to paint it anyway. Bending birch is very flexible and has a fine grain. You can bend it dry, but soaked wet is best, and the wood actually feels a bit rubbery as you work it.

I think you did a masterful job choosing the methods to accomplish detailed rails. You chose carefully what techniques to use and where, formed a plan on how to make the joints and details, and did hours of futz work to make it happen. (Was ist "futz work" auf Deutsch, Uwe? Furzenwerk? in Yiddish it's "arumfartzen" or "farting around", but I digress). The end result looks great. This is what scratch building is all about.
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Thanks for the affirmation Kurt. I did eventually find a way to make these curved bits but it took me a while. As for introducing another wood species - the inboard side is unpainted so pear was my best option. Having said that, I don't think anyone would have objected to the whole upper rail being painted. In fact, I believe that would look very nice. I was just doing it like it was done on the 1:10.

I was going to attribute my struggles to the issue of scale until I remembered your majestic La Couronne at 1:100 :D .

My decision to swap out the kit supplied ply with pear has forced me to do way more scratch building than I ever intended. But the practice is good as I am learning along the way.

Gennaro said:
Paul, it's beautiful. You nailed that railing, not literally. Love the belaying pins, so true in shape and size.
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Ooh, you're right! I should add some nails!

And these belaying pins are the BOMB! 8 mm and out of pear (Falkonet) - almost perfect for what I am doing! I bought twice as many as I need because I fully intend to break this tiny things by the score...

Alexander74 said:
Paul, hello. The task is certainly not an easy one. But such curved elements are, of course, better cut from a single piece in shape. Which is exactly what you did. It turned out great. In such places, there is always difficulty in matching the elements with each other. Here only files and sandpaper.
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Thank you Sasha. Perhaps I will go back and refine the finish and joinery (I could even use wood filler where there is paint) but I was too tapped out (Russian translation: frustrated) to work on this any more today.

RogerD said:
Those rails look great to me Paul. I know we tend to become our own worst critics but to my eyes you have done, and are doing, a fantastic job.
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Much appreciated Roger. Yes, we see our flaws often before we see our victories. I am grateful for your encouragement!
 
Daniel20 said:
Yes Paul I think you captured it well. I like the upper post (sitting on the cap rail) directly over a corresponding lower post. It appears all the rail post are plumb as opposed to 90 deg. to the deck which makes the most sense. I like it good job!!
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Thanks, Daniel. You understand the challenge perfectly (angulation of the posts).

My concession to not having posts pass through the cap rail was to make it look like they passed through - and the only way to do that was to align them with a frame. I have about 70% of the frame count on the actual ship (a concession to scale to my eye) and a similar percentage of posts holding up the upper rail. As a result of wanting the post to line up with a frame below it I ended up using posts that are dimensionally a bit too wide - but since I was installing fewer than called for I thought it would still look OK.
 
As usual, we are our own worst critic, and anything less than perfection doesn’t seem satisfying. But reality sets in and you realize what you have done, is as good as about 90 percent of what’s been done by others. Will you make the upper 10 percent one day? I think so. ;)
That said, I think it looks great…especially at normal viewing distance. :)
 
The railings look great Paul so no problem at all with your construction method! However, they do look a bit "white" compared to the rest of the model. I would have preferred a more blended look. And as to this ship being your last painted model - welcome to the club! You learn fast! ROTF
 
Heinrich said:
The railings look great Paul so no problem at all with your construction method! However, they do look a bit "white" compared to the rest of the model. I would have preferred a more blended look. And as to this ship being your last painted model - welcome to the club! You learn fast! ROTF
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Thanks for your thoughts Heinrich! The first color selection was straight white. I didn't like it much so I repainted to what you see now - it is a silver-grey 'white'. Maybe I need to tone it down even more??? It's pretty close to the recommended color but that doesn't mean we need to like it!
 
Exactly Paul. Remember your hull is very rich in color and has a luster to it which is unique. Therefore what is "correct" or looks good on another model, may not look as good on your model. I know this would probably be sacrilegious to all die-hard VASA builders out there but a red railing would cap the ship perfectly.
 
dockattner said:
Thanks for your thoughts Heinrich! The first color selection was straight white. I didn't like it much so I repainted to what you see now - it is a silver-grey 'white'. Maybe I need to tone it down even more??? It's pretty close to the recommended color but that doesn't mean we need to like it!
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That’s the ticket…artistic license! :p
 
This whole build is just amazing I am in awe, Thumbsup Speechless
My efforts pale in comparison and now I just want to pack mine up and put it away.
 
dockattner said:
Sorry brothers. No red and no gold on this one. Builder's choice!!! But I love the way you guys think!
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What were the original railings painted? If white, you could use a flat off white and wash the rails after with heavily diluted brown to add some age. The wash would stick to the recesses and highlight those details.
 
DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
What were the original railings painted? If white, you could use a flat off white and wash the rails after with heavily diluted brown to add some age. The wash would stick to the recesses and highlight those details.
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The original railings were painted as I show them though my tone might be off. A. Latina and DeAg both offer painting guides calling for very light gray and that is what I ended up using but one man's light gray is another man's white. Part of the issue might be lighting. Those pictures were taken under photographic lights though that normally gives a very accurate representation of color...

A wash might work but it might also just highlight my rough woodwork and joinery...

I'll look at it again when I get home and maybe try a medium gray. If they are to be repainted that needs to happen sooner than later (and certainly before any standing rigging gets in the way which should happen in late 2027 or so based on the current pace of operations Speechless).
 
Hmmm, red, white, yellow, green, whatever color I'm truly impressed by the your work on the rails. They look absolutely great from my part of the globe. I fully agree on no more painting, unfortunately my current project is paint intensive. That part never entered my mind when I decided on to build that kit. :confused::confused::confused: But as everyone has noted over and over, it's all about learning and finding what works for works for each of us.

Jan
 
Paul,
What I typically do when joining a straight piece with a curved piece, both pieces having a groove, is to first start a groove with an xacto knife, and then follow up with a jewelers file (tiny file) that is triangular shaped and run the file in the groove slowly and carefully with the pointed edge towards the tip of the file. Keep it in the groove obviously, and go from the straight piece to the curved piece, and pull the file (do not push) along the groove with light pressure to slowly remove material, and after a few passes it will average the groove between the two parts and make the transition smooth and continuous. Hope that helps, and I hope you have a tiny jewelers file! ;)

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The file…

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The angle…stay towards the tip with the sharp edge down in the groove. This way it’s almost like drawing and you have more control.
 
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For those hard to reach areas, riffler files are really helpful. You can get a cheap set on Amazon.com.

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