exwafoo

I was lucky enough to win the Amati Hannah SIB Kit at the Yarmouth Convention. Amati are known for ship models so I was looking forward to building it for the Whitstable Convention. I had to make some changes during the build - called ‘kit-bashing’ The photo below shows the box. Contents – the bottle is under images on the left. The hull pieces – laser cut plywood Photo-etch parts Sails There was also a small container of PVA glue, a strip of sandpaper, 4 self adhesive felt pads as feet for the bottle, 2 pieces of hardwood rod to be used with a length of brass rod and a metal hook as an insertion tool and a rigging tool, a small piece of MDF as the stand base and a small bag of white metal fittings such as the guns. The hull pieces are pressed out and glued together sandwich fashion. I had to use the keel and bowsprit photo-etch to line them up. It was messy as the soot on the edge of the pieces where the laser had burned them mixed with the PVA glue and went everywhere. During the constant handling of the keel piece it broke halfway up the bowsprit where it was half thickness to denote detail. Photo-etch deck being used for sizing I replaced the keel with one made from some of the excess plywood surrounding the hull pieces, and at the same time also decided to replace the flat photo-etch masts and yards with ‘proper’ wooden ones. Photo-etch bulwarks being tried for fit The photo-etched bulwarks were now tackled. This piece had to be carefully bent to the shape of the hull. There are tabs on the deck and the transom that fit into the bulwarks to help locate it. I had difficulty getting cyanoacrylate glue to adhere to the brass, no matter what I cleaned it with. Care also had to be taken with clamping it in place due to the very thin railing details. I ended up using Paraloid B72 adhesive. (see note at the end) Masts, yards and bowsprit Using the photo-etch masts for sizing, I made the masts, yards and bowsprit from some hardwood dowel thinned down to width. I used Hinckley Hinges for folding them. Bowsprit attached with rigging started I did some looking around on the internet for a paint scheme, and used acrylic paints as above. The sails are very thin fabric that frays at a glance, so I used dilute PVA to ‘paint’ both sides of the fabric where the cuts where to be made. I borrowed my wife’s rotary fabric cutter to get sharp cuts and this worked well. The sails were then bent into the masts and yards using brown thread. I made the mast hoops from thin slices of plastic tube, drilled out a bit to make it thinner. Sails and Ratlines Mast hoops and lacing to the yards Staysail To make the lacing for the staysails I first lace them to a piece of wire, stiffen them with dilute PVA and then thread the stay through the loops when dry. This allows the sail to move on the stay when folding the masts. Ratlines being made It was at this time, during a dry run fit of hull, stand and mast with no rigging that I realised that the bottle was not tall enough inside to accom accommodate the SIB, by about 4 mm. I could have shortened the mast, but it would have looked wrong. I had replaced the stand base with oak instead of the grotty MDF, so I thought about thinning it out, but again it looked out of proportion. Also the bottle was full of ‘wavy' bits of glass, would not stand properly on the felt pads, so I decided on a new bottle and sea instead of a stand, after all the sails are set. So that’s what I did and am a lot happier with the result. B72: Spotted this while watching a restoration on the British Museum website. Its acrylic beads mixed with acetone at different ratios depending on use. Its totally reversible if needed. I find it better than superglue in certain applications. Lots of info on the web.

I was lucky enough to win the Amati Hannah SIB Kit at the Yarmouth Convention. Amati are known for ship models so I was looking forward to building it for the Whitstable Convention. I had to make some changes during the build - called ‘kit-bashing’ The photo below shows the box. Contents – the bottle is under images on the left. The hull pieces – laser cut plywood Photo-etch parts Sails There was also a small container of PVA glue, a strip of sandpaper, 4 self adhesive felt pads as feet for the bottle, 2 pieces of hardwood rod to be used with a length of brass rod and a metal hook as an insertion tool and a rigging tool, a small piece of MDF as the stand base and a small bag of white metal fittings such as the guns. The hull pieces are pressed out and glued together sandwich fashion. I had to use the keel and bowsprit photo-etch to line them up. It was messy as the soot on the edge of the pieces where the laser had burned them mixed with the PVA glue and went everywhere. During the constant handling of the keel piece it broke halfway up the bowsprit where it was half thickness to denote detail. Photo-etch deck being used for sizing I replaced the keel with one made from some of the excess plywood surrounding the hull pieces, and at the same time also decided to replace the flat photo-etch masts and yards with ‘proper’ wooden ones. Photo-etch bulwarks being tried for fit The photo-etched bulwarks were now tackled. This piece had to be carefully bent to the shape of the hull. There are tabs on the deck and the transom that fit into the bulwarks to help locate it. I had difficulty getting cyanoacrylate glue to adhere to the brass, no matter what I cleaned it with. Care also had to be taken with clamping it in place due to the very thin railing details. I ended up using Paraloid B72 adhesive. (see note at the end) Masts, yards and bowsprit Using the photo-etch masts for sizing, I made the masts, yards and bowsprit from some hardwood dowel thinned down to width. I used Hinckley Hinges for folding them. Bowsprit attached with rigging started I did some looking around on the internet for a paint scheme, and used acrylic paints as above. The sails are very thin fabric that frays at a glance, so I used dilute PVA to ‘paint’ both sides of the fabric where the cuts where to be made. I borrowed my wife’s rotary fabric cutter to get sharp cuts and this worked well. The sails were then bent into the masts and yards using brown thread. I made the mast hoops from thin slices of plastic tube, drilled out a bit to make it thinner. Sails and Ratlines Mast hoops and lacing to the yards Staysail To make the lacing for the staysails I first lace them to a piece of wire, stiffen them with dilute PVA and then thread the stay through the loops when dry. This allows the sail to move on the stay when folding the masts. Ratlines being made It was at this time, during a dry run fit of hull, stand and mast with no rigging that I realised that the bottle was not tall enough inside to accom accommodate the SIB, by about 4 mm. I could have shortened the mast, but it would have looked wrong. I had replaced the stand base with oak instead of the grotty MDF, so I thought about thinning it out, but again it looked out of proportion. Also the bottle was full of ‘wavy bits of glass, would stand properly on the felt pads, so I decided on a new bottle and sea instead of a stand, after all the sails are set. So that’s what I did and am a lot happier with the result. B72: Spotted this while watching a restoration on the British Museum website. Its acrylic beads mixed with acetone at different ratios depending on use. Its totally reversible if needed. I find it better than superglue in certain applications. Lots of info on the web.

I had another thought on the subject. My late father in law's hobby was lapidary, ie, cutting, polishing and faceting gemstones. He had just started to teach me when, unfortunately, he passed. However, the laps (the turntable carrying the grinding paste) he used were of copper, aluminium ('cos thats how its really spelled) and Perspex which I believe is called Lucite in the USA. He had a selection and only used one grit on each. He applied a small amount of grit (usually diamond paste although he had others as well) in a zig zag fashion over the lap using his finger, then turned the lap on so it was rotating and used a small metal roller to press and spread the paste evenly into the lap. Cutting was lubricated by water. Instead of a polishing mop head, if a circle of Perspex was used (maybe an old CD) with cutting paste, in a similar fashion to a disk sander, more force could be used and it might be a quicker and easier job. Just a thought. I might give it a try somtime. Best Alan

A bit more on fixing the outside of a bottle. I was rushing to finish a SIB for the 2023 EASIB convention and discovered that the bottle label adhesive had actually etched the glass in very faint strips which showed up in a good light. I have some jewelers rouge from long ago that I got to remove corrosion on a boot sale find. It was pressed into service as follows. 1/4 teaspoonful in a disposable plastic cup, a few drops of olive oil, mix to a paste and use a buffing pad on a hobby drill. It took about 10 minutes of polishing, had to add more olive oil as it dried on the bottle. It worked well and removed the etching. SIB finished in time. Points to remember - its messy, very messy. Do it outside somewhere where red stains on walls and floor won't be a problem, wear old clothes or incur the wrath of one's partner. Best for now Alan

H.D -Makers initials maybe?

Lee, Just PMd you with some information. Alan

reposted Mast drilling jigs..pdf

Hi All, Further to the above discussion on adhesives, I have been experimenting with an adhesive called Paraloid B72. I first saw this used on a Youtube Video of conservators at the British Museum doing some work on artefacts. A bit of research provided the following: Paraloid B72 is a glass-clear, non-yellowing, soluble plastic. It is a conservation grade adhesive and lacquer. The joint can be undone by the use of a drop of Acetone. Supplied as beads, it is dissolved in Acetone to produce the required consistency:- In 50ml Acetone; 5gm makes 10% lacquer 10gm makes 20% lacquer 25gm makes 50% adhesive In use, I got a couple of laboratory flasks with ground glass stoppers to mix in. I use pure Acetone from the Pharmacist, not nail varnish remover that has other ‘stuff’ in it. I have two mixes, the 10% and 50% and use the 10% for fixing knots, stiffening thread, etc. The 50% mix I use for gluing up other stuff. It does not set straight away, so you get a bit of work time. So far, I’ve been quite pleased with it. Like most glues, the pieces have to be set aside to dry. There have been a couple of failures, probably my fault somehow. The flasks need topping up with acetone now and again due to evaporation, so I marked the full mix level with indelible marker, only to find Acetone dissolved it if I spilt any on it, so a slight scratch with a sharpening stone does the job now. The big advantage I’ve found, is that unlike CA glue, it does not stick to me. Time will tell if I keep on using it. Best Alan

Hi All, Interesting conversation. I have found that tapering the peg and using an air escape hole (usually has a thread glued to the end of the peg to assist in getting the peg to locate in the hole passing through it) helps considerably. The other thing I do is reduce the length of the peg just before putting in the bottle, its fine when building it when constant assembly/dissassembly may be required, but once in and glued up I don't think the full peg length is required. Once the hull pieces are in and located together, I place a small drop of thin CA glue on the hull joint in several places. It wicks in and is enough to give a good join. Best Alan

Not sure where you live, however Alan Rogers in the UK does repairs sometimes. Try messaging him via the 'Ship in Bottle Builders' or the 'European Association of Ships in Bottles' Facebook forums. Al

Lovely miniature work (or a very big match 😀). Thanks for sharing. Stay safe Alan

This is the way I do it. To cross the yards, (attaching them to the mast) I use a loop of thread wrapped around the yard as shown below. Make sure it is long enough. The loose ends are fed through the loop, pulled tight and secured with a drop of glue. The loose ends are then is tied around the mast where required and secured by a drop of glue. This allows the yard to swivel when putting the ship in the bottle and when setting for the required wind direction. Alan

Superglue will come of the inside of a bottle using acetone (pure, not nail varnish remover that has lotions etc added) on a swab. Paraloid B-72 is a conservation quality adhesive. I saw it being used on the British Museum website so gave it a try. Will stick just about everything, but does require drying time. Dries clear and is reversible (just in case) with acetone. Useful for a lot of the work, probably not everything.

Hi Suchojik, This is a common question. This is an article I was asked to write for Bottleship, the Quarterly Magazine of the European Association of Ships in Bottles, after I showed a photo of some tools I use during a discussion on this site's facebook forum. Hope it helps. Alan SEA.pdf

Hi Allan, Nice to see you on this forum as well. Alan M (EASIB)

Thanks for sharing John. A lot of work and a good learning experience. It seemed at times as if you were reconstituting wood using the saturated paper, but without its better qualities. Thanks again and stay safe. Alan

I use small pieces of white and green plasticine for wave tops, dogbone, wake, etc, just a small bit smeared in as required, and at random. The smearing gives it a random 'foam' effect. I 'glaze' the sea with PVA , slightly diluted, as it dries clear and gives the reflective surface. Needs a couple of coats as it can be tricky to get it to stick to the surface. Stay safe all Alan

Those particular sails are made from craft paper, from memory its either 90 or 100 gm. It's slightly buff coloured (using pre-coloured paper usually gives the same colour through it, colouring printer paper leaves a white edge) with a random patchy finish of differing shades of light brown. It gives the effect of salt stains, as sail canvas does not stay pristine for long. I print the sail shape, sewing lines, reef lines and edge rope, using light brown. Trial a couple of different shades and line thicknesses and choose what looks best. Some people use a sharp hard pencil, but I'm too lazy, so use a printer. With a bit of accurate positioning of the print (I use the top left corner on one side and top right on the other side of the sheet, details can be put on both sides of the sail. I have seen thread used, but on small scale it can look too thick, it also has a mind of its own. When I did a miniature, I glued the stays onto the sail and let them dry before cutting out the sail. Hope this helps Alan

Nice Alan

A lot depends on the type, size and scale of the SIB, but I tend to try and give the impression of bending the sails to to the yards, etc, as they would be for real. For yards, I stab pinholes through the sail below the edge, the holes can be hardened with a spot of glue on the pin and then use thin thread with the end hardened with glue to 'sew' the sails on to the yard. Some dilute PVA holds everything in place. For staysails, I do the same, but around a length of brass wire of suitable thickness. The thread is stiffened in place with dilute PVA and then slid off when dry. The stays are threaded through these loops, this allows the sails to move on the stay until rigging is complete and can then be glued to the final position. For gaff rigged, I make the mast rings out of suitable stryene tube, paint it and tie the sails to the rings with thread. The photos just manage to show these. Try it on a piece of dowel and paper first. Stay safe Alan

I wouldn't want to meet them on a dark night tho'. 😁

Hi Donald, Thanks for the complement on the Colvic Watson. This is the link to the build log. https://www.bottledshipbuilder.com/topic/683-colvic-watson-28/?tab=comments#comment-6310 Stay safe Alan

Have you thought of printing your own waterslide decals for the numbers. I've used this a couple of times for ship's names. A pack of A4 sheets is only about £5 in the UK. I get the right size by printing out different fonts and sizes on paper plus any other suitable detailing, cutting out and trying for size. When correct I print the decals, a couple of copies in case of mistakes. I still have about 4.5 sheets so its going to last. The windows and name on the Colvic Watson 28 SIB in the phot were made this way Alan

If you want to start in scratch building smaller models, may I suggest you have a look at some of the e-books by Robert Wilson FRSA at this link. Robert A Wilson - Payhip 'Scratch building Merchant Sailing Ships - A Dying Art' is a good one (£2.49) Likewise '900-ton Barque Part I - Building the hull' and '900-Ton Part II ' . ( £ 1.49 each) Lots of others well priced as well. He also has a couple of freebies such as how to build a display case.

Langton Miniatures do a very good range of 1/1200 ships, mainly from the Nelson's Navy period. These are white metal castings, with a choice of sail sets in either white metal or brass and with photo etched shrouds and extras. There are some 1/300 ones as well, but these are pricy. http://www.rodlangton.com/ Their book on assembly, painting and rigging is pretty good. You would have to rethink assembling masts, sails and rigging to bottle them though. Their are some utube videos on these if you search.