Fixing Ships in Bottles

[DSiemens]

Any one ever have this happen?

 

 

I've found it will fit well in a baseball case.  I would like some suggestions from the awesome miniature artists out there as far as painting the sea.  

Also has anyone had a ship in bottle break?  What did you do to fix it?  

[Shipbuilder]

I don't see how you can fix it!   Once its broke, its broke!    Did you drop it, or did it just happen due to heat contraction, expansion, or something like that!

Bob

[Jim Goodwin]

Yep, have had that happen.  Baseball case sounds good.  Also a model car case works well  (found on Ebay).  The bright side is that your work has integrity.  "Child Tested ! "

 

[DSiemens]

Bob - Your right there's no fixing the glass.  That's already thrown away.  This is what I have in mind only I want to take out the cardboard sea and paint something better on the wood.  

 

 

 

The shelf it was sitting on gave out and luckily this is the only bottle that broke.  It was the most fragile out of the bottles on the shelf.  

 

Jim- True aside from the glass the ship wasn't damaged.  She's tough.  Shell do well in her new home.  

[Dave Fellingham]

The baseball case works well.

Another option I have kept in mind for a similar situation is glass domes used for collectible display and available in a very wide variety of sizes and at very reasonable prices.

One advantage of the glass dome is that it closely duplicates the visual impact of the original bottle or light bulb - it just has a much larger opening.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Dave Fellingham

[AndrewH]

When I read this the first time I thought "bother" and agreed that the SIB was not fixable - as an SIB anyway!

I like what you have done with the cube.  Not a bottle, but still a good display.

My background is aeromodelling (airplanes to our US friends) and we use balsa cement for an adjustable joint - for example a wing incidence post.  It can be dissolved with a paintbrush dipped in acetone and quickly adjusted as the acetone evaporates,

(the cement is ALWAYS diluted about 50/50 with acetone or thinners anyway, or it would get heavy - I used to fly FID models.  (Rubber-powered: 660 mm span: min weight 1 gram without rubber, covered in microfilm)

I was planning to do this with my SIBs (when they happen); and this would allow the rigging lines to be released for adjustment or re-folding and re-insinuation into a bottle.

And yes, that is all well and good, but the lines were cut off neatly and are now too short for re-bottling.  Bother!

But I thought I would mention the easily releasable glue for younger chaps who have not been brought up on it

andrew

 

 

 

 

[DSiemens]

Dave - now you got me thinking.  I like how the dome looks.  Hmmm...

 

Andrew great idea on the release let glue.  It can be very useful.  There's some sibs I've bottled three or four times before I get the lines to look just right.  I usually cut the lines and end up redoing the forestays, which is what I would have to do with this one if I were to rebottle it.  If I used release able glue I could get the line to release and it may not have to leave the bottle or be rebuilt.