Todays Boating

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Hi all,

Have been busy creating an 'L' shape dock to moor pond side, something else for Ashley to run into!

I've covered the side walls in railway brick paper and fitted a few tying up bollards, it runs out at 90cm long with 60cm arm which is hinged to fold against the main length for transport. Have just finished the first coat of varnish and have plans to put a working lighthouse on the end.

have put some pics in my album.

Ricky ye pirate.

[NoelParticipant @noel26080]

Dock looks great. Looking forward to manoeuvring in it’s vicinity!

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Richard's ship was much admired at Bushy on Sunday. A really excellent model complete with sound effects and working water cannon.

Colin

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Colin,

Thank you for your comment, it is getting a bit of a following and not just from the kiddies!

Ricky ye pirate.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Been fiddling with rigging for the London. Tied and glued mast rigging on and have sorted out the elastic stuff for the detachable bits. Making the (there must be a term for this) shelves that the ratlines secure to on the side of the ship. Using a million bits of wire. Using millions of yards of thread to. Good job I bought lots of packets!

Have bought some Hobbies Matt Black Acrylic paint, and boy..is it black! It is like using India ink., complete cover in one pass. Fantastic. This will be the first ever craft painted using acrylics only.

Ashley

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Wellcome to the world of period ship rigging, it will drive you mad but it’s worth it in the end. See you Sunday 😬

Ricky ye pirate.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Arr! Hopefully the weather will be ok, however if its blowy I might be able to get the sailing Herald out.

Work on project V has come to a bit of a halt while the London is progressing, despite that the London was supposed to run alongside this. It is mostly due to the fact that the work on the London is so similar to V, that mastering some techniques here and getting the right look will be invaluable to V. I would be at a stage where the deck on V needs sorting, along with the deck furniture and rigging, it makes sense to hone my paltry skills on (it has to be said) a slightly lesser build….remember the London is for effect only and the rigging will not be up to pirate ship standards.

I need to get a handle on the names of parts of ship as well.

Ashley

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Don’t worry mate we all know what you mean by sticky out bits, the whatnots and the ujamaflips!

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

#
CHANNEL…that's what the bit holding the ends of the ratlines are called!!

Had right eye cut`n`diced yesterday…had my cataract done. All ok so far. Can see distantly at long last without glasses!!! however still blurred, and will be for perhaps a week. The issue will be that my right eye is still very myopic and there is going to be a huge imbalance between eyes until (hopefully) they agree to do the left one. I might take the right lens out the goggs as an interim measure. I am typing this with a bit of paper on my glasses over the right eye so I can use the glasses to see the screen with my left! The operation, for those that have not had it done was quick and painless. The bright light and water washing the eye was the worst bit, but merely uncomfortable and nothing more.



​This will curtail my boat building a bit, as close work will be a bit problematic. I might try and do the sails for the London as they do not need fine work, at least, not for the cutting out and so on. I have some clear safety specs to wear to protect my eye, just in case.

Ashley

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

An eye patch then? Ashley ye Pirate!

Glad all went well.

Sending you an email.

Colin

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

Ashley

Nice,to hear that the op sent well. Perhaps an eye patch and a parrot would suit you.

Being short sighted I find that as I get older I seem to be taking my specs off more and more for close work, I just can't lift my head enough to get the right part of the varifocals. The next problem is finding the specs again!

Tim

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Tim

And I thought it was just me that did that. I have three different pairs of specs – the 'normal' varifocals, a pair for looking at a computer screen and another pair with clip-on, flip-down magnifying lenses which I use for soldering and other close work. I still need a 'Sherlock Holmes' magnifying glass to read the Radio Times when I'm reading printed stuff.
This getting old lark can be a b****y nuisance. It's a good job I can still find a full glass with my eyes shut!

Dave M

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Yes, but the alternative to getting old is much worse!

Eddie.

[Empire ParkstoneParticipant @empireparkstone]

When I had mine done as they only do one at a time in case of complications.I had no problems the new one just took over then the other was done about a week later.For those that don't know its not the cataract removal itself that does the improvement it Is the New lens fitted. My niggle now is after years of wearing Vari's I now have to have close up glasses around when needed albeit seldom for reading. Ashley I didn't think they ever just did the one eye unless perhaps the other was perfect in which case I would have thought the lens replacement would be made to match.

Edited By Empire Parkstone on 12/10/2018 13:03:59

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

The lenses are normally fixed focus (varifocal ones are very expensive and not always suitable) so if you have the long sighted prescription as many people do so as not to have toi wear glasses for driving and generally walking around, you will still need reading glasses for close work. I had both mine done privately using a 'rainy day fund' and my consultant recommended a mid range prescription which would mean that I could continue to wear varifocal glasses as previously and this has worked out well. It also provides scope for further adjustment to accommodate changes in my eyes in the future.

As far as the NHS is concerned, I have read reports that in many areas there is rationing of cataract procedures so they will only do it if the cataract is significantly impacting on your daily life and they will then only do one as this has restored functional vision.

Some people elect to have one long vision and one short vision lens and rely on their brains to adapt but this doesn't always work which means that one or the other then has to be replaced.

Colin

[Empire ParkstoneParticipant @empireparkstone]

Must have a good rainy day fund Colin to possibly fork out for varifocals every year as well. I only have reading glasses and that is mainly only for continuous reading or close up in fact when I had my first eye test the following year he lowered the prescription. NHS seldom do cataracts till you are seriously hampered ie driving etc.,Though the state it is in these days should be grateful they are doing that

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I usually only need my glasses changed every other year but yes, I do give priority to my health, not just my vision but also private hearing aids as I am profoundly deaf and the NHS best ones just don't cut it. I got top of the range aids from Specsavers two years ago and they have made an amazing difference to my life so as far as I am concerned, worth every penny. I also have Glaucoma which is kept in check with eye drops.

All of this makes a massive difference to my quality of life and enables my Wife and I to keep travelling while we can under our own steam.

Colin

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

I have been testing my eyes on photoetch detail , tonight, on my Italeri S100. I have lost a number of the small parts to the floor, never to be seen again. I have just spent the better part of an hour replacing 4 doors, the hinges of which have 3 folds and are about 3mm wide. Looking at them before going for a mug of tea, they look rubbish! Think I've doing them again tomorrow. It seemed like a good idea at the time . Perhaps I might need something stronger than tea!

Tim

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I have just repainted my workship floor. Previously it was varnished chipboard and had an infinite capacity to absorb various dropped bits never to be seen again in the speckled surface effect.

It is now light grey and everything dropped stands out immediately (luckily I don't buld warships).

I wish I'd done it years ago!

Colin

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I have been losing small items lately in the workshop. How these things can disappear so completely is beyond me. I keep the floor well hoovered but they still vamoose. The only way to do small work is over a tray of some sor. Currently I have some plastic A4 storage boxes about 60mm deeo to hold the smaller items for builds and the lid makes an excellent tray so stop stuff getting away.

I am sure they will do the other eye as there is such a difference. the surgeon wrote an essay on the form. If not I will have to have it done privately. I will have an issue for a month or so as its either fixed eye for distance or unfixed eye and goggs for detail/reading. But in the grand scheme of things it is not so long. I am not dependant on the car, and after the other eye is done all will be returned to normal as both eyes will be the same, and reading glasses are cheap even if I have to buy a few pairs while the eyes settle.

I have achieved some detail work on the London, and the first batch of sails is drying in the shed. Hopefully they will turn out as envisaged, or I will have to re-think the method. I would like to get the gun-port stripes on but they need to be nice and parallel…..could be tricky, however I can enlist the help of Berengar to tell me if the masking looks ok.

I need to get the deck painted next so the deck detail items can be charted out, and then some magnets to secure the deck need to be applied…its all go!

Ashley

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

Ashley

I have been cutting the photo etch on a green cutting mat but some of the small parts just seem to be there one second and gone the next. Brass seems to disappear into the brown carpet around my desk. I do wonder if anyone uses all the parts on a photo etch sheet.

Well , off to see if the doors from yesterday look any better or is it think again.

Tim

[Eddie LancasterParticipant @eddielancaster]

Hi. Ashley, I have always had a gremlin in my workshop, I put a piece down that I have been working on or a spanner and then when I have gone to pick it up it has gone, only to find it later in a completely different place!

I think, like me he is getting older and not able to move heavier items, but he has learnt how to make them invisible, the only way to find them again is to go away and make a cup of tea, and then 1/2 an hour later there they are exactly were you put them down!

Glad to hear your op.went well and that you are not letting it get in the way of modelling, its great having such a good hobby that keeps you occupied and off the street corners.

Best wishes.

Eddie

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Hi Ashley,

Glad to hear the op went well mate.

For drawing straight lines on hulls I use an engineers stand with a pencil attached put the hull either upside down or right way up on a flat board and scribe round at the preferred height. This would be an ideal way to do your gun ports /painting lines.

I have a fluffy rug in my workshop and am always loosing bits in it which is a pain, but it keeps my feet warm in the winter. Catch 22!

Ricky ye pirate

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Thanks for that Richard, . Next Wednesdays check up should confirm the goodness of the op..   Yes, a rug or carpet in the workshop does work wonders for keeping feet warm.

I have marked the various er, marks for the lines and used some nice blue masking tape and this seems to have done the trick. The acrylic dries so fast that its all done and dusted now. I have some minor touching up to do on the stripes yet, as although the hull was smooth there always seem to be bits where the paint escapes through. In actual fact the top and bottom bits had been done some days ago, I needed to do the centre stripe today. The stern needs a bit of hand finishing as it curves and a dead straight line does not look quite correct, and ditto for the prow.

Gun port doors/hatches need to be thought about now. There are commercial ones about but those on the London appear to be cupboard style doors and not lift up hatches. Ideally I would like to make a master and impress some plasticene with it and cast a whole bunch at once but I have never had much success with that .Is there something I am missing…do you need to lubricate the stamp with something and if so what or is there a material better than plasticene for this?

Ashley

 

Edited By ashley needham on 13/10/2018 17:16:22

Edited By ashley needham on 13/10/2018 17:19:36

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Will not be boating Sunday as unable to drive and cycling may be dodgy as well, mostly because some grit might get blown into my peeper.

Ashley

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