Thanks, Guys!
@ Bill: Yessirree, they help a bit, but mostly for the light they provide...I found it's very difficult to manipulate the tools under the lens, so I pretty much only use clip on magnifiers on my reading glasses to see what I am doing. There are times, however, where the lens lights are useful for checking out things even finer, like when I have to try and thread the fly tying silk through a small eyelet or such, then they give me the best view of the work area involved.
@Rick, oh it's not so bad, actually...I find after a while you sort of get into the idea of the size, and everything becomes relative...before you start to think I lost it, what I mean is when you are working in a small area like this ship for a while you begin to gain a sense of working within the smaller dimensions and your eyes seem to focus in on the model only, sort of like a tunnel vision effect of sorts...or maybe it is just me and I
am losing it!:-D
@ John, pretty neat idea! I am assuming you are talking about the gummed label types because I know how messed up it would get if I tried to use the self-adhesive type.:roll: Actually, I just use ordinarly bond paper strips and apply glue as I roll the tubes, and that seems to work. I noticed how some of the florist wire is a bit resistant to water based products, however...the acrylic paint does not stick very well, some sort of coating on the wire, so I have been lightly sanding it down to the shiney metal before using. Some of the smaller wire doesn't do that, it seems to be this one lot I picked up that gives me this problem...and when I painted the paper taper, I noticed the edges seemed to lift slightly from the wire core...on the ones I didn't sand first. If you don't mind, let me also say at this scale there is a recurring problem of having to keep in mind excess glue and the build up of layers of paint...when they occur it is more noticeable as it creates out of scale bulk on the parts, like in the rigging and smaller fittings. Just something you find when you are working at this size that you don't come across in the larger scales.
@Roman: Yes, it is one of the WHV little fleet kits (the sheet says "Schnell Baubogen Mowe" and "Lehrmittelinstitut, Wilhelmshaven") which are originally printed at 1:500 scale; I scanned the sheets and reduced to 50% for the heck of it. I did not use any of the tabs or slots these kits use, as I found at the smaller scales it throws off the joint a bit. I've been fascinated by the Micromodel line of models from the 50's and have won a few on eBay. I have scanned them, because I don't want to lose the original prints, but I figured this project would be a nice start in trying to build a few of the smaller scale ships and get some experience in working with this small size. The Micromodel ships are not all rendered in the same scale, it appears, since the designer used the post card size as the defining size for the model. So, the Cutty Sark I hope to build soon is originally in 1/500 scale, whereas the Mayflower seems to be around 1/300 scale and the HMS Victory is at 1/600 scale. After this ship is done, and as I continue working on Constitution, I think I will be trying to print out the Micromodels and build them at a constant 1/600 scale, just so I can display them together at the same scale.
@ Gil, thanks, and you're right about the tube rolling. I also found knitting needles, of the smaller size, are great, particularly the ones I found which have points on both ends...aluminum, I think, and they are great for rolling tubes. I recall you had a thread a while back on getting the smallest tubes you can roll, and at this scale I've gained an even greater respect for you and others who have rolled really, really small tubes from paper. It's really something you have to acquire a feel for and practice as the first attempts always seem to roll with creases, but great thing about paper modeling, you can always start anew with another paper strip! The smallest I have rolled, I think, is about 0.75 mm in diameter. I find leaving the metal "core" in helps to give the tube the strength I need when using it for masts and rigging, particularly where the masts have a very small diameter, but angling the paper edge is great in getting a nice taper.
I hope to be able to finish up a lot tonight and post some more photos...working on the cargo boom rigging right now, so it's on the home stretch, so to speak.
Thanks again to everyone for stopping by for a look.
Cheers!
Jim