Tilting At Windmills; With or without the smock...

THE DC

Highly Esteemed Member
Triva (trivial?) background:


I remember seeing the old windmills on Long Island, NY. They were grand old artifacts of a time gone by, oft neglected by a society too enamored with electrical motivation to appreciate the value of ambient energy sources (Funny how times change and old ideas come back around...)

In a time period where everything is driven by plug or battery, it may be hard to recall the period where the resource of wind and water were main-stays...not "alternate energy." The Romans used hydropower mills to feed the masses their bread and the Dutch harnesses the free and present wind to mechanize their production of grain, sometimes having shops in the lower portion of the mill to sell bags of product.

Hence, back to Long Island.

New York was first settled by the European empire of the Dutch, buying the land from the natives in a series of poorly planned and thought out contracts. "New Amsterdam" was bought initially from some tribes of roving natives, who had no claims to the lands, requiring repurchase from the actual residents! The cheated Dutch never recovered the traded items to the native opportunists (tools, glass, etc,) and the experience unfairly led to negative generalizations about "indians" in general and equally unfair resentments toward natives.

Noting the strong winds and flat ground on the massive sand bar that would later be called Long Island, the Dutch began distributing windmills across the fertile land. Long Island has been noted for having very robust soil; resulting in crops of very sweet corn, rich, thick-skinned potatoes, and most recently, prized vineyards. The water on Long Island has been noted for its value in baking too, producing the famous hard roll that is difficult to describe to someone not familiar with it, and the baked goods that are difficult to reproduce elsewhere.

Windmills on Long Island were used by the Dutch, and then the English after, to support the strong grain industry that fed a great deal of New England, until transportation improvements made large mills along riverfront capable of more economically satisfying results. It was cheaper to ship larger farmland product over greater distances and the local, Long Island grain fields could not economically compete. These structures were used up into the nineteenth century, until the growing of potatoes on the island became more profitable than grain.

The Dutch design had persisted during those years, even with the shifting of the Dutch, English, and Colonial independence. The efficient Long Island Windmills were often shorter than their European counterparts (often only four to five stories), squatter in appearance, and with wider sails (the framework fins that are turned by the wind). The type of windmill most common on Long Island was the Smock mill, named as such because their shape resembled the smocks that farmers often wore in times past, when working in the fields.

They were expensive and sophisticated machines of their day and represented a long era in farming and industry. With the period of grain farming passing on Long Island, these massive, strong structures lost their initial purpose and they began to be dismantled for wood, destroyed in fires or storms, or neglected; coming to look like large wooden ghosts of a former age. A few remained as storage, barns, and even electrical generators, as well as observation towers. The storm of '38 wiped out a large number of them and by recent times, very few still existed.

I have to confess that I have always tinkered with the idea of having or building one. A friend and I calculated the power of the energy that might be garnered by generating electricity from the movement of the sails, and were surprised at the potential. The energy production would equal the expense of building, but it would have been fun to try it. The initial cost of the construction, and having a place to build it, has always prohibited my vision of making one into an office.

A note about the design of these smock mills should be added before moving onto the model. These structures were designed to pull rotation out of the wind turning the sails and the head, atop the mill, would rotate the sails about the lower body to better position the wind grabbing arms into the most effective position. Behind the main head of the structure a smaller sail complex was often rigged to guide the positioning of the sails into the most effective posture to maximize wind rotation.

The framework sails warmed more efficient with sail cloth across the frames, catching the wind and turning the single. Some of these had long arms off the back, that guided the moving-rotating head around, using a wheel or track to manage the head of the mill's rotation.

Most of the mills were clapboard or shingle sided, but for function more than appearance. They quickly weathered gray and attracted the attention of model building misanthropes and Don Quixote types; a pair of groups sometimes indistinguishable from each other...
 

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THE DC

Highly Esteemed Member
Choosing the kit...

I wanted to find a Long Island Smock Mill but they are not common. I did find a rustic looking mill but the link was bad and I couldn't find it elsewhere.


pic 1

It would have been too large but the veins, or sails, were interesting and I thought to modify it.



Fiddler's Green had a nice version that would have been easy to modify, but it is not yet available, so I'll keep an eye out for when it is:


pic 2


They also had a simple one, round towered, which was too different and the graphics a bit too cartoonish for me & wouldn't satisfy the version I sought:


pic 3


The third one they had was actually a smock mill, though a bit too tall and more in line with later nineteenth century British-Colonial versions than I wanted.


pic 4


I settled upon this one, figuring to do a test build for a heavily modified one later or until I found the one I was really wanting.
 

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THE DC

Highly Esteemed Member
What you start with:




The kit consists of two pages; one with the base and body and the other page the rest of the parts.



Smock mill pages 1.JPG


I noticed in my preplanning that the sails are one sided, which would leave the back an unsightly white, so I decided that it best to mirror the second page to accomplish providing backs to the sails and a few other parts. I printed off a few copies of each of the pages (the two with the kit and the extra mirrored page I prepared) for some personal construction plans that I considered worth attempting.


Smock mill pages mirroed.JPG


I printed the kit on 100b sheets. Because of some optional modifications I thought about making, I printed several sheets more of the kit on regular paper, in color.


If you are interested in the kit, go to the Fiddler's Green Model site. Look under the Industrial heading, near the bottom of the page (Smockmill):

https://www.fiddlersgreen.net/shop/category/name/Industry.html



Smock mill pages 1.JPG Smock mill pages mirroed.JPG
 

THE DC

Highly Esteemed Member


Starting the kit:


sails page .JPG



The sails are four pieces with the vein bracketing and the simulated canvass drawn across the framework as one two dimensional piece. I cut these out with a hobby knife.

sails page coloration issues.JPG


Once cut, coloration issues with the kit are observable, as this was an early kit. My understanding is the computer graphics used to color it were too awkward to avoid these mistakes.

sail color issues.JPG



Also I noted that the removal of the kit part from the page produced a number of white spots that could be addressed.

sail cut out.JPG sail color issues.JPG
sail color issues.JPG
 

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THE DC

Highly Esteemed Member
OPTIONAL!



Off Instructions work:




The next described steps are not required or suggested by the build. I'll make a point of noting where I divert to optional build techniques and later rate whether they were worth the effort.



My first alteration came with using colored pencils and permanent markers to touch up coloration issues to avoid what I saw as unsightly flaws. The pencils permitted better color mixing but were not always cooperative with the texture of the paper and ink. When those factors blocked the addition of color correction, I used the markers as lightly as I could. Markers have a tendency to bleed deeper and farther into the kit that wanted if you are not careful. Also, the markers were not as conducive to matching the color as the more varied pencils set. The process requires preplanning. I recommend lightly brushing with the marker top, not leaning into it like a pencil.


beginning touch up.JPG


Of course I could have color-corrected with the computer but that wouldn't have handled the white-edge and flaking that occurs when cutting out the piece from the paper.

The touch ups were time consuming but worth the effort.

touched up color on the sail.JPG
 

zathros

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I have no idea how I missed this thread? Very interesting. The use of sails was so that the windmills could be reefed on really windy days. :)
 

THE DC

Highly Esteemed Member
I have no idea how I missed this thread? Very interesting. The use of sails was so that the windmills could be reefed on really windy days. :)



You're correct.

The technology of windmills was quite sophisticated and effective. The canvassing of the veins with sail cloth increased the efficiency of the machine. The wind driven device replaced the earlier mills that required men or animals to turn a wheel that ground grain into flour.

The windmills could run all day and night, depending upon the weather, without man or animal. The large sails spun about and were connected to a horizontal shaft the was turned, connected to a cog that rotated a perpendicular drive that spun the grinding stone.

Records show that windmills were used as far back as in ancient Babylon but the technology became quite effective by the time of the Long Island windmills. As wood replaced metal parts, repairs were less frequent and loads could be greater. Even the mechanization grew more sophisticated, with ropes replaced by more complicated cogs and connections.

The kit I am working on doesn't have any movements or inner mechanisms but it would be interesting adding them. The genius of the smock mills was that they were very responsive to wind changes, making them far more efficient than older styles that were fixed in placement. Modern electric mills use the principles of these rotating mills today to remain the most responsive to changing wind patterns.



I have always found it interesting how there are so many lighthouse models yet windmills, a more prevalent technology, has often been overlooked.
 

zathros

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I think it's a case of Nimby, (Not In My Back Yard). We have windmills zoned out of use because of the wind noise (actually propeller noise) they make. So much for living off the grid, or making a small one! :)
 

THE DC

Highly Esteemed Member
I think it's a case of Nimby, (Not In My Back Yard). We have windmills zoned out of use because of the wind noise (actually propeller noise) they make. So much for living off the grid, or making a small one! :)



Agreed!


Propeller noise...now that's a new one...
 

zathros

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That's what happened in Redding, Connecticut. A guy with a really large swatch of land (there are not available lots to build on in Easton, Ct.) put up a large, but not ridiculously large, windmill. I can't imagine how the sound would affect anyone, I think the smallest lot has to be at least 4 acres. In any event, people fearing that others would put these up, zoned them out. He was grandfathered in (ex post facto), and now has the only Windmill in that town. He cannot put up a new one, but must maintain the old one. He could replace it part by part, but if it got knocked down in a storm, "poof', it's gone. Uppity towns, that have some of the richest people in the country, and this is rich by the "old money", very wealthy, and for the most part, obnoxious, though I have met some pretty nice people there.

The surrounding towns followed suit, and windmills are out. I think my town zoned them out. They're so inept, I'd be better building it, because if I ask, they may realize there is zoning rule against it!! Better to say sorry! :)
 

THE DC

Highly Esteemed Member
I remember a conversation with Bobby Kennedy Jr., during which he justified his uncle's blocking the windmill farm off the coat of MA as justified because the retail value of the "view" could be seen as a justifiable counterpoint to the environmental value. He never squared with me why other's should have their views affected, if they were not so wealthy.

I guess in the end, it all comes down to "not in my backyard" when you have the power to push it off on others.
 

zathros

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Hey, if you can drive some young poor lass off a bridge, leave her to die, then call the cops a few hours later, get away with it, and become a senator, what's one small windmill.:Bat
 

THE DC

Highly Esteemed Member
OPTIONAL!



Off Instructions work:




The next described steps are not required or suggested by the model designer.



My first diversion from the kit was to mirror the sails to have some graphics on each side, rather than have an attractive front, but as soon as you turn the model around, you'd see white paper. After touching up the original model coloration issues, I cut out the white paper between the frame squares of the bracketing that makes up the sail structure. This isn't called upon in the model description, but what I like about taking this extra step is that you can see through the structure.


beginning touch up.JPG


These pieces are in-process of my recoloring exercise of the parts, as the frame is separated from the kit whitespace. I glued the mirrored parts I copied to the back of the standard kit piece and was careful to match up the parts. The four sails are different and if you don't match up the original piece to the mirrored part, you'll not get a good fit on both front and back side, especially if you cut out the white space between the frame pieces.

Now you'll have a sail that is attractive on the front or back, plus be able to see through the frame-work not covered by the 2D sail.

laminating the thin sails.JPG



Now to add to the 3D texture, I cut out the arm of the sail that holds the frame, on extra parts sheets and extra mired parts sheets that I had at ready, laminating another layer on the front and back to make the piece look more believable. Now the arm of the sail is thicker than the frame brackets that hols the canvass.

laminaton bracket.JPG


The arm piece should be glued upon the full sail piece, adding more dimension to the texture of the piece.

fitting the lamination.JPG


Once glued on both sides, the arm of the sail will be one layer more than the doubled entire sail piece, adding texture and dimension.

laminated sail bracket.JPG

Now, with the pieces cut out, you'll want to use pencils and markers to color the edges of the doubled and laminated pieces to clean up the look. At this point your sails are attractive from both sides and they have some texture delineating the arm as thicker than the frame of the sail's veins. Now the next challenge will come with making the 2D canvass, depicted in the artwork as stretched over the sail frames, as looking a bit more realistic.
 

THE DC

Highly Esteemed Member
OPTIONAL!

Off Instructions work:



One pic I should have have included in the last section shows the cutting of the canvass connection to the sail brackets, to remove more whitespace.
This pic illustrates that I cut out the rectangular white portions between the brackets and the curved portions of whitespace resulting from where the canvass is stretched over the frame, connected at the arm in several places.


Trimming the white space..JPG





Now lets look at the canvass across the veins, or sail framing as an opportunity to increase detail. In the printed model, this is just drawn on, providing a nice 2D image. My suggestion is to add a bit more to your kit's look by creating a texture and dimension from using what the model provides to make the sail-canvass look like its stretched across three dimensionally.

To accomplish this, you'll need to copy the model on regular stock paper again (don't forget to mirror too!).

sails page .JPG
sails page .JPG

Remember to cut out the parts offered and to make and cut out a second set of mirrored parts on the same thin, regular paper.


Cut out the four sail canvass sections, keeping the four sets separate from each other, but noting where the canvass section mates with the frame as which was printed on the original. You should now have two sets of four "canvass" thin parts; one for the front and a mirrored set of four "canvass" parts for the back.



thin paper sail -canvass-.JPG




Now glue the top, flat edge of the sail to the corresponding part on the four layered sail part that you completed in the last section of this thread, and the lower, curved portion to each glue-point which corresponds to the coupling points to the sail frame (see the pic for the attach-points on the lower frame; they look like ovals). After you glue the thin, laminated piece on the thick cardboard frame, you should have a bit of space between the thin paper and the frame beneath, creating the illusion of stretched fabric over a bracket.


The easy part of this is that you are gluing the thin copy piece exactly atop of the 2D printing below, but the added laminated arm creates a space, and therefore the illusion of actual canvass over a frame. If you do this on both sides you will simply be laminating a thin piece across the 3D guide below, increasing texture and 3D impact, beyond any good printing quality.




Now you can consider cutting portions of a third set of thin, regular-paper copies to add folds in the canvass, or doubling-over portions of canvass, as actually seen on these structures. To accomplish this, you match the folded portions, doubling the bottom over, then attach the top along the upper frame. Again, the goal
here is to create the illusion that there is canvas stretched over the wooden frame, held down by ropes, sometimes creating bulges, wrinkles, and doubled over portions of canvass.


Pic 4
dimension added to sail with the extra layer.JPG

Pic 5
canvass illusion.JPG



Now that you have added both texture and dimension to you kit, don't forget to touch up the edges with color to remove distracting white-space and increase the final quality to your build.

Look at those sails!


Almost ready for wind!!!
 

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zathros

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You've taken a mediocre model and made it special, surpassing it's humble start. You'll be able to scratch build a better one with real cloth quite easily now. This will be a great display!! :)
 

THE DC

Highly Esteemed Member
Thanks!

I fairness to the designer, I don't think it would be polite to say that the model is mediocre. The graphics are dated, which isn't surprising for the kit's age, but the design is pretty good regarding fit and basic potential to modify. It was worth the price.

I would like to get a smock mill more similar to the shape and design of LI models and eventually might find one. I would like the sides to be more of the cedar shingle, like those of the period.

Never-the-less, I thought that the tricks for the sails would make for good effects for when i build the one I eventually want. Its hard to show in the photos, but the layering an declaring optional actions I took really enhance the sails when seeing it in real life.


Next to the structure...
 

zathros

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You could design on one these pretty easily. :)
 

THE DC

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You could design on one these pretty easily. :)


You may be right. I'd like to try sometime.

I haven't found design software that works with my Mac that is affordable. Actually, I haven't found anything that works with the Mac at all.

I've had this Mac since 2010 and haven't needed to replace it yet, though that time is coming. I have enjoyed a great deal less aggravation and expense, without all the anti-ad and virus fees every year.

After having had three Microsoft laptops in a row, that lasted no more than four years each {the last only three} because of the software corruptions and expense of virus protection, I went back to the Mac. I do have access to a Microsoft Touch but its for work only, and is frequently unreliable. I can't even write a report without it locking up on me!!!

Maybe I'll find some software that will let me design on a Mac and I'll see whether I have the keyboard chops.

Now if I could buy a real windmill and run my computer off the electricity it generated...


;)


Maybe I could charge my car off it too.
 

THE DC

Highly Esteemed Member
NEXT STEP:


The cellar and body are two separate pieces. The cellar is water-colored stone and the body is hand-drawn planks with windows and door.

The pieces are simply cut from the page and folded into two side sided shapes.

body.JPG

The fit for the cellar is easy and has a tab for fit, thought I found removing it and re-enforcing it from behind limits any seem.


body cap doesn't fit.JPG


body roof cap miss-fit.JPG


The same is true for the body, The body also has an upper cap but it doesn't fit well. To cap off the main body, I recommend tracing out a cap and replacing the one designed.

cellar.JPG


The main body s supposed to be joined the the stone cellar base with provided tabs.
 
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