I have the distinct advantage of having really poor eyesight, so when I want to work up close - such as painting figures or other intricate details - I just remove my contact lenses for the evening. My depth of field without them is only about 4.5 inches, so I can get really close to what I am painting. The figures are a mix of the 20 crew that come with the model and then another 50-60 Preiser and Woodland Scenics HO figures that have been modified to better fit with the rest of the crew. The cook was a genuine find, though.
Electronics comes naturally to me, as I have been repairing pinball and arcade machines for 25+ years, and working with breadboards and circuit building for 35+ years (needed to build all kinds of circuits for my PhD work, and worked in a bowling alley before that). So wiring up some LEDs is childâs play. If anyone wants to do this for their kits, I am ready and willing to lend a hand. Getting easier nowadays with current limiting diodes âtunedâ to the lead current for most LEDs, SMDs and COB lights out there. Toughest part for me is figuring out where to hide the wires!
Bob,
I have been watching and taking it all in. Greatly Impressed is a big understatement. Fantastic work and itâs a joy to follow all your posts & pics.
I suspect hiding the wires will be easy for you. Figuring out where to put the Fuse box (They didnât have Circuit Breakers back thenâŚha.ha) will be challenging. Maybe near the flag locker?
Just kidding âbout the fuse box thing but I hope I am not spoiling a surprise by suggesting you put a to-scale Pinball machine in the officersâ quarters. Visible thru the gallery windows?
Maybe a repairman figure at work on it*? (a suggestion from one repairman to another.)*
Just pop a copper penny in the fuse holder when the fuse pops - that will fix it right up!
I still canât believe people actually did that. When my inlaws were selling their very old home, we went through it to find any old antiques worth saving. Down in the basement was an old fuse box, and sure enough, the dining room circuit was shorted with a penny. Did find an old clock and a turn-of-the-century phone with all the paperwork and schematics inside. Swedish American Telephone Co., Hercules model, circa 1908. Plan to restore it one day. Box and most of the parts still in pretty good condition. Just needs to be cleaned up and restained.
As for the pinball machine, that would be an interesting âEaster Eggâ to hide in there! No fun playing in a rolling sea, though: Launch ball, TILT. Launch ball, TILT. Game Over.
A fuzznose helper . All in all , you have to admire theyâr curiosity , Right ? You are doing great work . My Connie still sits on the mantelpiece at the Museum that wound up with it .Itâs an old sea captainâs house in Massachussetts .
We didnât have LED and stuff back then . But , If you use a small light through the windows you can see the paintings on the Bulkheads !
Have you test fired any of those guns yet ? LOL.LOL ! Note . I found that on most of my larger sail vessels they are easier to rig . IF , You build the Taffrails and then drill and place belaying pins .You do know that the reasons they used those pins donât you ?
When a line was mounted in the standard way you put a lock loop ( reverse ) in them. Need a quick release ? Pull the pin . Viola ! Loose line gathered up and used for setting or reefing . Now that same system can be used in 1/96 to mount those lines . Plus it gives a more convincing look to the use thereof .
Hereâs another point to consider .The Cascabel ( The ball on the end of the cannon ) .Was rigged with a line in battle to help stop the gun on recoil . Many times the recoil would cause the iron rings to pull out . Especially if the gunner double charged the weapon , which was done sometimes .
Every effort was used to ensure they didnât get a runaway gun . Plus rigged to the cascabel the gun could also be secured better in stormy seas .
Hereâs a P.S for you . I found on my R.C. Models that using black to shield light sometimes backfired in variation in the color of a panel . So I did this . Where there was a light I installed a disc of aluminum behind the bulb and used sky grey in a ring outside the bulb then white . Works great !
Someone told me once that they read where they would use strongbacks across the Gun doors inside to run the guns up against in rough weather . Each strongback had an indentation that matched the Muzzle end of the gun . I donât know if that was or is true or not .
The crew is laying down on the job ! LOL.LOL. You have done a very commendable job so far . Gotta say youâre making me jealous .Naw , Just kidding and Too ,what an awesome deck !
Next thing we know youâll have the top off of the Grog tub and have grog and a ladle in there !
Thanks for the wealth of info. Lots of juicy nuggets there!
I do have a grog tub I made, and Iâm sure I could fashion a ladle to hang from the side. Not sure about filling it, though. Most likely spill during rigging if I lay her down on her side. Plus I prefer a good scotch or bourbon. Thought of putting a bottle on the Captainâs table.
I am seriously thinking about running some fiberoptic cable to 10 or 12 of the guns on the visible side, and hooking them into a flashing red LED. I have done it before about 5 years ago on my âPirates of the Caribbeanâ pinball topper of the Black Pearl, so I know it can be done. But I would need to conceal the F.O. this time by coming through the deck, the carriage and then the cannon. Might be a lot of work, but would be cool. [prte][H]
Looked through the cabinet and I happened to have a leftover sequencer board from one of my pinball projects, so I started drilling out 10-12 cannons on the gun deck to get the fiber optic cable in there. I have four or five different sizes of F.O. One fits snugly inside the cannon, but is to big to flex around the berth deck, so I will have to step it down to a smaller diameter so that I can get back to the board which will be housed in the bow below the (partial) berth deck. Using the sequencer so that the cannons will cycle through in a ârandomâ pattern. Planning on installing a switch somewhere discretely so that I can turn the flashing off but leave the rest of the lights on.
So there WILL be flashing cannons on the Connie. Getting to the spar deck would be difficult (if not impossible) to hide the F.O. so I will only be doing the big guns down below. That, and the fact that I have brass caronades, so a lot tougher to drill those. I will document the process for anyone else that wants to do it in the future.
Decided to put together a little âHow Toâ on adding flashing cannons. Enjoy. Please note that I did NOT rig this through the deck. I did this on the bench for clarity. You will have to run the fiber optic cable through the deck and to the board with the LEDs on it. The board is quite small, and can easily be hidden in the bowels of the ship.
I have also bowed to peer pressure and lit the entire port-side cannons on the gun deck with a random firing pattern (15 guns). Two will fire simultaneously on the even numbered LEDs and 5 will fire individually as the sequencing board progresses. They will only fire when I flip the switch which I will hide in the crews head at the bow.
Bob, Thank you. You have a fantastic treasure-trove of info and How-toâs for us⌠But watch out. next thing you know weâll be wantinâ Smoke from the guns and weâll take away points if the guns firing have not recoiled⌠LOL.
Again, Thank You. I am about to re-read this thread again. It is a Pleasure!
Bob - your work on this ship is truly outstanding! Your attention to details with everything are precise and expertly crafted and, I am in awe on your knowledge when it comes to wiring lights, circuit boards etc. Like someone else has already said, âthank youâ for sharing all of this information and knowledge on this build. Tagging along in the wake of things lol
Went to my first meeting of the IPMS here in Chicago. Butch OâHare chapter meets in Downers Grove so I thought I would check it out. Interesting group of older gentlemen. Had fun. Not many ships tonight (1) which was an old paddleboat from early 1800âs, probably because the theme was the Viet Nam War era.
This is what happens when you succumb to peer pressure:
