Christmas? In October?

Well, it's that time of year again when I start thinking about what presents to make for my girls. 

I had been working on ships again when a pancreatitis attack put me in the hospital for 9 days in the middle of August. The recovery from that took a month. From that experience, and not wanting to repeat it, I agreed to have my gallbladder removed. The surgery was last Friday and I am recovering again! 

Anyway, since I'm stuck inside on light duty again, I decided to switch gears from ships to booknook gifts. The first one is for my oldest daughter. She is a Robert Jordan "Wheel of Time" book fan, and likes the Prime series as well. So I am attempting to create a booknook of the dead city Shadar Lagoth from the first season. I have built the walls so far.

Inspiration photos:

Sequence:

There is a lot more to do. There is scatter terrain that must be added like fallen stone blocks, rubble, dirt, wagon wheel(s). I will need to construct and decorate the case. Also the forest scene beyond the tear in the rear wall, the lighting, battery bank and switch.

When this one is done, the younger daughter gets a Pennywise booknook!

Black Seas American 44-gun Frigate USS Constitution

This one is the third of the Warlord Games Black Seas US fleet 44-gun frigates I have now finished. I used the kit anchors and quarter davit boats. The stern mounted and stacked boats are 3-D printed. The masts, spars, sails, and base are scratch built.

The painted hull, scratch masts, and rough sail cutouts

Template used for tracing the sails

Dry fitting the masts, Note the quarterdeck and stern boats have been added

Driver and mizzen top sail tied on

Mizzen top sail dressed and t'gallant tied on

Main spar mounted

Main course tied on and dressed 

Main top sail tied and dressed and t'gallant mounted

All fore sails on and dressed

Making the shrouds

Finished shroud/ratlines

All ratlines mounted, all of the standing rigging, and half of the running rigging is done

Mounting the lower stunsail booms on the larboard side

Stunsail booms on the starboard side

Studding sails are on

And rigged

The based finished ship:

Nelson's Fagship HMS Vanguard

 

This is my version of Nelson's fagship HMS Vanguard, as she appeared at the Battle of the Nile on 1-3 August 1798 in Aboukir Bay near Alexandria. The colors are based on Rod Langton's book, Reference 2

The hull is a 3D Arrogant class 74 from Simon Mann, printed in 1/450 scale.

I actually painted the hull several months ago and built the masts. But then they were set aside for WWII naval projects. Then the working season hit, and I spent little time in the

dungeon. Several super hot days were spent inside, and Vanguard was screaming in the wings to be built.

Tracing out the cloth sails

Creating the furled sail mold

finished furled sails

This is the point I realized the sails are too small

The template I used was for a large frigate!

The correct 3rd rate sails are traced

All of the previous spars and sails have been removed and salvaged

New spars cut

Spars with stuns'l spars prepaired

Ah, now that looks like a third rate

Standing rigging started

I didn't have a jig large enough for the main shroud/ratlines, so I had to makea jig from two expired sandwiched insurance cards

Ratlines applied

Here are the beauty shots with the running rigging on.