Barque du Leman "Neptune" and the Geneve Lighthouse:
This ship and lighthouse scene in a bottle is currently under construction...
Barque "Neptune":
Upon request, I am building the Barque La "Neptune" for the second time. Unlike the first, she will need to be constructed in two pieces to pass through the neck of the bottle.
As usual, with each new boat built, I learn and experiment with adding new and overall, more details.
If you think she is missing something you are right...no wire hinges! I have successfully (well I'll keep my fingers crossed) created the "hinkley hinge" system, where mast is cut into two pieces at the base, a male and femal piece hinge is carved into each, drilled, then pegged with a wire. So far it's working!
As usual, with each new boat built, I learn and experiment with adding new and overall, more details.
If you think she is missing something you are right...no wire hinges! I have successfully (well I'll keep my fingers crossed) created the "hinkley hinge" system, where mast is cut into two pieces at the base, a male and femal piece hinge is carved into each, drilled, then pegged with a wire. So far it's working!
Ready for the Bottle:
I must say, she is a pretty model! And, the mast hinges, which are literally built into the mast have so far held up. She must look at this point, like the real boat did when she was first launched; freshly painted and clean.
This one in particular has a whole array of details to identify her directly with the Neptune that exists and sails the lake today. Her color scheme is a royal and light blue accentuated (like all the barques are) with white and red. The name is handpainted on the transom and the little man steers the tiller. He is a hand made of a wire skeleton, on top of which I wrapped thread to achieve his shape, then, super glued stiff, sanded, and painted . The deck seams are created using a small tip drafting pen. The capstain, forward, was used to raise and lower the anchor, is made of wire and watch gears. On deck, there is a small load of wood, which (to make my story complete) is being transported into the Geneva harbor, her home port.
This one in particular has a whole array of details to identify her directly with the Neptune that exists and sails the lake today. Her color scheme is a royal and light blue accentuated (like all the barques are) with white and red. The name is handpainted on the transom and the little man steers the tiller. He is a hand made of a wire skeleton, on top of which I wrapped thread to achieve his shape, then, super glued stiff, sanded, and painted . The deck seams are created using a small tip drafting pen. The capstain, forward, was used to raise and lower the anchor, is made of wire and watch gears. On deck, there is a small load of wood, which (to make my story complete) is being transported into the Geneva harbor, her home port.
The Lighthouse is made of air drying clay, which was carved after it dried and then painted white. Some portions of the base are wood and the deck to the light tower is wood. She is an octagonal shape and maintains as much detail as the original structure as I could create. Wire is used for the tower deck and "x" braces on the sides. The pier is also air dried clay which was stained with a watered down, grey, acrylic.
Inserting the Scene into the Bottle:
This model was used as a demonstration piece at the World Expo in Montreux. Why I picked such a difficult model to demonstrate, I don't know! But, the crowd doesn't phase me and given that I don't speak French well, allowed me to totally ignore the crowd, while Stefan explained what I was doing.
You can see how tight a fit it was. The sails are curled around the hull and a little bending of the paper happened, but nothing too dramatic.
After getting the second half in, it was a mess to untangle all the lines. I certainly learned that making a two half hull in an upright bottle leads to lots of tangles and many hours of stress to reorganize everything. The same boat going in a bottle on its side is so much easier!
After getting the second half in, it was a mess to untangle all the lines. I certainly learned that making a two half hull in an upright bottle leads to lots of tangles and many hours of stress to reorganize everything. The same boat going in a bottle on its side is so much easier!
Oh man! It was a tight squeeze! I thought I would never get it in the bottle. And, I can say that all went well. Her antenna parted from the mast and took me forever to get glued back in place.
But well, let's just say that all that hastle and struggle was well worth the finished project. She is gorgeous and the slightly tinted yellow glass creates a wonderfully pleasant glow and atmosphere. The scene tells a story. I would like to be on that boat as it sails past the Geneva Light!













