Tip of the Month

TiPs and Techniques Section

1. Building Ships in Bottles could be roughly divided into

a) Playing wih full creativity, to just enjoy the fun, or

b) Fully adhering to scale and reality when constructing a ship. (to enjoy the challenge)

My suggestion is: you are better off with any of the options with which you feel better. But the challenge is greater when trying to reproduce a real ship, and then fitting it inside the bottle. The results often look better too.

Now, if you find you are getting very serious about it, or loosing some fun, then take a break, find yourself a truly 'difficult' bottle and try to put a 'free style' ship inside.

After all, sailors didn't have any plans to scale, but they had the real lore of ships, so their jobs always confere the essence of the sea.

2.What Technique to use?

Learn the art if you will with standard methods. Then put them away and design your own. There is absolutely no prescribed method for building a SIB. Besides, there is that old saying of the general public "Gee!! I know how the trick is done: You simply stuff everything inside and then pull from a thread and there you are. I could build me thousands if I wished..."

But, still, there is a moment of truth. There is a bottle, with a narrow neck, waiting. There is a man, with his bare hands ready...

Will 'YOU' pick the glove?

3. The Sinking of the Titanic:

An example of wrong glass thickness determination. Right from the beginning, the ship was planned with critical clearances with respect to bottle inner dimensions. The hull was split into four sections to pass through the neck. When assemblying the boatdeck, the funnels could not be erected because they touch the glass. My advise here is that when working with such small scales and tolerances, the thickness of the glass will have to be thoroughly measured and tested for uniformity. Even the paint coat thickness must be taken into consideration.

a) Starboard broadside view:

Please note that each lifeboat measures 1,5 mm. Masts and other details were not added since model was put on hold after collision against glass (instead of an iceberg)

b) Vertical view of ship's deck , showing boatdeck(Promenade Deck) and stacks

Rutsch in die Titanic, an der Buddelschiff Ecke

Ir al Titanic, hundido nuevamante, en el Rincón del Beb

4. Find the right scale and measures for your ship and adapt them carefully to the bottle. Once you are sure, apply a 0.85 factor to all dimensions. You will love this idea later on!

Please, if you would like to see some models, head towards the photo gallery.

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