Zuiderzee-Botter

[JIM BAUMANN]

great character expressions captured well !

Jim B

[NCMac]

Your figures are quite as good as the rest of your modeling, which is to say, excellent.

One note that struck me, if it is cold enough to use sleds and heavy clothing, perhaps at least some of these bare hands would be covered?

This is such an impressive work, I feel like I'm seeing a three dimensional painting being created.

Best Regards,

Mac

[wefalck]

Thanks, gentlemen, for the kind comments !

Mac, being a 21st century wimp, this question struck me as well and I looked at dozens of winter images from the region. However, you rarely see anyone, if ever, with mittens or let alone gloves. These were luxury items among 19th century working class people. And indeed, they would have been rather impractical when working with nets (men) and fish (women). Rubber gloves did not exist then and mittens would not have given enough hold; leather would have also become hard very quickly when exposed to seawater, unless oiled constantly; canvas would freeze stiff. Women would even go around with bare lower arms for most of the time and would only wear knitted sleeves when going to church or the likes. So these guys were hardy folks.

[dafi]

And always to remind everybody: 1:87!!

Marvellous!!!

XXXDAn

[NCMac]

Hardy indeed.

Best Regards,

Mac

[blacman]

Fanstastic.. Trully great !

[wefalck]

Thanks again for your kind words !

********

Work on the actual botter model continued with a few pieces of equipment as shown in VAN BEYLEN�s book: a long and a short boat-hook, the the tiller, a shovel-shaped bailer, a handspike for the spill, the pennant that goes onto the mast-top ... and the �afwasbak�, a wooden box for doing the washing-up or sorting fish, together with a teapot and couple of mugs in white emaille.


Loose pieces of equipment (the teapot has a diameter of 2 mm !)

The teapot and the mugs were turned from brass. The spout and handles were soldered or glued on, while the pieces where still attached to the stock, as was done the painting. The pieces were then parted-off back on the lathe. The teapot has a diameter of 2 mm !

And now getting ready for the final lap ...

[wefalck]

And finally ... all the little bits and pieces have found their place and the scenery has been populated. Below some impressions of the completed model. More pictures can be found here http://www.maritima-et-mechanika.org/ma ... otter.html




















This is the end of my Noord-Holland nostalgia project.

[marijn van gils]

Wow, that's a great diorama!
The figures bring a lot of life in it, and all elements work together perfectly. The ice looks amazing, and the brick quayside looks so typically Dutch (next to the ship and clothes of course )!
You achieved a lot of atmosphere!

Congratulations!

Marijn

[JIM BAUMANN]

excellent quality throughout the project-- a very atmospeheric and usual scene has been set!


top marks!!

Jim Baumann

[JIM BAUMANN]

I have just been revisiting this thread;

both for the no-compromise quality

but specifically your elegant sailmaking techniques--

link
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=152611&start=20#p586527

albeit in a rather larger scale that my current build

inspiring stuff!

JIM B

[wefalck]

Thanks for the praise ! Actually, would today rather use diluted PVA for stiffening, as the varnish I used is quite brittle.

'Dafi' has also been experimenting recently with heat-activated repair-tape as used in the book-/paper-conservation trade with very nice results. I will certainly give this a try, when next working on sails. His method achieves the translucent quality of un-tanned sails.

[kurusu]

Excellent!

[MichelB]

A beautiful little look into a fragment of Dutch history. Excellent!

[Ronald47]

As a Dutchman I say; excellent work, Wefalck!

[JIM BAUMANN]

I have just been revisiting this beautiful diorama again, having recently been occupied with Dutch things ( Tugboats).

It remains very instructive in so many ways!

and the boat in the ice reminded me of this great and innovative way
of moving your summer boat across the ice in winter...

youtube link for full screen viewing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cF8KTgM0Qs&t=1s

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cF8KTgM0Qs&t=1s[/youtube]

[wefalck]

Thanks, Jim. Fixed the broken links now ...

This January 2009 was indeed the first time for many years that there was snow and ice in Noord-Holland and that the Ijsselmeer and the canals froze over sufficiently that one could go ice-skating.

It is is actually a kind of life-insurance to have a light-boat rigged up for ice-sailing rather than having a simple ice-yacht. Up to the 1970s winters were sufficiently cold to create a thick ice-cover, but since then this did not happen very often again.

Before motor-cars and good railway connections people used these ice-boats regularly for essential travel. Sometimes they were not sailed, but just pushed across the ice on skids and when open water was encountered they were pushed in.

That last winter I spent in Alkmaar, going around places and visiting museums on the weekends, I learnt a lot about how life was in winter in the old days. There are also various old films about winter there on YouTube.

[Chuck Bauer]

A masterpiece!
Thank you Jim for re-posting.

[wefalck]

If you want to see the botters in action, here is a film made in 1930, shortly before all that disappeared because the Zuidersee was dammed-up:

[youtube]https://youtu.be/qrtd91QNmq4[/youtube]
https://youtu.be/qrtd91QNmq4

[ModelMonkey]

Love it.