Landlubber Mike

So, after a long break, I continue to work on this project.
I found that I had lost the old knife of the Old Man, so I made a new knife for him.

I've said this before, and can't say it enough  - Igor, you are a true master!  Thank you for sharing this with us!

Wow, such amazing detail at such a small scale!  Very nice Igor!

One more project in progress...

And, finally, I moved the crew to the boat 






 

Then I a little more upgraded the pirate figures. 

The next stage is the installation of the treasure chest in the boat.

Then I finally fixed the threads and cut off excess ends

Finally, it's time to install the mast and rigging. 

Then I hung the boat with the threads and filled the silicone into bottle.
The fill of the "sea" was made in the evening. In the morning, the silicone was already half-set, but it was found that, due to the leakage of the seam between the halves of the boat, some of the silicone seeped into the boat. I had to spend a couple of hours "scooping up" the "water" from the boat. The last photo was made during this process.








 

Then I installed the benches on their seats.

Then I took everything to pieces again.

Then I again assembled the model on the slipway for the final check of all the elements.

Then I made a couple more bottles of rum 

Because pirates are going to the island to hide the treasure chest, they need a shovel. 

Then I proceeded to form a light ripple on the surface of the water.

Hi Scotty!
In my first models I made water from epoxy.
Now I make water from a two-component silicone.
Step by step - How I make the sea.pdf

Good Day
I am new to the forum and pleased to have found it.
For models in and out of bottles l have covered my 'sea' with 4 or 5 coats of PVA white wood glue, allowing it to dry clear, between coats. This gives a realistic wet look, with depth to it.
Like commenters below I fiddled with oil paints but realised 30 odd years ago, life was not long enough and acrylic's the way to go. In bottles, I use plasticine for the sea, molten/softened by corking the bottle and immersing in hot water. Out of bottles, I carve the sea in jelutong. I use a router before carving, to accommodate the hull.

Greetings Mike,
Thanks for the kind words! Making those cabins was a real pain, somewhat like styrene plastic tiny pieces of wood, such as the frames around the windows and the entire doors, due to static electricity. Sometimes it's nearly impossible to put a tiny piece down, or keep it in place until a tiny amount of CA glue can be applied. I have yet to decide if I will paint the cabins white, except for the roofs, if I do I expect I will try to use just a white wash of paint, so that the actual planks added to the sides can be distinguished.
Anchor's A Weigh!
John

Beautiful work John.  I too love the use of natural woods, and try to "paint with wood" as much as possible on my larger scale models.  I haven't worked with apple yet, but have heard similar experiences as to workability.  I've used maple before and really like it - a very hard wood with great workability.
After seeing your deck houses though, I now feel like the ones I started working on are inferior and might have to try to build them up as you have (though mine are smaller scale, and I think after looking at the size, I'm not sure that I can replicate your work).  Yours are absolutely fantastic!

Beautiful work John.  I too love the use of natural woods, and try to "paint with wood" as much as possible on my larger scale models.  I haven't worked with apple yet, but have heard similar experiences as to workability.  I've used maple before and really like it - a very hard wood with great workability.
After seeing your deck houses though, I now feel like the ones I started working on are inferior and might have to try to build them up as you have (though mine are smaller scale, and I think after looking at the size, I'm not sure that I can replicate your work).  Yours are absolutely fantastic!

A couple of people have suggested that I should donate Tarmo to Kotka Maritime Museum but I'm not sure that they would want it,plus its always hard for me to give away a ship in a bottle which has taken several months to make. If I do I could perhaps donate with her 'Kemi'; a finnish lightship which is under going renovation in Kotka Harbour close to where Tarmo is moored. I built this model in 2013 and it has a working light which was a cheap bicycle lamp. This involved drilling a small hole through the bottle to insert the cable. (Kemi is a town in North West Finland).

Deck house and steerage in place.Erected fore mast and rigging.I cut loose ends of rigging away with a small piece of a razor blade glued onto an old wire coat hanger. Capstan and a few other bits and pieces fixed in place. Re modelled some of the ice in front of 'Tarmo' and she's done.Clean up any glue deposits or any other bits that shouldn't be left inside and seal the bottle with a cork and a seal of wax with the letter 'T' embossed on it. Luckily I had a turks head left over from 'HMS Trincomalee' that fitted this bottle neck so that I didn't need to spend half an hour making a new one.Difficult to get a decent photo of the finished item but I think its ok.

First funnel (smoke stack) in place and fixed together with the two ventilation pipes.Continue to second funnel and bridge area. A peek through the bottle neck. 

It's not actually a split deck but a whole one which I make flexible enough while steaming it over a boiling kettle.(Don't try this at home .) It's safer to use a commercial steamer.