JLuebbert

Congrats Sam!! And what a nice added bonus with your new brother in law.

Hi! Once again it's been awhile. I've slowly been making progress. I'm still looking at myself hard in the mirror asking "Why are you doing this? People will need a flashlight to be able to see the interior." Regardless, it's been a lot of fun and I don't regret it. I'm also starting my second planking and feel I've hit a speed bump. The planks have a mind of their own in sweeping up. I've poured over tutorial after tutorial and am at a loss on how to apply kit supplied planks properly. Any input would be appreciated. Take care all.

Hi Sam! I've been getting caught up and saw that you're tying the knot. Congrats! I just turned 54 as well and am very happily married (i.e. she accepts my various hobbies!). Enjoy! Your Enterprise is really coming along. I was curious about something. I've only seen this model unpainted in my research. Do you have any idea what the paint scheme would have been? Could it have had copper plating? I ask as I recently saw a different Enterprise model (earlier build) painted with red, black and ivory and had the copper plating.

The second batch of pics shows two issues I'm currently trying to figure out. Hamilton mentioned that he did all that work and found he had a hard time seeing inside the cabin. It's too late to install a light so I figure I'll keep a small flashlight next to the completed model for better interior views. I have decided to use the metal decorations for the windows but I'll skip trying to simulate glass. I'm still considering scratch building the door so I can keep it ajar, letting in more light. I've seen checkered floor designs on other ship interiors. I'm going to check out what impact a black and white checkered pattern would have in brightening things up. The other current issue is running my second layer of planking. There's quite a "swoop" at the stern. Any thoughts or input would be very welcomed!

Hello all- I'm sticking with the moniker "Slowest Builder Ever." You can call me SBE for short. I have worked on the Gretel on and off over the last year and I've noticed that whenever I hit a snag it really slows me down. The kit has been challenging with fit issues. Having said that I feel that if I had more experience I'd foresee many of the issues and would have been able to get ahead of problem areas. Attached are photos on my progress since I last checked in.

Happy Birthday Sir! It's been a pleasure following your build and I look forward to seeing you start work on the Philadelphia!

I have to second the blue. It catches the eye.

Thanks for the help guys! Hamilton- I used to build plastic models and found that a little Future Floor Wax clears up clear plastic that has "frosted." Updates to come, my friends! I hope all is well with everyone.

Beautiful work, sir!

Hey gents! Thanks for checking in. (Great to hear from you Sam! I'm still avidly following your Enterprise build.) I've made some progress. I am, however, competing for the title of "SLOWEST. BUILDER. EVER." The kit itself has presented hurdles in wood quality and fit but I'm taking that in stride. This build is all about learning. As pictured, the cabin interior layout is done. I figured once the hull was in place I may be influenced on how to approach the interior furniture. I am picturing 2 beds, a dining table with bench and chair, a desk w/chair and pictures of some sort (obviously influenced heavily by Hamilton's build). The most important thing will be being able to see everything. I decided early on that I'd open the doors to the cabin. This would mean creating the fancy molding by hand which would look cool but is something I've never done before. This lead me to realize that if I did do that I'd need to redo the 3 windows as well as it would look odd if I used them. I will then have to figure out how to finish off the interior side of the window panes. Speaking of window panes I've been looking at different clear plastics for the glass and nothing is fitting the bill. I think I may end up leaving out the "glass" so as to help visibilty. Any input here would be greatly appreciated! I am almost done with planking the decks. I will move onto the hull next and hopefully by then will have a strong direction for the cabin. Here's a few pics. As always any feedback is greatly appreciated. Cheers!

Hi Hamilton! I'm planning on scratch building a new door and new window. The plan is to have the door ajar. While I'm thinkng about it, maybe I can figure out how to have the windows open as well. Stay tuned!

Hi Hamilton, Thanks for checking in. While the quality seems fine so far I'm having to correct a lot of bad fitting. I've attached a for instance pic below. Fortunately everything is manageable.

Thanks Elijah! I appreciate it and will welcome any advice along the way.

More pics. I'm happy with the progress so far. It has been very eye opening playing this game of chess- always thinking a few moves ahead.

I found out right away what others meant with the initial fit - none of the bulkheads fit properly. Not a big deal but not a great way to start. I took a lot of time before I began to plot my course. I loved what Hamilton had done to the interior of his but I didn't want to duplicate it. He had also mentioned that his interior was somewhat dark. It occurred to me that it may help by removing the wall in the cabin and moving to a "great room" concept. Copious amounts of notes and thoughts followed. I added floor supports and moved forward.