robdurant

Thank you, Chris

Okay - so having had my immune system attack my brain (explained here... An enforced and hopefully not permanent hiatus), I'm currently unable to think at the kind of level required to make any progress on the projects I had going before (Barque Stefano, HMS Bristol (1775), and Nordkap). To be honest, I can't quite believe I ever even attempted them at all! I'm now having to learn a whole bunch of stuff all over again (new neural pathways, apparently!), and this build is part of my exploring what I'm able to do now Progress is encouraging! Over the past month, I've gone from managing one step of a lego model per day, to being able to use a scalpel again without terrifying everyone within arm's length, to building and painting the brand new 1:48 Airfix tiger moth kit (picture below). I can recommend that kit, btw... it's a fun build! (And no, I didn't attempt the wires between the wings... ) Now, I'm excited to be taking on this beautiful kit as the next step. Having built a model of Lady Isabella before (below), I knew the instructions, kit design and support from this forum, and the simplicity of the build as a whole would be the best shot I have at getting back into this wonderful hobby! So thank you, Chris of Vanguard Models for such an excellent kit! It will be interesting to see how close I can get to this in this new build... I'm hoping to invest in the more detailed sails for Erycina (a rough set are included with the kit, but I can confirm that they aren't a patch on the sails that I purchased alongside Lady Isabella, which I presume are of the same quality as Erycina's separately sold sail set). That Vanguard sells them separately also means I can get them as a separate purchase and spread the cost . Hooray! There are already lots of excellent build logs of this kit, so I'm not expecting to exhaustively cover every step, but I will share my thoughts on it, and if I digress from the kit (not the plan!), I'll note what I've done and why, and you are very welcome to follow along and comment if you'd like to. Anyway - Erycina arrived today, and I shall get stuck in tomorrow. Thanks for reading this far. I'm sure progress will be slow! But slow and steady is just fine More sleep, first! Updates to follow. Rob

Their final appearance suggests that they were put together by the people on the factory floor who'd spent all day doing it and knew exactly what they were doing... I can't pick up any sign of a struggle... really beautiful work! As an aside, my nan was one of those people on the factory floors... she was building Lancaster bombers, though.

Thanks, Jason. Progress is slow but encouraging. Hopefully I'll get back to a place where I can continue this model, but it's well beyond me at the moment until then, I walk past it every day and marvel that not so long ago, I did that! 😆 Great to see you making headway on your stunning Artois class. Rob

She certainly is a handsome subject. I wish you all the best as you set out to build her.

Hi all. Apologies that this build has stalled from my perspective. The post here will explain Blessings on you all. Rob

Hi all. Apologies that this build has stalled from my perspective. The post here will explain Blessing on you all. Rob

Hi all. Apologies that this build has stalled from my perspective. The post here will explain Blessing on you all. Rob

Thanks 😊 I've been following along with interest but have not been well recently. Lots to give thanks for, though, so I shall just wait patiently until it's time to pick up these threads again. The boats are patient, thankfully.

Very nicely done. Thanks for sharing.

You can find it here... hope it's helpful. Any questions, just ask. https://modelshipworld.com/topic/26538-free-picture-resizer-application-i-programmed-to-solve-those-image-rotation-woes-microsoft-windows-10-and-11-only/

Hi Kevin, This is a lovely, welcoming and helpful community. I could not have done half the builds I've done without the support I've found here. Good to have you here. Do consider starting a build log and showing people where you're up to. You'll get more input that way and it will provide a place to ask any questions you might have and get those answers Rob

Congratulations on your retirement. It's great to see progress on this model being made, and I hope you find great joy as you adjust to this new season of life.

Having built a vanguard model, and having almost finished MarisStella's largest model to date, I can say that the instructions are like night and day. Vanguard hold your hand throughout, making even the most complex of their models something that can be achieved with perseverance and patience. MarisStella provide many plans, but drawing them together and planning a build sequence or working out what tool to use for what task is left in many ways to the builder. Both fun to build (if you're happy to invest all the time required for the choice you make), and neither approach is wrong, but I would definitely expect a far steeper learning curve with MarisStella if it's similar to Barque Stefano.

Thank you