Greetings and Thanks

[kurigan]

I feel I owe the community an apology for breaking the rules, if only a little bit. I started a thread asking for advise before making a proper introduction. Technically I broke the rules, even in only implicitly, and in my heart of hearts, that's not OK. So, here I am to set things right. My name is Dave and I'm from southern New Jersey (if you're from the area you know that specification is important 😉). I've always held a fascination with all things nautical and wooden models in particular. When I was a kid I always thought I'd "grow up" to be a wooden ship molder, but never really put the time into it. As I aged I grew away from such fascinations as young men are often likely to do. In my early twenties, thanks in part to films like Pirates of the Caribbean and (perhaps more importantly as it lead me to the inspiring literature and a much richer world) Master and Commander: The Far Side of The World, my interest in all things nautical was rekindled and I found myself wondering why I hadn't gotten in to ship modeling as I always thought I would. I looked into the hobby, here among other places, and found getting started rather cost prohibitive. The best advice I absorbed was to expect to spend as much as $1.000+ on your first model and still expect to want to throw it in the trash. Honestly good advice if a bit discouraging. Instead I thought to turn to other available mediums in the hopes of finding a more affordable outlet.  First I tried plastic kits, but something just didn't jive with my expectations. Then I thought to try 3D modeling but my meager skills were not anywhere near up to task. Finally, inspiration struck and I thought to try Lego, since it was those original pirate ships with which I played out so many fantastical adventures that may very well have lead to this fascination. Now, before you judge me too harshly, understand two important points. Firstly; I do not see Lego as in anyway equal to wood. Second, what I do, is not "Lego Pirate Ships" but a decade (and more) long quest to push the system beyond it's limit to make most accurate and convincing models of historic ships in Lego. Neither my insistence upon historic/real-world accuracy, nor my willingness to "break" the system have made me popular in that community. I think of myself amongst Lego enthusiasts as something more like infamous than anything else. This place, Model Ship World, has been an invaluable resource for reference and information over the years though. I've never been much of a "book learner" so I found this site to be, not only awe-inspiring, but handy in coming to understand the shapes and design of wooden ships and the different elements that make them up. As it is, my introduction is as much to tell you all a little about my self (which it seems I've done in some detail) but to thank all the contributors here as you all have helped me in my quest to learn and make most realistic models and it is greatly appreciated. My heartfelt gratitude to the administrators who go through great pains to keep this place online and my sincere appreciation to the great builders who share so much of their hard work and hard-won knowledge, freely and openly to keep such as me going.

 

Dave

 

P.S. I've been a long-time lurker for fear of being judged on my chosen medium, but my first foray was not at all disappointing. As I've come to expect I found the community enthusiastic and helpful. Thanks again.

[ccoyle]

Part of the fun of building models is to push the boundaries of what can be done with any medium -- even wood modelers do this. I have seen unbelievable models built out of toothpicks, and Doris has built the most exquisite creations out of paper. This is, after all, a hobby, so enjoy it!

[pontiachedmark]

Gidday Dave and a warm welcome from the Land Downunder.

You certainly have chosen an interesting medium.

I would be very interested in seeing some photographs, if possible.

You will find a diverse range of models and modellers here.

I wish you all the best with your endeavours.

Mark.

[Jim Lad]

Hello Dave, and another warm welcome from 'Down Under'.

 

John

[mtaylor]

[BETAQDAVE]

      Welcome to MSW Dave.  Using Legos is not that unusual here at MSW as they are commonly used to square up frames, make casting molds and even for constructing tools like a ropewalk.  So don't think that you are strange to think of using them.  We build ships out of an almost unlimited number of different materials here including combinations of them.  I myself am in the process of making a so called hybrid from a plastic kit by Aurora of the whaling bark Wanderer with components of wood, metal, and even adhesive backed vinyl strips.  

      Speaking of lego models, look our general nautical discussion heading under the unusual ship model topic.  There are several models of note there including: a 64 gun tall ship HMS Persephone (Feb. 3, 2018), the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, (Nov. 2, 2016), and the Queen Mary (July 11, 2015) to mention just a few individual ships.  There is also a pictorial view of a Legoland diorama with several floating ships (Jan. 18, 2015).

[kurigan]

First, thanks for the warm Welcome, all!

 

@ccoyle Doris is an inspiration, be sure I follow her already 😉

 

@BETAQDAVE Oh I know Persephone well and am aware of Intrepid and Queen Mary. All great works 😁

 

@pontiachedmark I appreciate the enthusiasm. However, i'm nor prepared to post any thing yet. Let me get to where i feel i have something truly extraordinary first. For you and any others curious though. I offer two options i'll also stick on my profile.

 

You can poke around my Photobucket, here But you'll have to suffer photobucket loading slow and making your own way around the different albums.

 

If you want some context, you can also search "kurigan" and "eurobricks" where I've posted, in detail, about most of my models. (Yes, same user name over there) If you tack on the name of the album it should find that particular thread too. If you follow along by date you can get a feel for my development, both as a student and as a builder/modeler. 

 

Dave

 

[JeffT]

Hi Dave. Welcome to MSW