Mike Dowling
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Everything posted by Mike Dowling
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My opinion for what it is worth is leave them off, your work thus far looks brilliant without them !
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I painted my transom in gold paint and I like it. Give the hull a good sand and the CA shouldn't show through the paint. Good idea to tape off the wales though.
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Glad to have found your log, I shall be watching with interest having just completed my latest build.
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Well folks, here she is warts and all !! I can't say I am sorry that she is finished but I do think she looks better than I expected her to. I am very glad I put on the extra railings as I think they make a big difference. The rigging such as it is, is rather minimal but there has been a lot about this kit which has been like that from the start. Despite my best efforts the decks have continued to warp even after gluing and even managed to break some of the glue joints. Without doing a complete rebuild there is absolutely nothing I could do about it so I just have to live with it. I really love the wood finish because of the colours and it does make it very different from the other Robert E Lee builds I have seen. Apart from the lovely pre warped decks etc the biggest challenge of this build for me has been the really tight bending of various kinds of wood and I have learnt a few lessons from it. The only painted bits on her are the windows, doors, railings and funnels, otherwise it is all varnish. It will not surprise any of you to know that I couldn't recommend Constructo kits to anyone. Having done two now I share others opinions about the poor quality of supplied wood. I had to raid my 'stores' on several occasions. I know Constructo kits are at the cheaper end of the market and now I know why. I shall not be doing another kit from that stable !! My next effort will be another kit from my tried and tested OcCre manufacturer.
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I think anyone who scratch builds deserves a medal !
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I still think the term 'anorak' could be appropriate for anyone with so much attention to detail. And, since I seem to be the man of the moment regarding definitions, please see my comments with regard to 'kit bashing' on another post !
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I appreciate many of the comments made and all have validity. Having said that I think I will stick with my original query/statement when building my Bounty. Kit bashing is when you get so frustrated or fed up with the kit that you take a hammer or similar object and 'bash' the kit !!!
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Brilliant! I wish I had known that when I did mine. Thanks Danny I will get it right next time.
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Thanks for the post Shihawk, I have to confess I will be pleased to see the end of this one !!! My next project is in fact sitting next to me in it's box. I was bought for a 'large' birthday the Occre Santisima Trinidad cross section. Some might see this as a backward step but firstly I love models where you can see the insides hence my cutaway Bounty, secondly it will take up less space and thirdly I think it will be a good opportunity to improve my rigging skills ! I also think it's a great model and I do like Occre kits. I may have to build the whole S.T boat afterwards !!!
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I thought it was about time I did an update ! Columns and railings are now done, the instructions said 111 columns and 113 spacers !!!! That took a while and I know they are not all straight. The railings were pressed brass strip which had to be bent and painted and then 1mm square hand and foot rails put on each length. A fair test of wood bending I can assure you ! Just to make life harder for myself I have also put railings on the third deck which the Constructo model doesn't have but the real R.E.L did. I managed to get some extra strip from Constructo which is about the only good thing I have to say about them !! There is some more varnishing to be done before the funnels and smoke stacks and rigging get done along with the gangplanks and a few more bits and pieces. But, here she is to date.
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I really hope you get more comments than just my email !!! Good to see you back.
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Here goes then, next update. The ventilation deck is now on and in the right place !! I had a senior moment when I first glued it on and managed to get it off centre. So, more soaking to get it off before replacing it correctly. I have also included a photo using a 5p piece to show the 'right angle' bends that this kit requires I can tell you my wood bending skills have been tested with these. I have tried several methods but the way it has worked out has been to soak the wood in really hot water but only for about 15 minutes then bend really carefully using a hand held mechanical plank bender - the one with the blade - very, very carefully. If the wood isn't soaked enough it just snaps, if left too long it gets too soft and the 'blade' goes straight through it. I am very glad to say that with this particular wood I only have four more bends like those to do. Plenty more bending to come for hand rails though with 1mm square bass wood and if I can't do it I will have to resort to styrene. Anyway that is in the future. I have also put in one photo of the 'invisible' paddle wheels !! Someone else said it was an awful lot of effort for things that don't show and I am very inclined to agree with them !!
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Thanks for that Mike, I must admit I had been thinking along similar lines but, the biggest problem is that not all the columns are too short ! At this stage it would be very difficult to shorten the long ones to put a filler underneath and I think it would be difficult to add putty and paint the shorter columns to match. In some ways I feel it might just be better to regret what happened and leave it alone as an attempt to try a correction could look worse ?
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Thanks for the post shihawk, I am glad someone is watching !!! The only problem with varnishing first is gluing bits on afterwards but I have found that fairly thick PVA seems to do the job. Nice of you to be so charitable about the 1mm gap ! The only solution I can find with the warping is to keep everything as flat as possible and give the wood a coat of dope before anything else. That helps and then the planking on top helps a bit more. Once decks are ready to go in place the previous work seems to hold them flat. It's just a shame that Constructo seem to use such cheap ply, their kits cost enough to justify better. As you say definite building weather next week and I have to say I think your Victory is looking brilliant. I wonder if I am brave enough to try that next ? !!!!!!
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Well folks, A fair bit of progress since last I updated this. The basics of the second deck are now done and fitted. Those pesky little columns took ages !!! There are supposed to be 20 identical columns (!!!!) but, I am simply not that clever. I did the best I could ! My first efforts after gluing them on the underside of the second deck proved to be 1mm too wide on each side which meant the deck wouldn't sit down properly !!! So, I took them all off again after much soaking. About half of them broke so had to be remade. My second attempt just fitted width wise but some were then 1mm too short. Well, sorry to all you perfectionists out there but 1mm too short they are going to be !! I don't think it shows too much. The stairs were good fun too as they had to be built up with individual wood pieces. Nothing like the Amati kit where they are pretty much pre made. Effectively they were scratch built off the plans and to my amazement, they fitted !! The observant amongst you will notice that I am having to varnish as I go along as there is simply no way this could be done with all the twiddly bits that have to be done later. I also thought for anyone wanting to try a Constructo kit that I would include a couple of pictures of the lovely pre warp problems that I have had with every flat piece so far. It makes planking them are real pleasure (!!!!) and they still don't want to lay flat after that. Anyway - judge for yourselves !
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Only just found your new log Dom !! Looks like you are doing rather well. I will be interested to follow it and to know your opinion about Constructo kits, I think you may know what mine are. Anyway, I will be keeping my eye on you in case you need my help !!!!!!!
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So far the lower deck now has its superstructure buildings on and the paddlewheels in place. A few windows and doors have been added and some sanding and varnishing done although it still needs some more. A word of warning to anyone thinking of getting a Constructo kit. The plywood is very soft and poor quality. Not only is it warped in the box, as soon as you try to plank it, it bends more. If you want to bend it it tries to bend in the opposite direction from that which you want. The measurements seem to be quite critical on this model which is not aided by wobbly wood. I have also discovered that the measurements of sections marked out to be cut do not correspond with the plan sheets - oh joy !! You may be surprised to know that I love this model building really !
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You are getting picky in your old age !! I look at your build and think to myself - if only I were that good - I can but try !
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Well fancy seeing you back !! Where have you been ? With regard to planking - I hoped I was getting better at it but this thing has been an absolute monster which I don't understand because it is basically flat ! But that stern !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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