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Mike Dowling
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Everything posted by Mike Dowling
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Thanks for that hornet, it is good to get several opinions.
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Hi matey !! I have just found a Billing kit like yours at a not bad price. Should I be brave and go for it ? Does the large scale make it easier or harder do you think ? What do you reckon would be a good price as, not wishing to be too nosey I have no idea what yours cost. Also, and not too much of the flattery, do you think I could make a decent job of it ? Yours is so brilliant I am not sure I could do nearly as well.
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Hi again, Does anyone out there know if the Billing 1:75 version is any good as I have found on at what seems to be a fairly good price.
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Not necessarily! Having seen your brilliant work it is more than tempting but I am not at all sure I could do as good a job as yours. As they say on TV 'other kits are available' and it would be interesting to get an idea of other peoples thoughts. Like you I would try to do an un-painted finish as I love the wood and your build is testament to its beauty.
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Hello all, A question for all you Victory builders out there. I am thinking of trying one so, which kit do you think is the best and why?
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The standard of your workmanship continues to amaze me, it really is quite amazing. I love open models and the way you are doing this is brilliant. I shall keep watching with envy at your skill !
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She really looks superb. Not sure I quite understand the half mast thingy but I can appreciate it will take up less space. Goodness knows how you half rig her or are you only doing half the standing rigging? Regardless you should be really proud of your work, like I said, superb.
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Good to see you back ! Your deck looks lovely, well done sir! Not sure I can help much with your bowsprit rigging as I know your rigging is different from mine anyway. I can send you a copy of my bowsprit plans if I haven't already if that is any help but I am sure someone who has done/is doing the AL version will be of more help than I.
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Sorry to be boring and you have made a very nice try but my advice again would be to leave them off. You have done such a marvellous job so far I would hate you to spoil it now with things that don't really need to be there.
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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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