Chuck Seiler

Dave, I thought you were going with the Popeye motif.

Mike, Thanks. I saw...HMY FUBBS. It looks like 3 of us are building PHILLY at 1:24 scale. I think you need to build WASHINGTON in that scale and we can field a whole fleet. :-)

A fleet comes together!!!

The wale(s) served a couple structural functions. First, it helped hold the frames in places much like the hoop(s) of a barrel. In truth, there are alot of other things holding the frames in places, but that give you a basic idea. The other was to provide meat/support for the knees/ledges and other deck related structures. The strengths gained in the bow as you approach the stem more than make up for the weaknesses incurred by the slight decrease in thickness.

...and here we all are!!! Welcome to the build Steve. Hopefully a bunch of my followers will cross over.

Dave, I think you will find ALOT of crazy people in this forum. First construction should be posted this week. Promise!.

Dave, Thanks for the kind words. I will be wrapping this Philly up some time soon. I have basically been languishing and working on other projects. Philly 2 will be starting up on the kit side soon. I noticed you have found that site. Steve Y is starting up a Philly kit as well, so hopefully you will be able to watch them come together, side by side (huh?).

Mark, Thanks for your kind words. Sometimes ya just gotta do things other than just plain work. Sometimes you have to break away from modeling for awhile, as well.

I am wondering if the 'typical' 30 hour assembly time is for the machine itself or an average 7.87 x 7.87 x 7.87 inch piece. I have heard that the process takes awhile.

Thankee Mark. The guitars are tuning up.

Hi Tim. Welcome aboard. Mark, I meant to say spaces before and after the dash in my Build Log Title. The edit button lets you edit the individual post, but I don't know of a way to edit the header/title. I was re-reading Dan Vadas' notes on the naming convention and it appears I left out the spaces. It is in the kit section. ....already started....post #14.

Mark, I noticed that I failed to leave spaces between the dash after my name. Can you fix that?

Prelude to Build. I ordered the model shortly after I made the decision to build it. I didn't know how long it would take to get to me. I managed to get the last one available and it was at my doorstep in a few days. I suspect Kurt Van Dahm's articles in "Ships in Scale" magazine is making this a popular kit. Check of Model Expo site shows they have some back in stock. Hopefully we will some more Philly builds pop up. I plan to hold off on the build until mid August. (I wrote this in mid July, so it seemed like a longer wait, but mid August is almost here now.) I have taken the opportunity to start browsing through the plans and checking out the pieces-parts. I went through the instructions, noting the flow and references to specific part numbers, then I located the parts, at least the ones in the start of the build. I kind of want to just start building based on my experience with the scratch build, but I realize that it MAY be to my best interest to actually follow the instructions. I know....it's a guy thing. I have mixed emotions on the instructions. Some parts are very detailed and some parts are sketchy. The instructions spend a couple paragraphs discussing lining off the hull for planking, use of battens, etc, then says 'but you won't need to do that since the bulkheads are already marked. No worries...the beginner now understands better what these markings are and how you get them in future models. THEN as it is discussing the planking process, it explains how to plank down to the wale, shift to the interior ceiling planking without a by-your-leave, then shifts back to planking the exterior. Huh? What? Section headings would have been nice. In general, it is good. This is a big beast!!! At least from what I am used to. I look forward to the build. I have checked out Buccaneer Kurt's article Ships in Scale. I understand he is contractually limited from doing a build log on Philly, but I hope he will chime in from time to time here. Hey Kurt, your picture of the Philly next to Washington is backwards in the most recent article. I'll see ya in a bit.

I concur with Clare!!! No kits??? What am to do? I guess I will work on the other 5 projects. Welcome back Bob. We look forward to continued work on Higaki Kaisen.

It does, but with a slighter curve. The companionway leads from the main deck down to the 'tween deck area. It is about 5 feet wide and 10 feet long. The aft 'cabin' is basically the poopdeck, which houses the officer's quarters and dining area. I only found one photo I had which was even close to depicting them, and it wasn't all that good. I will see if I have others.

The companionway hatch on the Star of India (1863-Ilse of Mann) is cambered. I am not sure why they are sloped...probably more to do with reducing sail area (and I am not entirely sure that is valid) than for water run off, but the end away from the opening can be lower because at that point, the person would be further down the ladder and had no need for more headroom.

Hopefully it will be large enough that I can actually get m fingers into the tight spaces. I guess tha tis what tweezers are for, eh? Yeah, I had to give it a try and see what the fuss Kurt was making was all about.

Tony, Thanks. After asking the question, I found the download on the Museum site. I probably should have known it was there, since our club is affiliated with the Museum. From what I hear, they will be launching San Salvador in September or October. Your model looks great!.

Reubens?

Tony, Tell us a little about the kit. Where did you get it/who made it? What do you think of it? What is your interest in the San Salvador?

Nigel, Thanks. Maybe I will do some experimentation. I have been using the old pencil-along-the-edge method. It works relatively well but thre is always room for improvement.

Nigel, Are there any issues with sanding the deck once the glue is all dry? Nigel/David B/All, I understand David's method is for when you are slicing planks from a sheet where width of plank=thickness of sheet. Instead of painting the edge, would it work if you glued the tissue to the sheet and made the slices after it dried?

Div, Welcome to the build...good luck. I think you will enjoy it...sandwiched in between bouts of frustration. It is a great model. It won 3 of 4 places (out of 8 models) in the San Diego County Fair Design in Wood competition (Scale Model Class). A couple recommendos. Check out my build log and see the procedure I used to make sure things were square in 3 dimensions. Also read my recommendations regarding reinforcing the stem piece BEFORE it breaks off.

Greetings all. Thanks for stopping by. Pete, when are you getting back here to San Diego? Bob, Community build? It's a bit pricey, but sure, why not. I'll get a head start on this one, eh?