Landlubber Mike

Hey Steve, just found your Morgan log.  You're doing a great job!  I'm not too much further than you, but can say doing all the planksheer, stanchions, log and top rails, etc. is pretty complicated work.  I got some PTSD flashbacks seeing your pictures with the spacers, tons of clamps, etc.

Hang in there - I think you're past probably the trickiest part of the build.  I've been thinking about dusting off my wooden ship builds, and your Morgan is giving me inspiration to turn back to mine.

Very cool project Jon!  I took a morning to visit the Lightship Overfalls in Lewes Delaware on a beach trip with my family a few years ago.  Those ships were very interesting with some neat history.  I always thought they would make for a fun build.  Good luck with the build!

Awesome!  More aftermarket the better in my book  

Hey Alan, hope you have enough blocks!  

Nice haul on the new kits by the way.  I've always loved the looks of the Ryuho.

Wow, so well done Grant!!  Congratulations on a wonderful diorama.

Great start Kevin!  Looks fantastic!

Great start Craig.  I have a couple of these in the stash - you're right that you can really pimp these old Pocher kits with sweet aftermarket, but at a very steep cost.  Looking forward to seeing this come along.

Looking forward to watching this one come along Rob.  Nice looking kit and subject - and cool larger scale!

Wow OC, I didn't realize you had bit the bullet so to speak last year and broke up the ship.  Looks really good!  

Thanks Alan!  I’m not sure there is any more difficulty per se in a resin kit versus an injected molded plastic kit when it comes to these 1/700 ship kits (probably different story when it comes to 1/32 plane kits for example). I think you can get crisper details in resin versus plastic, and there may be flash just like with plastic kits.  Resin kits could have pin hole air bubbles, but these are easy to fill and sand.  You also supposedly have to be more careful with resin dust, but I haven’t found much dust working with these 1/700 kits.

I think a big benefit with the resin kits is that they tend to be all-in-one kits where you don’t need a separate PE details kit that requires you to remove plastic parts and details to replace them with PE.  Instead, these kits and designed with the included PE and detail parts in mind, so there is less removal and replacement, and more just building.  At least this is what I’ve found with this Niko kit as well as my FiveStar Yaeyama build that I’m just about done with.

Try one out - these are pretty fun.

Thanks Dave!  It's not as bad as it looks.  My Optivisor with lighting element and very fine micro tweezers are my two main tools.  A good hold and fold for the PE is worth getting as well.  Physically, my eyesight isn't that great but with glasses, good lighting, and the Optivisor, it's doable.  

Thankfully, I have very steady hands at the moment - unless I drink too much coffee so I try not to drink more than one cup before any PE session.  I did buy one of these just in case my finger dexterity changes - I haven't used it yet, but it is a really nice tool.  Very stable and easy to use.

One thing I've been looking to improve is how I hold the 1/700 model.  Right now I just blue tack the base to a Tamiya paint jar.  That works pretty well, but typically requires me to hold the jar/ship in my left hand and work with my right.  There are times though that I've felt the need to have two hands available, so I've been considering alternatives.  I could also put the jar in a vise, but on a Facebook 1/700 ship forum, I recently came across this item from CnCraft in Korea that I might try.  

Thanks Kevin!!

Thanks Craig!  Niko did a great job on this kit - I'm just trying not to mess it up too much.

I've made good progress on the Albatross - everything is now installed except for the Walrus (to be seated on the catapult) and the small boats.  I also have two cover options for that entryway into the bowels of the ship where the Walrus and other big items were stored.  I can model it closed or open with the cover pulled back.  I'm considering open just for a little more visual interest.

Next up is to clear coat, add a little shadowing/highlighting/weathering, add the remaining items, final clear coat, then rigging (which there is a lot of) and ensign.  This has been a really fun kit of quite an interesting subject.

Thanks for looking in!

20 hours ago, Ian_Grant said:

To carry on a little more with this distraction:

 

Mike, did you leave a postcard at Post Office Bay? Background for the uninitiated: in the 19th century whalers had a mail barrel on the beach here hence the name. Newly arrived whalers from Nantucket would bring mail for all the crews already in the Pacific and drop it in the barrel. When a whaler watered in the islands, they dropped mail for home into the barrel and picked up any incoming mail for them. When a whaler was leaving for home, they picked up all the mail for home and took it with them.

 

Nowadays you buy a postcard, address it to yourself, and leave it unstamped in the barrel. While there you search through all the postcards to see if you can find one addressed to somewhere very close to your house. If so, you are to take it home and go to the peoples' house, knock on their door, and hand it over "special delivery".  I was amazed to find a card from people a few streets over. We've been over a couple of times but they weren't home. Unfortunately, we recently received OUR postcard in the mail; someone brought it back to somewhere in Canada, stamped it, and mailed it to us. 😒 Idiots. It would have been a great surprise and pleasure to have someone come to our door with it instead, someday.

I can't remember whether I did so or not.  I do remember going to the island with the mailbox - was a cool thing to see.  Glad that it worked for you - how cool!

On 6/26/2023 at 11:48 PM, Ian_Grant said:

Oh, and my wife shot about 1800 pics on land with her digital SLR.

 

Trip of a lifetime!!!!  If you are at all interested in wildlife, I highly recommend the Galapagos.

 

I couldn't resist going back to Ian's post - I went to the Galapagos 15 or so years ago, and it was the most incredible, magical trip I've ever been on.  I probably took the same number of pictures.  I highly recommend going there to anyone.  Most animals don't have natural predators there so you can get up close with all the wildlife - red and blue footed boobies, frigate birds, iguanas, tortoises, etc. on land, and then you can snorkel in the water with sea lions, sea turtles, sharks, etc.  Really an incredible place.

Glen, I'm just catching up and you're doing an amazing job my friend!!  So creative!

Wow Kevin!!  Another beauty, great job!

I definitely would be - this ship is on my bucket list!

Those wheels are going to look 100x better when you're done.  Nice job Craig.

Thanks guys, really appreciate it!

Thanks guys, really appreciate the kind words. 

Primed, painted, and now adding in the remaining details before weathering and rigging.  I've been very pleased with the details on the PE and resin parts for this kit.  Niko did a really great job with this kit.

Thanks for looking in!

Wow, what a cool subject!  I'm in for this one Glen!  So creative!

Wow, this is an epic build Jason!  Really amazing work.  👏