Landlubber Mike

Sorry to have missed this earlier Don, just saw your gallery pictures. Fantastic work, thanks very much for sharing!

Really nice work Jeff. Amati makes great kits (at least in the Victory line which is what my Pegasus also is). The lighting will look fantastic!

Congratulations on the upcoming arrival of the little one, that’s really great news! I have three which cut into my time and energy to do hobbies like this one, but wouldn’t have it any other way.

Beautiful Mark. Great work on an impressive subject. What's next?

Great work Daniel! Thanks for sharing. What’s next in the shipyard?

Ken, this is a really gorgeous model of one of the most impressive subjects out there. What a fantastic job you did, particularly in less than a year! Your model is a walking advertisement for this wonderful kit - Euromodel should pay you to use your pictures to advertise it I noticed you wrote this in your first post of your log: "I started building model boats from kits about six years ago not as a serious builder with a passion for accuracy or perfection but as a pleasant way to pass my time and that is how I will approach this build." Your RW seems pretty accurate and perfect to me So, I think I speak for everyone when I ask what is next on the list?

Daniel, were the lines run from the masts to the hull outside of the bottle (i.e., with long slack lines) so that all you had to do was tighten and tie off? I'm thinking about that approach for my SIB build which is using an upright bottle.

Fantastic work Daniel, you're really becoming a master at SIBs. Thanks for sharing.

The headwork came out really nicely Martin. Great job! Can you do mine? For the hawse holes, does the 3/8" include the hawse hole lining or is it limited to the opening of the holes (i.e., the space between the lining)? I would probably go with the NMM plans, but I can check my Pegasus plans and the TFFM series if that's helpful. Also, I got some of the Admiralty Ship Models materials (plans on mylar sheets, etc.), and can check those as well.

Looks great Mark! The pictures above show the really nice curves on this lady!

Gary, good to see you back! Hope the health issues are past you. Your Alfred is a really beauty. Looks like a pretty big model - can I ask the size and scale? Love the bench too, really nice work!

Gotcha - sorry, I should have looked back earlier in your build. I have to say, with that planking job, it's a shame you'll be painting and plating it

Thanks Joe, that's great to hear. Thanks also for the recommendation, I'll have to look into that.

Very nicely done Don! I take it this is a single planked kit? Just curious as beech doesn't seem to be used too often, but I like the look of it.

Beautiful, crisp work Joe, very nice! Can I ask what wood/finish you used for the hatch coamings? They look really rich in color.

Le Renommee is a really nice ship. Looking forward to see your progress on it.

Looks really great Don. This is going to work into a really nice model under your skilled hands. Interesting planking method by the way, thanks for sharing. I have never had any success with CA - always ends up being a big mess for me Is that your Pegasus in the background? Mine has been dormant while I've been working on my Morgan.

Looking really great Marcus. I love these Dutch ships from this period. I have the various Seawatch books from Ab Hoving - one of these days I hope to start scratch building a few of them.

Ah I assumed sawing bigger pieces with a bandsaw would mean more dust. I have a Dust Deputy cyclone for my tools. I was surprised how much dust doesn’t hit the vacuum- has to be over 95%.

That’s totally worth it. I’d rather not have to buy a bandsaw and deal with all the dust from ripping boards down. Ebony huh? Did you get it from Hearne? It’s not as bad to work with as people say, just have to use good power tools. Are you doing the Big Belly next or one of the French 70+ gun ships?

Chris, thanks for the recommendation! Why didn’t I think to look at local milking operations. Looks like there are a few in my area, including one that stocks wood we use in our hobby: www.colonialhardwoods.com Looks like a very good solution. I’ll check out Hearne too. Thank you!!!

Thanks guys. Tom thanks for the tip - I forgot they carried other woods. Great news! Jaager, thanks for your thoughts. I used a General Finishes stain which goes on very nicely. I just took another look at the waterway and it actually looks pretty good. I thought it was uneven but it looks a little better than I remembered. Might have to think about things a bit. World of Hardwoods is about 45 minutes away - hmm, might need to take a little trip....

People knock AL kits, but this is working into a really nice model. Love the herringbone decking, really nice job!

Thanks Jim. My experience with Lumberyard wasn't very good either. I reached out to them for African Blackwood, and I felt like it was a huge runaround and not to mention, it almost seemed like when they did actually respond to me, they tried talking me out of it. I'll take look at Ocooch, they seem to have a bunch of nice wood there. If you're looking for holly and boxwood, try www.inlaybanding.com - very nice seller who was willing to take a custom order from me for ebony. and milled sheets of it in various specifications.

Hi everyone, After a summer off, I'm looking to get back into my Morgan build. For the waterway, I used pear stained with a dark brown stain. Looking at it now, I think it bothers me a little in that the color is not completely uniform (close, but not exactly). Since I'm building the model without paint, I'm regretting using pear here and want to replace it. It will be a bit tricky in that the plankshear sits on top of a portion of it, but I think I should be able to remove at least the part that sticks out from the planksheer and replace it with a thin band of a dark brown wood that will butt against the remaining pear/planksheer. For the waterway, I want to use a single piece that runs the full length of the hull. At least with the pear, I found it was easier to bend a longer piece, than break it up into smaller sections where you don't have the same leverage to get the smooth curve. I'd also use it elsewhere in the build in square type pieces, such as the base for the tryworks. So, two quick questions: 1. I am thinking about going with walnut, as I like the way the way it looks when oiled. Are there other woods with a similar uniform dark brown color that are machine workable and can be bent relatively easily (having worked with ebony, everything is pretty easy to me now )? 2. Also, any recommendations on sellers? I don't have a way to rip down thick pieces (only have a Byrnes thickness sander and table saw), so am looking for wood in the size we use in the hobby. Looks like Crown Timberyard and Wood Project Source are no longer operating? It looks like I could order a sheet from Ocooch in the size I would need, but just thought I'd see if there were any other recommendations out there. There is a Woodcraft about a half hour drive from me that I can try too. Thanks!