Landlubber Mike

Mike, I took a trip down memory lane and re-read from Unicorn log from a few years ago. Interesting stuff! Brought back fun memories working through the plans with Ian and JohnB. I think it was JohnB who said it best (paraphrasing): "We all might have been better off if we hadn't seen the Chapman plans." 😀

I don't want to speak for JohnB and Ian (Ian hasn't been on this site in a while, hope he is ok), but I ended up scrapping my build. After doing a lot of research, I decided that I wanted to do the Lyme, the sister ship to the Unicorn. I bought the NMM plans and tried working off them, but the dimensions of the Corel kit were totally off from it, making it really hard, if not impossible, to build the Lyme according to the NMM plans using the kit. I think I chronicled some of the issues on my log - the easy fixes would be with respect to the figurehead (as you have done), the lack of a stern post, the rear windows, and the open waist. The tougher fixes were with the deck angles, particularly at the stern, and the overall height of the hull which is taller than the NMM and Chapman plans. Because the hull was taller, it was almost impossible (at least at my skill level) to recalibrate the height and slope of the decks from the keel. After many hours of frustration, I decided that rather than spend an inordinate amount of time trying to make a more accurate representation of the Lyme using the kit (and probably couldn't get there anyway because of the hull dimensions), that I would eventually just scratch build it in the future. All that being said, the Corel kit makes for a very nice model as yours clearly shows. The wood and detail pieces are very nice, and the curves of the ship are beautiful. Just making the changes you made, one can improve the build considerably. I have to say that even though I scrapped my build, I learned a ton working through the issues with Ian and JohnB - which was almost as fun as building the model itself. I'll be following your build log with a lot of interest!

Really nice job Mike!

Welcome back! Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Wow that’s amazing work. Where was it posted if you don’t mind me asking? I have the Seawatch Waterline Dioramas book (which is fantastic by the way) and have always wanted to do a diorama build. I can’t do it with the wooden kits I’m building now because the dioramas would be way too big, and plus you either have to cut the hull near the waterline or have a much higher base, both of which seem like non starters for me (at least at the moment). So, I thought I’d try out a plastic model instead precisely to do dioramas. I like the ocean displays, but that diorama you posted with the cliff side is absolutely fantastic. What a way to bring things to life!

How do you like working at 1:700 scale? I'm going to dip my toe into this crazy world of plastic kits and microscopic photo etched detail sets, but I'm starting with larger scales (1:350 and a 1:144). Those seem so small, I can only imagine how cross-eyed I would be working at 1:700!

Looks great!

Guys, thanks very much for all the information. Really appreciate it! Like all tools, just want to make sure I go for quality, and these tips and resources are invaluable. It's funny, I went to painting with wood on my wood models because I hate painting, but doing plastic it looks like painting is necessary. So, maybe I'll go back to painting my wood models - it takes a lot to paint with wood, particularly when the color scheme is more complicated. Thanks again!

It looks like I'm going to do some plastic kits with my daughters, and of course in looking at the logs on here and the various kits out on the market, I'm thinking of doing a kit or two myself. So, I'm looking to get an airbrush set - any recommendations? I don't mind spending a little more money on a good one that will last. I've been watching videos and looking at airbrushes, but I figured I would see what folks here are using. Something good quality, not as noisy, etc. Thanks in advance!

I’ve dealt with Euromodel twice, and they have been nothing short of fantastic. The first time was to buy one of their lion figureheads because I was building the Lyme using the Corel Unicorn kit. The second was to ask them about replacing a missing plan sheet and warped keel on a used La Renommee kit that I had picked up on eBay. Not sure if he is still there, but Massimo was such a nice guy to deal with. Just be aware that they are shut down in August believe for the Italian summer holiday. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy from them. I agree with Mark that the Euromodel plans are among the best out there, very detailed. And Pete’s built notes are an invaluable resource.

Hey Martin, your Fly looks fantastic! For what it’s worth, I would go with a more rounded quarter badge. I just personally prefer that look to a flat one. Also, it seems with all the enhancements you made to the stern, a flat quarter badge would look out of place. If you had done the stern with the built up kit PE pieces, then the flat quarter badge would give a consistent look. With a more rounded stern, I’d think a more rounded quarter badge would look better. All that said, a rounded quarter badge will take a lot more work. I started building the pieces for my Pegasus, but got a little stuck trying to figure out how to do the top part and incorporate the two dogfish design. But I have faith in you - if you can do the stern as great as you did, the quarter badge will be no sweat for you.

These are amazing! The heron is really incredible. You’re a true artist!

Looks great Mark!

My set from Mikhail arrived this week. Got stuck in customs and took about 6 weeks, but well worth the wait: As everyone said, they are really well made and at a nice price. I bought some micro gouges and other tools from Dockyard years ago, but these are much higher quality. As you can see, I opted for the more decorative handles and glad I did so. The tools are almost too beautiful to work with and dirty. Mikhail is a very nice guy, and google translate worked very well for our communications. He stayed on top of the delivery to make sure that the package got to me and periodically checked in. I’m sure some may have misgivings about communicating in a foreign language with someone halfway around the world, but it was a very smooth process, customs delay aside. I believe he makes batches of these twice a year, so if you are interested, it’s best to contact him sooner rather than later. Mine was the last set for this batch, otherwise I would have had to wait until the fall. Thanks Mikhail!

To get the hang, I added a weight to pull the slack down. I forget what I used - it might have been a toothpick or a pin - something heavy enough to pull it down yet light enough so the rope would naturally hang without looking sharply angular at the nadir. Then a couple of coats of well diluted PVA to set things.

Very nice Mark!

Those anchor buoys are looking awesome. Not at all easy making that rope basket - I had a lot of choice words when trying to get them on the buoys for my Badger.

I think there are already a lot of Chinese GRS knock-offs on eBay.

Cool project. I always thought the Blandford was a nice subject.

Pear takes stain very nicely I've found.

Yeah, I would definitely tie them to the ring bolts and then insert the ring bolts into the bulwarks. Not sure I see doing it any other way. Use the one you have now to test out lengths of the breaching rope to get to the proper length to have adequate sag, etc.

A beautiful gift! Really kind of you. Hard to tell which looks better - your LN or the knife. Both are works of art. 👍

Hey Mark, sorry to hear about things. Hope 2019 is treating you a little better. Everyone is different, but for me, having multiple projects going on of various lengths works. I find I get excited by a project, then eventually that enthusiasm dwindles, or I get stuck or feel overwhelmed. Then things stop being fun and the project turns into a chore. Having something else to turn to, even if it is a different pursuit, keeps my spirits elevated and i’m in a much better state of mind approaching whatever it is I’m working on. These long projects that run years do require a particular personality and mindset to get through I think. That’s why having some short projects in the mix where the finish line is measured in days or weeks really helps. I just started playing around with turning pens and am having a blast. Turned a few pencils for my girls and I’m a hero to them. I’ve also started looking at other things, including ships in bottles which take significantly less time to complete and you don’t have to worry about absolute perfection at such a small scale (especially when the glass provides some distortion). I also think that coming to MSW and seeing the incredible artistry is mostly a blessing, but sometimes is a bit of a curse. I get inspired for sure, but there are times when I feel like it becomes a lot of self imposed pressure to build the model at a high level. For me it’s not that I would feel embarrassed to post my work, just that you come here and see what can be done and want to do the same. In some ways it would be nice to just open a kit and build it from the box without really mentally torturing myself to get things perfect, historically accurate, etc. Anyway, sorry for getting philosophical on this. Take care of yourself my friend. Looking forward to seeing whatever you end up doing.

That's really beautiful work. Wow, very impressive! Funny about gluing brass - if you find a solution, I'm all ears. Gluing brass on my first model led to a lot of nasty words and visions of testing it out as a glider by throwing it out the window. 😳

Welcome back! Your Pegasus was one of the builds that inspired me to start this kit. Coppering looks great!