Landlubber Mike

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!

Gorgeous Don, really amazing work. The wood really came to life on it with your techniques. Let me add my congratulations to the chorus! By the way, that trip to the liqueur cabinet was very well deserved.

Looking great Don - very curvy lady!

Thanks Ken, really appreciate you sharing. Have a great Sunday!

Ken thanks so much for the explanation. I really love how the wood pops. I have two Euromodel kits on my shelf and seeing what you’ve done makes me excited to build them. Can I ask the brand name of the dyes you are using?

Thanks Gary - looking forward to the results!

Great work Don, I'm glad that you are adding sails to her. Sails take a lot of work though, don't they? I only added furled sails to my Badger, but it took me a lot of research and experimentation to get to where I was happy with them.

Really beautiful work Ken. Can I ask what, if any, stains, varnishes, oils, etc. you used for what I think are the walnut pieces? Whatever you are doing looks absolutely fantastic.

Thanks very much Igor for posting your sail technique - the pulled thread method is a very clever way of doing it. Really appreciate you sharing your various methods, I've learned a lot!

Beautiful John!

Beautiful work Mark. Your log, along with the other RW logs and Pete's very helpful notes, are wonderful marketing for what a great kit (and subject) this is.

I would have broken things out a little more. Some kits for example have good plans but poor materials. Some have poor plans but good materials. I’d also note the results may not be fair to certain kit manufacturers. For example, there aren’t many Billings or Bluejacket builds on here. And the Lumberyard kit is a whole different kind of kit from the more retail mass market kit.

Gary, thanks so much for passing along your test results. It sounds like a very effective method - very promising. One thing I'm curious about with all these methods is what does the oxidation do to the copper. Does the oxidation form at the surface, and go no further (which is what I think happens with aluminum, though I'm no expert), or does it continue all the way through the copper if left unchecked (sorta like what happens when iron starts rusting). Especially in the latter case, it would be great if there was a way to stop the chemical process once you get to a point that you are satisfied with. Mobbsie! It's been a long time my friend and fellow Badger Brother. Hope all is well with you. I'm looking forward to your Pickle build!