Martin W

Hi Nils -- what a fabulous way to celebrate the anniversary of Hamburg Harbor! Those are terrific pictures and they make me think that all of Hamburg must have been out to cheer 828 years. Thanks for giving us all the tour. Martin

She really is a beauty, Peter. That name plate is just the perfect touch. Are you going to put her in a case?

Congratulations on your visit to Bar Harbor, Peter. I travelled up there last summer and found some utterly delicious beer, and some fabulous food. I had wanted to stop off in Bath, but was told that my "little hobbies" would only delay the real purpose of the trip (though I never quite found out what that was). Your pictures remind me of just how beautiful that coast is. In Boston, at the Constitution museum, I saw some fascinating models. I've been told that BeanTown has good beer, but didn't find any on my own. Cheers, Martin

Paul -- I had to fiddle with the gunwales all round, even though I didn't put the decoration on. I needed the room for the swivel gun mounts and some of the eye-bolts. Nice planking there! it all looks smooth and regular. Cheers, Martin

Great work, as always, Bob. This is also intriguing to watch as someone who wants somehow to learn more of the skills of scratch-building, and POF modelling. There's always plenty to discover about these beautiful ships, and your work demonstrates that little fact. Cheers, Martin

Nice progress, Ben. I'm sorry the humidity there is that high (and even in your basement!). I've spent some time in Saratoga (I got married there), and am always surprised by the warm summers. Somehow I think that if I just leave Oklahoma, the weather will be cool. Cheers, Martin

Icebergs! Oh no! Great work, Nils. Like all your other fans, I enjoy seeing your updates on this truly impressive (sehr gross!) build. Cheers, Martin

And where will the book be available? Will there be autographed copies? Sign me up for one of the very first! Martin

Hi Bob -- Well, I've just gotten to your new build, and find that the theater has already gotten pretty crowded with your fan base! I'm really intrigued by this build, since I've increasingly begun to feel frustrated with the 1:64 scale. My eyes have never been great, but even more it's the pieces (not me!) that are all just too small to get much detail on. I look forward to seeing how a skilled and experienced builder like you handles this build (kit/non-kit, whatever). Cheers, Martin

As always, there's loads to study, admire, and aspire to. Fabulous! Martin

Ahh, BE -- I find myself feeling ambivalent about seeing you conclude your fabulous log. Every day I have looked forward to an update on your Pegasus, to admire your skill and enjoy your English wit as you narrate your procedures and sources. Congratulations, and get going on something new SOON! Cheers, Martin

Va Va Va VOOM!

Hi Ken -- I will always have a soft place in my heart for the Rattlesnake, just because she's a fine looking vessel. And your build has in every way done justice to her good looks. Well done! Martin

AHOY BE!!! Thanks to the hint you made on my log, I realized yours was back up and running. HOORAY! It's been said repeatedly, but not enough, that this log is among the Constellation of MSW Stars. The latest photos looks terrific, but seeing the ensigns go up means that we're nearing the conclusion of Blue Ensign's log. I've had to fly through today because work has me by the gills (though I did find myself gazing at certain details of a 'cephalic feline' nature). Even my beer time has been severely truncated of late. But I'm planning on some serious boatyard time this weekend, and will be doing some close observing/admiring here. Cheers, Martin PS Thanks for alerting LL Mike to his inadvertent name-change: I for one am fond of the Double-L Handle!

So here's a question: BE, you say I need to affix the Main Head Rails in order to determine the position of the catheads. I suppose that means I need first to make the Main Head Rails, right? From FFM I get the sense the order was Catheads, then structures of the head, including the cathead support. Looks like I'll be taking a trip to the Other Place to do some studying, eh? Any suggestions on this matter would help. Cheers Martin

Hi Dave -- Glad to hear you're back at it. I've tried speeding up the tedious job of sanding in one way or another, but almost always find any power sander to be far too aggressive. I almost took the quarterdeck of my Rattlesnake just by using a Proxxon detail sander! Cant' wait to see the frames lining up in place! Cheers, Martin

Cheers Guys, thanks for checking in. And thanks to all who clicked on the Like Button! Anton, thanks for the kind words. The kit is lovely indeed, and one I'd even considering doing again, though mostly in hopes that my skills would magically improve! BE -- I fear Peter may have a sound point. Here's the event that convinces me of the justness of his legal argument: Last week Mrs Prairie W "asked" me to go "look at" sofas. I'm very fond of the current piece of furniture that has afforded me countless pleasant naps, but, unbeknownst to me, it has become old and tawdry looking. At the store, when I tried to expedite the process by pointing to a fine example of a sofa, I was told that the fabric would never go with the walls. Walls?! I had no idea fabric and walls held any relation to one another. But the Articles of Marriage, Sec. 3.B.iv.c states very clearly: "The Husband shall affirm the judgment of the Guyd Wyfe at every turn, lest he seeks to find comfort in the kennel." Mrs Prairie W has never visited MSW (so far as I'm aware ) Cheers, Martin

Thanks, guys. BE -- I know they'll be hidden, but I just couldn't come up with another way to bring the rail to its end. Mrs Prairie W did once ask me if I would like a new kit for my birthday, and with my jaw hanging down I asked why she would since she usually made fun of my modelling efforts. Her reply was that it kept me out of the way. Hmmm. Don -- That's a very nice compliment, though I'm not sure the phrase "skills at modelling" belongs next to my name. Probably something more like bumbling and blind flailing! Still, I do enjoy it. Cheers, Martin

Hello Everybody -- I've been silent for over a month. Work has subsumed me, for the most part, though I have managed some regular time everyday in the boatyard. And it's been one little detail that has snagged me. The Drift Rail concludes at the forward end of the Quarterdeck in a Scrolled Hance. FFM gives a good technique for shaping the scroll, but at 1:64 that technique doesn't really work -- or even matter. Still I wanted to have something of a scroll. At last count, I went through 12 different tries, working with and exacto, with a micro gouge (1 mm, which isn't so micro at this scale), with lots of shameful language ("Really now," my delicate flower of a wife would say, "what's going on in there?), and finally with the Dremel and a small round bit. Here are some of my efforts. First, you can see that I cut the outer shape as drawn, then tried to clear out the inside. This attempt crumbled so badly I couldn't even get a picture. Next I glued the boxwood blanks (1/16" thickness) to some scrap, aiming to prevent the crumbling. This is the first result there: The next evolutionary step was to take care of the inside curve first, and then worry about the outside, hoping that I could uphold some structural strength that way. A few more casualties as I toyed with grain direction, thinking (maybe a bit too much) that if the grain moved diagonally across the scroll rather than horizontally, there would be more strength. Nice idea, but with no practical effect. Finally I came up with some fairly decent curves -- I can't quite call them "scrolls" since the scroll is incomplete: the reason is that the scraper could not make the curve, and for 2 reasons. First, as it cut across the grain, the outer edge of the hance crumbled. Second, the complementary tail section interfered with the cutter itself. As a rough simulation, I drilled a shallow hole, just enough to create a shadow. And here is the starboard Quarterdeck scroll in place: Now, the kit plans don't show anything like this where the rail terminates at the aft edge of the fo'c'sle, though the NMM plans show something like a scroll. It seems to my eye that the rail needs some sort of flourish as a terminus, and so I set in the same scrolls as on the Quarterdeck. Things get a bit tight, though: That one eye bolt is tight up against the scroll, but I still think a line can run through it somewhat freely. And of course, when I invited Mrs W in to see what had induced such unseemly language, she squinted hard and said, "Do you honestly believe anyone will ever notice that?" Next up, revised Cat Heads. Cheers, Martin

Hi Paul -- I just now found your log, and have caught up. You're doing very nicely. Once you've passed the gunport strip (sort of the initiation into Victory Swans), and the planking, you get to start on the really fun bits. I'll be following along with interest. Cheers, Martin

Love that final shot -- racing condition indeed! She is sleek and aggressive. These are all nice details, Peter -- sails have eluded me, or maybe I should more properly say intimated me. Yours really do complete this lovely build. As for your next: I vote for the Agamemnon. It's sizeable to be sure, but intriguing in plenty of ways. Cheers, Martin

Hi Doug -- I worried over the direction of the stove for quite a while. Finally, I got the bright Idea of looking at the NMM plans and placed it accordingly. As I was making the stove, I did find that it was going to be longer than the space allowed, so I had to modify it. In the end, it's tight no matter what. cheers, Martin

Hi Nils -- Fabulous! What your work shows me is that a ship from the early 20th century has its own grace, and is no less complex than one of those architectural beauties of the 18th century (such as your own Pegasus). It's all very, very fascinating. Martin

Hi Doug -- Oh, don't apologize for giving us lots of pictures! That stove looks very nice -- and solid. And a good job with the guns. Cheers, Martin

Exemplary, Bob. Your work is something for folks like me to study and learn from. Cheers, Martin