palmerit

Oh yeah, I got the one from Model Shipways combo and at first just tossed it in my tool case. After being frustrated with the one I bought I tried the one that came with the MS combo kit and quickly threw that one in the trash.

That might also be why most of the photos - of models, of real Dorys - have plain wood oars.

After another frustrating attempt to use the inexpensive Model Craft pin vise I had bought when I first started this hobby, I think I'm going to invest in a better one. The drill bits just keep slipping in that one. Pin Vise Recommendations I know the Starrett are highly recommended - I knew about Starrett well before I started on this hobby. This set has been recommended before (including recently in a related topic): https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/workshop/workbenches/vises/67748-starrett-pin-vises?item=30N2760 It's a pricey set. And I'm not entirely sure if I need all four sizes. Maybe I do. Part of that uncertainty has to do with the uncertainty of different drill bit options. Are the differences in the four in the Starrett set based on the size of the bit (or other tool) you need to use? Any other recommendations? Drill Bit Recommendations I'm still a novice when it comes to the kinds of tools used in this hobby and I don't come from a woodworking or model building background. I've found two types of micro drill bits. One type have the body of the bit the same width as the working end of the bit, maybe a bit thicker for especially narrow bits like .5mm. I bought some of these and realized that my Model Craft pin vise would not hold a drill bit that narrow. I assume one of the Starretts in set of four have collets that get really narrow. Another type have a thick body with something like a 3/32 shank that's attached to a narrow working end. Those work in my current pin vise but they slip. One problem I've had is that just about every time I've used a really narrow drill bit (like a .5mm), I've snapped the bit - a couple times with the bit end buried irretrievably in the wood, which causes a lot of problems. I don't have shaky hands and I'm trying to be careful, but the bits just snap. I don't know if that's just something that happens or if I need to be looking for drill bits made from different materials and pay more for them - especially for narrow (like .5mm) bits. Any recommendations on kinds of bits I should look for? Drill Bit Sources The best source I've found so far for drill bits of particular sizes (in various quantities) is Otti Frei: https://www.ottofrei.com/products/otto-frei-swiss-twist-drills-on-3-32-shanks-50mm-to-2-30mm I'm hesitant to order from Amazon - and I order lots of things from Amazon - because they're usually from an alphabet soup of third party vendors, likely of questionable quality. Other sources? Other brands? Other materials? Other Uses of Pin Vises In a recent related topic, @wefalck suggested that pin vises can be used to hold tools other than small drill bits. I'm curious what else these might be useful for, what kinds of small tools or files, and where to find them? If I'm going to order a new pin vise, I might order a few other tools that I can use with it/them. Suggestions?

I'll need to make and paint my oars and I've been researching paint/stain schemes. The Midwest kit instructions say "Thwarts, Oars, Mast, and Boom - Clear", which I assume just means putting a matte varnish on the oars. I might do the same. I have some stains I could try to use too. I also saw a model that had them painted the same yellow as the interior. This great build (of the Model Shipways kit) just has the oars plain, I think stained and weathered: I just noticed that the Model Shipways Dory kit optionally recommends adding leathering (simulated with thin paper painted a leather color) that I might add to these oars. I had completely missed that that was in that Dory's instructions when I built it. I did add them to the oars when I did my Pram since they're a clear step in the instructions.

I’ve been following this Sherbourne build on YouTube and he finally got to the place in the rigging I was a bit stumped by.

While out of town I was reading some build logs on rigging and making various types of rope coils and belaying and I saw yet another use of a (metal) 1-2-3 block - this time to to secure the magnetized end of a quad-hand hand. Thanks to @usedtosail (their photo).

If I was going to glue something that's painted (or to something that's painted) I'd used CA glue before PVA glue. Don't know if that's recommended and instead you should be sanding before gluing, but I can't imagine gluing with PVA to something that's painted will work well.

Removed the bulkhead ears and sanded down the subdeck. Will be adding the engraved maple deck tomorrow. Waiting for the black paint to dry completely.

Following @DB789 I airbrushed in black the stern end of the Ranger. The stern timbers have char on them and they are not hardwood but more like particle board so painting them black seems to look a bit nicer. I painted this part before adding the etched deck piece. I did mask off the inside and outside pear wood. Painting them also was necessary because I had to use some filler on them to fix fix some places that frayed after I banged the stern end. I've attached a screen shot of what the stern end looks like without painting (from photos in the instructions). I think I like the black better.

Need to do a bit of touch up on the paint.

First sanding of my Ranger. I need to do a tiny bit of filler and another sanding pass. The hull will be mostly (perhaps entirely) painted.

Progress on the airbrushing.

Painted the lower plank and bottom of the Dory.

Finished the 2nd layer of planking. Just needed filler in a few spots. Definitely a better job overall than my Sherbourne. It’ll take several more models before I feel remotely competent. We’ll see how it looks after sanding. It’s taped to protect the engraved pear wood pieces while sanding the hull.

I definitely do multiple coats. Better to do multiples of diluted paint - especially for this thick MS paint - to get a nice flat pant job. With an airbrush, you have to do many coats. If you see color variation that’s likely because the primer layer is showing through a thick layer of paint. I’ve seen for painting plastic models, especially figures, that having a dark primer underneath show through a top layer of thin paint can be done to create highlights and lowlights. I suppose you could do the same on a model ship, but those highlights and lowlights wouldn’t be on flat stretches of hull.

I couldn’t have got the mast on my Pram without having Quadhands. I’m sure there’s some way to do it without those, and the instructions describe it, but there was just no was I could do it. I suppose I could have the mast with my mouth or a nostril. I started with the single line going to the front, then did the two lines on the sides.

I know that yellow is not quite Dory Buff color, it was the closest I had in my paint staff. The green was in the ballpark. I think I saw some photos of some Dorys with some reddish undercoat on the garboard and bottom and just went with it.

Next Vanguard fisher I do I might try using shorter planks. I was just following the instructions. I have been trying to sand a bevel but I think sometimes I need to do a bit more and put the planks tighter together.

This is my mess I made on my 2nd planking of my Sherbourne. You don’t need a keen eye to see that my Ranger is better.

Making progress on the 2nd (pear) planking of the Ranger. This is only my second model with strip wood planking. Not great but way better than the (2nd) pear planking on the Sherbourne - I’ll post a photo of that mess (which turned out fine with lots of filler, sanding, and paint) in the next post. A lesson on practice. I figured out how to use CA glue. I first just glue the front 1/5 or so of the plank to the bow and then slowly glue down the rest. I think when I tried with my Sherbourne I tried doing all the glue at once and that was a complete mess. It wasn’t until reading more build logs that I discovered this approach. One thing I realized late is that I should err on the side of having the stern end of the plank a tiny bit (fraction of a mm) to long so that I can sand it down a tiny bit for a (more) perfect fit. Since this is a painted hull, I can use filler. I’ll need a fraction of what I needed for the Sherbourne.

I started airbrushing the Dory. I found a couple sources for some colors and after playing around with some colors in my stash I decided on Vallejo Model Air 71.135 Chrome Yellow for the inside and most of the outside, Game Air 76.123 Angel Green for the gunwale, and I’m doing the garboard and bottom in Model Air 71.271 German Red Brown. I don’t know if it’s a combination of airbrushing and the model being basswood but it’s been hard to paint over pencil marks I had made. With my Sherbourne (offwhite Vallejo Air on pear wood) I didn’t have trouble covering the pencil marks I made). I ended up painting with a brush to get a thicker covering over the pencil marks and I will do more airbrush coats. https://goodmorninggloucester.com/2009/03/22/dory-buff-dory-paint/

Your first order on www.casemateacademic.com (if you sign up for their newsletter and get a code) takes 30% your first purchase. So instead of $60, it's $42.

Seems that book can be ordered from here for $60: https://www.casemateacademic.com/9788785180773/the-oseberg-ship/

After a couple months, my Pavel Nikitin "Oseberg" (v3) Viking Ship kit (with the paint kit for the model) arrived from Ukraine. My wife asked "what the heck did you buy" when seeing all the cellophane wrapping around the box and Cyrillic writing on the shipping labels. After I opened it, she said "oh cool". It was packed really well. And heavy. I think the packing slip says over 7kg. I'm not going to get to this for a while. So I'll park this build log under "In the Queue" for now. Can't wait.

Definitely useful to read ahead on a number of build logs - and flagging the most detailed ones for future reference. Note that sometimes people will add a "I wish I would have ..." or "I realized I made a mistake earlier ..." noting something that they should have done or done differently many many posts (and build steps) after the step you are on in a model. Good to read through a bunch and take notes (or give yourself reminders to check out someone's log once you get to a particular step). There were times I thought I was following the instructions (and often the instructions aren't all that clear) and then realize that I didn't quite get a part positioned right because some later step (many pages later) doesn't fit quite right. If only I (and the instructions) had told me to test fit this later part, I might have added that earlier part in a different place (or faired the hull in a different way or whatever it is). Then again, you can always just plug ahead and learn from your mistakes. That's actually more of what I do since I often don't have enough time to read the details of every build log. The nice thing about wooden model ships is that there is rarely ever a mistake you can't correct with some more wood or wood filler (especially when painting) or by removing a piece (with an application of alcohol for PVA glue or acetone for CA glue).