gunslinger4hire

Thanks for the information tung oiling the wood. I will read it carefully. But at this point i am still far away to put on anything... ;-) I already ordered some substitute walnut masts instead the light ones delivered with the kit... ;-)

Getting the Tung Oil here in Germany is not difficult. I already found a online shop selling it. But i think i am sure for now how the beauty should look like when finished. Yes, the box is open... :-) I could not resist opening it. And i can't hardly wait until i can start with the building. I think i will get the first parts assembled this weekend...

I think also, that for my first model all my concentration should go into mastering the skills and not in historically repreducing the ship... And as i saw my pictures of the unboxing again today, i have to buy some other camera. Taking the photos with my handy cam is a no-go... ;-)

I also did some more research about the Badger... But information is really rare, even already when i search on google afetr "Brig Badger", my own build log appears as the 7. search result... But i found some posting in a german forum (http://www.napoleon-forum.de/index.php?showtopic=411) about the "Brigg Badger", Nelsons first command... There they speak of "Nelson's Ships", a book by Peter Goodwin (http://www.amazon.com/Nelsons-Ships-History-Vessels-1771-1805/dp/0811710076#_). In which detailed plans of the badger are. In the post they are also talking about, that Caldercrafts rigging plan is quite different to the rigging in the book and probably the dimensions of the mast are not correct... Hmm...

Hi Mike, i already realized the "bad" wood strips. Either i have to do some work on these planks or i just replace them with some better ones... Did you find any more information about the Badger or any similar type of ship?

Damn Mike... Your Badger already looks impressive. You set a high standard for me with that... ;-) Maybe i can raise the bar a bit at the end... ;-) I am happy to have a companion with some experience of the kit. Be asure that i will come with some questions... Do you make the sails by yourself or did you get some ready made sail kit for the badger? I could not find any ready made.

Hey Frank, i love your weathering techniques at your ship... When i am as far to decide what kind of finishing to use, may i bother you with some questions and maybe get some of your weathering secrets.. ;-) Oli

Questions before the build (1) (edit)... About some details of the building are still some question marks swirling around my head. The order of the questions are not their order of relevance and i will flesh out over time. Comments are welcome... Finishing: Hull I am not sure about the last finish. On the one hand leaving the wood itself, to show the beauty of the wood. Oiling comes here to my mind. At the other hand, fine painted models are a pleasure to see... Also i love seeing such old turned weathered paintings... Awesome... I think i will make my decision, if i have to cover some imperfections in the build... Hmm, i have to find out, what would be the last step in the building process, i have to make my decision. I found franks excellent build log of the HMAT Supply, where he shows some impressive skills in weathering the finish. I love it... Deck Planking How i should do the deck planking? I like the plankings where the extra effort was made to plank the waterway... I hope this is the right term for the broader plank at the outermost edges of the deck. Lettering of ships name I think the kits brass etched nameplate font is not quite suitable. Anyone knows what kind of font would be right? Sails The kit comes with no sails and no special rigging plans if i want to spice up the model with sails. Mike already gave me some hint, where to get some cloth for making the sails by myself. Adding planking to the vessels superstructure The small hut around the stove is just made of some plywood. I do not think that the final outcome of this detail as shown in the building instructions, i will like. The hut plywood is to be glued at flat sides at the corners. Thus this will show me the ugly faces of cut plywood. Even when painting this, you will ever realize the difference in the grain of the surfaces and sides of the plywood. to be continued...

UNBOXING THE BEAST (1)... Although my workspace is not ready yet, i moved to a new home shortly, i will start my build log already today. Today getting my hands on my new kit, i could not resist opening it. So i decided to take the first pictures of unboxing the beast... I did a lot of reading and researching on the internet and some books, which model should be the first for me. A bloody beginner in model ship building. After all that reading i took as my only technical rule of thumb - beginners should start with a model in scale 1:50. During this studys i stumbled over different descriptions about the quality the different kit manufacturers deliver. After all the different opinions and experiences (until now not my personal opinion or experience), CalderCraft seems to be some of the better quality makers. So, today i walked into my local model building store. I think we have quite a excellent one. The store serves all types of model building, not only ships. Astonishingly i found a far better range of wooden static ships, as i expected. Softening my only rule of thumb, 2 models were identified as the right canditates. First the HMS Bounty from Constructo, Italy, scale 1:50 and second the HM Brig Badger from CalderCraft, scale 1:64. 2 Reasons took me now to my decision, why i have chosen the HM Brig Badger kit. 1. the manufacturer and 2. the HMS Bounty has no cannons... 😉 Ok, back to the kit... As i mentioned, today i bought my kit from the HM Brig Badger. More info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Badger and here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Badger_(1777 Contents of the kit are: 2 Building Manuals english 2 Building Manuals translated in german (nice work at krick, the distributor of CalderCraft kits in Germany) 10 scale plans of the model: 1 of 10: Hull Assembly 2 of 10: Deck & Bulwark Fittings 3 of 10: Hull Fittings 4 of 10: Mast Assembly 5 of 10: Bowsprit & Yard Assembly 6 of 10: Blocks & Horses 7 of 10: Rigging Stages 1 & 2 8 of 10: Rigging Stages 3 & 4 9 of 10: Rigging Stages 5 & 6 10 of 10: Rigging Stages 7 & Belaying Plan plywood first & second planking mast parts brass etchings copper cannons and rope The contents were complete and no part is missing as far i could check it now, without tearing every plastic bag open. So for now i let the pictures speak...