David Lester

Ronald, If you want to have the wheels gray, Tamiya xf-55 deck tan is a pretty good approximation. David

Hi Bob, Fishing line would probably have worked quite well, but it never occurred to me. The skylight is finished now and the thread worked fine, but the fishing line might have been easier to work with and would have given quite a clean result. Thanks, David

Hi Mike, Thanks very much. The deck finish is a long story - it's basswood. Deck finishing is my nemesis. Basswood never takes a stain very nicely and usually comes out blotchy, sometimes even with only polyurethane. Also, I tend to like the grayed out look of decks on real ships. I'm fairly happy with how this one turned out, but it was a process that I would have a hard time duplicating exactly. I used artists' acrylic paint and mixed up a batch of a toupe colour using black, white, dark brown and yellow continually adjusting until I was reasonably satisfied. (It approximated Tamiya's 'deck tan'.) I applied it thinned down with water and after it dried I applied more over the "bad" areas that still showed through. Sometimes I would use the original taupe mixture, sometimes just brown, sometimes yellow etc. Sometimes I would apply it thinned down and sometimes full strength. Each application was an attempt to compensate for the poor results of the previous one. Before I knew it I had too much paint on it and it just looked like a painted deck. So I masked off the bulwarks and removed it all with paint stripper. It left the deck effectively stained and I was surprised to discover that it didn't look too bad, so I rubbed it down with fine steel wool and the result is what you see. I've built several models now and no two of my decks look similar, but I think this is my favourite one. I'm glad you like it too. Thanks again, David

Thanks Bob! Much appreciated. Any thank you for the likes. D

Good Morning, I've spent the last little while working on the tryworks and it's now finished. I used the method described by Gerald Spargo and which is available in the resources section on the NRG main site. It was a pretty straightforward endeavour. The only really difficult aspect is once you get to the top, it appears as though there will not be enough room for the pots, chimneys, trim etc. So it takes a bit of tweaking to get it all to fit. It's also a bit tricky to keep the walls plumb. Gerald advised strongly to use emamel paint for the bricks and not acrylic. (Perhaps it's difficult to wipe the joint filler off acrylic paint cleanly, I'm not sure.) So I used some Humbrol flat enamel. I understand that the top surface and chimneys are copper that has blackened over time. So I painted them with Humbrol copper enamel and then dry brushed flat black over top. I'm not sure how clearly it shows up in the pictures, but you can just see bits of copper showing through. I did the same thing for the cooling tank. So that's it for now. Many thanks for looking in. David

Thank you for the comments and 'likes' I really appreciate it. David

Looks beautiful Dave - what a nice little project this one is.

Really enjoying this one - it's a whole different ball game than building a tall ship.

Good Morning, I have a bit of progress to report. I've finished up quite a few details on the hull including the coppering as well as a couple of more pieces of the deck details. (All are just sitting on the deck for the photos - none is actually installed yet.) There are a number of portholes etc that are not included in the kit, so I ordered a few different ones. It took a bit of research finding the right sizes but in the end I found some nice small ones - only 1.2mm - for the smallest openings and a couple of different bigger sizes for the others. The oblong mooring chocks are a bit of a mystery to me. The plans indicate four of them on the starboard side and none on the port size, but the kit comes with six. So that's more than needed for the outboard side of the openings, but not enough for both the outboard and inboard sides of the openings. So I used the four kit supplied ones on the outboard side and then used new brass portholes which I bent into an oblong shape for the inboard side and it seems to work well enough. You can see them clearly below. Stern details finished - I always find finishing the decking to be a challenge. The basswood takes the stain so poorly that it's hard to get a nice consistent finish. I also like to try to simulate the grayed out look that decks usually have on the real ship. I'm fairly happy with the result I got this time, but don't ask me to duplicate it! It was a lengthy series of experimental steps. This time I used acrylic artists' paint.I started with a thinned mixture of black, white, dark brown and yellow, mixed to achieve a sort of taupe colour. I brushed it on and rubbed it down. Then there was miserable series of steps - adding more brown because it was too gray; adding more black because it was too brown; adding more white because it was too dark; adding more yellow because - well because it was the only colour left to add and then going through the whole process over and over again. When I was finally reasonably happy, I rubbed the whole thing down with steel wool which resulted in a very nice finish and a colour that I think looks ok. (Also, while I'm on the topic of decking - this kit has no sub-decking. The decking planks are 1/16" thick and install directly on the bulkheads. If I was doing it again, I would buy 1/32" sheets and make a sub-deck and then install 1/32" planks over that. It would be much easier to get a good even surface and there would be no concerns about plank butts not lining up with the bulkheads.) The bigger challenge though, was getting a crisp line along the top edge of the upper white stripe. This is the outboard edge of the top rail and according to the pictures I've seen, the white should only be on the vertical surface, not the horizontal surface. After many failed attempts at painting, I realized I would never get a good clean line where the white and black meet. The upper edge of that white line is highly visible and the least deviation jumped out at me. I considered using a styrene strip which would give a good sharp line. I'm not opposed to using styrene in principal, but in this case it was just too front and centre so I abandoned that idea. In the end, I painted a piece of paper and applied that. I have some really nice black paper that I used to simulate small iron fittings etc. It's not as heavy as card stock, but heavier than regular paper. It painted beautifully, without any wrinkling. I cut narrow strips of it and glued it on and it solved the problem! The pump handles are another kit mystery. They provide a small centre fitting, but then you are supposed to attached extended handles to it. I couldn't see any way to do that easily or nicely, so I discarded it and fabricated the whole part as one from brass - So that's where I'm at so far. Next up is the tryworks, which looks like it will present some fresh challenges too. This is one of the most enjoyable builds I have done yet, and if anyone is considering this kit, I would definitely recommend it. Again, many thanks for comments and likes. David

Good Morning, I've been working away at this and that. I spent a lot of time yesterday (raining all day, couldn't rake leaves) working on the lettering for the stern. I don't know what the decorative "f" in the centre is property called; whether it's simply a decoration or some old-fashioned contraction for "of". In any case it presented a bit of a challenge to duplicate. There is an elaborate "f" in the special characters section of Word, but it wasn't quite right. In the end I downloaded this image from Google: Then I doctored it with Photoshop and the result isn't too bad: The next photo shows my lettering above the lettering on the actual ship: And finally, on my model: I also finished the skylight: Using sewing thread for the rods worked quite well. Because it's so fine, I was able to get the same number of them in place as on the ship. For the bottom portion, I had stiffened the thread with CA glue, but for the upper portion, I tried it without adding the CA glue and it actually worked a little better. I am now working on a number of small details to the hull - portholes, etc before turning the hull upside down and staring on the copper plating. Again, thanks for likes and comments. David

Good Morning, I've been working away at this and that. There are so many details to be added to this hull, that it's almost paralyzing figuring out what to do next. I've been playing around with some of the deck structures. The "houses" at the stern end and the "head" have to be let into the bulwarks and rail and this is a bit tricky. I knew I had to use templates, but even creating them seemed problematic, so I built the templates up from components with a new piece at each point where the profile changed and taped them together. I then made a decent one piece template. Then I fine tuned the one-piece template. And finally, the piece itself. I used a piece of 1/32" sheet material for the back and then faced it with 1/32" x 1/16" strips. (The blocks in the picture held in place by the clips are just spacers to help me locate the rail.) Here's the powder room ☺️ fitted to the bulwarks (just placed temporarily at this point. Many thanks for looking in, likes etc. David

Richvee - Thanks, I think it's going to work just fine. A question though - what colour does everyone think the rods (thread) should be? The plans say all ochre. On the ship as it stands today, the rods on the base are painted ochre, but the ones on the roof panels are black. I'm tending to leaving all of it black as the contrast makes it stand out a little more, but I think I'll pick up some ochre coloured thread tomorrow and do a test run with it before deciding. Thanks again for comments and likes. David

Hi Gary, Thanks for your comments. I am familiar with John's build log and photos, which I am referring to frequently. I think using the thread for the rods on the skylight is going to work just fine for me. It's not too difficult getting the lines to run even and parallel and I believe the scale is just about right if the plans are correct in suggesting the diameter should be .1mm. It is a bit frustrating knowing that the piece will be largely hidden, but that's often the case with much of the work on these models. Thanks again, David

I've been working a bit on the deck furniture. Here's where I'm at so far. Here are the two companionways, two hatches, cabin and a start on the skylight. Still some painting, touchup and small details to do. Sanding basswood is always most successful when done between coats of paint. The skylight presents quite a challenge. It's very difficult to include all of the detail at this scale. I've made several prototypes, trying different means of making the rods on the windows, including different sizes of brass rod or wire. My biggest problem was getting the holes for the wire or rod to all line up evenly and even the smallest wire seems too big. The plans indicate that the diameter of the rods is just .1 mm which is very small. In the end I think I'm going to go with thread. What I'm showing in the picture is just sewing thread hardened with CA glue. I can glue it in place on top of the framework and then add a 1/32" piece of wood on top. When I apply it to the actual skylight, I think I will use one thread for each of the five rods and wrap it around the entire framework. I'll do something similar for the "roof" pieces, but I just haven't worked out yet how to construct the framework. Each of the three windows on each side should also have a small window frame around it, but I'm undecided as to whether to include it or not. The overall effect might be better if that tiny detail is omitted. I'm not sure yet. Again, thanks for comments and likes. David

Gary - thank you for that advice, it's very welcome. I have been a little worried about this aspect of the build, taking note of how many different details there are to be added to this hull. With the planking finished I've been debating what to do next. Now I think I'll plot out the details on the sides of the hull and as you suggest use the davits as a starting point. Many thanks for other comments and likes, David

I don't believe Cast Your Anchor deserves to have any slack cut for them. I placed an order with them a few weeks ago for about $70 cdn. They charged my visa instantly, yet the order has never arrived. I only live 70 miles from their location in Toronto and I would have expected it to arrive long before now. There is no current mail strike and no cross border/customs issues. They do not respond to emails and they do not answer their phone. In fact their voice mailbox is full, so it's impossible to leave a message. It's impossible to be in contact with them. This morning I googled "complaints about Cast Your Anchor" and a very long list of hits came up, mostly in various consumer forums. If the comments I'm reading are correct, then they have not been a legitimate business for some time - they leave their website in place, accept orders, make the visa charge instantly and then do nothing. I don't know if that is exactly the case or not, but my experience certainly leads me to believe that it might be. I contacted visa this morning and have set the wheels in motion to have my charge reversed. Even if they are still a legitimate company, I would advise everyone to avoid them like the plague. It isn't worth the aggravation. We have so many good suppliers to deal with, there is just no need to get involved with this outfit. David

Good Morning, I have now finished planking the hull. I hesitated to include this picture, because it looks so bad, but here it is nevertheless. I'm not a very good hull planker and I'm always glad to have that part of the build behind me. This hull is single planked, and there is supposed to be a sharp line along the top edge of the wale, with the planking below the line thicker than the planking above the line. I could not seem to maintain a consistent lip along its length and it completely disappeared at the stem. To solve the problem, I first sanded the area of the wales flush with the upper planking and then applied a second layer of 3/64" walnut that I had left over from a previous kit. I planked down only as far as the point where the copper plating begins (which is quite high on this ship.) I feathered it out and applied filler. It is now well sanded and sealed with some poly. I know it looks awful at this point, but it's actually a smooth, solid and reasonably symmetrical hull with a very nice crisp line along the wales. I think it will look just fine once some black paint and copper plates are added. I know my planking skills would never allow me to build a model with an all natural finish where every plank is on full display like so many of you can do so well, but as long as I stick to paint and/or copper finishes I should be ok. So now, for me, the hard part is over and the fun part begins. David

Good Morning - Just back home after a week away for a family wedding in British Columbia and we even managed to avoid all the smoke! We were in the famous Okanagan Valley which is stunningly beautiful, but I understand that even there the air quality had been poor due to smoke for much of the summer. Nothing but clear sunny skies for us though. Here is an update of my progress just before I left last week. I had been working on the bulwarks. The waterway is fairly easy to bevel and install, but it has an unusual profile at the bow where it meets the ceiling planks. It's not completely clear from the plans how this is achieved, but I think I interpreted it correctly as the ceiling planks ended up blending in just fine. The start of the bow framing. Here is the bow framing complete. It's a bit tricky as it spays outward, but actually easier than I have found on some other models because the laser cut parts fit very well. The bulwarks is planked only at the bow on this ship and this requires spiling which is something I have never done before. You can see the cardboard template I've made. The only way I could manage this was through trial and error until I finally got one that fit the space more or less correctly. The planks up to the top of the template are thicker than the ones above it. The plans indicate to use 3/64" stock for the lower planks and 1/32" stock for the upper planks. I don't have 3/64", so I applied two layers of 1/32" for the bottom and a single layer of 1/32" for the upper planks. I opted to apply each section as one piece and then I will indicate individual planks by scribing them. Here's the template for the upper set. The lower planking blends into the waterway pretty much as I think it's supposed to. The port side framing is in place and you can see where I've quickly drawn on planks at the bow just to get the idea of how it will look. In actuality very little of this shows as the anchor deck covers much of it. I was nevertheless happy to have the opportunity to try my hand at spiling and the fact that it will not be front and centre on the finished model is a bonus! Here the framing is finished and ready for planking. One little area that caused my more trouble than I thought it ought to was the upper rail as it rises at the bow. It takes a very steep rise at about the point where the planking ends. I had a lot trouble making this a smooth transition; I did it over a couple of times because I kept getting a sharp angle at the transition point, but finally I managed it. The next piece that goes on is called the log rail and that plank lays on its edge. As soon as I was able to lay it on the rail without a gap at the transition point I was satisfied. I've just started some upper planking and one little problem has become apparent. The plans call for a certain size stock for the top rail and the kit provided stock was either just under or just over that size (I can't remember the actual dimensions just at the moment.) I opted for the undersized one but should have chosen the oversized one. I spaced the rail carefully on the inside, but as you can see the rail is flush with the outer planning with no lip. Rather than pull the rail off, I've decided to sand it smooth with the planking and then add a 1/32" strip along its outside edge. I think that will work just fine and will make it easy to get a consistent depth of lip. Already I can see that I am going to have a bit of similar trouble with the planksheer, which also protrudes and I expect that I will be sanding it smooth and adding a small strip to it as well. I noticed in John's build log (charleswmorganmodel.com) that he had this problem with the planksheer as well and used that fix. So that's where I'm at right now. I'm spending the day recovering from the effects of air travel (I hate it) and will be soon back in my shop. David

Thanks Chuck, So it is a matter of spiling just as if it was on the outside of the hull. It's something I haven't tried in the past, but I've been working on it this afternoon with some good results. I'll post some pictures soon in my build log. Thanks again for your help. David

Good Morning - I have a question concerning the bulwarks planking on my Charles W. Morgan. The bulwarks are planked only at the bow and it's a blunt end which means a significant curve is needed. That's not problematic in and of itself, but the issue for me is the fact that at the same time the bulwarks slope outwards. I can't seem to get the plank to bend in the required two planes at the same time. If the plank is flush to the deck or the plank below, it won't lay flat against the framing. If it's flat against the framing, it won't rest flush on the one below. I suspect there a technique for this, but I'm not sure what it might be. Is there a kind of "reverse spiling" or something of that nature? Does using the narrowest possible planks help? I know it's actually not too important for this model as most of this planking is hidden beneath the anchor deck, but I'm now really curious to learn if there is a technique that I don't know about that's better than my default setting of using half a bottle of CA glue and then sanding the heck out of it. Any suggestions or input would be much appreciated. Many thanks, David

I just hope that when I'm finished it doesn't resemble William H. Macy as he appears in "Shameless!" Thanks for checking in everyone. While it's still early days, I have to say that I'm very impressed with this kit so far. It's presenting plenty of challenge. I'm working on the planksheer, rails and stanchions and they're quite tricky, but at the same time the design of the kit is so good that it doesn't work against you. It's very satisfying and fun. Also, I can see that the kit provides lots of room for enhancement or upgrading which I hope to do to a certain degree. With so much reference material readily available that shouldn't prove to be a frustrating exercise. David

Hi Mike, Thanks. With that counter I'd make one curved cut first then find I didn't have a straight reference point for the next curve, so I'd redo it, forgetting about yet another curve in another plane. I swear this thing is from the fourth dimension. I've had that protractor for years, but I don't actually use it all that often. I don't think it's especially accurate, (it was quite cheap) but it seems to be just fine for this application. I've been over John's build log many times as well as his photos which are a valuable resource. There are some very minor differences between the photos and the plans, so I'll have to make some decisions when I get a little further along. Thanks for your offer. I may have to call on you to clarify something that is just out of camera range in John's pictures. David

Hello All, Thank you all very much for checking in, comments, likes etc. I have a bit of progress to report. The keel is assembled, bulkheads added, mast slots readied and bow blocks and counter installed. In the past I've been a bit negligent about preparing the slots for the masts at this early stage, but this time I've looked after it and I think it will pay off. I added shims to the slots to hold the masts more or less at the proper angles. It's a lot easier now than trying to measure the angle when the deck is filled with furniture etc. which is my usual m.o. The bow blocks were easy enough to do, but for some reason I had a hard time with the counter. I normally have no trouble reading and understanding the plans when they are showing in two dimensions how something will look in three dimensions, but some reason I couldn't wrap my head around how this one was supposed to look. It took a couple of tries, but I think I now have an acceptable result. The stern blocks are almost finished and ready to add. David

I am now launched on my latest project - the Charles W. Morgan. I though long and hard about what model I would like to build this time and for several reasons settled on this one. I was ready again for a fairly involved build which I think this is going to be, as well as a change of pace. Being a commercial vessel rather than a naval vessel it presents a vastly different set of features, particularly the deck details, and there are no cannons to rig! In addition there are plenty of resources readily available including excellent build logs and many photos on line, and of course it's always possible to visit the actual ship. So, the Charles W. Morgan it is. At the outset, for some reason, my wife could never seem to remember the name of this ship and at one point said, "So, have you settled on the William H. Macy, or whatever the heck it's called?" So, we now tend to refer to it as the William H. Macy! Last night I assembled the keel pieces and today have been dry fitting the bulkheads and I am quite impressed at how well they line up with the rabbet - very little adjustment will be needed. So far, so good. I'll post some pictures as soon as it starts to get a little more interesting. David

Thank you Don. I have no problem doing another MS kit. They generally have excellent plans and I'm finding the Charles W. Morgan to be no exception. I think the PdeN was an anomaly and not typical. It was discontinued for a reason. David