hornet

Geoff, I think you may be correct about Credit Cards having customer protection. I favour Paypal and use it whenever possible. To me it adds an extra layer of protection. It is a shame that DHDave has been unable to contact the publisher though. It would be better for him if he got his problem sorted out by them. Brian, thanks for the thought, but best leave the pirating to those who reside in the Caribbean. Steve

Well guys, I have no idea how many chapters are on the disk or even if the disk is single or dual layered as I don't have it. However, NHDave copied it to the hard drive of his computer and says he way able to access more of the video than from the disk. Give it a go and you might be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

Ok NHDave but just for your info and anyone else out there who may have bought this disk and is having difficulty playing it, when you look at the files you have copied from the disk onto your hard drive, you should see the following files: Video_TS.IFO Video_TS.VOB Video_TS.BUP These files define the structure of the disk and tell your disk player which file to play first and in what order. The BUP file is a backup for the IFO file VTS_01_0.Vob - If the disk has a menu, it will be in this file. VTS_01_1.Vob VTS_01_2.Vob .....and so on. These are the files on which the audio and video of the disk are stored. These are the ones you want to view. The disk may also contain other files such as: VTS_02_1.Vob VTS_03_1.Vob These files usually contain extra features such as behind the scene footage. I don't think your DVD would have any of these though. I suspect that either or both of the Video_TS.IFO & the Video_TS.VOB files are faulty on yours and other disks from this seller. Hopefully you should be able to view the whole content of the disk by viewing each of the VOB files in turn. There is a way of putting these files back onto a DVD but you would need video editing software to do this. I might add that if this is the case then it is very poor form that the producers continue to sell the disk. Little wonder that ordering through Paypal does not work. Paypal has probably disowned them.

Good News! Actually, I should have used the term COPY rather than RIP in my previous post. Ripping changes the format and combines the VOB files into one file on your hard drive. Copying does just that, it copies the files `as is' onto your H/D. If you have ripped it and it works, great! If it still faults, try COPYING it to a folder on your hard drive. Then you will see files like this: VTS_01_0 VTS_01_1 VTS_01_2 ..... and so on. Right click on each one individually with your mouse and chose whatever media player you use to play them. They should work (touch wood)

NHDave , did you try ripping the DVD to a computer hard drive? If you can do this successfully you may be able to view each of the VOB files from the disk individually using a media player such as VLC. There should be 4 - 5 VOB files on a DVD.

Just tried to order with Paypal too. No go. After reading NHDave's comment I don't think I'll go down the credit card track. Pity, it looked good.

Thirty or so years ago, when I started building wooden ship models, it was pretty difficult to research a ship. The Internet didn't exist so going to the local library was pretty much all you could do. You had to rely on the honesty and integrity of the manufacturer to a large extent. Nowadays, because of the internet, the world is at our fingertips and it is so much easier to chose a kit with confidence. I tend to do a lot of research into the history of a ship and look at a lot of pictures and photos ( including those on this site) before I hand over my hard earned dollar. In this way I am reasonably sure I am going to get something that did really exist an is reasonably accurate. I normally keep a folder on my computer where every tiny bit of information on the history and construction of my current build is stored and I update it as I go. The 'Endeavour' is on my build list and I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to go aboard the Endeavour Replica recently. I took about 200 photos!!! If I think some component of the kit s not quite right or is poorly made, I try to scratch build it. This just adds another dimension to the hobby. I know that fictitious, and poorly designed models are out there, but I don't really care. I won't be buying one of them.

Good point Mark, I usually finish my decks with polyurethane and PVA sticks quite well to it but maybe some varnishes or oils are a different story.

Zach, I don't know if it will help your quest or not, but Sir Ernest Shackleton wrote a book about his expedition. In it there are a number of photographs of the 'Endurance' both before and after she was trapped in the ice. The book is called 'South' and is an excellent recount of this amazing survival story. It was originally printed in 1919 but reprinted by Time Life in the 1980's ( I have a copy of this reprint). You may like to search your local libraries or see if it still available for sale. The photos of the hull and rigging are quite good and may help you fill in some details. Even if they don't, it is a great read.

I think finishing the hull planking, staining, varnishing and coppering ( if applicable) should be completed before fitting the deck planks - if possible. Deck planks ( if fitted over a ply false deck) tend to be thin and can easily be damaged while working on the hull. If you have already fitted the deck planks then giving them a coat of varnish or a spray of polyurethane would help protect them from any damage you may do while working on the hull. If you have over sanded the deck planks, you may consider fitting new ones over the top of the old (as I said, they are very thin) but do it AFTER you finish the hull planking and finishing. In my opinion you should definitely varnish or polyurethane the deck before fitting other items such as companionways or masts.

I've put these pics on another thread but will repost here. Another way to use a piece of PVC pipe to soak planks. I too used to use a piece of pipe with a screw on end but found getting the wood strips out a little fiddly at times. As a result I came up with a trough setup using a piece of scrap timber as a stand and a PVC pipe with the side cut out. It is more convenient to use.

Yes, I used debonder to remove CA glue from copper plates. Problem was it also removed the copper plates from the ship's hull. You have to be very careful when applying that stuff!!

I recently bought a proxxon pen sander. It seems to work well in removing a small amount of wood - especially in tight corners - light sanding the stains is the best option. I know it is a bit 'shut the gate after the horse has bolted' harbm, but might I suggest that the easiest way to avoid CA stains is not to use it unless absolutely necessary. I use a gel, which is much less messy that other CA glues, but I only use it at the very end of a plank if I can't get a clamp on it. I use ZAP CA when fixing copper plating, but other than that I avoid the stuff. PVA is much more forgiving and easy to remove.

I'm with Joe V! I'm on my 9th build. 7 of these are double planked and 2 are single planked. I only ever use water and my trusty Aeropiccola plank bender ( which is over 30 years old) and I've never had a problem. Two of my models date from the early 1980's and they are holding up fine. Why use smelly chemicals when you don't have to?????

Painting adds another dimension to the hobby. Especially playing with an airbrush or using a steady hand to create fine detail. Some models look great stained or sprayed with polyurethane. Others look great with some paintwork - as long as the colours are accurate. I have models which have parts painted and others with no paint at all. I try to build everything as if it was going to be stained - it encourages me to work slowly and carefully!

Yes Geoff, you did see one kit under construction and two on the shelf. They were all bought AT THE SAME TIME from Miniature Steam in Melbourne, Australia. Miniature Steam were great to deal with. I have no quarrel with them or the quality or price of the kits other than maybe the quality of the walnut second planking which is very splintery and poorly cut, in my opinion - and incidentally in the opinion of other contributors to this forum. My beef is the after sales service or lack of it from the company - or John Wright in particular. If I had not been very persistent, I don't think I would have received the parts that were missing from the kit. I'm not going to say any more about it as I think I and many others have expressed feelings of frustration rather forcefully already. Mr Wright, from what I read in your post, does not seem perturbed. Good luck to him, I will NOT be dealing with Caldercraft/ JoTika again. There are plenty of other quality manufacturers out there to choose from!

Thanks for posting that pic Brian. BTW - great work. I can see the treenails. Will have to investigate further. Steve (hornet)

Hooray!!!!!! Just checked my mailbox and my missing Caldercraft HMS Supply parts have finally arrived. Didn't take quite as long as The First Fleet to make the journey ....... But still 3 months is a bit much! Next to the part in the mailbox was a box set of DVD's - also shipped from England. It took exactly one week from the time it was ordered to arrive!!! Go figure???

Brian, could you possibly post a pic of what your silver ash tree nails look like once fitted to a deck. I've not used this timber for tree nails before and would be very interested to know how it looks. You are right, bamboo is a bit of a pain but it gives a good strong treenail that is easy to insert and provides a nice contrast to most decking timber.

I rest my case. What hogwash!!! How many people send an email without filling in the subject box. Especially when it is addressing an important issue like the ones raised on this thread. What about the phone calls? People have made these as well with no result. Does he have a spam folder for phone calls too?

Yes, bamboo is my favoured material as well, drawn through the Byrnes draw plate. I still think that beyond 1:64 it is probably not worth the effort. The thread below also discusses tree nailing options. I detailed a small tool you can make to do the initial dividing of the bamboo before drawing it through a draw plate.. Saved me a lot of bamboo splinters - nasty little beggars!!!! http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/2959-treenail-detail-option/

Treenails are not always invisible. I recently took a heap of photos of the Endeavour Replica which lives at the Australian Maritime Museum in Sydney. It is one of the most accurate maritime replicas in existence. The treenails were quite noticeable. I did some calculations for the size of a treenail using the diameter of the actual treenail on this replica as a guide. In reality the treenails were about 34mm in diameter. Using the trusty modelscaler app on my phone this came out as about 0.5mm on a 1:64 scale model. This is visible. However, on a model any smaller than 1:64 I think it would be too difficult to make treenails small to be in scale and they would be practically invisible even if you managed it. Due to the one size fits all attitude of mass production, another point worth considering, in my opinion, is that in some cases the actual deck planks provided with some kits are out of scale.

Reindeer, I think acrylics have two big advantages over enamels - the quick and easy cleanup and much less vapours (particularly important indoors when the Admiral is in close proximity!!!) My favourite is Admiralty paints. They produce colours that are consistent with the colours used in the 18th and 19th century. I use a mix of 50% paint, 25% demineralised water and 25% clear windex. This gives a very watery consistency and I've never had a clogged brush or spattering. I run my compressor at 20psi. I also use a mini spray booth. Once you get the hang of acrylics, I doubt you will return to enamels.

There is enough clearance to do the same thing on the drill press as well.

I'd have to agree. I have the KT 70 compound table on my TMB 200 drill press. The hand wheels would be much easier to adjust if they were 50% bigger.