BobG

The deck looks great! How in the world did you manage to remove the king plank without breaking it?

Thanks Keith. I'm not familiar with Facebook Marketplace. I'll check it out.

Thanks Yves. I didn’t know that eBay would be more expensive. I just thought the previous recommendations were a safer option for getting a kit that was 100% complete.

I really like this ship. Is the approximate release date still late July or August?

Just out of curiosity, what is a fair price range for complete kit of this Pocher Alfa Romeo Spider kit? The price range is all over the place on eBay.

She coming along very nicely, Glenn. I've painted over Satin Wipe-on-Poly successfully. Have you compared the water based matte poly to the Satin WOP? Is there a reason that you prefer the water based poly? I've had good luck with this method also. My travel iron is an old, non-steam iron. Do you ever apply steam at the same time or do you just wet the plank with your finger?

I'm onboard for the voyage as well, Justin. This should be a good one! 😲 5 hours of commuting a day!! How do you ever manage to find time to build your models with when you are not working from home?

Thanks for stopping by Glenn. The mahogany king plank was hard and brittle so I decided to go ahead and glue it on before cutting the joggles into it so it wouldn't chip as easily. It was a tedious task but I'm satisfied with how it turned out. I found that a sharp scalpel worked best for me. I decided not to cut joggles into the frames around the hatches though. I like the more simple look of having the joggles only in the king plank. Best,

I just happened to come across your build log of the Saint Malo. This was the first wooden boat I ever built also and introduced me to this great hobby. Did you ever finish this little model? Cheers!

I like the idea of these tags because they can save a lot of time searching for build logs and information about certain models etc. I am currently building the Pen Duick by Artesania Latina. There are now two black tags by my build log title that I presume was put there by the administrators. When I click on the Pen Duick tag only two builds come up: my build and a build log by Matija. If I do a search for Pen Duick, however, and filter for "content titles only," 10 results come up including another build log by hof00. Two Pen Duick completed builds also come up that are in the gallery. So it doesn't seem that all the titles with Pen Duick in the are showing up using the black tag. Since there have been very few builds of this model and the AL instructions are practically useless, I have searched for every bit of information that I could find on MSW. The log by jof00 has been very helpful as have been the two models in the gallery but, if I had only relied upon the black tag, I would not have found this information. So I'm not sure the black tags are leading us to all the information available for specific models.

You've done a great job on this beautiful boat, Simon. I had the same problem in a couple of places and I ended up with a small hole near the bow too. I've read some other logs where this happened also. It seems, that for whatever reason, the most potentially troublesome spot is a couple of frames aft of the bow. I was able to cut out a small patch and glue it in place and it is only noticeable if you were to pick up the boat and examine it closely. I felt awful about it at first but, now that the boat is finished and on display, I don't even notice it and no one else does either. I used CA to glue to do the planking and only placed a small spot of it on each frame as I went along laying down the plank. I didn't use any glue on the plank edges and this generally prevented any glue stains on the interior. I lightly sanded a few glue stains in the interior and, after I coated the interior with Satin Wipe-on-Poly, they aren't noticeable. Once you have have all the lines and rope coils etc in the boat, they will be less noticeable also. There were some places where a plank would be a bit loose and higher between two frames than the plank above it. If I could take my finger and push in on the plank and make it lay more flush, then I would take a tiny amount of CA and place it on the edge of the plank with a scalpel where it was protruding and then push it in flush with the planks around it. This often took care of the problem so that I didn't end up sanding the planking too thin in that area. I had never done any rigging before and was apprehensive about doing it. I was sure that I would make a mess of it. However, it ended up being my favorite part of the build. I loved how it made the boat come alive as more lines and metal work were added to the boat. Good luck. I look forward to following your progress. Cheers!

Thanks, John, I had no idea of that.

Nicely done, Kevin. Joggling is not for the faint at heart; a lot of things have to come together precisely for it to look good.

Those tires well look great on the boat, Mike.

Very nicely done, Matus!

WOW! What a stunningly beautiful model of the Smuggler! Thanks for the link, John. I am always amazed at the patience, skill, and commitment that some models have in building their boats into masterpieces. I sure wish that he had made a build log here on MSW. His photos that chronicle his build are great but I would love to have read further explanations of what and how he was doing some of those steps. By the way, all of your work is exceptional also and your website is a delight to explore.

Richard, I don't see the link you are referring to...??

Thanks a very creative way for marking the waterline, vaddoc. Thanks for the tip!

Thanks Harry...much appreciated!

Thanks Per. I'm really impressed with the airbrush. I've only used Vallejo paints too and I like them very much. Thanks also for the tip for marking the waterline

Hello Harry, Glad to see the move went well and your ships made the trip unscathed. Will you be back at your modeling table soon? I currently waiting for some paints to arrive so I can do some comparison on the colors. I've also been looking ahead and trying to make sense of the masts and rigging. I finding it pretty confusing. The instructions are are practically useless at this point. I'm missing the brass porthole piece that goes into the forward hatch too. I'm not sure how I'll be able to make something for it that looks realistic since I don't have a l lathe to be able to turn one. So I've got a few obstacles ahead! Cheers!

You are doing some very nice work on this wonderful sailboat. John Earl built a beautiful model of the Smuggler and you can see it on his website: http://www.modelboatyard.com/smuggler.html I remember him saying that this model was deceptively challenging for him when he built it and it took him much longer than he expected. He builds gorgeous models with meticulous detail so it's not surprising that it took him quite a while to complete it. I'm looking forward to following your progress on this build. Good luck!

I use isopropyl alcohol also for PVA glue and CA Debonder for super glue (cyanoacrylic adhesive). Give them time to soak in and then carefully pry the glued piece with a sharp knife to help lift it off. You may need to reapply if the piece is staying firmly attached. Work with it and avoid using too much pressure or you can break the piece.

Thanks, Kevin. It took me a long time just to do the joggles in the king plank and I skipped doing them in the frames around the hatches. Take a look at Harry's (hof00) build of the Pen Duick. He was braver than me and cut joggles into the hatches and the king plank.

It looks excellent, Kevin. I sure wish the AL Pen Duick kit had the joggles already laser cut. My deck would have looked better.