Thistle17

Mike your work is not only inspirational but instructional as well. The collaboration between design and design verification is such a wise process, not well conducted by others. Thank you for leading the way. This is truly going to be a classic offering.
Joe

Matt we seem to cast the most critical eye on our works. In our minds eye we hold unforgiving perfection but the execution, to us anyway, never seems to measure up. This pursuit demands so much of us especially with the incredible peers that post here. I'd say you are closing that distance quite well.
Joe

Glenn I too am building Cheerful but elected not to post my trials and tribulations as the model has forced me to improve my skill levels along the way when compared to so many who have posted. I too replanked both starboard and port as my irst attempts were pitiful. You were not alone on this journey.
 
In regard to the moldings I ultimately went the traditional way using jeweler files to fashion the countours in sheet brass. The only thing I did make the countours a knife edge by back filing one side of the stock. That seemed to help the profile scraping. I used boxwood as I found the cedar is a bit too soft. The only deviation in the scraping that I found to work better for me at least was the following. If the moulding width was to be 'x' in width I milled stock (strips that is) to that dimension in thickness. I then clamped the,edge up, in a homemade strip clamp such that the strip protruded from the clamp enough that my brass profiled scrapper would nicely "saddle" the protrusion. Light passes as you start to get a true run and then successive passes with a bit more attitude to achieve the end result. I then flipped the clamped stock and repeated the other edge. These were then ripped to the desired thickness. Just another way to do it.
 
One more thing regarding decking. It is a bit of a 'sleeper' in terms of difficulty. Unlike the hull it stares at you and imperfections are so so obvious unlike the subtlies of the hull even when observing it from broadside. There are so many elements on the deck to work around and one has to be dead on to maintain deck plank symmetry. I started at the bow and worked to stern as my first attempt in reverse was off by mid ship. In confering with Chuck I also softened the bend of the planks forward and that worked much better. I did not nibb the margin or waterways as that seemed a bit difficult for me. Lastly check, check, check plank symmetry as you progress from the center line to the waterways it is too easy to lose.
 
Joe

When i was researching the ESSEX i ran across the plans on line here: bing.com/images. If you hunt around after you find page 1 the others can be found.
Also i found AOS for Essex on Amazon books. It was a used copy in great condition.
Joe

Knowing your work and your expertise it will not be too long before you are pacing alongside the master and his protégé! I on the other hand will be learning from the masters. Happy to have you in the fray.
Joe

Now Christian were/are you an altar boy or entomologist to pick such a name?
Joe

Oh the time spent on making these diminuitive parts. Have we all lost our minds? Half kidding and half serious. I do think that such dedication and craftmanship does rival some of the best works of the time. I do hope they are appreciated long after we have "pushed off shore". Great work Rusty.
 
Joe 

Now Christian were/are you an altar boy or entomologist to pick such a name?
Joe

It seems to be the "season" to come across folk that are no longer with us or can not do the things they used to do especially in the area of ship modeling. In the last year I have been asked to help sell or donate five modeleer's tools, models (partially finished or complete) and about 35 kits in the box untouched. In one case I await input from a son about a model he wishes finished that was his dad's.
 
It is a delicate task to undertake as it is usually the family asks for help. The stories they tell humanize these one time modelers and make it all the more poignant. The skill set of the past modelers are wide. The sad ones are those that could but no longer can and it shows in their recent works. Some of their works are quite good. I am always torn with the former as in my estimation the models especially the poorly done ones really have no value. I do not have the heart to walk away without helping. I always am reminded that this may be my situation some day not too far off so I do what the situation dictates out of respect for all.
 
"Ask not for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee!"
 
Joe.

Making tools and jigs especially ones that live on past the immediate job rival the model work at times. What a nice tool you have come up with!
Joe

Making tools and jigs especially ones that live on past the immediate job rival the model work at times. What a nice tool you have come up with!
Joe

Making tools and jigs especially ones that live on past the immediate job rival the model work at times. What a nice tool you have come up with!
Joe

Matt we seem to cast the most critical eye on our works. In our minds eye we hold unforgiving perfection but the execution, to us anyway, never seems to measure up. This pursuit demands so much of us especially with the incredible peers that post here. I'd say you are closing that distance quite well.
Joe

Matt we seem to cast the most critical eye on our works. In our minds eye we hold unforgiving perfection but the execution, to us anyway, never seems to measure up. This pursuit demands so much of us especially with the incredible peers that post here. I'd say you are closing that distance quite well.
Joe

Oh the time spent on making these diminuitive parts. Have we all lost our minds? Half kidding and half serious. I do think that such dedication and craftmanship does rival some of the best works of the time. I do hope they are appreciated long after we have "pushed off shore". Great work Rusty.
 
Joe 

Because of the Covid restrictions ( we are approaching an Orange rating for our county, after having the best state infection rating pre Thanksgiving) our work has slowed dramactically. Yesterday just a bit more advancement with the final fit of the gun tub into the cavity forward of the pilot station. Lots of clean up and fairing left to do topsides as previously stated. Nearly the last thing to do on the gun tub is form and fit the gun carriage supports. A member of our group has volunteered to convert a tub side profile image to a measured drawing for that purpose.
Joe
 

You would think that with all the restrictictions placed upon us of late because of the pandemic that one would have copious amounts of time to work on our Syren models. Well, for me life still gets in the way so I sit and stare at your work like a dear caught in headlights. Incredible work that inspires and motivates us all! 
Joe

Because of the Covid restrictions ( we are approaching an Orange rating for our county, after having the best state infection rating pre Thanksgiving) our work has slowed dramactically. Yesterday just a bit more advancement with the final fit of the gun tub into the cavity forward of the pilot station. Lots of clean up and fairing left to do topsides as previously stated. Nearly the last thing to do on the gun tub is form and fit the gun carriage supports. A member of our group has volunteered to convert a tub side profile image to a measured drawing for that purpose.
Joe
 

Because of the Covid restrictions ( we are approaching an Orange rating for our county, after having the best state infection rating pre Thanksgiving) our work has slowed dramactically. Yesterday just a bit more advancement with the final fit of the gun tub into the cavity forward of the pilot station. Lots of clean up and fairing left to do topsides as previously stated. Nearly the last thing to do on the gun tub is form and fit the gun carriage supports. A member of our group has volunteered to convert a tub side profile image to a measured drawing for that purpose.
Joe
 

Because of the Covid restrictions ( we are approaching an Orange rating for our county, after having the best state infection rating pre Thanksgiving) our work has slowed dramactically. Yesterday just a bit more advancement with the final fit of the gun tub into the cavity forward of the pilot station. Lots of clean up and fairing left to do topsides as previously stated. Nearly the last thing to do on the gun tub is form and fit the gun carriage supports. A member of our group has volunteered to convert a tub side profile image to a measured drawing for that purpose.
Joe
 

We were gifted with a record setting streak of warm weather here along Lake Ontario these past 7 days. And so were able to complete some last minute details prior to priming. To start with I finally decided to wet sand the hull to fair the Nitro Stan glazing compound. I had hesitated earlier as there was still a good deal of bare wood showing and it is a messy process as you auto body folk well know. It was left to dry for 2 days.
 
Once that was done the rub rails were added up to the bow area. That was truncated because I have yet to master the "fair in" of the bow and the rub rail and the bow rub rail has to be specialy cut to fit the bow area as segmented rub rail was not going to traverse the bow. You may also see that a hull detail was added up to that point. It is an artifact, I believe, of the original hull layup as these hulls were intended for both pleasure and fishing craft. It is a simple 1/32" relief under the rub rail that follows closely to the waterline.
 
One last detail was added and that was the trail board attached to the transom. On Mark II versions of the hull this was built directly into the transom.
 
The day this was painted the air was relatively still but the relative humidity was quite low. As a result we were unable to get a full wet coat application on the primed hull. I chose automotive primer for the task so that has added to post priming tasks of a light wet sanding with 400 paper. The topside area is still to be worked to simulate the gullets of a fiberglass molded topsides so that is yet to be treated. Otherwise I am happy to report, in spite of all the applications of fill and glazing compound, the hull ia quite presentable from a fairness standpoint. I am sure the wet sanding will reveal some 'holidays' but for the moment we are go to press on.
 
Joe
 
PS: That sheet behind the model is a weakly veiled attempt to hide a messy counter area more than a backdrop cloth. Who said I had to be neat!

Because of the Covid restrictions ( we are approaching an Orange rating for our county, after having the best state infection rating pre Thanksgiving) our work has slowed dramactically. Yesterday just a bit more advancement with the final fit of the gun tub into the cavity forward of the pilot station. Lots of clean up and fairing left to do topsides as previously stated. Nearly the last thing to do on the gun tub is form and fit the gun carriage supports. A member of our group has volunteered to convert a tub side profile image to a measured drawing for that purpose.
Joe
 

Because of the Covid restrictions ( we are approaching an Orange rating for our county, after having the best state infection rating pre Thanksgiving) our work has slowed dramactically. Yesterday just a bit more advancement with the final fit of the gun tub into the cavity forward of the pilot station. Lots of clean up and fairing left to do topsides as previously stated. Nearly the last thing to do on the gun tub is form and fit the gun carriage supports. A member of our group has volunteered to convert a tub side profile image to a measured drawing for that purpose.
Joe
 

There are plenty to choose from out there. They range in price from under $200 to $1000 or more. Most all are table top. You will want variable speed, good hold down function and chip relief so you can see where the blade is going. Most are slow start so you need to be aware of that. Then it comes to the all important blade types. There are so many that it is too much to include here but you will want to invest in good quality blades for the works you plan. These are not for thick stock cutting and do their best on thin stock. If they have a surface light that is a plus.
Joe

There are plenty to choose from out there. They range in price from under $200 to $1000 or more. Most all are table top. You will want variable speed, good hold down function and chip relief so you can see where the blade is going. Most are slow start so you need to be aware of that. Then it comes to the all important blade types. There are so many that it is too much to include here but you will want to invest in good quality blades for the works you plan. These are not for thick stock cutting and do their best on thin stock. If they have a surface light that is a plus.
Joe