wyz

Glen, I love your machining of the engine. It's really nice! This is such a fun build to follow. The talents that many of you in this forum have are incredible. I feel honored to just sit quietly and watch. Your techniques are most instructional. Tom

Nils, I really love how your model is coming along. This is a fun build log to follow. You're doing a super job on it and I look forward to more posts from you. Tom

Albert, the more I see of your Naiad the more I want to see. Excellent craftmanship!

I'm happy for you Dave. It's always nice to get a clean bill of health. Tom

The Cumberland was built in 2 years and 5 months! Wow! You must have been working some REALLY LONG days to make something that impressive in that amount of time. I guess you're one of those people who doesn't need much sleep. Alex, that's one awesome looking model, and the videos are quite nice also.

What a beautiful plank on frame model of the Naiad you're building. It's really coming along nicely. Your jointery is so clean and tight looking. Unlike so many other modelers who build in pear your photographs show a nice contrast and you catch the redish look of that wood. With many other builds I have difficulty telling that it's pear. I'm curious, is it the quality of your camera, your photography skills, a particular finish you use, or is it just dark pear wood? I look forward to future posts. Tom

I love following your build log marsalv. The work you're doing on the stern/ quarter gallery framing is beautiful; nice and clean. I'm always looking to see if you've posted again as your work on Pandora is fun to follow. I'd say keep up the good work but I doubt you know any other way.

Yes Mike, it is a milestone to get the framing done. It's looking good. Tom

Ben, I'm glad to hear the move went without incident. Now you can get that shop set up and get on with your projects. Tom

Alex, thanks for the inquiry. After a fair amount of deliberation I decided to build HMS Camilla as a solid hull and not a POB model as I had posted earlier. The reason there have't been any posts is that I wanted to get back to the point where I was at before the accident happened and then start up the build log again. I didn't want to post the same old stuff until there was new material. Sadly, I have not worked on the project much lately due to some nagging health problems and some family issues. Hopefully I'll be back to it soon full force. Tom

The stove and stone work looks really nice. I agree that changing the color of the cement was an improvement.

Atta way Mark, it looks like all the toil of reworking areas on this model as has paid off. The planking/spiling is coming along nicely. Tom

It looks mighty nice Alex. Your Sphinx is a real beauty and will, no doubt, be an inspiration to many other modelers. I look forward to your next post. Tom

Beautiful model marsalv. This is one of my "must follow" builds. Your work is so clean and precise. Thanks for sharing with us.

Beautiful work Lee! It's looking better and better each time you post images.

Thanks Dan for all that you've given us. Yes, the model is fantastic, but what I especially appreciate is your reconstruction of the build log after the MSW website went down. That work makes this build all the more special. Once again, thank you!

Good luck with the move Ben. I hope the ships make the trip unscathed and look forward to seeing your new shop in the near future. Tom

When you have the nameplate made I guess that really does signal the end to the Vulture project. I assume that because the model will be housed in a museum that they will provide the case. It is fitting that this model should find a home where lots of people will view it. Anything short of that would be a shame. Know that there will be more than a few viewers who will be inspired to try their hand at modeling when they get a look at the Vulture. That's how my interest in model shipbuilding started. I was smitten by a beautiful model of the USS Constitution a friend of my father had built. The fire was lit when I first saw that model and it never went out. You can't help but smile to think how many fires your Vulture model will light. What a nice legacy!

Dan, how lucky are they to have you complete their Norske Lowe? That would be like me hiring Rembrandt to paint my living room.

WOW! This is the first time I've looked in on your build log and I'm really glad I did. You have a superb looking model going. Your new house doesn't look too shabby either. ;-) I too would like to see pictures of your new shop when you get it all set up. Chris, while your models are great looking your kids are the ones that will win the blue ribbon. Tom

Mark, thank you for your support. You had to know it would be sooner than later that I would get back in the game. While painful these things happen in life; you just have to fight through it. Actually I'm rather excited to start the project again; and today I purchased some of the wood, 20- 1" x 6" x 33" pieces of yellow poplar. Some will say that's a lot of wood, and way more than necessary. It probably is but extra pieces are always good to have, and sometimes needed. The stuff I bought is really beautiful stock; straight with no cup, warps, or bends, and pretty much free and clear of knots. I had to go to this particular lumber dealer several times before they had sufficient wood of quality and quantity for this project. Well, from the looks of the milled wood (all 6 sides) it was worth the wait. Hey buddy,are you sure you don't want to sing me a verse or two of Back in the Saddle Again? LOL Tom

Dave I just love model shipbuilding too much to let this accident stop me. Yes, you could say I've been tied up in an emotional dry dock for this past month, but some day in the not too distant future I'll be ready to cast off those lines and get back to modeling again. Tom

druxey Yes, I can just imagine the newsboys yelling the headline to peddle Ben Franklin's paper. "Extra, extra read all about it, HMS Camilla Destroyed by Cherry Bomb." Tom

Third time's a charm? I haven't posted anything in the HMS Camilla build log recently because, for the last month, there hasn't been a log. What??? There used to be one. What happened? Well, here's the story. From the start of the Camilla project I have had problems. Yes, some were self inflicted, but one giant one was not. If you remember six months ago I got schizo about what model I wanted to build, made a premature move to another project, and then gave the newly started Camilla away only to change my mind once again. Yes, that was a mistake. I shot myself in the foot with that ill-thought-out move. A few months later I started the project again. All was going well with Camilla v. 2 and I had made some good progress on the model out of the gate. I had completely shaped the hull's exterior using templates. This was no small job for a large scale bread & butter construction, very labor intensive in fact. I was also well along with carving out the interior too. Then came that fateful night over the 4th of July holiday when tragedy struck. I had been working in the shop for over six hours and was about to call it a day. As is my usual practice I spend a little time cleaning the shop before locking up. I had just finished vacuuming the work table and building board when I heard an explosion. One of the neighborhood kids set off a powerful firecracker nearby, probably a cherry bomb or an M80. Whatever it was it was VERY LOUD! It startled me and terrified my little dog Toby. He was in the shop trying to find some comfort lying on the cold concrete floor. The poor little guy becomes inconsolably frieghtened by loud sounds, and with the explosion he Immediately ran to me. At that very moment I had just put down the vacuum hose and was moving towards the the work table to reseat the model in its place on the building board. I had taken it out and placed it upside down on the far side of the work table in order to vac the surface of that board. With Toby under foot I had to quickly sidestep so as to not walk on him, but in doing so I stepped on the vacuum hose, tripped, and fell forward onto the work table. My full weight came down on the building board sending it into the model. The Camilla shot off the table and landed hard on the concrete floor. Time stopped! When I peered under the table my worst fears were realized. The model was in pieces. Both support arms had broken off the hull, the temporary keel was cracked and had partially come loose, and worse, 2 large pieces of the starboard side had splintered off. Oh sh_t! The damage to the Camilla was extensive. I was sickened to my stomach and so freaked out and upset I just closed up the shop, went upstairs, and looked for a bottle of booze. Even with a few stiff drinks in me I didn't sleep well that night. Early the next day I went down into the shop and gave the model a thorough examination, all with the hope the Camilla could be fixed. Alas, much to my disappointment, the model had sustained irrepairable damage and was now little more than firewood. @$*%&!$ Where did I leave that bottle? Shortly after this happened I wrote a text message to Mark (MTaylor) to vent my frustration. He listened and responded with kind words. He also shared with me a similar model shipbuilding tragedy that happened to him. It helped. Still, the accident was quite upsetting, enough so that earlier that day I went on the MSW website, contacted administrator Chuck Pasaro, and asked him to remove all of my Camilla posts from the MSW scratch build logs. Looking at it in retrospect that was a big mistake, a knee-jerk action I regret. Yes, it really did hurt, but the more I thought about it the more grateful I was that the model was still in its infancy. Imagine how I would have felt had this happened when the Camilla was as far along as say Dan Vada's Vulture. That would be far worse than getting kicked in the gonads .... multiple times! I guess I should count my blessings. I'm not a quitter so I'll get right back to it when my head clears of this mishap. Tom

I too join many others who will be keeping you in our thoughts Dave. Only the best to you. Good luck with the ear surgery and I hope you have a speedy recovery. Tom