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That brings back some great memories. Cardmodels.net was the first card modeling forum I got involved with in a big way. Zealot proved to be a textbook example of how NOT to run a forum -- they killed it stone dead in just a matter of a few months. I deleted all my content and left. Not your fault -- how could you possibly have known how events would unfold? I can't remember now what the exact issues were, but it was exasperating. Never got past the outer cockpit skinning. A shame, too, because the He 51W was a cool plane. Thanks, but I'll pass. At this point I'm afraid to seriously think about how many years of dedicated building it would take me to complete what I already have in my stash (I've acknowledged to myself that I'm as addicted to collecting as to building -- but don't tell the missus). Cheers!

Wow! That looks very impressive -- well done! I hope you will create an album for her in the gallery.

Yes, I did, thankfully. I built Marek's PZL-50 years ago for the Marek Marathon at Paper Modelers, then attempted his He 51W, which I tried three times without success -- ran insto some insurmountable problems with trying to get my printer to size the parts correctly. I still have his Bloch Mb.152, Hawker Fury, and Curtiss P-6E in my stash, along with Emil's Avia B-135. I may have to build the Fury, in Spanish Republican markings, as a companion to the PWS-10. DN's V108 is the subject of a tutorial I wrote for MSW. So tell me, did you do some of the other Marek repaints that were at one time available at eCardmodels? Edit: Was cardmodels.net the forum that got taken over by Zealot?

Excellent work! I'd like to see the list of subjects and publishers. I think I recognize the Pfalz D.III as a Marek Pacynski design. P.S. See the PWS-10 link in my signature if you haven't already -- you'll then understand my enthusiasm for your work!

Sorry to hear that, Shipman. Over-regulation stinks. Today I finished the remaining seams. Some touch-ups will be needed in a few spots where the epoxy has seeped down into some of the larger previously unfilled areas. Touching them up while the epoxy is partially set is just too messy, IMO, so I will wait until after everything has cured. It all looks a little messy at this point. Part of the messy look is actual mess, and part is due to the touch of color that results anywhere the resin touches bare wood, even if it is cleaned up afterwards. All of this will eventually be hidden beneath paint.

Only the bottom two panels.

More progress. The second rail was added -- had a bear of a time installing it by myself. Ruined a t-shirt in the process when the epoxy-slathered 1x1 sprang back on me -- TWICE. Now I have a dedicated epoxy-work shirt. 🙄 The manual recommends using a Japanese pull saw to make a neat joint where the rails meet. I don't have a pull saw and am not going to buy one just for one project, so I made the joint as best I could with a regular hand saw and then filled in the gaps with thickened epoxy. It was then time to flip the project over and continue work on the outside in preparation for the exterior fiberglass. First, some sanding to take down globs of epoxy on the panels that will be fiberglassed. Next, all of the exterior seams need to be filled in. The panels were tack-welded during the initial construction phase. Here, four seams are done, along with the spots along the keel that needed to be filled in. After this bit of work, which required two batches of epoxy, I ran out of gumption and good seeing light, so that was it for today. Four more seams to go, and that will be the last of the major seam work. Cheers!

One thing (well, two actually) about these kits from MarisStella is the doweling of the bulkheads, which should produce a rock-solid substructure and eliminate alignment issues (unless the laser cutting is ever off for some reason), as well as the number of bulkheads supplied. The kit appears to have about half again as many as one normally sees in a PoB kit.

The doors are items that you could very easily replace with scratch-built parts made from wood or card, if you choose.

I think it's a fantastic story that you've got your father's model back. It's a great connection to your past, and that will remain true no matter how much of the original is ultimately retained. I wish you every success on this journey!

Indeed! I'm always aghast at the little mistakes and boo-boos on my card models until I take off my magnifiers and step back to a normal viewing distance.

This was a very handsome class of ships -- looking forward to following your build. BTW, I removed "wood" from your list of tags. It's kind of the default medium for our site.

Welcome aboard, Henry! Ooh, that sounds like a Halinski product -- that's a real feat. We have a small cadre of card model enthusiasts within our ranks.

Welcome, and thanks for the sponsorship!

Wow! That looks amazing!

Ah -- I misunderstood.

Yep, that was the essence of my previous post -- it might have been a little too subtle for some readers. 😉

Hello, Al. I'm all for making improvements to instruction manuals, though I am not personally familiar with BlueJacket's manuals. My only comment, for whatever it's worth, is that 11 x 17 is on the large size; on my small desk that would take up about a quarter of the work space. Of course that might not be an issue with some or perhaps even most other builders.

That is true, but no part of an aircraft is essential to landing it! 😝

You found them (see here)! I have not built any of WAK's kits, except if you consider some of the aircraft designed by Lech Kołodziejski that were previously published by CardPlane. I have, though, completed some ships by Digital Navy, Paper Shipwright, JSC, and Modelik -- I have a bunch of Paper Shipwright and HMV kits in my stash.

On we go. This first photo shows one of my fiberglassing boo-boos. I trimmed away the excess cloth and sanded the sharp edges smooth. Now, as far as a repair goes, I'm thinking that perhaps the easiest thing to do would be to sand down the spot level with the surrounding fiberglass and then simply fill the divot with some thickened epoxy. Any thoughts on this? I don't think that there will be any structural issues with the few spots I need to patch -- as you can see, there's already an epoxy fillet beneath this particular spot. Next task was to finish sealing the interior of the bow and stern compartments -- or perhaps that's bow and bow compartments since both ends are identical at this point. Eventually I'll have to pick one end or the other as the bow. I didn't photograph this step, as it's quite messy, since the work has to be done at very awkward angles inside the cramped compartments. Then came the interior rub rails. First bit is to finish widening the pre-cut slots in the bulkheads. I intended to do both rails today, since I was able to dry fit the first one with only half of the clamps I have on hand. But of course once I got the rail slathered in epoxy, the stuff acted like a lubricant, meaning I had to use all of my clamps to get it to stay in place. There is a lot of tension on this poor piece of 1x1 until the epoxy sets -- notice I have my temporary spreader in place. So, that's it for at least another 24 hours.

Welcome, Dennis. The Amati Lady Nelson is a perfectly acceptable first model, as it has the "three nots" needed for beginners, i.e. not a lot of planking, not a lot of guns, and not a lot of rigging. The instructions should be pretty decent, and the designer -- Chris Watton -- is a member here. Also, there are a lot of finished cutter build logs and gallery entries for inspiration and tips. Cheers!

Be sure to check this gallery folder -- might have some useful visual tips for you, Smileydent.

I have been using Rapid Fuse lately and really like it.

Such a photo would indicate that something really, really bad happened! 😆