ccoyle

Quarter booms made and installed. Ladder in back of gun pit is not glued in just yet. I made the iron straps for the booms from black cartridge paper -- leftover from a Caldercraft kit, actually. I find the paper easier to work with than the etched brass parts. I also did not care much for the etched eye bolts and have been replacing those with formed wire as I go.

Looks great so far! Alaska and Guam were built for a purpose that had ceased to exist by the time they were commissioned, a fact reflected in their very short service careers. However, there's no denying that they were sleek and deadly looking -- definitely worthy additions to a steel navy model collection.

Snake makes into a very attractive model, and based on your previous models, I'd say you could pull it off successfully.

Yes, it has been over two months since I made any progress on this model, but I did make a little in the last few days. It will be hard to tell, though, despite the fact that I have added over 50 parts, because most of those were tiny cleats, eye bolts, and simulated bolt heads. Many more fiddly PE brass parts left to add still. I decided to paint the seat covers flat brown. I'm not certain that such a scheme is historically correct or anything like it, but it looks good to me.

Keith, posts like what you describe are appropriate for this section. The flagging is only meant to indicate posts that are more "review-ish" in nature for anyone looking for that sort of info.

In this section of the forum, one finds all things book-and-magazine related: questions, discussions, and of course reviews. Many of the reviews have been tagged by a moderator with the label "book review". Some of the reviews have not been tagged in this manner because, well, they don't really give as much information as one would like to see when reading a review. A good review is more than just, "I read this book and I like it/don't like it." All of us like to find out as much as we can in advance when considering parting with our hard-earned cash, so how can a reviewer make a review more useful? You can get an idea by looking at a few of the tagged reviews. Here are some things you should include: 1. The title of the book. Put this in the title of your post as well. 2. The author's name. 3. The publishing data, i.e. name of publisher and date of publication. If the book you're reviewing is not a first edition, include the publication date for the first edition. Same goes if the book is a reprint. 4. Pertinent specs such as format, number of pages, whether the book has photos (color or B&W), suggested retail price, etc. 5. Modelers are especially keen to know if the book has plans, drawings, color plates, or any other such informative goodies. What kind and how many? Good quality or bad? Anything particularly noteworthy? 6. Summarize the contents of the book. What does it cover? What doesn't it cover? We want to know what's in it! 7. And finally, give your subjective opinion of the book. Did you enjoy it? Why or why not? Are there highlights or shortcomings that you think potential readers would appreciate knowing about? Let them know! We look forward to reading your submissions! P.S. Please don't apply a prefix tag to your post! MSW staff will take care of that. Thanks!

Here are some words of (hopefully) wisdom for fearful beginners. 1. As others have said, start small, as in small project -- not small scale. One of the greatest weapons in overcoming the fear of boogering larger projects is having success with smaller projects. 2. Beginners whose first projects are "works of art" are relatively uncommon. However, just about everyone who has ever completed a first wooden ship model is proud of their finished product, no matter what it looks like. 3. Your second project will look better than your first project. 4. I have said this elsewhere, but one of the nice things about wood is that it is a visually forgiving medium. Even a run-of-the-mill wooden ship model still looks pretty good and often sits in a place of honor somewhere in its maker's home. 5. Books are good and videos are better, but nothing tops having one-on-one face time with an experienced builder for overcoming first-timer heebie-jeebies. If you live anywhere within reasonable driving distance of a modeling club, get to their meetings! 6. Have fun! If it's not fun, why bother?? Cheers!

Very well done, Dave! She will certainly draw a lot of attention in her refurbished setting. Cheers!

Am I detecting a slight note of sarcasm? 🤔

From here it doesn't look too bad. Something to consider is whether painting the deck would still leave visible plank seams. My admittedly small knowledge of such vessels is that modern reproductions with painted decks tend to be made of marine plywood.

You could always convert it to a hull model.

Conquer that learning curve! 😊

My condolences as well, to you and your family.

Fantastic news, Chris! I hope that the rollout will go even better than expected.

Beautiful, Doug! If you widen the search for finished models to include Pegasus, then there are actually a fair number of finished Swan-class vessels here. Cheers!

May I politely suggest that any additional debate on the merits of particular military campaigns be taken to the Shore Leave section and allow this thread to go back to exhibiting Vegaskip's wonderful paintings? Thank you!

Congratulations on finishing this outstanding model, Kevin!

Great model, Hank, and congratulations on your retirement!

Very nice! I really like the weathered look. I'm going to have to get back to mine soon.

Dutchman, my understanding, based on Eugene's comments elsewhere, is that the English instructions will be included in kits sold through vendors that typically cater to English-speaking markets, such as Crafty Sailor.

I thought your description of the cutting as "a bit hit and miss" was very charitable. I find it difficult to believe that whoever packed that kit could have missed such an obvious flaw in a billet. But -- at least they quickly replaced it, so all is well. Good luck on your build! This kit has the potential to be a real show-stopper.

That's true if you are considering only their line of sailing ship kits. There are also non-sailing vessels sold under that name. Most of Caldercraft's kits were designed by Chris Watton, who is a member of this forum. Quite a while back, he took a position with Amati, where he designed their Victory Models series of kits. So if the Caldercraft/Nelson's Navy kits appeal to you, be sure to check out the Victory Models kits. Cheers!

Moin moin, Nils! I always enjoy seeing another smallcraft project in the forum. With your considerable skills, I'm sure this will be a real gem. Cheers!

Our sponsor, Chesapeake Light Craft, makes a very nice kit for a full-size wherry. If I had the time and $$$ and space and towing capacity for such a project ... but I guess that's four strikes already. 😐

Nicely done and congratulations, Patrick!