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Gun ports lined. This completes the basic hull structure. I'm thinking this is a good point to take a break from this build and whip out a card model. That has always been my plan for this build -- to intersperse it with other projects so as to not burn out on it. Fear not -- it's not gonna take 17 years, like some other unnamed project did!

Welcome aboard, Derrick!

The ornithopters are not described in much detail in the books. In fact, neither are the lighters, Guild Heighliners, and other modes of transportation. I feel that the filmmakers did a very good job of depicting these craft -- they feel true the books' narrative.

What constitutes a "decent" model ship is in the eyes of the beholder. There are plenty of websites that sell what they call "museum quality" models with a wide range of prices. One thing those models have in common, or at least most of them, is that MSW members would consider them to be el crappola grande. Such models are typically built on the cheap in SE Asia and bear only a passing resemblance to the ships they are supposed to depict. Now, with that said, you can get your hands on what most of us would consider to be quite a decent model -- but it's gonna cost ya. True scale models that faithfully depict real ships can only be had by either stumbling across one in a consignment shop or estate sale, commissioning one from a skilled modeler, or purchasing one from a maritime art gallery. The first option requires luck -- the other two require cash or credit, and usually lots of it. If you click here, for example, you can browse the current inventory at American Marine Models. If you do have a peek, take note that no prices are listed. It's kind of like shopping on Rodeo Drive. I hope you find what you're looking for!

Welcome aboard, David!

Here's my old "Sherbourne Mk. I". Tweaked her to include a spreadyard rig. Never did get a case for her -- she's still sitting in the same wooden cradle.

Short answer: Yes, you are. This area of the forum is specifically for discussing issues related to how the forum works. We used to have (and occasionally still do) members posting questions here about some particular modeling topic; those questions should be posted in the appropriate area of the forum. So, here's some examples: "I can't figure out how to change my avatar." (Goes in the "How to use the MSW forum" area.) "How do I shape the first layer of planking?" (Does NOT go in the "How to use the MSW forum" area.)

I will always fondly remember the Ar 196. The 1/72 scale Airfix kit is one of the earliest models I can remember building with my Dad back in the 60s. I built another one when I was old enough to do the job by myself.

Those would be early chain stoppers. They do in fact clamp down on the chain (or possibly rope back in Connie's day) to take some of the load off the windlass.

SMS Scharfschütze 1/250 available from GPM Hi, Gang! This will be a sort of quick-and-dirty review, since the kit is not a new release. Whenever I order stuff from Poland, I like to order the most stuff I can get for a particular shipping cost -- if I'm going to get a few items, I might as well get the most for my shipping buck. My most recent order from the Polish firm of GPM arrived today, consisting mostly of after-market canopies and wheels, but I was able to squeeze in a new card model as well. This one is SMS Scharfschütze (Sharpshooter), one of twelve Huszar-class destroyers built for the pre-WW1 Austro-Hungarian navy. The kit has been out for roughly a decade (there is no release date on the cover sheet), so I'm a little lucky that one was still available all these years later. It is available in either 1/200 or 1/250 scale. I chose 1/250, since pretty much all of my other card ship kits are in that scale. At that scale, the finished model will be 26 cm long -- a little more than ten inches. The kit has a number of interesting features. One is that it doesn't come in the usual booklet form, but instead is printed on individual sheets. A second unusual feature is that the designer's name is not given anywhere. However, the kit and its diagrams look remarkably similar in style to the V108 kit which served as the basis for the tutorial I posted in the card models section. That makes me suspect that Digital Navy's Roman Deytna may have designed the kit. Perhaps one of our august members can confirm that for me. One bit of good news with this kit is that it doesn't just come with Polish instructions. The bad news is that the only other language is German. I read German, so that's great for me, but perhaps not so great for the rest of you. Fear not, though, since the kit does include a sufficient number of diagrams to guide the builder to a finished model. Also, the model is not overly complex -- I think that anyone who has built V108 or any similarly simple kit, such as the ones available from Paper Shipwright, will be able to build this kit without too much difficulty. There are only two pages of printed parts, so the total parts count is low. Optional parts allow for the model to be built in either a full-hull or waterline configuration. The print quality is good. Here's where it gets a little more interesting. The kit is a "limited edition" offering -- a kind of deluxe kit that includes both laser-cut details and a laser-cut frames set. It costs only US$13.64, so it's a pretty darn good deal. One of the two pages of parts is laser-cut, which will save a lot of fiddly cutting, even if the laser-cut parts give a sense of being very delicate. Whether they will prove to be delicate during construction remains to be seen. A separate key for the laser-cut parts is provided. There is a separate laser-cut fret containing railings. The frames are cut from the standard "beer mat" used in Poland. At one time, metal gun barrels were also available, but they have been out of stock for quite a while. So, that's it in a nutshell. I think this is an intriguing kit, design-wise, and it depicts a very interesting and infrequently seen subject. The price is definitely a plus. Given my fondness for small warship projects, I may have to make room in the queue for this one sooner rather than later.

Fabulous, Glen! I'm now dreaming of a tropical getaway on some idyllic beach.

Whenever someone asks about how Model Shipways kits compare to those of other manufacturers, a link to your last post should be provided. That's the sort of structure that would be built from laser-cut parts in most kits these days; MS provides the plans and some raw materials and says, "Here ya go -- build something like this!" You did a great job on your skylight -- getting all of those bars parallel is no easy task!

C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer C A Thayer I call for a recount. 😜 Seriously, though, I think you should follow this thread up with a short list of the suggestions that most piqued your interest (after all, it's you who will have to endure the developmental slog) and then maybe create a poll to help narrow the field further.

Yes, she is!

Nice work, Simon -- congratulations!

A useful tool, though I'm not familiar with that brand of paint. Perhaps it's only available in South Korea?

Malcolm The usual tags to add would be the name of the ship (i.e. Victory, but without the HMS part) and the kit manufacturer (Heller). If you would like to credit particular build logs and direct members to them, you can do that by adding links to them in your posts. I'll show you an example: "You can see examples of the Heller kit being built here and here." For more tips on how to use MSW, read here. 😉 Cheers!

Beautiful result!

Beautiful! Calling her done?

Very nice planking work!

A rare bird and nicely done!

Thank you for the nice compliment, Ab. I would like to try some scratch projects at some point in the future, but the ones I have in mind would be card models of smallcraft, not like most of what we see being built by our membership. I'm particularly interested in the boats designed by Philip Bolger; in fact, I have already built a simple model of a Bolger sailing pirogue. As for wood, though, I am one of those builders who enjoys the straightforward process of putting things together, like a puzzle, and not so much interested in all of the various tasks that a scratch builder in wood must engage in. This is why I particularly like the MK kits -- they appeal to my kind of builder. This might be my last wooden kit -- I no longer have any shop space in my garage, and the amount of sawdust and shavings even this sort of kit produces reminds me of why I stick mainly to card these days. Cheers! P.S. Here's a shot of my pirogue.

Inner bulwarks sanded to shape. On to lining gun ports.

Gun ports cut out.

Welcome aboard! Good luck on your adventure doing tallships in 1/700 -- not impossible, but definitely a challenge at that scale.