ccoyle

I don't wish to derail this topic and turn it into another endless "everybody's VM wish list" discussion, but I will make the following general observations: (1) While there may not be a kit of Susan Constant available, there is already a decent number of kits for small galleons (or similar) on the market. (2) If you do ever decide to go non-UK, bear in mind that US East Coast types are already well-represented by Model Shipways, BlueJacket, and Wye River Models. (3) On the other hand, there is nearly a complete lack of US West Coast types on the market.

I agree! That's a superb result, especially for a first effort.

I'll build another one and put it on an engine stand next to the finished bird. Ha ha -- not! 😂

Super-Hobby is actually an internet store with its home base in Poland. It's the same kit (see post #1 in this topic). Well, thank you, I'm flattered! But I'm also realistic -- I'm no match for the kit's beta builder. I'd like to get there someday, but I don't know that I ever will. It's difficult to learn the secrets of the masters when all of them live in Poland and are mainly active on the various Polish-language forums. Cheers!

Last night I finished the cowling and mounted both it and the engine to the fuselage. When it comes to cowlings, card model designers have two options. By far the more common option is to make the cowling from a series of rings, like those seen here for my earlier F6F build: The other and thankfully less common option is to design the cowling as what's called a "petal structure" in the hobby, i.e., the cowling is a single strip (or two strips in this case -- an inner one plus an outer one) from which a series of tapered darts is removed, creating a row of 'petals'. The petals are then rolled to bring their tips together, creating the rounded cowling. I absolutely, positively despise petal structures. In the first place, they are an absolute nightmare to shape properly. I don't know how the Poles do it, but I'm far from mastering the technique. In addition, and for obvious reasons, a petal structure has a large number of seams -- sixteen in this instance. Lastly, it is very difficult, for me at least, to judge whether I have achieved the correct amount of 'roll'. The roll is largely determined by the petal shape -- you simply roll them until the edges come together -- but there's still a certain amount of leeway between getting it just right and almost right. Happily, the whole thing does not look as bad in real life as this unflattering close-up makes it appear. Still to be added is the air scoop that sits atop the cowling. The dash-four had two additional scoops inside the cowling at roughly the four and eight o'clock positions, as you can see in this photo: The kit makes no provision for the inside scoops, so I'll have to give some thought to whether to add them. Anyways, that's where we're at for now.

Clever trick!

Welcome aboard, Blaine. Marine Models has been out of business for quite some time, so it's little wonder that they don't turn up on the forum very often. In fact, we have only six build logs that have been tagged with that company name -- you can see them here. Your Dapper Tom model may be nearly as old if it is one of the old 'yellow box' kits. Cheers!

Sometimes, when I dying in the sweltering heat and humidity of the Deep South, I look up the weather data for my hometown in Humboldt County and dream longingly of summertime highs in the upper 60s. 🥵

All done! I'd tell you what all the extra added doohickeys are, but I don't know what they are myself -- I just followed the reference photo. As a matter of curiosity, there are, of course, multiple variants of the Twin Wasp. I didn't find any sources that could tell me which variant(s) was(were) used in the dash-four, so if you know, don't tell me now, cuz it's too late! 😅

I don't think the MK kits look bad when finished bright -- they use good-quality wood, and the combination of wood tone and brass is attractive. But you can't go wrong with adding a touch of paint, either. I've seen them both ways and like them equally well.

Congratulations, David, on a grand achievement!

Congratulations! She looks great on the water!

Now we're getting down to details that are difficult for a cellphone camera to capture. Cylinders #3 and #13 have hoses that connect to the distribution ring. In addition to these, I did a test run of the spark plug 'wires', which are simply black thread. The hoses and wires have couplings that I believe were probably brass on the original or some other brown-toned metal; these I have simulated with dark tan paint. Overall, I like the effect and think we're good to go for the remaining thirteen sets of wires. BTW, the kit provided a template for making the distribution ring from wire, but since the original is rectangular in cross-section, not round, I chose to make one from scratch from scrap 'beer mat'. This was a good move, because it is infinitely easier to glue the thread ends to card rather than to metal.

Have now added the second bank of cylinders and distribution ring.

They do seem to follow one of these radial-engined birds for some reason. 🤔

Push rods added.

Our friend, Tomek @0Seahorse , has published a new kit. This charming US revenue cutter -- including all of its accessories -- can be had for under US$40 at WAK (the kit by itself is only US$7.16). Tempting!

More engine progress. I have added the rear bank of cylinders to the crankcase (BTW, I'm not a mechanic nor mechanically inclined, so my engine terminology is limited). To see what extra detailing I have added so far, you can compare the detailed cylinders to the basic kit cylinder on the left. The front cover on the crankcase and all of the bolt heads are extras, as is the little blue daub of paint, which represents the Pratt & Whitney badge (no, I'm not gonna super-detail the badge -- don't be insane!!). Next step will be adding the push rods to the rear cylinders.

Oh, the irony!

Welcome aboard! If you'd care to read about my experience with building a CLC boat, you can find my build log here.

I have actually crossed the River Lerma numerous times on the way in and out of Temascalcingo.

Beautiful! But these should be posted in the gallery.

To be honest, it's been so long since I did that part of the project that I can't remember exactly what I used. I probably used a water-based stain, and I'm fairly certain, but not 100%, that I used an off-white from Model Shipways, also water-based, for below the waterline. BTW, I hope my next project doesn't take me 17 years, too!

Finished So, first of all, if anyone is interested in why this model is finished without having any masts or rigging, allow me to refer you back to post #25. I ordered resin swivel guns from Chris at Vanguard Models. These are very nicely done and far superior to the off-the-shelf metal ones from Amati. I was surprised, though, to discover that the guns did not come with any mounts. I don't blame Chris for this at all -- I never asked about the mounts and he never said anything about whether they were included. The lesson here is it pays to ask! I tried several methods to create mounts: wire (fail), cobbling something together from leftover PE parts (fail), and finally hit upon yokes made from scrap black construction paper. These look fine as long as one doesn't view them from head-on, otherwise they look impossibly thin. The final shots: So, that brings this seventeen-year-long, on-again off-again journey to a close. I do have another wooden subject waiting in the wings, but I'll divulge that project at the proper time. Cheers!

Excellent result!