ccoyle

Things have been busy, so I worked slowly this week, but the build is finished!

Mark.bukovich's Chesapeake Flattie build had some great directions for making nice rope loops that hang off a cleat, so I followed his example. Mine ended up being a bit clunky, but they work, and in any case this isn't a naval vessel I'm modeling. I'm just glad the rope is up off the thwart. I used a bit of glue to help shape the line. Also, I clearly need to get some locking tweezers or hemostats for rigging, as it was very tricky to hold the bights with normal tweezers while looping the rope.


Also, as seen above, I did something a little unusual with the line hanging off the snotter. The simplest thing to do would be to just trim it nearly to the knot, but I figured you might want to have a bit of extra length in the line in case you needed to retie it on the fly or something. I also didn't want to just have a lot of line dangling. So, I tied a bowline with the excess, high up enough that it shouldn't snag anything.

I tried some different arrangements with the fishing equipment. Here, for instance, a thwart is removed and the lobster trap is in the middle.


Ultimately, I think the lobster trap looks best in the stern, especially because I want the funnel facing starboard so it's visible (and, with the rope and buoy, it's hard to fit it that way at the bow), but it might get in the way of sailing and steering there. I decided to leave it that way for now, but nothing in the boat is glued down so I can move things around if I change my mind.

I also added a loop in the sheet following the same method as for the lobster trap line. With that, the rigging was complete.

I've also been working on a scratchbuilt stand, as I would like to save all the thick basswood that I can (it's not readily available here, as far as I can tell). I'll have to pack things up for moving, so to reduce the risk of breakage I want something that can be disassembled. I also wanted something that looks nice with angled upright pieces. I probably way over-engineered this, but it's fun.

 

 


With the sheet looped and the new stand built, the dory was finished! I don't think it turned out half bad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Overall, I had a great time building this. I really learned a lot about boat building and scale techniques, both from the instructions and also from the helpful folks on this forum. Thank you all for your advice and encouragement!

I'm still waiting for my next kit, the Model Shipways Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack, to arrive. (Between that kit and the lobster trap, I'm making a lot of lobster fishing things for a guy with a shellfish allergy!) In the meantime, I may start on another scratch-built Mexican vessel.... we'll see.

Thanks Chris, that’s reassuring to hear! 
 
Second planking now complete. A bit more filler on the starboard side. 
I have clearly positioned the outer counter slightly wrongly, the ablutions hole is much closer to the edge than in the instructions, especially when I sanded the stern ready for the stern board. The ablutions hole is lined up with the hole on the inner lower counter so I suspect that my mistake was there. It won’t be noticeable when Grecian is complete. 

The stern board is 2mm thick and I soaked it and held it in place with rubber bands whilst it dried to give it the gentle curve required around the stern. After drying for 24 hours it’s now glued in place. 

I’ve also been filling and tidying up the insides of the gunports where the middle bulwark has changed shape slightly due to soaking. 
 
I’m painting Grecian using Vanguard’s Grecian painting set which uses AK paints. I’ll be brush painting the hull rather than using an airbrush. Should I thin the paints and if so with what (water?) and in what proportions?  The paint has gone on extremely well unthinned on small parts such as the cannons, but I tried painting a patch of hull and it was quite treacly to apply. 
 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I usually use a spray can for the hull and then the rest of the painting with Humbrol enamel paints so this is a bit different for me. Thanks! 

While Vicky continued with her detail varnishing, I made arrangements to visit a neighbor's pool to conduct a displacement and trim check. The boat was weighed on a scale beforehand without ballast or rig and then at the pool, calibrated weights were added into the bilge to bring her down to her waterline. Weights were also adjusted fore-and-aft to tweak the trim. Allowing weight for her rig and sails, most of the remainder would be configured into her ballast bulb. (Yes, I did factor in the difference between freshwater and salt water buoyancies.) The aft-mounted propane locker - carved from a block of AYC with teak trim - had been finished and mounted by this time. I was pleased that the location of the ballast keel trunk proved to be in the correct fore and aft position.

After the float testing, MAGIC returned to the building cradle for more work. I built the hollow spruce masts and once shaped, we trial fitted them to check rake angles and standing rigging lengths.
   Here, the glued mainmast is curing and the early stages of the boom gallows fabrication from brass tubing, bronze plate and teak is shown.

More bits of hardware


                                      The boom, gaff and a variety of blocks were made and varnished                                      
The turnbuckles arrived from Florida 
 
    and the mainsheet arrangement was trial fitted.
 
The first "raising of the masts" showed that the rake angles needed a bit of tuning.     

I missed the finish of this, but wow what a great diorama! It really invites the viewer in to explore all the little details. Very fine job!

I missed the finish of this, but wow what a great diorama! It really invites the viewer in to explore all the little details. Very fine job!

They might be..... 
No plans to re design Flirt, as I am happy with the kit. The only reason I felt I had to do Speedy is because the kit had changed a lot since 2019, so a complete re doing of the PE sheets was absolutely necessary. At the same time, I removed all 'legacy' parts and updated a load of others.  It now has laser cut pear grating, ladders and a binnacle as standard, rather than optional extras - plus of course the new laser cut and engraved outer and inner bulwarks, plus wale and spirketting.

I believe both Alert and Flirt are a perfect balance between more 'old school' and newer kits.
 
You do not have to copper Speedy, and can paint her exactly as Flirt if you so wish.
 

Continued from previous post...
 
The Loading Dock
 

 

 

 
The Main Dock
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
That completes the series of "glam" shots and brings this project to a close. I'd like to thank all of you who have followed along and offered support, encouragement and advice along the way. This has been a most enjoyable diversion into this style of modelling and I've learned a lot along the way. i do have another of these kits in my stash (Foss's Landing), but I've got a ship or two to build first.
 
Stay tuned for the next exciting adventure!
 

Continued from previous post...
 
The Saw Shed
 

 

 

 

 
The Sales Office
 

 

 

 

 
Continued next post...
 

Thanks very much Keith, Glen, OC, Jack, Yves, Mark and Ken, and also to all of the 'likes'.
 
I didn't quite get around to posting the final "glam" shots yesterday, so here they are. There are quite a few, so I'll split across several posts, starting with the overall "spin" shots.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Continued next post...
 

Thanks again for the input guys. 
 
I decided to have another crack at the water – I just wasn’t happy with the ripples, nor the smooth patches. So I did two more applications of the Water Gel Effects using a softer stencilling (I think) brush. My aim was to blend in/out the heavy parallel lines that could previously be seen, and also to remove the totally glass smooth areas. I’m happy with the result and am going to call “done” at that. Here’s a few shots of the final version of the water. 
 

 

 

 

 
Final "glam" shots to come later today....
 

Thanks for all the input guys, and also for all of the 'likes'.

Finishing the Diorama – the Water (cont’d)
So I acquired some AK Water Gel Effects (AK8007) and applied this with an old fairly stiff brush. The effect I was looking for was that of a gentle breeze across the water surface, with occasional clear patches of no breeze.
 
As this is my first attempt at this process, I would appreciate some further feedback and/or guidance/tips to improve the appearance. Are the "wave lines" too distinct? Would I be better off using a more "stippling" method to remove/reduce the line effect? The good thing about this product is that I can add more to change the effects.
 
Here is the first attempt.
 

 

 

 
Thanks in advance for any and all input/advice.
 

Thanks very much once again for all the kind comments and the likes.
 

Finishing the Diorama – the Water
 
To complete the diorama, I added an external frame of 3mm plywood, that doubles as a dam for the resin water. Once glued in place, I sealed the inside joins with silicone and then used automotive masking tape to reinforce all of the seams before pouring the resin. I used Envirotex Lite resin as recommended in the instruction manual. I did several small test pours with varying combinations of paint to tint the "water", before settling on a mix of Vallejo Dark Prussian Blue and Black in about a 5:1 ratio.
 
With the testing complete, it was time to take the ‘no turning back’ step and actually pour the water. All seems to have gone well. The pictures below were taken about two hours after the pour. All bubbles seem to have sorted themselves out and I have “embraced the creep”. Not sure yet whether I will apply some paint along the shoreline to change the colour there a little. The other thing I’m not yet sure about is whether or not to attempt adding some texture to the water surface using either a Woodland Scenics product or an AK Interactive product. I’m open to thoughts on this. Here are the photos with the resin still curing.
 

 

 

 
Once I’ve made those final decisions, I’ll take off the tape and take some final “glam” shots.
 
 

The Big Reveal!
 
The Lewis gun took about three hours to build, but now she is all done. I really enjoyed this build -- quite refreshing after the struggles with the GPM Hellcat. I can't recommend the Kartonowa Kolekcja kits highly enough -- try one! Now, enjoy the pictures!
 
First, the Lewis gun. The Allies didn't have synchronization gear at this point in the war, so the Lewis gun was mounted to fire above the propeller arc.
 

 
And now for the glamour shots!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

 
And lastly, a family photo of the two KK kits together, the Nieuport and the DH.82A.
 

 
Thanks for looking in!

The Big Reveal!
 
Yes, three weeks to the day and she's finished - another fantastic model from Kartonowa Kolekcja. I can't say enough good things about Pawel's designs -- they very nearly fall together by themselves. Anyways, on to the pictures!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I noticed as I was posting this next shot that the entry step got knocked askew -- gonna have to fix that.
 

 

 

 

 
Thanks to everyone who has followed along, liked, and commented. I hope you have enjoyed this quick build, and we'll see you on whatever is next!

All done! I added control horns and/or actuators for ailerons and rudders. Of course, I also found sources that showed such devices for the elevators as well, but with no parts in the kit and no clear illustrations, I opted to go without. Good thing I'm done, too, because I had just barely enough of a couple of edge colors to finish the job. Enjoy the pictures!
 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Now, remind me not to do any more 2-for-1 builds in the near future! 🤪

I missed the post that revealed her home port as Sausalito. I grew up in the Bay Area until I was nine, first in Campbell and later in Santa Rosa.

Thanks for your comments and 'likes' guys 👍
 
Post Fifty-three
 
Completion of gundeck hatches.

1491
The modified hatches are painted, and the gratings given the  w-o-p treatment.

1495
I always approach the gluing of fittings along the centre line with some anxiety. Particularly on a large length of deck  as on Indy it can be tricky to ensure that they are all in true alignment.
I spend a lot of time dry fitting the hatch sets before I commit to glue.
 
Whether you plank before or after, this same issue will be encountered.
 
Fitting the hatches before planking allows for a more accurate and interesting deck layout around the coamings, albeit a more fiddly and time-consuming approach.

1493
I start by fixing the mainmast partner base. On the kit this is attached to the hatchway abaft the Mainmast, (193) but I separated them. This base also has the holes to take the elmtree pumps.
 
I use small diameter round dowel to secure the base in the correct position, this will also double up as pump fixings.
As on the original these pump trunks run thro’ all decks to the bilges, pity they ain’t hollow.
 
The sets are now glued into place on the deck centre -line.

1499
The hatchway aft of the Mainmast butts against the partners. This is followed by the aft ladderway set.

1498
The main and Fore sets follow.

1502

1511
At each stage I sight along the deck and from all angles to check the run.

1506
The run is also sighted from distance along the floor.
With this it’s not the getting down that’s the problem, it’s getting back up again, taking this behemoth with you. 🙄

1508
Time to move on Wills.
 
B.E.
21/07/2023
 
 

Upper capstan:

Painting Commences
I have been debating if I should invest in a airbrush system which will probably yield much better results. However for the time being I will continue with using paint brushes.
 
I applied a coat of WOP to the all cannon carriages, gun port openings, inner bulwarks, spirketting and upper ledge patterns. Once the WOP had dried out it was time to start the painting process.
 
The cannons are looking OK after the first coat. One or two more coats will be required.

Next it was time to tape the Indy hull.

I started with painting the gun ports.

The Indy hull looks reasonably OK after the first coat of paint. Some more coats will be required however.


 
 

CCoyle: I grew up in Los Altos but the homeport was a quirk. Vicky and I had sold our home to pay for MAGIC but at the time the USCG required an actual seaport to be listed on the transom. Fortunately, my sister lived at that time in Sausalito and we used her address for documentation purposes. It seems that each of MAGIC's 3 subsequent owners don't want to change it.

Congrats on the finish!

Congrats on the finish!

I missed the post that revealed her home port as Sausalito. I grew up in the Bay Area until I was nine, first in Campbell and later in Santa Rosa.

I have the seat supports (D10) in place and decks D5 L/R, D2 and D3.   These pieces are very thin and fragile and the protrusions of D10 broke in many places places and 2 of the cross pieces of D2 broke as well . I wonder how anyone could install these without some breakage.  It was certainly way beyond my skill level. In any case I think it will all look ok when finished.   This kit is not nearly as easy as I had expected!
After posting and looking at the photo I think the two forward deck cross pieces look wonky. They were the parts that broke.  Since I have an extra kit I may just replace those two, cutting the replacements from the extra D sheet.

Congrats on the finish!