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toms10

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Everything posted by toms10

  1. Sorry to hear about the treatment your package received. Looks like the old American Touristor luggage commercials also applied to customs agents as well as baggage handlers. Tom
  2. I hadn't noticed that the MacAllan had sneaked into that photo! As for daunting, yes! - - - when I first got the Lennarth Petersson book I remember looking through it and being completely bewildered. BUT - I'm slowly finding my way by trying just to concentrate on the particular part of the rigging I'm working on at any one time. Jim, you are going along very well. What you said above pretty much nailed it on the head. Don't try to eat the entire elephant in one bite. With small bites and some time it can be done. Nice job and enjoy Portugal. Tom
  3. Hi Mark, Yeah the wiring kind of messed up the order I was going to do things. Now I need to build and attach the stern windows to make sure the lighting comes through properly before I finish up the outer planking so I can get the wires out the bottom of the keel. One step forward, two steps back and the beat goes on... Tom
  4. Hi Jim, I am a ways from lighting stern quarters... haven't even started looking into building them. For now I can only lay in the rough wiring. If the summer weather remains as it is now I may never get to them! It is hard to stay inside when it is nice out. Who knows though, this is New England so it is quite possible that the weather tomorrow will change from 80 and sunny to 40 and rainy for the next few days. Then I can make some serious progress! Tom
  5. Hi Sam, Honestly, no I haven't. Just keeping to the basics for the first one. Tom
  6. Marsalv, If your next post shows smoke coming out of the chimney I quit! I am no expert (very far from it) but it doesn't really take one to see that this is a very exceptional build. Tom
  7. Amalio, Your craftsmanship is at a level all its own. The only problem I see is THERE IS NO ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT! Thanks for showing us the possibilities of ship modeling. Tom
  8. Now that the summer weather is here progress will slow for sure but I have been playing with some LED lights and started putting some in to illuminate some of the visible details of the lower decks. I drilled a lot of holes for the wires to snake through the frames. The idea will be to have them joined between the frames just above where the rear display pedestal will be located. A single set of wires will come out through the keel and through the center of the pedestal. I will figure out how to hide these in the case when I start building that in a few years. Right now just for testing the positioning and intensities the wires are just dangling all over. Can pretty that up later. The light on the left of the uppermost deck shown (lower gun deck) is not fixed in place yet so the camera picked up the glare because the bulb are still visible. I will position it in the aft corner on the starboard side so it won't be visible when looking in. Here is the portside without the cannons coming through the gun ports yet. Looked kind of neat so I thought I would share the picture. The final plan is to have the stern galleries lit up as well and the 2 stern lights. It is going to be a lot of work and time... uh, I mean fun... but worth it in the end. Tom
  9. Daniel You definitely have your work cut out for you and with a time constraint no less. Now it is a JOB not a hobby. I just finished this model about a year and a half ago. It was tricky build if it was not done in the right order. Tom
  10. Jim, You are becoming a mast master. As mentioned earlier, I like your idea with the eyebolts. Tom
  11. Hi Jim, Nice pictures. Looks like it was a fun day. I know what you mean about the low ceilings. When I was laying out where the decks would be on my model I had to triple check because they were measuring up less than 6 feet. I thought if that is correct, then the navy was pretty much out of the question if you were 6 ft plus. Evidently my measurements were right. As for the hammocks, I guess temperpedic, thermomassage, adjustable position hammocks were only available on the first rate ships! Thanks for the pictures. On another note, I went ahead and ordered the LED lights. I bought enough with the thought of not only lighting up the lower deck to see the detail but also the stern galleries and lanterns. Not sure if all of that will happen but that is the goal at this point. Problem with lighting up the stern windows is now you will be somewhat able to see inside so just painting all the framing black might not be an option. I might have to clear some framing out and put in a bit of flooring and a table/chair at each level to make it look like a room. I will make a rough model of the stern galleries out of cardboard after I wire up a few lights to see how well one can see inside and if it is worth all of the extra detail. My original thought was that it would look nice with the windows lit up but as with everything else, nothing is as simple as it originally seems. Tom
  12. Jim and Sam, Thanks for the advice. I am going to follow it because it makes sense to me and I know I will think about it later and wish I had done it. Jim, hope you enjoy your trip, post some pictures!.
  13. Haven't posted in a while because progress is pretty slow with hull planking right now. The "to do" list for outdoor work is pretty long right now. I did manage to get the garboard strakes on and a bit more planking but I am going to take a step back and finally decide if I am going to put some LEDs at the ends of the lower decks to get some more light inside to better see the inside detail. I have been going back and forth with this idea in my head for quite a while and I have gotten to the point where I need to make a decision. Once the hull is fully planked it will be too late. I am thinking I probably will put them in because I am still thinking about it after all this time. I just need to work out the details of where and how to get the wires to snake through the keel and come out of the display board unseen. A quick check on costs tells me I can do this for less than $50. Seems worth it to me. Gee, this is kind of like work. Add more features, keep costs down... The only difference is at work the deadline doesn't get extended. The word, "deadline" is not in the hobby world dictionary. A subtle but very important difference!!
  14. Hi all, Managed to pick away at a few things while being preoccupied with life's events. Attended the Northeast Model Ship Builder's Conference this past Saturday in New London, CT. Definitely an enjoyable day looking at all the displayed talent and meeting many of you from MSW. Here a a couple of pics of the limited progress but progress none the less. Lower deck capstans and cannon ball holders and some railings around the hatchways. Don't want any sailors going down the hatch unexpectedly!! Also started planking below the wales just for a change from working on the decks. I actually enjoy planking... do I need to seek professional help??? Tom
  15. Hi Jim, Now the ship will really come to life with the addition of the masts. Nice job. Kind of pain in the cheeks about the 1/2 size plans. Can you bring them to an office supply store that has copier services and have them copied at 2x scale? Might make life a bit easier and every little bit helps in that regard. Keep up the good work. Tom
  16. Hi Mike, I agree with her especially if it is your last one. It would be a shame to get thrown in the brig now for disobeying the admiral. Tom
  17. Jim, Everything looks great. You will be the only one that thinks the rudder irons are not right. They don't look bad. Your are getting the "perfection virus" that creative people get. Good news is there is nothing wrong with getting it. Bad news is there is no cure. Tom
  18. Hello all, I have not posted in a while but I have been picking away at odds and ends. I finish sanded the outer planking above the wales, moved a gunport that was in the wrong location... but we won't talk about that much. I mistook a centerline of the port for the edge and it ended up a 1/2 port too much aft. It was the gun port just forward of where the stairs on the outside hull would be. On the picture above (post #95) it was the 6th one from the bow on the port side. It needed to be moved forward. That is now behind me and only the people who read this post will know. All the port linings are finished and now I am dry fitting the deck beams for the upper gun deck. Things are going a bit slower now that the weather is pretty nice and other hobbies are kicking in. Just wondering, is spring yard clean up considered a hobby??? I have been waiting for the "yard fairies" to show up but it doesn't look promising. I also need to start figuring out how I am going to get my Constellation to the Northeast Ship Modelers Show in New London, CT at the end of the month. Start building and dry fitting the upper deck beams. Tom
  19. Jim, She looks fantastic and the rigging is only going to make it look better. Rigging... it is only one knot at a time when you break it down just like all the planking is one plank at a time. Just remember, you can't eat the elephant in one bite. Tom
  20. Okay, I think I will stop modelling and just look at the pics. Jason, THIS IS CRAZY GOOD. The fit and finish and overall appeal is just overwhelming. Tom
  21. Started cutting out gun ports for the lower gun deck. Only a couple more to go for the lower gun deck. Then I will start building the upper gun deck beams and dry fit the upper gun deck to make sure the cannon ports and deck all line up. Finally cut the upper gun deck ports. I should then be able to finish the planking get it all sanded and start placing the lower cannons. So there are my next couple of months all planned out. Of course very few things go according to plan. But then again if everything did it would probably get boring. At least that is what I keep telling myself. Tom
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