vossy

Thanks for following along. Be prepared to be bombarded with questions as I go! Anyway the first thing we need to do of course is construct the basic hull. Here is the first hurdle. Well not really a hurdle, but more of an annoyance with this particular kit. CHAR! With a capital C! The photo's don't really show up the level, or darkness of it too well, but being a 6+ kit builder, this is easily the worst I have ever seen. What it means in reality is that a simple task like assembling the hull and false bulkheads is turned into a long and tedious job whereby I have to sand every nook and cranny before anything will stick. This is a massive pain in the butt, given there are about 30 of these to do! Having said that, I am in love with this vessel, so I forgive her and the manufacturer who produced her for me! Nothing has been glued yet. Way too much sanding needs to be done. Hope you all stay tuned. Cheers Chris

Hi mate. Not sure what else you want me to add??? I am happy with the kit in general, bar the couple of gripes I have pointed out. Pretty hard to review a kit unless you have finished it I reckon. Just my opinion. If you want to add my first post to the section you mention, by all means do so. Cheers Chris

Ok, so I was given this kit as a present last Christmas and have so far resisted the very strong urge to start it whilst I am still completing my current project, which can be found here - https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/17564-mississippi-1870-riverboat-by-vossy-sergal-150/& Given the stage I am at with Mississippi, and deciding I needed a really good birthday treat, I thought I may as well make a start. I will be finishing the aforementioned model in conjunction with this build, but as they are so obviously now at very different construction points I thought it might break up the monotony of one build with something fresh. There are a number of really great build logs of the Chaperon on this site, and trust me I will be getting as much info as I can from all of them as I proceed. The one thing I noticed however was that not one of them did a "what's in the box" type introduction. So by way of a start, here's a look at what you get for your $$$$'s Minimal box art, but it tells a brief history of the vessel, and more importantly, the model specs. Parts list and instructions are first rate I reckon. All in English and easy follow. Plan sheets are full size, and thus very large. I haven't photographed every individual sheet, but I hope you get the idea. The lifeboats are metal; which I don't really like, but I figure with a nice cover they will come up ok on the finished model. There are many laser cut boards of various sections of the boat. I will get to this later in another post, but one thing I have noticed is an excessive amount of char on the parts once they are removed from the board. The parts themselves seem to be of very good quality otherwise, but it is necessary to remove the char before gluing. Also on this model you have to hand paint the name. It is slightly etched into the panel, so hopefully it wont be too much drama. One thing I don't like however is the pre-scribed decks. I love the way random planks show the different grain patterns of timber side by side. unfortunately with these you don't get that contrast. Also I don't like 100% uniformity on wooden vessels of any age. In my opinion there would have been a lot of difference from one plank to the next. Also, these scribed planks have no length. I will deal with that when I get to that stage. The kit has a very nice sheet of P.E. to do the fancy bits. My particular box was shipped in extremely good condition and the sheet was perfectly flat upon opening. Nothing worse than opening a box to find bent P.E. I did a fairly detailed inventory of the supplied wood for hull planking etc. Seems to all be in very good condition and of a high standard. Also, I cant see that I have been short changed on the amount of any. Though, this kit is not as generous as the Sergal Riverboat Kit when it comes to materials. Something i'm not overly keen on is the solid dowels for the chimneys, but again, I will deal with this when I get to that point. And finally you get this long brass, very fine rod in this cylinder. Have no idea what its for yet, but it's packaged well! So that's the box contents. Hope it was of use to some who maybe might be thinking of building this boat. Cheers Chris

The year I was born, 1964, Fitzroy didn't win a single game. I supported them through thick and thin. We were always the laughing stock of the comp and eventually got kicked out in 1996. One had to have immense patience to support the club and saviour the odd win. Still love them to death though! Cheers Chris

Comes from growing up supporting Fitzroy! Aussie Rules fans will understand. Cheers Chris

I've come too far on Mississippi now to not complete her. I would just like to break up the finishing of her and the starting of Chaperon. I really enjoy the "birthing" process of beginning a new model. Cheers Chris

Thanks David. Getting a bit impatient to start Chaperon now! Cheers Chris

Installing the top level railings Given Wednesday is my Birthday I reckon I may break out and make an early start on Chaperon as a present to myself. I will definitely be doing a log on her if anyone is interested. I will definitely still be completing this model as I go however. Cheers Chris

G'day mate. Yes, definitely start a build log. Its how we all learn and share on here. You will have a great time here. Welcome. Cheers Chris

G'day mate, you found the right spot alright! Cheers Chris

Hello John, unfortunately Bunnings no longer stock them. Masters did, but as you are probably aware, they went downhill faster than an Olympic Skier! I am really after a stain like their Crimson Red to do Chaperon's decks with. May have to investigate alternatives I think. Thanks for your help though. Cheers Chris

Their Australian website is in the USA! Looking on other sites, I am now lead to believe that I wont be able to get their products here. Cheers Chris

Does anyone know if Minwax stains are available for purchase over the counter in any of the large hardware/paint stores in Australia? If they aren't, can anyone suggest a reliable overseas seller via PayPal etc? Cheers Chris

Fantastic job David! You should be very proud of her. Really looking forward to your Titanic build. Hope you and your wife have a great holiday. Cheers Chris

Shouldn't be too hard to find authentic rigging plans for Cutty Sark given how famous she is. Just taking a quick look, I would ditch all rigging and blocks. Do as has already been recommended and by the superb Syren Model blocks. This really shouldn't be too hard to make into a great model. For 20 bucks, you got yourself a great, cheap project I reckon! Cheers Chris

Thanks Eric, it sure does look sensational. I was initially thinking of staining the Chaperon deck a redish color instead of using a more solid paint type color. My only concern is that the Chaperon deck is one piece of etched in lines for planks and thus wont have the nice uneven grain effect you get from using separate planks. Anyway, still a ways off. Cheers Chris

This looks great Eric. What color did you stain the deck? Maybe I could go with this on Chaperon? Cheers Chris

what is the other site? cheers chris

super david! and you have done it so quickly. cant wait to see your titanic underway. cheers chris

This is really great! But I do have 1 question for you. How do we access the unescorted women's quarters? Cheers Chris

Oh well Eric, I guess fictional boat, fictional port. Yeah the signage is straight out of the box. But thanks for the info. Cheers Chris

Some more progress Moving onto upper deck railings and more bling for my passengers. Cheers Chris

Hey thanks for that info. If you look at my build log for the Mississippi Riverboat 1:50 Sergal model, you will see some of the figures I managed to find and am using on mine. They are steam era people. I think I mention in the log somewhere what brand and where I got them from. Cheers Chris

G'day mate, I really like what you are doing to this model. I intend it to be my next build, but I will be doing the Chaperon version. May I ask where you got the period figurines? The humans I mean. Cheers Chris

I really love how you are doing this kit justice David. Your work is first rate! Planning a next build yet? Cheers Chris