mrshanks

Okay, just few notes. I have just had a look into my copy of Admiralty plans for Williams:
 
- One noticeable thing missing is the presence of gratings and ladder just aft the main deck opening. It is really weird that the whole boat as presented by Caldercraft has no ladder or any way how to access the lower deck from the main deck!
 
- Different chimney / stove position.
 
-Armament. [EDIT]:
The one provided in the kit features proposed fitting from 1795. The boat was rebuilt in 1796 and has different armament (two carronades, one for, one aft). The question is, how is the Caldercraft's representation real and if the boat ever operated with such a configuration? Caldercraft's configuration comes form plan "as proposed to be built" which does not automatically mean it was also build upon it. Plans showing the boat with final configuration look different. 
 
- If you will attach the flag to the boat, use the Blue ensign (not red or white). According to rank of the Admiral to whose competence the boat (or her station) belonged
 
The thing is that Caldercraft uses Admiralty plans as the base for the kits. But these plans are very different. Several of them depicts just ships "as proposed" , not "as fitted". If the producer takes as the base the incomplete plan which do not show really all the details of the ship, well, then it may look quite different. It is very interesting to compare Caldercraft's kits with the contemporary Admiralty plans. One will often find it is not as shiny as one would imagine just from the pure claim "built on Admiralty plans"

I am in my chair waiting.

Nah, I'll use anything, I used Humbrol for the weathering but this is a whole new world for me. The Tamiya Putty sands very nicely but goes off very quickly. This is the New Tool (post 2011), but I have the old tool for practice and they are exactly the same size. The only camera I own is my phone so if I had a good 54mm lense it would look better. My job sent me on a professional photography course last century and it's all about light (this was before digital), and I mainly then took photos of people who didn't know I was there.

Too early to tell, once I get the hull togeather and the gaps filled I'll feel a bit more confident. It is a very big kit.
 
Keith, belated answer is no as there will be aircraft / boats in the road anyway

Now to start screwing the beast together. It is massive. The bow, hangars and main deck is down. I will get to the sides and forecastle later later next week then do the filling and sanding. The Rear aircraft deck will go on much much later.

I have now finished the interior hangars. A little bit of weathering, rust, grease and drybrushing. Realistically not much will be visible.

Nice little starter kit you have chosen

Good luck with William. I believe there used to be at least one build log, even finished one, but all before GMC (Great Modelshipworld Collapse ), so lost...
Anyway... I am not familiar with the review you are mentioning, but I would love to!!
I was planning to build this one on my own and purchased original Admiralty plans from Greenwich (luckily they do exist). They are great source of information. You will find the kit way too simplified and missing several very important features (not so difficult to add, if one knows them) but it depends how much is the historical accuracy important for you.
Juraj

Me too! She looks nice!

Nice looking kit, waiting to see more progress

Well, as promised in my new member introduction, I will start a build log for my first attempt at ship modelling. I chose the Gunboat William after plenty of deliberation, but a couple of things made me think it might be suitable. It seems fairly simple and straightforward with not too much rigging etc. But most appealing to me was its size. At 1:32 scale I'm hoping everything is much larger than on many of the models often recommended as a first choice. The main disadvantage I could see was that no complete build logs exist on MSW so I will be 'flying solo' and needing plenty of help and guidance as I progress! The manuals/instructions are excellent and I have found an excellent review written by Keith Julier in the March 2006 Model Boats magazine which will help no end. My progress will be slow and my first couple of posts will be 'catch up' as I started about ten months ago. As seems customary, I will first post a couple of photos of the box and contents.
 
Cheers, Jack
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

The railings look great, Lou!  Looking forward to the rigging!

Lou,
Outstanding craftsmanship!
Very nicely done.

I saw Mike Lonnecker's FA at the NRG conference (actually, helped carry it to the display room from the parking garage), and it's a fantastic model when fully rigged.  I think you'll love it when you are done and not regret making this decision, Lou.

Beautiful, Lou! Outstanding work. I'm very impressed with th marquetry on the great cabin floor. Looks fabulous! I'll be following your log.

Mostly that huge rail that runs around it. To me it looks as though it would be a tripping hazard or at the very least a major pain in the shins. In low visibility and rough water I could see a lot of falling down over that thing. Then again, I guess like most things if you are around it all the time you would get used to it.

Thank you all! I have the aft deck nearly finished. The pumps and navigation lights are what are left. I made the bollards, stove pipe, skylight, fife rail, mast coat, and techically "started" the main mast. Really, it is just thinned at the base to fit in the mast hole. The windows are ca, so they are still somewhat shiny, but have a bit of a more dirty look. I had to shrink my self to get some of the photos on deck













Until next time!
P.S. Yes, the fife rail is a little too close to the skylight. It is a crowded deck!

Thanks for all the kind words and the "likes".  I am going to go back and work on Independence.  I also have 3 other Lauck Street kits:  Halifax, Kingfisher and Fair American.  I'm thinking of starting Fair American at the same time as I work on the Independence!  All this is working up to a scratch build of "Hannah" in 1/24 scale.

Congratulations on crossing the finish line Dave.  She's a beautiful model, and something you should be proud to display.
 
What's next on the bench besides completion of the Independence?

A beautiful built model Dave,
 
nice wood selection and wooden tones, well done  
 
Nils

FINISHED!!  14 months to the day, and my AVS is finally done.  It was great fun, and makes a pretty attractive model, I think.  Bob Hunt is still producing this kit, but is using laser cutting to fashion the parts.  If anyone is looking for a challenge and a lot of enjoyment.I heartily recommend this kit! It's available at the Lauck Street Shipyards website:  https://lauckstreetshipyard.com/avskit.htm

Thanks, guys, for the comments and the "likes"!
 
Martin:  The seahorses are provided with the kit as two halves that you glue together and sand smooth.  The cherry is my own wood.  Rosewood is beautiful.  I used it for gun mounts, the wales and black strakes and hatch coamings.  It tends to be oily, so you need to wipe it down with an acetone soaked paper towel before gluing or finishing.  It takes a finish beautifully.
 
Ken: The photo shows the various species I used on the hull. Yes, the inner bulwarks are redheart.  Mine oxidized or UV'd a bit to a reddish brown - not the bright red like your Rattlesnake.  Next time I may use blood wood again, as I did on my MS AVS.

I sanded the seahorses and rounded their edges.  I used pins and epoxy to fix them to the base and gave the base a coat of poly.  All that's left is to mount the guns, cannons and anchor.

I agree Dave, no need to take away from that superb ship! Beautiful work

The model is nearly done.  I had a nice wide piece of cherry to use for the display base.  The four seahorses support the model on their backs!  They need to be sanded and glued in place.  I routed a simple cove along the edge of the base to dress it up a bit.  I think that's all it needs - a simple cove versus an ogee or other more complicated shape.  Agree?