kurtvd19

Also the parts need to be clean. No rust, scale, dirt, oil, etc.

No it was actually deleted from the MSW forum's how to articles quite some time ago. The same information is available elsewhere and this will not be re-posted.

Off to the contest. Will be our biggest event in m y 20 years of chairing the contest. Hope anybody, not registered already, in the area will visit either Sat or Sun. Some great models. Half the entrants are NRG/MSW members. Hope to see you. Maybe we can get a MSW group photo. Kurt

We are checking with the author to see if he will OK the posting as his copyright is still valid.

Sorry for the late reply but it is perfectly acceptable for a supplier to mention a product that fills the need under discussion. A reply to answer a question is perfectly acceptable.

I am in charge of this program for the NRG and I had to call Toni to see if we had done one after you asked your question. So consider yourself less gone than I am!

We have not done a Workshop on the Half Hull. We are discussing possibly doing one or doing up a frequently asked questions about the kit and posting the FAQs in our resources section - with updates when somebody asks a new question. All the Workshops we have done are available on the website. You must sign in to access them. Kurt

Bob: The videos are up on the website to view at your convenience. Kurt

The new owner will be a MSW Sponsor soon and advertise in the Journal too. Check the thread on the reopening of SeaWatch here on MSW for their contact info - you can check with them directly. Though I am sure that right now Mike can't provide a definitive answer.

REVIEW OF BLUEJACKET'S – ELLIE MARA KIT #1115 Scale: 1/87 - HO Scale Length overall: 15" Height: 12" Beam: 3 1/4" Skill Level: Upper end of their Ensign level. Cost: $124.00 Photo by BlueJacket HISTORY This kit is an HO scale waterline model of a late 19th century centerboard Maine coasting schooner. The model is based on the 72' GRACE BAILEY built in 1882 in Patchogue, NY by Gilbert Smith for Edwin Bailey and named after his daughter Grace Bailey. She was rebuilt in 1906 and renamed MATTIE. She was restored in 1989-1990 and was renamed back to the original name GRACE BAILEY the name she currently holds. She is still sailing in the "Windjammer" fleet providing sailing cruises along the coast of Maine. She was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1992 and is one of the four remaining two-masted wooden-hulled schooners, once the most prolific type in the American coasting trade. In keeping with tradition, the kit name of ELLIE MARA is the name of the daughter of BlueJacket's owner Nic Damuck. INSTRUCTION BOOK AND PLAN SHEETS The kit comes in a 16 3/4" x 6 3/4" x 4" box. A big box for a 10" long hull but some 12" long wood and Brass pieces and the folded plans make a longer box necessary. I suspect that this might be the smallest box BlueJacket stocks. PHOTO 1 The box requires a good amount of "packing paper" to fill the extra space. My review kit arrived in perfect condition attesting to careful packing. Upon opening the box and discarding all the packing papers I suggest that the next item to be removed after the hull, wrapped in bubble wrap is examined should be the instruction manual. PHOTO 2 Open it to the last page of the manual with the parts lists. Use the two pages of parts to do an inventory of the kit to make sure you have everything accounted for. PHOTOS 3 & 4 The manual is a total of 16 pages, printed double sided. Besides the two pages of part lists there are four pages with eight color photographs of the completed model. All areas and details of the model are shown in these photographs. PHOTO 6 PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2 PHOTO 3 PHOTO 4 Pages two and three contain a very short history of the prototype boat, a listing of tools and materials needed, a couple of tips to help with the build and a list of paints needed and where each is used. PHOTO 5 Pages four through ten are the actual instructions with very clear descriptions of how to build the model. Bold type is used for NOTES and CAUTIONS to make it clear to the modeler to pay attention to them. There are no drawings or photographs within the well written instructions area but with the plan sheets and the color photographs in the manual they are, in my opinion, not needed. The two plan sheets are 24" x 36" and there is color used on each sheet to make some details clear and the rigging very easy to follow. PHOTO 5 PHOTO 6 THE KIT PARTS The parts are all contained in sealed clear plastic "bags". I removed the parts from the kit "bags" to be able to photograph the parts due to the difficulty in seeing the parts while in the "bags". They are very well sealed to prevent loss in shipping and being able to count them while doing the inventory. PHOTOS 7 & 8 PHOTO 7 PHOTO 8 The laser cut wood piece and the two pieces of laser board are in a plastic bag together. Laser board is coming into use for parts in model ship building but the model railroaders have been using it for some time. The following link to the subject "Laserboard, what material and where to get it" here on MSW is below. https://modelshipworld.com/topic/15915-laserboard-what-material-and-where-to-get/?tab=comments#comment-781873 I think the use of the 0.035" (scale 3") Laserboard for the cap rails is a perfect use for this material as it is smooth, grain less, and it bends to the shear with no force required. It is also used for the cabin roof. The sheet of 0.015 (scale 1.3") is used for the mast hoops, the ships boat's floorboards and cap rails. The 0.015" laser board does the job better than most modelers, me included, could do with wood in this dimension. PHOTOS 9 & 10 PHOTO 9 PHOTO 10 The rigging line is provided in three sizes 0.005", 0.010" and 0.020" in black and 0.010" in white. PHOTO 11 PHOTO 11 There are two sizes and lengths of chain provided. A 3" piece of small links for the Bobstay and a 12' piece of larger links for the anchor chains. Also shown are four brass chain plates that are used in the construction of the two davits. PHOTO 12 PHOTO 12 CAST BRITANNIA PARTS PHOTO 13 shows one of the three type/size of blocks provided. There are six stropped 3/32" double blocks, six stropped 1/8" double blocks and 30 stropped 1/8" single blocks provided. PHOTO 13 PHOTO 14 shows the ships boat, galley stack, windlass, ship's wheel and two casks. PHOTO 14 PHOTO 15 shows the hawse lips, running lights, two sizes of stropped deadeyes, and two bilge pumps. PHOTO 15 PHOTO 16 shows the anchors, shackles, anchor stocks, double bitt, two wide Britannia strips and four narrow Britannia strips. PHOTO 16 Not shown are 12 deadeyes – once you have seen one deadeye you have seen them all..right? Actually, I left these in the original "bag" for safe keeping and they do not show well in a photograph. WOOD: STRIPS AND DOWELS The strip wood consists of three sizes of plain strips and two pieces of single bead strips of bass wood. There are three sizes of wood dowels with two of birch and five of bass. PHOTO 17 PHOTO 17 BRASS PARTS The 26 Brass belaying pins are very nicely proportioned and flawless. Be careful when you open the "bag" containing these parts – they are tightly packed and good luck if you drop one in the carpet. PHOTO 18 PHOTO 18 There is a single photo etch fret containing eyepins. Leave them on the fret until needed. PHOTO 19 PHOTO 19 MISCELLANEOUS PARTS Miscellaneous parts are the decal with the ship's name PHOTO 20 and a three-foot-long roll of black tape PHOTO 21. PHOTO 20 PHOTO 21 A 1/2" piece of 1/6" aluminum tube is provided and shown in PHOTO 12. THE RESIN HULL The hull is shown in PHOTOS 22, 23 and 24. PHOTO 22 shows the entire hull and PHOTOS 23 and 24 show close ups of details. Overall, the casting is good. It is the rare resin cast hull that does not have numerous voids caused by air bubbles in the resin and this hull has several such voids. However, they are all able to be fixed easily. There are also a couple of shallow longitudinal voids in the sides of the hull – again, easily fixed. The hull is without distortion, and it sits flat on its bottom. The next hull may have many less voids, or it might have more. Each will vary and if the number of voids or the size of the voids will present an actual problem, the manufacturer will not sell the casting. PHOTO 22 PHOTO 23 PHOTO 24 Telling how to fix defects in the hull is not a usual part of a kit review, but so modelers reading this review who have not made a resin based kit are not dissuaded from buying this kit, I think its worth explaining that its no big deal to make the kind of repairs this hull needs. PHOTO 24 shows the port side. To fix the voids in the stanchions and bulwarks is a simple matter of using a filler material to fill in the void. Use a flat faced tool to square off the faces of the stanchions and let it cure. Sand if necessary and after removing the dust add more filler to fill in any shallow areas. Repeat this process as needed. The same procedure is used to fill the longitudinal voids shown in PHOTO 23. This type of void is easily filled. Use a putty knife type of tool to fill the voids with filler. After the first application cures, sand the area knocking down the high points of the filler and after removing the dust apply an additional coat to fill in the shallow areas. Repeat as needed. CONCLUSION In my opinion this kit is a good product. The instructions, plans and photographs work together to provide adequate guidance in building and finishing the model. It's reasonably priced for the intended skill level and the parts supplied give the modeler what he/she needs to make a very nice model that can be displayed in a place of honor in the home. I think the kit is a good starting point for a more advanced modeler to do some upgrading by substituting some parts with scratch-built pieces making it into a unique model. END

Yes it will. We post all the Workshops for members. It will take a bit of time as we have one guy who can do the posting and he's real busy with his work right now. We will let members know when it is posted.

Thank you to the 135 who showed up yesterday to the Virtual Workshop. Your attendance means a lot to the Guild and the speakers. The many questions during and following the presentations showed you were listening and coming up with well thought out questions. Some of the questions will a help in making some additions of information to address those questions in the future. Very satisfying to the speakers as they showed you were listening attentively. Take care, Kurt

Dear Ship Modelers, Thank you everyone who has participated in the Sea Watch Books experience and for helping it become a world-known publishing company. I have enjoyed working with SeaWatchBooks and have appreciated everyone’s efforts in making the company grow. SeaWatchBooks has been sold, and I know will continue to grow and support the modeling world. The new owner is Mike Ellison. Mike has been building models since his youth starting with plastic kits (his first ship model was USS Enterprise, which he built at the age of 14). But, as is often the case with modeling, life intervened and college, professional, and family obligations took center stage for many years. He returned to modeling about 10 years ago and is now an avid wooden ship modeler (his MSW handle is Sonofasonofasailor). Mike graduated from Syracuse University in upstate New York in 1994 with degrees in Finance and Marketing. It was here where he met his wife Caroline and they got married a few years after graduating. After starting his career on Wall St., he had an opportunity to join his father in launching and building a marketing research firm, which has grown to nearly 100 people in New York City. His father is largely retired from the business and Mike plans to use his experience to continue to grow and build SeaWatch. He and Caroline currently reside in New Jersey and are soon to be empty-nesters. Their oldest son is a sophomore at Skidmore College and their daughter will be going to Connecticut College in the fall. I hope you will enjoy working with him in the future. And once again, thank you so much for being a part of my dream. Best wishes on your modeling, writing, publishing, and sailing. May the wind always be at your back. Bob Friedman Posted at the request of Bob Friedman

Congratulations Mike. Great to see the books will be available again.

No need to retape. Using acrylics the port side should be OK to apply another coat when you finish the starboard side. Keep going from side to side until you have adequate coverage - do not brush towards the tape - go along the length - avoid a build up at the tape edge.

When masking and using acrylic paints remove the tape ASAP to allow the paint to self level. When I say ASAP I mean within just a few minutes after you conclude the painting is done. I usually have the tape off well within 5 minutes after the airbrush is hung up. Also, if there is a slight ridge and the paint is dry to the touch you can drag the back side of a fingernail along the line where the two colors meet - sort of like burnishing but using a very light touch - it doesn't take much but the ridge will be be compressed a bit and the self leveling properties of acrylic paints will do the rest. Like Jan said above multiple thin coats will work better than a heavy coat. Kurt

NRG VIRTUAL WORKSHOP SHARPENING SLITTING SAW BLADES FOR OPTIMAL WOOD CUTTING & PAINTING WATERLINES WITH MINIMAL MASKING Saturday, March 26, 2022 10:15 AM Central Time (11:15 AM Eastern, 9:15 AM Mountain & 8:15 Pacific) The NRG is inviting MEMBERS to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: SHARPENING SAW BLADES & PAINTING WATERLINES Bob Filipowski will demonstrate and explain a way to sharpen slitting saw blades, so they cut wood better and easier. Your Preac saw is not underpowered if you sharpen your blades as Bob will show you. This technique will work for all saws using slitting blades. Kurt Van Dahm will show and explain how to paint waterlines with minimal masking and will provide masking tape tips to help you achieve a flawless waterline. PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED NRG MEMBERS - REPLY TO THE NRG OFFICE by 3-24-2022 – I will attend the March Workshop - with your name and email to nrghomeoffice@gmail.com There is some time before the workshop starts at 10:30 AM Central so everybody can get settled in. Please do not sign in before the start time shown. The workshop will be recorded so we ask all to observe the microphone muting requirements. Unmuted microphones can cause problems for the audience. Sorry, but if your microphone is unmuted and causing a disruption, we will have to drop you out of the meeting – when you rejoin be sure you are muted. Please note that we will ask for attendees to turn off their cameras and their microphones after joining the meeting. The speaker will explain when questions can be asked. When asking a question your microphone can be unmuted but please mute it again after asking your question. Registered members will be sent the required link to the ZOOM meeting on Friday, March 25, 2022.

The ash was scraped and swept into the tubes and gravity took over. No pumps. They were not tiny so clinkers probably were no problem. I barely remember clinkers because we switched from coal to gas when I was pretty darn young but what I remember was they were not big.

I totally forgot that the hull was deeper than the riverboat hulls and would flood. These were not capped off at all and would have sunk the boat real quick. As Emily Latilla's Mother would have said "Never mind". Kurt

The two drawings below show how ash and slag was disposed of on riverboats of the era and why wouldn't they have followed what I believe was a routine way of handling the hot ash, etc. The dumping of the hot ash, slag overboard was done w/o wheelbarrows or buckets. I have permission from Alan Bates prior to his death to use his copyrighted information for educational purposes. Fig 60 is from his Western Rivers Steamboat Cyclopedium. The other drawing is from his Western Rivers Engine Room Cyclopedium.

Artesania Latina is the newest sponsor of MSW. Please welcome them on joining the NRG/MSW family. Check out their banner ad to see all they carry - many more products than I thought.

Not sure but Denatured Alcohol will do the job. Dampen a clean WHITE cloth and wipe the area and the pencil marks will be gone. Use a white rag because the coloring of the rag may be affected by the Alcohol. The Alcohol shouldn't affect the primer or paint as long as the paint is dry and the rag isn't saturated and rubbed too hard. This works well for pencil marks on bare wood too.

Donald: I am sure you are up to the challenge. Kurt

Don't make a real dark pencil line and the paint should cover it with no problem. Just able to see the line is adequate and you don't want to disturb/scratch the primer or underlying paint.

John: As to research all such articles printed in the Journal are peer reviewed. The names in the masthead of the Journal shown as the EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD are experts in the world of maritime research and education - the majority are PhD's. How to build and tech tips are not subjected to peer review by this board but the NRG membership as you noted are the experts who review the printed Journal and let us know if and when they find errors - or better ways to do things. We appreciate and welcome the feedback and want more writers to publish articles on modeling and shop notes. Kurt