kurtvd19

Shortly before Alan died he talked to myself and two other individuals about working together to update both books. Unfortunately I am the youngster in the group and by far the junior when it comes to actual knowledge on the subjects. Neither of the others wanted to get tied up in such a project and I just do not have the knowledge to do the job. I have the publishing and distribution contact - the NRG - but alas I don't see that there will ever be an update done. I know that by making the existence of the books better known and being able to get them published we would sell a lot more than 3 copies a year!

KIT REVIEW – USCG HARRIET LANE MODEL SHIPWAYS KIT #MS2270 Scale 1:96 (1/8' = 1'0") Length (overall) 28", Width 8", height (on base) 16" Plank on Bulkhead construction This kit is the fourth in a series of progressive model tutorials by David Antscherl for Model Shipways (Division of Model Expo) with the Lowell Grand Banks Dory, the Norwegian Sailing Pram and the Muscongus Bay Lobster Smack being the three previous models. All have been reviewed here. The kit comes in the usual sturdy blue box with a large color label showing a completed model. The box weighs just ounces less than 5 pounds. Upon opening the box, the plans are the first thing seen. There are five sheets of 18" x 36" plans labeled as Deck, Rigging, Sail and two sheets labeled as Rigging and Laser Cut Board Parts Identifier sheet (A-L) and (M-Y). The box also contains the following: Sixty-six page full-color instruction manual Twenty-two sheets of laser cut Basswood Three sheets of laser cut paper card Seven pieces - strip Basswood Three wood dowels Six rigging line spools Five packs of blocks Eighteen different Britannia castings – multiple pieces of several parts One sheet of Photo Etch Brass Misc. Brass and other parts Parts list – 3 pages The sixty-six-page full color instruction manual is well done. Before any assembly is started it is my recommendation that the modeler should read every word of the instructions before doing any assembly. The first page of the instructions cautions the reader in red print to read the instructions. There are numerous tips for the modeler designed to guide to building this or any other models. Tips are printed in red to help the modeler. There are also "Super Detail" tips throughout that provide ways to improve the accuracy of the model. The most important tip is "Take your time". There are hints throughout the instructions printed in red to catch the attention of the builder. Read them. Most tips will help with this kit and some of them will help in the future with any kit. Planking Sheets Planking is supplied slightly oversized but to the correct shape for the location intended. Adequate extra material is provided on the width of the parts to sand to fit. The other 18 sheets of laser cut wood Three Laser Cut Paper Sheets 5 1/2" x 8" x 0.0095 Photo Etch Brass Box of Cast Metal Pieces, Rigging Material, Flags & Wire Ladders, Anchors, Canons, Davits, Ventilators Belaying Pins, Eyebolts, Wire & Brass Rod Windlass, Cleats, Eyebolts, Chain Flag and Rings Blocks Rigging Line Rigging – in progress photo – Courtesy of David Antscherl Parts List – 3 pages and US to Metric Conversion sheet Overall, I think this is a great kit with good cast parts and laser cutting of the wood is very well done. The laser cut pre-spiled planking is a nice feature and will help most modelers produce a good planking job. The good instructions and plan sheets should leave nothing to be guessed at. The rigging line is very good quality. The blocks are decent quality for the size, but they are the typical kit supplied blocks with square edges so finicky modelers may look for replacement blocks. Thanks to David Antscherl for providing photographs of the finished model. Thanks to Model Shipways (division of Model Expo) for supplying the review kit.

It is the Howard Steamboat Museum in Jeffersonville, IN. (812) 283-3728 They usually have both books in stock for under $20 each (its been a bit so they might have raised the prices)

I recently started to watch a YouTube video about saw safety and stopped the video after about 30 seconds when the guy went to the saw with an open button up sweater with long sleeves AND a tie! At that point I stopped viewing the video because I figure that anybody who wears long sleeves and a tie while using a table saw is a certifiable idiot. YouTube has some excellent informational videos but also some that are pure BS.

SeaWatch Books published a book by Justin Camarata called - Waterline Dioramas: A Modelbuilder's Artform with a review here on MSW - It might be out of print but if you can borrow one it will be a good read. Check the model railroad sites as they do a lot of realistic water.

Chuck: Go to the started album you want to delete and look at the top left box where your write up and other data is and note at the bottom right in the gray box with MANAGE ALBUM and a drop down arrow. Click on it and there is a choice to DELETE ALBUM. Click on it and the job is done. Make sure it's the one you want gone as it's final.

If you want a lathe for model building this is not what you want. Do a search here on MSW for TAIG Lathe and Sherline Lathe there are also some others used for our hobby. There are several topics about picking out a lathe - check them out. Then if you have questions about a specific one for your use ask and you will get answers/opinions.

Roger: That was my first power modeling tool. Got it as a Christmas present when I was in 5th grade IIRC. I had it sitting around for years after moving on to better tools and it finally was gone - maybe at my parent's hands - I just don't remember. But I used it a lot back then.

I usually use my Preac for the brass but the Byrnes saw just uses larger diameter slitting blades like on the Preac. I like to make a sandwich of light aircraft plywood with the brass sheet sandwiched between the ply - everything stays nice and straight and the cut edge hardly needs to be sanded. Drop the cut piece in acetone and the glue is dissolved. The only thing I have ever used Duco cement on.

Back when I was on the FD and still on the ambulance I responded to a kickback situation and the saw operator wound up dead. Combination of penetrating wound and traumatic impact of the 2 x 4.

Mike: Looking good. Airbrushing will not fill in gaps. Don't even try. Your plan to use the filler is the way to go.

I do that sometimes but often just rely on selective focus of the webcam making me look sharp and everything else as a blur. I have been accused of false advertising when I look sharp though.😎

My local club meets Saturday evening. Being virtual at least I don't have to clean the shop for the meeting after doing the workshop.😎 It might be a bit before it's viewable on the website but it will get up there.

A recording will be available on the membership side of the website.

I use acrylic paints exclusively. I seal off the wood prior to painting with shellac - it dries very quickly and seals off the wood from the acrylic primer I use without raising any of the wood's grain. When the primer is applied there is no worry about having to knock down the wood fibers that are raised when acrylics are used w/o a sealer. I use a primer - Badger's STYLNYLREZ not only as a primer but sometimes as the final color. It's made in 16 different colors. I recently did a model sailboat that won a gold medal and it was painted exclusively with STYNYLREZ as the final colors. An added bonus I didn't have to take it home and put it in a case because a fellow modeler offered to purchase it and I said OK. I used to spay the wood with water - a light coat - to raise the grain, let it dry sand and repeat until no more raising of the grain occurred then I would prime/paint w/o having to sand wood fibers between color coats. I decided to simplify things and shellac was the answer. Others have said sanding sealer, etc. - nothing wrong with doing it tat way - but shellac works for me.

Lighting should be the first thing considered when trying to improve seeing the work. Years ago my Ophthalmologist told me to use bright white light and recommended Halogen lighting for reading and model work. I followed her advice and my eyestrain was no longer an issue. Later when my eyes were changing with age the new Ophthalmologist told me to do away with the hot halogen lights and switch to white LEDs. Changed my reading light and workbench overhead lights to LED and after getting a cataract fixed the LEDs look like the current answer. I had switched to glass lenses in my optivisor before the lighting issue and the combo of glass lenses and LED lights has been my answer. As to plastic lenses I wish they would just go away. My Ophthalmologist has just told me I need a minor procedure to fix my recent blurred vision issues because my implant lens (plastic) is clouded just like some car headlight covers get. A simple 5 minute laser procedure in the office will make the implant clear as the day it was implanted. Nobody ever told me about this - I would still have done the implant because I went from 20/400 w/o correction to 20/20 with the implant and have been assured my vision will again be 20/20 after the laser procedure. So if I have to get this done every 5-6 years no problem. I am sure the plastic lens implant is better than an actual glass lens in the eye so I will live with a plastic lens in my eye but not externally to help with magnification.

Chris: Hang onto the expensive set - especially if the lenses are glass - you will probably need the better setup as your eyes age. I used a plastic lens Optivisor for years - a few years ago I tried an Optivisor with glass lenses at a trade show and it didn't take me more than a few hours later that day to order an Optivisor with glass lenses. Difference is light night and day.

I have to agree with Bob's reasoning and his recommendation to get Vol 2.

I can say with complete confidence that the NRG - and MSW - have never been in better shape than right now. We have experienced continued growth and member involvement. It was common to get less than 100 members responding to surveys and voting and we now can count on hundreds participating in votes and feedback. We will be sharing a lot of information with the membership tomorrow about growth and activities.

The Zoom invite will go out to all members tomorrow for the Annual Member Meeting as per the email sent recently.

I hit the send button too early. Check the NRG's website - https://thenrg.org/events - the events page has shown the 2021 Conference as being cancelled for several months (Feb or March I believe).

Justin, we have sent out all member emails every month, sometimes more than one in a month. Check your spam folder.

Members are obviously interested in photography and I would bet some are saying "it's about time". The great thing about MSW is there is something for everybody. Another great thing about MSW is that if a subject doesn't interest you then you are completely free to skip over it and go on to another subject. Everybody is free to have their own opinion on any subject and you have expressed yours. I personally have enjoyed reading the recent posts on the subject. To each his own.

NRG VIRTUAL WORKSHOP USING THE TABLE SAW SAFELY Saturday, December 11, 2021 Plan to attend the next NRG Virtual Workshop on Saturday, December 11, 2021, at 10:00 AM CST entitled "Using the Table Saw Safely". Presented by NRG Director Kurt Van Dahm. This is an updated version of Kurt's talk which was presented at the 2018 NRG Conference in Las Vegas. As usual this event is free to NRG members while others can attend for the bargain price of $5.00. The safe use of smaller table saws, like the Byrnes saw, will be the subject of the presentation. Though smaller than full-sized table saws, model-sized saws can still take a finger off or severely injure the modeler if they are used in an unsafe manner. Kurt will show how to perform rip cuts, cross cuts, lap joints, miters and other common operations in a safe and efficient manner. Many modelers say they are totally intimidated by the dangers of the table saw and that they are hesitant to use the saw they purchased. After this program, these modelers should be less hesitant to use their saw. And those modelers who routinely use their saws will appreciate the tips on proper saw set-up. At a minimum this presentation will provide a helpful review of safety tips and might even prevent an injury due to complacency. Pre-Registration is required, and registration is now open. Use the link below to register. This is free to NRG members and non-members can attend for the low price of $5.00. Follow the directions on the website link page to register. LINK https://thenrg.org/event-4571585 NRG members should be able to select the FREE registration option after starting the registration process and entering the email address on file with the NRG. You may need to log into your NRG account to register for free. If you're not sure how to log into your account, click here for more information. Not an NRG member? Click here for information on joining! We plan to have several of these Workshops each year. With NRG memberships starting at $40 you will receive the quarterly Nautical Research Journal, discounts on NRG products and FREE admission to the Workshops.

I used to do forensic photography back in the days of film. Correct color balance was vital and you didn't dial it into the camera. We used filters to correct for the lighting and it was tricky. I used to start every roll of film with a shot of an 18% gray card with color chips (of a known value) and the lab used the settings they got when printing the gray card/color chips (standard tools of the trade) to print the rest of the prints so they all matched. It was so critical that I used only Canon lenses - no Vivitars or other brands - and the guys who shot with Nikons only used Nikon lenses - no other brands. Just like light meters are hardly used today ask anybody today about a color meter and they will look at you like you are from Mars. Setting a white balance today is a walk in the park in comparison. When digital first appeared on the scene there were all sorts of articles in the pro publications about how the images could be manipulated and the courts would never allow digital to be used in court. They were wrong, but when the first digital images were finally allowed it was a real challenge to provide everything they might require the photographer to provide to make them certain the image(s) were accurate. It got to the point where I was happy to get out of the business because of the hassle. I had to give up a very lucrative business I did on my days off from the FD when I got promoted and put on a 40 hour M-F work week. It came at the right time for me (getting the gold Chief's badges and pay raise mostly made up for the loss from the business) because it was getting to be a grind.