dkuehn

I have been working, but it has been slow going and I've made changes with paint that I wasn't happy with. On the box the top color is a light blue, I don't really like that so I went with a darker blue color. That ended up looking really bad, so I painted over it with some yellow ochre that I had left over from my Lady Nelson. 
 
I had mentioned the possibility of doing a second planking with the boxwood that I ordered from Model Expo. The wood that I received didn't look like what I was expecting and I'd rather have an incorrect planking line than the yellow planks. I did however use some of that wood to plank the decks. I saw in another thread how the laser etched deck sheets bubbled up on another Dusek kit, so I decided to just plank it with the wood I got from Model Expo. 
 
I'm a little heavy handed and have had to repair the bulwarks several times where they are above deck level, they are easy to break if you aren't careful.  The next thing I have to do is the bulwarks framing pieces and then start on the deck fixtures. 
 
It is far from perfect, but I'm happy with it. 
 
 

I did the other side and then taped the template back into the plan sheet. 
 
Now I need to do all the exterior wales, paint and put the keel parts on. (it said to do the keel parts right at the beginning, but that would have really complicated sanding the planking)
 
 

OK, all of Indefatigable artwork complete, and plans, manual and box label have been sent to the printers. This means that finally, the Indy development folder can now be put in my 'Completed Developments' folder, never thought I'd see the day! There will be no other versions of Indy, this is it. I have always wanted to develop this kit, ever since I did Agamemnon back in 1999, but I am so pleased I waited until I could develop this without the usual restraints that were always imposed on me. It is a mad kit, though, and very heavy with the large box being very full!
 
To clarify, the Indy kit contains everything to complete the model with masts and rig. There are a few laser cut sheets dedicated to this; even, for the first time, the Parrel Ribs are laser cut, not photo etched, in 0.6mm pear wood. Even the fids and masthead battens are laser cut. I am disappointed I could not offer more laser engraved decks, but I simply could not keep buying more stock of very expensive custom size wood/veneer, only to find I cannot use most of it and throwing it in the skip.
 
In other news, I have a set of Blue Ensign flag sets on their way (to complete the set), along with a historically accurate US flag as an option for Grecian.
 
I have finished all I can for Grecian right now, and am waiting for the sample PE sheets before sending the kit to Jim (Jim will essentially have the complete kit, plans, laser cut parts, fittings, and with the USB stick with my construction pics in lieu of the manual). In the meantime, I am looking at giving Speedy a little love, and thinking about changing the keel parts to the same design as the latest kits. Will see how that pans out...

Evening!
 
I thought this a good time to do an update as the stern is more or less complete. I've just got to add the stern gunport eyebolts and hinges, plus the lanterns which are now under paint.
 
First job here is to fit the glazing panels which come pre-cut. These just pop into place and the PE window frames are painted and pushed into the recesses. These push in snugly, and a little varnish was run around them to 'glue' them into place. Note that you can have any stern window (except the quarter-rears) positioned either open or closed. I opted to leave two windows open.

 
 
 
The columns are now singled out for some ochre paint and these are then glued between the windows. Minimal trimming is needed with these.


 
 
 
Instead of PE for the quarter shingles, a small sheet of pre-cut Laser-Board is included. these are longer than they need to be and are just trimmed and glued into place with a few dits of CA gel. These will then be painted in black to make them uniform (not seen here).


 
 
 
Again, instead of PE, the stern decor is laser-engraved into a sheet of PolyBak. These are finer than PE and have much nicer fidelity. All parts are carefully removed, attached to some de-tacked tape and then airbrushed in yellow ochre paint. Each part is then applied to the relevant engraved area on the ship's stern. For the ship name, a waterslide decal is included.


 
 
Until later!

A confession:
 
I have to start this update with me being given a gentle nudge as to painting reminder about painting convention when it comes to the head timbers. I painted them in black, with ochre insets where the engraved areas were. Whoop! That should almost all have been inverted! I painted the original way because it seemed the logical way, but nope... Here are the newly painted timbers. You'll note that some are now entirely ochre. This is how it should be, if using those conventions. I used a 0.1mm black Edding pen for some details.
 

 
 
With Indy, the waterline marks are supplied as waterslide decals. I used a setting solution with these so that they help to conform to any surface details. First of all though, the application area was painted in gloss varnish. Remember...don't decal to a matt surface!
 

 
 
 
The catheads are now finished and installed to the model. A small section of rail below the cathead, is removed. One of the parts leading to the head timbers will slot under there, with the curved knee sat over the upper edge.




 
 
 
Lastly for now, the timberheads are installed to the gunwales. These are first shaped slightly.

 
 
 
Until later...
 
 

Second pre-prototype. This has a lot of bulkheads!

I've finished the case staining (Minwax Pecan)and finish sealing (Minwax Wipe-On Poly - Semigloss) and here are a couple photos showing how this turned out.
 
Also, these photos are a test of the new iPhone 14ProMax phone camera. I did nothing special with the camera and the lighting remains "workshop" quality, not studio controlled. The lenses in the phone's camera(s) are superb. The sensor is quite large so image resolution (crispness ) is very evident here. The main benefit of shooting with my DSLR will be the gain in depth-of-field with longer exposures and small apertures. I'm excited that in many situations the new iPhone 14 will get the job done....HOWEVER... it remains to be seen how studio lighting will yield even better photos with this iPhone 14Pro.
 
Those who have followed this log will clearly see the difference between my earlier iPhone 6 pics I've posted up to this post and these new ones I've uploaded here. My trusty iPhone 6 can be said to be "ancient technology" (comparatively-speaking!)...





 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I think the point of this is that Chris has made it abundantly clear many times what his plans are with regard to his larger naval vessels (period etc), and that countless requests for ironclads and yachts, as well as the multitude of typically unknown vessels, simply won't fly. Discussion should revolve around announcements/releases etc. 

On this note, Chris has asked me to lock this topic so he can start a fresh one. This one is currently 78 pages!

I have always said that when starting my own business, designing and producing new stuff, the subjects would be models that I have always wanted to do. Most are famous, can be found in most books on the subject and have good histories (although Surprise only had a action packed career in fiction). There are only a couple of subjects I would eventually like to revisit, but for the most part, I like to concentrate on stuff that hasn't been kitted before, from the 17th to early 19th Century.
 
When a model is developed, you have put a lot of time into this one subject, at the very least months, if not a year or so of your life, and a lot of money. You have to really like the subject to go through this. Almost a labour of love..

***Please note***
 
Any further posts regarding chain pumps will be deleted from hereon in. It's superfluous to the discussion and serves only to derail what I'm trying to achieve here. I've even received PMs demanding to know why I removed member's posts after me needing to cull my topic (for the third time!). It must stop. Now.

I think it’s clear by now, Indy as designed by Chris based on actual existing plans does not have chain pumps. Those that want to re-imagine the historical plans, or as reincarnated in an earlier life sailed onboard the Indy and recall them should add them to the model after they purchase it from Chris. Can we all move on now please and enjoy James’ build log. 

I had been visiting my mother in Ellsworth and was headed to Massachusetts to visit the in-laws and happened past this place. Didn't stop in as I'm the only one interested in model boats (5 of us were in the car), but I had my wife snap the pic as we drove by. 
 
 
 
 

I had been visiting my mother in Ellsworth and was headed to Massachusetts to visit the in-laws and happened past this place. Didn't stop in as I'm the only one interested in model boats (5 of us were in the car), but I had my wife snap the pic as we drove by. 
 
 
 
 

I had been visiting my mother in Ellsworth and was headed to Massachusetts to visit the in-laws and happened past this place. Didn't stop in as I'm the only one interested in model boats (5 of us were in the car), but I had my wife snap the pic as we drove by. 
 
 
 
 

I had been visiting my mother in Ellsworth and was headed to Massachusetts to visit the in-laws and happened past this place. Didn't stop in as I'm the only one interested in model boats (5 of us were in the car), but I had my wife snap the pic as we drove by. 
 
 
 
 

I had been visiting my mother in Ellsworth and was headed to Massachusetts to visit the in-laws and happened past this place. Didn't stop in as I'm the only one interested in model boats (5 of us were in the car), but I had my wife snap the pic as we drove by. 
 
 
 
 

I had been visiting my mother in Ellsworth and was headed to Massachusetts to visit the in-laws and happened past this place. Didn't stop in as I'm the only one interested in model boats (5 of us were in the car), but I had my wife snap the pic as we drove by. 
 
 
 
 

I had been visiting my mother in Ellsworth and was headed to Massachusetts to visit the in-laws and happened past this place. Didn't stop in as I'm the only one interested in model boats (5 of us were in the car), but I had my wife snap the pic as we drove by. 
 
 
 
 

I had been visiting my mother in Ellsworth and was headed to Massachusetts to visit the in-laws and happened past this place. Didn't stop in as I'm the only one interested in model boats (5 of us were in the car), but I had my wife snap the pic as we drove by. 
 
 
 
 

So I suppose I shouldn't ask for one sitting on the head? 
 
🙂

So I suppose I shouldn't ask for one sitting on the head? 
 
🙂

So I suppose I shouldn't ask for one sitting on the head? 
 
🙂

So I suppose I shouldn't ask for one sitting on the head? 
 
🙂

So I suppose I shouldn't ask for one sitting on the head? 
 
🙂

So I suppose I shouldn't ask for one sitting on the head? 
 
🙂