CDW

Well, I found this kit:

 

http://www.squadron.com/v/vspfiles/photos/IT0857-2.jpg

 

I agree that it is bigger than the original mini-copter that they used. I am not sure that it will fit.

 

It is a good idea to try some planking to simulate the wood.

 

Yves

Thanks Yves.

I will kit bash and scratch build a reasonable facsimile of the helicopter using the parts I have from both kits. 

daddyrabbit1954 are you going to start a log for the build, I would really like to follow it.

Yes sir, I do plan to start a build log. Right now, I am collecting the various items I need to get started. Will start the build log, soon.

There is probably nothing to follow, as I have no time to restore it, nor the desire to do that yet.

 

I managed to find a small chopper at the scale of 1/48th which i believe will be more detailed than the one provided by Billing Boats.

The ship would need to be thoroughly cleaned, sanded in some places, re-painted and lots of detail could be added.

This was done with 30 years ago technology and paints and details are much better today than they used to be in the early 80's.

 

If the urge to fix it sparks in my heart, then I will have a place to report the progress.

 

Thank you for your interest.

Yves

Yves

What is the make and model of the helicopter you found to replace the kit helicopter? The only thing close I have found is the 1:48 Academy Hughes 500. Similar in size, but the Hughes 500 is much more modern than the one on board the Calypso. I may be able to use parts from both the Calypso kit and the Academy kit to recreate a more detailed rendering but it won't be exact.

One other thing is the kit hull. Being ABS plastic, I wonder if anyone else has ever tried apply planking veneer to simulate the wooden hull on the 1:1 ship? I am going to experiment a bit to see if it is realistic to do. I have some scrap ABS plastic that I will experiment with. I think some type of contact cement would work but I need to make sure it doesn't melt the plastic. Possibly there are some 3M products that will be suitable as an adhesive for the wood veneer planks on ABS. 

I just bought a kit of this Billing Calypso from the owner of Model Expo (Mr Mosko) off Ebay.

Really looking forward to getting my hands on the kit and start building it.

I managed to finish all the hull planking with the kit supplied planks.

They supplied a supplemental advisory stating that all of their planking has been changed from Basswood to Birch. Maybe that has something to do with the problems I had, don't know for sure. 

Your photographs make it appear that I could climb aboard the ship and stroll about the deck. Beautiful workmanship. It looks very authentic and real, not like a model.

Looks beautiful so far. Very neat and clean workmanship.

The woodwork is amazing. I want to touch it.

Me too! 

Mike

I'm guessing that your score marks to represent each copper plate are spaced about 1" apart. Is that correct?

Looks great!

Craig

This was a very nice gesture, both on your part for donating the model, but also the City government for recognizing your contribution.

I'll bet there will be a lot of kids and adults who are inspired to build a model after seeing your HMS Victory at the library.

Cheers

Craig

Somewhere, I have one of those ponce wheels. But I am going to need to use bloodhounds to help me find it as I can't recall for the life of me where I put it.

Hmmm...no Hobby Lobby near me. Will just have to do Amazon or do without. I checked the other large craft store in town, Michaels, but they don't carry the tape.

Nope, just the copper foil tape with no added adhesive. I have never had an issue with the copper foil tape holding on the numerous ship models that I have built and coppered except one that I decided to re-do and that was because I didn't seal the hull with anything before taping and just laid the tape down on the bare planking, which I guess you could do if you really and I mean really clean the hull thoroughly, which I didn't. So after that incident, I either paint the hull first with a paint or varnish or poly first and then lay the tape over it especially if there is any major puttying to be done because unlike a bare hull that has been finished naturally, some imperfections or blemishes will disappear for the most part. But when you lay down copper, that hull had better be smoother than a babies you know what or else it will show every time.   

 

 

mike  

It took like forever to get my order of copper tape from Amazon. Don't know why, because they are usually very good about shipping. But this particular item, even though it comes from the Amazon warehouse, took me two orders before it was finally fulfilled.

The first order sat for 2 weeks and never shipped. I canceled and reordered. It took one week and a phone call before they finally shipped the 2nd order. Now that I have the tape, need to do as you suggest and first paint my hull. I am glad I read your note, because I would have made the mistake of not using the Poly, first.

Regards

Craig

Mike

Will you be using any adhesive other than what comes on the copper tape?

Craig

I bought these from Amazon. They are small (compared to a visor) and comfortable. The LED lights are a plus. However, I wish it came with maybe some 2X or maybe 5X at the most, lenses. 10X is the smallest size they came with and that's a little too much for rigging. But they are very good for extremely small things.

http://www.amazon.com/LEMONBEST-Magnifier-Jeweler-Magnifying-Glasses/dp/B010FOSA0W?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

Craig

Wow, I wish I could be there to see that council meeting. That's quite an honor, Mike. So glad your good deed did not go unnoticed.

Cheers

Craig

PS

I hope you can get some photos of the event and share them here with us for posterity.

Have you done a Xebec yet, Mike? Those are great looking ships. I am going to try and tempt you into continuing your model ship build threads. 

Having sufficient, uncorrected vision to see all this rigging is something taken for granted until you lose it. Being grateful for my corrected vision and the tools to at least get a chance to continue my modeling experience, it is no substitute for natural, uncorrected 20-20 vision. Unintentional "banging into things" just seems to go along with corrected vision, be it glasses or visors or whatever.

But on to the real important business at hand...great looking model, Sal! Absolutely super. 

Hello Nigel

I am currently building the DeAgostini Victory kit and am about half way through it. I can only compare my experience with it to other kits I have built, and it is a favorable comparison to any other similarly priced kit. It has been my experience with this and other ship kits that the hardware sometimes can leave me with something better to be desired. Not totally bad mind you, but it could be better. For me and considering the experience (or lack thereof) I bring to the table, it's good. Could it be better? Yes.

I can tell you with certainty the planking included in my kit is not basswood. Instead, it is birch. Is this better or worse? I do not know. However I can say that the planking will require some care and patience to properly finish. This could perhaps be said of any kit, in reality. But there is no secondary or veneer planking included to cover up poor work on the first layer of planking.

The step by step instruction booklets are wonderful, worthy of saving in a binder for future reference. 

If you can acquire this kit for something less than $600, it would be a good deal in my opinion. As it has already been said, you can buy the AL version of this same kit for around the $600 mark, so I would not pay more than that.

Again to repeat, I am satisfied with my kit to this point. It's a challenge (for me) to be sure.

Regards

Craig

Sal

Your Syren build thread is so good and the pictures of it so nice, that I HAD to go and buy the Syren kit for myself.

You're doing a great job on it, that's for sure.

I'll need to go through your thread with a fine tooth comb to see if you replaced any of the kit-supplied material. 

Regards

Craig

Thanks, Mike. I am going to try the ammonia and dishwashing soap w/boiling water. It's worth a try.

Some of the planks are super-hard, some are medium and lend themselves well to bending. Others have a loose grain that wants to splinter and break apart very easily. The planks provided are just of inconsistent grade (if that's the correct term). The hard stuff, I've been using as the straight planks, which works out fine. It's the medium ones that are more sparsely provided, but make the best candidates for bending.

Craig 

I am currently building the HMS Victory kit offered by Model Space (DeAgostini). I am finding that many of the wood planks provided in the kit have a strong tendency to splinter when bending them after soaking in water, then using a heat tool designed for plank bending.

I am wondering if this is a common problem with inferior wood planks, or is it something I am doing wrong? I tend to think it has something to do with poor planks, as it doesn't happen all the time, but with certain planks.

Are there planks available that have more consistent quality, or is this something where the modeler must evaluate each piece and replace as necessary. It has gotten to the point that I can reasonably predict which planks are going to give me problems, just by looking at the grain before starting the bending process. But I guess I  am one of those guys who are reluctant to throw out questionable quality planks. Perhaps this has to do with my lack of experience and failure to trust my own judgment.

What would be considered a good replacement candidate for the kit planks? I am not 100% certain what type of wood the planks provided in the kit are cut from.

Thanks

Craig

 

It created a huge problem I could never find anything. I was missing a mini-screwdriver and was accusing my wife of putting it up when she started laughing. She said and I  quote "fool did you look in your hand!"  true story.

 

John

Ha - A day or two ago, I rushed into our bedroom, frantically looking for my cell phone as I needed it to look up an address. My wife asks what I am looking for, and I answer, "my cell phone." She sorts of laughs and at the same time looks at me with consternation while saying, "it's in your hand and you're talking on it, dummy." 

Sadly, that's another true story.

Regards

Craig

Thanks guys. I will definitely wait until I read some reviews, first. 

A friend has a very good, old, high quality lathe he wants me to have, so I will go with that instead.

The "multi-tool" part of the subject tool would just be more of a novelty than actually practical from the way it sounds. If it is low quality on top of that, then it would be a total waste of money.

Regards

Craig

I recently became aware of this 8-in-1 power tool that's now available in warehouses in the USA, offered by Hobby King. Like most of their products, it's probably made in China. But I am wondering if it might serve useful as a ship modeling tool, being 8-in-1. Right now, I do not own a lathe, and am curious if it might prove useful for the various times when I could use a lathe to fashion certain ship hardware and wooden parts. All the other functions would be icing on the cake for me.

Does anyone here have any first hand knowledge of the machine or otherwise have enough power tool knowledge to assess its usefulness by the given product specs? Sadly, I don't have enough knowledge or experience to give it a fair hearing just based on the specs.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__87843__Big_Power_Mini_Metal_8_In_1_Kit_HK_US_Plug_US_Warehouse_.html

Thanks

Craig