FriedClams

Ditto to all the above - looking terrific. Gary

The rigging is looking wonderful Keith - as expected. Clean, neat and everything done with care and craftsmanship. Nice. Gary

Nice progress EG! You have some serious 3D modeling skills and I’m looking forward to seeing these components printed. Extremely interesting log, packed with information on the prototype. Good stuff. Gary

Wonderful precise craftsmanship! Gary

Nice work on the outbuilding OC - great combination of color and textures. Gary

Real nice start on this model Egilman. Very nice introduction and background info on the aircraft which is always appreciated. Will be following along. Gary

Very nice progress OC. Gary

Hello Denis. Just found your comment - thanks for the visit and the nice words. I enjoyed reading about your experiences in the 60’s and the mechanic Bill up the hill from you. Sounds like he was quite a character and you just don’t find shops like that anymore - or at least very rarely. I can almost smell the place you describe. Imagine coming across a stash of model A parts today still in their original packaging. Like finding a buried treasure chest. But even so, I’m sure there are many abandoned old shops in small towns from coast to coast where walking into them would be stepping back in time. I just wish I knew where they were. Gary

Thank you Wefalck, Keith, Valeriy, Druxey and Ken for the nice comments! As always, I appreciate it very much. Hey Ken, no I’m not going to be able to make it to Joint Clubs this year. Have a good time at the conference and don’t forget to bring that beautiful Providence model with you! Gary

Yes, you are right Wefalck - my bad. Gary

Greetings fellow modelers and thanks to all for the visits, comments and likes. I haven't spent much time at the work bench lately, but I do want to show you what I have done. The gunwales, decks and bottom boards have been placed but none are yet complete. I decided on a classic forest green for the outer hull. The model was primed and the body color is a mix of Tamiya acrylic primary colors to produce the color I had in my head. Three thin coats have been applied with at least one more to go as soon as I'm done manhandling the thing. I chose raw umber to stain the unpainted wood such as the bottom boards, etc. The stain is a chalk/alcohol mix which could just as effectively been mixed with water, but I prefer the rapid dry time of the alcohol. I pre-stained the wood before attaching the pieces, but I ended up sanding most of it off the gunwales and decks during the fitting process and it will need to be re-applied. The photo below shows the rough state of the decks and clearly there is work yet to be done. Most Rangeley boats have flat decks with straight edges to the interior, but I chose to arc the inner edge and put a slight crown into it simply because it appeals to my eye. And it adds to the canoe-on-steroids look. Hope to have more progress to show soon. Thanks for looking. Gary

That’s some sweet modeling Tom - the stove looks real! Gary

Oh, I do like that brass wire scroll work Richard - very nice. Gary

It’s great reading your posts again Michael - welcome back. Nice progress on the frames. A few years ago during a particularly heavy snowfall winter, we had a porcupine take up residence under our kitchen deck. My wife and I named him/her - you guessed it - Spiny Norman. What a cultural impact the Pythons have had on our generation. Looking forward to your future posts. Gary

Excellent modeling Valeriy. As always, such a pleasure to follow along. Best wishes. Gary

Wonderfully precise work John, and so small. The Constitution watch case model is extraordinary. Gary

Good research OC. - that Vallejo looks spot on to me. Gary

Excellent fitting of those planks Keith. It's going to look great all finished and shiny. Mahogany? What has worked for me before, is a liberal rubbing on of bee's wax to the removable piece. Gary

Thanks Keith. Yes, it is a pity about the rivets, but perhaps some rainy Sunday, I'll put them on - or not. Hello Keith. The extreme light angle really makes them pop out for sure. Very nice Farmall tractor you have there. What year is it and did you do the restoration yourself? Do you show it off at county fairs and such? A family story with it? OK, I'm done asking questions. Thanks for the nice words on the boat Keith. Thank you so much Ken, I appreciate it. Hi Mike. If I find any glue globs, I'll do as I always do and cover them up with something - a coil of rope maybe. Once a model is done, I don't point viewers to its short comings if they haven't already found it on their own. Thanks for the nice comment Mike. Thanks Wefalck. Using styrene does solve many problems such as crispness in the final look and material flexibility. All period boats were painted, so with that decision made for me, choosing styrene for these thin ribs was easy. I will give your diamond burr suggestion for the tires a try. The material is quite soft and has a tendency to tear rather than cut. LZ Models in Ireland produces a set of resin wheels as an upgrade for the kit but after shipping to North America, it costs almost as much as the kit itself. Thanks to all for the likes and for taking a look. Gary

Greetings fellow modelers I have a short progress report on the Rangeley boat, but first I'd like to share a recently completed plastic model. I thought you might be interested in this, because if you're like me, sometimes it's refreshing to work on a project that is outside your usual modeling interest and medium. Typically, I work on one model at a time, but to break out of a modeling malaise, a small model like this which is inexpensive and can be completed in a few days, is just the ticket. Case VAI 1942 – 1955 by Thunder Model 1:35 It's marketed toward military modelers and typically sells around $25 U.S. or less. At around 70 parts, it goes together quickly and easily with only a few fiddly spots. It took more time to paint than build. All I added was ignition wiring and I modified the steering linkage to cock the front wheels. It's about 3.5” (9 CM) in length – and who doesn't like a little red tractor? A minor complaint of the kit is the silicone tires have seam flash that is difficult to remove. Back to the Rangeley. The ribs have been installed and I began by brush painting the interior of the hull gray. I added a little orange into the mix to remove some of that chalky look and to warm it up a bit. Normally, I would not paint first and then glue pieces to it, because it isn't secure, and the part will pop off at the slightest excuse and take the paint with it. But this boat has many ribs (61), and they are placed closely together which would make painting the hull after they are installed difficult, even with an airbrush. I was concerned about too little paint getting under the ribs and/or pooling in other places as a result of trying to get full coverage. And once the bottom board and the gunwales are installed, the ribs will be secure and won't be going anywhere. The ribs are styrene strip .023” (.56mm) x .043” (1.1mm) and in 1:18 they are a very close match to the full size 11/16” (17.5mm) x 3/8” (9.5mm) material. They were airbrushed on three sides with the same gray. The ribs were placed with the help of a few simple made tools. The first was a square made of heavy paper. This showed me when the ribs were out of square across the breadth of the hull. A squared stand with hanging tabs, helped in checking rib plumb. This worked well at the center portion of the hull but became quite useless as I advanced closer to the stems. And a little spacer to assist in placing the next rib. Again, this also worked great until I approached the stems at which time the working area became too tight and too steep. In the photo above, you can see I wasn't terribly concerned about slopping on the CA at the keel, because the entire length the keel will be covered with bottom boards. The same is true at the top of the shear as it will be hidden by the gunwale, although I did apply the glue at this location with greater care. But the length between those two points, where the ribs lay across the laps, I wanted to look as pristine as I could make it. A big shiny glob of glue there is unacceptable. It did not turn out pristine, but it turned out to my satisfaction. The process in attaching each rib went like this. With the spacer in place, the center of the rib was glued down hard with CA to the keel. Then the underside of one of the free ends was wiped with a swab wet with PVA and then pushed down to the hull while at the same time pushing against the spacer. Repeat on the other free end. After the PVA dried, the ends of the ribs were reinforced with CA at the shear where the gunwale will be placed. Easy, but monotonous in the extreme. As is true of most things like this, you develop a workflow and fall into a rhythm as you proceed that improves the quality and speed of the work. Unfortunately, that only happened as the last rib went on. Defeated by creep, only 58 of the 61 ribs made it onto the boat. But who's counting. Thanks for stopping to take a look. Gary

Nice progress on this F15 Dan. I like your foil imprint off the handle knurl - very resourceful. Spring equinox yes, but it looks a bit chilly still? Gary

Congratulations Ken on finishing your beautiful model! It is truly a wonderful piece of work. I have always been drawn to the contrasting tones of wood that you used and how crisply everything is made. Very nice. Giving any hints about your next project? Gary

Nice tutorial on the base Wefalck. That will go in my note folder in case I ever decide to try it myself. Very nice result. Gary

Great progress and beautifully done OC. Nice upgrade set too! Gary

Hello FF and thanks for stopping by. It's a good question, but no, the ribs will be simply glued into place. I decided not to include rivets because the numbers are too great. There are 22 strakes and 61 ribs, so that would require 1,342 rivets. Add to that the plank-to-plank rivets at the laps between the ribs and that brings the number to 2,700. And there's yet more lap rivets from the last ribs to the stems. I'm not that dedicated – not on an 11-inch model anyway. Thank you Valeriy for the kind words. It is so good to hear from you and I do hope that you and your family are well and safe from the madness. Gary