FriedClams

Oh yea, that's going to look cool, Glen! Gary

Very nice work at this tiny scale, mcb! Looking great. Gary

Excellent work on those fences, Paul. Also, I like your process on the fairleads and the windless gypsy heads turned out great. Going to miss your updates when this model is done. Gary

Nice work on the hand pump, Keith. I agree with you the handles are a bit large, but not absurdly so. As John suggested, a piece of wire would work nicely or maybe a piece of thread pre-stiffened with CA. Alternatively, you could just explain that the boilerman is a knuckle dragging neanderthal and the handles were enlarged expressly for him. After the housing is installed, how visible will it be? Gary

She is progressing very nicely, John. Looking great! Gary

Wonderful scrollwork, Keith! Beautiful. Gary

Beautiful exacting work as always, Håkan. Gary

Very nice progress - she's looking great! Gary

Catching up, Glen and the whirlpool turned out great and no question about what we're looking at with the ships positioned around it. Very cool. Looking forward to the base. Gary

Such a charming model of an interesting craft - superbly built. Congratulations on completing both of them. Gary

Catching up after a few weeks away, and good grief you have been busy. Your beam engine looks fantastic and the fact that it's in 1:120 makes it flat-out incredible. The weathering turned out great and there is no shame in going back and reworking what didn't turn out to your liking. I find weathering to be a process rather than a one-and-done. The engine sitting atop the penny is a telling image, however the engine makes the coin look bigger than it is. I have a penny on my desk and looking over at it makes me appreciate how small that engine really is. Wonderful modeling, Keith. Good start on the boiler, also. Gary

Congratulations on that milestone of getting the epoxy in successfully, Glen - nerve wracking, no doubt. And I Like your improvised figurehead. Always good to have a junk box to turn to. Gary

Nice progress, Andy, and planning is part of the build process be it minimum or extensive. I would be intimidated as all get-out if I had those ship builders watching my every move, so for that reason alone, I understand your determination for the utmost accuracy. I remember that the wood for this build came off your property, but I didn't realize it was from your own plantings. Very cool. Gary

Yes, those ultra small drill bits (#80 through #70) are real frustrating. They don't really cut - more like wearing through the material via friction. Just the same, your anchor turned out very nice indeed. Gary

Such great work, Ras! Congratulations on completing this fine model. As others have mentioned, the bright brass really sings. Looking forward to your next San Pablo build. Gary

Nice score on the wheels, Keith. Seeing the object for what it is and not what it's supposed to be is like Glen stated - a "great eye". I also like your layout plan. Looking forward to your next steps. Gary

What Keith said. Simply wonderful work, Paul! Gary

Nice progress, Keith. Looking great so far! Gary

Creative process, Glen - and convincing as well. Gary

No, it's a product that one would place on a shelf or the bottom of a draw to keep items stationary and organized. Works great in rolling metal toolboxes so your open-end wrenches/spanners stay put and in order. People use it under scatter rugs on slippery hardwood floors. Many uses in the woodworking shop. Amazon - non-slip lining So would I - if I had one. Thanks for your comment Wefalck and for swinging by to take a look. Gary

Keith, Druxey, Paul, Glen, Marc, Bill, John and Tom - thank you very much for your comments and kind words - so appreciated. And of course, thanks to all for the "likes". It's as low-tech as it gets, Bill. X-acto razor saw and miter box. I've been using this same blade for a long time, and I'm actually amazed it's still cuts. I think it's 42 tpi, but not sure. The piece of no-slip shelf lining makes a big difference in keeping the tube from rolling. Hey Tom. I use a lot of purchased wood strips, and I think I spent around $45 on wood for this model. It's all "O" scale (1:43) stuff which is a little larger than 1:48, but that works out OK as I end up shaving, slicing, filing or sanding almost everything before using it anyway. I modify probably 65% of it to get to the dimensions I need. And I'm close friends with my digital calipers. Gary

Greetings Fellow Modelers. Thanks for the "thumbs up" and for stopping by. Hey Keith - no I don't turn them on very often at all. And actually, once I finish a model, I rarely even look it again except in passing. The fun was in the building, and I don't need to see things I wish I'd done differently. A few years ago, I started building small shadowbox scenes where lighting is important, and I've carried some of that over into fishing boats. It's pretty quick and easy to do so - why not. And I have noticed that casual model viewers seem to really get a kick out of it. Whaleback -part 1 In the context of an Eastern-rig dragger, the whaleback is an elevated bow structure that provides a measure of protection for the crew when working the open deck in heavy weather. The structure also adds storage space on the main deck for spare gear such as netting, chafing and roller gear, twine, cable, etc. A whaleback was typically only built on larger draggers and sometimes mid-sized boats like the Pelican. In the drawing below, the perimeter of the whaleback is high-lighted in blue. The aft wall sections (darker blue) are what I'll be modeling in this post along with the companionway doghouse outlined in green. I began with the small walled in section that extends aft of the main storage space and butts up to the backside of the companionway doghouse. There is no passage between these two structures. Entry into this space is through the main storage area of the whaleback only. It is a rather curious little space where the crew stored the deck chairs and chilled bottles of chardonnay – or not. Joking aside, in subsequent years this spot held the fuel tank for the galley below, presumably kerosene. I'm a bit surprised that this boat in the mid 1940s was still using coal for this purpose. Anyway, I drew up the wall sections and glued pre-stained siding to the template and cut them free. Like all things in boat model building, nothing is square, level or straight. This structure leans toward the bow mirroring the sheer. The main wall framing is drawn up with its lower edge conforming to the crown of the deck. The top of the wall will be a landing spot for the roof and is more severely domed. The wall is constructed and the previous assembly glued to it. The partition needs planking. And the walls need doors. These doorways are short and potential head bangers, about 4’4” (132cm). The doors (and everything else) were brush painted with Tamiya flat white acrylic with a touch of red and yellow to warm it just a bit. The hinges came out of my junk box without packaging but are undoubtedly from Grandt Line. They're painted with Testors “flat steel” enamel and rust colored pigment powder was daubed on while still wet. The latch bracket is blackened .01” (.25mm) brass. Painted and glued together. Someone left the starboard door unlatched. The companionway doghouse is drawn and assembled using up wood strip scraps. The structure has two small portholes with 8” dia. openings made from slide fit brass tubing slices. The outer tubing has a thicker sidewall and pretends to be a mounting flange. The holes in the siding that accept the lights were drilled through first and expanded with a tapered file, then test fit. The doorway threshold stands 12” (30.5cm) above deck to keep storm water from cascading down the companionway. The structure has 12” wide vertical boards attached to the doorway corners at an angle of about 45 degrees. Their purpose is unknown to me, but because it’s a two-piece center opening door, I suspect they act as stops and keep the hinges from being torn off in windy conditions. Also, they are tapered at the bottom to reduce trip hazard. Speaking of trip hazard, the wire rope cables leading to the forward gallows frames cross inches from these boards about ten inches above the deck (see drawing at top of post.) The structure gets paint, the portholes are glued in, and a small piece of microscope cover slip glass is attached to the backside for glazing. The glass is 0.13mm thick. The brass portholes were only blackened long enough to take the shine off, and the outer ring was left a little proud to represent a surface mounted flange. The door is constructed. It is 26” (66cm) wide by 58” (147cm) tall. Grab irons are made from .02” (.5mm) phosphor bronze wire treated with Jax Flemish Grey. The pipe flange wall mounts are injection molded washer/nut sets from TichyTrain. I filed most of the nut off and drilled them out. Chrome enamel paint. The chipped and missing paint on the siding is achieved by applying cellophane tape and then ripping it off like an old bandage. I burnish the tape down with a fingernail in areas where I want more of the paint removed. By staining all the wood prior to painting, this process reveals wood that looks aged. Soldered railings. Again, phosphor bronze wire. This stuff won’t sag as easily as brass will. Placed on but not glued to the boat. After it is permanently attached, I’ll add base trim. Next comes the roof (or would that be deck?) and a bunch of other stuff. Thanks for looking. Be safe and stay well. Gary

Sweet looking hull, Keith - beautiful! Gary

Very nice, Paul - everything looks great! Gary

Good progress, Ken! Gary