FriedClams

Excellent work. Impressive! Gary

The brutal honesty of closeup photography makes us all better modelers. Very nice progress Roger! Gary

Excellent work Glen! It's imaginative and whimsical and I hope you're enjoying building it as much as we are watching you do so. I think we often take our modeling too seriously and this build is a refreshing change from that. Gary

Meticulous and clean work is always what I expect to find here. Very nice progress Keith! Gary

I'm glad she liked it and it's always good to hear what non-builders think. My wife is also tolerant and supportive of my interests, as I am of hers. There's something about model building that just relaxes the mind. I put my magnifying visor on and push my face into the model and forget about everything else. Thanks for the comment, Craig. Oh good, I'm not the only one. People used to look at me in the most peculiar way when they asked for my mobile number, and I would tell them I didn't have one. So now I do have one, but I can never remember what the number is because I never turn the phone on. Heavy sigh. Thanks for the nice words on the model Javlin. Gary

I've been hoping to see you begin a new model Valeriy, and what an interesting subject it is. I look forward to following along and I wish you the best of luck in constructing it. I already know it will be amazing. Gary

Good to see an update Vaddoc. Bummer about the mold and misshapen hull, but it looks like you've worked your way through those problems. Nice work on fitting the deck. Gary

The real world is filled with wonkiness and like Glen, I wouldn't have noticed the shingle thing unless you pointed it out. Nice progress Grant - looking really terrific! Gary

Dan and OC. - Thank you for stopping by and for the kind comments. It is always appreciated. Gary

Really fine work on the Fiat jet Dan! Re-scribing must be a somewhat tedious and nerve-wracking process, but your results are excellent. I would be on edge about slipping and laying down a nasty scratch. Beautiful paint work as always. Gary

Ras, this an interesting looking build - good luck putting it together. I'll be following along. Gary

Thanks JD, I'll be sure to check that out. I subscribed to Wooden Boat for years - it's such a great magazine. Actually, I don't know why I stopped getting it. Maybe time to re-subscribe. Thanks again. Gary

Andy and EG - Thank you both very much. And thanks to all for smashing down on the "like" button. Gary

Never thought I'd be saying this, but your tentacle and suckers look great. Gary

Thanks for the nice comment Wefalck. Yes, shadows can be a problem, but it was one that I didn't consider until I saw it. I too like the "looking under" figure, but no I didn't make it - it is from Preiser #28156. Thank you CDW, Keith, Kurt, Mark, Edward, Paul and Ken for your wonderful comments. It is always so truly appreciated. Thank you for the nice words, Jack. An N scale scene would be very cool I think, maybe a steam locomotive taking on water at a tower/tank or sitting in front of a station. Limitless possibilities. You better get started so we can all follow along! Mike and Andrew - thank you so much. And thanks to everyone for the "likes" and for taking a look. Be safe and stay well. Gary

Greetings Fellow Modelers, After a few weeks of being sidetracked, I finally put in the time to finish this shadowbox display. Because the main door is partially open, a surface that extends beyond the wall to the “outside” is needed. I decided that surface would be concrete and is made of hydrocal smeared on a piece of basswood. This extension is 7/8” wide which is all the space available between the display module and the inside of the case. The doorway needed two doors that swing out from the center. I drew up what I thought looked appropriate and made them up. The outside lights are white 5050 surface mount LEDs. I started out thinking four would be enough, but then added two more and then another two. They were mounted to a rectangle of styrene which was then bend downward over the doorway. I lowered the lights up the point where they could almost be seen by the viewer looking out the doorway. The two sticks of basswood were glued together at their crossing once the optimum downward bend was found. The doors were positioned to minimize what could be viewed beyond the doorway. I don't want the inside of the shadowbox to be seen. The rear window presented some difficulties due to the background image being so close to the window. In fact, the image is 1/8” (3mm) from the back of the window. I boxed off the window with 1/8” basswood strips and painted the surrounding area with a silver chrome for added reflectivity. I then positioned five 5730 LEDs around the perimeter of the window with the side LEDs pointing inward toward the center. Back when I installed the window, I had placed a grating over it and dirtied up the glazing so the view through it would be obscured. This didn't work and just looked muddy and grubby, so I removed both and replaced it with clean clear acetate. A background image was attached to a piece of styrene and the window box was closed up. I placed clips inside the box to hold the display in and to make it easier to remove for swapping out the vehicle in the future. Also, an image was glued to the inside wall of the box outside the doorway. I spent considerable time balancing the lighting to get the look I was after. Not a complete success by any stretch, but I'm satisfied with the result just the same. The first three photos are with both interior and exterior lights on. Then the exterior lights only. The problem with having the interior lights only on, is that you can see the shadow cast by the window muntins on the background image. This is because the image is so close. My other displays don't have this problem because the images are set back much further. And that's it. Thanks to everyone for taking a look and for all the likes. And a special thank you to those who left comments of support and encouragement – I appreciate it very much. Be safe and stay well. Gary

One can never have too many jars of paint. I have a few Floquil left myself. Had many once - Polly S also. Great paints, but they gave me a headache in short order. Gary

Congrats on extracting the offending planks Edward. They would have bothered you every time you looked at it. Gary

It’s true, very little is square, plumb or level on anything that floats. So many odd compound angles. It is certainly one of the challenges of this hobby, but I find it’s one aspect that makes modeling boats/ships so entertaining. In a deranged sort of way of course. I’ve not heard of the petroleum jelly trick - thanks for sharing that. It’s going into my notes folder. As always, beautiful work Marc. Gary

Such a beautiful model Keith and I have enjoyed every posting from the beginning. Thanks for the extra effort of sharing your process and techniques. I’m looking forward to the final photos and anxiously awaiting your next project. Gary

Very interesting build you have going here Greg, and I’m really enjoying your log. Like the round modeling vice. Gary

Me too Mark - good to see you back and watching for future updates. Gary

Very nice progress Jack. I too like your glueing jig, and I’m jealous of your model paint collection. Gary

Wonderful work Siggi! Just superb! Gary

A clever approach for the tentacles. Such an interesting build. Gary