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aliluke

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Everything posted by aliluke

  1. Hi Ollie You are too kind - I'm still a beginner in my own opinion. I guess I feel like I'm in control of my model these days when before it was an out control thing with it's own mind! Yep that "line between the planks" is a really interesting question/dilemma. Perhaps others have thoughts? I have just finished the upper counter on Fly with a complete loss of the planking lines and the same applies to my very carefully calculated and tapered wale planking - all of the tapered lines are virtually invisible - they were too tight. Too lose it looks like crap and too tight it looks like...I don't know what?...Plastic (no implied criticism of plastic models in that thought!)? Veneer? It is hard one and in the future I may do tiny reverse bevels to emphasise the planking line. I did this on my AVS (1:48) and liked the outcome but at a smaller scale (1:64) I decided it would be too pronounced and went for full tightness. The other option is to caulk everything including the hull planks. In hindsight I would have done this on Fly. Anyway if you stay with natural finishes the wood grains will define the planks and your skills will read through. That you can get things this tight on your first go means you are now in complete control! and can loosen those joints for effect on the next pass at it or caulk the external planks to define the lines. Needless to say, for doing a fine, well researched and brilliantly made model - you have no worries. Cheers Alistair
  2. Great stuff Jay. The rigging never seems to end on USS Constitution - it makes me dizzy just thinking about that complexity and sails to boot. Cheers Alistair
  3. Beautiful work Ollie - the planking is outstanding and getting that stern post fit so tight - better than I'm doing with mine at the mo' that's for sure. Cheers Alistair
  4. Hi Rod All your work so far looks really great. Just to offer a different opinion on glues...I use medium CA for the second layer but apply it in small increments. So do about 20 to 30mm of plank length at a time usually starting from the bow and working aft. White glues are too slow for my taste and if carefully used the speed of CA plus the bond strength = no downsides in my opinion. Biggest advantage is no clamps or rubber bands etc are required. Whichever glue you use the best trick is to make each plank tapered, curved, bevelled and dry fit to the hull so that it sits there, almost, without glue. This is impossible to do totally but the closer you get to a dry fit without glue the better the end result. Based on your first layer you should have no problems with the next. Look forward to your updates. Cheers Alistair
  5. Hi Andy You are doing an amazing job on this intriguing build. I've been looking in for a while but I miss your Pegasus . Guess this is now in the front row for the time being so I'll keep up with it instead. Great work! Cheers Alistair
  6. Welcome back Hamilton I remember when we had our second girl, 2 years apart, someone said 1+1=4. If you can work on the Blandford at all you are doing very well! I look forward to whatever your bleary eyes can send by way of updates. Cheers Alistair
  7. Oops that makes me a dummy! Murphys77 - we like your ship please reload your log of it. Cheers Alistair
  8. Hi Nigel I just found his pictures on the Euromodel website in the customers build section. He used the member name "murphys77" on MSW V1. Indeed a fine model and a fine ship. Cheers Alistair
  9. Hi Nigel I'll be keeping up with this log. I like this ship and your enhancements sound like they'll be a treat to watch. I'm sure there was a log for Mordaunt on the old MSW site by a Swedish builder - a very nice build - but it doesn't seem to have been reloaded. Cheers Alistair
  10. Hi Brett Getting the main mast in is a difficult thing but the deck isn't the issue. Brace the mast slots below the deck as Ken suggested and carry on. There is no need to cut out anything else below the sub-deck. You can even plank over all of those holes without fear. That said, I see them as useful guides rather than structural needs.There is certainly no need to cut away the lower bulkheads. For the sub-deck my only advise is to make sure it is properly cambered. Make sure you sand down the tops of the bulkheads to get that camber right and even. My laziness about this on my build really caused me pain later on. Cheers Alistair
  11. Hi Vitus Your quarter badges look good but I think compared to the rest of your build they will annoy you later on. As per earlier posts, I reckon you'd still be well served with the Pegasus PE set to lift the detail - window frames, pillars, window head/sill and decorations. However you do get a bit of hybrid ship and that might not suit you. I guess my thought is that the badge needs to be as sharp as everything else and (more an observation than a criticism) at the moment it isn't to my eye. The cabin looks really great. Not quite a Doris job but who, aside from her, does a Doris job? My cabin is a black hole but it is too late now to retreat from that. Cheers Alistair
  12. I'm no expert on ratlines...but I used self-closing tweezers to keep the shrouds aligned and stop any hourglass effects - and then used a backing template with the distances marked. I didn't do clove hitches, just really simple overhand knots with a dab of PVA to thicken the knot a little and a dab of CA at the outer shrouds to totally secure. At any scale an overhand knot with a bit of glue to thicken does the part I reckon. Don't let the rats get you down! Cheers Alistair
  13. Hi Denis Only just came upon your log. Great work and amazing - amazing! - rigging. Ratlines aside the rigging between the sprit and foremast does my head in just looking at it...Incredible. Cheers Alistair
  14. Hi Mihai It is a very nice ship and a great model. I look forward to your progress. I'm a slow builder of the same kit in the HMS Fly version and I'm sure we can share tips as all builders here do. Cheers Alistair
  15. Brett I think Ken is referring to fillers that you need to support the ends of the inner bulwark planking where it meets the bulkhead wall between the quarter and poop/cabin deck. There is no support there and these fillers will become an obvious need when you get to that point. They are referred to in Part 2 of John Earls free AVS practicum on his modelboatyard site. While John's mini practicum has a few "reading between the lines" tips do not follow it over and above Mr Hunt's or you will get confused... Cheers Alistair
  16. Stunning work Mike, a master class! I would have called those "skids" "chines" but I maybe wrong...Whatever they are called they are a little detail that adds to your model in the best way. Cheers Alistair
  17. Amazing work Danny. I like your approach of fitting the detail to the level of the previous attempt rather than to your own exacting standards. That makes perfect sense to me in terms of the commitment on your part and the expectations at the other end. Man, I would have given up before I'd even started. Your devotion to a promise is to be admired. Well done and hats off to you. Cheers Alistair
  18. Looks good mate. A fine looking ship! Tell those little buggers - Hands Off! . Well I guess they can touch in the meantime, well made hulls are strong enough and inspiring a new generation of modellers is what MSW is all about. Keep it up. It looks great. Cheers Alistair
  19. Hi Brett I'd use a 1mm thick plank x 4 or 5mm wide. I use a sanding block and hand held sanding, the latter particularly at the bow and stern. Although it is tedious don't go so fast and hard that you fair too much otherwise you end up chasing your tail. I also found that I'd add shims and sometimes end up sanding them off. The stern fillers are often under sanded. The planks need to turn up to the counter in such a way that they don't snap and this needs more sanding than you'd expect - I think there is a reasonable shot of this in my log. Cheers Alistair
  20. Hi Brett I may have been a little bit alarmist and misread your photo - I was seeing something different. Do not worry about the stern frames yet. Loose laid is good. You need those fragile little window frames to position them. The stern fillers leading up to the counter need to be heavily sanded and his needs to be coordinated with the pain of shimming and sanding all the misaligned bulkheads along the entire hull. This is the nature of this kit - the bulkheads are never right and the misalignment is a kit problem not yours. The shimming and sanding takes a bit of time and is back and forth but should be done before you go any further and should be combined with bow and stern fillers. Leave off the stern frames until you have sorted this. These in turn need a lot of shaping but once you are past this it really starts to work out. You need a lot of shims by the look of your kit. If you take the time to get the planking flow right you'll be away. If you have Bob Hunt's practicum follow it to the letter, it will get you there in all aspects of the build and any other guide is redundant and dangerous. Bob's way of sequencing things and getting the relationships right is the best part of his practicum and will stand you in good stead for future builds. I'll keep following and if I can assist, I will. Cheers Alistair
  21. Brett Stop! You are going in the wrong direction. It is an easy save - I'll send you a PM shortly. Cheers Alistair
  22. Your rigging is looking superb Jason. Serving seems well worth the effort and I will attempt it when I get there - a while away. What machine do you use or did you make your own? Cheers Alistair
  23. It all looks fantastic Jay. You are nearing the finish line I feel. It must be a strange place to be in some ways on such an epic and challenging build. I love the sails but I'm not ready to go there yet on my current ship even if it makes more sense of it as a sailing ship. Great work and I hope you have the champagne ready for that last tweak when it comes. Cheers Alistair
  24. Great work Len. I like seeing your own notes in the background of the photos as you figure through the complexity of all of the parts. I can not imagine tackling a ship of this size but it is clearly well within your grasp. Cheers Alistair
  25. Great work Vitus. Your carriage romps all over the kit supplied ones and is easily equal to those after market ones you can buy. Although I still have doubts about the kit barrel in terms of scale, your treatment of it makes it look the part well. Superb photos too by the way. Cheers Alistair
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