gsdpic

Just catching up on your build. The finish looks great. One of these days I'll get serious enough about modelling to wear gloves while handling the under construction build.

Well done Glen, amazing work! As for Johnny's suggestion.....I think you should model that list picture and have the whale boat glued to the top of the inside of the bottle!

Looks great from here. And I agree with your earlier comment about the pre-printed tires....they look good and add a lot to the model.

Looks great, like you are overcoming all the challenges well. That rear suspension does look like a delicate and fiddly piece.

Been a bit since I did an update, but I now have the standing rigging complete. I started by painting the traditional metal blocks and deadeyes that Bluejacket supplies. I used some primer first then a couple different flavors of Tamiya brown paint. It works ok though as usual, it can be easy to scratch off the paint while handling the blocks or deadeyes. I then attempted to start the rigging using the thin stranded copper wire supplied in the kit but I was not happy with it. It was difficult to work with, unraveled when you cut it if you did not first put CA on it, difficult to fasten, and I felt it was too thin. It was a quarter millimeter so full size that would just be 3 millimeters in diameter, less than an eighth of an inch. So I dug into my stash of stuff from earlier projects and found some beading wire and crimp tubes. It was also multi stranded but coated in clear plastic which held the strands together. I think the plastic also gave something for the crimp tubes to bite into. After crimping I also put a dot of CA on but I am not sure that was necessary. Anyway, there were only about a half dozen bits of standing rigging, so once I got into it, the job went pretty quick. And yes I realize that I should have had the chain plates leaning forward, more in line with the rigging, but too late now. Thanks for looking in. I guess it is now time to get out the sewing machine and start working on the sails.

Thank you both for your replies. I recall using some beading wire and crimp tubes for a previous project. Perhaps I'll pursue that option.

Hi all. I am building the Bluejacket 1/12th scale Friendship sloop from around 1900. For the standing rigging, the kit supplies very fine stranded copper wire. I am not a fan of the stuff....it is difficult to work with and I am not sure I like the look. For one thing, it seems undersized. The wire is a quarter millimeter in diameter so that would only be 3mm full size, which is less than an eighth of an inch. Two questions.... 1. Any idea why the kit would use stranded copper wire? Would a sloop from 1900 have used some sort of metal cables for the standing rigging? 2. Any suggestions for working with it, particularly fastening it? The instruction say it does not solder well so they suggest just using CA but that also seems not very secure. Perhaps Nic or Al ( @MrBlueJacket or @alross2 ) can provide some insight. Anyone else is welcome to chime in as well. Thanks for any help or suggestions.

Interesting....the polished brass is not listed on alclad's web site but it is available from other sellers. I'd reconsider the alclad black base, see my comment above, though maybe you will have better luck with it. I've not used the "dull aluminum" but the regular aluminum and semi-matte aluminum both produce a nice finish. For the non-polished Alclad metal colors, I've just used generic medium gray primer. I tend to use splash paints primer but others will likely work as well, including Alclad's gray primer/microfiller.

I've used the Alclad line of airbrush metallic paints with generally good results: https://alclad2.com/ However, they don't seem to have brass or bronze, though I know their "pale gold" produces a really nice finish. The highly shine colors are sprayed over a gloss black base.....I'd recommend against the alclad gloss black base and use the Tamiya LP-1 gloss black lacquer. I tried the alclad gloss black base and it seemed to never completely dry/cure. AK Interactive also make both metallic paint and a few metallic paint markers. I've heard good things but never used either. https://ak-interactive.com/

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B84DXZK8?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 It's not the highest quality, most precise thing as you can guess from the price bit it has its uses.

Thanks for the likes and for the comment, Glen. I have the mast and spars almost done now. I added the jaws and other wooden bits and I've painted some of the ends, and stained the areas where the various sails are attached. Then I added the eyebolts specified by the plan and drilled holes as well. The one thing yet to do....the boom is supposed to have a couple of cleats on it. I've not yet decided if I am going to use the metal cleats supplied by bluejacket or make some wooden ones. I don't have any sort of drill press, but this cheap amazon clamp proved to be useful while drilling holes. Other views of the gaff, boom, and mast:

That's a good question, though it has been 2 years and I do not remember for certain. As you can tell from the first post, the kit I had was rather old....it was not one of the new re-issue kits. I almost wonder if the yellowing of the clear fuel lines had just happened naturally. Otherwise, maybe I just used some Tamiya clear yellow on the tubes.

This time with some pictures. Continue to work on the mast and spars and the mast rings. Similar to when I built the America, I am making wooden mast rings. I start with shavings created with a small plane that naturally curl, wrap them around a circular object and coat them liberally with diluted PVA. More details below. First, I start with the shavings and the jig/former. For the shavings, I used a small plane on some of the leftover 1/16th x 1//8th mahogany. They tend to be pretty rough but I am hoping I can smooth things out adequately. As for the former, I have exploited at least 1% of the potential of 3d printing by printing this tube that is 5/8ths of an inch in diameter, to wrap the shavings around. The mast is 1/2 inch in diameter so this will allow the mast rings to fit easily over the mast. Here you can see 5 rings wrapped around two formers, and three rings that I have removed from the formers. To wrap the rings, I start by using CA to glue on end of the shaving to the tube, then wrap it around securing the end with more CA. If I need to add more layers, I grab another shaving and secure it with CA just on the ends. Once satisfied, I brush on a bunch of highly diluted PVA and let it sit over night to dry. I then sand the outer surface of the rings while still on the former, try to remove the ring from the former without breaking it, then carefully sand the top and bottom surfaces. Below is the main mast, the end that goes into the deck on the left. The picture shows the boom rest, created similarly to the mast rings, as well as one pin rail. There is a second identical one on the other side. And finally, the end of the gaff with its jaws, as well as the simple jib club. I still need to do the main boom....the dowel needs to be cut and tapered and then jaws added. then all the spars need to have some holes drilled and eye pins put in place. I also still need to figure out exactly which parts will be painted vs stained.

Looks great to me! I’ve built the ford dfv 3 times, all in 1/12th scale from Tamiya. Yours looks just as good at the smaller scale. The fuel lines and spark plug wires really help.

Just another quick update....I have resumed working on this, at least a little bit. It looks like the lack of mast step will be a non-issue. The plans show the main mast tapered both top and bottom (below the deck) but the planking near the keel in front is pretty close to the keel and leaving the lower part of the mast untapered, it fits in pretty snug from side to side. As for front-to-back, there is a bulkhead just a little ahead of the hole for the mast. I channeled Glen McGuire, pretending the mast hole was the opening of a bottle, and glued a few strips of wood to that bulkhead, in line with where the mast will be. When I place the mast I can glue it to those strips and it will be aligned pretty well for and aft as well. The plans don't actually indicate the mast rake, at least not that I have seen. It appears to be perpendicular to the water line, which would mean it actually leans forward a small amount relative to the deck.

Thanks Jacques. I'd have to check but I recall the keel was relatively thick. I was also thinking I could remove the head of a nail then put the head end of the nail into the bottom of the mast, then push the mast/nail into the top of the keel. We'll see. Anyway, I've completed my side project so I've moved the sloop back to the workbench and may resume working on it soon. Here's the side project:

I took another break from my Friendship Sloop to build another car, the Porsche Turbo RSR type 934 from 1976. This was built from the Tamiya kit in 1/24th scale. The kit is a relatively simple curbside kit. I also have in my stash the Revell kit of the same car, with more details including an opening engine lid and frunk lid. On this build I tried something I have never done before, so I went completely overboard with it . Yes, I added weathering as if the car just completed a race. My story is that it was a very long race, with intermittent rain, and this car got stuck behind another car with an oil leak that led to a blown engine. Or something like that. Any comments or suggestions on the weathering (or other aspects of the build) are welcome. For the weathering I used some abteilung 502 oil in Engine Grease color, as well as just some light misting with the airbrush using semi gloss black, and doing some other small speckles of black or silver using a small brush. The base color of the body was splash paints jagermeister orange over splash paints light gray primer. Also used other Tamiya paints and just a few alclad metallic colors. Thanks for looking.

Great start, the paint work and decals are looking very nice, and the car looks like an interesting half way point between the original Lotus 49 and the 72. I've seen a few Ebbro kits on ebay and such places but have never seen the contents of the box or a build log, so it will be interesting to see how it goes together. And I know what you mean about build logs for cars, they are pretty rare around here. I just finished another car but did not bother with a build log myself. After I take a few pictures, I'll post them in the completed non-ship build section.

My America does not have scuppers. I don't remember if the Bluejacket plans/instructions did not show the scuppers or if I neglected to include them in for some reason.

As always, thanks for the likes. I've now completed the hull and just have the mast, spars, sails, and rigging left to do. Since last time, I added the two chocks on either side of the bowsprit, finished the rail on the stern, added the two travelers, put some wipe-on-poly on the unpainted wood bits, and maybe a few other minor tweaks. But in looking at the plans, I also realized that I failed to put any sort of mast step on the keel.....it is shown on the plans but I don't think it was mentioned in the instructions....and now that area is inaccessible. I am hoping that I'll be able to adequately secure the mast anyway. I am not certain, but I was also thinking that when I got to this point, I'd take a break from this build and go off to work on another project or two for a bit. So, there's a chance it will be a while before my next update.

Thanks for the likes, and thanks Glen for the comment. Both are much appreciated. Getting close to completing the hull. This first two pictures show the rail being glued on, and the next two show closer views of the rails without the tape "clamps". I still need to add the rail on the stern. The gap between the rail and the bowsprit will be filled with a chock on each side. The rail consists of a basswood strip on edge capped by a mahogany strip. I also put on the tiller after bending it. The tiller was laser cut basswood but for some reason it seemed to really absorb the stain more than most of the basswood, so it is a bit darker. And finally I also did the bowsprit and the bitt. Unlike the mast and spars, the plans did not have a separate drawing of the bowsprit off of the boat so it was a little tough to tell how it should be shaped. It appeared to me to be octagonal all the way to the end but I rounded mine off a bit.

Just another quick update....I have completed the sheer trim all around the boat. Below is one picture showing how I taped the trim on while the glue dried and then a few pictures of the finished trim. I started off using the tamiya masking tape to hold it and decided that was a bit of a waste so switched to the cheapo blue painter's tape. Next up is to put the rails on around the perimeter of the deck.

For what it's worth, the larger bluejacket kit had the sponsons for the chain plates a little bit higher and wider but the lower deadeyes are basically even with or slightly below the cap rail.

Thanks, appreciate it. If I was better at this hobby I might include photos that have even more details As noted at the beginning of the build log, there are several other logs for this kit but they all seem to have been abandoned some time during or shortly after completing the planking. I am determined to log mine to the end.

I've continued to work on the trailboards. I think I pretty much have them done now, perhaps save for a bit more paint touch up. I am in that cycle where I touch up with one color, causing the need for a touch up with color 2, causing the need for touch up with color 3, causing the need for touch up of color 1, and so on. Anyway, the pictures below show the overall model and a close up of the starboard side trailboard. Now I should be able to do that sheer trim, followed by the rail. Then just a few more bits on the hull before it is ready for masts, rigging, and sails. Oh, for the paint I used a mixture of Tamiya XF-9 Hull Red and XF-7 red, as well as X-12 Gold Leaf. Every time I use hull red I am disappointed how it just looks like brown to me and feel compelled to add some more red to it. Thanks for taking a look.