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Thanks. And yea, I did not know that either. I guess the gull wing doors were not just a styling thing, but were actually there for a reason! The kit (and the car) actually had a flat(ish) underbody panel. I did not put that on....it did not fit great and it covered up all that detail. Thank you. I cannot take any credit for the chrome bumpers, etc. I just used the chromed kit parts as is for those bits. One thing about the chrome was a bit of a pain....on both the wheels and the dashboard you had to paint over some of the chrome part, which does not work real well. If I had some of the better chrome paint, it might have been better to strip the chrome off of those parts and then paint them.

I've been watching too many plastic car build videos on Youtube and wanted to explore that area a bit more, so built the Tamiya 1/24 Mercedes Benz 300SL from the mid/late 1950s. I tried several things for the first time with this build, with varying success... - I used my recently purchased air brush for all the priming and some of the painting, though I used a leftover rattle can for the body (both color and clear coat). The air brush worked well and I am definitely getting more comfortable using it. - I used the chrome "bare metal foil" for some of the chrome trim around the windows. This was less successful, as I could not get it as smooth as I would like, though I am sure that is user error. Next time I think I will try some of the newer chrome paint (by Molotaw or Alclad). - Also the first time I used the "panel line accent" around the trunk, and the first time I ever scribed the panel lines to make them a bit deeper. The latter was almost a disaster as a couple times I slipped and scratched the body so had to do some filling/sanding to repair it. - I also used some wire to add a bit of extra detail to the engine, though one of those I had to remove because it interfered with the hood closing all the way. Overall, I enjoyed the build. As with all Tamiya kits I have experienced, things generally fit together very well. There were a few tricky and fiddly bits but nothing too problematic. I am not sure what is next. I planned to build one more car from my stash and then start the Artesania Latina Sopwith Camel, though I just might go straight to the latter. Below are some pictures during construction and of the completed model. Thanks for looking!

I can identify with that remark! (though I then spend time on the computer looking at MSW). Welcome to MSW.

Glad to see you doing another build log. I don't think I have seen a log of the 1/8" scale Bluejacket America so it will be interesting to see how it comes together. Based on your build of the Atlantic I am sure it will be another beautiful model in the end.

Pulling up a chair....this looks like it will be a fun challenge for you. I had no idea the original was built in Indiana. As a former and possibly future Hoosier, I take a bit of extra interest.

Congrats on finishing the revenue cutter....it looks fantastic. Those are some of the more dramatic model ship photos I've seen. I really like the first one and the last two.

I missed this build log until now. Looks like you are off to a great start. That framing jig looks like a lot of work but I am sure it will serve you well, and reduce the stress of gluing the frames to the keel. The aft skylight deck beam assembly looks great....I remember really enjoying that part of the build.

Congrats on finishing a very fine looking model! I hope you take some more formal pictures of her and add her to the gallery. And I for one am reading your build log but have no idea if the yellow balls have a function

Looking forward to seeing the finished pictures of your beautiful Fifie. Do you plan to do a log for the Fiat in the non-ship builds section? I for one would be interested. As for plastic adhesive, I think it is similar to paint in that the dangerously smelly stuff works best I've been using the Tamiya extra thin and regular cement on a plastic build I am doing. The former is great for gluing together parts before painting....just hold them together and touch the seam with the small brush in the cap. If things are already painted, scrape the paint off of the mating surfaces for it to work best.

I too wish you well on your upcoming treatment and recovery. The model is looking great. Based on the new model shipway, you must be planning some much larger projects in the future.

I missed your new member intro so I will welcome you to MSW here and be the first to follow your build. I built this same kit 5 or 6 years ago before I discovered MSW, and have built a few other Bluejacket kits. It is a fun little kit to build. It looks like you have a nice dedicated work area, and are well prepared.

Thank you, I appreciate it. I will consider doing a build log....does not look like there is one here for the AL kit. But I am not sure when I will get started, likely after the first of the year.

As I mentioned near the end of my America build log, I bought a Model Airways 1/16th Sopwith Camel on a bit of a whim when I got a good deal on it. Then after doing more research I decided I preferred the version by Artesania Latina with its greater detail, including quite a few photo etch parts, so I bought one of those too. I then wondered what to do with the Model Airways kit. One thing I like about the AL kit is that it includes a metal cowl which adds some color and gives a bit more finished look, though it hides a lot of detail of the rotary engine. So I decided I'd build the engine from the Model Airways kit and put it on some sort of stand, to be displayed along with the AL kit once complete. Below are a few photos of the completed engine along with the carved propeller. The engine is made up of a bunch (125ish) of cast metal parts. Gluing them together is not the most enjoyable modelling experience. Carving the propeller was much more fun and actually not as tricky as I thought it might be. I recently bought an airbrush (more for a few model cars in my stash) and used it for the first time on this. After putting the engine together I sprayed it with Badger Stynylrez primer (what a name...) and then some Model Master "steel" color paint and used some Tamiya panel line accent. I pretty much followed the kit, though I used some 26AWG kynar wire with black insulation for the spark plug wires instead of black thread suggested by the kit. The stand was my own design made from 1/4" x 1/8" basswood from my stash, which is basically a scale 2x4s. If you got this far, thanks for taking the time to read!

Wow, just amazing as everyone has said. Thanks for including that last picture with the eye glasses. Looking at all the other pictures it is so easy to imagine this diorama and the individual pieces being much larger. The amount of detail you are fitting into a small space is incredible.

Good start, and welcome to MSW. This looks like a nice kit and from what I have seen produces a beautiful model. If you have not done so, search for other build logs of this kit....I know there is at least one recently completed one. That may provide both help and inspiration.

Just to expand a bit more on bricklayer's comment, there are other small boat kits that have precut planks. I am thinking of something like Bluejacket's Swampscott dory or Grand Banks dory, or I believe their whaleboat also has at least some pre-cut planks, or even something like the Annapolis Wherry from Cheasapeake Light Crafts. The Bluejacket website has "what's in the kit" videos that you can check to see, and CLC has (or at least used to have) a build video.

That was exactly my point when I said that using a rail may not be practical at model ship sizes. That 10 inch long rail would probably not allow you to take the photo that Dr PR showed which had a 22 inch range from front to back. And that is not even a particularly large model. Sure, there are times when a rail would be the best solution but there are also times when changing the focus point is the best solution. Or maybe some other equipment or technique is better. Just a matter of trying to figure out the best set of compromises to make to get the image you want (where those compromises potentially include the equipment you have or the skills you have or the software you own).

Using a rail for macro focus stacking is certainly helpful. But at model ship sizes it may not be practical. That image above by Dr PR would require one heck of a rail to take it without changing the focus distance on the lens. And doing focus stacking in landscape photography obviously cannot be done with a rail. The size of the object in the photograph will change regardless of whether you use a rail to move the camera or you change the focus distance. For this reason it is probably best to compose the image such that the object does not fill the frame as much as you want and then crop after stacking. I suspect the blurry left edge of Dr PR's photo is due to this....the images where those parts of the model would have been in focus did not actually include those parts of the model in the frame.

The sails are looking great. I know there are some who will disagree, but I used cloth/sewn sails on my 1/48th America and I think they look fine at that scale. Yes, the weave of the cloth and the stitching are a bit out of scale, but no more so than the grain of the wood on the deck or deck fittings.

Wow, she's looking great with that finish! It's funny, I was just looking at your build log last night and was going to comment on it and say that I can't wait to see it with some varnish on it. Just then we had some brief power outages due to thunderstorms in the area so I did not have a chance to make that comment. Then I came back today and saw that my wish to see it with varnish was granted. I was going to suggest looking into the molotow liquid chrome. I've heard good things about it but never used it. The only other option I can think of is the "bare metal foil" chrome but I assume that is pretty similar to the chrome tape that you are wishing to replace.

She's really looking great with all those added details. You are making a lot of progress on this build.

Hello and welcome to MSW! You might wish to also post an introduction in the New Member Introductions section. It's great that you are starting a build log, there are a lot of helpful people around if you run into any obstacles. Nic from Bluejacket is active here and is one of those helpful people. I built this kit about 5 or 6 years ago. It was before I discovered MSW so I did not do a build log for it. If you have not seen it, cathead/Eric's review of this kit (linked below) has useful information. I believe that Bluejacket was planning to update this kit; not sure if that has happened or not so yours might be updated from the one Eric reviewed or the one I built. I'll pull up the first chair and follow along.

Hi Chris. I noticed that on your build log. It looks like you uploaded HEIC files (High Efficiency Image Container). Apparently the MSW forum software does not support/recognize that file type. You might google "HEIC file" to look for the best way to convert to a more standard format like JPEG to use when uploading files. If you took them with an iPhone originally, you can got to settings->camera->formats and select "most compatible" and that should use JPEG for all images from that point on (which may or may not be what you really want). There are probably apps on MAC OS to do the conversion as well. I am not associated with MSW, just another user. Perhaps someone associated with MSW will chime in with more info about picture file formats, or any easy way to convert.

Looking beautiful. That is quite a milestone to get all the frames attached and be ready for planking. Obviously a tremendous amount of work has gone into this build already. It will be interesting to see how the planking progresses, and how the unplanked section reveals the hull construction details.

Nice little boat. The cap rails do give it a much more finished appearance, in keeping with the elegance of the rest of the craft.