gsdpic

Thoughts On The Kit The kit is interesting and appears well made. In the picture above, you can just see bits of a few of the frames. The kit comes with a set of pre-cut frames. They actually carve a hull, slice it like a loaf of bread, and (I presume) make two kits from it, giving each kit every other frame. The keel, stem, and stern are printed onto one quarter inch thick basswood, but must be cut out, and there are no other laser cut parts. There are pre-carved bow and transom pieces. Overall the quality of the wood seems very good. The kit also comes with quite a few metal components, both brass and britannia. They look good, but I am unsure about some of them. In particular I am not crazy about the britannia metal blocks instead of wood blocks, though I can see both pros and cons, and the plans do indicate that the blocks were painted white. The brass ring mast hoops also seem questionable. I have plenty of time to decide if I will use them or replace them. Also the rigging line is black and white, instead of the more traditional tan. Again, I have plenty of time before I decide to use or replace that. But overall, the kit leaves a good impression.

Hi All. This is Gary from Austin, Texas making my first post. I have recently acquired the 1/48th scale America kit from Bluejacket and hope to log its build here. I have been lurking here a bit, very impressed by the knowledge and craftsmanship shown in many of the build logs. And frankly I am a bit intimidated as well. But I did not find any other build logs for the large Bluejacket America model so I hope my efforts add to the community, if only because of that. I have seen several build logs of the Mamoli version, and I am sure I will reference them more in the future. Over the last many years, I have built a handful of wooden boats and ships. The most ambitious project was Model Expo's Niagara. Sadly while building that I realized two things: 1) I do not enjoy rigging 2) I am more interested in small work or pleasure boats than warships. The Niagara has spent maybe 8 years in my closet with the standing rigging half done while I went on a boat building hiatus. Then in October, 2015, completely by accident, I drove by Bluejacket's HQ/Store/Gallery in Searsport, Maine while making my way from Boston to Acadia National Park. I made a quick U-turn and stopped in. I guess I left there inspired, as since then I built their Swampscott Dory and their Lobster Boat. Around the beginning of this year I decided to challenge myself a bit and ordered their plank-on-frame America. And yes I realize it requires some rigging, but it is minimal enough that I should get through it! Don't expect quick progress. I still work full time and have too many other hobbies. I've had the kit for about 2 months and have worked on it less than 30 hours so far. Progress will appear to be quick initially as I'll make posts to summarize those 2 months of work. But first here is a picture of the freshly opened box when I got the kit: