Keith Black

Congratulations, Mark. She turned out splendidly.

Thank you, Eric. Too funny regarding space, "things" can go from horizontal to vertical if one doesn't keep them in check. Ask me how I know.

Ian, that sounds like so much fun. Unfortunately I'm not close to a modeling club and with the exception of my wife and sisters no one in my immediate circle gives two hoots. Thank God for MSW as it's my only resource for sharing and learning and that's perfectly fine. Thank you, mcb. I'd love to build a diorama with Lula and the pile driver in the mix but once Lula is finished I have to get back on the Tennessee and finish her. She's the one that brought me to the dance and she deserves to be finished. Once the Tennessee is done then I'd love to start on a diorama. Thank you for the comments, likes and support. The boiler deck is finished and glued down. I added the light boards and flashing for the boiler stack. I went back and forth between painting the trim black or white. I finally decided on white because if the need arose to touchup any paint around the stairways black would have been a nightmare. I have the stairways temporarily in place to shown the relationship to the boiler deck and also the amount of space allowed by placing the dinghy on the main deck. I was going to stow the dinghy on the boiler deck but it would be such a hassle to get it lowered to the main deck. There's a little space on the boiler deck for something, maybe a paint locker directly in front of the pilothouse below window level? It could also house coal oil and lantern wicks, etc. I still haven't gotten to weathering the main deck. Wood keeps jumping in front of me saying, cut me! Lula is really staring to get busy. The pilothouse and railings is just about the end of the line. Thank you for following along. Keith

Laying out the deck furniture is one of those milestones in a ships build. Looks great, Mark.

I wish my struggles were as successful as yours, Ilhan. You're doing amazing work.

Brian, welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.

Thank you, Rick. That's got to be great being able to talk to folks who are truly interested in the model and modeling in general. I bet you are the star attraction.

Tom, these frames kinda remind me of the treenails for this project. Speaking treenails......

Super fiddly work on the skylights and they turned out beautiful, Ilhan.

Thank you, John. Are you settled in and back working at the museum?

I can't believe the amount of progress you've made in such a short period of time without sacrificing work quality, Bob. Absolutely amazing!

Thank you, Eric. Boiler deck it is!

Thank you to everyone for your support, it is very much appreciated. Test fitting the deck frame Test fitting the deck. Because this is all so tight I need to have the frame painted and glued in before adding the deck and of course the deck will need to be painted before gluing to the frame. Port side view of the frame. Access to the deck will be off of the stairs, I will also have grab bars at the front edges of the pilothouse where a person could grab and swing around the pilothouse edge and land on the forward deck. I have no clue what to call the forward deck, storage deck, upper deck, forward deck?? This photo indicates that maybe there's too much of a rise (out of level) in the decks forward edge. I need to check that because once this all goes in it's there till the CA turns loose far into the future.......hopefully. It kinda makes me sad that little Lula has lost her car ferry appearance but then I wasn't building a car ferry. Thank you for being part of the journey. Keith

Steve, welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.

What's that old saw, Mary?..........Good things come to those that wait.

Thank you for the link, Greg. This is one of those rabbit holes I could easily get lost in.

Greg, the way you've done the exhaust pipes looks convincing. Did Alberto run this beast long enough to burn the paint of the exhaust pipes?

Thank you, Mary.

If the $8.50 shipping charge I paid helps support NRG/MSW, it's the best $8.50 I ever spent.

Absolutely beautiful work, Matthias.

Welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.

What a monumental accomplishment, Roel.

The deck looks much better, Ian. 👍

Welcome to MSW. Glad to have you aboard.

I'm sure it is. I quit writing in cursive many many years ago, I strictly print. Thank you, Keith.