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It could be that my CHEAP China junk brush just didn't care all that much or even that I did use a wetting solution to slow down drying, (To get a polished look) or just a matter that my skill level with an airbrush is not even in the same hemisphere, (Pun intended) as yours and I am not attempting the same level of application as you are able to obtain and seem to do effortlessly. Thanks for the knowledge though. I'll try to not forget it this time.

I may have had another senior moment Denis. I thought your Thermopylae was the 1/96 Revell kit?

Thanks CDW I was wondering because I used it on my last car build, (Mini Cooper to match my real car. Red/black) and it came out pretty good. That was a gloss though, I suppose a flat could be another matter.

I think this is what you might be looking for https://www.hismodel.com/articles-detail-387 They also have a set for the Thermopylae: https://www.hismodel.com/articles-detail-388 I have bought from them in the past and they were very reliable. Many hard to find items available. Good luck

Can you remind me why? I know you posted it somewhere in one of your other builds, but along with my eyes my mind is getting dimmer also and I can't remember what you said.

At first I couldn't figure out what was happening on the mast in the pictures, (They come out kind of small on my computer) the silly thing kept moving around picture to picture! when I when I went to the first enlargement it then looked like the mast was in a fog that the ship was sailing through and was on another ship alongside and thought you may have converted your build to a diorama. At last I was able to enlarge it to the point where I could see that it is sticking in you 'holding' foam waiting painting and installation. It's clear I need glasses! But it is also clear, when I blow the pictures up that you are making a very nice version of this small ship. LOVE the canvas dodgers on the bridge!

Hi Ben Just discovered this build and read it from inception to present. Quite an achievement. While I have never done a full interior build like this with an existent hull I have done a couple of builds using fiberglass hulls made by cottage companies that did not provide any bulkhead information. I ended up using two methods that were as much as my simple mind could come up with. On one I stole some of the kids clay and rolled it out to about 1/4" thick and placed it where I wanted the bulkhead to be and then squished it outer edges until they formed to the inside of the hull. I then carefully lifted the form out and traced it onto stiff cardboard, (Empty cereal boxes) making it about 1/16th larger. Cut it out and then final fit it to the hull by cutting off the excess as needed. Rinse and repeat for each bulkhead and I had patterns for all. On another build I kind of did the same thing but used metal window screen. I cut squares that would fit each location and then folded the edges by pressing against the hull until I had a tight fit all of the way around and traced the results onto stiff paper again. Just a couple of approaches for a guy who has no concept of either math or CAD! Even some of my tools are kind of stone age come to think of it! Having said all that I really enjoyed your build so far and now that I have found it intend to continue following it. May have to kick that guy out of the forward bunk to get a seat at this late date but I'm pretty sure he won't say anything. I did notice though that daughter gets the professionally designed doll yacht with gimballed stove, while poor #2 kid gets the Duplo brick job that he probably had to partly build himself! (It does look like he was both proud and happy with it though and got more than his moneys worth in play time.)

I'm sure Jim has more information on this than I do. But I do think this was the method of use. Throw some anchors overboard and pivot on the bow anchor, or drop the sails and spin on the oars until the stern is pointed where you want and let go with the smoky stuff. I don't think this vessel was ever intended to be used in a running battle, Even reloading while underway looks like it would be real exciting at best.

Thanks OC I think I will try a combination approach, planking from the wales down and then planking the deck before I add the bulwarks above the deck line. As the bulwarks are precut plywood on this model, I will probably install them temporarily as a guide for the wales and lower planking, and remove them for the deck planking, making the final installation after the deck planking is finished. At this point I only intend to do one layer of hull planking as it will be painted and I am just using kit wood anyway, nothing special. If I screw it up too bad though there is a possibility that I will have to do the second layer to cover up the first disaster. At this stage I can't really mix the easy with the hard steps as it is all the first time for me in this area and they are all intimidating steps for me! Thanks for the input and advice, it is truly valued.

OK I have a question of people out there. Hopefully someone looking in will have some idea and even better yet some input on the matter. In my original and continual research on building this ship some things were and are determined out of necessity by common practice rather than actual knowledge of what was done on the Providence in particular, as there is no record available that is definitive to the Providence. I have already decided on the shape and structure of the bow and entry on this model based on lines and plans for other ships of the time and a research paper by Kellie Michelle Vanhorn called EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY COLONIAL AMERICAN MERCHANT SHIP CONSTRUCTION. The area I am questioning is also described on pages 24-26 of her paper, with her calling them square and round tucks. The area below the stern counter, mostly above the waterline on either side of the stern rudder beam. As far as I can determine the two styles of stern were almost interchangeable for ships of this type and size, and it made little difference if they were built for merchant or military use. Chuck's Cheerful clearly uses a version of the square tuck while the Sultana uses a rounded tuck. The other ships I have used as reference also seem to be pretty random in this area with no apparent preference. The Cheerful does seem to be unique in that she is the only one that seems to use framing around the square tuck of the stern and the planks along the side of the hull where they meet the stern. Does anyone out there have knowledge in this area of design that would lend favor to one design over the other for this particular build?

Thanks for putting this up Jim Although I don't list this type of vessel as one of "Want to build" models I am very much interested in seeing another Master Korabel kit being built from the keel up. I have their Phoenix kit and while it looks very impressive in the box it will be nice to see what a talented builder will be able to produce with their kits on a step by step basis. The last picture is also an eye opener as it shows just how small this kit really is. It looks much bigger in your other pictures! Some ships boats models are bigger than this ship! Looking forward to more.

Good to hear all went well on the move, including the double ship move. Looking forward to your updates even if they are only on weekends. Not the kind of diet that I expected but I suppose it's it's better than nothing.

Thanks Piet Thanks for stretching your day to stop in for a look. For the most part I used the lines of three ships of the period and several others to arrive at the feasibility of the bow entrance shape. Because I was trying to duplicate a merchant hull with a more refined cut water of the mid 1700s I didn't want to get too extreme like on a couple of English Cutters or the present day Providence. Strangely enough the shape that most closely met my needs was the Sultana of 1768. I actually used the #1 and #2 hull template for the MS kit blown up by 22% as my guides to keep everything even between port and starboard. I could have reduced the flair between waterline and deck level by reducing the roundness of the deck at the forecastle deck but then I would have been doing the same thing they did to the present day Providence to make her faster. They altered the bow and hull so badly in the present day Providence that they made her unstable and had to reduce the sail plan area to keep her stable! So what you are saying is that you partly planked your ship up to the deck line and then installed the deck planks before doing the bulwarks? I don't need the rigidity, this thing is almost as solid as a baseball bat now but I am still being scared of a little by having to make final decisions on the deck furniture and openings arrangement and hull planking will give me a little more time to arrange the whole thing in my mind. It also sounds like possibly a good compromise between the two methods. Or is that procrastination? So after I finish the fairing of the bulkheads and shaping the #10 bulkhead I will need to determine one other structural design question and proceed ahead. Thanks for the input Mark and Piet. More questions to follow.

I'm with Mark I think you have more than achieved your goal She looks very much the fighting lady making the enemy work and worry. I am very glad you were able to fulfill your dream, and thanks for sharing your vision.

Hi Mark Thanks for the feedback. I suppose I am a bit apprehensive on both directions. I have done both procedures but never to MSW standards, and so long ago that it probably doesn't count as an acquired skill. If I do the hull first including the bulwarks then I will have to do the planking of the decks inside of a bathtub so to speak. If I do the deck first then I will have to make up my mind now about the location and types of deck furniture and hatches. I think I am also a little afraid of that commitment as well. I guess I will have to give it considerable thought while I finish fairing the bulkheads and stern.

Thanks for the warning John. What you say is totally true. It seems that the times she is resting is just a recharge for her next effort of getting in trouble and destroying something. What makes it worse is that the cat was the Admiral's idea and she just had to have her. Now it seems like a daily yelling at me about the latest action of the little terrorist!

Now you are thinking like a Viking.

Thanks Floyd I suppose I could learn the programming and start from scratch, but in reality both those ships even though Pre-Dreadnought era are very complex ships with a lot of detail that would have to be designed and programmed.The only way I could devote that much time to builds like that would be to abandon the builds i have already committed to. You would have to program the printer to make another me first! I'm not to sure about the 3D printer but I do know that I will be needing some assistance in the future on some laser cutting. Again thanks for the offer.

With everything covered up and the lack of people on the decks and such, I wonder if it a picture of the ship in what we call 'Moth Balled' here in the US. If that was the case then only maintenance required to keep the ship afloat would be done and she would become pretty ratty very quickly. The same look was pretty common with escort ships in the north Atlantic during the war because of heavy seas and quick turnaround for the escorts. No time for the pretty stuff. I don't know if it was also true in the south Pacific. I also wonder if the ship ahead is a fleet tug and is towing the ship? Can't see the tow line but much of that would be underwater at slow speed.

OK so here goes. Like I said it doesn't look like much. First off I had to wait until terrorist Kitty got bored and passed out: Once that was done I went over the filler I had pot on yesterday at the end of a sanding and shaping session After more sanding smoothing and shaping and making tripple sure it was even on both sides this is pretty much what I cam up with. I am fairly happy with the over all shape. Kind of beefy above the waterline without being as fully rounded as the original shape. More refined below the waterline without having a full warship appearance. I think I have followed a 1765-8 shape rather than a 1776 shape. I am basing the shape primarily on the Sultana as she was purchased by the British at least partly for speed and the ability to catch up with smugglers and such. The Providence was said to be fast, but on at least three occasions she was chased and almost caught by British frigates and only escaped by trickery and luck. So in my opinion she was not abnormally fast compared to similar ships of her time as some accounts would have you believe. Being mostly satisfied with the shape and finish of the bow I went back to the bulkheads and started fairing them in after locking the remainder in place so pretty much all the starboard side is done except for the last bulkhead that has not been glued in yet. I have a question for the more experienced builders here. When the fairing is done and the quarter sub-deck is installed some builders do the deck planking, others do the hull and bulwarks first. Are there any opinions as to what order is best? Thanks for looking in.

Thanks Mark The work is easy, other stuff not so much but getting better. I did some more today and after I feed the Velociraptors I will post a few pictures up to see if others think it looks OK or could do with some more refinement. I think it may be there. A little more later

Assuming that I'm still alive when you get there you can assume you have two sales if they are in 1/72 scale like the Main. Even if they are prototypes, so long as they can be worked into a realistic model.

I only did it that way a couple of times when I was WAY younger! Hard work on a sunny day, or any day for that matter.

It would definitely keep me awake until I finished it all. Then it would be loosen the belt and off to nappy time! I can't eat that much anymore! Mine will probably be left overs from all the other dinners I have not finished over the last few days! Kind of a open the fridge and with closed eyes point and that's dinner.

That might change if I don't get something to look at. You know how us old folk are. If we are not being entertained we fall asleep and COULD fall out of the rafters when you least expect it!