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It does seem too good to be true but on the other hand they take PayPal as a payment option and PayPal guarantees your money back if you do not get what you ordered. Could be worth the risk if they have something you are really interested in and are willing to wait for it. I doubt that their shipping is on the fast side. Just my 2 cents and worth what you paid. Lou

Hi Lawrence Like Denis said they can be a little hard to find even though they are carried in many stores. Rather than wander aimlessly through the isles of your local market you might prefer to do it on line. https://www.ebay.com/itm/RSVP-Carved-Gourmet-Toothpick-Refills-for-Buffet-Party-or-for-Dispenser-250-pkg/350472682414?hash=item5199ccbbae:g:MYkAAOxyRhBS7oqZ:sc:USPSFirstClass!98201!US!-1 Some more looking may also provide additional head designs. Lou

Simon I know you will at some point get it to where you are happy with the results, if only because you know that you can. But even as it is it is still impressive work to a mere mortal like me! Looking forward to the final results. Lou

Hello Simon I have no idea what you are talking about! If I could produce something like that I would be doing happy dances all over the house! Fantastic work Lou

Hi Denis Seems like working with buoys really floats your day! Great work, they will really add to and complete the overall look of the model. Lou

Hello Steve I have come to think that gun port location and sizing was possibly dependent on the vessel being equipped. Warships designed from the ground up of course would have the required framing and rigging locations already incorporated into the design long before the first timber was cut and probably would have followed design standards set by the Admiralty or other governing body. When it comes to merchant ships, converted merchant ships, privateers, and other riff raff it was probably a more eclectic operation. Some merchant ships like the Bonhomme Richard were already well armed in their original design, probably to some version of the above standard. Other ships like the Colonial schooner Hanna was a fishing vessel prior to being converted for military duties and who knows what method or formula if any was used to rig guns on her. But they also only had four 4 pounder carriage guns to deal with so I suspect they placed them anywhere they would fit and have a clear field of fire and room for loading and recoil. Then it is possible they would have reinforced that area of the bulwarks to handle the additional strain. I'm not all that sure about the last part to be honest. It was probably easier and less expensive to pick sturdy vessels right off. Of course there is the matter that in all probability at least some of the ships chosen for conversion to armed ship were chosen for who owned them rather than the ideal nature of the ship. I could be VERY wrong but I would think that throwing the guns overboard would be one of the last things one would do in a chase. Without guns the ship would just have to sail back to port as just another unarmed vessel. I suppose there could be other reasons to consider this means of lightening ship, but not to many come readily to mind. As for the Constructo build I never started a build log as after not having built anything in over twenty years, combined with the unbelievably impressive models people show here I did not feel that it would be impressive enough to be presented as a legitimate build. Then I went through a slowdown in the transom were I was not happy with the results and started over three times from the beginning. I am mostly done with the third attempt and if I can ever get back to it may end up being acceptable but not outstanding. Then there is the biggest, (Or smallest) deterrent to model building or for that matter almost any other hobby in the house. Our new kitten! She is an absolute terror that literally spends hours flying, (and I do mean flying) about the house seeing what kind of damage she can do. So far my wife has had to box up all of her craft supplies and has lost three or four finished projects. We had to remove some of her favorite dolls to remote locations of the house to save them from further destruction. We lost one collectible cookie jar in the kitchen when it went crashing onto the floor, and her bouquet of flowers for Valentines day had to finally be moved upstairs where the cat is not allowed to go for safety! A small ship like the Constructo kit would not stand a chance! One idea was tempting though. Yesterday after shopping we were putting away groceries and when I opened the refrigerator door the cat instantly ran into the lower shelf area as a new place she wanted to check out. I just closed the door and called my wife over and said "Should we have this for dinner?" and opened the door again. The cat came out and didn't even seem all that concerned, but seemed to have lost all interest when the whole place went dark. I was tempting to wonder how long it would take to make a kittycycal though! Hopefully in a few more months things will change. meanwhile I have become VERY interested in research on building a historically realistic model of the Continental Sloop Providence. At least I can do that to some degree even though she has on one occasion closed my computer lid by looking over the top to see what I was doing, walked across my keyboard a number of times causing all sorts of chaos with what was on the screen, and decided that the only place to lay down in the entire house was on the ship plans I had spread in front of me at the time. Kind of hard seeing details when you are looking in the face of a cat who is looking right back saying how dare you ignore me! Hopefully #1 I will get back to the Constructo build soon, and #2 make enough research progress to start building the Providence. Might possibly have to do both at the same time. Thanks for both the input and the interest. Lou

Hello Antonio Very nice build you have going. Using a hand drill to make your own rope in lieu of a rope walk is very impressive and innovative. Congratulations on the result. Lou

Hi Lou You have a very good looking model there. I'm looking forward to the rest of the fleet. Besides it gives me a chance to see "Lou" making nice models. Lou

As an interesting side note they recently recovered the Hood's ships bell. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3607165/Remembering-HMS-Hood-Bell-battlecruiser-sunk-75-years-ago-Royal-Navy-s-biggest-disaster-retrieved-seabed-Microsoft-founder-Paul-Allen-formally-unveiled-Princess-Royal.html Lou

Hi Pat I'm both sorry and glad that I may not be the only one. Sorry that others may be having the same issue and glad that there is still a chance i'm not nuts! Lou

Hi Denis It's funny how a few details here and there add so much realism to the part being modeled and of course to the entire ship. Keep it up Lou PS: I actually wrote this last night but for some reason it didn't stick??????????????

Hi Jim I thoroughly enjoy and look forward to each installment of your paintings. Your range of subjects and sea conditions is astounding. Your picture of the 'Oronsay" in Alaska is exactly what it looks like when you take a cruise ship up Glacier Bay. I did it a few years ago and you really do get that close to the glacier before you turn around, and some of the icebergs are a deep beautiful blue green color that makes each one unique. Didn't see any Orcas, though I have seen them a few times over the years following the ferries here in Puget Sound where I live. One time it was what appeared to be a mother with a youngster and a quite small calf. I would swear she was taking them on a sight seeing tour of the "people" on the big boat just as we would take out kids to the zoo. They followed the ferry all the way into the harbor and did not turn back out into open water until the ferry started to slow down for the docks. Looking forward to your next installment. Lou

Hello Nigel It won't help you much with the open 4" mounts, but Toms modelworks makes a couple of brass etched sheets in !/125th for the Fletcher destroyer, (Blue Devil) that includes depth charge racks and stuff like that. A second sheet has railings an ladders. A bit expensive being that they are not exact sets made for the four stacker but the scale is about right. http://www.tomsmodelworks.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=23_39&products_id=166

Hello SOS I sent you a PM about this build. Lou

I agree, not only did you get it done but were able to take the extra time to share with us. Night Lou

John Now that you know how the winch works it would not be all that much trouble to modify yours as well. You already have a fine start. You should get to take some advantage of your own research after all. Lou

Hi John I could be wrong but in this video it appears that the fish are actually going through the rollers along with the net. The rollers appear to be made like wide tires, possibly under low inflation and possibly only their own weight that allows them to have enough traction to pull the net but still have enough give to allow the fish to pass through without getting squished. I do agree that the videos posted the other day seem to show the fish being thrown to the side as the net passes through the winch. Lou

Hi David Thanks for the reply. By the way in case you did not have the identification on the ship in your first picture, it appears to be the Lynx out of Nantucket. http://tallshiplynx.com/ Lou

Hi David I will not even pretend to have an answer to your rigging question, in fact I am looking forward to the answer just as much as you are. Do you have the source of the first contemporary picture you posted? It looks like one of the newer replica ships, possibly on the East coast? If so then possibly you could contact them and present your question. Their ship is obviously rigged in the way you wonder about so they should know if anyone would. Just a possibility. Lou

Hi Mark It's good to see you making some very nice progress. She is looking like a very worthy model. Lou

Going to work at ANY time of the day messes any day up! Retired Lou

PM sent Lou

Denis Not sure what you mean by larger. The Dumas kit at 1/16th scale is almost three feet long at 33". I think I did see somewhere that a model company was making a smaller plastic hull version at 1/40 scale but I have never seen one. I don't know what kind of wood the modern Dumas kit uses but if I remember back in the old days they used pretty much the same kind of wood you are using on your build now. I do like the color choice you have used on this build though, even if there is no orange! Lou

Denis If you want to use up your orange, (Or just put a dent into it) you might consider building the Dumas USCG 44 foot lifeboat. In it's USCG colors you would have no need for orange at all but the RNLI of Great Britain used the same vessel and their colors are a royal blue hull with gray decks and ORANGE superstructure. They have a thin white waterline and red below that. MUCH more interesting colors than the USCG! Just helping you spend more money so that you can use some of that orange paint! Lou

Hi Mark Good to see you getting a little time to work on her. Making some progress either in your head or on the model makes the rest of the day a little less stressful. Lou