Tom E

Congratulations on a wonderful ship and build! Both truly inspire this ship builder! Hermione is beautiful! Tom E

Evening, There's a nip in the air, the trees are changing color. There's a boiled dinner in the slow cooker. It must be Fall!!!!!! My favorite time of year. In my humble opinion, probably the best time of year to build. Any who..... I stained my deck!!!!! This is a milestone for me on Niagara. Never did I ever think I would get this far on this build. Started with a pre-stain wood conditioner and a sanding. Below is Golden Oak. It looks better in person. Pics do it no justice. There's some splash over of stain onto the paint. I can easily clean that up. There's no dip in my deck on the Port side. That's my shop lighting. Pics do it no justice. I'm reluctant to stain again. I don't think I want it any darker. Just realized that I started this build a year ago, September 2017. I cant believe It's been a year! I wont say I can see the end in sight, that would be simply foolish! Thanks for watching! Tom E

Gary, Really nice Niagara, enjoying your build! I have to comment on that deck configuration, It really looks like it opens up that deck. Just looks more logical. It just looks so crowded on the plans. Tom E

Thanks Jim, I want to rig as much as possible off ship. Biggest fear I have, Is I forget to install a block or thimble some where impossible to reach. And being impossible to reach, the final outcome wont look good. I know I'll have some learning moments, hopefully most off ship! Mike, below was your idea a few posts ago. Still in use to this day. Probably for all my future builds as well. The below pic is old. That Fore mast is a lot further along! As the Fore, Top, and Topgallant are built, supports are added to the board. I want to do all, or as close to as possible, rigging on it. Tom E

Thanks Mike, I agree, I like the planked look as well. I used the wood filler very sparingly. It looks rough, with some gaps, but I can live with it. The paint does a lot to hide it. The rough side will be the "no show" side of the ship! Definitely not installing anything yet. I would snap those Bowspars off so quickly!!!!! In my head, my order of build right now is.... Continue with the cannon, masts, and deck- which I may stain this weekend. After I'm happy with those 3 bits, It'll be the deck furniture. Its somewhere way after all these bits where I'll actually "attach" anything. Tom E

Evening, Hope everyone is having a quiet Labor Day. Did the cookout/party Saturday. That left Sunday and Monday to the Shipyard! I took full advantage! Still painting..... Although, somewhat of a milestone in my book. The hull now has it's first few layers of Black. Couldn't find any quality rattle cans, so I stuck with hand paining it. I can control my paint better by hand. It will be thin layers. Should fill in nicely! She's a bit snaggle toothed at the bow, but....I can live with it. It's my first of, I hope, many ships! I placed a piece of 1/32x3/32 at the junction of the Waterways and deck. My version of a "simplified" Nibbing Strake. The height will come down as I finish sanding the deck. The deck had a good rub with several grits, then I placed the nibbing strake. Once dried in place, I'll finish the deck with one more good sanding. Then ready for staining. I also finished the Fore Topgallant/Royal Mast. Its in the paint shop as of tonight. More Carronade should be ready soon. I hope to have them all done by the time I'm done staining the deck. I also finished the Flying Jib Boom for the Bowsprit. I don't wanna do a basic white on the Jib and Flying Jib Boom. I may stain these a dark tone. We'll see. Tom E

Evening, Not much of an update, but I suppose anything is something. Every little bit is a step forward! Seems all I do is paint..... Paint..... Paint..... Paint...…. Then paint some more!!!!! It does end...….right?! On a side note, Just happen to snap this late summer sunset last Friday driving home from dinner. It was cool, and could just start to feel a bit of fall. Tom E

Evening, Hope everybody's Shipyards have been busy. I have been busy, but only results in a short update. I've been painting! Since it's by hand, it's slow going. Have to do layers, then more layers. Constant "dot patrol"! I'm purposely applying thin layers of paint, it means more painting, but hopefully it means it wont have a thick look. I'm going to get the Gunport area done by hand. Then I'll mask off that area and use a rattle can for the bottom of the hull. This Emperor is starting to get it's new clothes! It really jazzes up with some paint! Started carving out a Foremast Topgallant/Royal Mast. As of this evening, the Carronade Factory has re-opened. Four at a time, no rush to get them done...….yet! Tom E

I agree, there is an unusual amount. With the deck furniture left to build, there does seem to be quite a bit left. More than enough for what I need. My waste hasn't been too bad, I re-did a few deck planks but not too many. Model Shipways really means it when they say they give you extra!

Thanks Jim! Looking back thru my build, I see I'm coming up on a year into Niagara. Never did I think I would get this far! Wonder If it will take another year to finish🤨?!

Evening, Chores are done, belly is full from a homemade pizza, and the house is quiet. Time for an update. I have hit a few milestones, I think! Below, as I installed the deck, when I had enough of the deck in, I checked the clearance of the gunports. Seems to work pretty well! Might be a bit close to the main rail, but, I can live with it. I really gotta start building more carronades! Another big milestone, well in my head.....the deck is officially done! There are some small gaps on the side but will be covered with a simplified Nibbing Strake. It will get a good sanding then conditioned. The Golden Oak will be the stain used. Those little gaps will be covered with a thin strip of basswood running the length of the waterways. Tom E

Evening, Been a while since I updated. Summer time fun.....it sure does keep a person away from there Shipyard! All those hamburgers and hot dogs aren't gonna eat themselves. Now is when all the local produce starts showing up. Its corn season! Local tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash and melons are everywhere! Its a good time of the year for eating! Berry season didn't do too well this year. It was too warm and dry. We have a winner on the deck stain. Golden Oak it is. Dark, yet bright with a weathered look to it. Now to just finish the deck! Its been one plank at a time. Cut, shape, glue.....rinse and repeat. Slowly and methodically. Below are the current state of affairs. I keep putting together what I have so far on the Niagara. Its a pretty cool ship model! Its big, and I'm no where near finished. The Fore Topmast has a few coats of Black since this pic was taken. I'm getting to a point where I wanna check a few guns on deck to check clearance in the gun ports. A few more deck planks and I can check. I'll post those photos later. Tom E

Jim, I agree. Think I'll make another sample with the Golden Oak and the Pine. Instead of just 4 or 5 planks, each color will get a good sized test area. Side note...... Maybe I miss Football, but this endeavor with the stains is like the NFL playoffs. Start with 4, then 2 go head to head and winner takes all......in this case the winning stain. Patriots start next week!!! Tom E

Great build Jim, The more I see these Master Korabel kits, the more they interest me. Maybe just enough interest to pick one up. Model Expo seems to have foreign kits on sale a lot lately. Tom E

Evening, Hope all is well. Been a quiet day. Got the chores done early then headed into the Shipyard. I had to make a trip to the town dump, and stopped at Home Depot afterwards. With a side trip to the local diner for breakfast!! I loaded up with 4 cans of lighter stains. Below is with all planks well sanded and sealed. I like the Golden Oak stain so far. Natural seems too bright. The Ipswich pine is second choice. The Colonial Maple is too orange for my taste. Gratuitous boat shot. The Deck grows.....plank by plank. I'm also working on the Fore Top Mast. Its finished and ready for primer. Fragile things! Don't wannna jinks myself, but, haven't broken one of the cross trees yet! Its still early. Even managed to drill the holes for the Futtock shrouds without breaking it! That's a milestone in my book! Tom E

I'm glad you mentioned it Mike. I made those sample stains last weekend and have been looking at them all week. Something was just bugging me about them, but couldn't see it. Would a "Golden Oak" be to bright? Darrell, I have a fresh can of sealer. I just wish when I made my stain samples I used it to see what It would look like. Sounds like a good weekend project. Tom E

Evening, Hope all is well. I've been busy in the Shipyard, but slow. I started putting the deck in. I know it's kind of cheating, but I'm not going to stagger butts in the deck. I'll just use single planks this time. I would probably screw it up! It would look horrible, I know it would. On my next build I'll try it. The only place I did cut planks was when forming around the mast holes. There's some waviness to it, but some sanding will help. Pretty straight tho! I'll take that! Below are the stains I have right now. I'm pretty much committed to the Early American. It's going pretty well. Slowly but steady. This ship is getting filled in. Wont have the frames to hold it with. I find myself holding the main rail instead. That's a disaster waiting to happen!!! The painting is going well. Being that its hand painted...….I'm constantly on "dot" patrol! Tom E

Evening, Hope everyone had a great 4th of July! I have been busy with Niagara, but I've been centered around painting. Making a big push to finish the green and red on the inside of the ship. I want all that done before I start the deck. Hopefully limit any paint getting on the deck. The deck will be stained instead. Since Its all hand painted, its taking a bit. A while back I had bought a can of Weathered Oak stain for the Deck. But, I went back to Home depot trying to get a "Holy Trinity" of stain.....one dark stain, one med, and 1 light stain, and kinda go from there. Below is what I ended up with. I'm thinking the Early American stain instead of a light Weathered Oak, which was the original plan. I'm sure something was drying, so Idle hands wanted to see where I am so far. Never in my little head did I think I would get as far as I have. There's a point where this skeleton of wood really starts to feel, and look, like a ship! I think my Bowsprit came out well. Pardon the Scotch tape, Its holding the Job Boom in place. The Flying Jib Boom is "in progress". Nothing was glued, purely just having a little fun. The Bowsprit will be painted all black. First of many coats. Tom E

ESF, Its great to see a Bowdoin build. As a native New Englander, Bluejacket is a well known company up here. I've admired there products for a long time. I bought the Bowdoin kit last March and is my next project. I've been able to keep my hands off the kit so far! But that's been getting difficult watching your build! Looking awesome! Tom E

Evening, Its a good night to be in the Shipyard. Its hotter than heck outside and I have Central Air Conditioning! As much as I complain about the colder months, Its heat and humidity that we have now that I truly hate. I feel like a polar bear on the equator!!!! Any who...…. The Red Sox and Yankees game is on...….Let me turn up the a/c and move along here. I finished the Bowsprit. With some final sanding and clean up it will be primed then painted black. Mike, After I read your last post, I checked my wood stock. There's a grain thru the top of the bowsprit that runs pretty straight the whole length, but that was square stock. The dowels aren't too bad, but they could be better. I finally dove into the "yellow" paint needed for the hull. I mixed and mixed and came up with a "Dijon mustard" like yellow. Its the mix on the left on the below pic. The pics make it look brighter, my shop lights brighten it up. In person its not so bad. Its odd, but after I made my paint mix, I got hungry and made lunch. I grilled up a few hot dogs and coated them with relish and Dijon mustard...…..connection?!?!?!? Yet, I only thought of that after a few cold ones with those hot dogs!...…..connection?!?!?!?!? I thought I may have made it too dark. But the white primer underneath brightened it up just enough. I'm happy with my mix. I wrote the recipe down just in case, but I should have enough made for what I need. I figure at least 2 coats, with plenty left over for touch ups. Mind you, this is all hand done, as we can plainly see. I don't have an airbrush right now, maybe next year when I buy a house and have a more permanent Shipyard. Don't think my landlord would appreciate me airbrushing in the place!!!! A trip to Michaels for new paint brushes yielded a possible base for Niagara. In the store it was labeled as an "Inn Keepers Sign", in the wood section, for $8.99. I figured If I don't use it for this build, I'll find a use for it down the road. Should stain up easy enough. I doubt I'll have an acrylic case around it. No kids, no pets in the house help.....but that can change as needed. These last 2 pics are the second coat to both the green and yellow that ended todays building. Must be Fall in New England already...….I'm starting to see some color! Tom E

1991.....Wow, you would never know it! I've been so hung up on the Mantua kit, haven't really done my research on the other kits available. I still have some homework to do. Great build, she looks great! I'll be following with great interest. Thanks, Tom E

GrandpaPhil, May I ask the manufacturer of the kit? I'm just starting to look into a Victory kit. And I really like the look of this one. The Mantua kit has really caught my attention as of late. Tom E

Mike, All wood, so far, has come from the kit. I've heard horror stories about warped wood. So far, I'm not finding that with this kit. Don't get me wrong, there is some, but I've been able to avoid using it. Lucky I guess. Tom E

Evening, Time for an update. It's a huge weight of my shoulders Mike, knowing that the planking is done. It was probably the most intimidating part of the build so far. But, I got it done with minimal blood shed. I continued on with the Bowsprit. I ended up drilling some holes in the Bee's to accept the Bobstay Wye Iron. Wrapped it, shaped it, glued it, then clamped it. Let it sit for a while to firm up. I may have been a bit robust forming the extra holes, but oh well. Still a bit naked, needs chocks and a Jib Boom saddle. That will be next. Drilled a hole for the Bobstay. Right after all this was done, I realized my brass part was upside down! Had to break it down and re do the entire process. Duh!!!!! I went on and formed the Chocks and Jib Saddle. Easy enough I suppose. I glued some square pieces and will sand/carve them into shape. Looking like a proper Bowsprit and Jib Boom! Also started to build the Topmast tops for the Foremast. Easy enough with the laser cut trestle trees. The Crosstrees are placed for fit. Should be good. This entire area will be black. Fragile little Crosstrees. Lucky tho, never did break it. Thought for sure I would!! Still have to drill holes for the Shrouds so there's still opportunity to snap it. Tom E

Evening, Time for an update, and its a big one. Well it is in my book. I finally finished planking the hull!!!! Only took 3 months Its not so pretty, rather jagged looking. Looks like they just raised it from the bottom of Misery Bay! The sanding and wood filler will commence shortly! I figure the burn marks from the plank bender and glue stains will clean up with sanding. This was my first planked hull on a tall ship. I learned a lot, and it shows that learning process! Ha! I'm pretty confident future builds will be better. I used little scraps inside the hull if a plank needed something to bite onto. Worked really well. The below photo shows some sanding done to the port side, none Starboard. Should clean up nicely with sanding and filler. I continued on the Bowsprit. I shaped the Bees. I will drill small holes on either side to feed the Bobstay Wye Iron thru, no 2 piece method as I mentioned before. Now onto the Deck!!!!! Tom E