hamilton

My kids just started a 2-week Spring Break, but we anticipate that the local school board will announce extended closured past the scheduled March 30 return to classes. My university has suspended classes for the next two days to allow instructors some time to begin migrating to online delivery for the rest of the semester (another 4 weeks). This is a Hurculean task. It is not just a simple matter of putting content up, but new interaction and evaluation strategies have to be designed and accommodations made for students who may not have reliable or regular access..... there will be a bit of mayhem and a lot of hard work ahead - but that's the easy part! For my part I believe in the wisdom of prevention, and am in favour of self-quarantine strategies, though I know that this will put a lot of folks in very tricky circumstances. My wife runs a small business that she and her partner have built into quite a success over the last decade, but COVID-19 has resulted in many of their stores (and some big ones) cancelling or postponing orders...extrapolating from this, the economic impacts could be huge. We do ok, but we couldn't stand too much of a hit on her business. It may not be appropriate to compare the current case with Spanish Flu in terms of mortality rates (we're benefiting from 100 extra years of medical science, after all), but in terms of economic impacts....well, let's hope the powers that be have some forward thinking ideas... hamilton

Hello Dan: Your builds have always impressed and astonished me in terms of their accuracy, the diversity of the subjects you choose and the care and detail you put into your work. I understand your decision to say farewell here, having several close friends who are fighting similar battles - I wish you and your family the best hamilton

This looks like a really nice kit - looking forward to seeing how it builds up in your hands hamilton

Man, that is some beautiful, precise and clean work! A joy to behold! hamilton

Great to see your progress on this build - always one of my MSW favourites! hamilton

Looks great so far - I like Mamoli's redesigned box, too! You seem to be dealing with some of the same issues I confronted with this kit, but though I found it occasionally frustrating, it's probably no more so than some other kits, and overall I thought this was a very fun kit to build - it's coming out nicely for you in any case. hamilton

A tip for threading blocks and deadeyes: swab a small amount of CA glue on the running end of the line. This will stiffen the line and allow it to be threaded more easily through the small holes in these parts. Then just clip off the hardened end of the line. hamilton

Great work on this one - I built the Glad Tidings several years back and it was definitely one of my favourite models to build - keep it up! hamilton

I went to buy some plywood the other day at a local wood supplier here in Vancouver and noticed that they have some nice Holly billets in the shop. It may be that such things can be found for those who have the ability to mill the billets to model scales....but I sense that times are getting tough for us in relation to the availability of wood species hamilton

Even though I have no ability to mill it at the moment, I took an opportunity to purchase one of the remaining boxwood billets from Crown Timberyard - this was in August, and I see now that there is nothing any longer listed on their website, so I suppose that's it. Does the a wood supplier for Model Shipwrights still operate? Their website is still operational and they do sell milled strips and sheets, as I understand. I've only dealt with them to purchase their Hannah kit, so can't speak to other aspects of the business, but my limited experience with them was good hamilton

That ebony looks beautiful - was this milled on a thickness sander/table saw or what was your process? I'd be interested to know. hamilton

interesting video - my favourite line - "you almost disappear into the ship" - a great description of a good day's modelling! hamilton

Just catching up on your work on Blandford, Dave - as others have said it is spectacular! Very precise and clean. hamilton

Wow - she looks really smart! Even those metal parts, which I could never make look that good, are looking nice - I like the treatment you've given them and the cabin details fit perfectly. I seem to remember diluting some burnt umber acrylic and kind of dipping the metal parts in it, letting it dry and then burnishing them. Not the most effective weathering but it didn't turn out too badly - but to be honest I think the parts look good as you have them. hamilton

It does indeed! Thanks Druxey! Any further comment on this thread would be welcome hamilton