hamilton

Hi Chris: Great work! I think your rendition looks nicer than the Mamoli display version! hamilton

The bulwark planking looks great - how did you get that colour? hamilton

Hello: We spent the last week in Mexico, so not a huge amount of progress on the Glad Tidings - though lots of progress on laying around, eating tacos, and getting sunburned...I look in the mirror and understand why the Canadian flag is white and red! Anyway, since coming back, I've installed the rudder and tiller, fabricated the bowsprit and foremast and started making chainplates and other "iron" fittings. The photos show the rudder in process, the bowsprit and a detail of the stern featuring the tiller... I have to say my brass working skills a pretty rudimentary...the chainplates have turned good (photos another time), but I could not wrap my head around how to make the bowsprit irons using the kit supplied brass strip and without using solder and I thought that gluing some small pieces of brass strip to act as the belaying points would not be secure....so I took a page out of Chuck Passaro's book and used black pinstripe tape (3/64" wide). Once wrapped around the bowsprit shoulders, I punctured the tape with an awl and then drilled a little deeper to insert a few eyebolts. I also went one step further and served the eyebolts with black sewing thread. I thought that this would achieve a better look than the thin eyebolts. I'm not displeased with the results, but if anyone can think of a better method I'm open to suggestions!! Next steps: outfit the foremast; shape & outfit the main mast, add bobstay stem plates chainplates & deadeyes, install the bowsprit and add the gammoning iron Until next time, hamilton

Hi Alistair: Good to see you here! Thanks for the compliment. The Glad Tidings is actually a very fine kit. It has been a lot of fun to build and the kit contents are of very high quality I'd say - much higher than I remember from the AVS! I'm still waiting to see your Pegasus log start up here....what's keeping you? hamilton

Wow!! This is your first build? I can't believe how well you've handled the 2mm mahogany hull planks - it looks great! A painstaking process, but it clearly paid off - it's hard to argue against the method if it produces such great results! I'm on my 11th mode ship kit and I don't think I could plank a double-planked hull that well. Very impressive work - I'll follow this log with great interest hamilton

Hello Robbyn: Good to hear that AL are listening. I wanted to make the SF, but the more I read about the SF2, the less I wanted to build it! I took a good long while to find the original double-planked version of the kit, so as to avoid single planking in mahogany... In any case, I'll continue to follow your build! Great work so far hamilton

Thanks for the quick reply, Augie - I had to say I laughed when you said that that colour designation was "Wood" - of course!! I'll check out my local hobby shop to see if they carry this brand - I'm also not ready for carving - I might take a crack at a simplified quarterbadge, but I doubt this will come to much....anyway, keep up the great work here and thanks again! hamilton

Hi there - should I call you "River Rat"? Anyway - I love the details you've added here - great work - can't wait to see more hamilton

Hello all Here are a few more photos - the Glad Tidings so far. Bye for now hamilton

Hi there: I was not keeping a build log on this boat to this point, and have no photos of the construction of it!! So one might well ask - why bother now?!?! I guess I feel inspired by the new MSW and would like also to help re-populate the forum, even if it is a laggard's log I'm keeping.... I was benefitting greatly from the excellent build log of this same kit by Dan on the old MSW - sorry Dan, I don't remember your last name!! His work was truly top-notch and I took a lot of inspiration from his build. I certainly followed several of his suggestions and valued his insight into the trickier aspects of the kit. Sad that it's now inaccessible, but.... I have been having a lot of fun with this kit. It's in 1:25 scale which means there is a lot of detail to be added. The cabin construction was particularly enjoyable - I wish there were more working vessel kits out there in this scale (as a dining-room modeller, I can't really indulge in scratch building!). I've altered the painting scheme somewhat based on the tastes of some friends for whom this model is a gift (in celebration of their first child). Anyway, at this point I am almost ready to dive into the masting and rigging. I still have to permanently install the rudder and add some of the rigging elements (chainplates, bobstay plates). But tomorrow I'm off to Mexico for a week. So in the meantime - I'll post the 5 pictures I have of the build so far - two of the kit and three of its current state! I'll be back at the bench (well, really it's my dining room table) week after next, and then I promise to be a good contributor....Until then - any and all feedback, tips, suggestions and constructive criticism is welcome! hamilton

Excellent work! And a beautiful looking ship. I've heard mixed reviews of this kit, though I plan on jumping in after my current build - any problems I should look out for when diving in? I'll be following your log with great interest! hamilton

Glad you're reposting this!! I built this kit last year and your log was a great help - I'm only sorry I never said anything about it before - but thank you!! A beautiful build looking good atop the fish tank if I remember correctly! hamilton

Looks great so far. I built the older version of this same kit last year - a lot of fun but found the laser-cut parts a little off in some significant places - the bulwarks in particular, though also the decks (less so) - how have you found the quality of this kit? Also - I saw other build logs of the SF II with a single layer of mahogany planking...but it seems that this one is double-planked...do you know if they revised the kit? Keep up the good work hamilton

Your Syren looks amazing! I just got this kit, though won't be starting it for a while. Reading the practicum I often read the words "paint to look like wood" in reference to the Brittania parts. Can I ask what paint you used on the quarterbadges and stern decorations? I'm not exactly sure what finish might look most like wood....and your work on these parts looks great. Thanks for posting! hamilton

Hi Andy: I passively followed along with your Pegasus log before and am glad to revisit it here in "fast forward" - beautiful work! hamilton