hamilton

Thanks for your response Chris!
 
Yes I understand - but it's not about a version of the vessel - it's about specific kits that are desirable to build and that create real excitement among the modelling community - yours and Chuck's fall squarely into that category. No offence to Panart, but the Victory you designed just seems better in every respect. I don't necessarily want to build "a" Victory, but I definitely want to build your Victory, if that makes sense.
 
The economics of kit manufacture are unfamiliar to me, so I would never presume the circumstances you face in developing and maintaining your business. That's not what the issue is. It's more that perhaps some business innovation - like Chuck's with the Winnie & Cheerful broken into chapters, or CAF's with their line - will be helpful at sustaining this craft for a broader cross-section of the ship model market. $500.00 is about my limit for a kit - about the price of Chapter 1 of CAF's Granado. I imagine others set their sights similarly or lower. If the Victory or other high end kits were presented in modules, I imagine way more people would buy them and manufacturers could tap into markets for their products that otherwise represent unrealised demand. It requires some innovation and re-thinking on the manufacturer's side, but once that's done.....
 
It's kind of like when the Bell phone company originated, they though that their business model would involve selling expensive devices and connection services to the wealthy - niche product, small market, high price point. Bell (well....Alfred Vail) figured out that the value of their network was based on volume of connectivity - so there was good business sense in expanding the network and lowering the cost of service to facilitate this - a move that led to massive profits for Bell and put them in the catbird seat for network development for a sustained period of time. I believe you, Chuck, CAF are in that position now, representing younger and more innovative entries into the manufacturer's market with an opportunity to refresh things overall - think of the number of kits you have developed in the last 2 years relative to what Caldercraft/Jotika has introduced in the last 2 decades....that says a lot, I think, about market position and market potential. People are excited about your kits and Chuck's too, and this community provides an active following that serves direct promotional functions. It's a great situation! But it could be even better!
 
The idea of the high-value product for the niche modelling market is fine, but there is still money to be made outside of that market with the same product through a different organisation of the manufacture and presentation of the kits. Admittedly I have no idea how offering kits in sections/chapters might affect the cost of manufacture - obviously a big concern - or even if it is a realistic approach to design....but it seems something worth exploring more generally as a means of sustaining the craft and the businesses on which it depends. The modular nature of ship modelling itself also supports this approach.
 
Full disclosure - I'm a philosopher by trade and not an entrepreneur, so my comments here come from a pretty idealised conception of how to run a ship model business - or any business! But at the level of accessibility and market development, it seems to make sense to offer avenues of access that can realise the value of the ship modelling market more fully than the complete high-end product can or does.
 
I hope these remarks are not taken in any way as a slight against any kit manufacturer's practices! More the observations of an envious modeller dreaming of a different world.....
hamilton

More planking. Used the same technique as the hull planking: drilled holes for trenails, filled them with darker wood filler (“golden oak”) and finished with tung oil. The filler darkened some with the tung oil. Having fun with this part! Moving forward.
 

Looks great - I had a lot of fun building this model way back - the finished product is still in my office! Hope you're enjoying this one
hamilton

That person is me!!! Planking drives me crazy!!! But I love building deck structures and absolutely love rigging.....The hard part is - who gets the finished product!! It's easier to ship a hull than a fully rigged model, after all......but I've always wanted to visit Tennessee!! 
hamilton

That person is me!!! Planking drives me crazy!!! But I love building deck structures and absolutely love rigging.....The hard part is - who gets the finished product!! It's easier to ship a hull than a fully rigged model, after all......but I've always wanted to visit Tennessee!! 
hamilton

Nice work on the repair Cisco!
hamilton

Nice work on the repair Cisco!
hamilton

Rudderattached!
 

 
Started planking the deck and painted the places where the gratings and ladder will be black. 

 
 

Great work on the topmasts!
hamilton

I think your build looks really great! Very neat work at this small scale!
hamilton

I think your build looks really great! Very neat work at this small scale!
hamilton

Okay, not much more done but wanted to see what it all looked like. Deck items not all completed or stuck down yet, hull not painted. I decided to do things like this, despite the instructions. 
 
1) Complete hull and prime to get as perfect as possible. Not glued on the gunwales as I want to paint inside of the rail on ship before gluing. (Not sure what this is called) 
 
2) Complete all deck items. This is because I want to then finish the deck before painting the inside of gunwales as mentioned above. And to finish the deck, I want to mask off the deck items..so I need them done.
 
I decided to do a fair bit of extra work to the dory boats. The instructions are to create a very basic boat and add a couple of seats. I haven’t finished them yet but had a look on here for larger scale models of bluenose (scale 1:64 I think) and try to emulate these. Not easy at all at 1:100 scale but I’ve had a go. They are better than what was given in the kit I think anyway. Will finish these next. 
 
3) I then plan to (as I then haven’t done it yet) to mask deck where items will be glued and give 3 coats of Danish oil. 
 
4) Paint inner wall Deck (not sure of the name still)
 
5) Glue on gunwales. 
 
6) Paint the hull. So easy to just say like that! 
 
7) Attach all deck parts. Some gluing and some with slight mechanical fixing like 1mm brass dowel. 
 
Hull will then be done. It’s taking time! 

A quick update on deck stuff. Largely finished except for a winch wheel. The finish is okay unless you look real close. I’ve got in a nasty habit of photographing, zooming in and despairing at the results.  
 
I really have no idea if what I’ve done is any good. The scale is 1:100 so I’m finding it very tough. 

Bit more done. Sorted rudder and part of winch. Tiny little posts made also. Get some painting done tomorrow I think as lots of parts are black and white together. Hull has had 4th coat of primer. Needs one more. 

Great work on the topmasts!
hamilton

Thanks JJ and Dowmer.  The wood is Swiss Pear.
 
Filing the tricky tapered octagon at the top of the topmasts-

 
All that's left at this point is making the hole for a sheave near the base--

 
And, pretty much done on the two topmasts--

 
Next will be the mast caps, and then I'll be able to set the masts, tops, and topmasts up (temporarily) on the model!
 
Ron

Some progress on the transom while I continue to ruminate about the second planking at the stern.....looking at the small number of other Bellona logs on MSW, I'm struck by how different the transoms are on each - all look good, but all are slightly different - for example, on Harlequin's excellent Bellona log, the balcony, moldings and bottom edge of the transom seem not to have the same athwartships curve (not sure if I can use "camber" in this context) as mine does - certainly not as pronounced. This led me to angle the molding pieces on the transom face so as to follow this line, which required also some fine fitting of the transom planking. The planking between the moldings will be covered by photo-etched parts, so I just laid these strakes in line with the molding. The transom was finished blue to show through once the stern figures are added at a much later stage, while the area beneath the balcony was finished black - some other p-e parts will be fitted there eventually. I also added moldings at the joint of the lower counter and the transom - these mark out the sills of the stern chaser ports.
 
This has been an interesting experience - I haven't made this complex a stern area since my Blandford build over a decade ago, and that was quite tricky to work out. This one is a bit more complicated than that, so I'm trying to go slowly and to be as methodical as I can - but I'm bound to make some mistakes - I wonder if I've already made some and am just waiting to find out about it!!
 
In any case it's still fun, so all is well. Enjoy and happy modelling
hamilton
 

A bit more work on Bellona today - finishing up the counter planking, stern chaser gunports & the filler blocks at the bottom of the quarter galleries. The lower counter planking was initially a little confusing - the kit calls for 2 layers of planking here but the total thickness (2.5mm) seemed a bit much, so I installed only 1 layer of 1mm x 4mm strips here. I added some extra framing around the gunports so I could plank up to them and painted this framing red, which will be slightly visible once the gunport lids are installed. The last plank to be laid was the one up against the upper counter planking - I made a template for this from card paper and transferred the curve to a wood strip - it took quite a bit of trimming and shaving and sanding and carving until it fit reasonably well - a little bit of filler, sanding and painting later and the results look pretty good, I think. 
 
The next step will be the make gunport lids for the closed gunports in preparation for the second layer of planking. I decided against using the dumby gun barrels provided with the kit and to keep any ports that featured these closed. The plan is to install the gunports (minus any hardware) prior to second planking, so I can plank around the ports - hoping this can lead to clean results. In the meantime - enjoy the photos and happy modelling
hamilton
 

Hello there:
 
A bit more work on the stern area - I installed planking on the upper counter - spiled from 1.5mm x 10mm stock - and started on the quartergallery framing. In working on the latter, I decided to scrap the 1.5mm plywood support piece - it really did not seem necessary to me - and took a different approach.
 
The first step was to make a tracing of the general quartergallery outline from the plans and transfer this to the model - I was happy to discover that the tracing needed no adjustment and that it fit very nicely in place on both port and starboard sides. Once this was done, I used the outline to trim the framing pieces in their length and width so they fit nicely in place - the aft edges of all pieces and the inside edges of the lower two piece also had to be chamfered slightly to fit. I used the trimmed pieces to mark out their locations on the hull. Filler pieces could then be added using 1/16" scrapwood. It was then a very simple matter of installing the frame pieces. 
 
That's all for now - enjoy!
hamilton

A bit more work on Bellona today - finishing up the counter planking, stern chaser gunports & the filler blocks at the bottom of the quarter galleries. The lower counter planking was initially a little confusing - the kit calls for 2 layers of planking here but the total thickness (2.5mm) seemed a bit much, so I installed only 1 layer of 1mm x 4mm strips here. I added some extra framing around the gunports so I could plank up to them and painted this framing red, which will be slightly visible once the gunport lids are installed. The last plank to be laid was the one up against the upper counter planking - I made a template for this from card paper and transferred the curve to a wood strip - it took quite a bit of trimming and shaving and sanding and carving until it fit reasonably well - a little bit of filler, sanding and painting later and the results look pretty good, I think. 
 
The next step will be the make gunport lids for the closed gunports in preparation for the second layer of planking. I decided against using the dumby gun barrels provided with the kit and to keep any ports that featured these closed. The plan is to install the gunports (minus any hardware) prior to second planking, so I can plank around the ports - hoping this can lead to clean results. In the meantime - enjoy the photos and happy modelling
hamilton
 

A bit more work on Bellona today - finishing up the counter planking, stern chaser gunports & the filler blocks at the bottom of the quarter galleries. The lower counter planking was initially a little confusing - the kit calls for 2 layers of planking here but the total thickness (2.5mm) seemed a bit much, so I installed only 1 layer of 1mm x 4mm strips here. I added some extra framing around the gunports so I could plank up to them and painted this framing red, which will be slightly visible once the gunport lids are installed. The last plank to be laid was the one up against the upper counter planking - I made a template for this from card paper and transferred the curve to a wood strip - it took quite a bit of trimming and shaving and sanding and carving until it fit reasonably well - a little bit of filler, sanding and painting later and the results look pretty good, I think. 
 
The next step will be the make gunport lids for the closed gunports in preparation for the second layer of planking. I decided against using the dumby gun barrels provided with the kit and to keep any ports that featured these closed. The plan is to install the gunports (minus any hardware) prior to second planking, so I can plank around the ports - hoping this can lead to clean results. In the meantime - enjoy the photos and happy modelling
hamilton
 

A bit more work on Bellona today - finishing up the counter planking, stern chaser gunports & the filler blocks at the bottom of the quarter galleries. The lower counter planking was initially a little confusing - the kit calls for 2 layers of planking here but the total thickness (2.5mm) seemed a bit much, so I installed only 1 layer of 1mm x 4mm strips here. I added some extra framing around the gunports so I could plank up to them and painted this framing red, which will be slightly visible once the gunport lids are installed. The last plank to be laid was the one up against the upper counter planking - I made a template for this from card paper and transferred the curve to a wood strip - it took quite a bit of trimming and shaving and sanding and carving until it fit reasonably well - a little bit of filler, sanding and painting later and the results look pretty good, I think. 
 
The next step will be the make gunport lids for the closed gunports in preparation for the second layer of planking. I decided against using the dumby gun barrels provided with the kit and to keep any ports that featured these closed. The plan is to install the gunports (minus any hardware) prior to second planking, so I can plank around the ports - hoping this can lead to clean results. In the meantime - enjoy the photos and happy modelling
hamilton
 

A bit more work on Bellona today - finishing up the counter planking, stern chaser gunports & the filler blocks at the bottom of the quarter galleries. The lower counter planking was initially a little confusing - the kit calls for 2 layers of planking here but the total thickness (2.5mm) seemed a bit much, so I installed only 1 layer of 1mm x 4mm strips here. I added some extra framing around the gunports so I could plank up to them and painted this framing red, which will be slightly visible once the gunport lids are installed. The last plank to be laid was the one up against the upper counter planking - I made a template for this from card paper and transferred the curve to a wood strip - it took quite a bit of trimming and shaving and sanding and carving until it fit reasonably well - a little bit of filler, sanding and painting later and the results look pretty good, I think. 
 
The next step will be the make gunport lids for the closed gunports in preparation for the second layer of planking. I decided against using the dumby gun barrels provided with the kit and to keep any ports that featured these closed. The plan is to install the gunports (minus any hardware) prior to second planking, so I can plank around the ports - hoping this can lead to clean results. In the meantime - enjoy the photos and happy modelling
hamilton
 

Hello there:
 
A bit more work on the stern area - I installed planking on the upper counter - spiled from 1.5mm x 10mm stock - and started on the quartergallery framing. In working on the latter, I decided to scrap the 1.5mm plywood support piece - it really did not seem necessary to me - and took a different approach.
 
The first step was to make a tracing of the general quartergallery outline from the plans and transfer this to the model - I was happy to discover that the tracing needed no adjustment and that it fit very nicely in place on both port and starboard sides. Once this was done, I used the outline to trim the framing pieces in their length and width so they fit nicely in place - the aft edges of all pieces and the inside edges of the lower two piece also had to be chamfered slightly to fit. I used the trimmed pieces to mark out their locations on the hull. Filler pieces could then be added using 1/16" scrapwood. It was then a very simple matter of installing the frame pieces. 
 
That's all for now - enjoy!
hamilton

Some progress on the transom while I continue to ruminate about the second planking at the stern.....looking at the small number of other Bellona logs on MSW, I'm struck by how different the transoms are on each - all look good, but all are slightly different - for example, on Harlequin's excellent Bellona log, the balcony, moldings and bottom edge of the transom seem not to have the same athwartships curve (not sure if I can use "camber" in this context) as mine does - certainly not as pronounced. This led me to angle the molding pieces on the transom face so as to follow this line, which required also some fine fitting of the transom planking. The planking between the moldings will be covered by photo-etched parts, so I just laid these strakes in line with the molding. The transom was finished blue to show through once the stern figures are added at a much later stage, while the area beneath the balcony was finished black - some other p-e parts will be fitted there eventually. I also added moldings at the joint of the lower counter and the transom - these mark out the sills of the stern chaser ports.
 
This has been an interesting experience - I haven't made this complex a stern area since my Blandford build over a decade ago, and that was quite tricky to work out. This one is a bit more complicated than that, so I'm trying to go slowly and to be as methodical as I can - but I'm bound to make some mistakes - I wonder if I've already made some and am just waiting to find out about it!!
 
In any case it's still fun, so all is well. Enjoy and happy modelling
hamilton