Peter Y.

Thank you for your reply Chris - it was super helpful. I agree that testing it out is the way to go, but I wanted to narrow down the number of options first. Knowing now what this technique is called (treenailing) I've managed to find a few very informative threads here on the forum. Looks like I was just about right with the 0.4 [mm] diameter. I know what I want to do now (graphite caulking and birch toothpick treenails) and will give it a go on a piece of scrap. If it proves to challenging I'll settle for something easier.

Hi, I'm currently working on my first kit (Pickle by Caldercraft) and have a question relating to the false deck which in this case will be partially visible on the finished model. I'm at a stage where it should be glued into position (according to the instructions), but without any planking (which should be done at a later stage). This seemed weird, so I had a look at other people logs (of the same kit) and realized that basically no one followed the instructions on this matter. I've decided to do the planking before I glue the deck into position, but am a bit overwhelmed by different techniques that people use to make it look more realistic and basically don't know what to do. This relates to: Caulking. I've seen people simply use a permanent marker along the edges of the planks, but am a bit worried about messing things up. Can I use a pencil instead? How will it react with the varnish? Won't I end up with graphite smeared all over the thing? Plank meeting points pattern. I'm sure there's a term for this that I simply don't know. The plans suggest using the 'three butt shift system' for the deck, with max. plank length at 29' (140 [mm] in scale). Should I apply the same principle for the false deck? Nails imitation. I like the look of the wooden nails and thought about using the toothpick technique, but I'm not sure if this is in any way accurate in relation to this particular ship. If it is: What should be the diameter (I was thinking about 0.4 [mm]). If it's not: Should I use actual metal nails instead? Also - is there something that I didn't think about / missed? Thanks in advance for any help.

Thank you for the warm welcome. @Blue Ensign Pickle is actually the kit that I'm working on - good to hear it was the right choice from someone that actually finished the build. Just looking at your log solved some of the problems I had. The answer to your linguistic question is: "Both!" :-) Speaking of warmth and pickles: Imagine my surprise when I went for a stroll in this beautiful weather yesterday and spotted the Pickle replica docked in the marina! Quite a coincidence!

If that's the case make the poll visible for everyone but the results only to registered users ;-) I bet you'd get better results. Well... First off one would have to know that it exists and there's no way to find out without registering. Secondly - it's an additional step and although it doesn't seem like much it may put some people off. Of course to verify this one would have to look at the site analytics (e.g. number of new unique visits vs. number of new registration requests). Thirdly - I don't know about other people but I don't just go out and give my e-mail address to any site that might come in handy. Especially if I'm (in this case) new to the hobby and still unsure whether I'll still be interested in a few weeks time. Lastly - Note that there are a lot more valuable resources available to view or even download from the site than this poll, so keeping it hidden away seems unreasonable. This is just my subjective opinion - I've decided to register because this site has a great community and I'm certain that there are many people here that will help me with my first build. The fact is though that at some point after registering I've stumbled upon this poll and just thought to myself that it's genuinely useful - if I knew it existed I would probably register a couple of weeks ago rather than just now.

I'd just like to add that it would be immensely useful, especially for people just starting their journey (like me) if this thread was accessible for everyone and not just registered users.

Thank you for the kind words and useful advice. Apart from some fairly straightforward DIY projects I've never really worked with wood, so I guess that mistakes are unavoidable. Will do my best not to cut off any body parts! I did quite a lot of research already and do agree that there's a vast amount of information available on the web. I was able to get an idea of which kit manufacturers are known for their quality and get the majority of required tools, but after starting the model I quickly realised that simply taking a picture and asking more experienced people for help would probably be a good idea - at least from time to time ;-) Will try and start the build log as soon as possible.

Hello there, I'll say right off the bat that I'm a real beginner. Never built a model in my life and only became interested in this hobby quite recently. That said though I was always intrigued by ships and could spend hours just watching them as a lad. The older I got the more that interest gravitated towards XVIII and early XIX century vessels and that's where it firmly stands right now. I consider myself a layman in the area of maritime history which is probably one of the reasons why I've decided to start my first build - it seemed like a great excuse to learn more about the subject and have some model building fun at the same time. I'm really looking forward to being a part of this great community and am hoping for some valuable advice during my first project which will be a small Caldercraft kit. I know that's not very ambitious, but I was concerned about biting off more than I could chew. /Peter P.S. Note that I'm not a native speaker and although I'm always trying to do my best, do excuse my (sometimes) sloppy use of English.