hollowneck

Clare,
Thanks for the forum link!  Just read through it. Lots of good info. As others have commented, this new WoodyJoe kit is very tempting!
I will also be very interested in your impressions once this new kit hits your doorstep...
 
Domo Arigato!
Ron 
 

Ron, no worries about the pics, though I did create a topic called "All Things Woody Joe", so we could share about their kits of castles, temples, boats, ships, teahouses, etc.
 
You can find it under Shore Leave here: 
 
 
Anyway, the kit is out now, and three people including myself have been really pushing to convince Woody Joe to develop this kit, so I'm sure hoping I'm not the only one who builds this kit, or they are not going to be very happy with us!
 
Clare
 

Clare,
I opened P'Shop and re-rezzed some of my photos for my Takes A Village and I think this fixed the upload interpolation problem!...enjoy.
I'm going to post these now to MSW gallery since I've figured out the problem which has been preventing me from contributing these to the MSW forum.
You get an early peek!!🤩
 
Thanks for the incentive!!
Best,
Ron
PS there's only one in this batch that didn't take on my fix...sorry

Clare,
Thank you - I love yours too.
Long time, no speak! Covid layed us all pretty low...but, on the East Coast earlier this month we had our joint clubs annual Northeast Conference in New London and it was very good; lots of old friends, many models, an all-around good experience. This conference is being reinstated in its regular slot in April (last Saturday of that month) in 2022. My new club (Philadelphia Ship Model Society) will be the host so I'm one of the lead guys to organize this event since I've worked on two previous Conferences with the Connecticut club.
 
My wife and I moved to PA from CT this summer: a really long story with all kinds of problems (getting a new home, selling wasn't the issue) but things are settling in for us now. Our principal reasons for a major life change (at 75, trust me, it's a major change) were to be closer to family and the outrageously expensive living costs in Connecticut. The family part is the most important however, a daughter/son-in-law with 4 chilluns: an entire family we're very fond of.
 
Yeah, sometimes the site flips uploads in weird orientations. I tried this earlier post a couple times and it kept doing it. Grrrrrrrrr. But I'm glad you took my suggestion to pick your monitor up and turn it...🤣 Actually, if you have an iPad you can turn off the auto-rotation and flipping it around is quite manageable!!
 
I'm building Vanguard's HMS Sphinx kit now: I'm not doing a Build Log but I have posted some pics and a narrative on the Kit Review thread. Check it out if you'd like. I'll put my model (built as HMS Camilla, a sister ship of the era-1775) into a diorama. I'm hooked now and love to place my models in these dramatic settings.
 
Here's a few more of my Ongakuka "Takes A Village"diorama; no guarantees on picture orientation...in fact, only two uploaded correctly this time, plus some of the figures I used which were wonderful. They came unpainted from the U.K.
 
Please PM me when you get the new WoodyJoe Atakebune.
 
Hope You and Yours are well and have stayed safe during the plague year (and a half).
Cheers and Best Regards,
 
Ron
PS You may not know that I'm now a Director of the NRG. Mostly Good News. I'm very involved with new initiatives for the organization. Some tasking with MSW, but mainly with the quarterly Journal and other new things, like the yearly calendar, webinars, the 2021 Photo Contest, etc. ALso writing some feature articles that will be forthcoming next year.
 

I would be interested in this model. I built WoodyJoe's Higaki Kaisen last year and placed it in a diorama. A superb kit with many new challenges... not the least of which was a build document in Japanese. But with thanks to Clare Hess and his advice along the way, it got completed and is now displayed as "It Takes A Village." For those who can read Japanese, the Clan ensign reads: "Ongakuka" (maru): which translated means "Musician(ship)." Pun totally intended!
Ron
PS Sorry, kids: I have no idea why these photos uploaded in crazy orientations. A suggestion: just grab your screen and rotate it.



 
 
 
 

The stern fascia piece needs to align so that the top of it (which has the "scallop" peak on the sides is exactly flush - even- with the highest point of the bulwarks that it meets (thin red section). You can see (barely) that my alignment of these elements at this point is slightly lower (perhaps .6 mm) than optimum but my tolerance at this same point is closer on the starboard side of my build. This is what I meant by "close tolerances for proper fitting."
 
My comment about the lower counter and finishing piece/drop has nothing to do with this upper stern fit dilemma; my apologies, this may have been confusing. Please note however that in the manual there is an error in the build photo on Page 41, step photo 220 and points to the PREVIOUSLY MOUNTED Gallery Upper Pattern in error: this is a subsequent build step and DOES affect the lower gallery construction. James H may clarify this for you.
Ron

Congratulations Tom on your winning BOTH of the NE Show awards!  Your model is stunning, beautiful. You've done an excellent job on the case too.
Good to see you personally at the show.
 
Best,
Ron

Congratulations Tom on your winning BOTH of the NE Show awards!  Your model is stunning, beautiful. You've done an excellent job on the case too.
Good to see you personally at the show.
 
Best,
Ron

Congratulations Tom on your winning BOTH of the NE Show awards!  Your model is stunning, beautiful. You've done an excellent job on the case too.
Good to see you personally at the show.
 
Best,
Ron

Me too! Clare...
 
Excellent. This source continues to be an interesting modeling option. Thanks for posting the photo and details for ordering; I'm tempted to spend the ¥38,000 and put this on my stash shelf. What a kool "artifact" from Japan's maritime history. It resembles European warships of the Middle Ages with castles at the stem and stern because warfare was still bows n' arrows mostly. Apparently there was also plenty of rowing labor😂 then... I agree that with some good detailing and better coloration on the woodwork it would improve the look.
 
When this kit hits your doorstep, please take a few pics of the box contents and the all-important instructions/plans. I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd love to see these as well as your build log - should you do one.
 
My apologies for what appears to be my hijacking of your thread about this model's availability. I will remove the posted pics here if you'd like (by going to edit I think I can do this) - or you can since I've now posted these photos in the Gallery. I have yet to learn how to contain my enthusiasm; that's my excuse, for now...
 
Ron
 
 
 

Me too! Clare...
 
Excellent. This source continues to be an interesting modeling option. Thanks for posting the photo and details for ordering; I'm tempted to spend the ¥38,000 and put this on my stash shelf. What a kool "artifact" from Japan's maritime history. It resembles European warships of the Middle Ages with castles at the stem and stern because warfare was still bows n' arrows mostly. Apparently there was also plenty of rowing labor😂 then... I agree that with some good detailing and better coloration on the woodwork it would improve the look.
 
When this kit hits your doorstep, please take a few pics of the box contents and the all-important instructions/plans. I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd love to see these as well as your build log - should you do one.
 
My apologies for what appears to be my hijacking of your thread about this model's availability. I will remove the posted pics here if you'd like (by going to edit I think I can do this) - or you can since I've now posted these photos in the Gallery. I have yet to learn how to contain my enthusiasm; that's my excuse, for now...
 
Ron
 
 
 

Thanks Bob, much appreciated.
When posting and reading comments from others the last few days, I am consistently reminded that MSW is also a Very Good Village -  for all of us!
We're 40,000 Plus members now (and still growing), but, importantly still "human scale."
 
Ron

Clare,
I opened P'Shop and re-rezzed some of my photos for my Takes A Village and I think this fixed the upload interpolation problem!...enjoy.
I'm going to post these now to MSW gallery since I've figured out the problem which has been preventing me from contributing these to the MSW forum.
You get an early peek!!🤩
 
Thanks for the incentive!!
Best,
Ron
PS there's only one in this batch that didn't take on my fix...sorry

Clare,
Thank you - I love yours too.
Long time, no speak! Covid layed us all pretty low...but, on the East Coast earlier this month we had our joint clubs annual Northeast Conference in New London and it was very good; lots of old friends, many models, an all-around good experience. This conference is being reinstated in its regular slot in April (last Saturday of that month) in 2022. My new club (Philadelphia Ship Model Society) will be the host so I'm one of the lead guys to organize this event since I've worked on two previous Conferences with the Connecticut club.
 
My wife and I moved to PA from CT this summer: a really long story with all kinds of problems (getting a new home, selling wasn't the issue) but things are settling in for us now. Our principal reasons for a major life change (at 75, trust me, it's a major change) were to be closer to family and the outrageously expensive living costs in Connecticut. The family part is the most important however, a daughter/son-in-law with 4 chilluns: an entire family we're very fond of.
 
Yeah, sometimes the site flips uploads in weird orientations. I tried this earlier post a couple times and it kept doing it. Grrrrrrrrr. But I'm glad you took my suggestion to pick your monitor up and turn it...🤣 Actually, if you have an iPad you can turn off the auto-rotation and flipping it around is quite manageable!!
 
I'm building Vanguard's HMS Sphinx kit now: I'm not doing a Build Log but I have posted some pics and a narrative on the Kit Review thread. Check it out if you'd like. I'll put my model (built as HMS Camilla, a sister ship of the era-1775) into a diorama. I'm hooked now and love to place my models in these dramatic settings.
 
Here's a few more of my Ongakuka "Takes A Village"diorama; no guarantees on picture orientation...in fact, only two uploaded correctly this time, plus some of the figures I used which were wonderful. They came unpainted from the U.K.
 
Please PM me when you get the new WoodyJoe Atakebune.
 
Hope You and Yours are well and have stayed safe during the plague year (and a half).
Cheers and Best Regards,
 
Ron
PS You may not know that I'm now a Director of the NRG. Mostly Good News. I'm very involved with new initiatives for the organization. Some tasking with MSW, but mainly with the quarterly Journal and other new things, like the yearly calendar, webinars, the 2021 Photo Contest, etc. ALso writing some feature articles that will be forthcoming next year.
 

I would be interested in this model. I built WoodyJoe's Higaki Kaisen last year and placed it in a diorama. A superb kit with many new challenges... not the least of which was a build document in Japanese. But with thanks to Clare Hess and his advice along the way, it got completed and is now displayed as "It Takes A Village." For those who can read Japanese, the Clan ensign reads: "Ongakuka" (maru): which translated means "Musician(ship)." Pun totally intended!
Ron
PS Sorry, kids: I have no idea why these photos uploaded in crazy orientations. A suggestion: just grab your screen and rotate it.



 
 
 
 

Congratulations Tom on your winning BOTH of the NE Show awards!  Your model is stunning, beautiful. You've done an excellent job on the case too.
Good to see you personally at the show.
 
Best,
Ron

Hi everyone
I finally was able to finish the display case. Right now it is just sitting on an old table in my modeling room. We are about to start refurnishing some of the rooms in our house i.e. rugs, couches, bedrooms and what ever else pops up. These projects tend to morph into much more than you originally plan. 🤔Once everything is back in order I can put the case in it’s final home.  Here are some pics although the lighting was not to great. I plan on putting a couple of wireless light bars on the top glass plates to help with illumination. 

 

 

 

 

 
Now I am going to attack a birthday present from 3 years ago, a 9000 piece puzzle of the battle at Algiers. I think it measures approximately 5ft by 7ft if I remember correctly. It will make a nice wall hanging in my modeling room. 
Hopefully with a little help from my friends I can get the puzzle done by Christmas and then get started on a scratch build of the Charles W. Morgan.
 
Thanks again to everyone for the support during my Leopard build. 
 
Tom

Congratulations Tom.  Very well done on the model and very deserved n the award.

Congratulations, Tom!  This is a well- deserved recognition of your talent and your careful work on the Leopard.

Thanks Tom and to all those at the conference. The USS Constitution Model Shipwrights Guild did a wonderful job putting together this year’s show. The enjoyment this hobby brings is reward enough and to be acknowledged by your peers just adds to the journey. Thanks again to all those who helped me along the way with this build. It was nice to see everyone  and the models in person. 
 
Tom

The Northeast Joint Clubs meeting was yesterday.  About 100 models were on display, 48 of which were entered into the Jim Roberts Competition.  These were generally fantastic models.  I'm sure that everyone who follows this build load would want to know that HMS Leopard won the Jim Roberts Award at the meeting.  This competition is sponsored by the Ship Model Society of New Jersey (SMSNJ).
 
The Jim Roberts Award was created in memory of Jim Roberts, one of the founders of the Ship Model Society of New Jersey (then the Ship Model Society of Northern New Jersey).  As a modeler, Jim was noted for craftsmanship, beauty, and attention to detail of this models.  The criteria for this award are designed to identify the model that best exemplifies the standards to which Jim aspired. It is a judged competition and a judge is provided from each of the five clubs that form the conference. 
 
The Leopard also took the first place award in the Sail Category of the Peoples Choice.
 
Congratulates Tom on a truly beautiful model that was up against very stiff competition.
 
Tom Ruggiero

Beautiful build.  You did a fantastic job on building this model.

Clare,
I opened P'Shop and re-rezzed some of my photos for my Takes A Village and I think this fixed the upload interpolation problem!...enjoy.
I'm going to post these now to MSW gallery since I've figured out the problem which has been preventing me from contributing these to the MSW forum.
You get an early peek!!🤩
 
Thanks for the incentive!!
Best,
Ron
PS there's only one in this batch that didn't take on my fix...sorry

Hi Jack & Tom,
Looking forward to seeing you on a few weeks at the New London conference.  I will be bringing her there to show.  I hope she looks as good in person.
Tom

Hi JIm,
As far as sails they do change the way everything looks.  I think they are necessary if you are doing a diorama.  Not so much if just displaying a model. They added a few months to the build and added to the complexity of the rigging lines.   I may just do furled sails on the Morgan I will be doing just for something different.  We will see when the time comes. 😄
 
Thanks for the support and kind words over the course of my build.
Tom