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Thanks for the "like" button hits!! You spoke too soon Carl, I kept looking at my sister blocks thinking they just didnt look "right." Looked back at TFFM which is where I came up with my dimensions. Then looked at Masting and Rigging and realized I had completly scaled them wrong!!So, back to the drawing board.... Sam

Rich, guns and carriages look good. Have you painted the bottoms of the carriages? Maybe try brushing some epoxy diluted with a bit of alcohol on the bottom? That should help reinforce the wood some. You can put them in your oven on LOW (120º?) to speed the cure time. I use my oven all the time for that but I have a pilot light. I would think the very lowest setting would work unless its in the 200 degree range, you don't want to bake your wood. Otherwise just let them sit out overnight. Sam

Not problem Carl. I think the only people who might take issue are the mods. Lou, that's what government is for. Come spend some time in Kalifornia. Back to building. I have Trimmed up my Fore Top Shrouds, they came out ok although I think I will be removing one or two of the top Ratlines, I may have gone a bit too far up. I Started in on the Main Top Shrouds, I did a better job turning these in than I did on the Fore Top. I still cant seem to get my servings to all end at the same length for some reason. Its barely noticeable so I am leaving them. Just something to work on in the future. I think I need to fix the center dead eye though, its a bit low. I got a wild hair and decided to carve some sister blocks, they are coming out......ok, I have seen much better here. Having trouble getting them to be somewhat similar in shape. I did find this micro abrasive cord at Amazon. It is working pretty well at shaping the sheaves. That's all the news that is fit for print. Better half is out of town for a couple of days, hoping to get a bit more build time in the next few nights. Lets see what Mr Murphy has to say about it. Sam

And whats wrong with living in LA I ask you?? I have lived here all my life, if you can get past the Nanny Laws, the self absorbed, pretentious idiots and the traffic its a great place to live. We have the mountains....... oh, wait they are all on fire. OK We have the beaches, well, the sewage spills keep the smart ones out of the water. We have San Diego. Yes San Diego. Sigh...what was a two hour drive is now 4+ hours each way. Ok, Ok Ill move. Its really not all that bad, I was only serious about the Nanny Laws and self absorbed people. Back to your build, Lou. It looks like we are all on the same page, just keep at it and all will be well. Sam

So this where you are hiding, right in plain sight. Youre really getting into the plastic builds it seems? Nice start, will grab a chair (but not lou’s “Barbi”, will settle for O.C ‘s) and watch. Sam

Lou, With the exception of a few Demi Gods on this site, we all have aspects of our builds we wish could/would be better. I imagine even the Build-Gods here have the same thoughts, they just dont show it. I do understand about waiting a bit until you have something to show. "Hey Look! I put one more Plank/shroud/eye bolt on" But at the same time progress photos can help keep you out of trouble. When I decided to scratch build my masts I had all the woldings on and though, "Dang, how will the Boom (Gaff??) operate? So I treated them like a Mizzen Mast and took them all off except for the top one. Then realized only my Main Mast has a boom/gaff. I could have left the Fore Mast alone. Had I posted "boring" progress photos as well as my concern some sharper builder would have chimed in and saved me. My Enterprise will forever have one wolding on each mast......😱 So, post us some pictures man!! 😀 Sam

Getting caught up here finally, looks great CDW! I am constantly amazed by what is available for plastic today, you guys really set the bar up there for the rest of us. Sam

Looks good Rich, I like your Macro lens!!! Sam

Lou, Coming along well. The planking looks good to my eye. Sam

I was always partial to hi explosives. Aka black cat fire crackers 😇 sam

You mean the sprues were not part of the kit? Maybe that’s why mine never looked like the box. Ill ll never forget the day I discovered resin add on kits. And a PE afterburner kit for an F18. Never was able to pull the PE kit together. Lookimg forward to following along in this one. Sam

Wow!!! I get in on the first page!!! so rare for me. You’re bringing back childhood memories with this one. I believe I was 13-14 when I built her. I havent touched a plastic ship since I was a teenager, how hard would it be to by some very thin veneer at Rockler and plank the deck? Sam

Dennis, we are good this year. The hills behind my house burned last September, I think my neighborhood is safe for a couple of years. Btw, what does “krabbenkutter” mean? Any idea? sam

Insert beverage of choice here. Sam

LOL!! My entire work bench is a scrap box! Thanks for stopping by everybody and to all who hit the like button. Port side is ratted now, well three more and then done. After that I'll trim everything and take a couple of pictures. I have my Main Top Shrouds served, just have to join the mid point together and I can start the process all over again. Lou, Shrouds arent terribly difficult, although this next round I will tie everything off in place. My fore deadeyes are a little out of alignment. I understand a real working ship they would not be perfectly lined up but from 51 feet away I feel like you would not see slight differences. But thats just me.... Sam

If you can get through all the brush fires it would be a nice drive. Sam

We live in the desert Steve, its going to be a while till it cools down. must be time for a cold one. Sam

Thanks for the comments and likes everybody. Murphy has been a busy boy lately, making sure I get very minimal build time in. Work slowed down but with all the things that were put off over the last several months, I had a few projects to deal with, an annual fishing trip with my brothers and a couple of trips to the emergency room. All is ok, thought I had the beginning of appendicitis, I had a pain in the same place for several days that would no go away. We still dont know what that was, images show nothing out of the ordinary. Another night I had what we thought was an allergic reaction to something I ate; red splotchy skin, hives, crazy heart beat and blood pressure, breathing issues. They treated me for anaphylaxis and sent me home later that night with instructions to see an allergist. They found nothing but a couple of minor allergies to grasses and trees, but NOT mango or tuna which is what I ate. Instead they found the tuna was bad (smelled fine). Apparently there is a bacteria that will grow in some fish and the by product is histamine, LOTS of histamine, which leads to anaphylaxis. Heat wont destroy histamine apparently so even if I burned dinner I would have had issues. Fortunately Better Half was working and didnt eat or we would have had to call an ambulance for both of us. Instead she drove me the short distance to the hospital (she was walking in the door as symptoms were getting "interesting." "Honey, do I look red?" "Yes" "Hmmmm, lets go see how busy the ER is." All better now, I will take food poisoning over having to worry about what is in my food for the rest of my life and carrying a $600.00 eppi-pen. Now as for the build, when last we talked I had started the Fore Top Shrouds. The Starboard side is ratted down and I started the Port side this afternoon just before I took some pictures. The port side would be done already but when I started the rats I discovered the shrouds were a bit loose for some reason. They didnt LOOK loose just felt loose. I figured, no problem I'll just tie them off and all will be well. Can you hear Murphy chuckling in the background? obviously I didnt as I just jumped right in. I had 5 ratlines tied off and leaned back to take a look. They looked like some weird staircase instead of nice taught shrouds. So, after redoing the lanyards and sheer poles I was back where I started at this morning. Much better than where I was at lunch time!!! Obligatory pictures, dont want to anger Sjors or Lou!!! 😛 (yikes! I see in my absence we have the entire IOS assortment of emoticons!!) Apologies for the soft focus. I was hand holding and didn't check my shutter speed. Or my point of focus apparently. Sam

Getting caught up Rich. Nice save on the Top. AS I was reading I was thinking a towel or rag would do the trick, and you thought of it before I could comment. Well done. Sam

Mark, I have been away, was the shipyard part of a larger move, or just a move "down the river?" Sam

Dennis, Nice progress. I know what you mean about life interfering. It will come back, in fact it looks like it may have? Lou, when you started calling for pictures I thought Sjors had apperated here finally, then I saw the signature and realized you were just channeling him. Sam

Great Job and a great gesture giving her away so other can enjoy her. Sam

Looks great Dennis. So you'll be out when to sew my sails??😆 Sam

Steve, Getting caught up, planking looks good. Sam

It is!! I have worked in Monrovia since 2006, down the street from the H Depot. There have been a couple of times when I have seen the hills in your neighborhood burning I thought, wow I hope all is well at your place. Sam