Mahuna

Hi Don - really nice work. When securing a knot, it's better to use matte medium or a diluted white glue to avoid the 'plastic' look. When I don't want any sheen from glue I use Scenic Glue from Woodland Scenics.

Hi Doug - very nice work on your Leon. I've been looking in now and then, and just saw your comment on the lumber hatch. One thing you might try is to mix some sawdust from the same wood as the planking with Scenic glue and use it as a filler. Scenic glue (from Woodland Scenics) is a PVA glue that dries without any sheen, so when you use it this way the wood dust visually blends in with the wood around it and flaws are covered really well. I've used this approach with small gaps between planks and it worked for me.

Nice work, Chris. Keep the updates coming - you're making great progress.

Very nice work, Chris. You're making some real progress now.

I agree with Steve - I would use two-part epoxy. The five-minute type would be my choice. A couple of points: when you clamp the piece to the hull you'll find that the wet epoxy is pretty slippery and the piece may want to slide while you're clamping it. Also, the epoxy will tend to run and ooze out of the small holes. This can be cleaned up while it's still wet by washing the unwanted epoxy off with a brush dipped in 90% isopropyl alcohol. You need to make sure you get the unwanted epoxy off before it has cured - after it's cured you'd have to grind it off. Chris - like doing anything for the first time I'd use some scrap pieces for testing until you get familiar with using the epoxy. Epoxy is super strong when cured, so you won't need to use a lot of it. And you're always welcome to come over so we can play around with the epoxy before you put it on your model.

Nice work, Chris. I'll be following along, and hope to see it in person sometime.

Thanks for the suggestion Jack. I'll be driving a small SUV, so won't need to use the seat anchors. Too bad - always like to meet other MSW members.

I'll be taking Kathryn to next week's meeting of the San Diego Ship Modelers Guild, and then will be going on to Carlsbad, California - total driving time will be around 12 hours. I'm a little nervous about Kathryn bouncing around in the car for that long, so I had to devise a way to keep her steady in the car. The building board for the Kathryn build is about 6-8 inches longer than the overall length of the model, so I will use that board and I devised a clamping arrangement to keep her steady on the board, as in the following photo. The cross-pieces press down on Kathryn's base, and the surface of the cross-piece which touches the base is lined with a soft rubber padding to avoid scratching the base. The boom is only held from swaying side-to-side by the main sheet, so I wedged a piece of soft foam rubber between the boom and the board that joins the 2 davits. The yawl boat is suspended from the davits by a block configuration and could easily sway back and forth and do some damage to itself and/or the model, so I epoxied a clear acrylic rod between the side of the boat and the bumper at Kathryn's rear. This is a permanent solution, but I thought it was necessary to protect the model during its life - not just for the trip. Some future work still remains for Kathryn - she needs a display case to protect her from dust, dirt, grandchildren, and cleaning ladies. In the meantime I've started the drafting process for the next model, and I'll post a link here when I start a new build log in a month or so. Cheers, everyone!

Looks great Rich - stay on the journey! Hope to see you soon.

Welcome to MSW Chris. It’s good to see another ship modeler here in AZ.

Thanks Carl, and thanks Tom.

Thanks Druxey. I think I'm the one who should be sending appreciation to all of the folks who have been very encouraging along the way.

Thanks Jerry. I admire folks like yourself who have actually worked on these boats. I have a good friend who is an experienced waterman (and an excellent modeler) who has been a great source of info during the project. Thanks Will. I think when you see Kathryn in person you'll probably pick out some things that are NOT the best parts!

Thanks Patrick - but I don't think I'll be making sails again. Thanks Popeye. The JTL will be interesting when compared to skipjacks. Thanks Gary. Thanks Ed. I've tried to apply what I've learned from watching your work since I started modeling. Thanks Greg. I've actually been thinking that at some point I might offer the Kathryn to CBMM. Thanks John. I guess you could say this is how she looks at the start of each oystering season, before the paint dries.

Hi Patrick - she'll be a little beauty. Amazing work, as usual.