edmay

Hello Vince,whether you consider yourself an expert or not your work is thorough,inteligently done,many of us would agree that you are a first class model builder and thank you for the learnings,appreciated,Edwin

Wow ,great work Andy,Edwin

nice work Denis

nice work Denis

nice work Denis

nice work Denis

nice work Denis

Welome back and see u soon ,great progress of high quality will follow .Edwin

I wish I knew.
Due to several personal matters I had to put on hold building in general.  But I am very excited because this morning I saw the end of those troubling issues and I will re-start my build as soon as this very week. Thanks for you interest Ronald. 
Best regards 
 

Hello Jesse, Your modeling is nice to follow,you put thoughts,patience together ending with a fine result, with the mountains you often climb you always make it to the top,a joy to watch.Edwin.

Hi ,very nice neat workmanship , could let me know were you purchased the figures ,thanks , Edwin

Your doing real nice work. happy new year .Edwin

Your doing real nice work. happy new year .Edwin

Your doing real nice work. happy new year .Edwin

Your doing real nice work. happy new year .Edwin

Your doing real nice work. happy new year .Edwin

Your doing real nice work. happy new year .Edwin

thanks for the kind comments folks     I can count on one hand,  the hulls where planking went well for me.....it's not my strong point.  but by the time paint or stain goes on,  they look good......and I'm happy with it     I didn't get much done yesterday.....things to do around here.  we visited a new gaming store that the admiral found {my other major hobby}.  I talked to the owner for quite some time.......if I ever wanted a part time job,  I'd be a good contender for a position   I used to play a lot with my younger son,  and we've owned just about every system out there.  even though modeling wasn't our biggest draw,  my sons and I are still very close  
 
thanks Zappo....I know I did a boo boo putting a picture of the Nordkap here......I'm not sure which one you mean.  the Norden is a fairly up to date kit of a 1930's coaster.  it's laser cut with the usual hieroglyphic Billings instructions.  I've built so many Billing kits, that it's not a huge problem for me though,  I get the jist of the instructions from the pictures     the Nordkap is an old kit.  the one pictured above had to come from a very early production period.  it was not laser cut and featured printed basswood part sheets and planking.  the one I got for Christmas is even older than the first one....I would be pretty safe to say it's very close to a first production kit.  it isn't laser cut,  but instead of basswood,  it features printed mahogany part sheets and planking.  I'll be using the printed parts sheets {of course},  but the planking I will save for a sailing ship,  or a model that I won't feature paint on {I want that wood grain to shine}.  on the Nordkap pictured above, I used about 90% of the original wood......something that I'm very proud of.  I believe other pictures of her is in the gallery.
 
thanks John and Pat........I'm absolutely froze up here!   it's hardly ever been this cold so early in the season.  today we have a major snowstorm going on....they are saying 8 - 10 for us........I feel bad for the folks down around the cape.  they are bracing for almost 2 feet!.......coastal areas will be hardest hit {praying for you folks!}.   I was toggling between Mass. news channels last night.  now that the kitchen table is open again,  I'll be able to spread the huge instruction sheets out for the Thermopylae without fear of wrath.  there's still some deck work,  but as John said,  I need to get to the masts    as mentioned.......the new table is long enough.........I'm sure there's enough elbow room      I'm hoping that 2018 is a more productive year.
 
thanks OC......funny you should mention ribs.   yesterday I dropped the hull on the floor.   where I had a pin in one of the stern ribs,  it had cracked the rib in half lengthwise.   since I'm so far along with the planking,  this won't be an issue.......glue will fill in the void and will still be solid    that's a good way to look at the site and what it means to us.......but I have one better.   since I have been coming here {2009},  I have met and made so many friends.  I've always wanted the ability to 'pen pal' folks in other countries,  back in the days when I did it in letters.   I recall a fellow in Belgium I used to write to....named Jean {I forget his last name}...a fellow modeler.....I recall some really long letters.  a few months later,  the letters dwindled and then they were gone.  thanks to the internet,  we can all meet in these 'hubs',  and we can show, share,  and compare what we do,  and help each other to enjoy our hobby more.......and most of all,  learn and expand our knowledge and abilities.   it's an unstable world out there........and so is our beloved internet........when things go sour and the site goes down,  it saddens me the most when I lose touch with my friends.   this site is remarkable.......kudos to all of you that keep the gears moving here...this is by far,  the best site I have ever been a member of    I appreciate every day I can come in here,  to show you all the crazy stuff i've done   
 
I'll finish the hull today.....I have a great incentive.  the snow has picked up in intensity......it's REALLY coming down NOW!    other than taking Gibbs out,  I have no plans to go out there.  I hope folks stay off the roads and stay safe.!

thanks Piet     I was ready for the ball to drop......we ordered Chinese food.....I got some of my favorite spirits.   our youngest son and his fiancee came over and we played cards.  had a couple beers,  but never touched the spirits  ....don't drink like I used to.   when I was younger........'party' at the drop of a hat......but not now.   ended up watch'in a movie with Gibbs and never saw the ball drop.   I hope you and Gwen had a great holiday season,  and that 2018 is good to you folks as well.   to one and all........a Happy new year as well.....I hope you are all equally as prosperous!  
 
I did get further with the Norden,  although I'm making a sow's ear of it.   as mentioned,  paint will hide a lot of sin     I didn't hold the line very well,  and it got away from me really quick.   not one to back track,  I did the best with what I had done.   I will add that this hull is a carbon copy of the Cux and the Mary Ann....if you put all three side by side,  you'd see the similarity.   the 'zipper started at the bow and worked it's way back to the stern.

this model does the stern cap differently........Billing supplies two blocks of balsa,  that fit into the cavities,  to be carved and sanded to shape.   the new table's maiden voyage is going along smoothly.   it's nice to have the two drawers,  allowing my 'most used' tools to be at the ready....just wish the pick ax would've fit in there     off to the side,  you can see that the admiral got her way.....although I went with a three shelf bookcase,  rather that the  bohemouth she wanted me to get.   I forget what year it was.........I had seen the plans for a wall bookcase....I tore them out and kept them.   I found them the other day,  tucked in my old yearbook..........I'll save it till we get our own place again {although if I built it here,  it would be an improvement}.  here is how the Wharf now stands.....

up top,  you can see the crown jewel of Christmas......the Nordkap.  I'm hard on the trail to find the fitting kit for her.   contacted Billing/Danmark.....but no reply,  so I sent an inquiry to Roger @ Age of Sail,  to see if he can help.   if that falls through,  I'll either have to keep my eye on E-Bay or continue to do,  what I started to compile already.......go piecemeal.   I'd be pleased to post another log on this vessel.......she was so much fun to build  

Pictured here in 2011,  waiting for her last two pieces.   you can be sure that another hull will be cloned from her    the only drawback to this configuration,  is that I have to keep all my wood in the spare room.  that will change though,  once I unseat the Thermopylae from the top of the bookcase      while I was in my muse state.....I continued to cut out the margins.  as mentioned,  it's proving not as easy,  as I would have liked.   due to the width,  they are a bit fragile....I will have to do some piece fitting when it gets cemented in place on the deck.  it will make deck planking easier though,  not having to fit pieces in along the bulwarks.

 the planking went further back on one side of the Norden......almost to the point of closure.  I'm determined to get at least one side done today.

I did some sanding.........I do believe there's redemption for the hull after all     finally done.........with more sanding to the stern........a little filler should smooth her out quite nicely.

the stern bulwarks however,  did not fair well,  after the initial crunch from that clamp.  more had crumbled by this time.   I cut it out and removed it......A piece will be made to fill in the gap.   I never did like these thin plywood bands........I think,  on the Mary Ann,  I simply planked from the top of the posts on down,  and never used them.  in this case,  it might have been good not to use them......the band is only 0.5 mm,  although the parts list says that it's 1 mm,  and the planking looks to be about 1.5 mm......rather than the 1 mm strip the list says.  there is a dramatic thickness deficit here,  none the less.  I'll take care of that later.....right now,  I'm geared to get the other side planked and sanded.....take care of the stern,  then  I can deal with the bulwark band when I fix the stern.

thanks for look'in in   
 

Nice progress Denis and a happy, safe and healthy 2018 to you all.
 
Cheers.

thanks OC......and those who hit the like button    I bought a bag of each.......the smaller ones were easier to change over than the larger ones {I have to cut off the bent ends}.   I'm not the best planker in the world.....my little hiatus left me a bit rusty.  awwww,  what the heck......a little filler,  a lot of sanding.......no problemo!      I've set up the other table in my son's old bedroom,  so I can work on plastic projects in there,  and the table here in the computer room can be for the wood builds.  this new table is long enough.....it might not be so hard to work on another project,  if an idea comes to mind.  here's to 2018......may it be more productive   

The last one was The Searchers, this is The Rescuers. Breaches Bouy rescue, imaginary, not an actual rescue.
Jim 

Hi ,very nice neat workmanship , could let me know were you purchased the figures ,thanks , Edwin

So here is where I am at currently. have done the underside of the second deck. This is a bit tricky as you have to mark it out from underneath when you place the deck on top of the boiler and engine room structures. As you can see over the horse bay, one went a bit wonky, but you cant see this when the deck is fitted. Made a novice mistake here of actually gluing the battens into place before painting the underside white! A lot of careful painting the result! After all had dried a test fitting revealed a really good fit of battens against all upper wall structures. Only real problem I encountered was that my deck in this particular kit was pretty warped. Really had to make sure the outline was correct before cutting and placing the battens. At this stage I could glue the second deck on I guess, but I have chosen to plank it first. Plus I want to add more to the horse bays, and it will be easier to access that area without the deck attached.

Time for an update.......
I just finished painting the hull. I did the white paint 4x and now I am satisfied how it looks.