NateB

Thank you. I actually think the one i want is water based. Will double check, just haven't had a chance to go past that side of the world yet to go get it. A small minor update: I was near the hobby shop and picked me up one of these Excel sanding sticks with belts on them. I need to sand my ship so i can either seal or oil it (not sure what i want yet). Its really working well at getting in those hard to get places. Especially where i have used too much glue, which is nearly everywhere hehe 😎 Pic of the stick

I have to agree with everyone here. I have seen it with guitars. So many people go and buy a new one and immediately want to be able to play Stairway to heaven and obviously can't, then put it down and never touch it again. They should be starting with a simple bass line or melody etc. I found that most people I asked thought it would be boring to learn. And then when I teach then the basics properly they actually found it fun and sometimes resparked their interest in guitars. I also noticed that people would get frustrated with the higher level stuff because "it looked so easy to do" and when they couldn't it just totally demoralized them. So what I would like to add is that "easy" and "begginer" doesn't mean you won't have as much fun as something more advanced. Nathan

Wow, this is amazing!I am defintely gonna be following this build from now on! What a great log, love the real photos, gives someone like me who has never even been on a ship something to see in comparison.

Yay more Saffas! I am currently working on a AL Santa Maria.

Wow very well done! Definitely gonna be picking your brain hehe

Thank you! What would I dilute the stain with? Paint thinners? And is applying with a cloth better than brushing?

Wow! You're building a beautiful ship. And the incremental updates aren't boring, they're educational!

Was thinking something along these lines, trying to find a good african walnut stain. Think i might have found one in a gel. Will have some updates soon

This is one impressive build log! Hope you come right with your flags, cannot wait to see some "Finished" photos

Thanks guys for the welcome! Ooh another Kaapie!! Yay im not alone!

Very nice neat work!

Good start! Nikbud on this forum also has a very good Virigina 1819 build, you should check his out as his veneer job was superb! Was tossing between buying this one and the Santa Maria. Good luck

lol that is how you take a photo!

Thank you, thank you!! 😀

Looking good! Considering getting this model next. As for CA glue i agree with it "depends on the workman". Personally been using pva glue for mostly everything.

Thanks Kevin!! A small building update from today. Next step is to do the gunwales. I have to do them in sections. Decided to use the laser cut as a mould/jig as bending onto something is easier than bending into something i find. Using a quilting iron to do all my bending, so far has worked really well. So this is where I am currently. I have to do the last two sections which are done in 4 parts. This is where i start to have a problem as the wood supplied varies in coulor and I thought i would have enough of the darker walnut to finish the gunwales, will have to see what i want to do. Need to file and sand back the bits sticking over the knees. Will update when I have made progress.

few more pics So as you can see there is few mistakes etc, quite a lot of areas to still sand and clean up.

Good Evening fellow shipsmiths First a little intro about myself. I am a 35 years young man from South Africa, currently residing in Cape Town. I have done quite a few plastic models before and have enjoyed doing them. My uncle picked up a AL San Giovanni Battista about 15 years ago(which he is still doing) and this was my first introduction to wood modelling. For the last 5 years i have been working in construction which gave me a few skills for me to attempt a wood model. After finding this forum and these build logs i finally decided to do one and to do the Santa Maria by AL as it was one of the readily available ones here in Cape Town. I first wasnt going to do a build log but after seeing how much help others have gotten here am going to do one. Onto the build. I started this build at the beginning December 2019, I dont have many earlier build pictures as over eagerness didnt leave time for pictures lol. I used many of the advice and ideas from the build logs here. Would like to thank whoever created all the articles in the database you have here. I got a lot of ideas from a user Katsumutso(sp) build of the Santa Maria and must say his build is absolutely stunning, not gonna measure myself against it lol. I didnt really have any trouble with the planking phase. I did make a few mistakes when assembling the false keel and bulkheads. i also did not check to see if my deck lined up properly with all my bulkheads and had to use a bit of wood filler as a result. I had more trouble with the veneer as it was harder to get it to bend the way i needed them to but in the end managed. A few pics to show you where I am currently.

Good Evening folks, new guy here from sunny Cape Town South Africa. Been lurking the forums for about 4/5 months now and I finally decided to make a profile. Hope to see you guys in the build logs Nathan