jct

I hear you about work........this is the last day of my vacation.   I'm afraid of what I'll find when I get back.   look'in at a week's worth of unsettled weather to boot!.....at least I was off for the big storm that hit us the other week      haven't tried it before,  but I don't think an acrylic would stick to P.E. very good,  since it's based with water.  I would suggest good 'ole enamel,  or suspension based paint.   looking forward in seeing your results  

Thanks for all the likes,,,they are a little on the large side for this scale, but I'm thinking once painted and glazed it wont be that noticeable, plus all the skylights will be a consistent size and shape...should be more pleasing to the eye, least that's my thought...we will see, hopefully I'll get to them this weekend but the chores have staked up here what with all the chaos at work!
 
  The instructions warn against warpage so I plan to primer with a solvent base rather them acrylic prior to removing them from the frames...I'll be sure to post pics

The Pilot House project has come to a satisfactory finish...least its good enough for me...
 
 
The aforementioned screen was glued in from the bottom

 
Microscale Kristal Klear was applied to the windows to simulate glass

 

 
The finished Pilot House...

 
...still needs to have a coat of sealer applied and the roof detailed and painted, as you can see I went with the traditional white...the ivory I planned to use was bit to yellow for my taste.  I'm currently debating whether to weather lightly or not...
 
Well that's all for now... thanks for looking in
J

Thanks Popeye...the small scale is a challenge, but you can display more ships in a limited space      I think it's kinda neat to see how much detail you can pack in...used to have a lot of fun with ho scale armor in plastic...teenie tiny dioramas.
 
A few more pics:
 
I painted the gun carriages a dark sea gray, influenced by some colorized pics I'd seen on line from the era, but they look a little dead and flat

 
so I decided I try a little dry brush on them to see if they'd pop a bit

 
here they are with the barrels set up

 
Spent a little time painting out the hatchways and skylights...still have to make the "windows"

 
Well that's it for now....thanks for your time and attention
J

window frames look cool.........like something you'd see in a factory structure      are the window panes small enough?

Nice recovery Denis...she is looking fine

Hi everyone,
Work has finally gotten back to some semblance of normal, which means it's still hectic but manageable, lol...so I got some time at the table, I wanted to scratch build frames for the skylights on the deck houses.  After a couple attempts that I was not satisfied with I parked things for a bit...
 
I was perusing the old interwebs and came across a site...Rusty Stumps, maker of model railroad stuff...I found some laser cut HO scale double hung windows on their site that looked interesting, and thought they just might fit the bill, so I decided to order them to take a look.
 
 I'm really happy with the product, very sharp and precise, relatively inexpensive with cheap fast shipping, very pleased.  Those on the hunt for some semi-scratch material may well find this supplier worth a look. 

   My first attempt seemed a little to thick...

No room for mullions

#2 difficult to square

Rusty Stumps to the rescue

Close up of the window frames
A shot with the deck houses with the frames, should work out well...I'll keep you posted on the progress
THX for your time and attention
J

Hi everyone,
Work has finally gotten back to some semblance of normal, which means it's still hectic but manageable, lol...so I got some time at the table, I wanted to scratch build frames for the skylights on the deck houses.  After a couple attempts that I was not satisfied with I parked things for a bit...
 
I was perusing the old interwebs and came across a site...Rusty Stumps, maker of model railroad stuff...I found some laser cut HO scale double hung windows on their site that looked interesting, and thought they just might fit the bill, so I decided to order them to take a look.
 
 I'm really happy with the product, very sharp and precise, relatively inexpensive with cheap fast shipping, very pleased.  Those on the hunt for some semi-scratch material may well find this supplier worth a look. 

   My first attempt seemed a little to thick...

No room for mullions

#2 difficult to square

Rusty Stumps to the rescue

Close up of the window frames
A shot with the deck houses with the frames, should work out well...I'll keep you posted on the progress
THX for your time and attention
J

Nice recovery Denis...she is looking fine

the thought of giving this a second coat did not impress me.   that's when I thought of the dull coat.   I did notice another spray can in the back row that I hadn't looked at........it was a can of flat lacquer.   it's put out by model master....does it matter what I use.........no,  not really........hmmmmmm.   setting the hull in the spray booth I set up.......all it took was three quick passes.  when both sides were done,  I closed the door and waited for it to dry.   I checked in on it after a while and was amazed with what I saw.   the hull looked much better.......the blotches were gone,  as well as the problem that was plaguing the bottom paint.


it needed to dry a little bit longer.   when I finally brought the hull back out to the computer room,  it was completely dry.  where I use enamels,  there were no adverse effects.   I'll allow it to dry for most of the day before I do anything more.......still more deck work to go.   I could do the rudder.........makes sense  

after I left here,  I took a look in the camera.   I have a few pictures from the other day....for cry'in out loud!   I even have a picture of the deck with a coat or two of lacquer Don.   I prefer the semi gloss......it tends to leave a slight sheen,  but not overwhelming on the deck.  decks,  I feel,  should be close to flat,  since they see the weather.   the lacquer I decanted is a flat......actually it's called dull coat {after reading what it said on the cap}.   this leaves the deck dead flat........a little too flat,  than what I prefer.

as can be seen in this picture,  the rub rails have been added.   having marked them off,  both sides were installed.

the transom was a bit tougher to do.  after soaking two pieces of strip stock,  they were bent and fitted.......one didn't make it.

a short time later,  it was trimmed and cemented in place.   that's when the filler came into play.......I went over the hull,  filling in all the imperfections I could see.   this included the transom,  filling in all that nonsense and what gaps were in the transom rail.


more sanding was done after,  evening up the stern keel {you can see the bulge there},  and anywhere else that needed help.   .......and then it happened!   the bottom paint was added.   I thought about doing the copper thing,  but thinking how small the the pieces would be,  I opted just to do the paint.   this is the Billing's paint - copper......the same paint I used on the AmericA build.   it's a different hue than the Testor's copper paint.........I have at least five or so bottles of it.  back when I was doing my first United States build {back in the 90's},  I ran out of copper paint and couldn't find any anywhere.  come to find out,  there was a shortage of copper {so I was told},  and all copper reserves were being used to make coin.........no copper products were being produced because of it.   my admiral and a friend of hers were out shopping one day,  and spotted a model paint display,  which had several bottles of copper paint.  she called me and asked me about it......needless to say,  I directed her to buy as many as she could.......I got all seven bottles.    so,  I've had this supply since then........and when Billing USA went out of business,  Tom sent me what was left of his inventory of paint.   this also had four or five bottles of copper paint.......I am lousy with copper, gold,  and silver paint {meaning,  I have a lot of it}.   the Testor's copper paint is more vibrant in hue, than the Billing's copper........it also dries to more of a flat finish.  the hull was masked of and painted.

  you see the blotch I did with the archive pen........actually,  the tip of the pen wasn't damaged by it either.....it lives to mark another day     then came the sad part.......    after allowing this to dry for the rest of the day...this morning,  I decided to paint the upper part of the hull.   I chose a nice green....Testor's paint.   I was about to add some thinner to it.......opening the cap,  I noticed that the paint had solidified!  I took my pick,  thinking that it just might have skinned over,  and tried to pull the layer off of it........wasn't happening.   it was jelly underneath.   oh well.......what to do, what to do.........I have nothing in the Billing's paint........unless you like Brunswick green {too dark}.   the only thing I have,  is a bottle of Model Master med green {FS34102}.  shaking the bottle and looking at it........I liked the color better....a better hue than the Testor's green I was going to use.   so......on it went!   I like it...........it's still a little blotchy because it's not totally dry,  but I think {I hope},  it will go away.


I have a little touch up to do on the starboard side,  but other than that,  it looks good.   I'm going to add a bit of tension here.....kinda make this a nail biter......the blotchyness did not go away.   I'm thinking of what I can do to alleviate it.   ....a second coat.......?   I did both colors with a brush........shows how much technique I've lost,  since I started to use an air brush.  I wouldn't have had this problem,  if I had used one in the first place!!   I have the Spraycraft compressor {I have a complete outfit of this brand of air brush}.......I could have set it up and used it,  instead of the compressor set up I have in the garage {it's still too cold out}.   I wasn't happy with the copper either........now that it is closer to being fully cured,  it seems to have taken on a faded,  dusty appearance.   I'll usually will do a primer coat before the color coat......I didn't in this case.   am I to pay dearly for it?  .....fine mess I've gotten myself into!   putting on the painter's cap......I have an idea.   icky-mae!

a little more has been done to the build........nothing yesterday though.   I got side tracked doing video production.   we have a couple of bins of VHS tapes...movies...........we bought a VHS to DVD program for the computer.   I tried three computers,  until I found the one that will handle the program.  I had to give up my keyboard {hence my not being here yesterday}....but for my sacrifice,  I got a brand new one    of course,  the first tape I had to burn was our wedding video........I looked like a dork!
 
anyway........I did finish the aft deck.   the two deck in relation,  look pretty good 

it was sanded and scraped.....and given the stain coat.   it really changed the way it looks.


I have run out of the semi gloss lacquer.  I had gone to Hobby Lobby.......and my luck,  they don't carry it in the bottle.......I had to get a rattle can.   so I decanted some and I had to wait for the propellant to escape,  before I can use it.   I'll be giving her a coat or two today.  I had better hurry though.......it's my youngest son's birthday,  and I promised a taco supper for him and his girlfriend.  fun times had by all!  

Nice deck work Denis

looking really nice Denis, not so bad with the small stuff your own self, i see!   Cabins are sweet   

hi Don.....I'm typing with one hand again......holding a rub rail.   the finish you see there is just the stain.......but I think the aft deck has a coat of the bottled lacquer {which I have now run out of}.   I just finished giving both decks two coats of the new lacquer......which I find is a flat........says dull coat on the cap.   it really doesn't matter which one you use.....the semi gloss tends to dull out as it cures.   it gives a nice hard finish and is a bit more scratch resistant.......that's why I like it.   there is one draw back though.   the bottled lacquer is not as bad,  but the rattle can lacquer can be very touchy to temp and humidity,  due to the addition of propellant in the formula.   when I  {if you have to do it}  decant my paints,  I leave the caps loose for at least 12 hours,  lightly shaking it every once in a while.   if you have to use the rattle can.......be sure the temp is around 70 degrees with low humidity.  it's worth the effort though......
 
thanks Carl! 

Nice deck work Denis

Nice deck work Denis

Nice deck work Denis

Nice deck work Denis

when I called it a day,  I am almost at the half way point. more will be done today  


 

I was like paint with this ship yesterday.......I was all over it!    I began planking the main deck..........starting at the bow.   there is a big opening for the bow spirit......I wanted to make sure it would fit in there OK.   I had to file the angle in the knight head hole,  and got to see how much of it was really needed for the root.

more planking ensued,  filling in the area under the fore deck.   I knew I'd need to be creative with some of the planks......odd cuts and shaping.   here's one of the odd planks I had to make.   the calking is done with an archive pen.

I use the clothes pin to hold the planks as I do the calking.  I had to make one for the starboard side............it's in place here.

I just filled in what would be seen under the fore deck.  with the windlass and pump in place,  this may not be seen as much.

I had filled in all around the first hold...then I had to rip it up,  due to messing up the mast hole.   at the other end of the ship,  the aft bulwarks were getting the inner planking done.  using a piece of the wide mahogany 0.5 mm flat strip,  I tried making the waterway that runs around the transom.   tracing the shape of the stern on the mahogany,  I tried to hand draw the inner border.....I didn't do too good

I took the cut out and cleaned it up.   after tracing another stern outline on the mahogany,  I used it to trace the inner cut out.

this stuff is very brittle.......it put up a fight......broke a couple of times.........but I was able to rough out the part I need.

both sides of the aft bulwarks are done.....

Hi Len,
Been following along...the weathering is superb, very impressive
 

Hi Len,
Been following along...the weathering is superb, very impressive
 

thanks Zoltan.......I hope to be planking the deck.   if all goes well........I will be  
 
Dr. Per......I heard that there was a count associated with the like button before the site update.  now I'm hearing that the update nulled this count and that the like button means nothing.   I didn't care about rank back then.........I'm not into the count thing either.   the only factor as far as reputation goes that I go by,  is how one conducts themselves on the site.  I don't need a quantifier to tell me that I'm just an average Joe here.   the site will change from time to time,  but as long as I can still value friendship,  that's good enough for me  

I'm starting my third build log here on MSW, this time Model Shipways rendition of Picket Boat #1.    I first must apologize as once I cracked the box, I couldn't contain my enthusiasm and started building right away...so I've no inventory pics.   What drew me to this kit was the exposed boiler and steam engine, the kit provides some excellent photo etched detail parts and some white metal castings that I'll photo and index as I add them to the build.  The laser cut wood pieces appear to be of the highest quality and those I've worked with have proved to be such.
 
  So without further adieu... Model Shipway's Picket Boat #1.
 
  The first thing to notice is that the kit deck planking is laser etched into the fwd and aft sections, and no planking is supplied for the decks or bulkheads.  The kit instructions recommend staining the decks but my kit had some rather prominent grain on the forward piece that would have been way out of scale so I made the call to use some walnut veneer to make planking and apply this where required.
 
  The aft section is to be painted so that is fine as it is, but I wanted wood on the bow and did not want the planking to stand above the trim boards so the center was carefully removed following the laser lines, a new section was made from stiff card which was planked with walnut.  All the decks, seats, and exposed bulkheads were covered, the bulkheads may or may not be painted, I haven't made up my mind yet.
 
  The keel was built up following the kit instructions, no modifications here, but when I went to carve the water way at the bow it did not go to well, so this has been filled and will be sanded in later.  All the frames that required faring have been marked out my Model Shipways, all one has to do is carve and sand to the lines.
 
  I plan to add some details to the kit so I've opened some of the coal bunkers with the thoughts of showing off the fuel, not sure yet whether this will be purchased or scratch built, leaning toward the latter.
 
Well that's about all for now, pics follow, thanks for your time and attention.
THX
J