GGibson

Nice work, Major! Looking sharp. And you were able to salvage the bulkhead stanchions! Like several before me, I chopped mine off and did fake stanchions the whole way. Nice job, sir!

Nice work, hamilton! And, yes, ratlines aren't that bad... tedious, but a bit fun, and rewarding when you are done and they look sharp! But, I agree, some type of background noise, whether a podcast or music of your favorite genre, is highly suggested! Can't wait to get to this point on mine. Carry on, sir!

Very nice build, Roger! As others have stated, the Lobster Smack was a good ship for planking! Keep us updated on what you decide. Always fun to watch others' build logs.

Started looking at what I needed to do for nice main rails along the sides, and decided I needed to get some larger/wider basswood sheets in order to adequately account for the curve of the hull. Those sheets are arriving tomorrow (Tuesday), so until then, I thought I would work on one or two other things. I chose working on getting the rudder ready. First up was, of course, to sand all of the rudder sides, removing the char and tapering the rudder from top to bottom and from front to back. Out of the box, the rudder measured 4.77mm thick. Beginning with 100 grit sandpaper and working down to 220 grit sandpaper, I sanded the outside edge to less than 3mm tapered, with about 2.5mm thickness at the bottom. Seemed to look a LOT better. In genericDave's (Suburban Ship Modeler's) build log, he suggested putting a small cup or divot into the rudder where the dowel stock piece will sit, in order for the rudder to sit properly once the pintles & gudgeons are placed on the rudder and attached to the hull. I have a really cool little carving bit as a Dremel attachment (#191), which worked really well in shaping that area! Sweet! Using about 15-20mm of the 5/32" dowel for the rudder stock, and shaping/tapering it, I glued it to the rudder. Needed to make sure that the stock piece would fit in the hole,, and I did need to open it a bit more (using that Dremel #191 carving bit again!) until the rudder test-fit perfectly. (And, yeah, that close-up of the underside confirmed that I need to touch up the hull painting before that's done and ready to seal.) Time to paint it! After priming the entire rudder piece, used the same Winsor & Newton Galeria Acrylic Red Ochre paint as the hull. Painted and sanded a few times (up to 400 grit) until it looked ok. I painted the rudder stock piece black, using the same Liquitex Basics Acrylic Mars Black as on the hull. It all looks good. Pretty simple... but I needed simple for a change, albeit briefly. This will be set aside until time to attach the pintles & gudgeons. Tomorrow it's back to working on the main rails... then the buffalo rails, monkey rails, etc, etc. Whew!

Lot of curves on that backside, I remember! Excellent work, Major!

While I am waiting on the nameplate and scroll painting/printing assistance from the granddaughter, I thought I would begin working on the rails, beginning with the bow and stern main rails. When I was working on the stern planking, I was a bit concerned with the height of the stern/transom and how much I would need to reduce the size of the "legs" of the shelf holding the boom sheet buffer that fits underneath the stern mail rail. As it turns out, it needed to be cut down quite a bit (over several attempts) in order to adequately fit. All in all, however, I think it came out ok. For the boom sheet buffer castings, I dipped them in some acetone for a minute to clean them up, then after drying, I painted them black using the same Liquitex Basics Acrylic Mars Black I used for the hull, but painted the ring at the top a brass color using a simple DecoArt acrylic metallic paint. Drilled two holes in the shelf, glued all the pieces together, and placed against the back of the deck against the transom. I'm thinking the "zoom-in" using my iPhone makes the white paint on the transom look a bit rugged. Honestly, with the naked eye of the casual observer and with the stern main rail above it, it doesn't look quite as rugged (I hope!). Then I fit and attached the bow main rail and the stern main rail in their appropriate spots. Others have commented on how poorly these pieces fit and many have remade these pieces completely from scratch. For the stern main rail, after positioning in just the right spot, I was able to glue just the rear part of the main rail to the transom. Then after that fully dried and set, I carefully "spread" each of the two side rails to where they each fit well against the inside edge of the stanchions, where the rails will continue along the side. Not quite as happy with the bow main rail and how it fit, but should come out ok once we get the bowspirit slid underneath and clean that area up a bit with touchup. Will now work on the side rails. As I think others have done, my initial plan is to work on these rails in sections, using wider pieces where the belay pins will be located, and narrower pieces that simply cover the stanchions. Carry on!

Nice, John! I am horrible at soldering. Can you do 34 of 'em? <shrug> 😉

In that case, I've donated $101, just to test... Yay, it worked! Please continue doing an awesome job, MSW staff!

Thanks for the heads-up, Chuck! Will begin creating my list of blocks needed for my Bluenose replacements from what was in the kit. Enjoy your beach vacay!

Ahhh, yes. I have the Keel Klamper! Has worked pretty well for me when needed! I also have this foam thing that my Bluenose is currently sitting in. I like it because of its short height. With the Keel Klamper, the ship sits higher than I like for some things, especially when working on the deck. Your planking will work itself out. Sanding will do wonders and, once painted, the casual observer won't know how many planks you placed...

So far, your planking looks superb, Major! What kind of vise are you getting? Will definitely make the job easier, though.

It all looks really good, Tim! May need to look into that MicroMark resistance soldering unit, as my soldering attempts on previous builds was... not hot! <shrug> Your bowspirit looks nice, too. Have been working on the top rails and determining how to fit the bowspirit on my Bluenose, as well, while I wait on the nameplate and scroll work completion. Keep on forward!

Lined up nicely, Major! 👍

Hey Tim - Thanks for the response. I won't totally give up on the airbrush. I was thinking the airbrush method may be better than hand brushing when it comes to painting the various cast metal pieces. We'll see how that plays out when we get to that point. Regarding the scroll work and lettering, yes, I was also planning on printing to decal paper. I have the Sunnyscopa Laser Waterslide Decal Paper, which I hope works out well. Once the granddaughter is able to help me with the Photoshop formatting, I'll see how that works out. Thanks again for looking in...

Well, it's been a "month of Sundays" since I have posted a progress update on my Bluenose, so... here I am. I had a busy April-July traveling with my recently-retired wife, with several trips to Florida to see family, a trip to Nashville, and several trips to Iowa, including one for my 50-year high school reunion! So, during that time, the shipyard was severely neglected! In fact, I even moved the shipyard to another part of the house, as well. With all that, I was also really nervous about the hull painting process. I was really wanting to learn how to use an airbrush for all of the hull/bulwark priming and painting. So, some time was spent with that learning curve, as well. You'll soon find out how THAT process went... <shrug> First step was to tape off all of the deck, in order to protect it from the paint. As others have done, I used some narrower 6mm & 10mm Tamiya masking tape along the stanchions, and some wider 24mm Frogtape as filler in the middle open area to cover the entire deck, leaving the areas between the stanchions open for they grey primer. I also taped the top of the waist board and tops of the stanchions and, using an Exacto blade, cut the tape to expose the bulwark sides. A bit time-consuming, but read where that should help when gluing the rail on top. Then, using a Badger Patriot 105 airbrush, I successfully sprayed some gray Stynylrez primer on the hull exterior and the inner bulwarks. I made several passes of primer, sanding using 320 grit and then 400 grit sandpaper in between coats. As someone else commented in their build log, the primer really accentuates the flaws in the hull, so I ultimately used some Tamiya white putty to spot-fill those areas, getting as smooth of finish as I could. Still a few blemishes, but I'll move on. Time to actually get some paint on the hull! In reading other build logs and their hull painting steps, it appeared the right sequence was to get the white on the waterline (also paint the inner bulwarks while I had the white paint out), then red on the lower hull, the narrow yellow stripe just above the scuppers, then black above the waterline. Long story short, I did not have success in using the airbrush attempting to spray the white waterline. I was using the Vallejo Air paint, and got it to a "2% milk" viscosity, but it was way too runny. I then had some issues with clogging, so decided to just go back to old-school brushing. I thought I had done enough practice spraying to be comfortable, but.... not so much. I'll work on practicing with the airbrush another time. Painted the white waterline wide enough to allow for some adjustments when actually placing the waterline mark. I used my "helping hands" tool and a sharp #2 pencil to show the waterline. Used the Tamiya masking tape to protect the white above the waterline mark, and gave the lower hull about 5 coats of Winsor & Newton Galleria Acrylic Red Ochre, sanding with 400 grit, up to 800 grit sandpaper in between. I then lined up the yellow line along a cove above the scuppers. I wasn't really pleased with the Liquitex yellow color I had, so switched to a simpler Apple Barrel Acrylic Matte yellow. Again, not concerned about the width, as I will narrow it to the proper width when I paint the black above and below the yellow. I used the points of a compass to properly and accurately measure and mark the width of the waterline so I could tape the line and paint the upper hull black. I did estentially the same thing for the yellow line, as well. After 4 coats of the Liquitex Acrylic Mars Black (again sanding between coats with 400 grit & 800 grit), the hull looked pretty well overall. Glad to get this painting done! Doing some research on other build logs to determine if doing some poly coating (either polycrylic or wipe-on polyurethane) on the hull and/or the deck would be good. Appreciate any advice on that. I have been looking at what to do for the nameplates and the scroll work. I asked my daughter if she was proficient in Photoshop, in order for her to help me create the documents/files needed to print. She said a better option would be to have my 13-year-old granddaughter assist me, as she is pretty good with Photoshop. Who knew?!? So, those are my weekend plans with family! Next after that will be working on the rails, I think. Trying to get back in the shipyard more regularly now that my spring/summer travels have ended. Appreciate the comments on what I need to do better!

Great start, Major Chaos! Looks really nice! I've had a busy spring/summer, so haven't done much on my Bluenose for a while. Am just back to it, painting the bulwarks, the hull and finishing the deck. Will be posting an update soon, but in the meantime, will be following yours, as well. Carry on!

Looks awesome, Chuck! I should probably order those blocks and deadeyes sooner than later before they all end up in boxes for the move!

It all looks great, Hamilton! Will definitely be looking back on this build log when I get to the stages you have covered. Appreciate you sharing!

Yes, just haven't updated in a while. Will catch up on log once I get the hull painted and deck sealed.

Looks great, Tim! I am at the hull painting stage on my Bluenose, as well. Hope mine comes out as sharp as yours looks! 👍

Great pictures, John! What an experience... Thanks for sharing! Hope to incorporate some of what you saw in my Bluenose (when I get that far!)

Pintiles look great now, Eric! I recall having issues fitting those darn things correctly, as well.

I got a supply of extra thin superfine 0.04 inch toothpicks that I use a LOT for different applications, especially if I want to place a tiny spot of glue... someplace I can't otherwise reach. A mini hand planer to shape masts.

Looking great, Chuck! Can't imagine how much work it takes to create such quality blocks. I have this page/thread on "notification" and will order my awesomely superior supply of blocks (and deadeyes, too?) as soon as I see your GO post. I don't need a lot of them, but will you have some 7MM triple blocks in your inventory? Thanks!

Great work on the hooks, Chuck! Nice to see you "back at it"! Keeping an eye on the blocks announcement. 👍