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AJohnson

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  1. AJohnson
    Thanks Andy, I will look out for your log when you start. I think what might have happened was one of the clips slipped, putting a strain across the counter pattern, which as it was soft from soaking, slowly split during the night. I have just checked it this morning and all is fixed now, all I need to do is a bit of sanding and delete a few posts on this log and no one will know! 😆
  2. AJohnson
    Thanks Craig, yes I:m hoping it will be okay once the covering part goes over it. Just need to make sure the underlying profile is correct with a bit of sanding. Onwards and upwards, 👍
  3. AJohnson
    Nice start 👏, good to see another little working boat on the forum, I'll be following along. Also good to see you got the deck pattern on without breaking any bulkhead nibs off, unlike some who are tackling another Vanguard kit at the moment. 🤐
  4. AJohnson
    Progress so far on building up the hull ready for planking. So far I am up to stage 51 in the instructions, spent a fair amount of effort in sanding the bulkheads so that the first layer of planking will sit okay, running a plank up and down the bulkheads to make sure there were no areas that didn't sit right. There is a bit more to do yet in one or two spots, but happy with progress on at least this bit. Then attached the keel and stem patterns and stern post, there was a little opening of some of the bulkhead slots to do to get these in, but no really issues here. But then I tackled step 51 in the instructions and I've bust the kit again! 😖 In my defence I followed the instructions and soaked the stern counter pattern in hot water for half an hour then clamped it into position and left it overnight. I came back in the morning to the scene in the penultimate picture... oh dear. ☹️ So I've checked the alignment and just glued my new two-piece stern counter in place! Think it should be okay with a bit of sanding once dry, I will let you know when you tune into the next instalment of the good ship "Calamity" - "Nisha"! 😨
  5. AJohnson
    Really really nice build Chris, just wouldn't know it is a card model, very neat.
  6. AJohnson
    Well my first encounters with Vanguard are good, but still not fool (me) proof, I have broken two bits already, but they are conveniently hidden and glued under the false deck….. 🤐
  7. AJohnson
    Finished for Christmas then? 🎄
  8. AJohnson
    Looking good Dave, you realise you are doing all the hard work and I will hoover up all your "tips and tricks" when I finally get around to doing my CC Endeavour! 😆 👍
  9. AJohnson
    Best of luck next week Mark, hope all goes well for you. Your lovely Sphinx will still be there for you when you are up to wrangling with it again. 👍
  10. AJohnson
    Drum roll going for the big reveal! 🥁 Looks stunning already from this angle Chris 👏
  11. AJohnson
    Thanks Chris, yes a bit more bending was probably in order, but once a few slots had clicked into place I sort of panicked a bit and kept pushing the false deck home. All good in the end and the tabs come off later, so good tip folks - bend that false deck! See what happens when you release your precious kits into the world! - They are fine when gently caressed by you and James, but out in the wild, rough B@G&*ers like me start abusing them... 🤣
  12. AJohnson
    I must admit I just use trade wood glues, as I assume if joiners are happy to put furniture and the like together with it, then it should be more than adequate for a wooden model. I think I have a 1 Litre tube on the go at the moment from "Ever-build" but I also have some tubes of "Titebond" on the go. I did get some "model" PVA glues once, but the price/Litre is way more than trade for what I am sure is the same stuff.
  13. AJohnson
    It is a tight fit, but I was a bit nervous of bending the ply too much, think I should have tested it a bit first before committing to pushing the deck down, no going back once it is in I think, there are little slots on each bulkhead that hold it in place. Must say once together the whole sub-assembly is really well held together, glue hardly needed.
  14. AJohnson
    Hi Mark, do you think the black has been absorbed deep into the wood grain? Just wondering if a sharp razor blade might scrape the surface clean, rather than paint it over. A subtle yellow ochre would do the trick if not. Also thank you for sharing with us your "whoops" moments, as a leading poster/builder on here, if you can share those moments, then that must encourage newcomers to reach out for help on MSW when they hit problems. 👍 👏
  15. AJohnson
    Another little update on the build so far. Thanks all for your likes and follows & @Jim Lad & @Andyrew @RockinBudgie for your encouragement. I've continued from yesterday by adding the bow and stern reinforcement parts (17 & 18) and midship reinforcement parts (4 & 7) that hold the lower deck in place. I did glue my "Lucky penny" near the mast hole, couldn't put it under it like the Victory as that might have caused an issue with seating the mast; for those of you thinking "What?" then this link might help explain why I did that... (coin from the year of my daughter's birth, as this little one is her's apparently - she likes the red sails! 😆) There are two longitudinal parts (20, that sit flush with the top of the bulkheads, all I can say here is that they don't like being forced into place! - Anyway glue is your friend! 🤐 🙄 Putting the 0.8mm ply deck in also needs a bit of care, I followed the instruction and dropped into the bulkheads slots on one side, but obviously didn't "flex" the deck enough to let in into place and a couple of the mdf bulkheads flexed a bit too much as I ham-fistedly shoved the deck down! Luckily these get removed later on in the build... Phew. Thanks for looking in, few more progress pics below...
  16. AJohnson
    And we are off! Done a few of the initial stages, approx steps 1 to 16 in the instructions. Easy to follow and no fit problems at all, some of the bulkheads just slipped into place and some just need a light squeeze to get to sit snuggly. Sanded the leading and trailing bulkheads using the marker lines as a guide on the bulkheads that needed it used my Dremel and my mask as this was a dusty operation. Will leave it there for tonight, had my Covid booster yesterday and starting to feel the effects a bit.
  17. AJohnson
    Terrific coppering job Bug and tips by you and others about the glues and preparation etc. I did restart my Bounty coppering after a couple of hundred plates so 🙄, so nice to see such a neat job. One question about the keel, does the instructions say to copper the bottom of it? I only ask as I thought/seen/read somewhere (maybe here on MSW) that ships keels all had "false / sacrificial keel" timber battens on the very bottom and were not coppered?
  18. AJohnson
    Hopefully they will be with you tomorrow Craig, my Nisha arrived a day early compared to the UPS email/tracking, but fortunately someone was in to take it, otherwise I would have been in the same boat (without one.... 😟)
  19. AJohnson
    Yes, it looks (and smells) good 😁
  20. AJohnson
    Final group of shots for now, PE sheet, good selection of threads, blocks, moulded (3D printed?) parts, metal parts and finally decals. All parts ticked off, time to use my coaster make a cuppa and take my time reading the instructions through. Trying hard to resist the temptation to dive in and ruin something (as usual..) 🙄 Initial impressions are well, just wow, for the money I think this will provide hours and hours of fun. This is stated as a beginners/intermediate kit; where I think I fall (experienced in plastic and more beginner/intermediate in wood) and I feel comfortable with what I see so far and with MSW to hand, think I should really enjoy the little "Nisha" as a change from larger projects; or it could turn into an excuse to put those on the shelf again! 🤫
  21. AJohnson
    Not to worry, the Admiral is impressed and I think the Erycina may well be on the cards, where Nisha eventually goes there is room for two..... 😁
  22. AJohnson
    Next a few pictures of the wooden parts: I've not used a laser etched deck before, so that will be interesting, but before I do anything to it, it does look better than any planking I could do! 😆 Oh and the smell of wood and the char from the laser cutting is lovely coming out of the box. All parts seem clean and well defined, only one coming loose when I first handled then, but the connection tabs seems clear and think will cut easily with a sharp craft knife.
  23. AJohnson
    Hello all, This is the start of a new build log for me and my first kit from Vanguard models, I won't go into the background of the vessel as @James H has already done that here only recently:- But as this is my first Vanguard kit, I thought I would post up a few pictures for the box opening ceremony and my initial thoughts. First the kit came well protected, the "Finished" box was inside a stiff brown cardboard box and that was itself was inside the courier box, so well protected for transport 👍 A smallish box but stuffed to the lid with goodies; firstly the weighty "tome" of the building manual, 58 pages, many of which you will see from James's prototype build log and you can download that from the website. Then there was a pack of 10 "Plan sheets", clearly printed and in what initially seems a clear order from parts call out to hull build then masts, rigging and sail plans. A few sample pictures of those, not forgetting the nice touch of the coaster to rest my tea on! 😀 Next up the wood parts...
  24. AJohnson
    So you should be Mike, she is looking very elegant! 👍
  25. AJohnson
    Very considerate of you, you will be in the Admins good books 😁 I'm only back on MSW for less than a year, but think you will be fine asking questions on other peoples builds, that are relevant to their build and yours, just don't think people like threads going off topic or folk promoting their work on other peoples builds. I'm benefiting from that cross exchange with a few other "Bounty" builds at the moment, so dive on in!

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