Alfons

Good work Russ, as always, nice to see you making progress. I wish I could say the same about my own build /Alfons

Russ. That rub rail is an excellent addition to the hull of your schooner. No pictures of the decking progress ? /Alfons

Thanks for the generous offer. If possible, please send me a PM with the article in some form, I am sure there are loads of interesting stuff in there. Ordering these magazines from the US tends to be rather costly. Thanks Jerome. That is one sweet stack of dories. I think my schooner will have just one, I need to spend the little available time I have to complete the rigging. But who knows, maybe I´ll build a second dory in the future. I can see an interesting "stand" for the bottom dory in the picture, I was wondering how those might look, maybe I´ll steel that design /Alfons

Richard. Nice to see another update on the Endeavour. Before you go ahead with the staining, did you consider applying mahogany veneer to the plywood edges? /Alfons

Any ideas about the seine? /Alfons

Bob. Good work, nice and crisp. /Alfons

Overlander. I am quite sure that any acrylic based color will do the job, I have worked with other brands besides Humbrol as well. The key is not to apply the paint to thick, I got myself a can of thinner that I use every now and then to get the right thickness. Same for the primer, there is no need to go for the acetone based ones in particular, I am sure there are others just as good. The important thing is to treat the surfaces after priming. I use steel wool but you can use a fine sanding paper as well. As for starting a build log, dont hesitate to do that, all levels are accepted and apprechiated. This is my first build, we have all been beginners at some point. I will keep my eyes open for your build log, no pressure /Alfons

Thank you very much for the kind words, and for hitting the "like" button. I am quite happy to have the major deck structures in place, the next step is is to add those small details that really brings the model to life. I am thinking about making a seine, to place on the seine grating. I think the biggest problem will be to pile it up in a way that looks to scale, and to find a material suitable for the net. My initial idea is to cut my mosqito net to pieces, add small white pearls to simulate the corks, and then to spray glue the whole ting to proper shape. Any other suggestions? Anyways, the last details will have to wait for still some time, first I need to finalise all of the deck and then mount the model to its brass stands. Overlander. Warm welcome to MSW, I am glad to hear that you are working on the smuggler as well. It sure is a beautiful boat and an excellent kit, and I am glad to be able to provide you with some help and perhaps also with some inspiration. I mostly use Humbrol enamel paint, but more importantly, a proper primer based on aceton. All paint is applied with a good quality brush, I did not use an air brush so far. My experience is that the painting result mainly rely on two important things. Firstly, a proper and thorough surface preparation. Secondly, several thin layers of paint, rather than a few thick ones. I prepare the surfaces by sanding them smooth, last sanding is down with fine steel wool, then I apply my aceton based primer. Once the primer is proper dry, I gently rub the surfaces with the steel wool again, smoothing out all the fibers that has risen up. Then just apply your paint, careful not to stroke the same area twice. And thats it There are also areas were I didnt use any primer, for instance the main deck, the jibb boom, and the cargo hatches. The reason for this is that I wanted the paint to really soak in, creating the worn look that I wanted to achieve. Once dry I gave these surfaces a good rub with stel wool. I also plan the painting process in detail before the actually assembly of the parts, most of the time I paint small subassemblies or single parts prior to assembly. I prefer to do it this way rather than building the complete structures and then having to use loads of masking tape in tricky places. (Speaking of masking tape, I find the Tamiya tape to be outstanding). Here is an example of what I mean, the split lines between the different colors and structures are (if i may say so) perfect. This is because the parts are not glued together prior to painting. Needless to say, I really like sharp lines and clear cuts I´d be crying if the crisp woodwork I had spent hours to achieve got messed up by bleeding paint and fuzzy lines. I hope that my answer will be of some use to you, I am happy to help. Please consider starting a build log for your schooner, I´d really like to follow you along. It is very simple to get a log started and it does not take much time to make an update avery now and then. Had I not started my log, I am pretty sure that the Smuggler would be tucked away in my drawer long ago.. Thanks for dropping by. /Alfons

Finally, I got around to finalize the structures and most of the details on the fore deck. There are still some touching up to do, final painting of the barrels for instance, but I feel I have done enough to shoot some pictures. Thanks for looking in, please enjoy. /Alfons

Thanks Tim and Bob, I am quite happy with the result so far. Tim, judging by your progress so far, I am quite confident that you will produce a superb model. At my current building pace, I am afraid that shipping your PT to me would have you waiting for its return for a number of years.. /Alfons

Tim. The firepower of the CB90 is impressive, the swedish SEAL team uses them for surpressing fire once the platoon has unloaded. One other feature is that you can come to a full stop in less than 3 boat lengths, from 45+ knots! There are videos of this on youtube. So far I have not been able to come onboard underway, but there might be opportunities ahead. One funny thing is that during my last visit of the CB90, I actually bumped in the the swedish foreign minster and his son. You actually got to see the reactor compartment of the CVN-69! What I wouldt do for a full tour of a carrier.. i don't suppose you have any pictures I have read one very thorough book of the Eisenhower class, can't recall to much information about the reactors though.. seems to be a lot of top secret surrounding that area. Your PT Boat is coming along nicely, keep up the good work. /Alfons

Tim. As for painting schemes, have a look at the swedish combat boat 90 at the picture below. This vessel is used by the swedish naval infantry since the early 90:ies, mainly as an assault craft, but aslo as med-evac and battalion combat command post. The boat is equipped with three 12,7mm machine guns and one 40mm grenade launcher. It is quite an impressive boat, which I have hade the opportunity to board a number of times. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stridsbåt_90 /Alfons

Now that´s one evil looking paint scheme, go for it Tim! /Alfons

Thanks Shamrock. Next update, showing the completed forward deck, is still around the corner. I can't seem to find the time to complete the last parts. /Alfons

Haha, once again my color blindness gets me into trouble I am glad that I painted my Schooner black, couldn't go wrong. Nevertheless, I am sure that your final color will be nice as well. /Alfons

Nice work Tim. I like the color. /Alfons

That is one sweet build you have got going Rod! You have certainly achieved a lot in only 68 hours. I wish I hade "clocked" my Schooner build from the beginning as well, hours spent makes a nice addition to the build log. My next project is the Riva Aquamarine from Amati, so I´m very interested in your experiences from this kit. Keep up the good work. /Alfons

Good work Russ. I am looking forward to seeing the end result. In your first picture, it appears as the main rail was damaged, but if I understand you right the wooden cap will cover this. Kepp up the good work. /Alfons

Good work Russ, nice to see another update on your beautiful schooner. /Alfons

Well done Bob, she looks beautiful. /Alfons

Richard. Is the deck planked with mahogany as well? Will it be painted or left natural? Anyways, I am very keen to follow your planking progress The size of your Endeavour certainly allows for a deatailed and beautiful deck planking. Keep up the good work. /Alfons

Thanks for the "likes". I have updated the first post of my log to contain a small background and some other information. An update of my progress is around the corner, stay tuned. Thanks for dropping by, /Alfons

Good work Richard! How about skipping that paint and go for 7-10 layers of vanish on the whole hull instead.. /Alfons

Hi Gulf. I see that you are off to a good start with your Phantom. Getting ready to start rigging my solid hull Schooner, which is my first build, I can recall struggeling with the same kind of challenges that you are. Keep up the good work, your hull looks really nice so far. I will try to follow you along from now on. /Alfons

Ok, Is there a second layer of planks as well? Or just singel planking. /Alfons