Knocklouder

I am back in the saddle again. Great tune. I had to fix the channels and repaint them. There was way to many holes in some and not enough on others. The plans are of no help. I have got a couple of pictures of some idea for the chains. This is what I will do. Now that I got that all straight out we can continue. I will make up the chain nail them to the bottom whaler, done deal. Then on to the platforms, more questions there about the number of holes for the crowsfeet lines. We diffinly got the wind on our backs now full steam ahead. Thank you all. Knocklouder.

Those are fantastic, realistic right down to the eyeball. Wow. What paint did you use if you don't mind me asking? Bob M.

Great work my friend, did you find were to tie your lose end, I look at some of mine. They are tied to a eyehook on the channel , another to the hand rail, also one to a cleat on inside side rail . Not much help I am afraid 😕. Bob M.

They say when you get bucked off a horse best to get back on and hold on lol. Well, I am back to this stage, eventually I will get this right. Remember I have a hard time with words& numbers. What I thought would work won't, I would not like the way the shrouds were looking. I have to fix the channels to many holes I am just going to replace it.and wait for it....start over lol. I have found 9 different pictures of this ship so far, on the computer. I find myself dreaming about how I would like it to look like, and in the back off my head what would the Captain want. I am trying to read his logs but can you belive it his grammar is worse than mine. Lol 😆 This journey that I started over 3 and half years ago is incredible. I am hooked lol. Rodney's work is amazing so far just little things, but between the two of us we are going to make a beautiful ship. Lol the First Mate was not impressed about the idea of me wanting to change the build in book case into a display case. I said why do we have all these books , instead of boxing my models why not box the books. Lol 😆 I have sent word out to PFCGP that I could use his help. No reply yet lol. This is going to be fun the rigging is intense. But at least it doesn't have parallels, the French tried them on , I write the name of in latter. Thanks so much for following along I couldn't have gotten this far with out you all . Thanks. Knocklouder.

Good luck on your journey !! Bob M.

Very nice paint work. Awesome. And your copper is amazing as well. Bob M.

@WGibson welcome aboard 😀, Thus is a fun model to put together, the Instructions are a bit wanting I guess. So if I can help you with anything I will try. The boat is finished, but I have a niece who comes over on Wednesday afternoon and every other weekend. So today we were putting figures on and got a few messages from @Gabek she asked who is that lol. She heard the ping lol.I told her it was my friend that made me the Mark Twain figure. Lol.next question was who is Mark Twian lol. We have been working on the King of the Mississippi when she comes over. Today is a great day to do this, it got my mined off the Astrolabe lol. The niece and I are decision-making for the boat, who go's were and what animals we are going to put on, plus a Farris wheel and the river. She wants to make the river next week. She got a little ruff with the long horns and we need to fix his horn and she broke the maintenance man hammer. So we decide to quit for today. one thing we will do is make these maintenance workers look like they are replacing the broken cam shaft.These will be the dock workers. I told the niece that @hollowneck has a video on how to make water. We will watch it on Wednesday and see if we can get started. Ok fun and games. Good bye from both of us. Uncle Bob and the niece. 🧝‍♂️

Yes haa, the last piece of the puzzle has been solved. I am so excited now. Rodney had a couple of check marks on the plan and a check mark in the manual, they were the same color, so from there I could figure out the rest .. I have this horse barge whipped, just got to put it together. I am finding so much wrong with the plans, wow, but I got it. Now I just have to do it. These are my calculations for the sizes, I still need the colors for the ropes but I know the sizes, just color preference, my choice lol. I had posted a question this morning, but just found the answer lol. So I deleted the post. So now rig the cannons, attach the masts, chain plates and start the rigging. Ezay peesy lol. This is going to be great practice for rigging, some cannons may have to be stowed because of the cannons lids been in the wrong place. All good though lol. Ok on my way , may the fun never end. Lol Bob M.

ÇMore progress on the Astrolabe, the decision about the chain plates has been made, and some assembly has been done. I am letting things dry but the chains are made up. Let's go paint the cannons. I had to put one on for a peek, which lead to another. Soon I had a boat load. They need to be rigged, and no instructions. But I got pictures. . Well waiting for the paint to dry let's look at the platforms. This is the first I look at them in the manual, I have no idea how Rodney got to this point. He has put 7 mm Deadeyes on instead of 5 mm eazy fix now I have to drill some holes for the crowsfeet lines. It's-30 out in the shed so I brought it to the shipyard, it will be a great addition to the tools. I am ok with the shrouds positions, I am letting the chains dry really well before tacking them on. I have all the cannons to rig, so they should be cured when I return to them. But I have to let the cannons dry over night as well. To the platforms it is. The build will be a great time, I reliesed that I have no direction on a lot of things and get to make it they way I want, not the plans, which gives me two ways to do it. Wrong and wronger. The kit is fantastic, great wood lots of add on. Not bad for a barge. But again the instructions need work. Again my apologies for letting my frustration lose, 🫤 I can only claim insanity, I tryed to do it my way not what I have been taught by MSW/NRG. So I gave myself a slap and said gitty up.. Thanks my freinds, may the fun never stop. Bob M.

Congratulations, it looks Amazing. Bob M.

Well all the tracing of the shrouds and ratlines. For Nothing, garbage, worthless 🙃. It seems that the measurement in the manual don't line up with the instructions All my tracing for Nothing lol. So Donkey and I looked at each other and said,....... money for the Surprise, lol. It seems that I can't make any headway. Oh well I think I worked it out.. we continue. Patching the holes, repainted the white and black strips and let it dry. I moved on to the deadeyes. What a mess? I can't really figure out what he got going here. Some peices are soderd some have chain links and a small pile of copper strops. I think. The plans shows nothing. The manual says build them this way but if I do they are way to long. At this point I was about to say, 50 cents for the jar, but this is what modeling is all about. Let's model on. Rodney has lots of fitting and things ,two different plies of belaying pins , rings, pins of all kinds and chains. I tryed a few ideas out, nothing really looked right. As much as I tryed the chain plates were hard to get at least some accuracy to them. Then it hit me, if the manufacturer doesn't care about detail neither will I. Chain plates, so I made them out of chain. This is what I came up with.It may not be right, but it gets the deadeyes on and I still the lower masts to drill the crowfeet lines and start the shrouds. I had to figure out what size of deadeyes and where they go. 7 mm and 5mm are needed for the lower masts. I figure out what's need for the upper later.bI have lots to do before then 🤔. I might even get some rat lines in lol. This is what I am going to do for the chain plates, chain. Lol. The plan is to attach the deadeye to the chain , position it and nail it on to the whaler with some big headed nails. It will do. I was beginning to think that I might have taken on to much, I could not understand most of the instruction and all the parts are in containers and I have no idea what they are. Lol. The First Mate could tell I was getting anxious about things , she can tell it was getting to me. She came down to the ship yard and I told her what I really need is better pictures of what I was attempting to do. Some computer lessons were needed.well what do you know we found some pictures and now I got it. The build will go ahead, it just won't be like the plans or the instructions lol. This is what I will do, the chains will be placed in the right place then Nailed to the whaler. Done deal. I like it, once they are on and the shrouds tied on , it will do. And once the yards and rigging is done the chains will be a distant memory lol. Thanks for put up with my frustration, but I think it will be smooth sailing from here on. We got plans and pictures and the will. Talk soon my friend's Bob M.

I need an assistant. He he is, 😂 Donkey. I think he is the perfect A .. to be my Assistant lol. I reach a point in Rodney's notes, oh my. Apparently mistakes have been made. He followed the instructions, the plan is different from the instructions. We need 8 gun ports we only got 7. The way the plan tell you to put the deadeyes the cannons will blow the shrouds off. I think it was at this point that he stoped, there is a lot of torn pages in his book , and references to a web site that I have to go to latter. I found some notes it possible that he started this model in 2014 / 5, hard to say. But in his notes the guy he was following abandon the plan at this point as well and build it his way. And it looks good. Mine will be different but it will work. Now I just got to put it all together. At least I don't have to stop, I be rigging and adding to my Surprise jar in no time. Lol Donkey let's me know what he thinks of the plans and instructions 😉. I would hate to spend this kind of money on a model to have such bad information wow. But where the is a will there is a way I guess. We are goingto leave the lids alone, shifting the lines slightly to avoid the gun ports we will be fine. So now I going to fix the white, then attach the chains for the deadeyes. The instructions says to attach the chains to the upper whaler. Rodney has them in between the whalers mine will be at the bottom whaler like the plan says lol. Ok, with that roller-coaster day I am very glad I have a plan and going forward 😀. MSW/NRG will have its first Astrolabe 1812 log marked finished, just a matter of time. But the instructions are so bad you may not see another lol. Good night my friends, I hear mooing comeing from the hold. Lol 😆 🤣 Bob M.

Looks like the main railing is lower on the top and at the bottom what ever that is in front of the boat blocks the veiw of railing. Making it look all one peice. Maybe. .Bob M.

Yes great instructions @popeye2sea I was fix 'n to tell him just tie the lose end to what ever belay pln it supposed to go to. Lol. looking good partner. Bob M.

@Glen McGuire there are 1,200 glove hitchs, 600 per side. Yyeehhaa!!!.. The cannons are in the paint shop so I am making a list of things I need to study. This is a big ship, after looking at Chris beautiful Duchess of Kingston , by Vanguard Models , now I got to look at this huge horse barge. Up first is drilling holes for the crowsfeet on all masts. Many more notes have to be looked at into, the list continues. I have to find all the parts and try to figure it out. Rodney has got gunport llids made of wood in the box , but has the kit lids installed on the ship. I t looks like there is errors in the plan an instructions 🙃 😕 😅. And he had to move some of them didn't like it so he put the kit lids on. I have to see why latter. It would be a lot easier if I could talk to Rodney, but he can't remember anything about ships. It so sad to see my friend this way. That's why I got to do a good job, "For Rodney " . Also for the next few days I will be tracing the plans, and making diagrams for the ratlines. . This morning I hit my first roadblock, whether to attempt this. I was looking at Bugs Pegasus log, to is awesome, and almost decided to change ships lol. I need to do this one. I need practice on my ratlines. Because The next model I buy will be the one that I will try to do the best. There is so much to do its like I first joined the excitement of starting a build. I have found much useful information from Rodney's notes, and what I can find on the net. The Frist Mate just this morning showed me how to put pictures in my files so I can study them closer up. It's a life saver. Lol So giddy up partner's, lol I just thought we might even see Texas long horns soon LOL. Hang tight @Glen McGuire I got to go round them up lol Just Bob M. for now.

Very nice Glen., as always !! Bob M .

With time on my hands, and a grin on my face, you can't wipe off, I decide to look at my next build to see what is what as they say. Rodney has two binders of information and the manual, for the Astrolabe. I decided to change the look of his cannons to one I found on line . A bit of black paint here, red paint there, I will paint the wheels, then tomorrow clear coat them. Lol. I had to see what they would look like 👍🏾. I have to study his notes to see what he was thinking about how far to go rigging the cannons. I am good with just the breach rope and a tie down at the back. But, if he has something already rigged up I will see. Lol. Time to put it on the bench. WOW it is huge. I took a few extra pictures to show off Rodney's work. It does look impressive. There is no other logs for The Astrolabe, so I am in uncharted waters. I know with MSW/NRG on my side, I will pull off another one . Wait till Pile gets back, he will be Gobsmacked . It is a beautiful ship, but she's big wow! Knocklouder. PS. I will @Keith Black I will. .

Glad to see you, nice work Andy. Bob M.

@Moonbug you are so right lol, I am going to mark this log finished, right after this post, because now I am just playing with my little figures and telling story's in my head lol. So I finished up the ship's boat, and had a few oars, but I think they are a bit too big. The Duchess says "off with they feet" lol. Sawing the base off was stressful for Neanderthals but luck was on my side. That and my good friend @Gabek helping me out today. So now that the boat is finished , I will tie it later as I have a couple of figures I have to paint so they actually look like they are lashing the boat down. Play stuff lol. So I took some pictures and put it in the case It has been an incredible journey, and a really great experience for me. I hope I have not offended anyone along the way with my confusion plus typos. Lol But I am a confused person who finds it hard to spell. Lol. But I love building ships and getting to know people. Ok I am going to mark this finished now, but will post one more time in the future when I take the Duchess of Kingston out of the display case for a photo shoot for the Gallery, and some last minute touch ups and figure changes. Thank all of you for your likes and wows. Plus a special thanks for all who helped. Thank you @chris watton and @Gabek two gentlemen that I deadacated this build to at the beginning. One will be a friend and I will be his customer for life the other a friend for life, not a customer he put a 100% tariff on all his figures. Lol Fairwell to this log, but I have another lol THANK YOU ALL. Bob M. PFCGP. Goober AND of course The Duchess of Kingston.

Bob M.

Good luck on your journey!! Bob M.

Ahhh the end of another day . And was it eventful. When we got a chance to look things over I had the boat to high. That's were Keith Black and Gabe came to the rescue. I am no good with numbers and things like that. But Gabe finally got the point across and after lowering it Three times it's is in its final destination The sailor couldn't even reach this boat. Finally I got the side of the ship and the sailors waste and the bottom of the boat all lined up and this will do lol. Not moving no more . The crew wants a picture to show their friends back home. They are going on a vacation, Pile says give him a call when I start my next ship, and if you need a hand He will come back. Goober is still tight lip about his plans. I miss those guys. Man I am hard on ship inspectors , is it something that I said lol. Got both anchors assembled and ready to tie on. So that just leaves painting the inside of the boat. It a perfect fit. And these boats are available at Vanguard Models, for the Duchess of Kingston I used this 12 foot yawl , made to order. Also Chris W. has thrown in a few figures for me to place on the ship Thanks so much , really appreciate it. I think after I paint and tie the boat down, it will be time to mark this build Finished. I know that I will be starting up my Astrolabe log but I was looking @Moonbug log for his Pegasus today , wow is all I can say go check it out , you won't be disappointed. . All right my friends my be one last post, lol or two. Sea ya yawl..later Knocklouder

There are just too many to list, but one that gave me a lot of enjoyment and how to bend wood was The Sea of Galilee Boat by Scott Miller . Check out those logs , just maybe what your looking for. But the Duchess gets my vote every time lol BobM. King of the Mississippi ✅️

The Ship's Boat: Optional When I first saw @DocRob ships boat it was amazing and I said I have to make one. So a plan was conceived and away I went. I used some 3mm pear wood from kit left overs. And tryed to come up with something that looks good. First, all the parts were primed, then measurements were made.. For those who know me , I have a hard time with numbers and the printed word lol. And called on a few members to help me out. Thanks @Gabek and @Keith Black , for your assistance. The stand was put together and I realized it looked a little high. Information that I found says that ships boats were 9 and a half feet from the ships deck to the deck of the ship's boat. So the wood for the stand was put together and pined together. And temporarily placed on the ship. Yes you guessed it, some how I made it to high. Sanding and molding the top down about a half inch should do the trick.. I do that this afternoon, then start painting the boat as well. Leaving only the anchors left. I am very very happy with the Duchess. Much progress has been made in my understanding of how things are done. I see improvements in my work and I also see where I need to improve as well lol. It won't be long for the Duchess of Kingston to be finished, a few more figures to paint and place but the ship it self is just about ready for the Gallery. Thanks my friends. Knocklouder

The stand is finished, the lettering shows up nicely, but been a Neanderthal lol.The manual says a drop of white glue my be added if lose. Well no glue was required it was super tight , the long sides and the ends went together tight. I was afraid that I would brake it. The first side I put the sign on I filed the edges a bit and gently tap it on. Aww dang, I broke the last one to tap on. I put a dab of CA on and it is really hard to see the brake, it is on the wall side of the display case Thankfully. So I know my friend @Gabek is really anxious for me to start the ship's boat, so today I will prime it all, then put the anchors together, and start finishing the final coat of paint on the boat ....tomorrow Lol. The grin gets bigger and bigger, two anchors one boat left , if all go according to plan, which it seldom does lol, I should be able to mark it finished next week or so 😉 just to be sure lol Forever greatful that MSW/NRG have given me the opportunity to learn how to build ship's. Thank you all. Bob M. PFCGP. Goober .